RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that involves inflammation in the lining of the joints. The inflamed joint lining, called the synovium, can invade and damage bone and cartilage, resulting in pain, stiffness and swelling.
Rheumatoid arthritis affects about 2.1 million Americans, 1.5 million of them women. Interestingly, recent studies from Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston shows that women with rheumatoid arthritis have about twice the risk of a heart attack as women without the disease. Researchers theorize the link is because of the inflammation that is present with arthritis and is thought to contribute to the fatty build up in blood vessels, one of the known causes of heart attacks.
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Symptoms
- inflammation of joints
- swelling
- difficulty in movement
- joint pain
- loss of appetite
- fever
- loss of energy
- anemia
- sometimes rheumatoid nodules (Iumps of tissue under the skin)
RA can be diagnosed with a blood test for an antibody found in approximately 80% of people afflicted with the disease.
Drug treatments include those that help relieve symptoms, such as NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), aspirin, prescription pain relievers and glucocordcoids to help reduce joint pain, stiffness and swelling.
Sometimes patients are given corticosteroid medications such as cortisone or prednisone for relief during severe flare-ups.
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who have failed to respond adequately to NSAIDs, may want to consider a different class of medication called disease-modifying drugs or DMARDS. This category of drugs includes hydroxychloroquine, gold, sulfasalazine, minocycline, methotrexate, penicillamine and leflunomide.
PSORIASIS
Psoriasis is a painful skin disease that got its name from the Greek word for "itch:" The skin becomes inflamed, with red, thickened areas with silvery scales, most often on the scalp, elbows, knees and lower back. It affects 4.5 million Americans.
It's believed to be caused by an autoimmune response that sends faulty signals that speed up the growth of skin cells, resulting in noncontagious patches of red skin covered by a flaky white buildup. Certain types of psoriasis may manifest as a pimply surface with a red and burned-looking appearance.
About 30% of psoriasis sufferers will develop a related form of arthritis, called psoriatic arthritis.
While psoriasis appears to occur equally in men and women, women with the disease have additional concerns because some of the medications used to treat it can cause birth defects, which means they can't be used by women of childbearing age.
Symptoms
- flaking skin
- redness
- itching
- swelling
- can cover anywhere from 2% to 100% of the body.
Treatment
Treatment usually takes place in steps, depending on the extent and seriousness of the disease. It's sometimes called a "1-2-3" approach. In Step 1, medicine is applied to the skin. Step 2 uses light therapy and in Step 3, patients are given oral medications.
Two drugs for severe psoriasis, etretinate (Tegison) and isotretinoin (Accutane), should never be taken by women who plan to have children. Another treatment, PUVA, combines a type of drug called a psoralen with exposure to ultraviolet A (UVA) light, and is also considered inadvisable for pregnant women.
Exposure to sunlight, soothing baths and moisturizers is helpful for some patients.
THE YEAST AND AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS
There are many theories on the origins of autoimmune disorders, but anecdotally, I have discovered that, in some cases, antifungal medications and sugar-free diets for patients with some of these symptoms provide relief as long as the treatment continues. The symptoms usually return as soon as the treatment is discontinued.
It has been my experience that the anti-yeast treatment helps many patients, especially those with symptoms of MS.
In discussing multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune disorders in The Yeast Soluton, I said, "Candida isn't THE cause of these often devastating disorders - but, there's growing evidence based on exciting clinical experiences of many physicians that there is a yeast connection."
Dr. Truss had a similar experience. In his observations on candida-related health problems, Dr. Truss described the response of a number of his patients with severe autoimmune diseases to nystatin and a low carbohydrate diet. Included were brief descriptions of several of his patients with multiple sclerosis.
One of these patients was a 30-year-old woman who showed many of the symptoms and signs of MS, including numbness, tingling, reflex changes, visual defects and a slight elevation of her spinal fluid protein. In addition, she gave a history of receiving many antibiotics, digestive problems, vaginal symptoms and other health problems. She was placed on a diet and received nystatm therapy, and after two years, her neurological examination was "entirely normal."
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When the therapy was discontinued, a number of her symptoms began to return. She was again placed on nystatin and in a subsequent report, Dr. Truss stated:
"She is entirely well now, seven years after nystatin was begun." To find out more, you can check out Yeast Overgrowth On Skin.