Dear Lene,

Thank you for your remarks.  I am recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of Severe RA, and after my initial diagnosise from my Rheumatologist, and being advised of "chemo" drugs were going to be part of the plan, etc., I went to see a Naturopath/ND for a "safer" treatment.  My ND has RA and has been pain-free and symptom-free for 10 years; however, he started out on DMARDs.  After seeing my ND for a few weeks, it became very clear I wasted time on halting the progression of my RA.  He even told me himself, that I HAD to go see the Rheumatologist and get on DMARDs ASAP if I wanted to have a chance at controlling this disease. 

For me and my particular RA symptoms, I found that the offerings of my ND (Chinese medicine, accupuncture, homeopathy, etc.) were better suited as a pain management regimen, than a disease-modifying/halting regimen. I wanted so badly to be like my ND, and be pain-free and symptom-free from RA naturally, but my RA was just too severe.  Had I known that DMARDs were the best approach for me, I wouldn't have waited and started with my Rheumatologist's recommendation for aggressive drug therapy right away.  I am confident though, that it's not too late.

I sent you an email through your blog email a few days ago.  I hope to hear from you at your convenience.

Thank you for all you do to contribute to this community.  I appreciate your experience for a RA Newbie such as myself. :)

Dear Lene,

I'd be happy to contribute.  If you want something re-written, please let me know; otherwise, please feel free to link to my previous post.

Dear Cathy,

Thank you for your remarks.  I appreciate your opinion.  I too believe in the need for empowerment in our approaches to thriving with RA, particularly when so many feel so powerless.

One thing I wanted to add to my previous post about my personal experience with my Rheumatologist and my Naturopath, is that I do not equate diet as part of a holistic regimen exclusively.  I consider proper diet -- including organic, preservative-free foods and supplements -- as a component of both allopathic/traditional medicine, and holistic/alternative medicine, and not exclusive as a "natural remedy" per se; because of this, I did not inlcude it in my previous remarks as part of a holistic regimen.  I did not want to appear in my previous post that I was dismissing the importance of a healthy diet in thriving with RA.  To me, it's just common sense to eat healthy, whether you are healthy or living with chronic disease, or whether someone is a holistic or allopathic patient.  Now if I could just stop caring about chocolate mousse torte! :) 

I truly had hoped that I could remedy my own RA situation with a more holistic approach exclusively, as it was much more closely aligned with my life-long lifestyle of no alcohol, no smoking, no illegal drugs (I used to be able to say "no drugs at all -- period," but sadly, post RA diagnosis, I now have to specify "no illegal drugs" and "no drugs not entirely necessary to hopefully halt the progression of this disease); however, sadly, I got much, much worse on a purely holistic regimen.  It was a very big step for me to start DMARDs, and I still have yet to see the level of improvement expected/hoped for from the particular regimen I am currently on. 

I should emphasize that this is my own, individual experience, and my own, personal opinion. I am thrilled to hear about and welcome others' personal successes and opinions in their RA "arsenal" of promoting good health.  I would hope someone could reverse the effects of RA holistically exclusively, but so far, I am not aware that patient exists.

From what I have discovered with RA, the only thing consistent about this disease, is its inconsistency with onset, therapies and symptoms between patients.  

Thank you again!