I was just on the wikipedia page for sulfasalazine and I was very surprised to see this! I was curious from people posting about how sulfasalazine is kind of like AP therapy, plus my own experiences on how diet has affected my disease.
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When treatment for arthritis is successful, pain, joint swelling and stiffness will be reduced and this may slow down or stop the development of joint damage. The precise reasons why sulfasalazine is effective in various forms of arthritis is not clearly understood.
Because sulfasalazine and its metabolite 5-ASA are poorly absorbed into the bloodstream, it is surprising that the drug is effective against symptoms outside of the intestine. One possible explanation is that, given that ulcerative colitis produces arthritic symptoms, it is possible that, in some cases, the arthritic symptoms are actually a product of unrecognized ulcerative colitis, which is effectively treated with sulfazalazine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfasalazine
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So I am just amazed! When I found out that sulfasalazine was actually used for people with digestive problems, it made sense to me that since what I ate was affecting my arthritis, I might be having digestive issues.
What's really weird is that I have never noticed any symptoms that would lead me to believe I had any sort of digestive issues! And yet, diet still helped me.
Our bodies are WEIRD!
Yes, I take Sulphasalazine to treat my Crohns (another form of UC) and my RA.Arrrrgh!
Leaky gut! I keep telling people it's the intestine's!
OK, off my soapbox.
Actually, every time I see this I keep meaning to check. One of the sulfa somethingorothers is not an antibiotic and the other is something similar....and I keep getting confused on which is which.
Pip
I agree with you, Pip. I have been banging that particular drum myself. LOL. The specific carbohydrate diet has brought much success to my autistic son and I am getting benefits with my RA as well.