Ivan is a 65 year old man who came to see me this week seeking help for rheumatoid arthritis. He first developed the disease 8 months ago. He was in a minor car accident that caused some whiplash and lingering neck and shoulder pain.

Ivan saw a physiotherapist to help him manage the injury and he was improving, but he noticed that his hands were becoming increasingly stiff and sore. He couldn’t clench his fists and found it impossible to open jars. A previous knee injury he incurred 6 years ago began hurting again.

His local doctor recommended over the counter pain killers that Ivan picked up from the pharmacy. They did help reduce the pain and stiffness approximately 50 percent but Ivan’s wife kept insisting he go back to his doctor and request some blood tests. Ivan worked in sales and spent a lot of time driving. He found that his knee and hands became a lot sorer after making long trips.

The blood test result showed normal levels of C-reactive protein but elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. This meant there was inflammation in Ivan’s body. Rheumatoid factor was checked and was mildly elevated. Ivan’s blood level of vitamin B12 was low, so I recommended he take a supplement.

Ivan saw a rheumatologist who put him on Prednisone and Methotrexate. They did work but Ivan was uncomfortable with potential long term side effects and sought an alternative treatment at my clinic.

My recommendations for my patient

  • Ivan’s most recent blood test showed elevated liver enzymes. This was most likely due to the Methotrexate. I gave him my liver tonic Livatone Plus to help protect his liver cells and help damaged liver cells to regenerate. Liver inflammation typically produces fatigue, thus the liver tonic should lift his energy as well.
  • Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. That means Ivan’s own immune system was attacking his joints. Certain foods can irritate the immune system of people with rheumatoid arthritis, leading to auto-antibody production. These include gluten, dairy products, legumes and nightshade vegetables. I asked Ivan to follow the eating plan in the book Healing Autoimmune Disease: A plan to help your immune system and reduce inflammation. His diet was pretty good already. Ivan had lost 18 pounds soon after he was diagnosed with arthritis, in an effort to improve his health and try to reduce the joint pain.
  • Serrapeptase is a natural enzyme that fights inflammation in the body. It works like Pac Man, eating up swelling and debris in places it shouldn’t be. It is excellent at helping to relieve joint pain.
  • As with all my patients, I checked Ivan’s blood level of vitamin D. It was low. Not surprising, since he has fair skin and stays out of the sun, and works long hours so doesn’t really get the time to go outside. Vitamin D and selenium both help to reduce inflammation and reduce auto-antibody production in autoimmune disease, therefore I asked Ivan to take supplements.

I plan to see Ivan again in 5 weeks to check on his response and determine our next step.

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.

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