Newly Diagnosed, Interesting RA video, has anyone experienced similar?

Arthuritis

Recently got diagnosed with RA.

I’ve been rummaging round the internet to find solutions beyond being drugged up forever. I get that in the short term powerful immunosuppressant drugs are necessary, but they come with their problems & high risk of other serious conditions.

On my research I found 2 practicing US doctors who went through the same journey share their success in becoming drug & painfree after some time depending on seriousness.

I post them here to see if anyone else has come across remission/recovery

There was a time when once diagnosed with type 2 diabetes you would be forever on meds, GPs would not believe it was reversible, but now there are NHS programmes to help you do just that.

Here are two videos worth watching

Dr Brooke Goldner GP (Lupus sufferer in remission), describes the detail of how to get into remission (took years)

Dr Monica Aggarwal (Cardiologist, RA sufferer also in remission , in 2 years i think)

They describe the vital impact of the right nutrition & emotional health to bring your inflammatory markers down to make things bearable if not remission/recovery.

I have started to follow their advice. Note, both were on meds and during that period they changed their lifestyle sufficiently to come off the meds eventually under the supervision of understanding Rheumatologists.

PeterJ

Hello @Arthuritis and welcome to the community. I hope that you find it supportive and friendly.

I understand that you have recently been diagnosed with RA and are looking at alternatives to prescribed medication. I would recommend that whatever you do discuss it with your GP or specialist as they can advise you. Alternatives to drugs are very personal in that some things work for some people but not all, but if you find something that works for you then 'go for it'. In the meantime have a look at our website and the search facility, to help I've put a couple of links in below.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/complementary-and-alternative-treatments/

Please do keep posting and let us know how you get on and I hope that others will connect with you and share their experiences as well

With very best wishes

Peter (moderator)

Arthuritis

@PeterJ Thanks! Much appreciated. Perhaps I should have been more clear, as a newly diagnosed but with unmanaged symptoms for a year, I will need RA medication, which I am already on, however had I paid attention a year ago instead of assuming it was over exercise and started on reducing chronic inflammation which often leads to chronic conditions, I might have avoided whereI am now.

So a complementary dietary & emotional change to reduce inflammatory responses should if nothing else, ease my symptoms despite being on medication. I figured if 2 US published practicing docs, a GP & surgeon who have been through RA, honestly say that none of their medical training included nutrition to any depth. Both independently researched the influence of nutrition & gut biome on their condition.

I guess I was looking for any UK Rheumatologists that discussed other sources of inflammation their patient. All I got was blood tests, ultrasound and drug meds, plus your leaflets. No discussion on the journey to get off these powerful drugs which leave me immunocompromised.

stickywicket

Hi. I love your optimism but.....

When I was first diagnosed with RA, back in 1961, there were no DMARDS. I took various anti-inflammatories which totally messed up my stomach BUT I did have periods of remission. It's not at all uncommon in the early years. Mine wasn't attributable to any diet just luck.

About 15 years in, I discovered the Dr Colin Dong diet. It consisted of fish, veg and wholegrains. I tried it for about three months, on two separate occasions, and each time got worse. Maybe this was because I was missing whole food groups i don't know. But that was my last attempt at dealing with my RA by diet. My real break came when I finally got on methotrexate and hydroxychloroquine. I know meds have potential side effects but the unchecked disease does worse damage.

Have a crack at this diet if you wish, while taking the meds but, as/when/if you start to feel better., don't assume it's the diet. A basic, Mediterranean type of diet can help many diseases, including RA, but the US is still a bit of a Wild West in places. I can find no Pub Med article endorsing this diet. Just proceed with caution 😊 And with meds!