How does western medicine work for arthritis?

[Kenny同志]

I went to a hospital site and viewed their information about arthritis, rheumatism and the like. They purport to be an expert on the diseases. But I was wondering does the treatments they apply really work. Anyone know how western medicine works for arthritis and rheumatism?

Edited May 3, 2010 at 12:04 AM by kenny2006woo

[skylee]

My mom has 類風濕性關節炎 (rheumatoid arthritis). Very serious : her joints (fingers, toes) are deformed, her heart is affected, her eyes are affected, constant aches. She's had both of her knees surgically replaced (with metal knees). She says that after the surgury the pain has been bearable. Before the operations she could hardly walk. And she has to take various pills everyday (I don't know the details). She is a retired civil servant so she has to pay almost nothing for the medical care (but even if she weren't, HK citizens pay very little for medical care as long as they can get into/wait for the public system).

At the start of the illness she had tried Chinese medicine but it didn't work.

Not sure if this is relevant or not.

[xiaocai]

I am not really very familiar with surgeries but there are many medicines available for RA (rheumatoid arthritis). They can basically:

1. reduce the severity of inflammation and pain associated with it, which are the most common symptoms of RA, and/or

2. suppress your immune system and therefore slow down the progression of the disease and destruction of the joints, since RA is essentially an auto-immune disease.

Some of them are very cheap such as paracetamol which you can get 100-tablet box for about 10 RMB; some are very very expensive such as etanercept (but also very effective especially in more severe cases) which can cost you somewhere around 15000-20000 RMB for once course (usually 4 injections).

Of course none of them is free from side effects, ranging from mild reflux to malignancy. Generally speaking only the medicines of the second group can modify the disease rather than just simply controlling the presenting symptoms, but then again they are associated with much more serious side effects. So the choice often depends whether the benefits outweigh the risks or not.

[skylee]

paracetamol

that is something like panadol, isn't it?

[xiaocai]

It is the active ingredient in Panadol.

[renzhe]

It doesn't work. To the best of my knowledge, arthritis is not curable.

There are things which might or might not help the resilience of cartilage (glucosamine, chondroitin), but clinical tests are inconclusive.

Generally, you do physical therapy to keep the joints lubricating and mobile, and reorganise your activity in a way that aggravates the condition as little as possible. This can reduce the speed of further deterioration.

I've heard of people who have had good results using acupuncture, but I believe that this is mostly for pain relief and reducing inflammation, not that it actually fixes the underlying problem.

This is for arthrosis, rheumatic arthritis is different, but I don't think that there's a cure there either.

[xiaocai]

Well symptomatic relief is also an indication for medical treatment as well. It doesn't cure the disease but it can help with the pain. Almost all patients with cancers will be put on opioids at certain stages of their diseases. They do nothing to the tumor cells but at least they make the patients feel better.

[Kenny同志]

Thanks everybody. I think Ｉwil stick with traditional Chinese medicine. I had a TCM physician back home and the prescriptions he gave were very effective. But because I am in Hainan, I can't arrange a face-to-face meeting with him. I wanted to turn to western medicine for help, but I have changed my mind after viewing your posts. I will take a chance to go to Hainan Provincial Hospital of TCM.

[xiaocai]

Just want to clarify one thing: you have 风湿性关节炎 but not 类风湿性关节炎 right?

[Kenny同志]

It is knee synovitis compounded with rheumatic symptoms. Lab tests are all negative that are associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

Edited May 3, 2010 at 12:10 AM by kenny2006woo

[xiaocai]

I see. That's not too bad. Ignore what I said in my first reply then, and hope you get better soon.

[MrMaKe]

My limited understanding is that there are over 100 types of arithritis so the treatment would depend on what type you have. My father had reumatoid arthritis, which is caused by an overactive immune system and results in pain in the joints. The meds he took reduced swelling in his joints, which at times reduced the pain he experienced, but he was never cured.

[Kenny同志]

谢谢小蔡同志和Make,。

Edited May 3, 2010 at 04:46 AM by kenny2006woo

[wushijiao]

Arthritis and other auto-immune diseases can be cured (or at least reversed to a large extent) through nutrition. See:

http://drfuhrman.com/disease/arthritis.aspx

http://www.drfuhrman.com/success/stories.aspx/autoimmune

You can also listen to Dr. Joel Furhman's podcast on iTunes about curing auto-immune disease (#21) . This podcast goes into depth about the science of how high nutrient levels in the related organs/tissues are needed in the de-detoxification process.

By the way, you can also essentially reverse many other diseases (

, diabetes, cancer (to a large extent), obesity, acne...etc) through a mixture of 1) strictly limiting meat, dairy, processed foods, oils, and overt sugar, and 2) making your diet consist almost solely of fresh, unprocessed plant foods, with a special emphasis on raw leafy greens and fruit. For example, here's a really inspiring Youtube video off a truck driver who cured his cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and got of 19 medications through raw foods:

Here's another great video showing how people got rid of diabetes:

Anyway, I think it's (hopefully) empowering to know that there are solutions to these problems that may seem intractable.

Good luck!

(If anyone wants more info, feel free to PM me).

Edited May 3, 2010 at 04:56 AM by wushijiao

[Kenny同志]

Thank you Shijiao for your great info.

[renzhe]

Arthritis and other auto-immune diseases can be cured

But not all forms of arthritis are auto-immune diseases. Arthrosis is physical in nature, and it can only (sometimes) be fixed by surgery. The damaged cartilage does not grow back.

The good news is that it's in the knees, and knees are much more easily treated than, say, hips. A good sports doctor might be able to drain it regularly, inject anti-inflammatory drugs, or do a number of other things, including prescribing good PT. I'd definitely give a good sports doctor a try.

Finding a good one is not always easy though, in my experience.

[MrMaKe]

Reverse Diabetes? Control it, yes. Minimize the effects, yes...but reverse it?

(Seems a bit sensationalistic to say CAN and follow that with reduced).. Moreso with Type 2 with diet control and exercise, but I don't believe that you can get your body to produce insulin if your body is incapable of producing this homone..get a new pancreas?

I was diagnosed as Type 2 Diabetic over 10 years ago and have treated it with oral medicine, diet and exercise. Last fall, I visited a TCM hospital here in SiChuan and was put on insulin...doing so was a planned result as oral meds have a limited effectivity...I can reduce the amount of insulin I inject if I limit my intake of carbs, but no carbs, no energy; in fact, the doctor encouraged me to eat more rice, than my standard 3/4 cup.

BTW adding links to youtube are a nice touch to support your opinion, but youtube is usually restricted in China

[skylee]

I thought we were discussing arthritis.

PS - oh I see diabetes was mentioned. Is obesity a disease?

[jbradfor]

You can also listen to Dr. Joel Furhman's podcast on iTunes about curing auto-immune disease (#21) . This podcast goes into depth about the science of how high nutrient levels in the related organs/tissues are needed in the de-detoxification process.

Another quack.

You really think that one person will magically find the cure to all diseases that have eluded tens if not hundreds of thousand of scientists and doctors for decades?

Show me the science. Controlled, double blind experiments. Published in peer-reviewed prestigious medical journals.

Anecdotes are meaningless.

I must be in a bad mood this morning, but I'm getting really upset at people that promise hope to desperate sick people just to gain fame and fortune, and deliver nothing but disappointment.

[chrix]

I want to second jbradfor: show me the data. Medicine is not an exact science, so we need to rely on statistically significant results obtained by double-blind experiments. A guy up on youtube claiming it works (and even a couple of people on the forum claiming it worked for them) is not enough, I'm afraid...

Other than that what daofeishi said on the TCM thread...

Of course if those "alternative methods" lead to a healthier lifestyle then your health will improve overall but that's something Western medicine has shown as well.