Hi,
I am new here, dx is RA. My question is: have any of you tried the leaky gut diet? And, has anybody heard from Joe Hackett who has a journal on the web?
Thanks
Welcome Carly. I have read about the leaky gut diet and have heard of Joe Hackett. I have not tried this diet, nor any other types of therapy other than what my doctor has prescribed. Welcome to the board and tell us more about yourself! Love, JuliahHi Juliahh,
I had read about the leaky gut diet 4 yrs. ago here on the old board. My dx came with a huge major flair 4 yrs, ago.
Am on no meds now.
Cause I started the diet 4 days ago. And by the way I have lost 5 pounds.
At the moment my pain is about a level 5 1/2 on a pain scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest level of pain. The pain has decreased in this 4 days.
But, now the weakness is taken over. It is kinda scary. The diet said to stop the vitimins, but I am going to take one, or two vitimans a day, cause I have to go to work, (typing).
Need some help, as I go on with this diet. Would appreciate all thoughts and experiences.
I did email J. Hackett but didn't get a reply.
Thanks
Carly,
Marcy,
Here is the page of the website that I am reading about it now.
Once, you get there you can browse through to get information.
http://jhackett_ra.tripod.com/books.html#healer
I did read his journal. And, was interested in hearing how he was doing.
Carly; did you work with your dr on going off the meds or did you do it without talking to him or her which I would think would not have been wise. i hope the diet works for you but I don't believe food allergies cause ra, and that eliminating ceetain food from your diet are going to stop ra. I read the article and was not impressed, but that is me, I am doing well with the meds I am on and the diet and exercise I do to keep me going. as I said before good luck to you i hope it helps you out.I actually think RA probably stems from different things for different people (and that's part of why the symptomology is so diverse). With that having been said, it's probably unlikely that a diet will "cure" the problem, but maybe for some it could help.
Hi,
Marcy, wanted to say to you that I had a friend who had fibro. and she took a lot of MSM and it did go away. It is a lifetime, on-going process to keep our body healthy.
Meme and 6xmum, I appreciated your post and sad to say, you both are probably right.
I will keep you updated about my experience with this diet.
Also, I hope J. Hackett is OK.
Hope to hear many more thoughts about this leaky gut diet.
Thanks
Guys - or ought I to say girls??
I'm new around here too - and did post a couple of messages down below on health and nutrition - but then deleted them since I realised that I may have upset those of you taking medicines for RA by suggesting that I can manage without them.
Did want to respond to Carly's comments about leaky gut, though - and also to all of you who have joined in this discussion.
My history with RA is a short one - it came on over last Christmas (2004) suddenly, with some kind of flu like illness and a vengance. Within a couple of weeks I had so much pain that getting on or off the lav was torture (this was the thing that reduced me - but other experiences included getting stuck in the bath, not being able to get up or down stairs except by dragging myself on my forearms, not able to walk down the garden, turn the ignition in my car, open the front door, go from standing to sitting or vice versa - probably all common experiences to all of you!). Seemed to spend weeks just mostly lying in bed during the day when the kids were at school. Couldn't hold a book to read and couldn't type more than a sentence or two so stopped emailing people. Thought I had a nasty virus and it didn't occur to me to call the doctor. I seemed to get a bit better and a bit worse and a bit better again and this went on for weeks. Everytime I tried to get back to normal things got worse ...
I'm a swimmer - an 80 length a day woman before all this and suddenly I was so weak I coud hardly even swim - never mind the distance - just getting changed into my swimsuit took forever.
My GP got me to a Rheumatologist - who diagnosed RA from the nodules that had come up on my elbows and from a raised plasma viscosity (everything else normal and no Rheumatoid factor).
Since then I've read every theory about RA going - it's a virus, a bacteria, a mycoplasma (v tiny bacterial org that mimics a virus), it's a leaky gut, long term bad diet, shrunken thymus gland leading to a malfunctioning immune system..... you name it I've read it...... and none of it explains (to me) why I got RA.
I also read about all the quack and non-quack remedies going from methotrexate to the so-called arthritis diet.....
What can I say? The DMARDS all seemed so awful that I figured it couldn't hurt to try herbal remedies and dietary changes before I threw myself into the conventional therapies....
So against medical advice I did the following:
1000mg evening primrose and fishoil 3Xday;turmeric capusle 3Xday; boswellia capsule 3Xday; mega doses of vitamin c 3Xday; potassium.magnesium, calcium and zinc supplements 3Xday; camomile tea; no red meat; lots and lots of raw vegetables and lots and lots of cooked (steamed baked or roasted - but not boiled) vegetables of all kinds inclduing tomatoes and potatoes and all the things that are supposed to be allergens for this kind of thing. Garlic (raw) by the bucket load (I exagerate, but you get the idea). Fresh Raw root ginger 3X/day.
I have no idea if any of this has had any effect. I may have been going to get better anyway and my RA is not gone, just significantly reduced ( one wrist and an elbow). However, my knees, which would barely function, are great and morning stiffness is almost non existent. I can swim a mile (64 lengths) and walk up to town to get shopping.
Everybody has to deal with this in their own way, it seems to me - however that is. Go for it Carly if you feel you can deal with the negativity of the medical profession towards alternatives. Everyone else - you're just doing what you have to do.
I have to sign off now as I am about to try cycling for the first time since RA.........
lots of love to you all,
Maggie
Thank you for sharing your experience Maggie. Love and gentle hugs, Juliah
To Maggie,
Do not worry about upsetting people on this board when relating how you do with RA using nutrition & supplements. In my experience here, I have found 99% of these folks are respectful and supportive of other folks using alternative therapies (as long as one is not pushing any products - then watch out, heh, heh!). Seriously, your situation sounds EXACTLY like mine. RA came on like a shot, got worse and dragged on, then when I finally gave in and went to a rheumy, and then decided I didn't want to immediately jump into taking the traditional meds (and my father was a doctor!), I began the same kind of self treatment as you: even though I'm slender I changed my diet - same foods as you said, but I cheat once in awhile, MSM, fish oil, and other supplements, chiropraction, massage, plus I've had all my silver (mercury) fillings replaced. For exercise, I hike alot (I live in West Virginia) and I rebound everyday - that's jumping on a small trampoline, it's supposed to be easy on your joints and excellent for lymphatic drainage (whatever that is!). Anyway, I'd say my pain is so decreased that I never even have to take an aspirin. Only real pain is mild stiffness of my fingers when I first wake up, but that disappears after my morning hot shower.
As I've said, you've probably realized that these fine people here on AI board know that RA and it's therapy is different for different people. My hope is that I continue with how I'm presently doing, and if I don't, I know these folks will be more than happy to offer support.
I would love to chat with someone who is in a similar situation as I on diet/supplements, and whatnot.... if you're interested, please "private message" me. Incidently, my best childhood friend's name was Maggie!
Regards, Rana
Maggie; I am glad you found releif with the vitamins, but have you also considered that your ra could be in remission for now, but please realise that when it "turns back" on it can be alot worse then before. There are many of us here who have tried different methods to help us live with ra, and be able to keep going. We know that one way may help someone but the next person it does nothing for them. If you read previous messages on the message boad you would realise that what we don't like is people who come here and try to tell us what would be good for us when they do not have ra. The other people we don't like is people who are trying to sell us the latest "cure" for ra. So please feel free to post; WE ARE GLAD YOU ARE HERE AND WELCOME YOUR COMMENTS!!
AND THE SAME TO YOU CARLY WELCOME!!!
Meme
Ps 6xmum; Have you added alot more veggies to your diet?? What could be the problem is the veggies you can get gassy and have an upset stomach. Sounds silly but taking a beano before eating a meal with lots of veggies does help. I hope this helps you and I hope your tummy feels good soon!!!!Thanks, Meme! Actually, I've always had a lot of veggies because
of being a vegetarian. What has changed, though, is that I was
doing more low carb before and I added more carbs back in. I'm
wondering if my stomach is having trouble tolerating them....
It could, try the beono or a pepcid and see if that helps. i know when my stomach feels rotten I feel rotten. let me know how it goes. xoxoxox MemeJust wanted to let everyone know my experience with "alternative methods" of dealing with this disease. There seems to be so much discussion about this lately. First I have been on every medication, remicade, metho, NSAIDS, enbrel, gold therapy,plaquenil, vioxx, celebrex, mobic, bextra--etc etc. I could go on and on. Unfortunately for me nothing seems to work or works for just a short time and then just stops. Right now my rheumy can only offer me pain relief--as I am in alot !!! So I am on duragesic patches which are basically strong narcotics given in a patch that you wear for 72 hours. I take nothing to actually slow down the progression of this disease--as I have stated they all just don't work on me and I usually suffer with terrible side effects also.
Marcy, Have you ever tried lots of MSM for your fibro? Also, I saw your post regarding Hepatitis vacinne - I also was required to get that (work in the public schools). I understand that thermisel (maybe spelled wrong) is used in those vaccines as a preservative, and it contains mercury! Makes you wonder, huh?! Rana Marcy; Have you tried the minocycline(??) I think that is what they call it. It is antibiotics to fight the arthritis. I know several here and at another sight I go to, have used this and they said it helped them alot. Not all rds will go for this treatment, but those that do say it helps. I wouldn't try it myself but it might be something for you. meme
First of all can I say thank you all for being welcoming. I've watched the discussions for a while, and have seen lots of things come up that chime with me (like ridged fingernails!!!), but didn't want to get shot down for having the 'wrong' attitude to this evil disease. Yes - Meme - I know it may come back (thanks for reminding me!?!). It hasn't gone, but is only much better (and I had a great aunt who was crippled with RA - so I do know how bad it can be - and, like Rana, I have a parent who is a doctor). And the thought that it may/will recur, but in a worse form REALLY REALLY terrifies me. And I don't know whther any of what I'm taking is having any effect at all (although I could bore you with the scientific evidence for just about all of it.....) This whole thing terrifies me, in fact - when I was first diagnosed I felt my life was over, and that all the things I love to do (swim, walk, cycle, kayaking, camping) would become impossible. So I had to fight back - and I had to do it my way (don't know what that says about my character, you can draw your own conclusions....) BUT - if and when I need to take conventional drugs, I guess I'll deal with it just as all of you have. Marcy - that's interesting about the acupuncture. I've read several opinions about that... some people say it is useless for RA, others that it is useful only for the pain; and yet others that it can sometimes inhibit the progression of RA by altering the composition of the blood. Did you ask your insurance company why they wouldn't pay for you to have it, but would pay for the drugs? Can't work out the time difference between here and where you all are - it's 9.40am here - is it night in the US? Thanks again for being kind people, Maggie Hi, Accidently just deleted a post that I was working on here by pressing the enter key on my computer when I was going back to check for spelling and re-reading it to see if it sounded right. I had been working on it for 45 minutes. Oh well I will write another soon to let you know how I am doing with this leaky gut diet. Although I will tell you the results are looking and feeling way better. Some here may want to try it while they are on their meds. It would help you and make you feel better and see the difference for yourself. Here is the page of the internet book that I am working on right now. I have to get back to it to see about adding foods soon. http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/rwgully/theories/mcferran02 .htm Later, bless you all Marcy; The reason i wouldn't be interested in that line of attack, is at this time my meds seem to be doing their job. the Minocycline can be hard on the body to adjust. I have had a hard enough time finally adjusting to my meds now, I just don't want to change at this time if you can catch my drift. I am doing good and I just don't want to jinx it. Meme
Carly - I'll take a look at the website you mention. The diet thing is intriguing - and I do believe there is some evidence that people with RA have a 'more permeable intestine' than people without. But the article I read (the academic journal Rheumatology) suggests that the research is unclear about whether this is a cause or effect of RA. But - if it works, who cares??! Thanks, (I lost a message too - before I worked out how to do this - guess it's just a learning process) Glad you're feeling better. Long may it continue! Carly - I found one article suggesting that bacteria ("intestinal flora") in the gut play a role in the development of RA. Here is the reference: The British Journal of Rheumatology, Vol 33, 1030-1038, And another which speculates about the "instestinal permeability" ( or leaky gut!) of people with RA (same journal, different issue; I can't give you the ref without losing this - but ask if you'd like it!) This IS a reputable academic journal, with all articles peer reviewed (checked by other specialists in the same field) - and published by Oxford University Press. Thought you'd like to know. I read a lot of this stuff, though as I often have to look up every other word - it takes ages. Why can't I use smiley faces? They don't work for me.
Maggie, Your inference on intestinal flora makes sense. In fact, I think that was why I began taking lactobacillis (probiotics) every AM. For those smileys - click and drag them to where you want them. When you let go, they should stay. Rana To Marcy, I take 3,000 mgs a day of MSM. One tablet at every meal. I was taking 2 tablets previously and worked down to 3. My rheumy said I could take as many as I wanted, what your body doesn't need, it flushes away. I understand it is a naturally occuring element in our bodies, and I can attest, it certainly helps with inflammation. I won't go anywhere without it. Rana Quick question: What's MSM? I believe diet and nutrition can help relieve the symptoms of RA. I found this out accidentally by trying th South Beach diet (trying to rid myself of the enbrel weight I gained) and eliminating sugar and reducing cardbs. My goodness - I couldn't believe how good I felt. Unfortunatley though I've been struggling with this raging constant appetite (which blame on enbrel since it started then) and I have fallen off the 'eat well' wagon and can't get back on. I gained even more weight (sigh) but I have noticed whenever I do have something sugary my hands are very stiff the next day. And my hands generally don't bother me. They look like they would bother me (grandma hands) but they really don't give me any trouble. So I do try and avoid sugar as much as possible but as a candy-holic this is really difficult!
Hi, I am still hanging in there in the leaky gut diet. I have also added the detoxification 1st level on an Wellness Energy machine of my friends. Maggie S. I have printed out your formula and will be checking it out. Also, can you put a hyperlink here about the article you found for me. Today, I am starting back to work after having a week off. Prayers need as I am a little week. Otherwise doing good. Still on no meds. I guess I got to the point to try this diet because I was desparte to be free of med. complications.
Thanks to all for your support.
Here it is: this is the 'intestinal permeability' (or leaky gut) ref (I hope) this is just an abstract but I think this is all you need - though you can look for the full reference in a library - don't know how 'free' or easy it is for you you to access this kind of info over there Good luck.
Carly, it just occurred to me that this may work just as well as sending you that long string of code (different article - but let me know if you can see it): The British Journal of Rheumatology, Vol 33, 1030-1038, Copyright © 1994 by British Society for Rheumatology
E Eerola, T Mottonen, P Hannonen, R Luukkainen, I Kantola, K Vuori, J Tuominen and P Toivanen To study the role of intestinal flora in the pathogenesis of RA, we have applied computerized gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) for bacterial cellular fatty acids (CFAs) present in the stool. The CFA spectra represents the total composition of bacterial CFAs in a faecal sample. Correlation and cluster analysis of CFA spectra gathers samples with quantitatively and qualitatively similar bacterial flora into clusters, which then reveal the relationship of samples to each other. Stool samples were collected at the time of hospital admission from patients with early RA before any specific treatment. The CFA spectra in stool samples of RA patients were significantly different from those of non- RA controls. Patients with erosive RA formed a group most clearly different from the controls. Analyses based on the CFA composition of reference bacteria revealed that anaerobic bacteria are primarily responsible for the differences observed. These results suggest that intestinal bacteria play a role in the development of RA. Maggie S. Just wanted to touch base with you, and thank you for the hyperlinks and post above. Will be going over this information over this Memorial Day weekend. I have started joint vitimins , and am in some small pain at times in the knees, and medium pain in the hands with much improvement on the swelling. Maggie, I have printed out a copy of your first post on this thread as I also, thought to take this to Campbells Nutrition, and try this myself. The list of naturals, and much vegetables. Also, one of the unexpected benfits is weight loss. And also just wanted to mention that at this store, a clerk told me 2 years ago. That the cure for RA is what you eat. Am still on the leaky gut diet, I am not consuming white sugar sweets, white bread, coffee and pepsi. , and am finding there is hardly no craving for these foods. I do cheat on this only a little bit. But because I am on no meds, I am trying to be very careful on the foods. Also, Maggie you mentioned the Methotrexate, I have been on it, and it did do good for me on the pain part. But, I felt the side affects weren't worth it for now. I started getting high blood pressure and un-normal pressure in my eyes, and on and on. Thanks, and bring on the sun it feels to good on the feet, too.
Really stupid question??
ps have you thought of the pain patches for your hands? Lidoderm is the name of the patch 12 hrs on 12 hrs off. I have arthritis in the joints of the hands but the bad place is around the base of the thumb and in to the soft muscle tissue. I wear thumb splints when I am doing heavy work and it helps very much. Meme, I am taken back by your response. I am sorry to have offended. My intent was to research the choices, that each person has a mind to make, for their well being. And that maybe you all could share with me along the way. Myself, I will attend to the diet dilegently. Wish you all the VERY best of luck and research for the truth, to you. Take the very best of care and I remain open here. I think it's odd that we tend to have an either/or mindset when it comes to diet vs. drugs as methods of relieving RA symptoms. It seems like what one could do is make the dietary changes and then slowly work one's way off the meds to see if the symptoms stay in check without drugs. It's also possible to do regular x-rays to see if joint damage is progressing while on a diet that otherwise seems to be controlling the symptoms. For me, controlling RA through diet would require more of a lifestyle change and more self-control than I currently have, but it's great that other people have found relief this way. Thanks to Carly and MaggieS for sharing their stories. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology When what you type isn’t what they read: The perseverance of stereotypes and expectancies over e-mail Nicholas Epleya,
People form impressions of others by communicating with them, but not all modes of communication transmit information with equal fidelity. E-mail, for instance, is an inherently more limited mode of communication than is voice because of its relative lack of paralinguistic and non-verbal cues. The present research investigated the implication of this distinction for the biasing influence of stereotypes and expectancies. Three experiments demonstrated that racial stereotypes and bogus expectancies influence people’s impressions of a target more strongly over e-mail than voice interactions (Studies 1–3). This occurred despite an experimental design that ensured that the word-for-word content was constant across the two mediums. Follow-up analyses revealed that the effect was due, at least in part, to the greater ambiguity of e-mail versus voice communication (Study 3). Although e-mail affords many benefits, the present research suggests that it may also have some unexpected costs.
Keywords: Stereotypes; Impression formation; Communication; Communication medium; E-mail; Ambiguity No harm done. Love you Sister, Just to read that you are reading the information and listening and making your own decisions is healthy to our souls here. It was because of this board that I had left 4 years ago, that I first heard of the diet (leaky gut), That when I struck bottom 2 weeks ago that it was the last resort for me, that I had thought to try it. Now, I am in contact with more help on the diet. Also, am reading more infromation on what this country plays in are diseases, too. Any contributions are needed and welcome to my health. Bless and protect you all. Glad you read the posts - and glad too that you feel the diet is doing good. If you'd like to talk more about this and other things, please feel free to message me privately - I can give you lots of links to the articles in journals that I've been searching out and then you can decide for yourself what is good, bad or ugly. Meme, hi to you too. I feel this is maybe an issue for you - about diet and herbal medicines helping people with RA. Please don't be angry with me - but I'd just like to say first, I haven't at any point any claimed that what I'm doing can cure RA or that my RA is gone (although it is really really improved by comparison with January and February this year, when it made me cry just to try to use the lav). Second - just because a cure hasn't been found or proven, doesn't mean that people shouldn't try to get better (or to be as well as they can, with RA). Third, herbal medicine HAS been around for hundred of years - but no one has ever put the financial resources into researching its effects that the pharmaceutical companies put into researching their own drugs. this is not to say it is better than modern medicine - just a different approach, which may or may not have particular benefits (but certainly fewer side effects). As I said before, I think everyone has to deal with their own pain in their own way. Finally, Hello Willow. I'm not finding it too hard to eat better - though I really thought I would. And the herbal medicines do seem to be helping, but of course I can't prove that they are. Interesting article about email. Thanks. I'm a social scientist and a few years ago was thinking about doing some research on email and its impact as a mode of communication - so this was good to read. My own view is - as humans - we have a lot to learn about communication (including me, especially. I'm a very bad listener!). Listen to geese talking - no words, but they seems to understand each other very well! It's late on a Saturday night here in Blighty - so I'll wish you all a good, good night. Maggie Hi Maggie, What field are you in? I'm a social psychologist. My current research looks at how people cope with social rejection. I also do work on identity and intergroup relations. I have thought though that my research skills are going to waste, and what I should be doing is conducting studies on how to cope with RA!
I'm a sociologist, Willow. Currently unemployed. My central interests have been historical and environmental, but I have done other kinds of research too - when employed! Funny how RA changes one's perpective, isn't it. I've become very interested in the history of medicine (conventional and alternative) and disease. Did you know, for instance, that Alfred Baring Garrod in 1859 identified the group of symptoms we now call RA and in 1876 gave them a name? One thing that fascinates me about this (although my reading is minimal to date) is (bear with me): Garrod's main practice was in treating people with Gout. He was the person who demonstrated that patients with gout have an excess of uric acid crystals in their joints and his key criteria for distinguishing RA from gout was that this excess of uric acid was absent in cases of what was then called 'acute' or 'chronic' rheumatism. Now, it is commonly known that gout is something that can (often) be controlled by diet - for example not eating red meat, or drinking alcohol and cutting out other purine rich foods, especially things like oily fish (sardines etc) and also some particular vegetables, like tomatoes - that encourage the production of uric acid. So my question then, was: why do alternative practitioners encourage people with RA to also cut out red meat, alcohol and tomatoes (also potatoes, from the same plant family) when we don't have this excessive uric acid - while encouraging us to eat oily fish for the omega 3s? My theory is that this results from a confusion in alternative medicine that goes back as far as Garrod - when RA was often labelled gouty arthritis or just confused with gout. If there isn't an excess of urid acid in RA joints, then there is no need to cut out tomatoes and other veg that are urid acid producing (so, in my change of diet, I have kept uric acid producing vegetables and red wine IN). Red meat, however - is another story. Red meat is not only a high purine food, but is also high in arachidonic acid, which is an essential part of the inflammatory chain. So it makes sense to cut out red meat to help inhibit the inflammatory process - AND to increase consumption of omega 3s as in fish oil - which in sufficient quantities help to prevent white blood cells releasing inflammatory chemicals. At one level, this takes us some way from the leaky gut diets that are the subject of this thread. At another level it highlights one possible reason why there is so much confusion about diet and rheumatoid, especially when you think about just how easy it is to spread misinformation and confusions via the communicative capacities of the world wide web - one misleading statement can spawn millions of others! I sniff the origins of some interesting research.... FOR ANYONE READING THIS - I WOULD LIKE TO STRESS THAT ALTHOUGH I HAVE READ QUITE A LOT OF BIOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY IN RELATION TO RA - I AM NOT A NATURAL SCIENTIST AND THESE ARE THEORIES ONLY. I AM VERY INTERESTED IN THE HISTORY AND EPIDEMIOLOGY OF RA AND BOTH CONVENTIONAL AND ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS (especially if they work!!
I SHOULD PROBABLY ALSO STRESS THAT ALCOHOL AND RA DRUGS DON'T MIX. Hi Maggie, One dietary change that I've been kinda sorta trying to enact is eating less red meat and more fish, for a lot of reasons it seems like a good idea and it's great if it also reduces inflammation. I have also been taking fish oil supplements (when I can remember). But what do you mean about RA drugs and alcohol? All RA drugs? I had thought that it was okay to drink with the drugs that I'm on (Enbrel, Plaquenil, Prednisone, and Ibuprofen). If you have read something different, please let me know, and/or point me to the relevant information. Thanks!
Don't panic Willow! To my knowledge - only MTX is an absolute no-no for alcohol. But I thought I had better put in a 'disclaimer' as (1): I didn't want to draw fire from anyone else who knew better; and (2): I don't want to be responsible for the condition of anyone's liver except my own. Also - as a non -conventional medicator, I'm not sure if I know enough about any of the other drugs to pontificate with certainty. I researched MTX because that is what my rheumatologist was keen for me to begin taking - but not the other RA drugs.
The leaky gut diet is still doing well with me. It has change my lifestyle of what I put in my mouth now. Wow, then a friend put a book in my hands to go along with healthy eating and critical thinking on my words what comes out, about how this effects disease. And, how my own thoughts reflect the situation of my health, and the book even tells all about how fast foods effect us and the poison in them. And this book that I have been reading this weekend tells what the perks the docs., and pharacuticals make off us. It goes on and on. Basically for docs and stock owner people it's all about them making all the money and making us sick and fat. As for me, it takes alot of dillegent work at first to get to start to feeling more confortable. And, for now I feel that I am finding a safe, as possible lifestyle per see, if there really is one in these times. Thanks P.S. I found that celery seed is good for gout. Carly; I myself try to limit my fast food intake as much as possible. If I go to Mickey D's I get a plain salad and i even carry my own packets of dressing for it. Besides that, it is cheaper to eat at home or go to a decent restaurant and eat a proper meal. The sugar and salt that is put in fast food is frightening!!! Yes there are drs who prescribe certain meds so they can get the perks the drug companies are giving them, but not all drs are like that. i am fortunate to have a dr who will actually do research on a drug he doesn't know that much about before giving it to a patient. I think if these drug companies stopped doing all this advertising and giving out all these perks, maybe the meds they sell could come down to reasonable price for people to be able to afford them!!!!
And I don't mean little bothersome side effects--I mean put you in the hospital side effects. Enbrel gave me the worst side effect--a heart arryhmthia ( not sure I spelled that right ) but I am stuck with it for the rest of my life. And it effects everything I do now. I am waiting for that one to hit the news--maybe I will have a case to sue!!! HA! HA!
So the new biologics as they are called--I personally stay away from now. Too scary for me!!
Anyways trying to make a long story short--I tried acupuncture 2 years ago with some pretty good results. I don't know if they would of continued because my insurance decided that they were not going to pay for them and it is quite expensive. So obviously I had to discontinue them. I just couldn't afford that. I am on disability now and my husband works his butt off to make up the difference. I was pretty p@#$&^% off as you can imagine. My insurance company will pay for remicade infusions though at 00 a pop. Go figure!!!
All I can say is that I was able to go off all narcotics at that time and I felt great!!!
It is unfortunate that the medical profession and insurance companies don't look into this more. If it helps some-- great!! If not there is the conventional way. Its not like the docs are going to go out of a business!!!
So to those of you that are getting relief an alternative way--kudos to you!!! Arthritis cannot be cured as that wacko Ester said but I do believe that some alternative things can give you just as much relief as conventional meds and maybe even more.
Good Luck to all of you!!
Marcy
Thanks for the info--I will ask my doctor about it. Thats one med I haven't tried. Just curious though--you said you wouldn'd try it. Why not??
Rana,
Thanks for your info too. I will definitely look into that. I take alot vitamins now--no problem adding one more!! You can just buy that pretty much anywhere, right? Whats the exact dosage?
Thanks to both of you!!!
Marcy
I take glucosamine chrondrontin 2 capsules every day and I swear by it. I helps out with the one knee that I have had 3 surgeries on. It tends to lock up and get stuck if you know what I mean. But when I take my glucosamine chrondrontin ( i think i might be spelling that wrong) my knee doesn't lock up or get stuck. And if I miss a couple days of it--my knee starts right back up. So I know it works at least for that one problem.
MarcyI think that they also sell glucosamine chrondrontin with MSM in it. I think I might start buying that one. People on this board have been saying some good things about MSM so I will probably try that one now.
Good Luck
Marcy
ORIGINAL PAPERS
Intestinal flora in early rheumatoid arthritis
Department of Medical Microbiology, Turku University, Finland.
Volume 41, Issue 4 , July 2005, Pages 414-422
Abstract
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