hello all

[Guest guest]

I have recently been

in contact with an advocate of antibiotic therapy and she has provided me with

references to clinical trials favorable to antibiotics. The first of the links

below is an older one that provided much of the basis for the American College

of Rheumatology to recognize Minocycline as a DMARD useful for mild to

moderate, early-onset RA. The other links are more recent and deal with

established RA that is resistant to unspecified DMARDs. (I'm too cheap to buy

the full articles to see what DMARDs.)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...p;dopt=Abstract

O’Dell 4 year MIRA – Minocycline vs placebo, early-onset RA

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...p;dopt=Abstract

Chinese, Minocycline + unspecified DMARD, DMARD resistant before study

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...p;dopt=Abstract

Japanese study, DMARD resistant, 6 mos, 1 yr, minocycline only.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...p;dopt=Abstract

Israeli study, DMARD resistant, 48 weeks, minocycline only. Limited data

The studies are not extensive enough to provide the kind of data the FDA wants

to see because drug companies are not pushing the studies. There is no longer a

patent position on the tetracycline class of drugs used in these studies so

they are generic only. However there is no reason that I know of why a doctor

cannot prescribe the medication for RA.

With this introduction I suggest that people who either don't get enough help

from DMARDs or have to go off of them for any reason might consider antibiotic

therapy. God bless.

From: Rheumatoid Arthritis [mailto:Rheumatoid Arthritis ] On Behalf Of Becky Watkins

Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006

11:03 AM

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Subject: Re:

hello all

Hi there,

Sorry to hear you're still in pain and nothing seems to work atm. I do

hope you feel better soon and get some better nights sleep.

Luv

Becky

[Guest guest]

from what I understand is that these antibiotics are not approved for ra. They are for acne but since they are not for r/a - the insurance companies won't pay for it. So if you want to go that route - a doc can prescribe them for you but you have to pay out of pocket. helen Harold Van Tuyl <hvantuyl@...> wrote: ... The studies are not extensive enough to provide the kind of data the FDA wants to see because drug companies are not pushing the studies. There is no longer a patent position on the tetracycline class of drugs used in these studies so they are generic only. However there is no reason that I know of why a doctor cannot prescribe the medication for RA. With this introduction I suggest that people who either don't get enough help from DMARDs or have to go off of them for any reason might consider antibiotic therapy. God bless.

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[Guest guest]

I dont know about anybody else. But I think I'm to chicken to even try this. I am very sensitive to antibiotics. My face gets flush and almost always end up with a yeast infection. I hope there are others options for me. Cant wait until next week to go to the doc's to talk with him about all this. Thanks Harold Van Tuyl <hvantuyl@...> wrote: I have recently been in contact with an advocate of antibiotic therapy and she has provided me with references to clinical trials favorable to antibiotics. The first of the links below is an older one that provided much of the basis for the American College of Rheumatology to recognize Minocycline as a DMARD useful for mild to moderate, early-onset RA. The other links are more recent and deal with established RA that is resistant to unspecified DMARDs. (I'm too cheap to buy the full articles to see what DMARDs.)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...p;dopt=Abstract O’Dell 4 year MIRA – Minocycline vs placebo, early-onset RAhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...p;dopt=Abstract Chinese, Minocycline + unspecified DMARD, DMARD resistant before studyhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...p;dopt=Abstract Japanese study, DMARD resistant, 6 mos, 1 yr, minocycline only.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...p;dopt=Abstract Israeli study, DMARD resistant, 48 weeks, minocycline only. Limited dataThe studies are not extensive enough to provide the kind of data the FDA wants to see because drug companies are not pushing the studies. There is no longer a patent position on the tetracycline class of drugs used in these studies so they are generic only. However there is no reason that I know of why a doctor cannot prescribe the medication for RA.With this introduction I suggest that people who either don't get enough help from DMARDs or have to go off of them for any reason might consider antibiotic therapy. God bless. From: Rheumatoid Arthritis [mailto:Rheumatoid Arthritis ] On Behalf Of Becky WatkinsSent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 11:03 AMRheumatoid Arthritis Subject: Re: hello

all Hi there, Sorry to hear you're still in pain and nothing seems to work atm. I do hope you feel better soon and get some better nights sleep. Luv Becky

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[Guest guest]

I took antibiotics for arthritis when I was first dx'd. This was b/c the doctor thought I might have Reactive Arthritis (which is like RA only it is specifically triggered by an infection). Take care, Steph in VAHelen <helen050959@...> wrote: from what I understand is that these antibiotics are not approved for ra. They are for acne but since they are not for r/a - the insurance companies won't pay for it. So if you want to go that route - a doc can prescribe

them for you but you have to pay out of pocket.helen Harold Van Tuyl <hvantuylcharter (DOT) net> wrote: ...The studies are not extensive enough to provide the kind of data the FDA wants to see because drug companies are not pushing the studies. There is no longer a patent position on the tetracycline class of drugs used in these studies so they are generic only. However there is no reason that I know of why a doctor cannot prescribe the medication for RA.With this introduction I suggest that people who either don't get enough help from DMARDs or have to go off of them for any reason might consider antibiotic

therapy. God bless. How low will we go? Check out Messenger’s low PC-to-Phone call rates.

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[Guest guest]

I don’t take the antibiotics because

I’m doing well on Remicade and Methotrexate. However, a quick check of

prices on the web makes me thing Doxycycline at 200 mg a day would cost about

$100 a year and Minocycline would cost about $500 a year. While not cheap

these may be less than the copays for some other medications. God bless.

From: Rheumatoid Arthritis [mailto:Rheumatoid Arthritis ] On Behalf Of Helen

Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006

2:14 PM

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Subject: RE:

hello all

from what

I understand is that these antibiotics are not approved for ra. They are for

acne but since they are not for r/a - the insurance companies won't pay for it.

So if you want to go that route - a doc can prescribe them for you but

you have to pay out of pocket.

helen

Harold Van Tuyl

<hvantuylcharter (DOT) net> wrote:

....

The studies are not extensive enough to provide the kind of data the FDA wants

to see because drug companies are not pushing the studies. There is no longer a

patent position on the tetracycline class of drugs used in these studies so

they are generic only. However there is no reason that I know of why a doctor

cannot prescribe the medication for RA.

With this introduction I suggest that people who either don't get enough help

from DMARDs or have to go off of them for any reason might consider antibiotic

therapy. God bless.

How low will we go? Check out Messenger’s low PC-to-Phone

call rates.

[Guest guest]

I looked into the antibiotics too. I do have a doc who will do it for me. But she had 2 patients with fibro that she tried it with and one seemed to help - the other not. With it there's a lot of 'tweaking' and that takes time. You also want to eat yogurt with live cultures or take the live cultures in a capsule to offset the yeast problem. When the doc tested me - I did have the microplasms (?) and strep (not an active strep - I just harbor it in my body). So the antibiotic protocol may work for me but I haven't tried it. Maybe I will when I get back to work or get the disability. Helen P NW ohio DeNicola- <stephdenicola@...> wrote: I took antibiotics for arthritis when I was first dx'd. This was b/c the doctor thought I might have Reactive Arthritis (which is like RA only it is specifically triggered by an infection). Take care, Steph in VAHelen <helen050959 > wrote: from what I understand is that these antibiotics are not approved for ra. They are for acne but since they are not for r/a - the insurance companies won't pay for it. So if you want to go that route - a doc can prescribe them for you but you have to pay out of pocket.helen Harold Van Tuyl

<hvantuylcharter (DOT) net> wrote: ...The studies are not extensive enough to provide the kind of data the FDA wants to see because drug companies are not pushing the studies. There is no longer a patent position on the tetracycline class of drugs used in these studies so they are generic only. However there is no reason that I know of why a doctor cannot prescribe the medication for RA.With this introduction I suggest that people who either don't get enough help from DMARDs or have to go off of them for any reason might consider antibiotic therapy. God bless. How low will we go? Check out Messenger’s low PC-to-Phone call rates. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Never underestimate the power of a small, dedicated group of people to change the world -- indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." (Margaret Mead) AmeriCorps Alums -- We're Still Getting Things Done All-new - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done faster.

All-new - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done faster.