Reader's
Question:
Tetracycline Treatments for Arthritis
by Barbara D. Allan
Author of Conquering Arthritis
A reader wrote:
I'm a 29yo (VERY) active male who was finally diagnosed
with reactive arthritis about a year ago. Like you,
I suffered immensely. After weeks of research, I found
a proven protocol to beat RA with tetracycline. I’ve
been on antibiotics for 6 months and I'm getting better.
(I'm also eating very healthy...organic fruits and
veggies).
Here's the site I'd like to share with you:
http://www.rheumatic.org/faq.htm
This is based on the theory that RA is caused by
an INFECTION and antibiotics cure your arthritis by
killing the source, not by treating the symptoms.
I'm VERY interested in your book, however, I'm wondering
how your book differs from using antibiotics to kill
your infection. I would agree that some arthritis
cases are caused by a food allergy, or leaky gut syndrome,
however, I really NEVER ate that poorly in the past.
I've always been active, and I could tell you the
day I started to get my RA...after a urinary tract
infection!
So I'm really curious if the information in your book
will help, if my case is purely a resolving infection.
Any thoughts?
Barbara's Response:
Hi,
Thanks for writing me and sending the informative link.
For some people antibiotics seem to work. If it works
for you, there is no arguing with success. Interestingly
enough, recent work indicates that tetracycline, which
is one of the antibiotics mentioned on the website you
mention, works not only as an antibiotic, but also as
an immune system modulator, so it may be having its
effect on RA by ratcheting down autoimmune responses,
not by combating infectious agents. Other classes of
antibiotics that only function as antibiotics don't
seem to have as beneficial effect on RA.
The problem with antibiotic treatment for arthritis
is that many people have to stay on it for years and
years, or even the rest of their lives, which to me
says to me that for them it really doesn't eliminate
the cause—it only lessens the symptoms.
My book has nothing to do with taking tetracycline
or any other antibiotics. It does include lots of information
about checking for food sensitivities, avoiding a personalized
list of problem foods, and then healing your system
so that you no longer have food sensitivities. Not everyone
with RA has food sensitivities, but many do. When this
is the case, the info in my book is invaluable to getting
well.
Like you, I never had any problems with food allergy
and ate a healthy diet up until I developed the infection
that triggered my reactive arthritis. It was a sudden
change for me. Although my reactive arthritis lasted
for years, once I was able to correct the underlying
problem the arthritis went away completely and has remained
gone ever since.
Importance of Exploring
Both Sides of an Issue
I do not endorse or personally never explored antibiotic
based treatment for arthritis because of my concerns
about the long term health implications of taking any
kind of antibiotics, especially on a long-term basis.
However, it is always good to learn what thoughtful,
well-informed people have to say on both sides of an
issue. Furthermore, the complex nature of arthritis
as a disease means that different strategies work for
different people. That is why I was willing to include
the informative pro-tetracycline treatment link in the
letter above.
In response to publishing the letter above, I received
the following letter from a reader who tried tetracycline
for her rheumatoid arthritis. For her, the negative
side effects were just too bad:
Reader's Negative Experience with
Tetracycline
I would like to comment to the chap using tetracyclines.
I've had RA for many, many years. I also tried every
so called cure, and believed I ate healthily.
I did the tetracycline thing for about three years,
and yes it did lessen the pain dramatically, but I
was desperately ill after the weekly (once every 6
week) course of this medication. Headaches from hell,
unbelievable nausea, in fact I even entertained thoughts
of suicide. I stopped using these drugs 5 years ago
and am still struggling to get my intestinal flora
back where it should be.
Surely this is not the way to go!!! So I started
researching (thank goodness for the internet).
I read Dr. Hulda Clark's book The Cure
for All Diseases and implemented several
of her protocols. Big step forward. Then I progressed
to buying a QXCI (now SCIO) and that helped me immensely.
But it was only when I read Barbara's book and understood
that food sensitivities could play a roll that I hit
the jackpot.
This coming September will be 2 years that I am totally
free of any medication and the pain is almost non-existent,
in fact far less than when I was in medication. I
believe that the little bit of joint pain I have now
is due to the damage the disease has caused over the
years and only manifests itself when I accidentally
bang any of the affected joints.
Drugs will never ever cure an autoimmune disease.
(Yes they help take the pain away and thank goodness
for that), but as soon as you can pinpoint the cause
and remove it your body will heal itself.
We are very complex creatures and what works for
one may not work for another. We forget that our bodies
function on a physical, emotional and spiritual level
and these levels are totally intertwined. Often an
emotional or spiritual blockage can prevent healing,
so we must look at those levels as well if
healing eludes one.
What I do know, without a shadow of doubt is that
we were not meant to be ill, and that nature has supplied
us with all the tools to be well. We, sadly, are no
longer in tune with her.
Kind regards,
Ingrid from South Africa
~~~~~~~~~~
Anyone else out there willing to share their experiences
with tetracycline or any other alternative treatments?
The more we share with each other our stories of what
does and doesn’t work, the better able we all
our to understand exactly what is needed to heal.
Of course, I am always most interested in what works,
but sometimes it is important to also warn people about
treatments that may seem reasonable but in practice
can be quite damaging.
|
