new to the group

February 25, 2000

Dear ,

Here is our list of Florida doctors - you'll see there are a couple in

Tampa. I know that Dr. Todd has treated some of this group and we

hear good things about him.

Baca, M.D., (rheumatologist, IV and oral)

950 N. Federal Highway Suite 115

Pompano Beach, FL 33062

305-781-3300

J. Borgmeier, M.D.

1600 36th Street

Vero Beach, FL 32960-4851

407-569-5773

Burks, M.D.,

Center for Integrative Medicine,

420 Nokomis Ave., South,

Venice, FL 34285.

941-488-8112.

S. Carson, M.D.

3913 Pine Limb Court

Tampa, FL 33614

813-882-4906

Chang, M.D., P.A.

923 Del Prado Blvd. - Suite 105

Cape Coral, FL 33990

813-772-2422

Dr. Harold W. Ph.D.,

Mycoplasma Research Institute,

P.O. Box 640040,

Beverly Hills, FL 34464.

email hwcmri@...

Dayton, D.O.,

Medical Center, Sunny Isles,

18600 Ave.,

Miami, FL 33160.

305-931-8484.

Grimes, (orthopedic physician/surgeon)

Flagler Hospital Doctors' Building,

US 1 South,

St. Augustine (near ville),

Florida.

Mayer, D.O., (IV and oral)

ph Di Stefano, NC,

8085 38th Ave.,

St. sburg, FL.

727-572-6745 or 727-344-3134

also at

4543 S. Manhattan Ave.,

Suite 103,

Tampa, FL 33611.

813-831-8888

E. Moreland, M.D.

333 W. Miami Ave.

Venice, FL 34285

Guillermo Oynick, M.D.

209 Palermo Pl.

Venice, FL 34285

Jay G.

5642 W. Atlantic Blvd.

Margate, FL 33063

305-974-3535

Harold G. , M.D. (FP)

& S. Todd (son), (IV and oral)

4406 S. Florida Ave. Suite 27

Lakeland, FL 33803

941-646-5088

fax 941-646-7534

Shearer,

Florida.

H. Sikes, M.D.

38135 Market Square

Zephrhills, FL 33540-2505

813-782-1234

D. Sladek (oral plus oral clindamycin)

2501 N. Orange Ave.

Suite 538

Orlando, FL 32804

407-896-8696

August 7, 2000

Hi a,

I have also had arthritis since my 20's and i am also 46! I have seen Dr

Whitman in N.J. and he is one of the best . He has been using the

antibiotics a long time and it would bewell worth your two and a half hour

drive. I live in Alabama and I'm thinking about going back to see him.I have

been on the AP for 10 years and they have helped me regain my life. I'm

still working on building up my immune system and I still haveoccasional

flares but nothing compared to the way I was. This group will be a great

support and source of info. Glad to have you with us1

susan c.

August 7, 2000

In a message dated 08/07/2000 7:28:56 AM Pacific Daylight Time,

Sbcona@... writes:

<< I'm

still working on building up my immune system >>

Hi I was thinking about this in light of them finding at the Mayo clinic

that our T cells are aging prematurely. So how are you building up your

immune system? anyone out there who knows the answer to this I am listening

:-D

August 8, 2000

, I am also a patient of Dr. Whitmans for 3 months now. I have Ra ,

Lupus and Myositis . I am doing much better now since seeing him. Luckily I

am only about 20 min from his Watchung office. He took me off the MTX and put

me on Arava. I am off all sleep meds now . I am on Minocin 50mgs MWF for the

last 3 months. He hopes to increase to 100mgs MWF in the fall when it cools

off a little. He said that sometimes the hot weather can be a problem with an

increase in the Minocin. I work outside giving riding lessons so maybe this

comes into play for me. I am doing so much better that I really have nothing

to complain about except trying to cut down the Prednisone has been the only

hard thing. I agree that he is a good and compassionate Doctor. Patti

May 31, 2001

hello and welcome!

rheumatic new to the group

Hello Everybody! I am new to the group and have been on antibiotic therapy for almost 6 months! Most of which has been one big herx. I am starting to feel much better switching from an every day dose of Minoocycline to intermittent dosing. I applaud anybody that can take Mino every day! I can't wait to start feeling the full effect and I am grateful to have found this treatment. I have had RA sero-negative for 3 1/2 years now. My doc also suspects early Fibromyalgia but has not diagnosed it yet. Hopefully because of the Min, he will never get to! I just wanted to say hello and I am so grateful to have found a group where the people are so friendly and supportive! I've been lurking for a while now. Thought I would start jumping in =0)

~Roseanne~To unsubscribe, email: rheumatic-unsubscribeegroups

May 31, 2001

Roseanne,

Welcome to the group!! I think we all start out lurking I know I did!! I hope you find what you need here and please feel free to add to the discussions or ask questions people on here are great about digging up information if they don't have the answer, we are a family here. Glad you joined us!!!

Peace,

Sherry

Hello Everybody! I am new to the group and have been on antibiotic therapy for almost 6 months! Most of which has been one big herx. I am starting to feel much better switching from an every day dose of Minoocycline to intermittent dosing. I applaud anybody that can take Mino every day! I can't wait to start feeling the full effect and I am grateful to have found this treatment. I have had RA sero-negative for 3 1/2 years now. My doc also suspects early Fibromyalgia but has not diagnosed it yet. Hopefully because of the Min, he will never get to! I just wanted to say hello and I am so grateful to have found a group where the people are so friendly and supportive! I've been lurking for a while now. Thought I would start jumping in =0)

~Roseanne~

August 20, 2001

Welcome I am sharing my story as it resembles yours in a few ways.

I was diagnosed three years ago. I am 36 years old and also have three

little kids. my RA hit like a blizzard after a traumatic incident 6 months

earlier. I had it brewing for years, but the trauma pushed me over. I had a

titer of 646 RA. ANA of 360? or 300 something. Both have dropped to nearly

normal! something the doctor said was impossible. I knew instinctively I

had a serious infection. I refused all the traditional meds. I starved and

ate salad and fish for months and tried many different herbs. Finally 6

months after the diagnosis of RA (which I do have) my environmental md

discovered I had lyme disease. Although we had begun the AP Roadback

protocal a month before knowing I had lyme and other tick born infections.

I could not tolerate even the tiniest dose of minocin without nearly dying

(thats what it felt like) We tried most all the macrolides (biaxin, zith,

cipro, erythromycin) all were intolerable. Then we tried bicillin

(penicillin derrivative) injections that are traditionally used for

syphillis which is very similar to Lyme bacteria. After one week I was much

better. We did those injections for approx two months and then I was able

to step off from the penicillin to the tetracyclines or other macrolides. I

bounced back and forth with dose and drugs for a year or year and a half.

now I am trying to stay consistant with the Doxy which is a generic form of

minocycline.

What has helped me in determining to use Doxy (tetracycline family of drugs)

and the dose is 1. this group, 2. the Lyme disease groups, many of which use

doxy 3. the institute for molecular medicine and Garth Nicholson (gulf war

people) 4. the Biomeridian machine which is a machine that two of my doctors

use to help determine what drug, herb or other balance my body and what

organisms or metal etc are causing my body to be stressed. My kids have the

lyme bacteria from me via in utero. my husband has lyme (and a + RA titer)

from me sexually. I do not know when I was bitten or if I inheirted the lyme

from my mother. BUT when I use the Biomeridian machine and my joints are

very active and stressed, the machine can zone into the joint meridian to

find out what is the cause of the stress....IT SAYS BORELLIA BORGDORFERI

(LYME). It says this for my son who is 9 also and the machine says that

doxy and tetracycline balance that joint. (forgive me for rambling this

morning).

The long and short of my sermon is not that everyone has the same organisms

(but there is a lot of lyme out there). But that the tetracyclines are a

good choice because they can act on some many idfferent organisms like lyme,

mycoplasms (that you will often find with lyme), amebias etc. And when our

immune systems are challenged we get worn down to the point that we pick up

a variety of pathogens. Many organisms replicate slowly, so a turtle

approach may be more effective and easier on the system, ie mon. weds and

fri. small dose. lastly, it takes a long time to get better. stay with it.

YOu are on the right track. good luck, kathy meyer ps if you get lyme

testing, the results are very inaccurate which means a positive is positive,

but a negative may actually be a positive.

rheumatic New to the group

> Hi there to you all...

> My name is Kerry and on July 4th, I was told that I have Rheumatoid

> Arthritis. I'am 31 years old and I live in Canada. I'am married

> with

> 3 children and when I heard of the news I was devastated... I have

> done some research on Rheumatoid Arthritis and have a general idea of

> what is going on, but still am unsure that I in fact have this

> disease. The doctor told me that my Rheumatoid Factor was sitting at

> 126 and that it was extremely high, and though I do have some joint

> stiffness and feel pretty rough on some days, the majority of the

> time

> I feel not too bad. I'am waiting to hear from the nuclear sciences

> department of the local University for a bone scan, but am unsure

> about this sort of testing. I'am taking Naproxen for swelling of the

> joints...which I take 500mg 3 times a day and 6 extra strength

> tylenol

> a day....I'am not sure if this is doing any good either...maybe this

> is why I'am not as sore as I should be. The Rheumatologist said that

> when she first saw me, Clinically, she would never have guessed that

> I

> had RA, and actually initially diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia...she

> then ran more tests and found out that her diagnosis was wrong and

> that my Rheumatoid Factor was 4 times the normal and suggested the

> bone scan... When I read about this group, I thought this would be

> great to get involved in...because anything I have read so far over

> the internet has scared the daylights out of me....and am not sure

> what to expect with this disease....Does the RF at 126 mean that I

> actually have RA? Should I get this bone scan done? All these

> anti-inflamatory drugs are upsetting me...should I ask about the

> antibiotic treatment at this point? I'am scared and unsure what to

> do....If anybody can give me some information...or help...I would

> greatly appreciate it....

> Thank you

> Kerry

>

> To unsubscribe, email: rheumatic-unsubscribeegroups

>

August 21, 2001

Hi Kerry

Get on those antibiotics as soon as possible. They are what will make the

difference.

Personally I would take only the level of NSAIDS that you actually need.

Work out the level for yourself, though they do help stop joint damage. I

was given huge dosages at the start and thought I was cured until I vomited

them all up and resolved not to have any more. Then I rediscovered how much

pain was actually there and went on Celebrex.

Gail

> From: kandy@...

> Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2001 13:09:40 -0000

> rheumatic

> Subject: rheumatic New to the group