In one’s AS battle, not taking the nasty drugs and fighting with holistic means is almost everybody’s first treatment choice…if you are functioning and not dealing with significant limitations with your AS, by all means wait, however if you are in serious pain and have significant inflammation and/or if fusion is showing up in X-rays, it’s – IMHO time to ramp up the drugs..NSAID’s are the first line, after that, I think going to the TNF blockers might be the best choice, skipping the “intermediates” if your Rheumatologist thinks it’s in your best LONG TERM interests.

I've been dealing with AS for about 35 years (I'm 52)...I was very slow to ramp up the prescription drug treatments and generally rheumatologists moved slow, with few real options back in the 70's and 80's. I was a very committed Mr. Natural type guy before and after I was finally diagnosed in 1984.  I was careful about what I ate; I went with a balanced diet of raw foods, limited dairy, limited starch, no nightshade plants, limited meats, volunteered at a CoOp grocery to learn more about foods and did lots of experimenting in the kitchen.  I flirted with a complex macrobiotic diet.  Holistic approaches with foods, massage, acupuncture, meditation, visualization and dietary supplements like flax seed and cod liver oil – yum, yum.  I also was very committed to routine exercise, with lots of bicycling, swimming and yoga.  This was my basic treatment focus for my first decade of AS. I was extremely fortunate to be very athletic “going in”; my weight was good, my strength, posture, and overall flexibility was great, my outlook naturally positive.

Over teh many years I have come to believe that yes, all of these things (NO chiropractors) can and will of course help, but if you have active and severe AS it’s simply a drop of rain in a raging river of flame.

With active AS over-extending naturopathic or physical fanaticism can and will likely allow deeper inflammation and may well cause potentially severe and permanent damage.  I can attest to this fact after a long and ongoing battle, adding that rest (when needed) is paramount to a long term quality of life, of course always balanced with healthy exercise and a sound diet.
   
One needs to understand, and all will in time, that there is no magic potion that will cure AS, slow it, help minimize it, sure, but not cure it….AS is a lifelong battle that needs to be fought with a long term strategy that acknowledges the lifelong crippling effects of AS and tries to not focus only on day to day pain, but looks to minimize the long term damage from inflammation.  The drugs available today are amazing...I am fully fused today, with pelvis, spine, ribs and neck essentially rigid, I have lost over 4” in height…my mother also had AS and received very little in the way of positive treatments (RIP 1920 -1988) I will spare you the gruesome details…only to say this disease, unchecked can be VERY devastating to one’s body.

I went on Remicade in 2001, shortly after it became available and it gave me my life back... At the time I was on Prednisolone started in 1986, Sulfasalazine/1988, Vioxx/1994, Darvocet, and more - (MTX and Imuran where tried in the mid-90’s but where ineffective for me and made me sick)

Today I take ONLY Remicade…had Remicade been available back in the early 80’s I likely would have been spared at least two decades of constant severe pain, sleepless nights and rampant inflammation that resulted in a crippled body and many years of other nasty drug therapies that did little to truly save off the inflammation or the fusion. Today at age 52 I feel great and have less pain and live a higher quality of life than I was able to live from age 25 to 40…

I am now, with the benefit of over 35 years of hindsight, a firm believer in early and aggressive prescription drug treatment.   Many prescription drugs have serious long term side effects, potentially fatal even, yet given the choice of a life of crippling pain and permanent deformity vs. A life of much higher quality and function …well this is one decision everybody’s got to sort out for themselves, but I know where I stand.

The future looks much brighter for people with AS than it ever has… My advice is to live as physically healthy lifestyle as possible and with your entire being strive to maintain a positive outlook. The drugs that are so bad sounding, can in truth be a great option that could save you much pain and anguish…endure what you can, or must, but do not fear the science behind the drugs. You have my very best wishes as you fight this very challenging disease - Chase the light - Peace be your journey.

I am sure that your family is just concerned about the side effects of the medications.  However, I believe that the effects of the disease, without medication intervention, are much more devastating.  Many of us have tried natural ways of dealing with this disease but for most of us, it just doesn't work.  I take Mobic and Enbrel as well as a vitamins and herbs.  I do believe that vitamins and herbs do benefit your overall health, but not so much the A.S.

Best thing I ever did was to question my doctor's advice and start researching alternative treatments.  I was eventually able to stop taking my meds altogether and am using a version of the London No Starch Diet now as my only treatment.  Visit www.kickas.org for more information about this diet.

Certainly take whatever meds your doc advises if you need to reduce the pain and "get your life back" as another commenter says.  There's absolutely no reason to live in pain and your first order of business should be to get some relief and start living.

But in my opinion you are 100% correct in questioning the side effects of medications like remicade.  God knows they are effective and I know many AS'ers who can't live without them, but there are alternatives you can pursue in parallel to standard AS drug therapy.  

Do natural methods work?  I think so.  I'm convinced that strict adherence to a no starch diet can help many folks who suffer from AS, and what is more  natural than sticking to a healthy diet?  There's certainly no established and medically accepted cure for AS, but I'm living proof that something as simple as a dietary change MAY be enough to stop AS in it's tracks for some of us.

It has taken several years of playing with this diet to really get it to the point where I don't need my meds any more, and I had many ups and downs on the diet- mostly due to getting hit with "hidden" forms of starch while figuring out what i could and could not eat.  But stick with it and I think you'll see results.  

Good luck.  Keep searching for answers and doing your research and questioning everything.  Work with your doc as much as possible, but don't be afraid to question their advice when it comes to your concerns about the side effects of standard drug therapies like remicade.

I wish I could say that there was *any* good research into how holistic meds handle *anything*, much less AS. I've tried that in the past and found it to be completely useless for me. But exercise, healthy eating (getting enough vitamins from the right foods, not necessarily vitamin pills), particularly foods high in vitamin D ... Well, that's all good for you and you'll get a lot out of that kind of lifestyle.

I started showing symptoms of AS (undiagnosed) in my 20's. I found that working out really helped the back pain and guts. If I slacked off the exercise, I felt awful. This worked pretty well for a long time - although I did have a really tough time sleeping due to the lower back pain.

After a couple of decades - where, yes, I tried supplements, Asian herbs, homeopathy, etc - things suddenly took a turn for the worse, so I moved on to the TNF blockers. *Much* better results.

I really get tired of people knocking western medicine and pushing 'natural' remedies - none of which have ever shown the effectiveness of TNF blockers and other meds. But *definitely* lead a healthy lifestyle - there's no substitute for that.

How much patience do you have about finding a combination of therapies that will work for you in the long-term?    I ask because for each of us it can be a very long 'ride' of trying different things with different specialists.  It took me about 18 months to 2 years to find my magic combination of drug therapies which work for me, and some of that time was truly miserable.  For many of the drug therapies it can take a month or two until they start to work and then another few weeks to taper off of them to go on to the next one.   That time adds up to months and years of trying different things and suffering flares and potential damage in the meantime.

I think all of us would love to think that just vitamins and supplements, healthy eating, and proper exercise and sleep habits would keep us all feeling well and prevent flare-ups.  Unfortunately . . . Just about every single one of us have accepted that the 'big drugs' are about the only things that improve our conditions.  :-/

If you want to try the naturopathic route I think you will be extending your 'ride' by a lot of time.   I was so desperate to find the right combination of therapies that I cannot imagine spending a few months on supplements. (!)

One extra bit of advice:   If you have not already, find yourself a pain management specialist in addition to your rheumatologist.  I have found it incredibly helpful to have someone focused solely on ensuring my pain is managed down to a tolerable level so I can survive and get through the day.

Good luck!  Let us know what yoou decide to do and how it's working out!

I have a Rheumy who is very into natural treatment as well. The way she looks at it is...using natural products along with a healthy diet can do more to support your immune system and help the drugs like Remicade work their best and have you take the least amount but there are times when nothing else will make a real difference except the drugs we are concerned about. I am at that point now...have tried the natural methods and while seeing some good results with my Fibromyalgia symptoms, I did not see any help for my AS pain. I have been on Methotrexate for about 9 months and have seen some positive results but not enough to truly live my life....going to talk to my Rheumy about Remicade at my next appointment in April. Good luck!

I have dealt with some ignorant doctors in the last few years so I am weary about what kind of medicine they want to put me on.  Not one of them can tell me yet whats wrong with me and I keep getting the run around.  I have been prescribed drugs that interact with each other by a couple different doctors.  I also have been on meds that are now being said to cause serious health problems.I also have been pushed out the door by a couple specialists for reasons Idk why but seemed like they just didnt want to deal with me.  I dont believe that going to a holistic doctor for a natural treatment is a good answer either.  I think you need to make sure you do your research about these medicines the doctors are giving you and be aware of the side effects.  Some can permenently affect you physically or mentally or damage your organs.  Im kind of weary myself about these drugs people are taking like remicade and humira and other injections.  I just recommend you do your research about your medical conditons and what is supposed to be done for treatment.  And make sure your doctors actually do what they are supposed to.  You need to be your own advocate for your health, never rely on any doctor let alone a naturopath to  call all the shots.  If you question something, do your reseach.

The holistic medicine route is great if you want to give permanent damage a head start. My mom was treated for blood clots by one of those idiots and got gangrene in her leg. They were barely able to save it and she had permanent scarring. Tell the people that are advising you that when they get medical degrees you'll listen to them and to shut up until then.

I have been on vitamins and supplements for a year now and have have very few flares and NO side effects.  Find a good naturopath who will send you out for blood tests to determine what you need and what your problems are, unless you have recent labs you can show him/her.  A good naturopath will spend at least an hour getting a complete history, sometimes back to your childhood.  They will then give you supplements to help your immune system.  It has worked wonders for me.