I've gotten a lot of help going gluten free. Has anyone else?
There’s been talk of this. Did you search the forums?
Personally, I tried it a while back. It made no difference.
Hi Coffee,
I hope you don't mind - I moved your discussion to Complementary Therapies.
I wish I had more of a view on Gluten free because it is certainly a popular thing to try. Main thing is, avoiding Gluten is making you feel better.
I'm wary of cutting things out of my diet in case I miss out on nutrients. I guess the only thing I'm ever going to avoid as far as possible is sugar but I'd be interested in what 'gluten free' actually involves. Does that mean avoiding all foods with flour in? Or is there more to it?
It means you have to cut out wheat, barley and rye and it’s derivatives. It’s pretty easy when you eat at home but the tricky part is eating out. The grocery store has lots of gluten free options and some restaurants have gluten free menus. My Rheumatologist is the one that wanted me to try going gluten free before she prescribed medicine. I really didn’t think it would work but to my amazement on day 5 I woke up without fatigue. Then on day 6 and on the pain starting easing away. My doctor required a test. Go 2 weeks completely gluten free and then at the end of the two weeks have a highly gluten meal. I choose pizza. The next day after pizza I woke up exhausted and in terrible pain. So without a doubt I know I need to stay away from gluten. After about 3 months gluten free I could hardly tell I had a disease. The only problem is every time I accidentally eat gluten, I have a terrible flare up that last 1 to 5 days. Since I’ve never taken medicine, I’m curious if the results with meds are about the same?
What is your diagnosis is it PsA? I eat low carb most of the time also basically gluten free. Only because it helps me to control my weight. I do not eat processed food nor do I drink and I still feel awful. Wish it were that easy for me and many others. I am glad it gives you relief coffee.
Yes I was diagnosed with PsA about a year ago. For the gluten free diet to work, a person has to go completely gluten free. It doesn’t work on everyone with PsA. My family doctor caught the disease early and sent me to an amazing Rheumatologist. I honestly thought the Rheumatologist was crazy to suggest a diet as therapy. She told me it doesn’t work for everyone but she had a lot of success with some of her patients. So I tried it for 2 weeks as stated above. The only problem with it is, if you accidentally eat gluten, it knocks you out. One time I couldn’t get out of bed for 3 days. During those times, I wonder if I should just take the medicine and be done with it. However, from what I’m reading on this forum, it seems everyone has flare ups regardless of what medicine they take. I hate the flare ups, especially the fatigue. If a medicine could guarantee no flare ups, I would be taking it.
I'd like to say I have no flare ups though the way things are going at the moment I'm not too sure. Anyway, I've not had a proper old flare up for years & that's due to the drugs plus my new improved healthy lifestyle.
Most important thing for me is preventing joint damage & general all-round inflammation-related damage with disease modifying drugs. I'd possibly try gluten free if my guts were dodgy but they're not.
Coffee said:
Yes I was diagnosed with PsA about a year ago. For the gluten free diet to work, a person has to go completely gluten free. It doesn't work on everyone with PsA. My family doctor caught the disease early and sent me to an amazing Rheumatologist. I honestly thought the Rheumatologist was crazy to suggest a diet as therapy. She told me it doesn't work for everyone but she had a lot of success with some of her patients. So I tried it for 2 weeks as stated above. The only problem with it is, if you accidentally eat gluten, it knocks you out. One time I couldn't get out of bed for 3 days. During those times, I wonder if I should just take the medicine and be done with it. However, from what I'm reading on this forum, it seems everyone has flare ups regardless of what medicine they take. I hate the flare ups, especially the fatigue. If a medicine could guarantee no flare ups, I would be taking it.