Good luck. I tried the natural route, just to make sure I wasn't ignoring something that might have validity. None of it did a darn thing. However, I would suggest you look at what you're eating. I'm not a huge believer in the 'no carbs' diet that some folks tout, but some foods are known to assist the inflammatory process - for some people. Stripping down your diet to the basics and reintroducing foods slowly is always an interesting process. I found that I was able to have fewer inflammatory flares when I decreased (not eliminated) the tons of carbs I was eating, and replaced them with lean meats and veggies, with some fruits. Frankly, I just think a healthy diet that's low in fats and sugars is a pretty great way to get healthier. Then there's the big, best thing for pain: Exercise. I can't live without my miles-long brisk walks and my time in the gym.

But once the pain starts - I'm sorry, but western medicine is the king at killing pain. I start with the low end NSAIDs, like ibuprofen, then move up to diclofenac (Voltaren), and if those don't help the pain by reducing inflammation, I go for the Tramadol. Only if things are really dire do I reach for the Vicodin. When I developed antibodies to Remicade, I was reaching for the Vicodin once every day, the pain was so severe (and I could have taken it a lot more, but was wary of developing a dependency).

I have had AS for almost 20 years and tried quite a lot of alternative crap in my time, and like Adam I have never found anything  that makes a big enough dent. However, recently after a blissful 2 years pain free on Humira, I had to stop taking it because I got skin cancer. So it was back to the drawing board. As I have worked my way through so many drugs and had so many side effects, I thought I would give yet another natural option a go. I have been taking Resvinitrol - its about $20 for a months supply of liquid drink - its that high antioxident supplement you get from red wine - you can get it at Sam's club etc - and it has anti inflammatory properties. I am not entirely sure whether it it directly linked to this, but my pain seems less now, so I think it might actually be helping. So it might be worth a month's trial just to see if it helps you - I figured its healthy/good for your heart anyway so there's no real negative to it.

Like Adam, I wish I have certainl;y heard of nothing that has a good success rate, not enough to make me go off regular meds anyway!!

I have been taking Zyflamend for about 2 years. It doesn't always work. When the weather is humid it has almost no effect on me. But if it's dry, it usually works. It doesn't get rid of all my joint pain, but enough so that it's tolerable.

The short answer.....I wish!  There are probably tons of opinions on this, but I have not had much luck in that route.  I've come to the conclusion that our condition is just too serious for natural methods alone.  Again, everyone is different though and has varying degrees of severity. Some say an "anti-inflammatory" diet helps or herbs like ginger and fish oil.  I do take fish oil and feel it's safe enough, but Remicade has been the miracle drug for me. Not crazy about being on it, but not being on it now scares me more!  No natural method made a big enough dent for me.   I'm probably going to spark some friendly debate here.  :)