Rheumatoid Arthritis

tsmwickham

Success stories from those with RA? Challenges?

nvmomketo

There are a few of us who have found some improvements in autoimmune athritic pain (fromm RA, SS, and other sources) from a LCHF diet. For some of us, grains and sugars seem to be inflammatory, so keeping carb intake low can help.

I know others who have also found some improvements after restricting nightshades and dairy.

Wahls' Protocol may help. http://terrywahls.com/about-the-wahls-protocol/
There is a paleo based autoimmune protocol too: http://www.thepaleomom.com/autoimmunity/the-autoimmune-protocol

Best wishes.

queenliz99

I have RA and it is under control. I take a biologic in which has been a lifesaver for me. I have tried lo-carb, keto and Whole30 none of which helped me. Get your RA under control and nothing will stop you. Best wishes and hugs!!

Scallyboo

I have RA, diagnosed 7 years ago when I was 30 - after just having my first child.
The first two years were tough, finding suitable medication etc. I find alcohol and sugary foods and stress can induce a flair up a few days afterwards. Low carb also helps me. I inject myself with the drug to minimise the side effect of being totally knackered all the time. I run about 15 miles a week. I do numerous half marathons. I cycle long mileage and also lift weights. I have two boys, 7 and 3 and I work full time, 5 days a week.
Have you any specific questions?

Chieflrg

I was dx'd six years ago. I don't take meds, lift very heavy every day.

Living a low stress life makes things much easier.

anglyn1

I've recently been diagnosed. A combo of Plaquinel and a low carb, high fat diet is working well for me so far.

GaleHawkins

@tsmwickham welcome to MFP forums. I have AS and some say mixed with RA. Ankylosing Spondylitis is very painful and most of my spine and other joints have fused over the past 40+ years. I had both hips replaced on 1 AUG 1991 with the left one being replaced again in 2006 after a fall ripped the screws out of the hip bone. Left knee (2007) and right shoulder (2008) have been scrapped. Not sure if with RA you can have issues like that or not.

While acupuncture and deep tissue massage helps with the joint and muscle pain I think ZERO stress would be helpful but I seem to attract stress. In 2014 a small local college where I had been serving as a trustee for 10 was defunded by Dept of Ed due to long term fraud that had been keep from most of the trustees. The wrongdoing went from bad to worse and I said no and got voted off the board 14 July 2014. Seriously the event crashed me but it was a good thing in hindsight.

My health was crashing so I went to a Rheumatology Clinic 7 Aug 2014. At this point I could not get out of a car very well unaided at the age of 63 and the kids were 16 so my health was causing them and the wife grave concerns.

The doctors said read about Enbrel and come back in 90 days to start Enbrel. My son was driving going home and I was using Google and I decided there had to be a better way. Actually while dealing with the pain of AS I earned two undergraduate degrees as well as my OD degree (SCO 1986) but never practiced due to the AS. I must really like stress.

I had a hunch if I could get off sugar and all grains I could manage my joint and muscle pain with Enbrel or other Rx med. I tried to taper off for 60 days and was a total failure.

I got really ticked because I knew what was coming up in 30 days and told sugars and all forms of all grains where they were going. 30 days later when I had to go back to the clinic my pain level had dropped from a subjective 7-8 to 2-3 and I was so excited but the doctors did not share my excitement and discharged me from the clinic.

Pain of 2-3 after so many years of pain (mental and physical) was like NO pain so I stopped using mobility scooters, started walking a 1/4 mile every day. I had never heard of MFP, Low Carb High Fat (LCHF), Nutritional Ketosis or that kind of stuff. I was accidently in ketosis by getting off foods contain sugar or any form of grain and I was taking lot of coconut oil.

18 months later the pain is still managed by my diet, six months in my 40 years of life defining IBS fully resolved and has not returned and I could go on and on but will mention I was obese but the weight just started slowing decreasing down to 200 for the first time in 22 years (250 was max ever) and it has maintained there with me eating about 2500 calories daily on average.

Will my Way Of Eating (WOE) work for RA I do not know but you have this old man's story. Google will find you all of the info you will need to decide for yourself. With my degree and the wife a pharmacist I am sure it made it easier for me to sort out facts and fiction that is even in medical research. There are some low carb sub forums you may want to check out for more detailed info on my WOE.

Doing research tonight I learned carbs (carbohydrates) are thought to be the only cause of diabetes so I should be free of that risk. I have no other health issues that I know about and am not under the doctor's care.

Best of success in finding a WOE that will address your pain and joint damage.

rwhyte12

Noni juice (a small amount of it daily) can ease joint pain and arthritis. It also gives you a boost of energy for the whole day so it is better to drink in the morning.

johnlockjamie

I have some kind of lupus-like autoimmune disease and used to be on plaquenil and prednisone. I feel a lot better now and my rheumy let me adjust my own meds...usually I don‘t take any unless I feel like my joints are going to flare.

refarre

I have RA. Diet drinks and Energy drinks are bad. Splendid or Sulocrose are nasty for RA and Reactive Arthritis. FDA hides the truth. Exercise and good healthy food work better for me than the Biologics.

refarre

rwhyte12 wrote: »

Noni juice (a small amount of it daily) can ease joint pain and arthritis. It also gives you a boost of energy for the whole day so it is better to drink in the morning.

Your right about Noni. It works.

peaceout_aly

tsmwickham wrote: »

Success stories from those with RA? Challenges?

I have Lupus and along with it comes RA. I push through. I fight every time I go to the gym and know that if I push myself through then results are worth it. Just makes the challenge that much harder and the success that much sweeter. Cutting out sugar has helped significantly with decreasing symptoms, and I've heard going gluten-free can help as well but I'm not at a financial point in my life where I can afford to do so.

cyndit1

RA and Lupus here and also a half marathon and full marathon runner who weight trains regularly. I'm managed with Plaquenil, Cimzia and MTX. I lost a ton of weight following a healthy program and find that I feel better and run better as a result. I know I do a lot more than most people with RA/Lupus but I believe a positive mindset is critical to living with this and exercise plays a huge role in both mental and physical clarity. On really bad days, I take it easier (run less or slower or walk all together). I was diagnosed BTW about 13 years ago.

staceyxb

Hi ive had full body RA since i was 9 now 26, i was a very active healthy child till ra so when all of a sudden i was unable to do all the active things i used to it hit me hard. Ive struggled with my weight since i was 12 as i was left wheelchair bound due to ravages in my hips. Ive had a double hip replacement(14yrs) and left knee replaced(23) ive struggled with losing weight but ive finally nearly reached my target i have lost over 5 stone it has taken a while but i feel much better for it, its obviously better for my joints and will hopefully slow down the need for more replacements. I still have bad days every week but i feel much healthier and more confident !:)

GaleHawkins

staceyxb wrote: »

Hi ive had full body RA since i was 9 now 26, i was a very active healthy child till ra so when all of a sudden i was unable to do all the active things i used to it hit me hard. Ive struggled with my weight since i was 12 as i was left wheelchair bound due to ravages in my hips. Ive had a double hip replacement(14yrs) and left knee replaced(23) ive struggled with losing weight but ive finally nearly reached my target i have lost over 5 stone it has taken a while but i feel much better for it, its obviously better for my joints and will hopefully slow down the need for more replacements. I still have bad days every week but i feel much healthier and more confident !:)

@staceyxb Thanks for sharing your story. Best of continued success. Welcome to MFP forums.

donnam40

I have had RA for about 7 years now. I'm on methotrexate and humira. It's a *kitten* disease. I find if I don't keep moving with exercise, I stiffen up and the mornings get harder. I eat a generally healthy diet, with mostly fresh, unprocessed foods. I tried GF but that didn't help and I don't have a lot of sugar so I'm not eliminating that. Just find what works for you and a good rheumatologist. That makes all the difference.