antiobiotics for RA | Arthritis Information
Check this out!!!
http://www.drmirkin.com/joints/J106.htm
The antibodies is what convinced me. The body makes antibodies - they test for that - and still it's not an infection....
Pip
I was told RA people can't donate blood because the infectious disease people think RA is an infection.????This is an interesting article to me as I'm still considering AP and waiting for the insurance go-ahead to see the AP doctor. In the meantime I asked the people on a lupus support board if anyone there had tried AP. I found one response in particular very interesting. The poster said her doctor was the former head of rheumatology at Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC and listed as a top doctor in his field by New York Magazine. He pooh-poohs AP but get this: He said one-third of patients do well on it, one-third get no results and one-third end up with serious stomach issues. If one third of the people are successfully treated, isn't it worth a shot? Of course there is that stomach issue to be dealt with, but I'm sure there are ways of dealing with that. I have spoken to a few people personally who tried AP with no success and one of them did have a serious "gut" issue as a result, but I'm still thinking the odds may be worth it. I just wonder why it works for some and not others. people with RA can donate blood
Jesse -
A lot of the gut issues can be avoided with a little common sense. Take the Mino with at least 8oz of water, never take before bed, take at least an hour before so it doesn't get caught in the esophugus (spelling) and TAKE PROBIOTICS! Be religious about probiotics. That's the key and you'd be surprised how many people fail because they didn't and they killed off the good gut flora. I'm a walking example of 'but that didn't apply to me' and never realized how close I came to AP failing because of that. And, some AP docs don't push the probiotics! Arrgh!
Jan - Buckeye is mostly right, we can donate depending on your local Red Cross guidelines. I do not donate because I believe so much in the infectious nature of these diseases and I couldn't live with myself if I 'gave' this to anybody. If you search AI, we had a discussion about this and I posted a link about the Red Cross having problems getting donations. Large urban areas have implemented an antibody or antigen (forget which) reduction program that screens the blood so it's useable. Other areas, particularly in the Midwest, do not. I know in my local Red Cross, they did not allow people with RA to donate. I could get away with it here because of the reduction program.
I'm torn because I have somewhat rare blood and liked to do my part.
Pip
[QUOTE=Jesse88] He pooh-poohs AP but get this: He said one-third of patients do well on it, one-third get no results and one-third end up with serious stomach issues. If one third of the people are successfully treated, isn't it worth a shot? [/QUOTE]
Does that rheum use, say, Enbrel? Doesn't seem like that works for a third, does it? Why not pooh-pooh Enbrel?
If the third who quit for stomach issues were responding otherwise, I say show that rheum some probiotics! And that gets you around the 60% that the Arthritis Foundation site says mino works for.
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