I have a family member that’s developed it, and I’m wondering about what diets have worked for you, along with any more thoughts you might have.
Thanks for any advice.

I will start. I know that drugs and big pharma are the current boogie man. I understand. But drugs have come a long way in treating RA. Are they the magic bullet, no. But can they help slow the progression and help people carry on a normal life. Yes. Are they risk free, no. Are there potential side affects, yes. Everyone has to weigh options and decide for themselves. But again, there are lots of options and they are not new.
Kind of like the GLP-1 thing. There is lots of benefits and many are making very good strides with their health using. Side affects and risks, sure. But there are also side affects and risks being obese. Each has to decide for themselves. Plus they too have been out for years now.

I got diagnosed a couple years ago. Been on Methotrexate since then. Slowly weaning my dose down every couple of months.

Aside from being slightly more tired than usual it's like nothing is wrong anymore, like night and day for me.

A standard non-inflammatory diet makes a big difference and exercising every day.Taking a 15-30 minute walk every day does it for me.

I hope your family members results are as good as mine.

My wife has it, you can start doing diet exclusions to see what causes inflammation and then exclude those things. My wife does not take medication if at all possible but has some when the pain becomes intolerable. She basically lives with pain every day. Infrared heating pads help at times. Not much else gives her relief.

I'll give you the top points on my arc, but feel free to email me if you need more detail or have questions.

I developed RA at around 40. I was very athletic, and I am completely convinced that it was my body's reaction to dramatic weight loss in a short period of time. I used methotrexate for a few months (pills) without great effect. They added Enbrel injections and symptoms improved dramatically in fairly short order (a few months as recall).

I took these meds for years, -- no drinking alc -- and with a fairly clean diet (no sugars, and shit. Just good nutritious food). I resumed running/cycling, and lifting weights. Life was good.

I had not had any real symptoms of note except reynauds (in cold weather, my fingers can get white without blood flow). I believe that is caused by the meds, not RA. I stopped the meds a few years ago. I remain symptom free, unless I lift weights/dumbells. The hard gripping makes my hands a little stiff and tweaky.

Best of luck to your family member. Feel free to pass along my email if something here resonates, and they need more info.

I will strongly encourage rheumatology evaluation and current generation medications options. Every patient is different, some will have severe rapidly progressing debilitating symptoms while others progress more slowly, and you don’t know which you will be.
The biological/ DMARDS have made a huge impact on disease progression and quality of life for tons of people.

My wife started an episode about 8-9 years ago that wasn't diagnosable, but it was brought up. She similar symptoms about 3 years ago & was diagnosed. She's been on the minimum/1 step up methotrexate dose since & her RA doc says she's 'as good as it can get'
She avoids alcohol, maybe 1-2 drinks per month. On vacation, she'll skip a dose & drink a few more.
She eats relatively healthy, has tried & discarded a couple suggested diets/supplements. She doesn't really avoid anything, just moderation on the normal bad foods. She tracks protein intake at the direction of a fitness coach - I think she eats more calories per day than I do, and she's less than 1/2 my weight & over a foot shorter.
She does light weight workouts 3-4x per week, swims and bikes. She did a mini-triathlon last month. She 'quit' running because of some arthritis in her knees that she doesn't want to get worse, but that's more of an excuse for not doing something she hated anyway. She tore her meniscus 2 years ago & the doc said she was OK to do anything that doesn't hurt, but there was arthritis in her knee, more than what he saw on the MRI.

That's the good side. My aunt has it & hasn't had such good luck. I don't know all the details, so I won't speculate. She's 65 & active (pickleball multiple times per week, swims), but has had some rough spells. I know she's went through a couple meds to get where she's comfortable.

Based on those & a few others I know of, I can't believe there isn't a hereditary component, but there is a range to the symptoms. I think 'mild' cases have gone undiagnosed for a long time. There are very few RA docs in this area and none of them are majority-RA specialties. It is very much understudied. The gap in the 1st choice treatment cost vs other options definitely plays a part.

Thank you for the information. This is very interesting. Especially the part about the correlation between dramatic weight loss and onset of RA. I understand that it’s anecdotal info, but wonder how that might affect the GLP-1 folks in the future if it’s true.

quote:

Originally posted by irreverent:
Thank you for the information. This is very interesting. Especially the part about the correlation between dramatic weight loss and onset of RA. I understand that it’s anecdotal info, but wonder how that might affect the GLP-1 folks in the future if it’s true.

I was VERY thin. I was on trying to hit an unreasonable target to maximize my climbing performance on the bike. I was foolish and paid the price (I believe). If you're 400 pounds, and get to 220, I wouldn't imagine this immune system freak out would have occurred. And again -- this is just my theory (that I can well convinced of).

My bro got it at age 7 back in the70s no one knew what it was and it destroyed his joints. He tried everything.

Fast forward to a decade ago and mom got RA in her feet. She takes Embryl injections once a week and doesn’t drink alcohol anymore (she went thru finding things that affected her RA).

I think I’m getting it in my shoulder. Got a doctors appointment tomorrow-I’m gonna ask for a test.

I can give you Chucks number so you can talk to him directly if you want. He’s very open about it.

quote:

Originally posted by captain127:
I will strongly encourage rheumatology evaluation and current generation medications options. Every patient is different, some will have severe rapidly progressing debilitating symptoms while others progress more slowly, and you don’t know which you will be.
The biological/ DMARDS have made a huge impact on disease progression and quality of life for tons of people.

^^^THIS^^^
I can only go by what my wife has been through. Bilateral knee replacements at age 45 and 46…only separated by a year because her RA doc didn’t want to cause a major flare up.
The biologics were a godsend for her. Started with Humira, then the companies (insurance and the manufacturer) - not the doc - changed what the insurance would pay for.
They kept up the methotrexate dosing because that’s always first line but the biologics were the ticket for slowing the disease progression.
YOU NEED A RHEUMATOLOGIST!
Yes, the constant blood draws looking at markers are a PITA but they need to be done.

I have no idea what caused this autoimmune disease to show its head. Diet, lifestyle, I don’t have a clue but it’s here now and we have to deal with it.

In response to others, yes, a given -- 100% they need to see a rheumatologist -- and more specifically (in my opinion) a young (up to date) one. I wasted 6 months eating strong NSAIDS because this clown thought my issue was osteo.

Hopefully their insurance is good, because biologic are expensive (and in many cases, necessary and worth it).

I don't have any solid recommendation. I know that my late mother had it.

My sister did a bunch of research. Castor oil, CBD lotion, and CBD gummies help her cope with it.

Snake oil or anecdotal? I can't say.

I have a fair amount of professional experience with RA. However I do not know how Embryl is working in the long term.

About 80% auto immune problems affecting joints are cause by a cross reaction to an infection. A strept infection fully appears to be the cause of the immune system response with RA. You can test this somewhat. Go on a no sugar, low carb diet for a week or two and note the symptoms. Then eat sugary food for a day or two, and the symptoms we jump up quickly.

I was speaking to a man that brought his 22 yo son to America for treatment, they lived in Australia. Hi son was a semi professional soccer player that had injured his knee. He had knee surgery in Australia, and two weeks later he developed RA. Infections are knee surgery are relatively common, both the kid and his dad were sure that the RA was related in some way to the knee surgery.

How many 22 yo athaletes develop RA?

Traditional drugs that are used by RA patients suppress the immune system. This gives temporary relief but the course of the disease is accelerated as the immune system is less effectively targeting the low grade strept infection.

Ask people who have MS, they will tell you the same thing, that using the Big Pharma drugs accelerates their disease.