Confused

[Ann9787]

I think I’ve read just enough about RA to be completely confused. I’ve read the book and much of the information on this site. I went back and looked at my lab work. I have elevated RA Factor and IgA. I’ve read that RA Factor can be created in the lungs due to inflamation caused by smoking. I use to smoke and I think that applies to me. This would indicate that perhaps my particular case is not related to mycoplasma or at least the way I am connecting the dots so AP would have little benefit to me. To those that have a better understanding of this disease and the AP, am I thinking along the right line? I was also sick for about a month prior to symptoms of RA with what I thought was a stomach bug or intestinal issue of some sort. IgA is also created in the intestines. I’m just feeling really scared as I’ve read a positive RA factor suggests a poor prognosis.

[Lynne G.SD]

Anne,don’t give up so fast.Besides being an antibiotic mino inhibits our Interlukins as well(in my case) Transfer Growth Factor 1-B
Here is amessage I sent to someone else but luckily still had it in the trash.

Hi Mandp;
Mino and or other antibiotics certainly is the reason you are doing well.Here are a few links that will explain why/how.Mino/doxy/clindamycin/Zithromax will work IF you have an infectious cause,many do but your average doctors certainly will not take the time to find out.If you have an infection you will know because you will get a Herxheimer’s reaction.Everyone else will react well to just mino/doxy because it controls the Interlukins and Transfer Growth Factor -1b
Links on Interlukins involved in SD… our worst are 1,mostly 6 and 8 but 10 is your friend

Primer on SD and how Mino works as a very good anti inflammatory,not as an antibiotic.New drug hopefully to be here soon called Resunab will be a super duper anti inflammatory ,an artificial cannabinoid .It is becoming clearer every day that inflammation is the likely cause of all disease and getting it down is of most importance to feeling better.This is one of the reasons that good diet is so important.
Those of you that have a good science background will be able to understand all these links.Others will have to read slowly more than once but you will get the gist of it.I have years of medical training but still have to shake out my brain after reading too many

https://www.sclero.org/scleroderma/causes/interleukins/a-to-z.html NO1
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3226076/ No1

https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-Does-Interleukin-6-Do.aspx NO1
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8315568 NO1

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC408350/ No1
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3136898/ No2

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2787259/ No3

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3136898/ No4

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022202X15425217 NO5 Transfer growth factor/tissue factor

http://www.pnas.org/content/93/24/14014.short this refers to NO4

http://thorax.bmj.com/content/early/2011/10/24/thoraxjnl-2011-200499.short refer to NO4

http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/23870534 refers to NO1
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5075140/ refer to NO1
https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/infl.2013.1.issue-1/infl-2013-0002/ infl-2013-0002.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4167643/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2785020/
MINO/DOXY

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/mi/2015/329418/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3651660/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22306153
http://medcraveonline.com/JNSK/JNSK-02-00073.php
http://journals.lww.com/theneurologist/Abstract/2017/07000/Antineuroinflamm ation_of_Minocycline_in_Stroke.4.aspx
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5548869/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5075140/
INFLAMATION is inflammation regardless of where it is,brain,finger,eyes etc

[Ann9787]

Thank you for this information. I have a lot more reading to do! Do you think the RA causes the inflammation or the inflammation causes the RA?

[whaleharbor]

I totally get your confusion. Here’s how I made my decision. I didn’t care “how” minocycline worked…and I just cared “if” it worked for me. I had RA for almost 20 years before I discovered AP. I was getting worse and the next step were drugs I was scared to take. Before I subjected myself to those drugs, I figured I’d try something that in my mind seemed more benign…I figured I had nothing to lose. I made the right decision for me because I got off prednisone and went into remission (twice – long story) with minocycline. We all have to make our own decision. I have no idea if I have mycoplasma or what it is or what. I don’t care. I just want “it” to work and for me “it” (minocycline) does. Your mileage may vary, of course and your decision is totally your own…also, of course.

Minocycline 100mg every other day with food...lots of food: Zydus brand. Celecoxib 200mg twice per day: Greenstone brand.

[Linda L]

Ann, do you have RA symptoms now? Do you have pain in your chest?

RA tried everything: Methotraxate, Arava, Humira. Pneumonia three times. Anemia. Very low iron. Hypothyroidism
AP from April 2014 till August 2015. No luck.
Current medications: Natural thyroid, Mobic, supplements,
vitamins and minerals.
MTHFR heterozygous

[Spiffy1]

Whaleharbor, I love your answer. It doesn’t matter how or why….if it works. I am so thankful I weighed the odds and chose AP too. To me, it was such an easy decision. Like you, I looked at the side effects of both and thought why not try AP first? There are so many unknowns about RA and so many other AI problems. I did not have time to sit around and wait for a scientist to figure out how it works. Time was not on my hands. I am so happy I found a doctor fairly easily that was a believer in AP.

Flare fall of 2014...muscle aches, joint pains, fatigue, hair loss, rashes, etc.
RA Factor 71 in Jan 2015 down to 25 as of September 2017
DR4/DQ8 HLA...biotoxin illness
IGG food allergy to wheat, egg, and dairy...probably all grains
Vit. C&D, probiotics, milk thistle, turmeric, fish oil, methyl b 12, methyl folate, digestive enzymes, Candisol, Ubiquinol, berberine, chlorella, Moducare, LDN, monolaurin, Triphala, Patriot Greens, Paractin
MTHFR compound heterozygous
Igenex IGM positive Lyme, minoMWF

[Ann9787]

I don’t have pain in my chest. I have it in my feet and hands constantly for the last couple of months. My shoulders and left hip are giving me trouble now that I’ve never had before. It’s difficult to walk most of the time. I have been off of all gluten, dairy, eggs, alcohol and many other things for months, before I even had pain in my hands and feet. I’m taking plaquenol now for a month and I know it takes a couple of months for that to work. I have an appointment next month with a doctor I found on this site and am hoping to start AP then. In the meantime, I have an appt. next week with my rheumatologist and though I don’t want to have to do this, I may ask for a steroid shot to ease the pain until either the plaquenol or AP starts to help. I can’t believe this is my life now. I’ve been very depressed lately but try to read all the positive stories here, it is helping me. Thank you for your input everyone.

[Spiffy1]

Our digestion seems to almost always have a connection to autoimmune. It doesn’t matter the original source that caused the intestines to change course. But more often than not, many people will always mention something about their digestive process before getting hit with pains. I did, too. So I have no idea if the antibiotic has a way of sort of marking the wayward bugs so our immune system can be better trained to kill the right things instead of the wrong things? I just don’t know. And your intestinal bug could have harbored a mycoplasma or bacteria that they have not checked for in the first place. All I can say is if you weigh your chances and decide to try AP you have a group of people here that have walked a similar path and can be here to support you.

Flare fall of 2014...muscle aches, joint pains, fatigue, hair loss, rashes, etc.
RA Factor 71 in Jan 2015 down to 25 as of September 2017
DR4/DQ8 HLA...biotoxin illness
IGG food allergy to wheat, egg, and dairy...probably all grains
Vit. C&D, probiotics, milk thistle, turmeric, fish oil, methyl b 12, methyl folate, digestive enzymes, Candisol, Ubiquinol, berberine, chlorella, Moducare, LDN, monolaurin, Triphala, Patriot Greens, Paractin
MTHFR compound heterozygous
Igenex IGM positive Lyme, minoMWF

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