Less than a week into my nightshade free diet

General
1

I felt almost immediate relief. Not saying it is 100% effective, but so far, so good. Saturday I went out to dinner with my husband (the same day I started my in depth research on diet changes and PsA) and I had a filet, which came with mashed potatoes. That night was the night I was to take my third dose of MTX. Woke up the next day in A LOT of pain. Usually the pain is less the day after I take my MTX. I decided on Sunday that it would be my first day nightshade free. Monday the pain was much less than the day before, and as of yesterday (Wednesday-- only 4 days into nightshade free diet), I'd say my pain is at 10%. Before, I'd call my pain a steady 70%, and 90% on bad days. I can't believe the difference. Now, I am not 100% sold yet..inside I am-- but I'm not jumping to conclusions yet. I'm waiting for the next few days until I have to take the MTX again. I surprisingly haven't had any issues with missing potatoes.. my problem is the peppers and paprika since it's in so much. I have been cooking separate foods from what I cook my husband because so much stuff has it in it. But it's ok-- if I need to avoid it to feel better, I will. I think I will play around with the peppers once the pain stays away. I am sure potatoes are the worst offender and part of me thinks I will be able to take peppers. We shall see. :)

2

I am very interested in the dietary changes you can make to improve the pain too. Keep me posted on your progress!

In Dr. Atkin's book (Vita-Nutrient Solution) he recommends the following for skin conditions such as Psoriasis -
Sugars and refined carbs need to be eliminated from the diet. Include vitamin E, zinc, pantothenic acid, GLA, and the beneficial bacteria along with Vitamin A and some additional vitamin D. Natural is best as your body knows what to do with natural vitamins. I wonder if it will work for PsA as well??? I may give it a try. The low carb diet has always made me feel better, and I figure losing 20 lbs. will definately help with the joint pain (I hope) just from having less weight on my joints.
Just curious if anyone else has tried this approach and if it was successful?
Lainee B.
3

I started strictly with nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, paprika, etc) because I had read those were bad particularly for PsA. I have read that others tried gluten free or sugar or dairy free instead, but my gut was to start with nightshades. I'd say anything is worth a try. :)

4

Hey Natalie! Here is a pretty awesome recipe for an alternative to mashed potatoes

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/smashed-cauliflower/detail.aspx

Its mashed cauliflower. I made it Saturday night and it is pretty awesome! I'm not really doing your diet, just trying to loose weight for health sake, so potatoes are one of the things I'm avoiding anyway. I'm trying to drop some weight while the Simponi is still working so well and I'm so motivated to exercise and be active. Hope you're feeling great today!

~Angie~

5

Hi Natalie, I have not heard of the nightshade diet. Could you please give me some information? Thanks, Pam

6

Here you go, Pam :) Verdict is still out on this one.. pain comes back again as it normally did when it was MTX day... i think potatoes are the big one for me, so I will still try to avoid those unless i just can't stand the craving anymore :)

7

Any update on the potatoes? I love my carbs but would give them up if it would ease the pain!

8

i made loaded baked potato soup a week ago and had it two days in a row and both days after i ate it my pain was worse... but i still have pain even when i don't eat them. not convinced on the whole night shade thing. it might help a bit, but it hasn't taken it all away for me unfortunately. i know we will try anything for relief but i'm afraid it isn't that easy :(

9

Am tempted to try the omega diet as there have been some positive comments on it. Not a big fan of fish though so it could be difficult...

10

From what I have read, how you make the potatoes makes a difference. The stuff in the potatoes that increases our pain, will sometimes be released from the potato when fried (it transfers into the grease). When I first cut out nightshades last month I was confused because I did notice a change but when I had some corned beef hash (which is fried in a pan with potato chunks in it) it didn't have any effect but if I had regular potatoes or potato salad, I did notice more inflammation. Upon further research I read somewhere (can't site where at the moment as I read so many things I couldn't keep them all straight) that mentioned the oil part. If I find it again, I will post the link.

11

very interesting.

12

I think I need to slow down on the research and try to find the ones that are supported by studies and not just what someone says - however, there are not many studies that have been done on this topic so it is harder to find it. Many people (including myself) have stated what has worked for them and so I guess we all have to take these ideas with a grain of salt. Cutting out potatoes has been soooo difficult for me but if it helps, it will be worth it. Over all, my flares have been less painful and SAID rates lowered so between the meds and diet change, I think I am doing something that is working for my body. I will continue to search. I should state that the articles I have found do mention it but the problem is finding the original study that discovered this information.