Question about GAPS and Rheumatoid Arthritis

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

I'm just starting the GAPS diet on the advice of my doctor. He suspects

Rheumatoid Arthritis. I also just recovered from a serious case of Giardia. Am

sure I have leaky gut, as I've had other digestive issues like IBD since

developing chronic Lyme disease. Have been on antibiotics for most of the past

four years. It has been a pretty " brutal regime " but I'm feeling 90% better,

other than recent digestive & possible R.A. issues.

Developed the symptoms of R.A. in late December, at the same time I was

apparently infected with Giardia. Had serious organ involvement with it (heart

and lungs) as well as joints. Have never gotten a clear diagnosis as to whether

this is a systemic reaction to Giardia (which sometimes happens) or R.A.

Pneumonia or another bacterial infection were also suspected.

Have been " winging it " on the GAPS diet for two weeks, as there were problems

with Amazon shipping of GAPS and " Nurturing Traditions " books. But I can say

the bone broths, consumption of fermented foods daily, and stopping dairy &

wheat have helped tremendously. Am amazed the chronic diarrhea stopped after

just two days on the diet.

OK, so here are my questions. Does anyone else have an R.A. diagnosis, and if

so, what have you found helpful? Does anyone here have a diagnosis of chronic

Lyme or another immune-suppressing disorder?

I'm in kind of a bind, as I can't take any immune-suppressive medications (for

R.A.) because I have a history of immune suppression & opportunistic infections.

Any advice would be deeply appreciated! I need to get this under control, and

prevent flareups. The last one (with the pleural effusions on my lungs & heart)

nearly killed me. I have to do something constructive to prevent this from

happening again.

I'm encouraged to know many doctors -- ND's and MD's too believe the cause of

autoimmune disorders lies largely in gut health. Heal the gut, heal the person!

It makes sense to me!

Am drinking coconut & water kefir, am on low dose Naltrexone, an

anti-inflammatory antibiotic, eating fermented foods, bone broths, and avoid

grains & some uncooked veggies. Also making nut breads instead of consuming

regular breads. No wheat or dairy.

Hope to get all my books today, so that I can start following the diet to the

letter!

Please feel free to write to me off-list with any suggestions, unless you think

they'd be helpful to the group as a whole.

Blessings,

S.

[Guest guest]

Hi : My daughter has JRA, IBD. Her official diagnosis is MCTD (mixed connective tissue disease). Here's what has helped so far:Curamin (Europharmacy) - an amazing product for inflammation.Topricin - an unscented ointment that works.Juicing - great for increasing energy (greens), alleviating joint pain (celery) and cabbage (GI tract). Carrot juice is also known to prevent upper respiratory ailments and increase WB cellsPower Juices Super Drinks by Steve Meyerowitz is an excellent book.I love my Breville ($99) Juicer. Not super fancy, but does a great job. (Amazon)Fiber - I grind flax seeds (coffee grinder) and add Inulin as well.My daughter can not tolerate cow's milk but she can tolerate goat kefir and goat yogurt. I make the goat milk yogurt (very easy to do) to get the maximum amount of probiotics. My daughter can not tolerate over the counter probiotics including Biokult. Her GI tract is too sensitive. Saccharomyces boulardii is an excellent product - its nonsystemic, hence, causes very little die off reaction (just a bit of gas initially in the am) and it's extremely healing for the gut. I'm personally not wild about one size fits all protocols (Gaps). We did try it for 3 months with no noticeable change. We do incorporate a lot that we have learned from the experience (bone broth, soak grains, make my yogurt). I do believe it's very important to rotate your foods every 4 days. After being on the Gaps diet for 2 months, my daughter tested positive for antibodies to many of the new foods on the Gaps diet (almond, cashews, coconut, etc.). Her ND, at the time, said that rotating was very important to avoid this situation. Which is challenging since Gaps is somewhat limited - especially for children. Avoiding Gluten, Dairy (excluding cultured goats milk), Soy, Sugars (limiting fruit too) and Garbanzo beans has been very helpful. If she consumed a little of these items, the next day she's pretty sore.Lastly, Luricidin is a product you should check into. It's antibacterial/viral properties sound amazing. Also, read up on Biofilm Dr. Usman's research and protocol (very similar to Gaps). She is not as extreme on diet, but more aggressive in killing the little MF's. Also, the last phase of her protocol is chelation which I agree is necessary for a complete return to good health.Good luck and feel free to email me back off list as well.In health,ClareOn Apr 19, 2010, at 12:31 PM, L. S wrote: Hi everyone, I'm just starting the GAPS diet on the advice of my doctor. He suspects Rheumatoid Arthritis. I also just recovered from a serious case of Giardia. Am sure I have leaky gut, as I've had other digestive issues like IBD since developing chronic Lyme disease. Have been on antibiotics for most of the past four years. It has been a pretty "brutal regime" but I'm feeling 90% better, other than recent digestive & possible R.A. issues. Developed the symptoms of R.A. in late December, at the same time I was apparently infected with Giardia. Had serious organ involvement with it (heart and lungs) as well as joints. Have never gotten a clear diagnosis as to whether this is a systemic reaction to Giardia (which sometimes happens) or R.A. Pneumonia or another bacterial infection were also suspected. Have been "winging it" on the GAPS diet for two weeks, as there were problems with Amazon shipping of GAPS and "Nurturing Traditions" books. But I can say the bone broths, consumption of fermented foods daily, and stopping dairy & wheat have helped tremendously. Am amazed the chronic diarrhea stopped after just two days on the diet. OK, so here are my questions. Does anyone else have an R.A. diagnosis, and if so, what have you found helpful? Does anyone here have a diagnosis of chronic Lyme or another immune-suppressing disorder? I'm in kind of a bind, as I can't take any immune-suppressive medications (for R.A.) because I have a history of immune suppression & opportunistic infections. Any advice would be deeply appreciated! I need to get this under control, and prevent flareups. The last one (with the pleural effusions on my lungs & heart) nearly killed me. I have to do something constructive to prevent this from happening again. I'm encouraged to know many doctors -- ND's and MD's too believe the cause of autoimmune disorders lies largely in gut health. Heal the gut, heal the person! It makes sense to me! Am drinking coconut & water kefir, am on low dose Naltrexone, an anti-inflammatory antibiotic, eating fermented foods, bone broths, and avoid grains & some uncooked veggies. Also making nut breads instead of consuming regular breads. No wheat or dairy. Hope to get all my books today, so that I can start following the diet to the letter! Please feel free to write to me off-list with any suggestions, unless you think they'd be helpful to the group as a whole. Blessings, S.