Juvenile arthritis....need advice

[Kat100]

I'm definitely needing some advice! I will make this short as possible. My 16 y.o.daughter has had JRA since she was 2. Long story short I made the mistake of giving cows milk to my kids early on. Good news we have been vegan for 10 years now. Unfortunately my oldest has JRA from her diet. I have read and listened to everything Dr. McDougall has to say. She is doing great but still flares up. Though it wasn't until 2 years ago that I really figured out that oil is a huge culprit, up there with dairy in flaring my daughter up. Then her other two triggers are white sugar and corn. She adheres to the diet strictly. But she recently accidently consumed corn and flared up bad. She has poly jra. And it was so severe when she was little that she was considered a "severe case" from the pediatric rheumy. She generally does well but has a hard time getting out of the flare. I saw in a video from Dr. McDougall that you can get relief in 7 days, following a all cooked diet. yes that is true, but it still lingers. Also I think he said it can take up to 4 months to get out of the system? So we have noticed she will flare occasionally even though she is 100%. It could be 1 of 2 things. Could stress or lack of sleep cause a flare? Or could there be another food causing it?? We could do the elimation diet but there are so many foods out there that how would you start? She follows the starch solution diet, minus con, soy and white sugar. Wheat does not flare her. Low salt too. Any advice would be great. Thanks

[LisainRTP]

Hi, Kat. Based on my personal experience with trying to figure out what flares me (rosacea plus possible autoimmune condition and histamine intolerance), I would say yes, stress and lack of sleep can cause a flare. The sun can also cause a flare for me (not just a skin rash but all my symptoms including joint pain), and it tends to happen faster than with food.

It sounds like your daughter is already on her own "elimination diet" and has gone through much of the process of figuring out what works and what doesn't. In her situation, instead of starting from square 1 again with a full elimination diet, I might try journaling what I'm eating for a month or so to try to detect a pattern that's causing the flares. If that doesn't work, she can always try the elimination diet as well. I would probably take Dr. McDougall's basic ED and adjust based on what she already knows she can tolerate (like adding wheat). I hope she can figure out what's causing the flares and get permanent relief soon.

[Timaca]

I agree that stress or lack of sleep....anything that stresses the body....can contribute to a flare. I think Lisa's advice is very good. Keep a food and symptom diary for a month or two and see if you see any trends. I write what I eat in a spiral notebook...food on the left side of the page and symptoms on the right. I include such things as how I slept, breakouts on my face, fatigue or lack of it, etc.....

Good luck!

[nicoles]

Yes in my experience with psoriatic arthritis, stress and lack of sleep and sun can cause flares. Plus, I am older (45) and have a different illness but it took me a lot longer than 4 months to feel 100%. So if there is any improvement at all, it is great news, but it might take awhile, sadly. I hope for your daughter's sake it doesn't, however.

[LisainRTP]

Kat, one additional thought: She could also try eliminating some of the other foods that frequently cause reactions, one at a time, and see what happens. Dr. McDougall mentions citrus fruits, tomatoes and strawberries. It seems that many people have problems with those, especially nightshade vegetables.

https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educ ... s-to-food/

[Kat100]

Thank you all for n your replys. I will start journaling and maybe think about a few other foods.
Sounds like lack of sleep maybe a trigger too.