Rheumatoid Arthritis

Here are some of the things I’ve learned over the years, I hope they can help you in some way

The main thing I’ve learned is that immune conditions are very complex and there is no one solution for all. We are all unique and there are many things that can affect our immune system to get it out of balance including food intolerances, over use of antibiotics, the effects of stress or trauma in our youth, an infection or virus.

As you read this you will find that I treat RA as an autoimmune condition rather than a joint condition so my focus over the years has changed from healing and reducing inflammation in the joints to doing exactly that in the gut. In basic terms as 70-80% of our immune system is in the gut it is therefore believed that autoimmune disease (RA, Hashimoto’s or any other) starts there and by addressing gut issues, you can reduce the immune reaction and in turn improve symptoms where ever you are experiencing them.

One thing that stands out for me is I wish I had known how bad NSAIDS (anti-inflammatory tablets) were for the gut and that it’s not a good idea to take them for any length of time –  NSAIDS such as aspirin, ibuprofen, Naproxen (prescription only). I have taken far too many over the years because I was not on the immune suppressing drugs, I needed some pain and inflammation relief.

My RA was discovered after a running injury, I had a tiny tear in my cartilage but a huge swelling. Read My Autoimmune Story here. It was as if this injury and the resulting inflammation from that and the operation that followed, sparked off a reaction in my body. If I bumped or injured a joint, it would swell and the RA reaction would set in. At that time, I sprained my ankle twice and had to rely on ibuprofen and Naproxen for far too long without realising the damage they were doing to my gut.

Food intolerance – Initially without any testing and after doing some research, I gave up dairy and gluten. This made a huge difference to my CRP levels but I’d advise an intolerance test just to see where you are in terms of food sensitivities. They are not 100% reliable as there are many factors that can affect the results but they do offer guidance. See what your practitioner thinks – when I say practitioner, I mean one outside of the NHS. This kind of testing is not available from your RA doctors – in fact, anything you try outside of their medical care will not be taken in to account. Bear in mind if you talk ‘gut health to improve your immune system and therefore you immune condition’ they will not understand. Their remit is disease control and to make your life better in the only way they know how.

GI testing – I would also highly recommend that you take a stool test. At this early stage in your disease you can see what is happening in your gut. Knowing whether you have a fungal or parasite issue and whether you have an imbalance of bad/good bacteria will be fundamental in reducing inflammation in the gut. A good functional practitioner will be able to recommend which test and then interpret the results and suggest a way forward in terms of diet and supplements. I only did one years after diagnosis. I wish I had done it years ago, as it has given me great guidance on what to do next to get my healing to the next level.

Vitamin D – is essential so get tested and consider a supplement.

Vagus nerve – majority of those with immune conditions have a low vagal tone. As the vagus nerve facilitates most of the nerve signalling to and from the gut and brain, (the GUT BRAIN AXIS), when the vagus nerve is low performing digestive dysfunction can occur. There are many ways to strengthen the vagus nerve so your body’s balance is weighed more towards ‘rest and digest’ than ‘fight and flight’.

Find out more about the Vagus Nerve here.

Protius mirabilis – research done by Alan Ebringer many decades ago looks at the relationship with this bacteria and RA. Some who have been treated for this bacteria have experienced remission. I was treated by a nutritionist, who specialised in this, with oregano supplements amongst others and experienced improvement for a few months, this was a few years ago. But as I’ve said immune conditions are complex and I had other issues to address so the improvements were short lived.

I then discovered the Paddison Program. So Clint Paddison suffered from RA and as a scientist, decided to research his disease when he realised the drugs were not helping him. He developed a vegan, oil free diet which starts in a basic form for a few weeks and then you test your system with various foods and slowly build up your diet. It is working for thousand’s of people all over the world but unfortunately the diet doesn’t work for everyone. I was strict on it for 3 months and I lost nearly 1.5 stone (I got very thin as I didn’t have weight to loose) and my joints ached more. At the time I discovered I was struggling to digest grains and legumes so that’s why I couldn’t survive on this diet as I wasn’t diegesting the veggie protein. However, look at the website as he is helping so many people all over the world.

I have since settled on low grain, paleo style diet and I also do a 4 day rotation as repetition was the main thing in my diet that I needed to change. You can get intolerant to even the healthiest of foods if you eat too many of them! It takes time to find out what foods work and as we have seen, some people are getting their conditions into remission by turning vegan and others by keeping meat in their diet but giving up grain and legumes.

Oxygen and ozone injections to build cartilage and reduce inflammation – Due to a few sprains in my ankle during this RA period of my life, the joint just refused to recover. I went to an amazing osteopath in Cambridge, and he managed to get the joint moving, but after years of ups and downs I was beginning to think I was always going to limp and have swelling in the joint. Then I discovered an osteopath called Oliver Eaton at the ProHealth Clinic in Bedford, UK who was doing Oxygen/ozone injections, for the first time in the UK. They have been popular in Germany for 30-40 years and in the US (that’s where he went to get trained). So I’ve been seeing him for these injections for my ankle and wrist and I can now walk without pain and without a limp! It is incredible and been life changing for me! I can now stand for longer than 10 minutes without pain setting in, well I can stand for as long as anyone else can! Some people only need a few injections – he treats osteoarthritis as well as RA. So there is help for damaged joints and it is giving hope to so many.

As you can see I’m obsessed with gut healing as everything I’ve read about autoimmune conditions always points to gut health. In fact that is what the Paddision Program is all about, reducing inflammation in the gut and healing the gut. Two good books that are easy to read and follow – Jeannette Hyde – The Gut Makeover and Dr Michael Mosely – The Clever Guts Diet. They are very similar, the difference is Jeanette is a nutritionist and Michael was the amazing TV doctor. when I first read his book, it was great to see someone from the mainstream medical world understanding the importance of gut health and the microbiome. If there is one thing I wish I had been aware of in the beginning is the link between immune conditions and gut health – it would have speeded up my recovery!

Summary:

Avoid anti-inflammatories if you can or at least, take them on a full stomach for as little time as possible.

Find a practitioner so you can get intolerance testing and GI testing as this will set you off in the right direction for life in terms of healing the gut and eating the foods that are right for you as there are so many diets out there that can reduce inflammation but you have to find the one that works for you. The tests are expensive but have been the best investment I’ve made.

Intolerance testing will highlight any foods you need to avoid though results could change from week to week, I’d say they are a good place to start if you have no idea what your intolerances may be. Some people have silent gut issues, like me. I have inflammation and immune responses happening affecting my joints, thyroid and skin and therefore I undoubtedly have gut issues but I haven’t suffered from IBS type symptoms so my gut rarely tells me that gluten is wrong for me or that I shouldn’t eat dairy. Therefore an intolerance test will give you some perspective and a place to start.

A GI test will let you know whether you have a fungal or parasite issue and whether you have an imbalance of bad/good bacteria. A good functional practitioner will be able to recommend which test and then interpret the results and suggest a way forward in terms of diet and supplements. I found it very useful and the news wasn’t all bad so it kind of put my mind at rest but it also told me I needed more diversity of bacteria as well as density so it was invaluable and I wish I had taken the test years ago.

A functional practitioner will be able to advise you on a supplement program to reduce inflammation, support gut healing and support your joints. They will also help you make changes to your diet and get you on foods that will help the healing process.

I should mention the AIP Diet – before testing I went on the autoimmune protocol diet which has seen some amazing results with many with immune conditions so do look into that too. Once you are tested you can adjust this AIP approach to add in foods you know you can tolerate, you can find out more information here.

The main thing I’ve learned over the years, is that immune conditions are very complex and there is no one solution for all. We are all unique and there are many things that can affect our immune system to get it out of balance including food intolerances, over use of antibiotics, the effects of stress or trauma in our youth, an infection or virus.

It’s only recently that I’ve discovered the significance of emotional stress as a child and its effect on the vagus nerve which in turn effects the gut, causes inflammation which leads to the immune system firing up. The role of the emotions and the vagus nerve on gut health and their link with the immune system is all very cutting edge stuff.

So do address the emotional as well as the physical – stress, sleep and past issues all play a part. Meditation and self-development all help support your healing journey, read more about it here.

I hope this helps and I also hope all of this information lets you see that there is so much that you can do to get your disease under control naturally to get you on the road to recovery. I wish you well and happy healing!