One of the things that people who are healthy do not understand about arthritis is how DEPRESSING this disease can be. For a while, I thought it was just me, being a baby about having pains and limitations to what I can do. When I am battling to get this disease back under control, I definitely go into a clinically depressed state. I sit there, recognize the issue, KNOW that this too, will pass, but it is a battle, nonetheless.
But the last thing I would want is to take any sort of drug to combat depression. Lordy lordy, after that issue I had with Bactrim a year ago, I have a great fear of ever having to take any other drugs (other than my trusty Vibramycin and Minocin) ever again! So I just muddle thru, trying to stay in touch with friends who are glass-half-full sorts. I pretty much pulled away from the few glass-getting-empty sorts years ago. When a friend just pulls you down, you gotta walk away.
Anyhow, the combination of finally, finally finally getting back to 100% remission, and adding new activities to my life has made me a much happier person. For those of you who are, like me, single, and of an age where it becomes more difficult to meet new people, I have to recommend a wonderful online source - MEETUP.COM. In MOST areas of the country (sorry, but if you live in Akron Ohio this has not caught on so much...) you can find meetup groups of people to match ANY sort of hobbies or activities you may be interested in. Like reading? Meetup book clubs...like taking photos, and want to improve your skills...Meetup photo groups. Like to travel? Meetup travel groups. Play bingo? Meetup bingo clubs. Play Parcheesi? Meetup board game groups (they have those in Akron). Like trying new restaurants? Meetup dining out groups. No cost to join, most activities are free. You will find wonderful people joining these clubs. I cannot recommend this highly enough.
Anyhow, I love travel and photography. Don't have a lot of time to travel, so am hampered by that. But do have time to go on group photo-shoots. So I have joined several photo clubs, the members are fantastic - ranging from people with small point-and-shoot cameras to professional photographers, willing to share their expertise and help you take better photos. Whether it is going to a local zoo or local flower garden to take photos, it is always a nice little outing and great comraderie.
So, if you are feeling depressed, please get out and get more active or involved. You will be surprised at how much of an improvement this can make in your outlook!
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
A few handy tools everyone can use, especially those with RA
Over the years, I have been gradually modifying my home and supplies to better accomodate any future issues with RA in my hands and wrists. Those just starting on this long battle with RA need to start making simple changes around the house. All faucets should be the lever kind, rather than the round twisty sort. Much easier to use. Start changing the doorknobs to the lever types as well. It really is not difficult to do, does not require a locksmith, just someone that can operate a screwdriver. And new doorknobs are inexpensive, relatively speaking. If you need a quick fix, there are plastic levers that screw onto your doorknobs as well, though they are not real attractive. For those with extremely limited hand strength, you can add a cloth loop to assist in "turning" the knob.
It adjusts to fit ANY size lid that needs to be screwed off, from a water bottle top to a mayonnaise jar. Also has a section on the front that goes under and helps lift vacuum sealed lids, and what looks like a bottle opener (tho I have not used that part)
My very favorite kitchen tool is currently unavailable on Amazon or other sites. I found it made by KitchenAid as well as another brand, but neither is available right now. Keep looking for this, I had purchased a half dozen and gave them as gifts to people with no hand problems, everyone loves them.
It adjusts to fit ANY size lid that needs to be screwed off, from a water bottle top to a mayonnaise jar. Also has a section on the front that goes under and helps lift vacuum sealed lids, and what looks like a bottle opener (tho I have not used that part)
Next is the vacuum -popper. This is awesome! No more trying to wedge a screwdriver or bottle opener up under a lid to break the vacuum seal...this does the job fast, easily, and with no damage to the lid!
I have cats, and they love their canned cat food. Which comes in a can with a ring pull lid. I love soup on a cold winter day, which comes in cans with ring pull lids. Whoever invented those had complete disregard for fingernails, much less those with any sort of hand issues, such as RA. Then I found this. What a wonderful wonderful tool!
And, finally, speaking of those pull ring tabs, we all get frustrated with opening soda cans. So I bought some of these (they come two to a pack). They are helpful.
Look for these on Amazon and in some of the handy catalogs that sell all sorts of stuff to help around the house.
Hope this was helpful!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
In "remission", or "clinical recession"
Hi all
This comeback from the effects of my horrible experience with Bactrim as well as with megadoses of Potassium Citrate has been a very slow process. But I can say that I am finally getting to where I can go weeks without a flare. As long as I watch which foods I eat.
I read RA Warrior's blog and get her daily updates. I hate that she is in such constant pain. I KNOW what that is like, been thru it. I am one of the lucky ones, I know that. For me, using antibiotics and ONLY antibiotics has kept me pretty much pain free, flare free, and walking that "remission" tightrope for seven years now. MOST DAYS I get by with virtually no reminder that I have RA. I do not wake up with stiff joints. I have full use of my hands and fingers. Occasionally, I will eat something that triggers a problem. I can usually quickly identify the culprit, because the ache/flare will start in the joint within about 2 hours of eating. Normally the pain lasts thru the nite but is gone by the next day.
A couple weeks ago something triggered a flare in my left knee. Had not had a problem with either knee in many years, but boy, when a knee is inflamed and hurts like heck, it is NO FUN trying to get up out of a chair! (I keep a lifter at the commode at all times...left it there after last Spring's bout with many flare-ups, even tho I do not need it 99% of the time).(I have purchased ALL SORTS of great items for people with RA - handy kitchen tools, doorknob assists, etc etc. I will have to do a separate posting on those items.) Anyhow, it was just a few days before the Super Bowl, and I was planning on having guests over for the game and a BBQ. (West Coast, we watch the show mid afternoon). Luckily, it was gone in a couple days. So then I ordered a knee brace, for the next time. (My mom does not have RA, but at age 88, she has had knee problems. She swears by the help that is offered by a good knee brace). It arrived today. I will test it out tonite just to see how it feels. And set it aside for "when the time comes" - because it inevitably does!
The RA Warrior blog includes information about the definition of "remission". I know not to get all excited about being in "remission". All that means is that the visible, tangible, obvious RA flares and sore joints are not occurring. We have to be aware that RA is attacking our hearts and lungs JUST THE WAY it attacks the joints. But that attack is impossible to guage. People with RA die at a frighteningly faster pace, younger age, then their non-RA counterparts. All we can do is make every effort to keep our hearts and lungs healthy by maintaining a low cholesterol level with the correct balance of HDL and LDL and triglicerides. We need to monitor our blood sugar to make sure we are not pre-diabetic or diabetic. We have to monitor our blood pressure. If it is out of normal range, find out what you need to do to get it back into the correct range...most likely those two often repeated things: DIET AND EXERCISE! It helps our joints if we maintain a healthy weight. We help our bones if we make sure we eat a balanced diet with calcium-rich foods. We cannot stop the RA from ravaging our hearts...but we CAN make it fight an uphill battle by making our hearts healthy!
I wish, wish, wish that everyone could enjoy the freedom from pain that I have been so fortunate to enjoy these past seven years (for the most part). And if you have been newly diagnosed with this disease, please please please try the antibiotics treatment. See information at the website - The Road Back Foundation. Read Henry Scammell's book. (it is my bible!). There are naysayers out there - but we are each different, and this works for many thousands of us! With no horrid side effects!! Just Google for the information on this. PLEASE!!! I want more of you to stop suffering with this horrid disease!
This comeback from the effects of my horrible experience with Bactrim as well as with megadoses of Potassium Citrate has been a very slow process. But I can say that I am finally getting to where I can go weeks without a flare. As long as I watch which foods I eat.
I read RA Warrior's blog and get her daily updates. I hate that she is in such constant pain. I KNOW what that is like, been thru it. I am one of the lucky ones, I know that. For me, using antibiotics and ONLY antibiotics has kept me pretty much pain free, flare free, and walking that "remission" tightrope for seven years now. MOST DAYS I get by with virtually no reminder that I have RA. I do not wake up with stiff joints. I have full use of my hands and fingers. Occasionally, I will eat something that triggers a problem. I can usually quickly identify the culprit, because the ache/flare will start in the joint within about 2 hours of eating. Normally the pain lasts thru the nite but is gone by the next day.
A couple weeks ago something triggered a flare in my left knee. Had not had a problem with either knee in many years, but boy, when a knee is inflamed and hurts like heck, it is NO FUN trying to get up out of a chair! (I keep a lifter at the commode at all times...left it there after last Spring's bout with many flare-ups, even tho I do not need it 99% of the time).(I have purchased ALL SORTS of great items for people with RA - handy kitchen tools, doorknob assists, etc etc. I will have to do a separate posting on those items.) Anyhow, it was just a few days before the Super Bowl, and I was planning on having guests over for the game and a BBQ. (West Coast, we watch the show mid afternoon). Luckily, it was gone in a couple days. So then I ordered a knee brace, for the next time. (My mom does not have RA, but at age 88, she has had knee problems. She swears by the help that is offered by a good knee brace). It arrived today. I will test it out tonite just to see how it feels. And set it aside for "when the time comes" - because it inevitably does!
The RA Warrior blog includes information about the definition of "remission". I know not to get all excited about being in "remission". All that means is that the visible, tangible, obvious RA flares and sore joints are not occurring. We have to be aware that RA is attacking our hearts and lungs JUST THE WAY it attacks the joints. But that attack is impossible to guage. People with RA die at a frighteningly faster pace, younger age, then their non-RA counterparts. All we can do is make every effort to keep our hearts and lungs healthy by maintaining a low cholesterol level with the correct balance of HDL and LDL and triglicerides. We need to monitor our blood sugar to make sure we are not pre-diabetic or diabetic. We have to monitor our blood pressure. If it is out of normal range, find out what you need to do to get it back into the correct range...most likely those two often repeated things: DIET AND EXERCISE! It helps our joints if we maintain a healthy weight. We help our bones if we make sure we eat a balanced diet with calcium-rich foods. We cannot stop the RA from ravaging our hearts...but we CAN make it fight an uphill battle by making our hearts healthy!
I wish, wish, wish that everyone could enjoy the freedom from pain that I have been so fortunate to enjoy these past seven years (for the most part). And if you have been newly diagnosed with this disease, please please please try the antibiotics treatment. See information at the website - The Road Back Foundation. Read Henry Scammell's book. (it is my bible!). There are naysayers out there - but we are each different, and this works for many thousands of us! With no horrid side effects!! Just Google for the information on this. PLEASE!!! I want more of you to stop suffering with this horrid disease!
Friday, December 14, 2012
Notes on Foods and RA reactions
Several decades ago, when I was a young, newly single gal in my 30's, dieting to keep looking sexy as I looked for Mr. Right, I discovered that Strawberries are the perfect diet food. They have virtually no calories and no carbs. And living in California, the state that produces 80% of the strawberry crop for the United States, we get lots of luscious strawberries during the Spring and Summer months.
I have never had a food allergy. Ate all foods and never had a rash or anything. Peanuts, no problem. Shellfish, love it. The only allergies I had ever had were to pollen, dust, and animal dander. And penicillin. But I grew out of those environmental allergies by the time I reached 30.
Anyhow, I was eating strawberries morning noon and nite. After about a MONTH of that, I started to get a rash on my inner arms. So I stopped eating strawberries, and the rash went away. A week later, I ate a dish of strawberries, and several hours later there was that rash again. Hmmmm. Seems I had developed an allergy, maybe by overloading on strawberries.
I had to resist strawberries for several years. After 4 or 5 years I was again able to eat strawberries with no reaction. But I have always been careful not to "overdo" it.
Fast Forward. Now I have RA. And SOME foods definitely will trigger flares, moreso than other foods. Before I started my antibiotics regimen, which has kept me mostly in remission for six years, I started logging in every morsel I ate and separating all different foods by at least 3 hours so I could see if there was any reaction. (this takes a couple weeks, to get thru most of the foods you eat, but once you have eaten something that creates no reaction, you can add that in later, knowing it is not causative.) I was able to narrow the trigger foods down to a relatively short list: all niteshade products (tomatoes, bell peppers, etc.), pork, popcorn (but not cooked corn), peanuts, sunflower seeds, eggs. Avoiding those foods lessened the intensity and frequency of the flare-ups. (If you go back to the beginning, you will see that my RA is directly linked to a "leaky gut", which was caused by a year long infestation with Giardia. Which makes it easy to see why certain foods may have a stronger effect on the RA).
ANYHOW, once in remission, I was able to eat ALL the "trigger" foods in MODERATION and with no problems. (I love munching on sunflower seeds, and occasionally find myself overdoing that, so have to back off...).
Fast forward to the past month. I love Thanksgiving and TURKEY. Our local supermarket offers a terrific price for a large turkey during the holiday season, and I always buy one just for myself. I cook it, and then put it into many ziplock bags in the freezer for later consumption. But I wind up eating turkey for dinner nearly every day, sometimes for weeks on end. I did that again this year. After two weeks of having turkey roughly 10 times, I noticed a flare up of my left hand an hour or so after eating dinner. I realized immediately that I had overdone the eating turkey thing. So I did not eat any more turkey for 5 days, then I ate some more (had that large ziploc bag filled with turkey in my refrigerator, defrosted). No problem. Waited two more days, had another turkey dinner. No problem. Waited two more days, then finished off the turkey before it went bad. PROBLEM. Within an hour my left arm started to ache. All the muscles and tendons in the entire left arm. I knew it was not a heart attack, I knew it was the turkey. Went to bed, the arm hurting so badly that I could barely hold it up. Took two aspirin. All nite long, the pain in my arm kept me from sleeping comfortably or well. When I woke up yesterday morning, the ache had diminished. I took more aspirin, then got ready to go out and call on customers, hoping the arm would go back to normal. It did, by noon the pain was totally gone.
Anyhow, lesson learned AGAIN. If you love a food, eat it in MODERATION. Repeatedly and frequently eating the same food can create an allergic reaction. If you have RA, that will come in the form of flare ups.
I hope this alert helps you to lessen those flare ups.
Have a peaceful and hopefully flare- free holiday.
I have never had a food allergy. Ate all foods and never had a rash or anything. Peanuts, no problem. Shellfish, love it. The only allergies I had ever had were to pollen, dust, and animal dander. And penicillin. But I grew out of those environmental allergies by the time I reached 30.
Anyhow, I was eating strawberries morning noon and nite. After about a MONTH of that, I started to get a rash on my inner arms. So I stopped eating strawberries, and the rash went away. A week later, I ate a dish of strawberries, and several hours later there was that rash again. Hmmmm. Seems I had developed an allergy, maybe by overloading on strawberries.
I had to resist strawberries for several years. After 4 or 5 years I was again able to eat strawberries with no reaction. But I have always been careful not to "overdo" it.
Fast Forward. Now I have RA. And SOME foods definitely will trigger flares, moreso than other foods. Before I started my antibiotics regimen, which has kept me mostly in remission for six years, I started logging in every morsel I ate and separating all different foods by at least 3 hours so I could see if there was any reaction. (this takes a couple weeks, to get thru most of the foods you eat, but once you have eaten something that creates no reaction, you can add that in later, knowing it is not causative.) I was able to narrow the trigger foods down to a relatively short list: all niteshade products (tomatoes, bell peppers, etc.), pork, popcorn (but not cooked corn), peanuts, sunflower seeds, eggs. Avoiding those foods lessened the intensity and frequency of the flare-ups. (If you go back to the beginning, you will see that my RA is directly linked to a "leaky gut", which was caused by a year long infestation with Giardia. Which makes it easy to see why certain foods may have a stronger effect on the RA).
ANYHOW, once in remission, I was able to eat ALL the "trigger" foods in MODERATION and with no problems. (I love munching on sunflower seeds, and occasionally find myself overdoing that, so have to back off...).
Fast forward to the past month. I love Thanksgiving and TURKEY. Our local supermarket offers a terrific price for a large turkey during the holiday season, and I always buy one just for myself. I cook it, and then put it into many ziplock bags in the freezer for later consumption. But I wind up eating turkey for dinner nearly every day, sometimes for weeks on end. I did that again this year. After two weeks of having turkey roughly 10 times, I noticed a flare up of my left hand an hour or so after eating dinner. I realized immediately that I had overdone the eating turkey thing. So I did not eat any more turkey for 5 days, then I ate some more (had that large ziploc bag filled with turkey in my refrigerator, defrosted). No problem. Waited two more days, had another turkey dinner. No problem. Waited two more days, then finished off the turkey before it went bad. PROBLEM. Within an hour my left arm started to ache. All the muscles and tendons in the entire left arm. I knew it was not a heart attack, I knew it was the turkey. Went to bed, the arm hurting so badly that I could barely hold it up. Took two aspirin. All nite long, the pain in my arm kept me from sleeping comfortably or well. When I woke up yesterday morning, the ache had diminished. I took more aspirin, then got ready to go out and call on customers, hoping the arm would go back to normal. It did, by noon the pain was totally gone.
Anyhow, lesson learned AGAIN. If you love a food, eat it in MODERATION. Repeatedly and frequently eating the same food can create an allergic reaction. If you have RA, that will come in the form of flare ups.
I hope this alert helps you to lessen those flare ups.
Have a peaceful and hopefully flare- free holiday.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Good news, knee issue
I have to say that I have the most fantastic GP doctor ever! He has been my doctor for about 5 years now, and I just adore him! I had called to get an appointment for my vaccinations (flu, pneumonia, etc) and because I had not seen him in over a year, they had me schedule a full physical review with him. Great idea, really. Anyhow, I was concerned about that inflammation (sort of a big cushy soft spot) right below my knees. It sort of started about 4 to 5 months ago, and at the time I thought it was a part of the battle I was having with the RA which had resurfaced after my urologist had prescribed Bactrim (sulfa drugs are not recommended if you have RA...I did not know, he did not know, the drug nearly killed me and my RA flares started up) and then a few weeks later with Potassium Citrate megadoses (that does not play well with tetracycline drugs...so again, two steps forward, three steps back!). Anyhow, it was a tough time returning to normalcy. At some point during that time I noticed that the area below my knees, especially my right knee, was sorta puffy, swollen, mushy, but not painful like RA. When I saw my Rheumatologist last month I asked him if he thought that was an RA symptom, or maybe Osteoarthritis? He said he could not tell, but suggested I wait until my next visit in 4 months, and if still problematic, we would do X-rays. The only time the knees bothered me was at nite, when they burned a bit. Anyhow, my regular GP poked and prodded and told me that the TENDON that runs down from the kneecap to the bone below had been stretched or damaged, and this swelling was a result. (I asked him because I was planning to join a gym and start working out to try to lose some weight). He said this was more common in young kids, not someone my age, and the only thing I could do was to NOT exercise (including the weekend 3.5 mile walk that I try to do with friends at least 3 weekends per month) for a month, to let it heal. After leaving, I remembered that I had tripped and fallen in August, and it was my RIGHT leg that had gone over the edge of the sidewalk and twisted, but I had fallen on my LEFT knee.....but quite likely I twisted my right knee in the event. So that probably is what caused this issue. Relief that it is not RA. Being OLD means that it takes longer to heal, but at least I know that it WILL heal, eventually. Love my doctor...he is just so good at really diagnosing things. (Wish he had been around when I was battling Giardia. Unfortunately, it was not until I had found out what the issue was that he became my new doctor, when my previous GP decided to focus on surgery). So, no issues with the knees and RA. Also had him check my ears. Whatever is causing the buzzing/plugged up feeling is down in the tubes. He recommended Mucinex to see if that would dislodge it. The issue is NOT caused by the antibiotics.
I am on the last week of Vibramycin, then will do the Minocin (will start with the Ranbaxy Minocycline and hope that it works) for December. Will let you know the results, as always.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Keep up the positive attitude...that is part of the way to get to remission!
I am on the last week of Vibramycin, then will do the Minocin (will start with the Ranbaxy Minocycline and hope that it works) for December. Will let you know the results, as always.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Keep up the positive attitude...that is part of the way to get to remission!
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
In remission, knock on wood
The heavy doses of Minocin that I was taking created a slight allergic response (buzzing in the ears) so I switched to VIBRAMYCIN 100 mg capsules in Mid October. Have used those just 100 mg on M W F, and am no longer experiencing buzzing in the ears, and have stayed in remission. All vestiges of the RA flares have disappeared, there are no pains anywhere. I still have that swelling below my knees, which still occasionally sort of burns a bit, but does not cause the aches normally associated with a flare-up from RA. Because the Ranbaxy minocycline capsules seemed to work as well as the brand Minocin, I will continue testing those. I am going to be alternating between Minocin and Vibramycin on a monthly basis as long as I remain in remission. Same dosage for each, 100 mg capsule on M W F. The Vibramycin has proven to be a good "maintenance" drug. However, in the past I noticed that prolonged (many months) use of Vibramycin sort of caused me to feel depressed and lethargic. Hence, definitely best to alternate the drugs. Good news seems boring...but I have to tell you, it was a huge relief to finally get back into remission where I felt completely "normal" and pain free, at all times. I am back to eating whatever I want (tho I stay away from Citrus fruit, which seems to rapidly exacerbate flare-ups). Hoping this will continue for many more years. It has now been over six years since I was diagnosed with RA, and I just feel so very fortunate that we have the internet for research, and that SERENDIPITY struck just as I was looking up this horrid disease that had been diagnosed. I wish I knew who those people were whose input on the Yahoo groups for Rheumatoid Arthritis changed my LIFE!!! First, pointing me to The Roadback Foundation website, and Henry Scammel's book (I LOVE THAT MAN!!), then the person who talked about the link between LEAKY GUT syndrome and RA...which was the exact cause of my RA!! His discussions of natural cures for possible gut infestation WORKED and I got rid of the Giardia that had been ravaging my intestines for a full year (and yes, I had seen at least three doctors about it, and had lab tests, all negative, but they never tested for GIARDIA). Anyhow, water under the bridge, permanent intestinal wall damage, (somewhat helped by probiotics, but very badly scarred permanently). So the fight against RA is a lifetime fight for me. I only hope and pray that the damage this disease has done to my INSIDES....heart and lungs, etc. ....is comparable to what it has done to my joints. Slight damage, but stopped by the antibiotic protocol from progressing. No way to know, really. Blood tests all are excellent, but they would not show lesions on the heart or lungs. For now, I am looking forward to living many more decades and living a full and pain-free life.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Took a couple months, but back in remission
It took a couple of months, but as of early Sept. I was back into "full remission"...that being, no swollen or painful joints, no shooting pains after eating a "forbidden food", no morning stiffness, all systems seem to be back to normal.
The most difficult thing to get back to normal were my wrists. Especially the left wrist. For some reason, there is a very small area of inflammation on the upper area of the wrist below the thumb. It is just a teeny tiny bit painful in the morning. Goes down and pain gone by noon each day. I also have some slight inflammation below each knee. Just saw my Rheumatologist, and asked him if that was OSTEOARTHRITIS or a result of my RA. There is no pain associated with the soft swelling, there was a small bit of sort of a burning sensation at night a couple weeks ago, gone now. He said he could not tell, and to just keep an eye on it and if it became problematic we would do an xray of the joints to see if there is Osteoarthritis starting up there. (Two of my brothers (younger) and my mom have Osteoarthritic knees, so it seems to run in the family).
I will be getting more of the Ranbaxy pills to continue to test them versus the brand Minocin capsules. I am also going to get some Vibramycin capsules and again alternate months between the two types of drugs, just so as to prevent greying skin or other side effects from constant use of Minocin (have not seen any yet...fingers crossed).
Please pass this information on to anyone you know that is suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis. The drugs most frequently prescribed are just poison to the system (Methotrexate...awful stuff. Look it up.) I take NO over the counter or prescribed anti inflammatory drugs, NO steroid shots, NOTHING but the antibiotic...right now, taking only 100 mg Minocin every Monday, Wed. and Friday. "Maintenance dosage." After six months or so, if there are no setbacks, I may even try reducing the dose further, to 50 mg each time, instead of 100. I want to absolutely minimize the drugs in my system.
Have a good day, please contact me or post a note on the blog if you would like to discuss this treatment. Don't forget to go to www.roadback.org and read hundreds of stories like mine from people who are successfully treating RA with these antibiotics.
The most difficult thing to get back to normal were my wrists. Especially the left wrist. For some reason, there is a very small area of inflammation on the upper area of the wrist below the thumb. It is just a teeny tiny bit painful in the morning. Goes down and pain gone by noon each day. I also have some slight inflammation below each knee. Just saw my Rheumatologist, and asked him if that was OSTEOARTHRITIS or a result of my RA. There is no pain associated with the soft swelling, there was a small bit of sort of a burning sensation at night a couple weeks ago, gone now. He said he could not tell, and to just keep an eye on it and if it became problematic we would do an xray of the joints to see if there is Osteoarthritis starting up there. (Two of my brothers (younger) and my mom have Osteoarthritic knees, so it seems to run in the family).
I will be getting more of the Ranbaxy pills to continue to test them versus the brand Minocin capsules. I am also going to get some Vibramycin capsules and again alternate months between the two types of drugs, just so as to prevent greying skin or other side effects from constant use of Minocin (have not seen any yet...fingers crossed).
Please pass this information on to anyone you know that is suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis. The drugs most frequently prescribed are just poison to the system (Methotrexate...awful stuff. Look it up.) I take NO over the counter or prescribed anti inflammatory drugs, NO steroid shots, NOTHING but the antibiotic...right now, taking only 100 mg Minocin every Monday, Wed. and Friday. "Maintenance dosage." After six months or so, if there are no setbacks, I may even try reducing the dose further, to 50 mg each time, instead of 100. I want to absolutely minimize the drugs in my system.
Have a good day, please contact me or post a note on the blog if you would like to discuss this treatment. Don't forget to go to www.roadback.org and read hundreds of stories like mine from people who are successfully treating RA with these antibiotics.
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