Re: resigned to taking DMARDS

[Guest guest]

Leonie,

I understand how you could want so badly for RA to be treatable with

other means than powerful drugs. Try not to be too hard on yourself.

It isn't as if you sat around and did nothing about it.

I am not saying that some people don't get results with alternate

treatments, but I have to wonder how many were misdiagnoised with

their illness from the beginning.

My poor mother tried any and everything to help her osteo arthritis.

No matter who gave the advice, she would follow it. Nothing helped,

ever. Having both knees replaced was the only thing that ever gave

her relief and mobility.

I pray that you get good results going forward.

Shirley

--- In , " mumpup2000 " <leoniecent@...>

wrote:

>

> Hello all,

> After years of taking " natural " remedies for my RA, i've finally

> figured out that while they help to calm the disease, they don't

stop

> join and organ damage, and I've finally becoming crippled after

all,

> like the doctors warned me. Besides, i haven't had a life all

these

> years anyway - i've still been terribly fatigued and depressed,

and

> not terribly mobile due to bad knees. I've been too sick to work

and

> just sat at home lonely and confused most of the time. The

thought

> of taking all those toxic drugs always scared me to the point

where

> i've allowed my health to deteriorate rather than take them. I

don't

> know whether i would be better off now had i taken DMARDS from the

> beginning. There's always someone to tell you a horror story about

> how DMARDS chew you up inside and kill you, which doesn't help.

Sure,

> it doesn't make sense to throw toxic chemicals at a sick person,

but

> what choice do we have ? A few ppl have cured themselves of RA and

> other Autoimmune disease with natural methods, but they are in the

> extreme minority. It's only hitting home now how ruthless this

> disease is. Besides, i've always taken Celebrex which is an awful

> drug - now i have an ulcer which i can't get rid of. God knows

what

> other damage it caused in my body. I suppose with taking Celebrex,

i

> was able to delude myself further that i was ok and didn't need

> DMARDs. That's why i would like to mention to ppl like Brad, that

> while you can control the pain with NSAIDS incl ibuprofen, the

> underlying damage of RA is still going on. It's still eating away

at

> your joints. Now i need knee replacements and probably many other

> joints too. I hope it's not too late for me to take methotrexate.

> Thanks for listening. All the best,

> Leonie

>

[Guest guest]

Yes, as Shirley says ,

Don't beat yourself up. Look forward with some hope.

Yes, sometimes elimination diets, or similar can help some,if 'kind and gentle

'remedies are sufficient but when active treatment is needed, and with these

cruel illnesses it is more often than not sadly:

Just would like to say the line between natural and 'active chemical' treatments

is not nearly as clear cut as sometimes thought, especially if the natural

remedy is effective!, ie powerful it will be having an interactive effect on the

body chemistry itself.It is a drug or medicine therefore by definition.

Early examples would be willow bark (aspirin , salicylates developed from that)

foxglove giving digitalis for the heart,reserpine from indian snakeroot ( early

treatment of high blood pressure and psychosis, now not used because of side

effects) periwinkle giving tremendously important cancer and leukaemia fighting

Vinca alkaloids, most recently yew tree giving taxanes to fight ovarian and

other cancers. If they worked they likely , by definition could be (sometimes

very) toxic also.

The advantage of the pure derivatives and pharmaeuticals will be that the dose

should be consistently standardised and reproducible,with titratable

effects,can be subjected to ongoing trials of safety, risks and efficacy.Also

should be free of unwanted contaminants.

Good luck. It is a difficult time of transition, with natural fear of the

unknown .It will get easier.

Best wishes

retired doc UK,

(non rheum)

 

From: nana2livi <s.p5315@...>

Subject: [ ] Re: resigned to taking DMARDS

Date: Saturday, 4 October, 2008, 3:28 PM

Leonie,

I understand how you could want so badly for RA to be treatable with

other means than powerful drugs. Try not to be too hard on yourself.

It isn't as if you sat around and did nothing about it.

I am not saying that some people don't get results with alternate

treatments, but I have to wonder how many were misdiagnoised with

their illness from the beginning.

My poor mother tried any and everything to help her osteo arthritis.

No matter who gave the advice, she would follow it. Nothing helped,

ever. Having both knees replaced was the only thing that ever gave

her relief and mobility.

I pray that you get good results going forward.

Shirley

--- In @gro ups.com, " mumpup2000 " <leoniecent@ ...>

wrote:

>

> Hello all,

> After years of taking " natural " remedies for my RA, i've finally

> figured out that while they help to calm the disease, they don't

stop

> join and organ damage, and I've finally becoming crippled after

all,

> like the doctors warned me. Besides, i haven't had a life all

these

> years anyway - i've still been terribly fatigued and depressed,

and

> not terribly mobile due to bad knees. I've been too sick to work

and

> just sat at home lonely and confused most of the time. The

thought

> of taking all those toxic drugs always scared me to the point

where

> i've allowed my health to deteriorate rather than take them. I

don't

> know whether i would be better off now had i taken DMARDS from the

> beginning. There's always someone to tell you a horror story about

> how DMARDS chew you up inside and kill you, which doesn't help.

Sure,

> it doesn't make sense to throw toxic chemicals at a sick person,

but

> what choice do we have ? A few ppl have cured themselves of RA and

> other Autoimmune disease with natural methods, but they are in the

> extreme minority. It's only hitting home now how ruthless this

> disease is. Besides, i've always taken Celebrex which is an awful

> drug - now i have an ulcer which i can't get rid of. God knows

what

> other damage it caused in my body. I suppose with taking Celebrex,

i

> was able to delude myself further that i was ok and didn't need

> DMARDs. That's why i would like to mention to ppl like Brad, that

> while you can control the pain with NSAIDS incl ibuprofen, the

> underlying damage of RA is still going on. It's still eating away

at

> your joints. Now i need knee replacements and probably many other

> joints too. I hope it's not too late for me to take methotrexate.

> Thanks for listening. All the best,

> Leonie

>

[Guest guest]

Dear Leonie, I am so sorry to hear you are feeling so horrible. I

totally respect your honest input over your experience with natural

methods of treating your RA. I think it will go a long way in helping

others who are considering this path. My prayers are with you that you

will find the right combination of DMARD's that will stop this

progression before it gets any worse. Keep us posted. May God Bless

you, dear one............Doreen

>

> Hello all,

> After years of taking " natural " remedies for my RA, i've finally

> figured out that while they help to calm the disease, they don't

> stop join and organ damage, and I've finally becoming crippled

> after all, like the doctors warned me. Besides, i haven't had a

> life all these years anyway - i've still been terribly fatigued and

> depressed, and not terribly mobile due to bad knees. I've been too

> sick to work and just sat at home lonely and confused most of the

> time. The thought of taking all those toxic drugs always scared me

> to the point where i've allowed my health to deteriorate rather

> than take them. I don't know whether i would be better off now had

> i taken DMARDS from the beginning. There's always someone to tell

> you a horror story about how DMARDS chew you up inside and kill

> you, which doesn't help. Sure, it doesn't make sense to throw toxic

> chemicals at a sick person, but what choice do we have ? A few ppl

> have cured themselves of RA and other Autoimmune disease with

> natural methods, but they are in the extreme minority. It's only

> hitting home now how ruthless this disease is. Besides, i've always

> taken Celebrex which is an awful drug - now i have an ulcer which i

> can't get rid of. God knows what other damage it caused in my

> body. I suppose with taking Celebrex, i was able to delude myself

> further that i was ok and didn't need DMARDs. That's why i would

> like to mention to ppl like Brad, that while you can control the

> pain with NSAIDS incl ibuprofen, the underlying damage of RA is

> still going on. It's still eating away at your joints. Now i need

> knee replacements and probably many other joints too. I hope it's

> not too late for me to take methotrexate.

> Thanks for listening. All the best,

> Leonie

>

[Guest guest]

Brad,

My husband was diagnosed with RA earlier this year, but has been

symptomatic for about 7 years. At first, his rheumy thought he had

reactive arthritis. He did an elimination diet and took antibiotics

to kill the " bad " bacteria in his gut and probiotics to replenish

the " good " bacteria that the antibiotics killed. This regimen had

no effect on his pain or inflammation. He has had 2 foot surgeries

as a result of RA, though at the time it had not been diagnosed.

When he was finally diagnosed earlier this year, he began taking

methotrexate. A couple of months later, plaquenil was added. He

feels like a new person. We are both concerned about side effects,

but he has his life back now. He never thought twice about taking

these drugs because he had suffered in pain for so long.

One thing I'd like to point out is that typically the most

sensational information is what makes its way to us. What I mean is

that you are much more likely to hear about the bad potential

outcome of taking one of these meds than you are to hear about the

scores of people who have been given the opportunity to live a life

of quality with no bad effects. It's like the old saying in the

media, " If it bleeds, it leads. "

I hope all of this has made sense, and that it is of some help to

you.

Cherie in TN