Re: Antibiotics for Arthritis Pain

I will give you one more scenerio that might explain the change. When I get
the flu or a cold (even without the antibiotic) my symptoms get better for a
bit and then come back with a vengence. In my case we are sure that the
body is fighting the infection, ramps up the immune system to do that.
While it has an infection of any kind to fight the immune system which is
usually overactive, has something to do aside from the RA. Unfortunately
after the infection is over my immune system is overactive and does not go
back to what the body wants as "normal". Thus the overactive immune system
makes my RA flare.

Antibiotics on their own without the infection do nothing for me - I was on
antibiotic treatment for at least 6 months but really it was less effective
than taking a plain sugar pill.

Also don't jump to the conclusion that you have RA or an inflammatory
disease necessarily. By 72 you might have osteo in your hips, knees, hands
and wrists - that can be common. A rd will be able to assess you better. A
possible hint might lie in what your hands look like and wear the
inflammation is. If it is in the last joints of your fingers it could
possibly be osteo, in the middle joints only of your fingers, both hands,
morning stiffness every morning for a certain period of time it could
possibly be RA; if your fingers inflammation look more sausage like it could
be reactive, psoriatic, etc - which fall into the category of being a
spondolaprothy arthritis. With over 175 different kinds of arthritis and
many are treating differently you need a RD or rheumatologist to assess you
properly. Even then though they might not be able to easily help -
sometimes it takes time to figure it out (understandably since even within
those 175 different categories there are anomolies - my symptoms fall
between categories.)

I urge you to get help but in the meantime keep track of your symptoms, when
is it worse, what makes it better. Try to keep moving ie: water walking
gently, gently walking around your neighborhood if you can, doing chair
exercises - whatever you can that does not make you ache for more than a
short bit. If that makes you hurt too much then cut it way back (even
walking around a chair once if that is more than you usually do is a start
and keeps the joints lubricated and not likely to fuse.) Eat well with
healthy choices and try hard to keep your weight to a healthy amount if that
is a problem for you. Try not to smoke as this does make a difference in
what meds you can take if you need to and helps oxygen levels to the bones
(which is necessary).

Don't give up on the medication options - there are new ones out there that
sometimes will work. You might not need dmards though if you don't have RA
or an inflammatory disease. The testing though is not always through blood
tests but through xrays, morning stiffness levels, swollen joint tests, etc.
Keep records for the doctor and that might help. If you can't take meds
there are things that do help so ask for help from an occupational
therapist, physiotherapist, use heat if that works, ice if the joint is
swollen or hot, use adaptive tools such as levered handles, raised chairs,
large handled tools, grip such as a piece of rubber to open taps or grasp
tools. Lots of complementary treatments such as accupuncture or massage to
help against pain, physio and exercise programs to do the same and keep
joints easily moved.

Good luck - find a good rheumatologist first but go prepared with some
information for him. Include the information on your sister - that might be
important. Also check out www.alt.support.arthritis for some ways to live
better with arthritis. It is not a commercial company - it is the Canadian
Arthritis Society and has some good ideas to fight the diseases.

Kelly
"Don" <dondunlap13@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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"Adelle" <adNOstavis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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"Don" <dondunlap13@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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I'm new to the group and have a question for all. I am 75 and have a
history of arthritis. About 7-8 years ago, I had a very bad episode of
arthritis pain in my knees and hips. There was also pain in my fingers
and wrists. About this time, I also had a urinary problem and was having
vision problems. I had to stop driving at night because my eyes would
glaze over with what appeared to be an oily substance.

I saw a Urologist and he prescribed an antibiotic, whose name escapes me
at the moment. It was the one that was used after the WTC disaster to
treat Anthrax. After taking the antibiotic for a few days, my joint
pain disappeared, my urinary problems improved and my vision improved.
I didn't really associate the joint pain and vision problems to the
antibiotic because there seemed to be no relation.

About two years later, I developed similar problems and again was given
an antibiotic by another Urologist. Again, the problems improved, the
most dramatic being complete freedom from joint pain. I noticed this
time that there was a relationship and began to search the web for
something that would associate the three problems. I found references
to Reiters Syndrome, which I mentioned to my primary care physician, an
Internist. He had never heard of it and said the there was no way that
an antibiotic could correct arthritis pain.

I kept mentioning it to doctors but got nowhere. One doctor, a
Rheumatologist, said that he tested me for Reiters and I didn't have it.
I moved to Texas last summer and was having severe pain in knees, hips,
shoulders and hands. Same problems with doctors here. I had a sinus
infection and a doctor prescribed Cefprozil, an antibiotic, for the
infection. All joint pain disappeared after 3 days. After all this, I
still can't get any doctor to take me seriously. The seem to believe in
coincidence only.

I am again at the point where I am almost totally debilitated with joint
pain and am just writing this to ask if anyone else has ever noticed
relief from their arthritis after taking antibiotics?



Don,

Some antibiotics are also very good anti-inflammatories and can
significantly improve symptoms by reducing inflammation. I took
doxycycline for over two years to treat both Lyme disease and my
Rheumatoid arthritis. But there are hundreds of different forms of
arthritis. Most require something called a DMARD (damage mitigating
anti-rheumatologic medication which reduce the immune response so the
body stops attacking itself) in addition to anti-inflammatories to reduce
permanent damage to joint tissue.

Some arthritis symptoms are reactive - meaning they are brought on by
some sort of bacterial trigger. I looked up Reiter's syndrome and got a
decent description from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_arthritis. As you can see from the
link, it is now more commonly referred to as Reactive Arthritis. Initial
treatment is with an antibiotic to get rid of the underlying infection,
then its on to steroids, analgesics, and drugs which suppress the immune
response (DMARDS).

With the smaller joints being affected now, Reiter's/reactive arthritis
is a less obvious choice than before, as it usually just affects larger
joints. You need someone willing to look into the many different forms of
arthritis and see what is really going on. I can say most of us have had
to shop around for a decent rheumatologist before we found one. I went to
three rheumatologists before I found one that took me seriously, and was
willing to treat both the arthritis and the pain it causes (the first one
blew me off saying I didn't have RA because I test negative, the other
wanted to shuffle me into a study, rather than treat with standard care).
The one I have now moved from a suburban hospital closer to me to a
university center in Boston 20 miles further away. I followed after the
move because I think he's worth his weight in gold. Keep looking for
someone really good.

If you are in Texas, I recommend the Arthritis Clinic of Houston. My
uncle is a pediatric rheumatologist and has his office there. I am sure
there is at least one group at the clinic which treats adults. If you are
not in Houston, call and perhaps they can make recommendations for your
city/area.

Wishing you luck as you pursue care,

Adelle


Thanks for the information Adelle. I have had an almost impossible time
finding a doctor who will believe anything I say. As I answered Harvey, I
have intestinal conditions that cause me to have a reaction to almost
every medication that is prescribed for anything, I have never heard the
term "DMARDS) and will do some research on that. I have a sister with RA
for 45 years and I have been tested several times for that but negative
results. I have only seen one rheumatologist here in Austin and wasn't
very impressed. I will keep searching.

Don



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