Re: RA Dr. not very encouraging about antibiotic treaatment

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/29/2004 1:44:13 AM Eastern Standard Time,

peonyproud@... writes:

I saw my ra. Dr. today and told her I would like to try the

minocycline treatment. She was so discouraging.

She probably wasn't any worse than most of them. Mine was just downright

rude and arrogant and all but threw the literature back in my face. In fact he

did slap away with his hand one printout I held up. This is NOT what they

learn in medical school and NOT what the pharmaceutical companies promote.

I went to every website I could find to back up what I'd read in books. I

must have read 50,000 pages in my quest. Even though I have a definite brain

fog from my bushel basket full of diseases, I am not stupid and I have degrees

too, just not in medicine. Even my husband who is all but medically illiterate

(in spite of the fact he has designed and built many pharmaceutical plants

around the world as a registered architect), has read much of the information

I've found and saw definite hope it the antibiotic protocol. He knew I was

dying on the drugs offered by the rheumatologist, and I think he felt guilty

because he was the one who found him in the first place and encouraged me to see

him when I was so sick and we didn't know why.

While I am not in remission or " cured " , and I've only been on antibiotics for

3 months now, I feel like a different person. I'd been on Remicade for a

year, Methotrexate for 2+ years, and prednisone following shots in the joints,

and I started having serious infections plus many other side effects. The

answer from my rheumy was even more bad drugs in higher doses. It only made me

worse. Plain and simple, he told me the antibiotics didn't work but prescribed

it anyway because I had such seriously swollen glands he was afraid I had

developed lymphoma and wanted me to have a biopsy.

He refused to address my yeast problems, never told me probioitcs would be

necessary with the antibioitcs, and had me use over the counter drugs for the

the " sicca " (never saying sjogren's syndrome which I had to investigate on my

own). In short, so many things it's not profitable for them to waste their time

even discussing.

I have found a doctor which addresses all my health issues and says it's time

I was no longer jerked around by the medical profession. If you can't find a

doctor through references here and other places such as the Road Back

Foundation, check with the holistic doctors in your area. Osteopaths also are

generally more receptive to the AP as well as some general practitioners. You

owe

it to yourself to have a fighting chance. Don't give up hope!

Jill

[Guest guest]

<<...told her I would like to try the minocycline treatment. She was so

discouraging. She told me it did not give relief to many people. I am taking

plaqunil and I think I should contine this. She prescribed 100mg 2x's a day, but

is

this not too much? >>

Rhonda,

Do not let you Dr. talk you into giving up! You must try the AP. My Dr. was

skeptical, but at least professional, and let me give it a try. He was

amazed at where I was 6 months later (in remission), and continue to be 4 years

later! I saw him in Dec. and he now prescribes AP for patients and is seeing

" surprising " results. This is a rhuematologist!

He reads the literature and has seen the studies, so he is becoming more

open, maybe even convinced it's the way to go. *I* was the one amazed at his

turn

around! LOL

I started at 100 mg x 2, daily, and found it was too much. I decreased to

twice a day 3 days a week, still too much. I've been on 100 mg 3 days a week

for about 4 years now. Seems to work well for me. Each person is probably

going to be somewhat different in their dose, but seems like every other day is

sufficient.

M.

[Guest guest]

Rhonda...............Nothing ventured, nothing gained is my motto. I too was

told it would not work, but since I had talked to several pharmacists and was

told it had almost no side effects, I decided to try antibiotic therapy

anyway. Lucky for me I did try it as I was one of those who went into remission

fairly quickly. I have no doubt I would now be in a wheelchair if I had stayed

with traditional meds. Nice thing is you can stay on your meds while giving

it a try. That way you can sort of give it a try without compromising your

regular treatment. Some months down the road ( if things go good) you can

reevaluate the need for traditional meds. It is really a win-win situation.

As far as the dose she put you on ....100 mg twice a day. That is what I

went on for 6 months. Now I am on just Mon wed Fri, 100mg once on those

days. Life is pretty good, an occasional aspirin I can live with!!! Martha

[Guest guest]

I'm not free to post my rheumy's name without his permission. For now,

suffice it to say that he's in Bismarck, ND. There aren't many of them here (2

men, 2 women) so he should be easy to find. LOL A phone call to the office with

a question to his nurse would verify if you have the one that prescribes

antibiotics for RA. Anyone in the area can contact me and I'll refer privately.