switching to a carnivore diet has put my PMR into total remission

[benhemp]

I know the subject may be viewed as sensational or just plain wrong, but that is what I have concluded. At the time I was diagnosed with PMR, I already had diagnoses of psoriatic arthritis and fibromyalgia. My PMR started in 2019, about 8 months prior to covid. I was put on prednisone and experienced immediate relief, and told to taper down steadily. But I wasn't told to stop when symptoms came back (I fault the rheumy for that), so I just tapered down to zero despite the pain and stiffness returning at around 9 mg. (I had started from 20 mg). Covid had just begun when I reached zero and went back to the rheumy, and we both agreed that I would just go without so that I was not more vulnerable to covid due to reduced immunity.

So I did three years without prednisone. My PMR got worse over that period; initially it was my neck and shoulders, but after two and a half years, it was affecting my hips as well. Very noticeable to me was my greatly reduced range of motion, of most concern to me when entering a highway at an oblique angle; I just couldn't turn my head far enough over my left shoulder to see if the coast was clear. In September 2023, due to my pain being intolerable, I decided to go back to a rheumatologist, a different one who communicated better and would give me a 2nd opinion. I was given an appointment 3 months out (mid-December), so I decided I would use those three months to try something alternative. That something was switching to a carnivore diet. I did this because of encountering a number of testimonies of people who had been greatly helped by switching to carnivore, and the clincher was reading the results of the 2020 Harvard Medical study of over 2300 carnivores and the benefits they reported.

The first four or five days of carnivore, I suffered from malaise, feeling poorly "all over". This has been termed "the keto flu". After that, the malaise disappeared, even if the diet (only animal products, with a preference for beef and other ruminants) was not to my liking (I have always eaten a very vegetable rich diet and enjoy all kinds of food). After two weeks, my PMR pain was 80% gone! And after three months (by the time I saw the rheumy), my range of motion was greatly improved, and my pain and stiffness was further diminished. At this point (five months since I started), I would say I have no PMR symptoms, including my range of motion has returned to normal. I am still on the diet, but over time I have added in some plant items that have no carbs and, after trying them, don't cause me any problems. These are avocados, mushrooms, onions (as a flavoring), and hummus.

The rheumy's conclusion in December was that, based on my blood markers, I have rheumatoid arthritis with secondary Sjogren's, despite the fact that I have no joint problems normally seen with RA (I do have Sjogren's symptoms). She also endorsed my psoriatic arthritis diagnosis. She decided to put me on methotrexate (stiff dose, 25mg once a week) because that is a treatment for both RA and PSA. I find the methotrexate unpleasant (it has side effects) but am giving it a try until I see her again in late May. (Rheumy appointments are not readily available!)

I share all of this in case it is helpful to anyone else. I have concluded that going carnivore completely fixed my PMR complaints. It also probably spared me from being put on prednisone again. I make no claims that this will work for others, only that it appears to have worked for me.

[Hidden]

Hello benhemp!Thank you for sharing your experience.

That made interesting reading.

Did you eat any yogurt or have milk in your tea?

I'm so pleased you are feeling so much better.

Best wishes

x

[benhemp in reply to Hidden]

I eat meat (in order of preference: ruminants - beef, lamb, venison; salmon; sausages; pork and chicken); eggs; cheese; high fat (10%) plain Greek yogurt; heavy cream (for my coffee; I drink my tea plain); sour cream; kefir; and the plant products I mentioned in my post. I continue to add new items from time to time, one at a time, to see if they are ok or not.

[Hidden in reply to benhemp]

Thank you for your reply🙂I hope you continue to make good progress.

It doesn't sound like a narrow or boring diet and has plenty of variety.

Good for you!

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I realise this is YOUR experience and thank you for sharing it.

However - can I point out a few errors: avocados and hummus both have a fair carb content, about 14%, so the carbs soon add up. It may not be carbs per se but something that is a carb.

What I think is more likely is that you have done an extreme exclusion diet - and carnivore eliminated a lot of food groups including something that your body was reacting to. You are unlikely to have "cured" whatever it is, you have just stopped kicking it every time you ate whatever it was. Cereals are a common cause of problems for example.

In contrast, a small study on RA patients some years ago used a vegan diet, which wasn't so common back then, and half of the patients experienced a dramatic improvement in joint pain. As soon as they reintroduced even a tiny amount of animal protein - all the symptoms came roaring back. This may be a similar situation - maybe the other half of patients needed a different exclusion diet like you have tried.

I do hope it lasts - and do please tell us what other foods you are able to reintroduce. Though a dinner of steak, avocado and mushrooms done in my airfryer sounds quite appealing!!!!

[benhemp in reply to PMRpro]

I agree with you that it may be I have found an exclusion diet that works for me. You are correct that I am getting some carbs in the avocados and the hummus, but I don't eat these in large amounts, so it may be that the key is that I am staying in ketogenesis. Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention that I am also able to eat 85% dark chocolate in small amounts (1 or 2 25-gram bars) with no ill effects. (Some have said that the fat in dark chocolate is very healthy for keto and carnivore folks). As you can see, I am not a carnivore ideologue, I'm just going by what works for me.

[SheffieldJane]

I did read that older people have difficulty in extracting protein from a vegan/vegetarian diet and that a modest amount of meat can be helpful.

[benhemp in reply to SheffieldJane]

I am well past a modest amount of meat, though I find myself eating a much lower volume of food than before, meat being nutritionally more dense. (I have dropped from 202 pounds to 178 without trying, something my cardiologist will approve of!) But your comment triggered another dietary omission on my part: I am eating organ meats (beef is preferred): liver, heart, and kidneys. I've had chicken gizzards. Carnivores are encouraged to eat organ meats, and, though they are not my favorite, I think they have made me healthier.

[MiniSpec in reply to benhemp]

Interesting comment about organ meat, or what we call offal in the UK. Many years ago, when I was still young and single, I lived in a large shared flat that had a big poster on the kitchen wall. It listed different food types and individual foods, and the protein, fat, vitamins, etc, of each type.

In the meats section beef steak came out highest for protein and high for several vitamins, but surprisingly, lamb's liver came out much higher in all vitamins than steak and all other meats for that matter, although it was lower in protein than steak. It's also much cheaper to buy than beef steak, so I used to buy lamb's liver on a regular basis, and cut it into thin strips, lightly fry it with tomatoes, onions and mushrooms, and add some rice for a very nutritious and tasty meal.

I found the secret with lamb's liver, was not to overcook it, or it became very dry and crumbly, so I was careful to make sure it was only just cooked for the best taste and consistency.

[yogabonnie]

I hope you continue to feel better. You have endured quite a bit!!! !! I read in your bio you had 5 bipass for your heart... isn't all the meat bad for your heart? I always read that red meat was bad for us. Whatever ... BRAVO. if it is working CARRY on!!! Just a quick question.. are you Type O blood? I read too.. no doubt total baloney that type O people should eat Meat!~ ok. off to read how to cure myself by visualization haha!

[benhemp in reply to yogabonnie]

I met with my cardiologist at the time I was two weeks into doing carnivore. I explained to him what I was doing and that my pain was down 80% in that time (now it is gone 100%). He sees me every six months, and has known that I suffered very significant pain for the past four years. His comment was "I hate your diet, but there's a lot to be said for such a reduction in pain. I prefer that you major on the fish and chicken and avoid the beef and pork, but keep doing carnivore and I'll see you in six months, at which point I will examine what it has done to your blood markers." I am not too concerned that my blood markers will be way out of whack because only 20% of one's cholesterol comes from the diet, and I have always had low cholesterol. My last reading prior to changing my diet was only 150.

I too had always read that red meats are bad for you. My prior diet was very health-oriented (my mother was a health nut!), very varied, lots of vegetables of many different kinds, yogurt and kefir (both plain), some startches (potatoes or rice), mostly chicken and fish for meat. I've come to believe the "red meat is bad for you" is at the very least not true for everyone, and possibly one of the next health falsehoods to fall, like those against coffee, chocolate, and eggs.

And yes, I am type O . . . O+

[HeronNS in reply to yogabonnie]

Yes, I read that type O people should eat meat. Hopefully my ovo-lacto-vegetarian diet is good enough! (O -)

Actually eating for a blood type makes no sense to me at all. 🤷‍♀️

[yogabonnie in reply to HeronNS]

makes no sense to me either! haha. but entertaining!

[yogabonnie]

O+ are supposed to eat MEAT!!!! ta da!!

[random901]

That's really interesting. I am O negative. Am also a fan of offal - hearts, kidneys, liver, as they are comparatively cheap & highly nutritious. Perhaps I'm doing something right for a change!

[Glyngin]

many thanks

[arippy33]

Hi I am looking for the Harvard study that you talked about and I can't find it, can you send me a link