Choosing the Alternative Route

An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away

This evening I visited my on-line Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group. I visit the group, not because I’m in pain, but because I want to share information. I used to visit daily to receive support from the wonderful people who share their heartfelt stories. Because I’ve experienced the lowest of lows with RA I feel like I can relate to my fellow online friends and offer the support they need now that I feel great. It’s tough however when I read post after post about their failing medications. I wish for all of our sakes, the choices were easier to make and that drugs given by doctors worked consistently.

I have a theory that when the body’s immune system is suppressed, the body will continue to fight and cause the immune system to boost and the drugs to stop working. The opposite of that, is that by taking alternative medications, the body is given a chance to heal and correct itself. If given enough time and the right medications, I do think this is possible.

One of my friends from the online support group who had disappeared for the past 6 months wrote to me. She had started on Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) when I started and began antibiotics when I began Serracor-NK. She is now in complete remission. Not only is she not having RA symptoms but she has quit taking LDN and antibiotics for many months now. So what happened? Well I think her body corrected itself, and hopefully it will stay that way forever. If for some reason it goes haywire again, perhaps LDN and antibiotics will again be the ticket to a better functioning immune system. And as well, antibiotics are on the back of my mind, in case Serracor-NK ever decided to stop working. I have complete faith that LDN will continue to work simply because I know other people who have been on LDN for years. One man in particular, Larry has noticed slight changes. He has Multiple Sclerosis, and it wasn’t until his fifth year of taking LDN that he was able to snap his fingers for the first time since MS had started. Now that’s exciting! I know to some people, it’s like, big deal, but when you have an autoimmune disease, it’s little things, liking being able to sleep through the night, make a fist, walk down or up a flight of stairs without issues that can put a very big smile on your face. At this point, I can’t tell what LDN does, I just know my pleurisy has never come back, nor has my chronic sore throat or blurry vision. I am hoping that just like Larry, LDN will continue to heal my body over time.

Before I even began alternative medications, I thought about it from day one. I already had a distrust towards doctors and the medical system for many many reasons throughout my life. Don’t get me wrong, I still go to the doctor, or at least I did when I had insurance. I believe as well, you can to a certain extent, help the medical system help you and not just go through life with blinders on. I have fought at times for certain medications or doses, and even for specialists. Getting your doctors to work for you, rather than you working for them is difficult and exhausting but in the end, it can be worth it.

I noticed early on that people on the support group who had RA generally didn’t have their perfect “cocktail” or drug mix that took away their symptoms. If they did, it seemed to be temporary. It was just a matter of time before their liver enzymes were up or the drugs stopped working. Tonight for instance, there was a post about methotrexate and prednisone not doing the job it was suppose to. The methotrexate dose was raised and yet she still wasn’t feeling better. Not only that, the raised dose of methotrexate had caused more hair loss and flu like symptoms. Inflammation was still a problem so an additional medicine was going to have to be introduced. She was frustrated and feeling confused how having a rheumatologist was helpful. The reality is, RA can be so severe that even the extreme fatigue, hair loss, flu like symptoms and yet dealing with some inflammation, flares and brain fog is still a better condition than not being able to walk or get a simple task done. It’s just sad to me, that the doctors and pharmaceutical companies only seem to offer drugs that will eventually harm you. If your autoimmune disease doesn’t do the trick in hurting your body, then perhaps the medications will. My opinion of this is conspiracy, I hate to say it, but I do think that in a world where sick people make pharmaceutical companies money, it would make sense that keeping them sick would be the answer. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that biologics and chemotherapy drugs used for RA give you less inflammation but in the end can lead to other autoimmune diseases or even Cancer.

I remember just before I stopped taking methotrexate and started taking LDN, I had done a little survey with the support group asking about daily symptoms, how many drugs they were on, and how long they had had RA. As well, had they ever experienced remission and what was the best they had felt? What I found was, the majority of people suffered from daily symptoms of RA, side effects from the drugs they take, and hadn’t experienced remission. Not only that,many people were still trying to get their symptoms under control, adding more medicines which meant more money out of their pocket and more side effects. The majority of them knew I was going to start taking LDN. Some cheered me on. Some people worried and asked me how I could choose this when it was DMARDS and Biologics that were suppose to stop the disease from causing deformation. I would explain that prednisone, which most people were taking was causing bone loss, and that until their disease was completely under control, they were probably experiencing bone deformation. As long as the disease is active and you have inflammation, regardless of what drug you’re on, joint erosion and deformation could still be in the process.

Even I have bone deterioration and that was under the supervision of a Rheumatologist and under the right drugs, including a DMARD. I have barely any swelling now, on alternative medications, and I know as long as I do have swelling I’m probably harming my joints. But knowing that prednisone which my doctor had me on for a year, harms my joints as well as other parts of my body makes me feel like the alternative route is the best way to go. How can I complain when I’ve had the least amount of swelling since the onset of RA. I wake up pain free every day. I would love to have complete flexibility in my wrists, which I don’t but I’m hoping in time it will still happen. You’ll have to keep up on my progress to find out. Either way, I’m still genuinely happy that I made this decision because I have no side effects with the supplements I take and LDN, except for good side effects like lower cholesterol and more energy . I can drink if I want to, and I almost never have a flare. If I do have a flare, I’m not even sure if it is a flare because the swelling and pain is so minimal. Possibly the best side effect that I never expected…..I have more hair than I have had in years. :)

The Truth about Sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is a rare autoimmune disease that many people have never heard of. But if you were a fan of Bernie Mac, then you may know he died of a lung disorder.

Actor Bernie Mac, 50, Dies from Sarcoidosis

Although Sarcoidosis is usually not fatal, award-winning journalist, reporter, anchor and producer, Diane Rutherford knows first hand how for some people, Sarcoidosis becomes a serious disease. Her father died three years ago. Diane has used her position to promote awareness.

“An inflammatory disease, which can affect many parts of the body, sarcoidosis has no known cause or cure. According to the National Institutes of Health, the mysterious inflammation produces tiny lumps of cells called granulomas, which resemble grains of sand. If these grains multiply and merge, they can create groups of lumps. If numerous lumps form in an organ, they can affect that part of the body. That’s when symptoms crop up. Because the illness can involve a variety of age groups, multiple organs and a myriad of symptoms, sarcoid is sometimes initially mistaken for other diseases.”

I first became aware of Sarcoidosis when I was pouring over information about Rheumatoid Arthritis, which I have. I became specifically intrigued with Sarcoid Arthritis and wondered if I had been misdiagnosed which happens often. As with many diseases, sometimes it takes years to know for sure what illness you are suffering from since diseases often overlap in symptoms.

Diane has done a wonderful job educating the public on Sarcoidosis. She has three Youtube videos where she explains the details of this disease.

 

Although Sarcoidosis is usually not fatal and often heals naturally, “a lot of patients do have symptoms that can last months or even years if the granulomas spread and cause scarring in the organs.”

Prednisone is often prescribed for autoimmune diseases, including Sarcoidosis. Though it’s an anti-inflammatory, it’s also a steroid which can cause horrible side effects. Hypertension, Bone loss, Diabetes and Cataracts are some of those side effects, just to name a few. Prednisone does not cure autoimmune diseases, but can help alleviate symptoms.

This is one of those times that I can’t help but mention Serracor-NK. I wonder if Serracor-NK could help people with Sarcoidosis. It only seems logical that it could, since Serracor-NK not only helps with inflammatory diseases, but also with Pulmonary Fibrosis, a condition that scars the lungs. With Prednisone as an unappealing option of treatment for Sarcoidosis, it seems the logical step would be to give Serracor-NK a try.

Can you trust your doctor?

I mean really, can you? Believe me, I’ve had some great doctors before. I’ve had doctors that I trusted my life with, literally. But when it comes to medicine and your checkbook, can you really trust your doctor? Do you trust them to check that your medications don’t interfere with one another? Do you trust that they will truly listen?

I feel that there are many out there whom you can really trust and that most doctors really do care. But they are people just like us, so it’s impossible for them to know everything. I  feel that it’s always important to do your homework. And what I mean by this is that you look up your medications, research them and decide what’s best.

Prednisone, for instance is one of those drugs that most people who take it learn to both love and hate. It’s completely addictive and loaded with side effects, everywhere from bloating from short term use, to diabetes from long term use. This drug is prescribed like candy. It was the first drug that I was put on. And in the midst of being in terrible pain and not thinking straight, I was shocked that this drug turned me from an invalid to a somewhat capable person. It works wonders.  The only problem was, if I stopped taking it, then what? If I continued taking it, then what? I was so addicted to this drug, not in terms of feeling like an addict, but in terms of if I were to stop it, my RA would come back ten fold and I could end up having diseases caused specifically from stopping Prednisone.  It took an entire year before I was able to fully wean off of it.  Prednisone is not only addictive but also causes bone loss, especially in long term use.  So before you decide to pop that next pill, take a look at it’s side effects and be sure to weigh out the pros and cons.