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What an awesome community I sure do appreciate the encouragement from you all....Tex...I knew you warn't no prophet!! I was funnin you
it is helpful to understand that other autoimmune processes get on the MC bandwagon...it is a comfort and helps not to take this tooooooo seriously. Polly, your comments about dry eye, etc. made me think....wait a minute...how do I know that doc is right and it is Sjogrens anyway...dry eyes are a major side effect of my heart meds ....and I've used OTC eyedrops for years.... Coreg is a life saver but has a few side effects just as so many meds do...so I am focused more on getting the LC under control and then trying some dietary approaches. I did Elaines Specific Carbohydrate Diet for over a year, but didn't notice any change in D so figured it wasn't what ailed me...that was 4 years ago.....and since I am diabetic, I steer clear of most carbs now anyway and follow Dr. Bernsteins' program as much as I can, but will continue to explore this.
The SCD allows "aged" cheeses and homemade yogurt. If you ate any of those while on the diet, that's probably why the diet failed to relieve your symptoms. It's not the lactose in dairy products that causes us to react, (though obviously a few of us may be permanently lactose intolerant, and most of us are temporarily lactose intolerant while experiencing enteritis from any other cause), it's the casein that triggers the MC reactions, and cheese and yogurt is loaded with casein, as is all dairy products.
Lactose is a sugar, and lactose intolerance causes gas and bloating, (because a deficiency of lactase enzyme in the small intestine means that lactose has to be "digested" by fermentation in the colon). This does not cause inflammation of the colon, however, the way that casein does. In fact, most doctors will tell you that most lactose intolerant people can tolerate up to at least an eight ounce glass of milk, without any symptoms at all. With casein intolerance, however, even just a drop of milk will typically cause D, (and inflammation).
There is a good chance that your RA symptoms are caused by dairy products. Dairy products cause RA for me, but as long as I avoid them 100%, the problem goes away.
I also tried the SCD without success, probably because I have a full dairy intolerance as Tex addressed above. Also, in my case, I agree with Tex - the dairy products probably caused more RA symptoms for me than the gluten.
Since you have indicated an interest in following the diet route to wellness, I will take a few minutes to recap for you our experience here on the Board regarding diet. You may find it helpful.
Some 7-8 years ago when Sally first started this Board, only Dr. Fine had made the connection between MC and gluten. I found this Board after my GI doc had suggested prednisone (I had not had any success with asacol), which I politely declined. Folks on the original Board told me about the gluten connection, and I promptly eliminated it, along with dairy several months later. It took me almost 9 months of diet to see a formed BM. Other original members who eliminated gluten for a long enough time also saw a response. We found that it could take a very long time to see results - I think it took CA Mary about 15 months on a gluten-free diet to become symptom-free. We also found that those with LC seemed to respond faster to diet than those with CC, although both definitely responded.
Then, it became apparent as time went along, that many of us MCers had more intolerances than just gluten. It also became apparent that newbies who jumped directly to a diet that eliminated the most common intolerances (and not just gluten) were, in some cases, finding success in a matter of a few short months......weeks even! This is how we discovered the "paleo" or "caveman" or "hunter-gatherer" diet. This diet eliminates all grains, legumes like peanuts and soy, dairy......all of the most common intolerances of MCers. I really believe that if I had started this diet at the beginning, I would have been symptom-free a lot faster. (I was the original one here with multiple intolerances......of course, many have unfortunately since joined me in this "club"). Karen (moremuscle) here comes to mind - she went immediately to the paleo diet, got well very quickly, and never looked back! One of her funny comments was "always carry a pork chop in your purse"......referring to the fact that we need to find new snacks to have handy - not the old familiar carb ones. LOL!
Interesting enough, the paleo diet is the one our ancestors ate - for 99.5% of the time that humans have been on the planet. So our genes are well-adapted to it. And research is increasingly showing that it may be the healthiest way to eat - more protein and healthy fat and much less carbs (except, of course, for carbs found in fruits and veggies). It flies in the face of all of the emphasis in recent years on carbs, doesn't it? If you want more info on this diet, check out the book "the Paleo Diet" by Loren Cordain. It is scientifically sound, with more than 400 references to current research at the end of the book. And of course, visit the diet forum and ask lots of questions.
Good luck with however you decide to proceed!
Love,
Polly
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
I sure do appreciate the encouragement from you all....Tex...I knew you warn't no prophet!! I was funnin you 
