Reader's
Response:
What Has Helped One Woman with Her Rheumatoid Arthritis
by Barbara D. Allan
Author of Conquering Arthritis
Here is one woman's experience with rheumatoid arthritis:
I wanted to share with you some of the things that
I use to help manage my RA. I have to say the minute
I saw the cover of your book with you holding a mountain
bike over your head, I was so happy that maybe I found
a source to help me cure my disease and I did. That
was one year ago. As a positive person I am never
really depressed, however I was depressed and feeling
sorry for myself. I think we learn from our diseases
as our body is trying to tell us something. While,
your book gave me hope; the RA actually taught me
how to not feel sorry for myself and not be a victim.
I started feeling RA pain, first in my knees about
18 months ago. Then my fingers, wrists, ankles, elbows,
shoulders and hips. Then came the dizziness, tiredness
and sick feelings. I was diagnosed with sero-negative
RA (or blood test negative) in Aug. 04'.
After reading your book (and implementing your teachings)
as well as doing other research, including reading
the RA pack sent to me by the World Research Foundation
in Sedona, AZ - I am 80-85% better than I was a year
ago.
The diet and fasting are very difficult for me to
keep following 100% every day. I tend to fall off
the wagon when I go on vacation. However, it is so
clear to me when I go off the diet how important it
is to stay on it.
Besides the diet and fasting I wanted to let your
readers know that the following has also worked for
me:
Supplements: Zyflamend (by New Chapter). This is
a natural anti-inflammatory mixture. It does wonders.
Also, MSN, Bromelein, ginger and turmeric. The ginger
and turmeric are herbs with natural anti-inflammatory
properties. Also the herbs prickly ash, devil's claw
and sarsaparilla have all been very helpful as well
in controlling my pain and inflammation. In addition,
regular visits to the hot tub have also been great.
I can also tell you that I felt wonderful while visiting
Hawaii. So I'm not sure if it was the weather or if
my RA is very stress related.
Thank you - Hope this helps.
Kathy K.
Marina Del Rey, CA
Barbara's Response:
How to Decide If What Works for Someone Else Might Help
You
First, thank you Kathy for sharing what has worked in
your quest to cure your RA. Sharing what has worked
for us personally helps us all understand more clearly
the full range of strategies for healing arthritis.
It helps us generate new and better options for ourselves
because there is no one way to heal this disease.
Second, I want to share what I know (and don't know)
about Kathy's recommendations. Some of her strategies
are ones I fully recommend and feature in my book, such
as the diet and fasting methods, and also the use of
bromelein, ginger, turmeric.
In contrast, the use of hot tubs varies greatly with
the individual. During the worst of my arthritis, hot
showers were one of my few pleasures. I loved the relief
it gave me. Even now, completely healed, I find regular
visits to a hot tub make me feel great. However, for
some folks with arthritis, the extra heat makes them
feel worse. So go with your own experience on that one.
I don’t have enough information to endorse the
other methods that Kathy mentions such as the brand
name of herbal anti-inflammatory she uses, or prickly
ash, devil’s claw, and sarsaparilla. These herbs
have helped Kathy, but I don’t have enough knowledge
to know exactly how these remedies need to be applied,
who is most likely
to benefit, how large that benefit is likely to be,
and if there are any hidden drawbacks.
We are all individual in the exact details of what
needs to happen for us to heal. The larger the pool
of good options we have to draw from, the more likely
we are to find everything we need to completely heal.
If you are looking for new options for yourself, Kathy’s
letter certainly provides some leads. As always, do
your homework first. For any potential healing method,
find out all you can about it. What is known about it?
How does it work? Does it merely suppress symptoms or
does it remedy underlying causes? Are there any hidden
risks or drawbacks? What kind of track record does it
have for helping or curing arthritis? What exactly must
you do and for how long for it to be effective?
If after all of your due diligence research and fact
checking, a potential healing method makes sense to
you and seems appropriate to your situation, give it
a fair trial. Only by testing these remedies in your
own life will you discover exactly what works for you.
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