Does anyone have recommendations for natural therapies, any vitamins or heat therapies for RA?
Also any special diet, foods to avoid, foods to eat more?
And any specific exercises to help with RA? I do the eliptical, weights (and love the hot tub!)
I pretty much just want any info or personal opinions on what helps with pain and what might help with slowing the deforming process
thanks in advance!!! (yeah i know, i sound like a newbie)
I've started practicing yoga...a great exercise for RA, and the mediation helps with anxiety. It's definitely helping me feel better. I'm also eating more dark fruits, like blackberries and blueberries...lots of anti-oxidants. It's hard to tell if it really helps but it makes me feel better, like I'm doing something positive.
Alan
Haha I'm sorry, but as soon as I read this I started thinking about mind over matter....I think I've decided that Reece's Peanut Butter cups are going to be *MY* anti-oxidants. I'll never feel guilty for eating them again. I'll just tell myself that "this is helping my arthritis.." LOL I need help...I never really thought much about diet, vitamins, alternative treatments, etc. And besides, at this point in my life, the damage has been done. My joint damage is quite severe. If there is anything that can be done besides surgery to repair joint damage (certain foods, unconventional treatments, whatever) then by all means, let me know and I'll give it a shot. In the meantime though, I'm just gonna keep on going the way I'm going. And I suppose you could say I'm your typical american 20-something guy as far as diet and stuff like that goes. Which means I usually eat the most fattening, greasy, salty, sugary, most un-healthy foods on the planet. Love my bacon cheeseburgers, love my pizza, love my fried chicken, love my steaks, my fries, my chips and fruit pies. I'm sure that someday it won't be my arthritis that will be my main concern, but probably cholesterol. lol Oh well, I believe in enjoying life while we're here. My dad always told me that he'd rather live 40 years or so doing the things he enjoys and having fun than living 80 years and denying yourself the things you like and not having any fun. Maybe not the most responsible lesson to teach a child, but hey, that's just how my family is. A bunch of fun-loving party-animals. lolLOL REECE'S I'M TELLING YOU! Haha no seriously....I've always been told to try to stay on a *very* low salt diet. Yeah. That's pretty damn hard. But with what I've read, it kind of makes sense. And fish, fish is supposed to be like...really good for RA people. I'm not gonna lie, I don't really remember the reasoning behind a lot of this. LoLFish is highly recommended, less red meat, damn I love a good steak or a real good piece of prime rib!!! yum Now with me I was told to avoid pork because it can aggravate my psoriasis, which I have with my pa, ra, and oa. Caffine is suppose to be a big no no, OMG HOW AM I SUPPOSE TO STAY AWAKE??? hehehe Chocolate, now they say the dark chocolate is suppose to be good for you, because of the antioxidents. Please pull the semi up to my back door and unload the chocolate, PLEASE.(i do a lot on the internet- i can tell you a lot of useless trivia too!!) hehe
hope this link helps anyone trying to find the same answers as me
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QA/QA153653/
ACK!? Eliminate milk?? *not* what my docs have told me. They've always warned me that having RA would leave me voulnerable(sp) to OA and other forms of arthritis, therefor I should drink MORE milk to help fortify the bones! They tell my mother this all the time too. That was the only thing that worried me about that column. Everything else is stuff I've heard about, and seems to work for some and not for others. Especially the omega-3 fatty acids thing.
The benefits of a generally healthy diet will, of course help your body to fight anything.
I remembered watching one of those "amazing video's" TV shows, where a woman was swarmed and stung by thousands of her own bees on her farm one day. She barely survived - but she did make a full recovery; and she mentioned at the end, that she had had Arthritis before the attack, and it had since completely disappeared! I just did a search, and Bee venom/stings are used as a natural remedy for many ailments including RA, OA, and also MS among other things:
see: http://www.apitherapy.org/testimonials.html
At the most basic level, I can see why she would be cured. That many bee stings would be such a massive shock to the immune system it seems logical that it might almost "kick start" it working properly. I dunno if I'd want to go that route to cure my RA though..haha near death experiences aren't exactly high on my "to-do" list. I've heard of "bee-therapy" before - half of seems logical, and the other half just seems like one more thing someone's trying to sell you.To me its like saying
'if you let us beat you up and you sit there for a few hours in agony' you have a chance at being remedied
hmmm, thats a hard one. Ive heard it helps but couldnt they put it in a pill! geez the pain!
Hahaha I know. Hey, if they could GARUNTEE(sp) the cure...well..I think I can handle some bee stings....but I don't particularly care to play russian roulette with my life, thanks...You don't have to be stung by a gazillion bees all at once, silly....lol
Seems you can have the venom injected in the conventional way - though real bee stings are supposed to be more effective (again, not hundreds at once though)
There are scientific studies being done, so I will watch for news on that! If you look at the web link I posted, some of the associations members do provide free 'stinging', so they aren't all out to rip people off.
LOL you made me chuckle with a vision of an RA sufferer trying to run away from a swarm of bees
Yes - it's used to treat many things, including MS (with great success apparently)
Yeah, I think I've heard of it for nerve damage as well. Is that right? So my question is, as far as RA goes, how exactly are they saying it helps?
And yeah...it's funnier if you picture me with a knee brace and my crutches...okay thats better if you know what I look like, cause trust me, I make a great scene....haha
I have not taken any drug to treat arthritis for over 15years.
Arthritis is in your body. It can go into remission for a period of time and can also attack frequently. To fight arthritis is a long term process.
In my effective treatment, I have the following:
1. appropriate herbs effective to ease pain, "neutralize" and "cleanse" the toxic, "convert" into toxic wastes and dispose as farts, stools and urine;
2. take herbs and natural foods to improve energy level to continuously fight flares and interact effectively to control and manage the disease;
3. avoid bad foods and drugs;
4. healthy natural foods such as selective vege, fruits, juices, drinks and herbs help to improve energy level gradually in your body system.
Not simply bees sting, ants bite, taking snake venom, heat/magnetic treatment, pressure massage, accupuncture, yoga, meditation etc.. If there is any effect, it is at best temporary from my experiences.
First and foremost one needs alternate to drugs (in my case dare to differ when I have effective herbs) all the lifestyle changes, awareness, discipline, belief and consistency.
When I post my real experiences, I always under attack that I do not know why. Maybe they have placed the only trust in drugs any other treatment is fraud and has no scientific proof.
My belief in proven herbs after drugs failed to be effective, that has generated a strong desire to search for appropriate herbs and choose to differ in treatment over 15 years ago.
Arthritis can be reversed, controlled and managed effectively with herbs and natural foods.