gtown_blondie

Hello All!

This is my first post to the healthboards and I'm hoping my husband's story will help others.

My husband was diagnosed with juvenile RA when he was 21, shortly before I met him. He woke up one morning with severe pain and high fever and was immediately sent to the hopsital. The fever was due to an infected tooth (which was fixed) but the pain remained. Tests determined that he had RA.

His first course of action was gold therapy (myochrisin) and naproxen, which he was on for 2-3 years. This worked (he still complained of pain and stiffness, but much less that the initial pain he felt in the hospital) until he developed a severe rash, which turned out to be an allergic reaction to the gold. He stopped the myochrisin and tried methotrexate. It made his so sick, he felt is wasn't worth it. He was only on it for a few months but the side effects scared him.

We conviced his rheumatologist to prescribe him lose-dose antibiotics, under the assumption that his RA was caused by a latent virus that was activated by the high fever he experienced as a result of the infected tooth. The doctor was hesitant at first but after she did some research (and consulted with other rheumatologists) she agreed. My husband was prescribed Minocyline and ever since he's been taking it, he's been almost pain free!! He really believes it works for him because when he runs out of pills and doesn't take them for a few days, he feels the stiffness start to creep back into his wrists and back but as soon as he starts taking the pills again, the pain subsides. On occasion, when he's battling the flu or a cold, the arthritis flares up but he can manage it with tylenol or aspirin.

Does anyone else have any experience with minocycline and RA? Has anyone else ever heard of RA being caused by a virus?

Thanks!