Natural protocol | Arthritis Information

I'm still on Plaquenil and Sulfasalazine but thought I'd visit with a nutritionist at our local health food coop and see if there was something I could do on that front. He was very knowledgeable and wanted to start simple. Here's what we decided on:

Aloe Vera juice (blood/liver cleanse)

Tumeric & Bromelain (anti-inflam)

Concentrated fish oil 3000-5000mg

I know several of you swear by the fish oil. Anyone tried the others? How long til you saw a difference? Anyone able to go to just the naturals and off the rx?

Hi Sunam, I don't use Aloe Vera for liver cleanse but I do use Milk Thistle. I've used Tumeric in the past with no significant change and I do take fish oil. The Tumeric may work for you, one never knows what will work. I'm getting ready to start Cinnamon as an anti-inflamm.

Please let your RD know that you're starting these. Good luck. Lindy

Lin - my husband uses the cinnamon for his diabetes. He swears by it. I get the caps when ever anybody has a 'buy one get one free' sale. Like Rite Aid or Walgreens.

Sunam -

I didn't use the Aloe Vera for a liver cleanse (milk thistle) but used it for GERD and weaning my protonix and LOVED that it worked! I use both Bromelain and Tumeric and think its working. I don't use fish oil because I'm on the fence about D.

Did you get probiotics while you were at the store? You really, really, really need to get them for sulfasalsine. IMO.

This is only one place for checking interactions and side effects - I always double check at least two places.

http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/health/2411003/

Hugs,

Pip

As you can tell from my sig, fish oil is my miracle drug. I take a high dose, which carries the risk of side effects (Gi disturbance, prolonged clotting time, increased susceptibility to infection, blood sugar levels, cholesterol/lipid level changes). I got by for about 2 years with nothing more than fish oil and the occasional naproxen. I stopped taking it for a while - partly out of arrogance that I didn't need it, and partly because I kept getting sinus infections - and had a whopper of a flare about 6 weeks later. After that flare, I started back on the fish oil again, but we just couldn't get it under control like it was before, and I started taking plaquenil about 8 months ago. The combo works great for me! Cheap, effective, and I can still have a beer or two.Pip,

I started the probiotics the day before the sulf. although from what I understand, the side effects of sulf aren't as dramatic as a true antibiotic. Anyhoo..I'm using the top notch probx just in case.

JasmineRain,

How much fish oil are you taking? Did you work your way up? I was taking WM stuff that was pretty mild and am slowly working my way up to 3 capsules of the good stuff (1000mg/capsule)

I take anywhere from 4 to 10 a day, depending on the omega-3 content (EPA+DHA) of the capsules. I aim for 3000mg omega-3's per day. I just finished a bottle of capsules that contained 750mg omega-3 each, so I took 4 per day; the ones I'm taking now contain 300mg omega-3's each, so I take 10 per day.

You might have to work your way up to max dosage; sometimes it can cause GI distress.
sorry for the ignorance but Fish Oil is that like Cod Liver Oil? or is is a combo of different oils? [QUOTE=slo_hand2]sorry for the ignorance but Fish Oil is that like Cod Liver Oil? or is is a combo of different oils? [/QUOTE]

I take fish body oils (usually sardines, tuna, herring); cod liver oil also has high concentrations of vitamin A and D. I think it contains omega-3's as well, but I don't know how much. Someone on here takes cod liver oil, though I can't remember who.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_oil
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cod_liver_oil
Thank you I will look into it, I use to take cod liver oil when I was a kid, don't remember why my mo gave it to me though.

I would like to try the fish oil but I am unsure just where the best place to buy it might be. We have GNC health stores here locally but not heard to much about them. Since many natural health food products aren't regulated by FDA how can a person be confident they are getting the best quality. Also can some things be purchased and shipped safely from online sources? What do you all recommend. Also, Protonix and Probiotics were mentioned I am not familiar with those.
mom2threeinaz2008-07-19 09:26:40

Jas -

What fish oil do you use that doesn't include D? How is that possible? I remember posts about that a long time ago on AI but didn't look into it and I'd like to.

Mom2three-

Protonix is a Proton Pump Inhibitor that they give you for GERD. The side effects mimic RA and when I first got this I thought that might be the reason. I kept taking it because whenever I tried to get off it I got GERD bad and threw up bile. Turns out there is a 'rebound acid effect' from how they work and when I weaned slowly (really slowly) and used aloe vera I was able to get off it. I didn't need it - just thought I did because of the stomach acid.

Probiotics are natural gut bacteria that help you metabolize the vitamins and minerals in your food. 75% of your immunity comes from your GI tract. Most AI people are low in essential mineral (see your latest mineral panel). APer's use it to replace the good bacteria the antibiotics kill when its going after the bad guys. The antibiotic can't distinguish between the good and bad guys. So, we replace the good guys. Anyway, there were a lot of people on AI that are on the traditional meds that started probiotics and just about everybody reported a drop in pain etc. It won't stop a flare but it sure lessens it. You can search 'probiotics' here and will be amazed.

There is a ton of research into probiotics on PubMed. Google PubMed and you'll find them. It's pretty amazing what they're using them for - from cystic fibrosis (a genetic disease) to chron's, IBD, UC, to liver transplants.

As you might imagine, I'm no fan of the FDA and think they sold us out to keep Pharma fees and their budget operational. However, earlier this year the were able to take over the vitamin and minerals. That may make people who trust the FDA happy - it makes me leary and I'm sure you will see Pharma versions of these things available in the next year or two so they can cash in on the natural's market.

If you don't want to wait for that, you can do your own research into what will and won't help. It's very easy to search 'counterindications', 'interactions' and 'side-effects' on anything you want to try. Also using Pubmed is pretty easy.

Hugs,

Pip

Pip, Carlson's is supposed to be D-free. [QUOTE=Pip!]

Jas -