I know there are many cause types of arthritis: RA, Osteo, Spondyl Arthropoties, Reiters syndrome, ect.... I know that each of these types of arthritis are caused by, or helped by, different factors: stress, diet, age, gender, infection, immune system problems, ect....
Im in my late twenties and never had a problem with my joints before I had a urinary tract problem that I thought would just go away. It wasnt severe at first. I didnt have to urinate all the time but I did feel a slightly different feeling when I had to urinate. it slowly spread to my stomach (I thought maybe it was an ulcer). My finger nails started to look unhealthy and I got headaches often. Then...my joints began to hurt. Before long It started to hurt when I urinated.
I took some antibiotics that cured the urinary tract problem and my stomach pains. I was told all my other problems would resolve shortly.
Well, my fingeranails still looked unhealthy and my joints were still hurting. (Feet, fingers, ankles, wrists, knees, shoulders, achilles tendon and thigh pain)
I talked to a guy who said that he also had a similar story and his doct perscribed him long term antibiotics. He said that If I lived with an infection for a while, that the short term antibiotics would get the bacteria in the urinary tract and stomach but The infection of the joints would take longer.
I said thanks but no thanks! I never heard of arthritis being treated with antibiotics.
Soon I began limping.
I saw a rheumatologist who said I was fine. All standard Rhuematoid tests and inflammation tests were fine. I told her this started following a urinary tract infection so she tested me for all STD's, and Hepatitis A, B, C,....all negative. She tested my Iron levels and my liver and kidney...both normal. She did a metabolic test and said it was fine. She told me to take vioxx and I would be back to normal. Before I left, out of curiosity, I asked her if she ever treated a patient with antibiotics.
She said "No, I dont believe in that treatment but there are some doctors that do it". I said thanks and left.
The anti inflammatories worked great. I did notice that when I didnt take it that my fingers and toes started to go numb. I got worried. Then My spine started to hurt. All my joints started to make pop and snap noises too. I didnt want to just cover the pain with drugs. I noticed that my neck and jaw joint started to hurt and make a slight grinding noise!!!!!! that night I read how bacterial infections can affect the joints and get misdiagnosed as arthritis (although the damage can be the same or worse)
I decided the rhuematologist was wrong. I went in to see my doctor and asked him to perscibe me antibiotics to treat my joint pain. He did!!! I was shocked. He gave me 6 weeks of cipro!!!! He was teating it a Joint and Bone infection.
I swear to you all, that within a few days I no longer needed the anti inflammatories!!!!!!!!!! This was the correct treatment.
Im not saying that this will work for everyone. But if you have RA, reteirs syndrome, reactive arthritis, or the spondylarthropoties that you suspect may have followed and infection. Ask you doctor about long term antibiotics.
Search the web. there is a doctor name Gabe Mirkin. He has a web site. he has lots of good info. also check rheumatic.org
I know there are many cause types of arthritis: RA, Osteo, Spondyl Arthropoties, Reiters syndrome, ect.... I know that each of these types of arthritis are caused by, or helped by, different factors: stress, diet, age, gender, infection, immune system problems, ect....
Im in my late twenties and never had a problem with my joints before I had a urinary tract problem that I thought would just go away. It wasnt severe at first. I didnt have to urinate all the time but I did feel a slightly different feeling when I had to urinate. it slowly spread to my stomach (I thought maybe it was an ulcer). My finger nails started to look unhealthy and I got headaches often. Then...my joints began to hurt. Before long It started to hurt when I urinated.
I took some antibiotics that cured the urinary tract problem and my stomach pains. I was told all my other problems would resolve shortly.
Well, my fingeranails still looked unhealthy and my joints were still hurting. (Feet, fingers, ankles, wrists, knees, shoulders, achilles tendon and thigh pain)
I talked to a guy who said that he also had a similar story and his doct perscribed him long term antibiotics. He said that If I lived with an infection for a while, that the short term antibiotics would get the bacteria in the urinary tract and stomach but The infection of the joints would take longer.
I said thanks but no thanks! I never heard of arthritis being treated with antibiotics.
Soon I began limping.
I saw a rheumatologist who said I was fine. All standard Rhuematoid tests and inflammation tests were fine. I told her this started following a urinary tract infection so she tested me for all STD's, and Hepatitis A, B, C,....all negative. She tested my Iron levels and my liver and kidney...both normal. She did a metabolic test and said it was fine. She told me to take vioxx and I would be back to normal. Before I left, out of curiosity, I asked her if she ever treated a patient with antibiotics.
She said "No, I dont believe in that treatment but there are some doctors that do it". I said thanks and left.
The anti inflammatories worked great. I did notice that when I didnt take it that my fingers and toes started to go numb. I got worried. Then My spine started to hurt. All my joints started to make pop and snap noises too. I didnt want to just cover the pain with drugs. I noticed that my neck and jaw joint started to hurt and make a slight grinding noise!!!!!! that night I read how bacterial infections can affect the joints and get misdiagnosed as arthritis (although the damage can be the same or worse)
I decided the rhuematologist was wrong. I went in to see my doctor and asked him to perscibe me antibiotics to treat my joint pain. He did!!! I was shocked. He gave me 6 weeks of cipro!!!! He was teating it a Joint and Bone infection.
I swear to you all, that within a few days I no longer needed the anti inflammatories!!!!!!!!!! This was the correct treatment.
Im not saying that this will work for everyone. But if you have RA, reteirs syndrome, reactive arthritis, or the spondylarthropoties that you suspect may have followed and infection. Ask you doctor about long term antibiotics.
Search the web. there is a doctor name Gabe Mirkin. He has a web site. he has lots of good info. also check rheumatic.org
Good luck and God bless
Royalty, this is amazing!! I have NEVER heard of antibiotic therapy for arthritis. but is does make sense. You stated you took Cipro for 6 wks. How much per day? How long before you saw "some" improvement? Do you also have OA? I suffer from OA AND RA.
I dont know if antibiotics will work for osteo or not. But from what i read (testimonials) the rhuematoid can be basically eliminated with long term antibiotics.
I noticed an improvement within days! I swear I truly didnt think it was going to work but it did. remember It was bacteria that was causing my joint pains.
This is only my second week of treatment by the way! I still have 4 more weeks to go. I will probably switch to a second antibiotic after to make sure the job is done.
As far as "permanant" cartilage damage goes I read that if you combine glucosamine with acetylglucosamine your body will have the building blocks to repair the damaged cartilage. the reason you shouldnt just use traditional glucosamine is that some people's bodies cant convert the glucosamine into acetylglucosamine (which is what actually repairs the joints)
It is important to eat lots of foods that supply sulfur because it is need for repairing joints. (MSM is a source of sulfur) Foods that contain plenty of sulfur are Eggs, Garlic and Onions.
Also eat foods like brown rice because it contains silca.Silica is needed for repairing connective tissue.
of course supplement your diet with calcium and magnesium
IMPORTANT-Some people may need to be on antibiotics for months. This can open a person up to yeast infections so It will be important to eat a low sugar diet and eat nothing with yeast in it. (yeast thrives in a sugary environment). Also antibiotics kill all bacteria, even the "good" bacteria that your body needs so you must supplement with acidophilus
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