Aa
Multiple Autoimmune Disorders
I am a 35 yr old female and I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid & Psoriatic Arthritis with Psoriasis, and Acid Reflux Disease w/ a hiatal hernia at age 22 (Psoriasis at age 12). Would the Methotrexate shot be a good option to help with all of the above issues while keeping the GI health issues at bay? So far I'm on way too many pills and nothing is being managed well. I have too many bad days to feel like a proactive citizen anymore. At this time I'm on Mobic, Advil, nexium off and on, I eat healthy and drink only water and and coffee. More water than coffee. I'm unsure of the level of information one might need to help, so please feel free to ask any necessary questions.
Hi GemStone81.
I just don't know if the methotrexate injection will be a good option for you.
Firstly there are 3 Major drug Interactions with methotrexate-one each with all your other drugs-after doing a fast check.
Your other drugs may increase the risk of developing serious side effects of methotrexate.
Your doctor should monitor you more carefully and may end up need giving you a lower dose of methotrexate or even stop your treatment with methotrexate altogether!
The other issue is, according to the Arthritis Foundation,
that "Although the injections may help improve the medication's effectiveness, the potential side effects and benefits of methotrexate are virtually the same whether it is given orally or by injection.
Liver damage remains the main concern, and is monitored by frequent blood tests. Taking 1 mg of folic acid per day can help reduce other side effects related to methotrexate use, such as mouth sores or gastrointestinal irritation."
I suggest you try to look outside the conventional box for answers.
The long-term prognosis, keeping the the current treatment plan-even if the methotrexate shot may help with symptom
relief for a while- is not promising at all!
So by acting now, well ahead of possibly experiencing a dramatic and irreversible decline in your health, you may be able to not only slow down the progression of your conditions, but to also arrest and reverse them to some degree.
Before I give you any suggestions, I would like to know a few things about you .
Do you consume wheat, grains, gluten, sweets, dairy,
use cooking oils in cooking? If yes to any, how much, how often? How about artificial sugars, soda, fast foods?
Do you know if you have low or high gastric acid levels?
Have you done any genetic testing?
Have you done Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3 for thyroid
function?
Do you take any supplements?
Can you do any type of exercise, even something like a brisk walk, or yoga or swimming?
Are you over or underweight?
How do you manage your stress?
Do you sleep enough and well?
Have you ever done an elimination diet?
Best wishes,
Niko
I just don't know if the methotrexate injection will be a good option for you.
Firstly there are 3 Major drug Interactions with methotrexate-one each with all your other drugs-after doing a fast check.
Your other drugs may increase the risk of developing serious side effects of methotrexate.
Your doctor should monitor you more carefully and may end up need giving you a lower dose of methotrexate or even stop your treatment with methotrexate altogether!
The other issue is, according to the Arthritis Foundation,
that "Although the injections may help improve the medication's effectiveness, the potential side effects and benefits of methotrexate are virtually the same whether it is given orally or by injection.
Liver damage remains the main concern, and is monitored by frequent blood tests. Taking 1 mg of folic acid per day can help reduce other side effects related to methotrexate use, such as mouth sores or gastrointestinal irritation."
I suggest you try to look outside the conventional box for answers.
The long-term prognosis, keeping the the current treatment plan-even if the methotrexate shot may help with symptom
relief for a while- is not promising at all!
So by acting now, well ahead of possibly experiencing a dramatic and irreversible decline in your health, you may be able to not only slow down the progression of your conditions, but to also arrest and reverse them to some degree.
Before I give you any suggestions, I would like to know a few things about you .
Do you consume wheat, grains, gluten, sweets, dairy,
use cooking oils in cooking? If yes to any, how much, how often? How about artificial sugars, soda, fast foods?
Do you know if you have low or high gastric acid levels?
Have you done any genetic testing?
Have you done Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3 for thyroid
function?
Do you take any supplements?
Can you do any type of exercise, even something like a brisk walk, or yoga or swimming?
Are you over or underweight?
How do you manage your stress?
Do you sleep enough and well?
Have you ever done an elimination diet?
Best wishes,
Niko
3 Comments
Hi! Thank you for responding! My doc and I are watching me carefully now! I'm off of Mobic; we tried prednisone, it helped a lot with my hands and feet but my hips, knees, and shoulders are still bothering me a great deal so now we're trying diclofenic until I can get into a new Rheumatologist, my internal medicine doc has been helping a great deal until my appt at the end of September. From the age of 24 until a October 2015, My joints have been managed somewhat easily with Advil daily and if it got tougher to deal with then I would add Mobic for a few months and then I was back to normal. This last one has progressively gotten worse. I was up to 16 Advil a day and 15 mg of Mobic a day. I ignored everything until I woke up with nodule on my finger. I saw my internal meds doc a week or so ago.
I've not yet tried methotrexate at all and hear that it works well in helping stop the progression of the illness, but with my GI issues I'm worried about the possible damage.
To answer your questions:
I do take in all of the first question. My dairy intake is limited, I'm lactose intolerant, I'll have a little bit of cheese and sour cream when I can handle it. My breakfast is a Herbalife Formula 1 protein shake with 1 cup coconut milk and 1 cup ice. I add 1/2 tblsp of chia seeds to this when I'm having a good GI day. I normally don't eat anything else until dinner, and that's usually a turkey sandwich on white or wheat (depending on where I go.) and a few tater tots. I drink about 40 to 120 oz a day. It varies from day to day. I have a small bowl of honey bunches of oats with coconut milk (unsweetened by So Delish) before bed if I'm still hungry, it helps me stay sleep. I have about 4 10 oz cups of coffee; each with 1/4 tsp of real sugar and 3 to 4 tblsp of International Delight Hershey chocolate and caramel creamer, I've had my coffee at these levels for a little over 2 years. I don't drink coffe after 6:30, only water.
I don't eat fast food, but I do go to restaurants often, and usually have fish or turkey. I don't eat a lot of red meat but when I do it's usually a 6 oz filet that I can't finish.
I don't know my gastric acid levels. No genetic testing done. The only thing I know about my thyroid is that the levels are all normal.
Supplements: Herbalife: Cell U Loss, fiber, joint supplement, total control.
Natures Brand: tumeric.
I was avidly lifting weights an hour a night with an hour of cardio 5 nights a week, now I stretch and do a bit of yoga daily. I walk about 2 or 3 miles a day but nothing very fast at the moment. My hips are making it difficult to do anything more than shuffle right now.
I am 5'2 and weigh 129 lbs.
I take amitriptyline for insomnia, but I don't really sleep a lot or well except for on the weekends mostly Sunday. I have PTSD and the amitriptyline helps with that also.
I have and gave the elimination diet a try nothing as helped elongate any pain, swelling, or discomfort. I take in as little sodium as possible.
Please let me know if I've missed anything.
You're awesome!
I've not yet tried methotrexate at all and hear that it works well in helping stop the progression of the illness, but with my GI issues I'm worried about the possible damage.
To answer your questions:
I do take in all of the first question. My dairy intake is limited, I'm lactose intolerant, I'll have a little bit of cheese and sour cream when I can handle it. My breakfast is a Herbalife Formula 1 protein shake with 1 cup coconut milk and 1 cup ice. I add 1/2 tblsp of chia seeds to this when I'm having a good GI day. I normally don't eat anything else until dinner, and that's usually a turkey sandwich on white or wheat (depending on where I go.) and a few tater tots. I drink about 40 to 120 oz a day. It varies from day to day. I have a small bowl of honey bunches of oats with coconut milk (unsweetened by So Delish) before bed if I'm still hungry, it helps me stay sleep. I have about 4 10 oz cups of coffee; each with 1/4 tsp of real sugar and 3 to 4 tblsp of International Delight Hershey chocolate and caramel creamer, I've had my coffee at these levels for a little over 2 years. I don't drink coffe after 6:30, only water.
I don't eat fast food, but I do go to restaurants often, and usually have fish or turkey. I don't eat a lot of red meat but when I do it's usually a 6 oz filet that I can't finish.
I don't know my gastric acid levels. No genetic testing done. The only thing I know about my thyroid is that the levels are all normal.
Supplements: Herbalife: Cell U Loss, fiber, joint supplement, total control.
Natures Brand: tumeric.
I was avidly lifting weights an hour a night with an hour of cardio 5 nights a week, now I stretch and do a bit of yoga daily. I walk about 2 or 3 miles a day but nothing very fast at the moment. My hips are making it difficult to do anything more than shuffle right now.
I am 5'2 and weigh 129 lbs.
I take amitriptyline for insomnia, but I don't really sleep a lot or well except for on the weekends mostly Sunday. I have PTSD and the amitriptyline helps with that also.
I have and gave the elimination diet a try nothing as helped elongate any pain, swelling, or discomfort. I take in as little sodium as possible.
Please let me know if I've missed anything.
You're awesome!
Hi Gemstone.
Thank you for responding with all your details.
You're awesome too!
Some good news and some bad news.
Beware of my inner critic, which is there only to serve and not to condemn anything or anybody,lol!
While from a general perspective
your dietary habits seem to be above average, in light of your specific symptoms & suffering, a closer view reveals the following:
-Lack of fresh vegetables and fruit,
lack of essential & healthy fats.
-Too many sugars/ refined carbs and artificial ingredients.
- Too few meals and perhaps too few
calories for your needs.
Slows down metabolism also.
It seems that you're trying to improve your body image and at the same time you seem to have the need to consume sugary/sweet foods.
It is likely working against you.
If you're drawn towards sweets, you may be deficient in the "sweetness"
of life on an emotional level.
On the physical level, you may have a yeast overgrowth, creating the craving for more carbs and sugars.
Candida is the long-term consequence of this imbalance.
I suggest you do an online search under "Saliva test for Candida"
which serves as a preliminary screen.
My suggestion is to ditch anything
which contains artificial ingredients
and lower your refined carbs and sugars dramatically.
The reason why I mentioned thyroid
is because proper thyroid FUNCTION (emphasis on function)
is necessary for the removal of cellular debris.
In addition thyroid hormones activate the enzymes which breakdown cellular debris.
In the event that this waste removal process is impaired, it impacts organs and bodily systems and in your case it could be affecting the digestive system, the skin and your joints.
The standard tests used for thyroid are flawed as they only measure serum levels and not thyroid function!
To totally rule this out you need Free T3, Free T4 and Reverse T3 tests.
You could also do your own self -test.
Do a search for Dr Barnes Basal Temperature Test.
I can send you details if you need.
There's a lot more to post but I'll continue another time, however, I would like to get your feedback.
Best,
Niko
Thank you for responding with all your details.
You're awesome too!
Some good news and some bad news.
Beware of my inner critic, which is there only to serve and not to condemn anything or anybody,lol!
While from a general perspective
your dietary habits seem to be above average, in light of your specific symptoms & suffering, a closer view reveals the following:
-Lack of fresh vegetables and fruit,
lack of essential & healthy fats.
-Too many sugars/ refined carbs and artificial ingredients.
- Too few meals and perhaps too few
calories for your needs.
Slows down metabolism also.
It seems that you're trying to improve your body image and at the same time you seem to have the need to consume sugary/sweet foods.
It is likely working against you.
If you're drawn towards sweets, you may be deficient in the "sweetness"
of life on an emotional level.
On the physical level, you may have a yeast overgrowth, creating the craving for more carbs and sugars.
Candida is the long-term consequence of this imbalance.
I suggest you do an online search under "Saliva test for Candida"
which serves as a preliminary screen.
My suggestion is to ditch anything
which contains artificial ingredients
and lower your refined carbs and sugars dramatically.
The reason why I mentioned thyroid
is because proper thyroid FUNCTION (emphasis on function)
is necessary for the removal of cellular debris.
In addition thyroid hormones activate the enzymes which breakdown cellular debris.
In the event that this waste removal process is impaired, it impacts organs and bodily systems and in your case it could be affecting the digestive system, the skin and your joints.
The standard tests used for thyroid are flawed as they only measure serum levels and not thyroid function!
To totally rule this out you need Free T3, Free T4 and Reverse T3 tests.
You could also do your own self -test.
Do a search for Dr Barnes Basal Temperature Test.
I can send you details if you need.
There's a lot more to post but I'll continue another time, however, I would like to get your feedback.
Best,
Niko
The one thing I did not address may hold the key to your recovery:
PTSD.
Left untreated, PTSD can ruin your life.literally.
It can affect your mental, emotional and physical health in more ways than one can imagine.
The underlying chronic stress co-relates with nervous system disturbances, lowered immunity
and increased risk of developing autoimmune and other serious conditions.
Would you like to share any details regarding your PTSD?
I have a fairly good background in PTSD-related treatments.
Niko
PTSD.
Left untreated, PTSD can ruin your life.literally.
It can affect your mental, emotional and physical health in more ways than one can imagine.
The underlying chronic stress co-relates with nervous system disturbances, lowered immunity
and increased risk of developing autoimmune and other serious conditions.
Would you like to share any details regarding your PTSD?
I have a fairly good background in PTSD-related treatments.
Niko
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