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Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis
by Steffany Haaz, MFA, CYT
Updated: 12/19/2008
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic, inflammatory, autoimmune disease that impacts joints and connective tissue. It is often painful and disabling, and usually requires lifelong pharmacological management. Patients are usually diagnosed between the ages of thirty and fifty, although RA affects all ages. Common co-morbidities include cardiovascular disease, cachexia (muscle wasting), depression and impairments to quality of life (1;2). Although they have greatly improved the general course of RA, drugs that are commonly used to manage the disease carry some notable side effects as well.
For all of these reasons, patients with RA often look to Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) for additional sources of relief. In fact, joint pain and arthritis are among the top five most common reasons that Americans seek CAM (3). Usually, CAM is sought in addition to allopathic (standard medical) treatment to ease symptoms of the disease and side effects of drug therapy. Below is an outline of the currently available research for treatments that are commonly used by RA patients, as well as a synopsis of what may be recommended as safe and possibly effective for this population. If you have rheumatoid arthritis you may have often thought about seeking an alternative health practitioner, but have not known how to approach the matter. You may be considering alternative medicine now for your arthritis, because you have been treated unsuccessfully for years by conventional medicine.
Having been treated for rheumatoid arthritis over a lengthy period your condition may be rather advanced, that is not to say that alternative medicine would be unable to treat it, but rather the treatment would be slow and steady in order to avoid any aggravation of your arthritis.
Unfortunately patients often expect fast results from their chosen alternative practitioner, however, this will most certainly not be the case, for years of taking prescription drugs will have more than likely left you in a debiliated condition.Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with prescription drugs fails to treat the cause of your disease, it only treats symptoms, this results in suppression, and you spend the rest of your life with intermittent flare-ups and exacerbations of your disease with no cure ever in sight.
Rheumatoid arthritis is considered to be an auto-immune disease, with an unknown cause. This diagnosis rather absolves you of all responsibility for your disease, having received your diagnosis you then proceed unquestioningly to commence a regime of potent drugs for your rheumatoid arthritis without doing any research on the disease yourself.
Have you ever asked why your immune system has decided to attack you, rather than protect you? If you gave this some serious thought you might decide to make some lifestyle changes in order to help your immune system regain it’s innate intelligence. You may ask what lifestyle changes you might have to make in order to regain your health. Basically there really is only one change, and that is your diet. The answer is simple, eat fresh organic fruits and vegetables, eliminate fast foods, highly processed foods, aspartame, MSG, saturated fats, refined carbohydrates, cigarettes, alcohol, diet sodas, and all other sodas.
If you would prefer to keep your rheumatoid arthritis, your junk diet and prescription drugs then that’s your choice and you will undoubtedly pay for your choice with lifelong sickness. However, if you make the effort to change your diet you will reap the benefits, and you will be richly rewarded with vibrant health.
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