Just Keep Swimming — Janneke Phung

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Janneke Phung lives in Calgary, Canada, with her supportive husband and their three delightful boys. In October 2019, after years of health struggles and needing to advocate for herself, she was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis. This prompted her to make drastic changes to her lifestyle. She created Starch-Free Feasting, a website that aims to support, encourage, and inspire individuals interested in managing their ankylosing spondylitis using alternative methods. She loves spending time with her family, homemaking, homeschooling her boys, and puttering in the kitchen.

The divine purpose of my ankylosing spondylitis diagnosis

I’ve written about how receiving an ankylosing spondylitis (AS) diagnosis shook me to the core and became part of my identity for a long time. I felt doomed. The literature told me that pain and disease progression would increase with time. This expectation became a self-fulfilling prophecy in…

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Here Are the Dietary Changes That Reduced My AS Symptoms

“What did you say you can’t eat?” my friend asked me in shock as we casually strolled along a river path. I recently had decided to tackle my ankylosing spondylitis (AS) diagnosis with radical changes to my lifestyle. I tried to think of ways to explain the drastic cuts…

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After Diagnosis, I Discovered That Knowledge Boosts My Confidence

When I recently was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, I was confronted with complicated terminology that initially overwhelmed me. Klebsiella pneumoniae, molecular mimicry, cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-alpha — the list of complicated terms seemed endless. “Good grief,” I thought, “I’m just an ordinary human being. All of these terms are…

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After Diagnosis, Treatment Options Can Boost Hope

On Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, I was informally diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis. I had already unknowingly suffered the symptoms of AS for years. Realizing I was suffering from an incurable disease stopped me dead in my tracks. I felt a strong compulsion to immediately try to stop whatever was…

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When ‘Imagined’ Pain Becomes a Real Diagnosis

I showed up at my doctor’s office with stickers all over my back. The pain usually was most severe in the middle of the night. Yet, I was always surprised by how difficult it was to recall my nighttime pain in…

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What My Nightly Struggle With Invisible Illness Looked Like

At 3:30 a.m., I sat in bed gasping for air with acute pain in my chest. Like every other night, I had gone to bed at 10 p.m. after completing my usual routine, which started a few hours before bedtime. My goal was always to get as many…

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