Re: Newbie with a few questions.......

August 1, 2002

Hi Sandy:

Most of the people on this list, myself included, follow a treatment

called the Antibiotic Protocol (or AP for short) to treat our rheumatic

illnesses. Because of this, I'm sorry I'm unable to help you with any

of your questions regarding metho because I refused to take it but

perhaps someone else on the list will be of help there. I would

suggest, however, that if you have been diagnosed with a rheumatic

illness (and I suspect you have if you're taking metho, prednisone,

etc.), you should seriously consider following the AP treatment yourself

as it has been shown to be effective for most rheumatic patients while

also being safer than other rheumatic treatments. It is important for

you to become more educated about both your illness and the various

treatments and towards that end, I strongly recommend you read the book

The New Arthritis Breakthrough, which very clearly explains the theory

and research behind the AP, as well as providing a number of case

histories that illustrate its effectiveness. I'd also recommend you

check out this group's site at www.rheumatic.org and read everything on

it, particularly the FAQ, Scientific Studies and Physicians' Protocols

sections. Many of us have found a reluctance among rheumatologists to

try this treatment approach and have been able to convince our doctors

to try it by becoming educated ourselves and putting up sound,

well-reasoned arguments for why we want to follow this treatment. If

you require the name of a doctor in your area who is willing to

prescribe the AP, the group can help with that. So, go do some reading,

ask any questions you have and you'll find this group is a wealth of

information for almost any question you might have.

Hugs,

a

apeyjj_2000 wrote:

>

> Hello, I just joined this group and am curious about a few things.

> I've been on metho (along with folic acid, prednisone, & for pain, I

> take oxy and vicadin) for three months and have just started

> experiencing the side effects. Extreme tiredness and upset stomach.

> Does anyone else have these side effects, and if you do, how do you

> cope? I take metho once a week and the side effects of taking it on

> Monday (3 days ago) are still with me. I feel very weak, even right

> now and am so tired. I've also been experiencing heart burn, or acid

> reflux and I don't know what I can take, if anything. Does anyone

> have any suggestions? Does it sound like it's not 'agreeing with me'

> to the point of getting off of metho? I read a few posts and saw

> that some of you are on several different pills that I didn't

> recognize. Are these pills that are taken in place of metho? I was

> reading my book and it said that metho is a cancer drug. In what

> sense?? Is it like a very low dose of chemo?? One more question...

> I read some posts about antibiotics. What are they being taken for?

> Please forgive my 20 questions, this is all so new to me & there is

> so much to learn.

>

> Also, I read some posts about Minocycline. My daughter was just

> perscribed this for her face. What are the benefits of taking this

> for RA?

>

> Thanks for listening & hope you all are doing well.

> God Bless,

> Sandy

>

August 2, 2002

Hi Sandy,

Glad to hear you're going to check this out, you definitely won't be

sorry. Make sure you ask the group any and all questions you have.

Just so you know, when you replied, you only replied to me so that's why

it didn't go out to the group. To respond to someone's email and also

have it addressed to the group, hit " RESPOND ALL " instead of just

" RESPOND " in your e-mail program. So, you may want to throw your pain

med question out to the group as a whole and I'll send this response to

the group as well to see if anyone else cares to respond. As for me, I

only take an nsaid (Relafen) as needed to deal with the pain and I have

a complicating factor in that I also have a herniated cervical disc with

spinal cord compression that causes its own set of pain and problems.

Most people on the AP find that all their symptoms, pain included,

improve as they continue the treatment, with many achieving complete

remission of all symptoms. When first starting the treatment, however,

many experience a worsening of symptoms, known as a herxheimer effect or

herx for short. This doesn't happen to everyone but it's something you

need to expect so you don't let it get you down and perservere

through. That's where this group is also helpful, encouraging you

through the setbacks. It's also great that you were only recently

diagnosed because generally, the earlier in your disease that you get on

the AP, the faster and better the results because you're getting things

under control before much damage has been done. So, get reading, decide

how to approach your doctor to get the prescription to get started and

if that is a problem, tell the group where you live because someone may

have a supportive doctor to recommend near you.

Hugs

a

apeyjj_2000 wrote:

>

> Thank you so much, a! You are the very first person who I got an

> email from. *smile* I am definitely going to be reading and

> educating myself with AP! If anyone else would like to help me out,

> please, please do! ) One question, are any of you on pain pills

> or does AP take care of the pain??

>

> Thanks so much & have a GREAT day, a!

> (((hugs)))

> Sandy

August 2, 2002

Hello Sandy and welcome,

our group believes that RA is caused by a chronic infection. We take small

doses of a antibiotic that is in the tetracycline family called minocin

(some other may take tetracycline derrivatives). We take this for a very

long time. This regime is very different from metho since it is try to

boost the immune system so that the antibiotic and the immune system can

destroy the bacteria/mycoplasm that is wreaking havoc in our connective

tissues. Metho is a cancer drug and it works the opposite way, by bringing

the immune system close to zero so that the immune system no longer reacts

to the bad pathogen.

Using tetracyclines to fight RA can be challenging during the first 6

months...for many people it is less. When the antibiotic attacks the bad

bacteria (mycoplasm) and it dies, the body has to deal with the die off

matter. This means you can have a worsening of symptoms. In my case, I was

not able to take the regular dose of minocin because my reaction was too

severe and caused too much pain. When this happens you must take a much

smaller dose at first and gradually build up to larger doses. BUT THIS IS A

GOOD SIGN THAT YOUR PATHOGENS ARE SENSITIVE TO TETRACYCLINE AND THAT THE

PROTOCAL MIGHT WORK TOWARD SUCCESSFULLY BRINGING YOU INTO REMISSION.

Finally, Lyme disease is becoming more and more frequently associated with

RA as well as many other autoimmune disorders. By learning whether or not

you have lyme may help you in targeting the pathogens that are causing your

arthritis. Lyme is L-form bacteria that act very much like mycoplasms. I

credit my gradual recovery to the AP (antibiotic protocal) but also to using

additional antibioitics from time to time to help target the Lyme disease

and its co-infections. In my mind, AP is the only real way to treat RA.

Hope this helps you in your decision about your choices to treat your

disease. Take care. Kathy

rheumatic Newbie with a few questions.......