Rheumatoid Arthritis

Today I heard the words that everyone who is diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis lives to hear – “Your blood levels are NORMAL”. I was diagnosed with RA almost 4 years ago and, although I never did take methotrexate or any of the other toxic drugs the rheumatologist tried to convince me were my only choice to treat it, I did take prednisone at different times and at different strengths. I also have stayed on a healthy, anti-inflammatory diet and taken turmeric, ginger, MSM and several other supplements that are supposed to reduce inflammation. All these things have helped, but I still had days when I could barely move, and my bloodwork always showed high levels (SED rate, hemoglobin, rheumatoid factor, etc.). I kept reading and trying everything I could (some said I was in denial), and came across Henry Scammell’s book “The New Arthritis Breakthrough” which contains Dr. Brown’s “The Road Back”. After reading the stories I felt like I had found hope. I went to my wonderful general practitioner, and she agreed to put me on doxycycline along with 5 mg prednisone for 3 months to see if anything changed. 3 months later, for the first time in 4 years, my bloodwork showed a marked improvement – so she agreed to another 3 months. Today was my 6 month appointment, and she was as thrilled as I was to find that my levels were all “normal”. I knew I had been feeling better and better, but to see it confirmed in the bloodwork was amazing. She’s leaving me on it for another 6 months, and I’m going to start tapering back slowly on the prednisone (while also continuing the healthy diet and supplements) – but even if this is just a “remission”, thank God for it! If you are out there and thinking there is no hope but to stay on all the cancer-causing drugs and live a life of constant pain – please talk to your GP (if they care, and are good, they will want to try something that is so low risk but could actually help you). I cannot believe this treatment (or dare I say “cure”) is out there and the rheumatologists and drug companies would rather let people suffer than offer this simple, safe and no risk option for them. Thank you Dr. Brown and The Road Back!