Comments on: Remicade Dream: Open Letter To Myself On Prednisone

By: RA Guy

RA Guy — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:25:21 +0000

I have found that my diet has a direct correlation to my energy level, and that my energy level has a direct correlation to the severity of my RA symptoms and my ability to cope with them.

So while I would never posit my diet as a “cure”, I do consider it an integral part of my 360 degree approach to treating my rheumatoid arthritis and taking care of myself.

I have done multiple “restricted” diets over the years, the best results being that they have forced me to explore new ways of eating more healthy food, which in turn has improved my overall health.

Plus, a good diet allows me to continually shed unnecessary pounds. Being as close to possible to my ideal weight can only be good for my joints, when they are continually overburdened by pain and inflammation.

Does diet affect RA? Overwhelming public opinion seems to be “no”, but I’ll continue to respectfully disagree. In the end, however, whatever personal choice each of us uses to get to better health is what’s important.

By: URandomnessK

URandomnessK — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:14:30 +0000

Michael the best that I can find from research is the actual “diets” to “cure” RA are a load of you know what. What is most important is to look at the food pyramid and make sure you follow it. Sometimes the fruits and veggies can be hard, I supplement with V8 juice and V8 fusion juice.

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:04:19 +0000

I just kicked the prednisone for surgery (though I was working on it for a while anyway b/c I needed the surgery for a broken foot that was due to prednisone in my mind). And although the rituxan has helped me, so far I still experience flares that are debilitating at times. My rheumie would like to use prednisone to control those flares but I don’t think it’s a good idea. I hate the drug after being on it for 2 years+. The real problem though is that I suffer from bi-polar d/o as well and “a hard time focusing” as you put it is just not acceptable in my mind. I already cannot take lithium (which worked great) for my mood b/c I take motrin 1600 mg’s / day, and another key medicine I cannot take b/c I had a bad reaction to it(Lamictal), so I feel like I’m walking a fine line. My hope now is to try to focus on nutrition and see if I can better control it that way. Anybody know of any RA friendly foods or foods to avoid? Any Ideas would be appreciated! I’ve heard gluten but then I’ve researched it and the conclusion of many studies seems to be that a gluten free diet may make one more aware of diet, and so their healthier that way, but avoiding that food by itself doesn’t provide any “provable” relief. So I’m thinking just eating better: fruits, vegetables, whole grain, etc etc

By: URandomnessK

URandomnessK — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:49:26 +0000

I just devoured a chocolate bar while plotting evil revenge on everyone around me; thanks for putting it in perspective!

By: cateepoo

cateepoo — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:38:21 +0000

I loved reading this. Thanks for sharing.