I am awaiting an appointment with a specialist but wondered if any changes to my diet might help? Any foods to avoid? Etc.
Thanks
Caroline
ANY good diet will make you feel a little better. But RA is an autoimmune disease and diet has absolutely no effect on it. And then there's the gluten fad......just a lot of hype. What you CAN do in the meantime is start reducing excess weight [if that applies to you].
I just read CA lynns response. I am also newly diagnosed and heard the gluten thing and thik yes its probably a fad but I am going to try to go off wheat and tomatoes and strawberrys. For the autoimmune they also mention diary... I am at the right wieght and excercise every day.
The pain is awful but have heard so many saying that the drugs help a lot.
Oh alos if its in the wrosts to wear splints
Thanks for replying so quickly. My boyfriend mentioned the gluten thing so I have tried eating gluten free bread. I hope its not dairy as I do eat a lot of cheese and drink a lot of milk. Im the right weight so maybe I will try and exercise more even though it hurts. They have given me naproxin to take but it makes me sleepy so I cant take them when working.
Its in my knees by the way forgot to mention.
Hi
Some people feel that making dietary changes can improve their condition. The main recommendations are cutting gluten, dairy, sugar , animal protein and fats. I have tried this and reduced the inflammatory markers to normal but it could have been the prednisone and methotrexate that brought the improvement. Due to weight loss I have added more foods like coconut oil, a little chicken and fish. I'm a bit more stiff and tender than before but I have reduced the prednisone to 3-4 and the MTX to 15mg, so still unsure of the cause and affect. There is a lot of information about diet and RA on the net..all a bit confusing. We just do what seems right. Good luck.
Lynn has given excellent advice. Eating a normal healthy well balanced diet, and maintaing your ideal weight for body size so that you do not put extra strain on your joints is important.. Cutting out major food groups leads to vitamin and mineral deficiencies. The disease modifying drugs that your specialist will prescribe will slow down and may halt the progression of joint deformity problems, these include methotrexate, prednisolone, and the newer Tnf type drugs.
Seems like you've got all the good info you need here.
I'd suggest not dismissing gluten free, but experiment instead. It may not work for you but it also might. In my experience different things work on different bodies.
I also agree... good to exercise but don't over-stress those RA joints. They'll punish you for it later!
Thanks very much for all the messages people. Its good to talk to people who know what im going through. My boyfriend just doesnt understand. I will try what you guys have said and hopefully things will get easier. Thanks again
Hello Caroline, RA can be very frustrating and although I don't have it myself, I do work with people that have had it for years. The main problem with RA is that the immune system attacks the collagen in our joints meaning the cause of the pain that you feel when moving. This is because the structure of the collagen has changed. I personally think that a healthy diet can increasingly make the symptoms fade/lessen. This of course has to be a diet with the right nutrients that will allow the body to correct the altered collagen so that the antibodies will not attack. And in these times it can be quite difficult to achieve.
To be clear:
1. If you're going to go gluten-free, it won't work unless [a] you ARE allergic to gluten and you eliminate ALL glutens from your diet.
2. Many people THINK they have put their disease in remission by going gluten free. Not true, It's just coincidental, as RA antibodies can wax and wane, like a yo-yo effect.
I agree with you, but I do know form my experience that a diet that consists of highly nutritive substance that can act replacing assimilable nutritional deficits, to help to repair and rebuild the damaged collagen molecules, to restore their original structure, can improve the conditions of someone with RA. This of course doesn't mean the person should go gluten-free unless like you said they are allergic to gluten. They should however minimise as much as possible their intake in sugars that are not natural for example cakes and biscuits with fruit.
Hi Caroline
I'm 48 and have been gluten free for 22 years now.
don't believe anyone who says that gluten free is a fad - because there is are so many studies now that prove that autoimmune diseases are not just our bodies attacking us for no reason.
All current research is now focused on the gut - and the bodies processing of proteins (both bacterial and food).
For Gluten - Professor Alessio Fasano has proven that gluten creates a chemical to be released called zonulin in all people (not just celiacs) - this chemical opens up the gut lining to allow proteins to pass in to the body.
For Bacteria - Professor Ebringer has sequenced genes from certain bacteria that pass in to the body from the gut and has aligned them to genes in people that develop RA - and my own AS.
Do some searching yourself and look at sites such as ncbi free medical sites that contain a history of medical studies in to arthritis.
Also Lookup -
Fasano Rheumatoid
Vojdani Rheumatoid
Barbara Allan Rheumatoid
Rheumatologist - Dr. Gail Darlington
Then look at the Roadback website - where many people are being treated for RA with low dose antibiotics - so we are in a position where doctors continue to say "we don't know what causes RA" - but there are some out there who are on track.
Happy to help with any more advice -the Doctor that saw me at age 19 for my arthritis was a famous allergy specialist call Dr. John Mansfied - who specialised in elimination diets so this was the beginning of my journey.
Sorry, way too much evidence out there from people who went the gluten-free route and it didn't help at all.
But I do want to say that Fasano of Mass General has indeed done some great work for celiac patients. I don't want to discount that.
Yes, and I'm one of them....
But the approach to all alternative treatments, whether diet or supplements or mysterious snake-oil potions is always the same: experiment, experiment, experiement.
Some things work for some people some of the time...some for some people all of the time.
The only way to find out is to try it.
About your boyfriend not understanding...
It's a lament I hear all the time on another forum I belong to, that husbands, partners, boyfriends, family... just don't understand!
I know that's painful and can sometimes add to our already existing suffering. But try not to let it. They don't understand basically, because it's very hard to imagine someone else's pain and there's nothing to see to show for it.
Things that might help him understand include taking him with you to your rheumy once or twice, sharing your reports with him and so on.
But try to be patient with him, too.
If you can understand his difficulty in understanding you, it might keep things level and without resentment.
And when we have these diseases, support from our loved-ones is crucial to help ease our misery. So value his acceptance of your condition but don't expect him to understand it. And that will bring your closer, willy nilly.
Hi Caroline
If people say that something does not work then it means it did not work for them.
I do not say that gluten free is the be all and end all for helping arthritis. It is almost certainly multifactorial.
CA-Llyn has quickly replied regarding Fasano without research in to his full studies beyond celiac - Alessio Fasano's research extends to Diabetes, RA, AS and even certain brain conditions including Autism. Perhaps they read Wikipedia ?
There is a good paper by Thorne research - if you search for "thorne lamb corn" on the Internet that highlights other foods that are commonly linked to arthritis. This paper actually shows that Corn is the number 1 food that people with RA reacted to in their study. So it's not cut and dried.
Light is 100% correct - experiment and you might find that any required drug regime for your RA will be reduced.
There is other research too that the profile of protective gut bacteria "wax and wane" in line with arthritis flares - which is why people that do low carb diets or temporary fasting can get relief.
I am not just gluten free - I am also corn free, and greatly restrict cows milk (it flares my skin and eyes).
Lastly -and sorry to ramble - but certainly at first avoid the gluten free isle in the supermarket. Much of it is heavily processed. It is no wonder to me that a gluten free diet does not work when they are promoted highly processed corn products - which contain a protein called zein that is so similar to gluten that it effects many celiacs.
Best diet start points IMHO are
Paleo
Specific Carbohydrate Diet
Weston A Price
It is very important to remember that for many so called treatments there is a huge placebo effect. Most people with long term painful conditions will try anything to halt the progression, even if the evidence is suspect or not proven. I have been there my self and some decesions made were detrimental. Medical research keeps finding new treatments. It is important to balance the risks against posible benefits and work with the clinicians looking after you. RA does affect many bodily systems, not just joints and is a very different condition to osteoarthritis. This makes it difficult for partners friends and family to understand what you are going through. Medical treatments to-day are very much more effective than they were 20 years ago and for most people do reduce the damage to joints. My mother has had RA for over 50 years and now in her 90's with badly damaged hands, feet and spine. However the damage was halted about 15 years ago when she was started on methotrexate as well as low dose prednisolone and sulphursalazine. There are contraindications against the newer TNF drugs for her, but these do work for others with RA.
Be careful not to make too many drastic changes to your life, in the hope they will work. You need to be able to get on with your life and fit in with others.Try to teach, your partner and those closest to you about RA by giving him or her sound information from accredited sources based on the best available evidence. Fad diets may appear to be of benefit, because you belief they will work. Coeliacs have bowel abnormalities which are corrected by a completely gluten free diet. RA is not Coeliac disease. Personally I would keep to clincally proven treatments, by this I mean medically peer reviwed research that has been confirmed by other researchers. As new drugs are discovered you may be asked to take part in trials. Weigh up the possible advantages and risks to you. It is vital that sound unbiased evidence can be obtained, but it is also important that you are in charge of what happens to you and that you are confident about the skills and knowledge of those treating you. Try to become a member of a national rhematoid arthritis association who will give you support, keep you in touch with research.