Hi everyone! Is there anyone here living with Rheumatoid Arthritis? What are some of your daily challenges? Especially when it comes to dieting/exercising.

Let's talk!

~flamanette~

Here there! I have RA. I am now managing it with diet alone.. I went gluten free back in March and now I am dairy free and sugar free. I'm limiting beef too. I feel great! I do have bad days but not NEAR as bad as before. I'm doing low carb and only getting carbs from veggies and some fruits. I eat lean meats. I'm basically doing the paleo diet. I've been walking. My feet are a mess so I can't walk as much as I want to. If we had an indoor pool in our town open in the evenings I would do that but we don't...it's only open during the day

I have had RA for 13 years. With the help of a major medication cocktail, including prednisone, I functioned well until about 6 years ago when I started developing major side effects at the same time the meds therapuetutic effects were diminishing. Since then I've only been able to take the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory med.
This has seriously impaired my ability to funtion, so that exercise is minimal, with maintaining functioning being the primary goal.
All this being said, I've been able to lose over 50 lbs with calorie counting & appetite control via the Insulin Resistance Diet "linking method". As far as diet affecting RA symptoms, I have never found any food or groups of food that have any effect, but going too low or too high on carbs seems to stress my body & cause flares. Just over eating in general can also do this, but going too high on sugar carbs seems to have the worst effect. Through trial & error, I've found that I feel best when I stick with the IRD linking with my daily net carbs falling in the range of 70 to 90 & can tolerate 60 to 120 carbs fairly well if I don't do that too often.
We're all so different in what causes the flares & need to find what works best for us. Sometimes that's difficult to pinpoint. One thing is for certain with me, that daily pain & stiffness has decreased overall with the weight loss & I am very grateful. Good Luck.

Hello Joyful & Leslie! So glad I found you!

I have only had RA for about 2 years. Doctor says it's not severe (ha, some days...). But man, some days I just find it so hard to function. And some days I think about how unfair it is: I am too young!

I have not tried to control RA with diet (meaning cutting out or adding certain foods). I do know deep in my heart that if I do lose the weight, it WILL ease my symptoms, especially my feet. But I also know of plenty of thin ppl who suffer the effects of this disease! And being overweight has nothing to do whatsoever with the pain in my hands from too much typing, writing, or God forbid, the pain that comes in elbows and hands just from cleaning the bathroom!

I am optimistic about the weight loss helping in some areas, for sure. And maybe some day I will get brave enough to try stuff like gluten free.

And Leslie, I don't mean to be snarky about that. I do believe that every person is different, and every person's RA is different. I am glad you've been able to control yours with dietary changes such as you have

Nice to meet you both.

Leslie & Flamanette,

Glad to meet you guys as well. I'd like to comment on 2 or 3 things. First, in catagorizing RA as mild, moderate or severe I think the docs go basically on how many joints are involved, x-rays, blood tests & physical exam. x-rays are fairly definitive, but the rest can be misleading.

Also, pain is very subjective & nurses are taught that pain is what the patient says it is. For example, Flamanette, you have pain & inflammation in your hands & it sounds like you do alot of typing. How much pain you feel is however much you think it is. When you type it probably makes things worse, & if you type when the joints in you hands & wrists inflammed (red & swollen) you will not only experience increased pain & stiffness, but according to my Rheumatologist, exercizing any inflamed joint can add to the damage being done. What you are experiencing is significant enough to effect how you live, and that's very important when it's happening to you.

As far as diet goes in managing RA, (again according to my Rheumatologist) in only a very small percentage of patients does diet have any influence in the illness.

Lastly, you might want to check into arthritisinsight.com. I haven't been there for a long time, but they use to have a very active RA Bulletin Board.

I've been told that typing helps the hands when you have RA..that keeping them mobile is key. Doctors vary on opinions and I have seen 3 different rheumatologists in the past. Cutting out inflammatory foods is very beneficial. Many people just don't wanna try it. I know I didn't for a long time....but I got tired of taking toxic medicines and decided that I needed to do something. If someone has a leaky gut then foods can help control RA. Everybody is different and elimination diets don't work for everyone but it has helped me tremendously and I now feel human. I take no antiinflammatories and nothing for pain. I previously was on tons of meds and still couldn't function.

Life was too short for me to feel bad all the time. What works for some may not work for others. RA is a miserable disease and we just have to keep fighting

Sadly, typing and doing anything with my hands does make them worse! I used to love to cross-stitch, can't do that anymore either. Can't really hold the need well. I tried to keep up with it, because I too was told the keeping mobility is important.

And what are the main inflammatory foods please? I bet I don't eat most of them. Not sure I understand your comment about leaky gut.

I am glad for you that found dietary changes that worked for you! But as you said, everyone is different. I mostly function rather well; I MUST, since I am the breadwinner for my family. I am not on tons of medications, but the ones I do take keep me functioning. I know what to expect though when I over-do things.

~flamanette~

I have been on Atkins for 2 weeks and have lost weight but my joints are quite painful. This is the second time a low carb diet has done this to me. I was told years ago I have osteoarthritis but have numerous disfigured joints. 1)Could this actually be RA? 2)What is a better diet than such high protein? I can't stand being hungry that low calorie causes.

I am not following any of the "famous" low carb diets (I have in the past, but that was before RA). I am following and exchange system based on the ADA lists. I found what I am following a site called HillyBillyHouseWife. There are a few "plans" she lists -- one of them happens to be a higher protein one. I personally have not found my joints to be any more aggravated since following this plan, and I am most definitely NOT hungry. I am eating ~1400 calories a day; but I choose things that I know will carry me the longest.

As for your condition being RA v. OA....only your doctor can tell you for sure. The biggest difference in the two, from what I know is that RA is symetrical: it affects BOTH sides. Both of my hands are affected; both of my feet; both shoulders; both knees....you get the picture. From what I understand, OA is a joint by joint thing: you may have OA in one knee for example (and of course you may have it in both too). I hope what I am trying to say is coming across clear.

~flamanette~

Thanks for the information. I'm going to ask my doc to test me again. The first was many years ago. I have a cousin who has RA and OA. I just know I hurt - some days more than others.

FYI-A good source of information about RA on the Net is the Merck Manual. If you google it, go to 'sections' on left of the page, click on Musculoskeletal & Connective Tissue Disorders & then Rheumatoid Arthritis, you'll find a wealth of info.

Yes, joint involvement is characteristically symetrical.

Amarillo, let us know what your doc says.

Hiya Joyful! Nice to see you again! Oohhh, I must go check out the Merck Manual information.....even though I have been dealing with RA for 2 years now, I still don't always fully understand my own disease; seems no matter what website I get pointed to, I learn something new every time.

~ ~

Flamanette and Joyful Retiree - Thanks for helping me. I don't see my doc until next month, but I'll let you know what the tests show.
Also, to you both: I got the book Insulin Resistance Diet yesterday. It really looks interesting and doable. I have at least 75% of the symptoms of insulin resistance. It seems pretty certain that's my problem. I'm anxious to start the diet. Any suggestions for me?

Hello Everyone,

Flamanette - Please do check out the Merck Manual. It's a reference often used by docs and nurses, & is considered very reliable.

Amarillo - The Insulin Resistance linking has worked very well for me, but I had to also keep myself honest by counting calories. According to their formula, if you have the max carbs of 30 gms at a meal, you only need 14 protein gms to link with that. I found that eating like that just didn't satisfy me, so I followed their instructions & ate more protein if I was still hungry. I finally just started eating around 20-25 protein gms at each meal & thankfully feel satisfied with that usually for at least 4 hours. I still go ahead & eat more protein if I'm feeling more physical hunger. That doesn't happen very often. My only advise is don't go hungry. Experiment with the diet, & if you are still hungry at 15 to 20 mins after the end of the meal, remember to eat more protein and, if desired more veggies (not corn or potatoes).

Good luck to you both.

My sister has RA. She is only 22 years old, but already in need of a double knee replacement.

However, I am SO proud of her! She has lost 40 pounds without exercise, simply by eating healthy. I will let her know about this group