DogtorJ, I have been DF, EF & some-legume free for about a yr based on an IgG blood test. All measures of dairy & its components especially were waaaaay high. I don't think I feel any better with that stuff taken out. Nothing as dramatic as the GF & NF diets were for me. BUT, I did have a significant reduction in my out-of-bounds, worrying me crazy, serum globulin level after being on that restrictive diet for many months.

As a child, I loathed potatoes & tomatoes. Even before I realized the nightshade thing applied to me, I'd found that green tomatoes, and also certain 'heirloom" tomatoes (Siberian type; greenish, purplish, brown) made me ill to eat. I've even gotten very ill when DH cooked heirloom tomatoes, just hanging around the kitchen when that tomato juice was boiling. Not asthma. Pain all over, headache & nausea. Go to bed & moan, felt like a really bad flu. No body else caught it! Was scratch-tested & IgG tested for tomatoes, & OK.

Now that my background level of pain & inflam have come down, it's pretty apparent that I don't tolerate peanuts well. I'm OK with a few nuts, but eating 1/2 cup in a day will reliably produce swelling & pain that takes about 24-48 hrs. to resolve, as long as I don't dip into the peanuts again. IgE & IgG are negative for peanut; I'm guessing it's either a lectin thing or a goitrogen thing.

I've taken glucosamine on & off for ... could it be a decade? Probably. Kept hoping it would help my knees. I found that for me, the only form that makes a difference is N-Acetyl-Glucosamine. The HCL & sulfate forms were duds. Haven't used it a lot lately. I was trying to keep supps constant while I gave NFD a trial.

I'd heard that glucosamine binds wheat lectin, but I thought there were other ... glucosaminoglycans? thingy molecules that bound nonwheat lectins. If glucosamine does it all, I'll give it another shot.

MrsD, sorry if I offended by giving the impression that everyone with arthritis responds to NFD. I don't believe that's the case ... but I consider myself a fairly well-read person & I wasn't familiar with the concept of nightshade sensitivity. Sure wish I'd figured it out sooner. My intention in sharing my story was mostly to get the word out about the possibility of nightshade sensitivity. As I've talked to friends & extended family, I've come to realize that many people don't know about the nightshade family.

I will think about doing a no-citrus trial. But at this very moment, I am loathe to remove even one more food from my diet! It might have to wait a few more weeks. I was allergic to citrus as a child, outgrew reactivity on tests, & now love it. I'm glad that citrus-free has worked so well for you.

Is there any chance that citrus reactivity for some people could be an acid-reaction? I've noticed that coffee agrees with me ever so much better since I started tossing a couple PreLief tabs into it. Ca glycerophosphate, sort of an antacid compound. Acidic stuff, juices/pickles/even candies w/citric acid, is something I do best with in extreme moderation. Acidic overdose doesn't seem to increase my visible inflammation, but it DOES increase my pain.

Thanks for your comments!