Not using pharmaceutical medicine

RAbgone

Greetings, I was diagnosed with R.A back in Dec 2024. IAM 58 and very active but the pain has been unbearable especially in my neck. I am not a conspiracy theorist but do not use pharmaceutical medicine. I have refused the steroids, and other drugs and have been taken homeopathic remedies which are making a vast improvement. Is any one else going down this root?

chrisb

Hi @RAbgone,

Welcome to the forum.

I hope you receive some useful input from forum members.

In the interim, here's an article on our website that may be useful to you:

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

Best wishes

ChrisB (Moderator)

Arthuritis

@RAbgone While I agree and do believe Big Food & Big Pharma have behaved appallingly (and in the U.S. the backlash is already starting with CEOs getting grilled), let’s not chuck the baby out with the bath water.

Pharma products absolutely have their place in fixing acute symptoms & stopping permanent or further damage, their long term use is something that is costly both for the patient & HMO, and research IS being conducted on how to get you off these drugs.

However badly damaged cartilage & joints do NOT grow back, nor does scar tissue go away.

I would strongly urge you to re-consider and follow your rheumy’s advice, get some imaging done as a baseline to see where you are now, take the meds (steroids + something else eg MTX). The steroids are a short term drug and your doc will want you off those quickly, while MTX is for the longer term.

Speaking as someone who was on the MAX RA dose of MTX, got off it after 15 months, had 2 years of drug & symptom free bliss, (Before I flared again after eating raw soya protein, a known trigger but unknown to me, but present in most processed food). I am currently trying to get my RA back under control before I make my great escape again. (Hopefully wiser this time).

Don’t end up with cervical fusion or joint replacement surgery because you didn’t take effective urgent action to prevent joint damage by not following your rheumy’s advice.

Get your rampaging RA under control, it needs real “HE-Man” 🧪👨‍🔬⚛️ heavy duty pharma chemicals to bring it under control and tame it. Homeopathic stuff won’t cut it, the marauders damaging your joints are as relentless as japanese knotweed crumbling your house concrete foundations!

Once it’s under control you can look for a rheumy that will help you get off that train and try alternative options. Newcastle Uni hospital I believe, has some researchers doing this, so you could ask your rheumy to refer you, but for now I’d follow rheumy advice.

iwannerbeme

I was very unhappy about having to take MTX, I don't normally even take a pain killer. I also think big pharma has behaved appallingly. I had to think about it long and hard. I decided to take it in the end. The MTX has worked and I got pain free quickly. I refused steroids; I weighed up the possible side affects and the possible gains and decided not for me. MTX was different it does actually halt the disease, not just treat the symptoms, its about 60 years old and predictable I follow a fairly strict anti-inflamatory diet and exercise. The diet includes loads of stuff I enjoy berries, dark chocolate ect. I started MTX last September. I've just had to stop taking it for 3 weeks, and had no symptoms and my inflamation markers have been low for ages. My consultant is knocking back my dose, to a maintenence dose and we are talking about a "drug holiday" in another 6 months. I just think RA is a serious disease, MTX has a proven track record, I think there are a whole lot of other things we can do along side MTX to dampen down inflamation too.

mucho_pain33

You don't need to be a conspiracy theorist to know that all big pharma meds can kill especially these toxic RA ones. I redused them all too. My pain comes and goes and I use cannabutter and cbd oil under the tongue. Pain gone. I'm 16 years in and glad I don't take big pharma crap. They want you customers for life.

frogmorton

Hi @RAbgone I eat a plant based wholefood diet as they say eating the rainbow as I firmly believe the gut and the immune system are totally linked. I do not use cannabis in any way shape or form I have known too many people become nasty and ratty when they 'need' their fix.

I eat at least 30 different fruits veggies nuts seeds and legumes a week usually achieving my goal by Wednesday.

Best of luck with your arthritis

Toni

Airwave!

There is a place for many treatments, not all are conducive to treatments. I love beetroot dipped in vinegar sandwiches but apart from eating what I like wouldn’t rely on them. ;-)).

It’s a grin, honest!

frogmorton

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/comment/734852#Comment_734852

🤣

sparklebright

hi,

I’ve just recently started to look into other approaches to managing symptoms and hoping my GP will support referring me to integrated care. I’ve been on MTX for over a year and whilst there has been some improvement I am not symptom free, I have side effects, still experiencing frequent flare ups and fatigue. I’m at the max dose (injection) and unfortunately I generally feel pretty rubbish. I don’t know if my expectations were unrealistic or if it’s not the right medication for me - reflecting on it I’m not actually too sure if I discussed what to expect with my consultant 🤔. I was very active so for me I feel I don’t recognise myself or my life and desperately want to feel better than I do. After diagnosis I was so frightened to be honest I didn’t question starting MTX however now I would say I am more open to exploring conventional and alternative approaches, the difficulty is finding literature to support alternative approaches. It does feel like a big responsibility, and I want to make sure I’m making the right decisions!

iwannerbeme

sparklebright, MTX doesnt sound like the right fit for you. I can only speak for my own experience, but I was very ill when I finally got a diagnosis last september, I couldnt wear most of my shoes and fingers so swollen they wouldnt bend I had terrible dry eye syndrome too. I am not on the highest level of MTX, 20mg instead of 25mg. I was supposed to go up to 25mg but felt I was doing well on the 20mg, this week I became officially clinically and biochemically in remission. its clearly a good fit for me. If i had been on a high dose for a year and was still feeling "pretty rubbish" and had side effects I would be asking serious questions of my consultant. There are lots of good alternatives to MTX, they offer it as a first choice because it works well for many people but we are all unique and luckily there are offer choices. I hope you find something soon.

PJoanne

Hello @sparklebright

Welcome to the forum. Have you had a follow up conversation with your rheumy nurse/consultant to discuss your progress? I would chase up a review of your present meds to see if there's another option for you.

All the best Joanne

Arthuritis

@sparklebright I had exactly the same response as you did to MTX, and eventually had to max to 25mg/week.

However what NO consultant or doc will EVER tell you, because 1) they have little training on it -7 hours in 7 years of med school 2) They have to follow rules made by pharma, who own and fund everything - and that is - FOOD PLAYS A HUGE PART!!!

You’d be surprised even shocked at what triggers your flares & swollen joints despite MTX, now that you once enjoyed thoroughly.

MTX is very powerful, that’s why it’s the first choice, but that level of immune damping comes at a price.

However despite the damping, some food items can be immensely triggering, common triggers are:

bean lectins

Soya proteins (or soya lecithins in almost every ready made food item)

Gluten - unfortunately even “gluten free” is not 100% gluten free, just very low, it depends on your sensitivity

Casein (dairy products)

Fructose for some.

The best way to test this is have your MTX, water fast for at least 3 days (your gut has to clear out everything). By the time your next MTX dose is due, you should start feeling a LITTLE better.

The way it works is your blood is full of T cells mistakenly attacking your joints. But they get exhausted and die, usually after a rolling 12 weeks. However these rogues are constantly replenished. MTX interferes with the replenishment process for 24 hours, think of it as a factory not receiving enough raw materials. When this happens every week the total population of surging T cells, including the rogues, falls, so after 3 months your joints are no longer under huge attack. Of course you can’t fight off infections very well either.

Now, instead of interfering with the T cell factory with MTX, what if you stopped ordering more rogue T Cells, and waited for the currently circulating ones to die off? You’d get the same benefit, but without the reduction of general immunity. For this to happen, you have to find what triggers the immune system in your gut, and stop eating it.

This approach has worked for many people including myself, and gives you a route to being pain & symptom free, but it takes time & discipline.

You could discuss with your GP & give it a go.

All the best.