Hi All,
I am a 30 year old woman who has had recurrent iritis in my right eye since March 2017. In the last 18-20 months I've had 4 flares, and the most recent one is particularly stubborn. I cut out gluten in May 2017 after reading that some people found it helpful in preventing flare-ups, and my ophthalmologist prescribed diclofenac to try and reduce my inflammation. However, these methods have not proven successful.
My flares have all happened after a particularly stressful time, so I firmly believe in the stress component of uveitis. I have the HLA-B27 gene, and my last bloodwork results came up ANA positive. In October (after moving to a new state and starting to go back to school) I had my most recent flare, which prompted me to consult a rheumatologist. I don't feel that I jived very well with him, and his suggestion was methotrexate. As an otherwise completely healthy woman (who is considering having children sometime soon-a big no-no with methotrexate) going on this drug felt very dramatic.
My husband and I researched other options and have come up with the AIP or auto immune paleo diet. Has anyone else done this for iritis? It looks like people with other diseases such as Hashimoto's or Celiac find lots of success, and as I've been warned, iritis may be just the first sign that your body is fighting a battle with itself. If anything, I'd like to make changes now to prevent anything else from happening.
I'm still on my steroid drops to treat my flare from October, but after 2 weeks into the AIP diet I feel like I can finally start weaning off. My eye is clear and the slight aura that never seems to leave is almost non-existent. I'm hoping this is a combination of medication and diet, and that once I'm off the drops I will be able to prevent another flare with this diet and by healing my gut.
I am open to anyone's insight on this and look forward to more research regarding gut health, autoimmune disease, diet, and of course, iritis!
Iritis and AIP Diet?
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