Rheumatoid Arthritis

RE: Rheumatoid Arthritis

Hello Christina

Welcome to HP! There is a fount of knowledge on these boards as I expect you have seen and it won't be long before someone in the know will be on here writing to you.

I am sorry to hear about your Mum and I know what it must be like as I had a grandmother who had rheumatoid arthritis and was committed to a wheelchair for over 30 years! That was a long time ago though and research into this ailment has come along in leaps and bounds over the last few years.

There are a couple of websites that could help you:
[link= http://www. ]arc.org.uk[/link] and [link= http://www. ]arthritis.org.uk[/link]
the second link has a section on alternative therapies which may help.

Hope this gives you some useful information

Love

RE: Rheumatoid Arthritis

Hello Christina,
i am not sure that i can help much, but maybe a little. I recently done an assignment on RA and i am not sure that it has anything to do with diet. here is a small part from my page, i hope it makes sense. i think it usually happens just because of wear and tear on the joints. i know that massage can help.

Rheumatoid.
The condition of rheumatoid arthritis is most common in people aged between 40 and 60, and is said to affect 3 times more women than men. It affects the same joints symmetrically in the body, starting with the smaller joints such as hands and feet. It can also be called the connective tissue disease, as it affects connective tissues – made out of collagen - in body parts such as lungs, blood vessels, eyes and heart. It runs repeatedly in episodes lasting for weeks or months, and can have relatively symptom free periods in between. The joints become stiff and swollen, as a result of inflammation to the synovial membrane. Gradually the cartilage covering the ends of the bones erodes the tendons and ligaments become worn and slack. The joint also becomes painful and may eventually become deformed.

Hope this helps.

RE: Rheumatoid Arthritis

I would say RA is food & immune related. There are studies that have demonstrated this and the contra studies were done by psychiatrists that seemingly wanted to explode the food sensitivity thing, as they see it as a myth. Incidentally they also failed to cut out obvious ones i.e. wheat from the diets of those studies. Doh!

If you want a reference - Prof Brostoff & Gamlin.

Will have to come back to this.

Andrew.

RE: Rheumatoid Arthritis

i would do anything to stop the pains in my hands.but there is nothing i can do,ive had the pain that long i have got used to it..but when it rains the pain is bad.and i mean bad..there is no cure it just gets worse...and it is harder to straighten my fingers now.
:(kath..

RE: Rheumatoid Arthritis

Re Christina's Mum,

My wife is registered disabled with arthritis and she cut out all the usual Tomatoes, strawberries, cherries etc and it helps a bit. She occasionally weakens and then pays for it the day after, but as she says, "You can't let it beat you everytime". We used wheat bags for a while and the benefits encouraged us to buy a water bed. This was a superb investment. She really misses it when we go away from home. Therapies that need return visits because their effects wear off seem like a short term answer, we use magnotherapy to gain very good, lasting relief. We also bought a hydrotherapy unit that fits in the bottom of the bath, that works well too. The stairlift is a blessing.
With the combination of the magnets, the bath and the warm bed she no longer needs to be lifted from her chair, she is driving again and has regained much of her independence.
Her pains flare up as the weather changes, in the British climate that is every few days but she learned techniques at the Pain Management Clinic, (different to pain control) so I suggest you ask her doctor to refer your Mum. All this lot cost about three thousand pounds but to go back to her condition of two years ago is a terrifying thought.
Best wishes,
John 🙂

RE: Rheumatoid Arthritis

I have been treating a lady with RA. Apart from anything else, I am a Bowen therapist. She had her 5th session last wednesday and I did the elbow moves for the first time (I know that wont mean much to people!) and the next day she rang to say that for the first time in 20years she could open and close her hand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Her aches and pains are greatly improved. I know it might not be the same for everyone, and nothing can be guaranteed, but it would be worth a try!
Also, tomatoes,peppers, potatoes, chillies, aubergine and tobacco belong to the solanacea plant family - this can cause sever musculkar pain & stiffness - and migraine type responses!
Agood kinesiologist can test for sensitivities.Plenty of water is important too, little & often, and probiotics - like the actimel drinks or activia yoghurts.
Bowen can sometimes be sent across distance (like absent/distance healing)
Sorry to waffle on,
pm ime f you want to,
namaste,
penny[sm=1kis.gif]

RE: Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatiod arthritis is a complex issue and not everyone with Rheumationd Factor in their blood suffers with arthritis.

The foods that Penny mentioned are amongst the more common ones, as are milk products, gluten containing grains, estecially wheat and the list goes on & on.

As she suggests an applied kiniesiologist could identify them for you, but if there is a lot and it's proving difficult then I would suggest my personal favourite - NAET, to desensitise to these foods.

A Naturopath is another option, but don't give up. It may be a long haul, but believe it can be done.

Good luck - And.

RE: Rheumatoid Arthritis

NAET is really amazing. I know a practitioner down in surrey who is brilliant.
penny[sm=bouncy.gif]

RE: Rheumatoid Arthritis

Hi Penny - it's nice to know that there are more out there that know about NAET. I probably sound like an evangelist on these boards.

And.

RE: Rheumatoid Arthritis

hi someone said pumpkin seed capsules are good for arhiritis,can anyone say if this is true..i bought a jar yesterday 1000mgper capsule,thanks kath:)

RE: Rheumatoid Arthritis

Hello there,

this is my take on RA - i know you're asking about complementary therapies / treatments but ...

if your mum's doctor thinks that your mum might have RA then I recommend that she wastes no time in asking for testing to see if can confirm . and re you saying she has tried conventional medicine without success - if your mum has not been diagnosed with RA yet, and she has RA, then she most certainly won't have had access to the range of drugs available nowadays to treat RA.

If your mum's doctor suspects RA but does not have the most up todate info they might not be aware that the prevailing school of thought in rheumatology is to start on disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs as soon as possible. The thing about RA is that the joints can be degenerating whilst there is little visible evidence of this.

Suggest you contact the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society - for some impartial but informed advice. the website is they also have a helpline. Also visit ARC website for informed medical information.

Don't eschew conventional medicine if the possibilities haven't been fully explored.

RE: Rheumatoid Arthritis

This is a nice little article. I have heeded all of the advice on it and am noticing some serious benefits. I know it seems a bit extreme to avoid things like potatoes and tomatoes which are an integral part of our diet and culture, but for the sake of being able to actually move properly it isn't much of a loss is it.

[link= http://www.healthydirect.co.uk/HDSite/pages/cm/cm.asp?sCCPage=ArthritisPain ]http://www.healthydirect.co.uk/HDSite/pages/cm/cm.asp?sCCPage=ArthritisPain[/link]

My personal recomendation is that your mum avoid all carbohydates, until her evening meal and then consume between 50-80g and not much more. During the day she should get her energy through consuming around 100-150ml of EV olive oil. Have this oil with some simple salad and a desert spoon of apple cider vinegar 3 times per day. For breakfast, I have 60ml of oil on 1/2cup of soya mince. I put 1 desert spoon of vinegar on it, this makes it break down much faster when chewing. It's true that soya mince contains carbs, but they are very low GI, some of the lowest GI in fact. I won't then touch carbs until 6pm or later. This will take one or two weeks of getting used to. But the lubricating and anti inflamatory effect of a high olive oil diet, will make her feel 100x better, in short time. The cessation of carbohydrate consumption, will rid her of triglycerides in the blood, which are know to have many inflamatory symptoms. BTW don't heat the oil, just pour it in cold.

Like the article said, she should take a handful of pumpkin seeds and a hand full of sunflower seeds per day and nibble on them over the course of the day. They have to be eaten slowly and chewed to an absolute pulp. This will takesome discipline as I know it is all too easy, to chew and swallow.Linseed is also very good, but hard to chew again, use discipline.

Good luck, Hope this helped.

RE: Rheumatoid Arthritis

Hello

My mother in law has just had a course of acupuncture for her hands and it has had great results, she is in far, far less pain, the swelling has gone and she is able to move the hand.

Just that I'd share!!!

PS: Gingko Biloba( 30mg x4 per day) and Glucosamine Sulphate (1000mg) are really helping with her circulation too!

Hope this helps
Love and blessings

Love and blessings

RE: Rheumatoid Arthritis

I just posted this on another thread, worth reading if suffering with arthritis:
[link= http://www.healthypages.net/forum/tm.asp?m=280845&mpage=1&key=&#281146 ]http://www.healthypages.net/forum/tm.asp?m=280845&mpage=1&key=&#281146[/link]

I am going to order some and try it out. I will post my experiences after a while.

Another help, aromatherapy, for me the oils that work best are Black pepper, Marjoram, Rosemary & Chamomile. I put about 5 drops of each into 25ml of base oil and massage it to the affected joints.