Auto-Immune / Ankylosing Spondylitis Six Month Health Review

• Major Milestones
• Tests Taken (with results)
• Symptoms / Diagnosis
• What I’ve Learned (helpful health tips)
• Where Do I Go From Here?

Major Milestones

On January 18th, 2012 I started, by faith, a diet that would not only eradicate my Ankylosing Spondylitis / Auto-immune disease, but start the process to 100 Percent Health (reaching the potential God has for my life).   Included is a listing of all the things that happened from 1/18/12 – 7/18/12:

• 21-Day Reboot  (January 18th) – 3 week start of the “no starch diet” (NSD) + transition to being a vegan.  I lost over 10 pounds during the reboot and I ate the most food I’ve ever eaten in my life.  NSD was the only diet I knew that would fix my auto-immune disease.
• Traveled to Venice on February 4th – April 12th .
• Last day I took Enbrel  was on February 7th.  This is the medication that stops the auto-immune disease from attacking the body.  Lots of side effects  and only takes care of the symptom, not the cause.  The auto-immune diet was made to replace Enbrel & take care of the root cause of my condition.
• Autoimmune Disease and Inflammation Treatment Seminars on February 27th.  Saw immediate improvement after taking Gut Repair 1 & Pyloricin.
• Height of my inflammation & unbearable pain was mid-March  (click “next” to review each week of progressive pain). Compounding the issue was not going to the chiropractor enough.
• My 1st dessert  from a restaurant was on March 16th.
• Added more meat (protein) to my diet, s witched to the “low starch diet” (LSD), and modified supplements  after nutritional consultation on March 16th.  MD suggested to add more meat due to muscle / weight loss on April 12th.
• 1st encounter with starch  on April 22nd – no effects.
• Results (see “Off of Enbrel” blood test below) from my D.O.  on May 2nd revealed high inflammation and elevated / depressed levels other other test markers (to him he was not concerned).
• Costa Rica!  May 4th – 11th was able to zip line & act like Superman…for a minute  and enjoy the Pura Vida lifestyle .
• Food Intolerance List from the Cyrex Test and balancing immune system (Th1 / Th2) on May 22nd.  I’ve been eating eggs for 15+ years and learned they were damaging my body.
• Started Ibuprofen regimen instead of taking as-needed on June 7th.  Without it, I could not control the inflammation & pain & do my work, sleep as much, and do daily activities.
• Anointed at church on June 10th.
• Started wearing  Sole Support orthotics  on June 13th.
• Metametrix Test and Hair Analysis results were in and on June 19th I discovered that I NEED STARCH .  It took me 5 months to realize that my initial diet was over with and I changed.  I made a daily journal to confirm switching form NSD / LSD to approved starches (rice & potatoes) from my Cyrex test on 6/18 – 6/26.
• Chiropractic X-Ray review on 6/19 showed my lower back (where Ankylosing Spondylitis starts fusion) disc spaces increased!  This result is not typical and confirms what I am doing (chiropractor & nutrition) are on the right track.
• Lowest weight reported at 129.5 lbs. and BMI of 18.12 on 6/26.  Before starting the diet I weighed 156 lbs./ BMI of 22.07 .
• Took a Segway Tour on 6/30 testing my physical limitations.  Although fun, it took me 2 days to recover.
• Finally able to start an exercise regiment (chiropractor, swim, walk) on 7/2, details of 1st week results 7/10.  It started allowing me to bend over and pick things off the floor with my fingers, not my feet.
• Added potatoes (my other big starch) to my diet , corn starch + adding variants of rice (rice pasta, rice milk, etc.) on 7/10.

Tests I Took

Out of all the tests I took, the ones that made the most difference in my life were the Cyrex and Metametrix tests.  Click on the name of the test to see the company’s web page or click “SEE RESULTS” to see my test results.

• Comprehensive Blood Test While on Enbrel | Off of Enbrel – Note the high SED rate + C-Reactive Protein (both markers of inflammation).
• Cyrex Test  (array 4) – measures gluten cross-reactive foods (food intolerance). SEE RESULTS
• Diagnostechs Test – Adrenal stress & cortisol levels.  This test confirmed why I can’t sleep well at night.  Tried the supplement  Apex Energetics Proglyco-SP 90  (regulates hypoglycemia’s blood sugar & adrenal glands) & did not help.  Slowly diet and exercise helping the situation.   SEE RESULTS
• Heavy Metals Test – Confirmed medium levels of Mercury; all other heavy metals are low.   SEE RESULTS
• Metametrix Test – Vitamin & nutrient deficiencies that need to be explained by your doctor.  This was the main test that told me I need to stop the low-starch diet and eat starches; I saw immediate improvements.   SEE RESULTS
• Spectracel Test – While not as in-depth and as good as the Metametrix vitamin deficiency test, it did help me see some vitamin deficiencies I had.  In the end, the results did very little to improve my situation.   SEE RESULTS
• Download All My Tests

Symptoms / Diagnosis

These past six months have been the hardest on me physically, mentally, and emotionally.  Listed below are most of the symptoms and diagnosis from the past six months.

What I’ve Learned

Live, eat & breathe nutrition / health and you pick up on some good information.  Listed below is what I’ve learned and (in some cases) how it applied to my life over the past six months.

Where Do I Go From Here?

At this point, I cannot consider taking Enbrel again knowing what I know and feeling better each week.  While my lifestyle is not 100 percent, I make gains each week.  I will continue to report 2 to 3 times per month based on any new developments in my health and learning.

Simple phone call “check-ups” to diagnosing my conditions, I deeply thank those who have helped me from the bottom of my heart and spirit.  If you know anyone with an auto-immune condition, please pass this blog post on to them.  You might just save a life…

With Love,
Brian

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