Monday, March 26, 2012

NEW DIAGNOSIS- ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS

It's been quite a while since I posted anything.  Starting in September of last year, I stared having pain again in my lower back. This has happened off and on for the last 20 years throughout my entire back. It was always diagnosed as bulging or herniated discs. I have also had problems with plantar fasciitis, achilles tendonitis, uveitis (eye inflammation), hip pain, and pain in my bum (nice huh!). While I was having the excruciating pain in my back, my left eye started acting up again. Then the hips started hurting. Finally, I had had enough!! I walked into my doctors office and told him we had to figure out why, at the age of 45, my body was literally falling apart. After x-rays,  MRI's, and many blood tests (there was a gene they were testing for), I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) and Osteo-arthritis. I will not bore you with all the medical details of  AS. The easiest way to explain it is my body is trying to fuse together into one big bone. My doctor said I would not die from this disease, but I will die with this disease (non-curable). Very reassuring. My sacroiliac joints have already started to fuse (that's why I have that pain in my rump roast, hehe). My lower back is trying to fuse but I am too active so it hasn't happened yet. I also have the hips of a 80 year old because of the Osteo-arthritis.

Since being diagnosed, I have spent many hours researching different treatment options for my AS. A doctor in England, A. Ebringer, discovered that 90% of people diagnosed with AS have a gene (HLA-B27). Not everyone with this gene will get the disease (my daughter has the gene but not the disease). They have not figured out what the trigger is that causes it to start but they do know that it involves a bacteria in the gut called Klebsiella. This bacteria feeds off of starch. This is why you will now see recipes labeled starch-free along with the gluten-free.

You can find out more about AS and a starch-free diet at www.kickas.org.

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