I am on day 8 of a juice fast and it has helped me tremendously. Prior to fasting I had many mornings of waking up in excruciating pain, tears, and much difficulty moving. My hands, knees, feet were terrible. My left shoulder and left elbow hurt so bad, my husband had to help me put my bathrobe on. It hurt to even move blankets over me in bed myself.
I am getting better daily. My shoulder and elbow pain are gone! I move around freely now, with about 50% of the pain at most. The inflammation in my hands is disappearing. I am able to do more and more tasks with ease. My left hand looks normal again and the right one is almost there!
I plan on juice fasting as long as I can and then going all raw, steamed fruit and veggies and only adding one new food at a time SLOWLY when I break the fast to determine exactly what triggers my symptoms. I will eat no dairy or red meat because I believe these are the main things that bothered me.
I can feel my body is getting a great detox. The drugs made me feel horrible. All I have read so far about drugs is that they may work for awhile, then have to be increased, or the "cocktail" has to be changed, and they only mask symptoms. I have done extensive research and more people find relief through diet than any other way.
It takes commitment and perseverance, but the juice is wonderful and keeps you satisfied. I do a potassium broth in the am and fruit juice later, then veggie juice for dinner with aloe vera juice, water, and herbal teas in between. I also dry brush my body in the am followed by a hot/cold shower and I have begin using castor oil on my joints.
I hope more of you find your answers!
I'm very happy that you found something that works for you. There are many different things that can help in relieving RA symptoms and I have heard that a vegetarian diet can help. There is also evidence that the whole-grain diet and the Mediterranean diet have anti-inflammatory properties.
The thing is, there is no cure for RA at the present time. The most effective treatments I know of that suppress your RA protects your joints from damage that can affect your mobility in the future are the medications you mention - the DMARDs (disease modifying antirheumatic drugs like methotrexate, Arava, Paquinil and the Biologics). Diet can give you additional relief and I would definitely recommend that people who have RA keep a food and symptom diary for 3-4 weeks to see what their triggers are - common triggers have been found to be potatoes, tomatoes, fried foods, sugar and dairy. However, it often varies from person to person - what works well for you may not work for me and vice versa. It's also a good idea to supplement medication with various forms of alternative medicine and treatments, supplements like fish oil and vitamin D, as well as diet changes if you're one of the people for whom that works well.
Lastly, anyone who contemplates fasting should check with their doctor before starting the fast. Some people have medical conditions that can make fasting hard on their bodies.
Good luck! Please let us know how things go.
I respectfully submit that in all my research I have not come across one person who has truly had their RA supressed by those toxic drugs. What I hear and see is people getting temporary results, then they quit working, so the drugs are either increased or a new "cocktail" is prescribed. The cycle continues. I personally know of someone who has only had it a few years and is already up to 9 pills/day. Possibly more people will respond who can give us their testimonies of experiences after 10-15 years or more of the drugs. My guess is a huge percentage of them have been on a multitude of different drugs throughout the years. If any drug was the answer, why do they have to keep changing them? I know this board is for releasing frustrations and looking for help in dealing with this dreadful disease. The cries for help are so reflective of what this disease can make you feel like. If you are going to ask a doctor about fasting, I highly recommend seeking out a doctor who knows their stuff on nutrition and natural healing. Mainstream doctors don't choose this route because they either aren't educated enough about it, or they assume most people won't be dedicated enough to the process. The average doctor relies heavily on pharmaceuticals as the best answer, when in fact there are reputable studies that prove otherwise. Of course, the high powered pharmaceutical companies do their best to bury this information.
I am merely providing "food for thought". I believe each individual can be their best advocate, and yes, each must make their own choices.