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Hello Everyone, I'm Nickie, and this is my first post on this forum. Although I do not have a formal diagnosis I've been seeing a RDr since July 2008. To me, all signs point to RA. In addition to many supplements, I take 100mg Minocycline daily, (started out for 3 wks @ 200m/day, but started to get a brownish/grey discolouration on my face so I went to lower dose), take Yoga classes 4 times a wk, AND enjoy my newly purchased Infrared Dry Sauna. I too feel like I am sweating out all the 'bad bugs' that have slowly but surely been messing me up for the last 14 years. (or maybe more)
After heating it up, I set my max. temperature to 133 degrees and stay for 30 min. Sometimes use it twice a day. 🙂
I am thoroughly enjoying becoming a member here and look forward to gleaning a lot from some obviously very savvy people.
I'm glad to hear that word of the benefits of the dry sauna is spreading. I read an article that indicated that because of the health benefits of a dry sauna, it should be considered as one of the 'essential' appliances right up there with stove, fridge, washer, dryer. btw…I'm sure there are a lot of inexpensive ones on EBay and probably Craig's List.
First entry and I already feel I'm talking too much. Thanks for reading.Hi Nickie,
Welcome to the board. Nice to have you. 🙂
You sound as enthusiastic about your sauna as I am. I worry about sounding like a salesman, but they really are a wonderful tool to have in your arsenal. So glad you're seeing some results from the Mino — good stuff!
Take care…….kim
Hi Nickie,
Just adding a warm welcome to Kim's! Nice to meet yet another fellow Canuck. I'm living in the US at the mo, but was born in Sask and lived in Toronto and Montreal.
Just curious….how did you find out about AP? Did you research it and ask or did your rheumy offer it? Just checked the AP doc list and we don't appear to have any AP docs in Manitoba…would be great to add one who might be open for your province for others! 😉
Nice to meet you and glad to hear you're doing so well on AP!
Peace, Maz
Quick response to Kim and Maz: Thank-you both for your welcome mats! 🙂
As to the enquiry about my being on AP, it wasn't the suggestion of any Dr. here, but MINE. My GP sent me to a RDr. after my blood work showed my RF as 340. (This followed an isolated Raynaud's episode in April 2008.) The RDr. put me on Plaquenil. I stayed on it for 5 1/2 months. My hair started thinning so I began to do research on line and subsequently ordered a copy of Henry Scammell's book. During the next appt. with my GP, (after new blood work that showed NO improvement in my Factor number), “I” suggested trying antibiotic therapy. He agreed it was a good alternative, and started me on doxycycline. Was on that for a month or so while I continued to look for new information. My next appt. with my RDr., I asked to switch to Minocycline. I stayed on mino, 200mg per day for a month and my RF plummeted to 21.5. However, (seems there's usually a “however”,huh?) before I knew these new results, I went on vacation. And….because of the discoloration on my face, and my extreme fatigue, I chose to stop taking it while traveling. RF factor jumped back up to 287 after my 3 wk 'holiday'. I am back on mino..only 100mg/day.. and have an appt. to see a brand new Rheumatologist on May11. I'm tolerating this lower dose much better, but am I FEELING a lot better?? Nothing discernable yet, but certainly no horrible progression. I do not “present” with RA, but I have periodic, (bordering on constant) aches and pains in either feet, neck, shoulders, or hands. Well…that's as succinct as I can get. I hope that answers your question Maz.
From reading some posts here, I know I have a LOT to learn. Tough sometimes when your short term memory goes bust. My attention span is definitely not what it used to be, and I surely relate to being “fuzzy” headed. BUT…..I keep trying to get by with a well conditioned smile on my face. 😉
I hope everyone had a relatively good day! Nickie[user=514]JOJO19551[/user] wrote:
Hello All. …… Can anyone who has use one for their treatment tell me how I should start using this, how often, how long, etc. I appreciate any advise you may have. Thanks, JoAnn
JoAnn and other posters,
It is recommended that we consume some type of electrolyte/mineral replacements for every so many minutes of saunaing. I first learned about the Far Infrared Sauna (FIR) while listening to a program I heard with Dr. Sherry Rogers as guest. She has about 5 medical designations, one of which is in environmental medicine. She has two books in which she gives detailed information about saunaing and replacing nutrients that are sweated out. If we don't do this, we can develop deficiency problems. These two titles are: “Painfree in Six Weeks” and “Detoxify or Die.” They are available from: http://www.prestigepublishing.com and http://www.radiomartie.com — but not from usual book stores. On Radio Martie, there are archived programs you can listen to. If you do a search there for ” Sherry Rogers + sauna”, the program will probably be found and you can listen to it.
I found it interesting after I had purchased a FIR that a friend, who also had purchased a new sauna when I did, checked out a book from the library by L. Ron Hubbard — I believe he was the founder of Scientology. Anyway, I read a bit in it about the recommended way to detox using the sauna. He was a scientist, and actually was responsible for setting up a program in many cities where people who had been addicted to drugs could go to use FIR's to detox the many layers of their tissues of drugs. This detoxing concept should work for heavy metal detoxification and other toxic wastes as well. This book described how the chemicals/drugs stored in the body are actually detoxed when using the sauna (there are layers upon layers of these wastes) — and the book gave recommended frequency for saunaing and gave recommended amounts of replacement minerals/electrolytes, and emphasized certain amounts of water be drunk per time in the sauna. Much emphasis was placed on the necessity of these — very similar to Dr. Sherry Rogers strong recommendations that these replacement “cocktails” be drunk, as we can develop some pretty serious deficiencies if we don't do this.
Happy saunaing,
AF
[user=1317]Nickie_M[/user] wrote:
I'm tolerating this lower dose much better, but am I FEELING a lot better?? Nothing discernable yet, but certainly no horrible progression. I do not “present” with RA, but I have periodic, (bordering on constant) aches and pains in either feet, neck, shoulders, or hands. Well…that's as succinct as I can get. I hope that answers your question Maz.
From reading some posts here, I know I have a LOT to learn. Tough sometimes when your short term memory goes bust. My attention span is definitely not what it used to be, and I surely relate to being “fuzzy” headed.Nickie, thanks for sharing your journey so far. Interesting that your bouts are “periodic” in nature. Has your doc ever mentioned palindromic RA (PRA) as a possibility? The PRAers can elucidate in more depth, but PRA usually presents in excruciating episodes of pain and swelling that seem to move around the body to different locations. Joint damage usually doesn't occur and there are periods of being free from pain.
On the main site there are lots of very good articles and the Physician pages, including the Current and Historical Protocols are packed with good info if you haven't caught these already. Thought this bit might be of interest to you, because it's not uncommon for bloodwork to improve before we do or vice-versa:
https://www.roadback.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=studies.display&display_id=184#Anchor-Laboratory-45656
toc)
Patients stay on medication until all laboratory tests return to normal. Some patients indicated they began to feel better long before their laboratory results improved. The converse can also be true.“
Also, here is an article on the cognitive dysfuntion or brain fog we all tend to experience. Fortunately, this is one thing that tends to pass as we improve!
Cognitive Dysfunction in Rheumatic Disease “Brain Fog” and AP (antibiotic protocol)
https://www.roadback.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/education.display/display_id/189.html
Before RA, I had a pretty good memory…photographic is many regards…after RA, however, it felt like I was bordering on Alzheimer's. People would say something to me and a few mins later I'd be asking a question and they'd look at me like I was mad, saying they'd just told me that. This would happen many times a day and it was very unsettling…depressing actually. I wouldn't say I have full functioning back of my memory yet, but this disease tends to change one in ways you never expect. Nowadays I don't focus on the trivia of life as much and so it's not important to remember everything…seems I'm just more selective now about remembering things and don't sweat the small stuff nearly as much. At least, that's “my story” and I'm stickin' with it! :roll-laugh:
Peace, Maz
My LLMD ran a Toxic Element Clearance Profile by Genova Diagnostics. I tested high in a number of categories and it convinced me further how much I needed to unload some of the bad stuff.
kim
Kim, So when you started, did you use it every day? I was going to try to use it every day, but am unsure. Thanks, JoAnn
[user=514]JOJO19551[/user] wrote:
Ladies, How do you know you have a heavy metal load? Thanks, JoAnn
JoAnn,
I was seeing a local AP holistic MD at the time, and he sent lab work to The Great Smokies Lab. I just did a search and the name has been changed; you can go there to learn more: http://www.gsdl.com/
I have learned, years after this, that if we have a heavy metals overload, recovery can be more difficult. However, there are regimens to do, along with protective antioxidants and “binders” (my word) that can trap and force these metals out of the body, instead of being re-absorbed through the bowel, back into the blood stream. We never want to do a mercury or other heavy metals detox without first making sure we have a way to “bind” them. I read these have been stowed away, but when we detox them, they can create new problems unless we do this properly.
My lab results showed several heavy metals that could be problematic. I hadn't a clue as to how or why I had these. Later, as I learned more and more, I believe: (1) I may have had faulty detoxification for a number of years. Cadmium build-up can come from cigarette smoke, and other things. I was not a smoker, but grew up with my father being a heavy smoker. Also, (2) over the course of about five years before this heavy metals dx was made, there were pipe inserts in water heaters that were made of faulty PVC type pipe — these faulty pipes were in many name brands of water heaters. We were not notified, but I learned about the problem firsthand, and then tracked this pretty well — even though it was covered up/glossed over by the manufacturers, saying the pipes deterioration were not harmful.
I learned enough that I doubted this, and did a query or two of astute scientists in the environmental field. One who replied to my inquiry said this pipe could be harmful if the materials did not have enough hardener in them and the materials dissolved into the water. Apparently, this was the case, as the pipe little by little eroded until the debris left began coming through the shower heads and the kitchen and other faucets. That was the first time we realized we had a problem with faulty pipe.
AF
JoAnn,
You might find this helpful:
http://lifestylelaboratory.com/articles/rogers-saunas-vs-toxins-pt1.html
FIR Sauna Vs. Toxins and Disease, Excerpt From the book, “Detoxify or Die” by Sherry A. Rogers, M.D. [5 medical degrees], including environmental medicine.
AF[user=514]JOJO19551[/user] wrote:
Kim, So when you started, did you use it every day? I was going to try to use it every day, but am unsure. Thanks, JoAnn
Almost every day……..5-6 days/wk. I bought mine in the winter so if felt really good to be that warm.
kim
On a somewhat lighter note, I just thought of another tip. I've only had my sauna for 3 weeks, but even after a couple of sessions, I felt that my hair was becoming a little drier. So… I took a suggestion from one of the web sites I found re: infrared sauna use and started putting some oil in my hair and wrapping a towel around my head. I think it works great.
btw…thanks Maz for the terrific ideas and links. I'll do a little reading this weekend. :blush:
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