Controlling the symptoms of psoriatic arthritis with diet. No more pain!

It is now a years since I went on the FODMAP diet, so I wanted to put up a post about how I came to do that, and how it has impacted on my life. I had health issues dating back many years. My psoriasis dated back to my late teens (I am now 72). My 30s saw thyroid problems begin to develop. In my 40s I had joint and back problems start, with X-ray confirmation of arthritis in joints and back At the same time I was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome and tinnitus. Doctors did not seem to ever put any of this together, although I was tested for lupus in my early 50s, when the results came back with elevated autoimmune markers, but not high enough to definitely determine lupus. In my 50s I developed atypical angina. I started to lose my sense of balance (doctor's solution, my brain was ageing and I should walk with a stick). In my 60s I developed high blood pressure. My back and joint problems got ever worse. By my mid 60s I was getting CT scans and spinal cortisone injections. I was told my condition was chronic. I should learn to live with it. I got bottles of prednisolone pills. At the age of 70 I was diagnosed as asthmatic. How could the doctors have missed that one for 70 years???? The final straw was I started falling over. Not slipping, not being dizzy, but just falling over. Finally a CT scan suggested my lower back had become so bad that Iwas suffering from L5 nerve root impingement. I was facing losing my mobility and a life of constant pain. I was adverse to medication as my brother had recently had problems while taking methotrexate and had had to go off it. My GP told me to lose weight as it might help with the symptoms. As anyone with thyroid problems knows, that is extremely difficult, and unsustainable. So, I decided to fast. I fasted for 5 days, only allowing myself water, a cup or 2 of instant coffee (with aspartamine and a dash of milk) and a cup of hot water with a teaspoon of instant stock powder (for the salt). I was amazed that each day of the fast I felt better. The arthritic pain disappeared. I became more limber, I could bend and twist a little. It was becoming evident that my psoriatic arthritis and spondilitis (that is the name for psoriatic arthritis in the back) could be allayed by diet. It was obvious that eating nothing was not sustainable, so I needed a diet. The internet is burdened down with alternatives. YouTube is overflowing with alternatives. I wanted a diet that had some sort of scientifically proved efficacy. I settled on FODMAP as it was developed by Monash University for a known autoimmune problem, irritable bowel syndrome, one of my many longstanding health problems. I liked that it cut out all possible inflammation causing foods, with the idea that once inflammation was under control potential problem foods could be introduced one by one to see their impact. I could be my own personal experiment. It took only days for my guts to get better and my reflux to disappear. But the pain was also under control. It took about 10 to 12 weeks for movement in my back and limbs to really get better. I began sleeping in my bed again (I had been curled up on the couch), I started to go to a disco dancing class once a week. I was walking normally up and down stairs. Somehow I was remembering things faster and better. Whether it was a result of the withdrawal of pain or a direct result of the diet on my brain, I was thinking more clearly. I have not had any more falls. And I am not walking with a stick! So I want people with similar problems to know that diet may help. 12 months after I started the diet, I am still on it. When you get out of the grip of long term pain, I figure, why tempt fate. I propose, then, to stay on the FODMAP diet for the rest of my life. I will put up a post on inflammation causing foods separately for those not interested in the details of my personal story. I hope this information might help you. wendyloish