minocyclene and enbrel

[Guest guest]

Hi, I'm new to this group and hope you can help me. I was diagnosed with

rheumatoid arthritis in 2005 and have been on enbrel, prednisone and azulfidine

along with inhalers for asthma, calcium and vit. C. and have been doing very

well, managing occcasional flares in fall and spring with changing my prednisone

dose. But I have been very concerned about taking all this medication and have

done alot of reading, changing my diet to no gluten, no unfermented soy, only

grass fed/free range beef/chicken. I went to see an M.D. last week who is into

alternative therapies and diet. He took me off calcium and put me on minocylene

200mg daily, a B complex vitamin, vit. D, Magnesium, cocunut milk keifer 3x

daily and I am to add iodine in a week. He said I should stay on the enbrel for

now but gradually go to taking it every 10th day if I tolerate it well rather

than every 8th as I have been doing. My rheumatologist has told me in the past

that if I ever go on antibiotics I should stop taking the enbrel until the

course of antibiotics is over, then resume.

Since starting this new regimen Thursday pm I have not been feeling well, that

is, I feel nervous and dizzy. So I did some reading about minocyclene and

decided to lower my dose to 100 mg Mon, Wed., Fri.

So, 2 questions:

1. Should I keep taking the enbrel or not?

2. Traditional sources say minocyclene works not as an antibiotic with R.A. but

as an immunosuppresent. Alternatives say it's the antibiotic. But whenever

I've been on antibiotics in the past it's only for 10-14 days but it seems that

for R.A. minocyclene is used long term which makes me wonder if rather than

killing off a bug it's just substituting one medication for another. I guess

even that is good in the sense that dizziness (i.e. with minocyclene) is better

than lymphoma (i.e. with enbrel)! But is there hope I can get off medication

altogether?

This whole thing can be so confusing! Which " expert " do you listen to?

Thanks.

Cherie