does methotrexate cure arthritis?
395972
Methotrexate is a very common treatment for RA that has been used with success for many years.  However, no single drug can cure arthritis.\n\nMethotrexate is actually a chemotherapy drug, but it's used in small doses for RA and acts by suppressing the immune system, which is overactive in an autoimmune disorder.  It's usually used for more aggressive treatment, and is thought by some to slow the damage to the joints from RA.  It's relatively inexpensive, and works for many people.  However, it does cycle through your liver, so you have to get regular bloodtests and you won't be able to drink anymore.  But if they work for you, it is worth it.\n\nI am on methotrexate, but am now reducing my dosage since I didn't have any relief from that combined with other drugs (plaquenil, naprosyn), so my doctor put me on Enbrel - this is a new, expensive injectable drug that works on a specific protein in the immune system (It's a TNF blocker).  Enbrel, along with the other bioligic drugs, are thought to really slow down or stop damage from RA.  I have been on Enbrel for 6 months, and I'm in full remission.  But that's just remission - I could have another flair at anytime, god forbid.\n\nGood luck with the methotrexate - hopefully you will be able to tolerate it and get good results - your doctor obviously thinks you should get aggressive treatment if he wants you to go on methotrexate.  Just be careful about drinking, and follow your doctor's opinion, and hopefully you can get a relief in symptoms or remission, but at this point, there is no way to cure RA at this point.  But let's keep our fingers crossed for the future!!\n\nVisit http://www.arthritis.org for lots of info - there is a discussion board in the RA connect section that has lots of great info and is a great place to talk to others with RA.  Good luck!
268646
Rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune disease.   Affected joints feel hot in addition to pain, and become twisted out of shape.  You really need a physician to treat that. \n    Osteo-arthritis causes the lining of certain joints to wear away and become painful.  It causes pain most frequently in hips, knees, back, fingers and toes.  It can be helped by physical therapy, and weight loss, if overweight.  Recent studies have failed to demonstrate benefits of nutritional supplements.  Vioxx was a good treatment, but is off the market now.  Aleve is helpful.
933442
Hi There\n\nHere are some ideas to heal your conditions.\n\nCause: \nArthritis is caused by acids and waste matter in the body, which eventually become solidified and lock the joint. This condition is caused and aggravated by improper diet. Some of the worst intakes are eggs, bread, milk, meat, salt, sugar, etc., because they cause arthritic calcification. The use of extremely hard water (generally of twelve or more grains in hardness) will often accentuate an arthritic condition where softer water will help relieve it. Sometimes an individual with a good inherent structure can throw off the hardest water without arthritic effect. The weaker person may drink water that is not very hard and absorb from it relatively larger quantities of the inorganic minerals. \n\n\nQuick Action Plan for Rheumatoid Arthritis (especially #7, cleansing)\n\n1. Acupuncture treatment helps to reduce the body's aggressive defenses that inadvertently attack its own joint tissue. \n\n2. Massage affected joints with rosemary, benzoin, chamomile, camphor, juniper, or lavender. \n\n3. Diet plays an integral part in reducing or preventing the onset of all types of arthritic conditions. A diet rich in an abundant selection of fresh vegetables, and a wide variety of sweet and non-sweet fruits, soaked nuts and seeds, and whole grains is recommended. \n\n4. Tomatoes, cayenne, black and long pepper should be avoided by person's with rheumatoid arthritis. Minimize protein intake, choose small quantities of fish, legumes, eggs, soaked nuts and seeds. Eliminate beef, chicken, shellfish, and pork completely. Eat no hydrogenated fats, processed sugars, dairy products, alcohol, coffee, or black tea. \n\n5. Use the following powerful aids to speed and assist healing: Goji, Acai and Noni juice, bee pollen, royal jelly, and evening primrose oil are recommended, as is Shark cartilage, Wobenzyme, DMSO, MSM Manganese Cetyl myristoleate with lipase, and vitamin C.\n\n6. Test for food and environmental allergies and avoid all foods and substances to which you are allergic. \n\n7. Cleansing and Detoxification including colon and bowel cleansing therapies, fasting, kidney and gallbladder flushes, physical medicine, and homeopathic remedies. \nIsometric exercises, stretching, and yoga can help ease arthritis pain. \n\n8. Constitutional hydrotherapy (apply two to five times weekly) or heating compress (apply once daily to affected areas). \n\n9 Drink the juice of half a lemon before every meal and before going to bed. \n\n\n\nCauses\nCrohn's disease can be caused by a variety of factors, including poor diet and nutrition, food allergies, imbalanced levels of hydrochloric acid, impaired immunity, infections, lack of exercise, "leaky gut" syndrome, pharmaceutical drugs, and stress.\n\nQuick Action Plan for Crohn's Disease \n\n\n1. Diet is of primary importance. Avoid all sugars, refined flour products, and carbohydrates, milk and dairy products, processed foods that contain preservatives and artificial sweeteners, alcohol, hydrogenated and trans-fatty oils, as well as foods that are common allergens.\n\n2. Emphasize organic, fresh vegetables and non-citrus fruits, organic grains, as well as organic, free-range meats and poultry and wild-caught fish.\n\n3. Drink plenty of pure, filtered water throughout the day.\n\n4. Enema containing butyric acid two to five times a week. (Add one tablespoon of butyric acid to one quart of warm water.) A colon cleanse is very important as well.\n\n5. Supplements with vitamin A, beta carotene, vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and zinc, taken with a multivitamin/multimineral formula. Essential fatty acids, especial omega-3 oils, are also recommended.\n\n6. Stress reduction through the use of various mind/body medicine techniques, such as biofeedback, hypnotherapy, meditation and relaxation exercises.\n\n7. If you smoke, stop and if you are currently taking aspirin or other NSAIDs, consider replacing them with safer
1067791
The only thing that's been able to help me after numerous drugs is an injectable drug called Enbrel. It actually eased the pain of RA. I have psoriatic arthritis which is a drop different because mine comes with a lovely rash. :-( But since they are in the same family, I suggest you asking your rheumatologist. The one major side effect of the drug is that it hurts you r immune system and you are very susceptible to every illness out there..viruses, the flu. The other thing I receive is cortisone injections in my knees. My knees were particularly bad, and the cortisone made me feel like a new woman. There are risks for that as well. Please talk with the doctor. There's no reason why you should live in pain.\n\nP.S. All of the anti-inflammatory drugs they'll try to give you for the pain won't work well, and will tear up your stomach.
761174
I was told by a rheumatologist that it does not cause arthritis...but I do know it does make your knuckles bigger...I have rings & can't wear anymore! Try not to!
857905
I am exploring the same possibility.  My mom takes enbrel for arthritis and when she explained to me how th drug worked I said, that sounds like it would work on psoriasis!  She told me that the little bit she had on her leg and elbows had dissappeared after like 2 months of injections.  So far after about 2 years, she has not complained of any side effects yet.  So I am gonna try it out whenever I can get back in to see my Dr.  As for amevive, I don't know anything about it and would try the one I have experience with first.
13002
Hi !!!\n\nI think below article will be of interest.\n\n"Just about anyone suffering from stiff and aching joints has wished for magical oil to make those bones move more smoothly. Some have even tried rubbing sore joints with motor oil or spraying them with WD-40.\n\nSmearing yourself with these messy metal lubricants won’t do a thing for your arthritis. But you may be surprised to learn that putting the right kind of oils inside your body could help with the aches and pains. \n\nOut of all the choices, four oils rise to the top. There’s strong evidence that fish oil supplements with omega-3 fatty acids can ease rheumatoid arthritis (RA) symptoms, help prevent Raynaud’s syndrome spasms and possibly relieve some lupus symptoms. Both borage seed and evening primrose seed oils have been shown to ease RA inflammation, and flaxseed oil may be also helpful. Readily available, these oils appear not to have serious side effects when taken as directed."\n\nComplete article "Medical Oils"  on "Arthritis Foundation" can be found here >> http://www.arthritis.org/resources/arthritistoday/1999_archives/1999_07_08explorations.asp\n\n\n>>> Naveen Kumar
96398
There are a few different types of arthritis but the one you have is probably "osteoarthritis". Osteoarthritis is inflammation due to degenerative changes from excessive loading of the articular surfaces of the joint. In your case, this has most likely occured due to your prior injuries, which places more stress on the cartilage in your knee, leading to degeneration and pain.\n\nThere is no true cure for this disease, however various surgical and medical means exist that may relieve your symptoms or slow progression.\n\nSurgery: If ligaments or the meniscus were torn in your old injury, surgical repair can restore some measure or congruity to the articular surfaces thereby reducing the progression of osteoarthritis. More drastic surgical measures include total knee replacement or osteotomies.\nMedical: Various types of anti-inflammatory drugs are worth trying and can relieve pain as well as reduce swelling. Newer drugs called glucosamines have come into the market which claim to slow the degeneration or even promote repair of the joint lining, although concrete evidence for these claims is controversial.\n\nThe best thing you can do now is to avoid straining your knees too much. Exercise can strengthen the muscles around the knee and improve your condition. However, take care to avoid high impact activities such as long-distance running etc. Swimming and cycling are very good alternatives to consider.
525202
Sorry, but I don't know. It'd be cool to learn about.\n\nDo you have Arthritis? I do. Please email me:\n\neileenprince@sbcglobal.net
211107
Dude, what is up with all us 20 year olds getting arthritis!?!  I am in my 20s and I too have chronic osteoarthritis in my neck, upper back, hands, and knees.  I use marijuana as a pain reliever because it doesn't incapacitate me as much as something like morphine or vicoden, and also because I can grow it at home.  \n\nMarijuana helps with the pain, but it doesn't do anything to address the root problem of the arthritis, although I am not sure there is much out there that can, except for certain types of surgeries and some people say that Pregnazone helps reduce the advancement of arthritis in the body.  Pretty much all of us youngens who have arthritis early just need to get used to the pain...  :0(  I wish i had a better answer.
941773
There in no single herbal remedy for arthritis. You have to use combination of some Ayurvedic preparation like Glucosamine , Gold prep ration and others. It is better to consult any Ayurvedic Physician who will prescribe you full regime to get rid of arthritis.
1027185
This is the correct answer. RA is a horrible disease and I have it. I have defeated it with glucosamine and fish oil. I also take 1 Aleve tablet every morning. 2000 mg glucosamine with chondroitin, and 3000 mg fish oil. It takes a while, but it works, and many doctors now recommend this proven cure. \n\nRichard E
476279
Chondrotin and msm are naturally found in our cartilage, as we age or if you have arthritis they decrease. My friend uses a skin gel and a drinking gel for his arthritis that contain these, he says since he has been taking them he has had relief from his symptoms and is on less pain killers.\n\n He says his general health and mobility have increased since starting this natural medicine 6 weeks ago. \nHe drinks the gel twice a day and rubs the cream into the problem areas. \n\nIf you contact foreverlivingdelicious@yahoo.co.uk they will be able to help as they are the distributors.
1008216
There is no chance to get "cured" of it, you're stuck with it for all your life, but here are some treatments to controlll it.\n\nThe underlying process in psoriatic arthritis is inflammation, therefore treatments are directed at reducing and controlling inflammation. NSAIDs such as diclofenac and naproxen are usually the first line medication.\n\nOther treatment options for this disease include joint injections with corticosteroids - this is only practical if a few joints are affected.\n\nIf acceptable control is not achieved using NSAIDs or joint injections then second line treatments with immunosuppressants such as methotrexate are added to the treatment regimen. An advantage of immunosuppressive treatment is that it also treats the psoriasis in addition to the arthropathy.\n\nRecently, a new class of therapeutics developed using recombinant DNA technology called Tumor necrosis factor inhibitors have come available, for example, infliximab and etanercept. These are becomingly increasingly commonly used but are usually reserved for the most severe cases. As more is learned regarding the long-term safety of these biologic agents there is a trend toward earlier use to prevent irreversible joint destruction.\n\nRetrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psoriatic_arthritis"
887855
We have treated last week itself one case of negative RA test. If your ESR is high it is RA of negative type. This is our research.\nOurs' is the only institute on this planet treating RA confidently. But your problem is simple and Acupuncture will solve it. Please go to a skilled acupuncturist.
82431
Think you mean Rheumatoid as in Rheumatoid Arthiritis.\n No, no cure but there are lots of things you can do to reduce the pain etc. There are lots of support sites on the subject. Type in rheumatoid arthiritis support, click search and you will find loads.
914263
I have not heard of it either. Sorry\n\nA good treatment option is also taking a combined supplement of glucosamine and chondrontin sulfates. They are both found naturally in cartliage and assist in protecting arthritic joints. They do not re-build the cartliage as this is impossible, but it certainly helps increase range of motion and functionality.\n\nParacetamol is also good for the pain.