Friday, July 03, 2009

My rheumatologist is more open-minded than I thought!

I said I was going to ask my rheumatologist for his perspective on the mycoplasma hypothesis and about Wobenzym . . .

I was astonished by his response to my queries.

First, I wrote to him:
Dr. H:

I've been working on my diet and have had some pretty good results so far. --I still have a lot to do to bring my diet completely under control, but the pain, stiffness, and swelling is about 1/10th what it was back around the time I visited with you.

As I continue my studies, I have found several other interesting things about rheumatoid arthritis. For example:
  1. Its link to mycoplasmal infection. [See, for example, the About.com article on an antibiotic treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, the Health Sciences Institute article about "Chameleon-like microbes" [that] may be causing your chronic or autoimmune disorder, and the more detailed series of articles about mycoplasmas and an herbal approach to treating them.]

    The "Chameleon-like microbes" article suggests that, "If you suspect you have a mycoplasma-induced disease, have your doctor order a PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test" -- in anticipation of possibly using something like the minocycline or Myco herbal formula protocols to eliminate the mycoplasmas (assuming they are found).

    What do you think? Would you/could you authorize such a test in my behalf?
     
  2. Any comments on the idea of reducing inflammation by destroying CICs--circulating immune complexes--through enzymatic protocols like Mucos Pharma GmBH's Wobenzym?
     
  3. What about the idea of supplementing with magnesium because "Severe chronic inflammatory disease causes the body to lose a tremendous amount of magnesium. Steroids, often used in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, also deplete the vital element magnesium" . . . and because "magnesium dramatically reduces inflammation, boosts cellular antioxidant defenses and prevents many of the complications of inflammatory arthritis, such as cancer, brain damage, and atherosclerosis"?

    THANKS for your input!
He replied:
Regarding
#1) Interesting thought.

The only mycoplasma test in our computer system is the mycoplasma pneumoniae antibody test.

I've ordered it so all you have to do is go to the lab and have it done.

We'll see what it shows.

#2) Probably no benefit from this therapy. CICs have more to do with diseases like lupus rather than RA.

#3) magnesium supplementation is ok but generally you should get enough with just a daily multivitamin.
I'm sure we can test his hypotheses about #2 and #3. I'm "just" rather stunned about his openness to try the mycoplasma test!

I figure I'll start there, and if that doesn't show anything, maybe I can move on toward the specific test my source suggested. (Don't know where to find it at the moment, but I'm sure I can get there if I feel I need to.)

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
blog comments powered by Disqus