Reactive Arthritis

[Guest guest]

I Had ReA (reactive arthritis). I cured this with Cipro @ 1.5g per

day for 6 weeks, this killed the main infection, then I used Biaxin

in lower doses (250mg) per day for 3 month cycles to get it out of

the back and had to reach places. I took ABX for a few years in all,

but mostly the work was done with these two agents. Be careful of

campylobactor and other opportunistic infections following ABX like

Cipro. Cipro gets a bad wrap as in some it can cause ligament damage,

however, they state not to work out while on it and IMO it's one of

the only abx which is effective against this (I must have tried 10+

abx). Also you will need to follow up with anti fungals. I found

'Oral' Amp. b. was very effective, Lamisil too, diflucan, nystatin

etc. can all be considered. Food allergies followed, strict

abstinence from gluten, dairy and corn along with adding vitamins and

minerals (b complex) etc.

Reactive Arthritis is thought to be incurable, however, at least 5

others I know have cured this with similar treatment. I no longer

have ReA.

Good luck.

Steve

On 23 Jun 2010, at 04:48, Beth Fletcher wrote:

> I believe what I have is Reactive Arthritis. Have you read much

> about that? My arthritis was sudden onset one week after being

> diagnosed with a bladder/kidney infection. I am to this day (5

> years later) seronegative and I'm HLA-B27 positive. I was tested

> for Lyme and it came back negative.

>

>

>

> From: mprice0823 <mprice823@...>

> Subject: rheumatic ok, here goes...

> rheumatic

> Date: Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 7:02 PM

>

>

>

> Another newbie here. I've been reading for a little over a week and

> I guess I'm ready to start posting...

>

> I am a 34 year old mother of 3. I was diagnosed with RA about 8

> months ago after about 6 months of being told that I had chronic

> EBV by my family Dr.

>

> I have completely normal blood work and no swelling. My diagnoses

> was based on morning stiffness and the fact that 1 erosion showed

> up on x-ray. I have, from the beginning questioned my diagnosis and

> the treatment plan (methotrexate) that my rheumatologist

> recommended. Here's how it started...

>

> I woke up one morning with a scratchy throat. The next day it was

> worse and looked red with white spots. I NEVER get sick and have

> never had strep. I assumed that I had a little virus. We were going

> out of town and I'm not one to let a little sore throat ruin a

> family trip. The next day it was even worse and I had a fever and

> chills and was just exhausted. I was out of town with no access to

> our local Dr. I decided to wait and see and make an appointment if

> I wasn't better the next day when we got home. The next day I WAS

> feeling better. I was on the mend! I had 2 good days, we worked in

> the yard, everything was great. I went to bed one night and woke up

> the next morning in agony. My entire body was on fire. I was so

> stiff that I literally could not get out of bed (I know that many

> of you have been there).

>

> I loaded the kids up in the car to go to the store for some

> ibuprofen and I couldn't even shift the gear shifter. I was in

> tears trying to hold onto the steering wheel! I decided that the

> yard work was just too much too soon after being sick, but I knew

> that this was different than just being sore. I finally went into

> the Dr. They did a strep and mono quick test and both were

> negative. I was told that it was mono, that the test was surely a

> false negative. Given a scrip for Celebrex and sent on my way. At

> the time, I was CONVINCED that I did NOT have mono. I've always

> believed that antibiotics are overprescribed by drs, but I was

> upset that they wouldn't give me an antibiotic. I was SURE that

> whatever I had would be helped by a simple antibiotic.

>

> The Celebrex did help, but I was still in lots of pain and very

> stiff in the mornings and after sitting for more than 30 minutes. I

> went back to the Dr two weeks later. They told me that it was still

> mono and at my urging, did further blood work. Everything looked

> normal and I showed EBV antibodies, the dr told me to just let it

> run it's course. To get lots of rest (haha! I have 3 small

> children!) and that I would feel better in a couple of weeks.

>

> Two months later, still in pain, I went back to the Dr again. This

> time I was told that it must be chronic EBV and that I would just

> have it for the rest of my life. At this point, I was calling BS. I

> KNEW that something else was wrong with me! I did research and my

> symptoms did seem to match, but in my gut, I felt that it was the

> wrong diagnosis.

>

> I decided to up the ante and a nurse friend recommended that I see

> a rheumatologist. She is fairly confident that it is RA, and it

> still might be, but I still feel like it is not an exact fit.

>

> Here are the arguments for and against...

> I have one wrist that showed erosions, but I have had an injury to

> that wrist and have had problems with it for 8 years, so the x-rays

> could be showing damage other than RA.

>

> The onset was sudden. Sudden onset does happen in RA, but it seems

> to be fairly rare.

>

> I am seronegative. Again, that does happen.

>

> I have NEVER had an elevated sed rate. I have had 8 set of

> bloodwork over the course of 15 months and even when I was at my

> worst, nothing in my bloodwork was out of the ordinary.

>

> My stiffness is worse in the morning and when I've been sitting

> (typical RA)

>

> After a shot of prednisone in the rear I was almost symptom free.

> The dr said it would last from 2-6 weeks, mine started tapering off

> after almost 3 months. Dr felt that the good reaction to prednisone

> pointed toward RA.

>

> Anyway, long story short. I am not a " do whatever the dr says " type

> of person. My rheumatologist has really been pushing me toward

> methotrexate. The thought of that stuff makes me want to run away

> screaming. I decided to try sulfasalazine a few months ago. It

> seemed to be the lesser of the two evils and I was feeling pretty

> hopeless at the time.

>

> When I found this group, it was like a lightbulb coming on. From

> the beginning, I felt like my problem was infectious and would be

> helped by antibiotics. The drs looked at me like I was crazy for

> suggesting it and for a while I thought they might be right.

>

> I would appreciate any feedback. I'm sorry for posting my whole

> long sob story, but I honestly feel like I need to treat the source

> of my problem and not the symptoms and I'm hoping that someone else

> on here can share their success and help to point me in the right

> direction.

>

> I live in the Dallas area.

>

> Thanks!!!!

>

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