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Knee arthritis, CPPD deposition disease / pseudogout


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Hello, It's nice to meet you.  

 

My name is Court,  I am a 42 year-old male, and am new to Whole30. I have been following the program for a week now. I have been enjoying it on many levels, and having been pretty heavy towards the Paleo side of eating, the transition wasn't difficult at all. I am enjoying the more leveled energy and clearer mind that I have been given this week as a result of paying much more attention to what I am taking in. 

 

The main reason I have decided to try this plan is because of a pair of degenerating knees that are a result of injury and abuse over the last few decades. and I initially dislocated my right knee at age 12. Repeated dislocations forced me to get a major surgery while I was still growing in order to prevent any more. While the surgery did strengthen and align my knee better, it also was destructive. I chose not to get the same surgery on my left, and because of that, I experience a different type of wear that is known as patellar femoral syndrome.

 

At age 40, I came down with a new crippling type of pain in my knees that turned out to be a new set of goodies in there: Calcium Pyrophosphate Deposition Disease (also known as Chondrocalcinosis or "pseudogout"), and a meniscus tear in my left knee. 

 

All in all, my MRIs show a real party going on: 

 

Chondrocalcinosis
Patellar Tendinitis
Full-thickness cartilage loss
Meniscus tear & cyst
Bone Marrow Edema
Fissuring of trochlea
Bakers cyst
 
I am writing to this forum to ask if anyone has any experience with their diet to help a really worn-out pair of knees. Whole30 attracted me due to the arthritis and tendinitis testimonials. Switching to a Paleo-focused diet has reduced my flare-ups from a crippling level to just a painful/annoying level. I follow a strict regimen of physical therapy exercises and yoga. But if there is anything I can do take it further, I'd love to know. My dream is to be able to ride my bike again. 
 
Thank you

 

-Court 

 

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I've had a patellar realignment surgery on my right knee already. Currently, my doctor wants to exhaust all other options before another surgery due to the amount of wear and scar tissue -- basically any future surgeries will be destructive, and I'm too young for a replacement (I'd need another in the future if I had one at this time). 

 

My current doctor has been extremely supportive of my dietary and lifestyle adjustments. He is a sports surgeon at Stanford Hospital so I don't think I could be in better hands. Much of my pain is in the tendons and a result of referred pain, so I am still convinced that there are many things I can do short of surgery. I just need to find out what those are. 

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It may be too early from a pain point of view, but I had great results from seeing a sports physiotherapist to avoid a double knee reconstruction. I've got a lot of damage (missing lots of intact cartilage) around the kneecap so prior to the treatment they would pop out and slide around (painful!).

 

I did about 3 years of regular sports physio to build up muscle around the kneecap. Now it holds it in place, but no jogging or high impact exercise or I could break the new protection.

 

For me, no grains and no dairy made a huge difference in my arthritis.

 

You may want to get some blood tests from an integrative doc to rule out any underlying issues.

If you have a lot of inflammation, you might find some additional relief from cutting down/out nightshades or eggs.

 

For nerve pain, a cranial osteopath can be very helpful.

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I did my first Whole30 in April 2013.  In Oct. 2012, I tore my meniscus on top of having little cartilage due to rheumatoid arthritis.  My only option was knee replacement (to avoid going in there twice) when I finally went to my orthopedic doctor and couldn't happen until Aug. 2013.  When I started W30, my knee hurt every day.  On day 8, the knee pain went away!  Of course, there was still the pain from little cartilage but not nearly as bad as it was from Oct.-April.

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Thanks for the replies. I just finished a 2-month round of physical therapy, and luckily I have leaned that much of the pain that is preventing me from doing some of the activities I love is in the tendons. The physical therapist has been doing some excruciating massages that, while they felt as painful as the original dislocations during the massage, really increased my mobility and reduced my pain. 

 

I am also attending yoga at least once a week, and when the class is focused on knees, I am noticing a good difference there, so I am paying attention to those moves, and hopefully can find time in my schedule to increase the frequency that I can attend. 

 

I am currently on week 3 of Whole30 and I feel "good". I am refraining from anything that can potentially aggravate (aside from my assigned physical therapy exercises which involve a lot of trial-and-error), but I think if I remain careful and slow on the recovery, I will hopefully be back where I'd like to be. It did take 30 years to get to the state I was in, so I'm not expecting any immediate changes. When I get back on the bike, it'll just  be for a couple miles, and I won't add more than a half mile to a mile per ride until I know what my limit is. 

 

I should get on the bone broth soon, hopefully this weekend--I have a shelf in my freezer full of Bison knuckle and marrow bones ready to simmer away :)

 

I am also taking a supplement my doctor prescribed me called Arthroben, which is basically collagen peptides. It works well on the osteoarthritis, and prevents me from having to take NSAID's. I don't know if it is whole30 approved, but it's doctor-ordered, and he went with this supplement because I don't like drugs and chemicals, so I am guessing it's ok.  

 

Thanks again. 

 

-Court 

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  • 2 weeks later...

The ingredients are listed here: http://catalog.designsforhealth.com/Arthroben it does have a few non-Whole30 items, but I'd guess it's still better than any NSAID-based medicine. The bone broth will be awesome :)

 

Check with your doc, but you might be able to find another brand to get next time.

 

http://www.vitalproteins.com/collagen/collagen-peptides-group.html this one seems to only have collagen, but it might not be the right kind.

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Thanks. I did discover they have an unflavored version so I'll order that next. On that note, is stevia a problem other than psychological? I don't have a sweet tooth, and didn't need to lose weight or reprogram my cravings in that sense, so while I understand the need for it's elimination for some, I wonder if it's really a problem in the case of it being in a medical supplement like this, or if it is more in regards to sweetened drinks and snacks.

 

But, I have finished the whole30 and it really helped me zero in further as to what may be causing the flareups I've been having. I'll probably do it again every 6 months or so.

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Doctors' orders trump Whole30.  I take a thyroid medication every day that includes corn starch and powdered sugar.  Why?  No clue.  There is no better option (I have tried several, with bad results).  Carry on, and thanks for the update!

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