I came to this site in desperation in January 2016. I was about 10 months into the most intense flare that had me struggling to put on my socks and in constant pain from back, neck, foot, fingers and hips. At 41yrs old I had lived with PsA (with no inflammatory markers) for 4 years and had tried a variety of DMARDS unsuccessfully.
As I had a small non-invasive cancerous lump removed last year I was unable to take the recommended Biologics because of an increased cancer risk. Thus I was searching through all the alternative therapy options, wading through new age platitudes and the snake oil sales sites. I decided to fight for the AP treatment protocol because I reasoned that the stories were genuine and there wasn’t a profit motive for this movement. My GP agreed to let me try Minocycline which I took as a full course for 2 weeks (had a strong herx reaction – worse pain!), then settled into the pulsed dose MWF of 100mg.
Over 4 weeks things got steadily better until a miracle happened. All symptoms of PsA disappeared. After 1 more month I stopped the pulsed dose and have now been pain free for 3 months. Even my hated unsightly psoriatic nails have grown out to leave a healthy looking nail bed. My consultant was furious with the GP (refused to believe there was evidence for this treatment protocol) and tried to put me on the dreaded methotrexate again. I refused. I told her that even if she’s right and it was a coincidence (or maybe a very strong placebo reaction), I don’t care. AP has worked for me in a way I would never have dared to hope for and I believe, if PsA returns, I will be able to use the pulsed dose mechanism again to control it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing your stories and helping promote this treatment.
I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but as my GP said, it won’t do you any harm and what have you got to lose!
Note from Road Back Foundation:
The Foundation is delighted to read of Greg’s results and recognizes that individual experiences can vary greatly. We would like to advise other patients that this is an atypical, very swift response and, in most cases, even when a patient responds quickly, long-term treatment is generally recommended by the physicians who offer this approach.