Rheumatoid Arthritis - anti inflammatory diet

uknick

Short version - do anti inflammatory foods work? Or should I go straight to some form of medication?

Long version -
A couple of months ago I was diagnosed with possible seronegative inflammatory arthritis after I had a Baker's Cyst at the back of my knee treated with steroids. The consultant said he only suspected said diagnosis as the myriad of blood tests (18 I think it was) looking for inflammatory markers all came back negative.

Two months on my knee still is giving me grief, I can't exercise (any cardio requiring my legs, which is pretty much all of them) without it starting to hurt. I'm doing muscle strengthening exercises recommended by a physiotherapist each day. However, I'm not sure these are the solution. Before the knee issue I was, and still am, a regular gym user and have developed for some years the muscles the exercises are targeting.

Before I go down the medication route I'm now thinking I need to look at adding anti inflammatory foods to my diet, which is already pretty healthy.

The foods I've shortlisted to include in my diet are;

tinned mackerel fillets (I already eat one 125g portion per week, now going to increase this to 2)
blue berries and strawberries (already eat punnet of strawberries most weeks)
salad spinach
tomatoes (already eat a lot of these each week)
pistachios
chickpeas (I already make my own hummus with one small tin of chickpeas per week. Increase this to 2)
Olive oil
Turmeric (cooked with olive oil and pepper to extract the anti inflammatory properties)

Any other suggestions that work?

surveyqueenuk

I've got RA so here are my thoughts:

You need to push to find out what is wrong with your knee. Has it been scanned? 'Possible' and 'suspected' are no good when you are still suffering.

Do you have pain anywhere else? RA tends to affect your joints in a symmetrical fashion - you would have gyp in both knees (or wrists, ankles, elbows - anywhere)

Have you tried Fenbid gel? You get it from the GP, it's a strong ibuprofen gel and it works well. For me anyhow, YMMV. Knocks spots off Voltarol and Ibuleve.

Lastly, if you DO have RA, please bear in mind that your body is attacking itself. The medications prescribed target this, rather than the joint pain this causes. But you are absolutely correct to explore all avenues before starting medication, some of the stuff us creakers get given is horrendous. I'm a believer in Cod Liver Oil to keep the wheels greased - your tinned mackerel sounds ideal.

Wishing you improved health and reduced pain in the New Year : )

Sea_Shell

I might be wrong, but I thought tomatoes are inflammatory?

suejb2

Docs thought I was starting with arthritis in my toes. I started to take chia seeds in stuff as they are rich in Omega fats. Pain eased.

Not a doctor!

theoretica

The good thing about trying changing your diet is the risk of side effects is pretty low and most of your list looks tasty so why not try it.

uknick

surveyqueenuk wrote: »

I've got RA so here are my thoughts:

You need to push to find out what is wrong with your knee. Has it been scanned? 'Possible' and 'suspected' are no good when you are still suffering.

Do you have pain anywhere else? RA tends to affect your joints in a symmetrical fashion - you would have gyp in both knees (or wrists, ankles, elbows - anywhere)

Have you tried Fenbid gel? You get it from the GP, it's a strong ibuprofen gel and it works well. For me anyhow, YMMV. Knocks spots off Voltarol and Ibuleve.

Lastly, if you DO have RA, please bear in mind that your body is attacking itself. The medications prescribed target this, rather than the joint pain this causes. But you are absolutely correct to explore all avenues before starting medication, some of the stuff us creakers get given is horrendous. I'm a believer in Cod Liver Oil to keep the wheels greased - your tinned mackerel sounds ideal.

Wishing you improved health and reduced pain in the New Year : )

Thanks.

Before I saw the rheumatoid consultant I saw a knee surgeon who checked an MRI of my knee and said there was no structural damage, apart from a little tear in the cartilage which was normal for someone my age. I saw the surgeon first as I thought there might be some sort of damage after years of playing sport. Apparently not; obviously I didn't play hard enough :-)

Sorry, I should have said I do have some pain in a couple of fingers and toes plus the other knee on occasions, but nothing of significance. I also have some dry skin on my elbows and occasionally eczema on the lower part of my legs. These together with the cyst led the consultant to think RA. But, this is only supposition as there is no hard evidence from the blood tests.

There is one more test I could still have that indicates if I'm prone to an autoimmune issues, but my GP wouldn't authorise this at the same time as all the other tests. Apparently I was costing him too much money!! I should have pushed him as all my other treatment/diagnosis has been private on health insurance. Thank you Benenden!!

Thanks for the medication tips. I've made a note for future if the diet doesn't help.

uknick

Sea_Shell wrote: »

I might be wrong, but I thought tomatoes are inflammatory?

Apparently, there are contradictory views on this. What I'll do is start the new foods to see if they make any difference. If not, I'll drop the tomatoes after a couple of months and see if there's any change. I think a period of trial and error awaits me.

uknick

suejb2 wrote: »

Docs thought I was starting with arthritis in my toes. I started to take chia seeds in stuff as they are rich in Omega fats. Pain eased.

Not a doctor!

My partner tried these for her stomach inflammation but found they didn't have any effect. However, I'll add them to my list. How much a day do you take?

Jox

Do you drink water?

"If there's a magical elixir to drink, it's water. Hydration is vital for flushing toxins out of your body, which can help fight inflammation. Adequate water can help keep your joints well lubricated and can help prevent gout attacks. Drinking water before a meal can also help you eat less, promoting weight loss."

https://www.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/arthritis-diet/best-foods-for-arthritis/best-beverages-for-arthritis.php

Do you eat much dairy?

"A study published in The Journal of Nutrition in 2015 found that eating dairy foods increased low-grade inflammation in a small sample of German adults. And a study of more than 40,000 people with osteoarthritis found that those who ate more dairy products were more likely to need hip replacement surgery."

https://www.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/arthritis-diet/healthy-eating/dairy-and-inflammation.php

uknick

Hi Jox

I drink about 4 litres of water, with squash, a day. In addition, in the morning I drink 3 cups of freshly brewed black caffeinated coffee, no sugar.

Regarding dairy products, I have a bowl of 0% fat Fage yoghurt with fruit most mornings. I used to binge on cheese on occasions, but not for some years.

Jox

Maybe try without the squash for a while, some squashes contain artificial sweeteners and added sugars which can cause inflammation:

https://www.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/arthritis-diet/foods-to-avoid-limit/food-ingredients-and-inflammation-9.php

My mum (in her 60's) had very painful knees for a long time and when she gave up yogurt (she would eat a lot of greek style yogurt) the pain went away.