A Customised Lifestyle for AS

Unlock Your Blueprint for a Better Life with AS

No two people with Ankylosing Spondylitis are the same. While we share a diagnosis, we each experience this disease in very different ways, as different as the bodies that we live in and the future lives we once imagined.

It took years of searching for the “magic cure” before I made an important realisation:

There is no one solution for everyone with AS.

There is, however, a solution that works for you.

It may turn out to be one particular drug or lifestyle habit that changes everything, but it’s more likely to be a combination of many things. And that combination is likely to evolve throughout your lifetime.

The most appropriate person to develop the best strategy for dealing with your AS is not a doctor or a researcher, or even a health coach – it’s you!

No one else knows what you feel like on the inside, or what is best for your future.

It’s why I have a problem with cookie-cutter solutions. There is value in seeking out the wisdom of health professionals and the lived experience of others who are doing well, but ultimately you are the expert when it comes to what will work for you.

One diagnosis, many solutions

I’ve been fortunate to come in contact with a large number of people living full, active lives who also share a diagnosis of AS. Their prescription for living well varies dramatically:

• one is vegan while another is carnivore
• one takes biologics in combination with cannabis
• one attributes their reduction in symptoms to high dose Vitamin D while another swears by a strict starch-free diet.

None of these people are wrong when they say they have found the best solution for AS, but it’s really just the best solution for AS for them. The blueprint you design for yourself may look entirely different.

My own solution is the result of various well-considered experiments. Some have failed, others have succeeded but they have added up over time to reduce my symptoms down to a very manageable level.

While I was once on a quest to find the one single thing that would heal me, over time I’ve realised the cumulative power of small positive steps. I was many years into my own self-experimentation before I realised that if I only let go of perfection it was clear my AS had stopped getting worse and started improving.

When I measure the progress I have made in reducing symptoms and regaining my quality of life, that difference is quite dramatic.

How can coaching help?

Working with clients as a coach allows me to put you in the driver’s seat as you consider the changes you feel are appropriate to you. It’s my role to give you space to explore and to encourage you while you research, experiment and learn.

Simply talking out loud about options generates new pathways to explore and brings hope. If needed, I can assist you with resources and help you identify the experts you wish to add into your healthcare team. My Functional Medicine training has given me a solid grounding in the latest research on lifestyle interventions for chronic illness. I can provide accountability and help you set goals for yourself to maintain clarity and keep you on track.

Your best next step might be looking at different medications, trying a dietary change or dealing with stress. You might want support around weight-loss, smoking or setting a fitness goal.

Coaching gives you someone in your corner who will help figure out your motivation and provide a judgement-free check-in point until you learn to do this alone.

There is so much you can do to help feel better. Are you ready to start figuring out how?

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