SI Pain: 0/100 | Rib Pain: 3/100 | Knee Pain: 4/100 Concrete Back: 8/100

I’m starting a 48-hour fast today.

I just felt a bit rubbish yesterday evening and I decided to do something to knock myself back into feeling good again.

Fasting is something I want to try to do once a month anyway, so I don’t feel like it’s a massive hardship. I almost always feel fantastic afterwards so it feels like a good thing have as a part of my ankylosing spondylitis protocol.

The irony is that I woke up feeling great today and maybe I didn’t need to fast. I’m currently on my morning walk and as I look up at a beautiful blue sky I keep wondering whether there is more of a correlation between weather and ankylosing spondylitis than I give credit for.

Yesterday it was non-stop heavy rain.

Today it is as if the rain was never there, it is like a beautiful spring day and I have no AS symptoms.

It could also be because I slept well last night, which I did. But it is interesting to mark potential correlations.

New Discovery Lab test coming soon: Taurine

I am going to start a new test on taurine soon.

I’ve read interesting things and think it’s worth looking at. First, I need to complete this fast and decide if it is going to be 24 hours or 48 hours.

Overall I found it quite hard not eating today. I felt fairly hungry, although it definitely wasn’t unbearable.

It is about 5:15pm now and apart from my morning walk I have mainly been sitting at my desk working.

Normally when my AS symptoms are a bit ‘edgy’, and that’s how they’ve been on and off over the last couple of weeks, I start to find that at about 3pm or 4pm that I start to feel stiff, especially if I’ve been sitting down for a long time. Towards the evening I might also have some slight SI joint sensation.

(And just to clarify here, I’m talking about when the AS feels like it’s bubbling below the surface. I’m not what I would definite as ‘in pain’ and can do all the things I can normally do. It isn’t a flare but it also doesn’t feel great).

As I write this, it is 5pm and I feel fantastic.

I have loads of energy and clarity of thought and absolutely zero pain or stiffness whatsoever anywhere in my body.

It really is quite incredible.

I think I am going to try and push myself to do another day to make it a 48-hour fast. Then I plan to eat healthily on Friday.

One thing I really want to keep an eye on and test is whether reintroducing alcohol will have any impact on my cough, which has disappeared recently.

I am still trying to figure out whether the cough disappearing has anything to do with going on a low-oxalate diet or it’s the no-alcohol finally kicking  in.

I did have a bit of a cough for maybe 15 or 20 minutes on and off earlier today just after I had a black coffee. So it is worth bearing that in mind.

Coffee is a weird one for me. It almost always seems to improve my ankylosing spondylitis symptoms but there are some occasions when it appears to trigger more coughing.

💡 Mini Findings

✅ I feel incredible already after fasting for just 24 hours. Even at the 18-hour mark I was starting to feel really good. Zero pain anywhere.

✅ I have had almost no cough recently which has been amazing but I noticed I did have a cough for a bit after having a black coffee this morning. I was out walking at the same time so it’s possible it was related to pollution or pollen, but I think the more likely correlation is the coffee.

✅ I am likely having some alcohol on Friday or Saturday and just need to monitor what happens with my cough in relation to the alcohol itself or gluten contained in the beer.