I'm about to begin treatment with Humira after a year on Methotrexate.  I had a severe episode of inflammatory (rheumatoid) arthritis last year, on top of existing spinal pain from scoliosis, and although I was saved from certain death from haemorraging, the month before, by surgery on a burst artery I became so ill with the rheumatoid pain that I began to wonder it it was worth while struggling with such pain and limitation.  What was the point of saving my life and then for me to be living with such savage chronic pain, despite strong opiates.   I'm able to be more independent, thanks to a year on methotrexate, but I would love to hear if anyone else has had improvement with Humira.  Also, I'm experimenting with different foods which might cause inflammation, any advice welcome.

Thanks for reading this

Dear Squirrelette

 You have my encouragement (and sympathy but we know the latter is easy).  I am treating (as a Naturopath & Herbalist) a client with RA at this time who is in a similar position as you, although degree of pain is probably not as savage as yours.

Adherence to a good diet is vital.  Do you know your metabolic type?  If not err on the side of removing common allergens such as gluten and cows milk products, red meats and have lots of vegetables and some fruit, to keep your body PH at a neutral or alkaline state 7.35 ideal.

Take some anti-inflammatory herbs such as boswellia as liquid or caps and do see a herbalist who will make formula to suit your particular condition.  Have you tested for allergies, how is your Vitamin D levels, do you have good levels of stomach acid (vital for digesting foods and any supplements you are taking); you probably need high levels of Omega 3 and of course some exercise to maintain flexibility. 

 I have no experience of Humira so hopefully somebody who has will respond to you.

Warm and best wishes

Helena 

Thank you very much Helena, for your kind letter and very sensible and useful solutions.  I am consulting a doctor at the Burghwood clinic who is making a detailed investigation of my physical nutritional status and ability to process and absorb my nutrition, food intolerances, toxicity etc. 

I will investigate 'metabolic type' and continue to avoid gluten and dairy, and concentrate on alkaline foods.

Your encouragement was MOST appreciated, as well as your sympathy.

best wishes to you for Xmas and New Year

Myriel

I have looked at the waters of health website and also the following http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/coral2.html which puts forward the following view:

Acid/Alkaline Theory of Disease Is Nonsense

Gabe Mirkin, M.D.

Thank you for offering suggestions regarding  this water treatment.  However, based on the information above, I would not be confident in it being effective.

Rheumatism as I am sure you are aware is an auto-immune repsonse. Therefore, the question is, what is causing your immune system to respond? What is attacking you? It is imperative that you find out. Our immune system responds when we are attacked, normally by invaders such as fungus, bacteria and parasites. I would suggest testing for these and if positive work with someone who can help you with them to take the stress off your immune system.

I hope this helps,

Leigh Brandon

www.bodychek.co.uk

Hi, sounds like your case is not mild, whichever way you proceed I recommend you work with an experienced practitioner every step of the way.  Recovery from chronic disease is possible but it is a minefield, and DIY healthcare can do a lot of harm.  I can't comment on Humira, except that the humira website is heavily couched in terms like 'reduce symptoms of...' and 'may...'.

I would like to assure you, however, that QW is not a reputable source of reliable, unbiased information.  They were set up by (ironically) an uncertified 'paediatrician' who, after the American Medical Association were ordered by a court to close down an orchestrated anti-chiropractic campaign, received their files and carried on the campaign.  Last I heard he was still on the run from from paying huge legal liabilities having lost every single case he has taken against therapists - mainstream and alternative - who have challenged him.  But beyond that, QW have a stated agenda to 'debunk' alternatives, so straight away a bias is built into their very existence.  (That does not mean that every therapy is sound, by any means, including some mentioned here, but I would suggest looking elsewhere than QW for sound science and balanced views).

Good luck!

Hi Squirrelette, have you looked into Serrapeptase as part of any treatment.  This website provides information.

http://www.serrapeptase.info/content.asp?page=Arthritis

This site suggests a Mediterrean diet as well.  With best wishes, Louise

Hello  I have recently come across Low Dose Naltrexone. 

www.lowdosenalttrexone.org

difficult to obtain, but useful for any immune disorder  

Hi. My wife has suffered with RA for 15 years and last year I gave up work to support her full time at home. Her condition has deteriorated so much that she needs full time support. Her levels of pain sound much the same as yours and like you she has been taking methotrexate and last year the hospital put her on Humira. None of the other drug regimes seemed to work for her. It is administered by injection (which I was trained to give for a previous drug which my wife also seemed to be resistant to) which we get delivered to our home. She has been taking it for quite a few months now. It seems to have taken the edge off  the condition slightly but not enough for her to feel she has gained any measurable benefit from taking it. Any amount of improvement is a great relief to her though considering her condition has refused to respond to any other drug treatments. But as I'm sure you're aware everybody reacts differently to medications and my wifes condition seems to be especially resistant.Some of the medications she has been on in the past have also given her other health problems.The main thing we have had to remain vigilant about is keeping people away from the house with colds and flu as Humira can leave you prone catching viruses quicker than other people. 

 I did experiment with the macrobiotic diet a few years back. Which is meat and dairy free. It's an extremely healthy way of eating and ideal for someone with reumatoid athritis. I went to see a specialist consultant who devised a dietry plan. It's a diet consisting of whole foods and fish etc which takes alot of cooking and preparation. Unfortunately my wife didn't really take to it. It's an acquired taste and as food is one of the only pleasures my wife has left I wasn't going to force her onto a diet she didn't like. Her life is hard enough for her as it is. I also trained as an Aromatherapist which did help my wife initially but as the years went by her pain became so severe that nothing could touch it. She describes the pain as being deep inside the joints and the bone. The main thing aromatherapy did was to help my wife relax and sleep. Even if you dont think essential oils have any practical value or benefit just the nice smells and soothing touch can be beneficial to someone in distress.

My wife has also struggled with depression because of the pain and limitations of her condition. I sympathise with how you must be feeling because I have seen the effect it has had on her. I don't know where she finds her strength but all I can do is support her the best I can. I hope I've helped in some way. . Take care.

Konshu, the last person who told me they had pain 'deep in their bone' developed multiple other health complaints over a few years.  In trying to understand her particular toxin picture we realised she had 9 metal fillings, all very old, two of which had fallen out and several others were found to be leaking.  She had them all replaced over a 3 month period under 'full protocol' amalgum removal, which most dentists should be able to do these days.  Since then she has been getting slowly but steadily better, which is a very pleasing outcome.  It was expensive, but then so is ill health.

It's worth anyone making a complete list of possible toxic sources in their life, and don't forget the 'benign' ones such as vaccinations, household cleaning products, OTC medications etc.  We can all make a list that's HUGE!  And you never know what you're going to find out as a result.

Hello Dr. Gabe Mirkin,

Please read the book "The Enzyme Factor" by Dr. Hiromi Shinya, who was one of the developers of the colonoscopy procedure. The book was an international bestseller, with over 2 million copies sold. Dr. Shinya is the Chief of Surgical Endoscopy Unit at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, as well as Clinical Professor of Surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He is also the doctor to some of the Royal Family of Japan and some US presidents. You can find a video of him on the second page of videos on my website www.WatersofHealth.com, showing "before and after" colonoscopies of patients who followed his recommended diet and drank Kangen water for 3 months. With these impeccable credentials, you might take his opinion more seriously than whoever writes the quack watch website.

In addition, you can go to www.Youtube.com and look up Dr. David Carpenter and Kangen water. Dr. Carpenter is a naturopath and acupuncture doctor in the US, who gives a solid explanation of how the water works to alleviate many health conditions. You can also look up Dr. Robert Young, author of "The pH Miracle" and several other health-related books. Feel free to email me at watersofhealth@gmail.com.

All the best,

Hana Dolgin

Hydration Consultant 

Hello,

I also wanted to mention that the Wholistic Medical Center located on Harley st. in London., which is headed by Dr. Daya, has a Kangen water machine they purchased through me. Perhaps you could contact them for more information about the water. Their website is http://www.wholisticmedical.co.uk. You can find their contact information there.

All the best,

Hana Dolgin

Hydration Consultant 

I agree totally with Leigh Brandon. To this end I could suggest my usual BodyTalk (www.bodytalksystem.com) whose Body Chemistry section is brilliant at ferreting out parasitic and microbial problems, including in the pituitary (which are usually only found in autopsies!). There are excellent practitioners everywhere, and it can also be done just as well through Distance Healing. Find an advanced practitioner with PaRama training for that.

I will also add a couple of stories from my huge Bioptron file. I have lots on arthritis, but these two are on RA, with a third on pain. I will say in advance that Bioptron doesn't heal RA but it keeps the joints painless and supple, and eliminates the use of gut-damaging drugs:

".. was reduced from an always-active motor mechanic to a prematurely old man. I also suffered from polymyalgia. ... The most amazing thing was after the treatment I was able to get up and walk down the front stairs without too much discomfort.....my joints have remained very flexible to the amazement of my specialist."

"... deformed his fingers and clamped the extensor tendon of the third digit. After surgery.. 4 months later he still had pain and the scar was very tight. There was also a wound which oozed from time to time. After just over a month (15 treatments) the wound healed completely, the scar became more elastic and no longer restrained the hand and the pain was gone. The colour of the skin became normal instead of being a blue/purple colour."

"... very severe arthritis of the neck.. agony.. 2 Voltaren x day and 2 Panadine every 4 hours for a year. After the first day of Bioptron I never took one painkiller. After one week I was down to 1 Voltaren and then none. My husband and family are astounded and are so happy to have their wife and mother back again instead of the misery that I had become."

Try to find a Bioptron agent near you (I keep saying that because it's so easy in NZ, but it seems to be harder everywhere else) - or come back to me here to find out more. I live in France, so to deal with Britain isn't a problem.

Good luck: Heidi
'Happiness is the absence of pain' (Confucius, I think - or it should be...) 

Do not consume any artificial sweeteners.  ASPARTAME can simulate or worsen arthritic symproms.

If you have dental amalgam fillings consider having them replaced with white fillings

If you have any root fillings (White or amalgam) consider having the teeth removed.  Root fillings harbour infection that leaks into your body causing pain and inflammation in various joints

 If you have had amalgam fillings in the past you could consider a new food supplement from the USA which helps to get the mercury out of the body.  OSR#1 is a new treatment that raises body glutathione levels which helps in the chelation process   See https://www.ctiscience.com/CTIScience/

John James