Psoriatic arthritis?

[Guest guest]

Hello Tim, If it's definately psoriatic arthritis then consider Smilax in large doses especially where there is a hot pattern. I believe this could be established by genetic studied, a marker gene? B52?I would drown in Smilax, support liver function.LorraineLorraine Hodgkinson MRCHMHERBS AND HELPERS6, Butts Fold, Cockermouth,Cumbria, CA13 9HY. UK.Tel: +44 (0) 1900 826392Mobile: 07761 489838 (O2)www.herbalmedicineuk.comOn 2 Feb 2012, at 13:03, "jacmoor@..." wrote:

I am looking for some ideas/suggestions/help with a patient I have been seeing for about 18 months. The presenting complaint is swelling and stiffness in her hands. It effects both sides, the swelling is jelly like, between the knuckles and down the fingers, the stiffness means that she cant straighten her fingers, her hands and arms feel weak, the fingers are not hot or painful just swollen. She also has very dry eyes which often feel gritty. She does get some pain and occasional swelling in her knees and ankles although she puts this down to too much dancing.

She has been like this since 2007 when she had a flu like illness which lead to inflammation in her hands, arms, knees and ankles which over about 6 months receded to just her hands. The medics initially thought it was carpel tunnel and now think it is RA but are not sure and prescribed methotrexate which she took but stopped due to side effects. Her mother has a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis but neither her nor her mother have any skin plaques.

I have managed to make some improvement in the swelling and mobility but the hands ( and elbows) are still quite stiff. I am currently giving her Menyathes 20, Glyc 1:1 20, Apium 20, Urtica 20, Arctium 20, Capsicum 3. She also takes Borage oil (she is vegan) and Bvits. She had a break from this Rx over xmas due to a missed appointment and her hands began to swell again so it is obviously helping but not quite resolving the issue.

Does anyone have experince with this condition? If so any suggestions as where to go next?

Thanks

Tim Moorhouse

[Guest guest]

Psoriatic arthritis, PMR, Ank.Spon, all respond well to a wheat free diet.

Low carb really.

I used this now for about 3 years worth of patients, all presenting with

of a various combination of these, all making complete recovery when they stick

to grain free.

I say grain free because if you say gluten free they go and fill up on gluten

free products which are still eventually glucose in the body and full of glucose

corn syrup crap.

Get the BM (Blood sugar) down then insulin comes down and inflammation resolves.

My last patient took herbs for 6 months - ALL the anti inflam ones and had small

improvements but kept relapsing UNTIL he went off and had a proper look at all

the links I gave him about grains - he went grain free in November and is now

pain free and back to work.

Vegans are totally fat deficient and I can't think of one I have seen in clinic

that doesn't rely on grain based carbohydrates as a main part of their diet.

Omega 6 fats are inflammatory (from seeds, nuts and vegetables)

And you can't get anywhere near enough the amounts of omega 3 required from

hemp and flax. Our ancestors didn't get essential fats from vegetables and they

wouldn't have eaten flax and hemp seed in quantities enough to give them

anything close to what is required(it would have given them the runs though) It

has to be animal fats.

The anti nutrient effects, immune screwing gluten and high glucose stuff aside -

I'm thinking that another part of these illnesses is to do with the biology of

the brain.

The amygdala in the brain is programmed to monitor for potentially dangerous

stuff. I picture it like a security guard in his office. Doesn't have a rational

brain or ability to think for himself. Just sees how things are over time and

then sets responses to alert when anything changes.

So if you have a pretty steady high blood sugar and insulin, then as soon as

that monitor on the security guards screen starts to blip off down into lower

levels, then he will react as if it is dangerous and set off a red alert.

That means flight or fight response. Skeletal muscles get tense in response,

ready to power off running or fighting.

Tenseness=poor circulation=bad nutrient supply & poor removal of wastes=

inflammation and disrepair= aching, tense, painful joints and muscles.

So they have a nice carby cereal breakfast with a few seedy nuts (omega 6) and

some evil soya milk or rice milk(why not just poor sugar syrup on?!) on it.

Then 2 hours later the BM drops. Then a snack on a few rice cakes, oat cakes

what ever. BM goes up. For a bit.

Back down for lunch of pasta, potato, sandwich, soup and bread, cous cous etc

Again in the afternoon -MMMmmm a banana or some kind of healthy fruit

(fructose)or yoghurt.

and again for dinner of something carb based.

So the BM yoyos massively all day long. And they body is constantly on alert.

High sympathetic tone causing every system to direct function to flight or

fight.

There is hardly any parasympathetic activity at all - digestion stops and starts

and they have symptoms of irritable bowel - oh and they think they have candida

and probably do have an element of dysbiosis because of all the glucose feeding

the nasty bloaty bugs.

A good regular dose of bile(in a parasympathetic state) would sort that out

straight away and fermented foods.(or you can buy expensive pro biotics)

Then all the " good " bugs will be able to make nutrients more bio available for

absorption.(or you can keep buying expensive supplements long term)or you can

make bone broths for your veg soup.

Lots of people even get low BM symptoms and they think it's because they need

more carbs/glucose/sugar. They also crash pretty badly after about 7-10 days as

the system resets. Warn them about this if they are going to do withdraw carbs

suddenly rather than gradually.

Parasympathetic is also what powers elimination of wastes. If it doesn't get a

chance then they accumulate.

Lots of these patients complain of insomnia and poor sleep. It's because that

amygdala keeps waking them up. Gotta keep running.

Oops. Didn't mean to write so much. Can you tell I've been 6 hours a day alone

pruning the orchard for 5 days!

There is more but I'll stop now just in case I'm telling granny how to suck

eggs.(eggs now there's a great breakfast alternative!)

zoe

x

Medical Herbalist

MNIMH CPP Dip. Phyt.

Buteyko Breathing Practitoner

" Wild Drugs " 'A Foragers Guide to Healing Plants' Gaia 2010

Bath

01761 439920

[Guest guest]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and ideas. I have

considered various diagnoses such as PMR and Sjogren's syndrome

and again in some ways they seem to fit and in others not. I have asked her if

she could get her blood work from her doctor but she seems reluctant to do

this. She says she doesnt want to tell them she isnt taking the methotrexate

but I will have another go as it would be helpful.

I have considered a no grains diet with her but I am not sure

how to do this if she continues to be vegan! Any suggestions would be great. I

guess I may have to point out that perhaps her diet

is contributing to her condition and that she might need to

reconsider. I dont think she will like that!

I have been investigating Echium seed oil which seems to have

higher levels of GLA and SDA than flax seed for omega 3, has anyone used this

before?

Zoe and other mention online resources and information about

no grains/low carb diets can you suggest any good sites that I might be

able to recommend to her?

I also havent prescribed boswellia before so what would anyone

suggest, tincture? capsules? dose? Also someone mentions curcuma and black

pepper again would this be in capsules, dose? And Lorraine I am not sure what a

swamping dose of smilax would be?

Cheers

Tim

[Guest guest]

I've been following this discussion with interest. many thanks to

all who have contributed.

Re: her reluctance to consider eating meat. Some people find it

less challenging to eat wild meats, game and the like. You could point

out to her that it is possible these days to source ethically produced

animal products. I find this can sometimes sway people who have their

health to consider. Do some research before so that you can give her

some solid suggestions about what, where it is available etc.

Re: sources for information about grains and health implications.

I have found some useful and accessible information by Googling for

immunocereal disease.

I found this paper interesting

http://www.nibm.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/cmec_immunocereal.pdf

When treating autoimmune problem, the presenting condition can be

a red herring. Don't get caught up in the presenting diagnosis: you

want to be treating the immune system itself.

There is a risk with AI conditions that, if the presenting

diagnosis is dealt with but the immune system continues to be out of

balance, other AI problems pop up elsewhere.

For instance, I successfully treated a lady with Sjorgren's

Syndrome, but she stopped coming to see me once her Sx had improved;

without continuing support for the immune system, she later came back

to me with a Dx of RA. In another case, treatment cleared eczema in a

Px who similarly stopped consulting with me, and she later presented

with asthma.

I was puzzled by this until I realised that, as with a mushroom

being the fruiting body of the underlying fungus, so the presenting

diagnosis of an AI condition was merely the visible manifestation of

an underlying problem with the immune system. An unwell immune system

will find a weak spot and express its distress in any system it can.

Without treating the immune system, we risk chasing the problem from

system to system.

To treat the immune system, i always use these four herbs, and

then address the symptomatic and emotional needs of the Px with other

herbs too.

Turmeric

Siberian ginseng

Astragalus

Shitake mushrooms.

In my opinion, the medicinal mushrooms are crucial when treating

any problem that involves the immune system. I like to use shitake

because it harmonises well with the other four herbs I list above. But

you can use any others, they are all useful.

The long term benefit of getting the immune system back to proper

health is that triggers like grains will have less detrimental impact.

To this end, I include tissue healing herbs (plantain, marigold,

horsetail, nettle....) to help increase the integrity of the gut wall

etc. With diligence, patience, commitment and good information, it is

possible for some people to arrive at a point when they can tolerate

trigger foods with far fewer problems.

Hope some of this is helpful to you

With best wishes

Cristina

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and

ideas. I have considered various diagnoses such as PMR

and Sjogren's syndrome and again in some ways they

seem to fit and in others not. I have asked her if she could get her

blood work from her doctor but she seems reluctant to do this. She

says she doesnt want to tell them she isnt taking the methotrexate but

I will have another go as it would be helpful.

I have considered a no grains diet with

her but I am not sure how to do this if she continues to be vegan! Any

suggestions would be great. I guess I may have to point out that

perhaps her diet is contributing to her condition and that

she might need to reconsider. I dont think she will like that!

I have been investigating Echium seed oil

which seems to have higher levels of GLA and SDA than flax seed for

omega 3, has anyone used this before?

Zoe and other mention online resources

and information about no grains/low carb diets can you suggest

any good sites that I might be able to recommend to her?

I also havent prescribed boswellia before

so what would anyone suggest, tincture? capsules? dose? Also someone

mentions curcuma and black pepper again would this be in capsules,

dose? And Lorraine I am not sure what a swamping dose of smilax would

be?

Cheers

Tim