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Book Review: The New Arthritis Breakthrough

By swollenmystery On March 5, 2011 · 3 Comments

I wish I had read this book 3 years ago. It’s been 3-4 years since my inflammatory pain began, both in my upper back, left shoulder and knees. This is the first time I’ve been able to get a good grasp on what rheumatoid arthritis is, when it originated and what treatments have been successful in treating the disease. I should explain that the book mostly focuses on RA, but also delves into scleroderma, lupus, spondylitis and other rheumatic diseases. The author, Henry Scammell, includes many patient testimonials over recent years as a supplement to The Road Back, which is also included inside this book in it’s entirety. One thing that impressed me while reading is the number of times Scammell gives perspective from both the patient and the doctor. I knew there were a lot of politics involved with antibiotic therapy, but what I didn’t know was the history behind the controversy. Each chapter is brief and to the point. I believe that is why I found it so engaging and hard to put down. In addition, the history behind medication used to treat rheumatoid arthritis helped give me a better understanding of why certain drugs are used to this day. From the origins of cortisone over half a century ago to the introduction of methotrexate, I can now understand where these treatments began and the seriousness of their effects on the body. Many instances throughout the book describe how dangerous corticosteroids and other DMARD’s can be [...]

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A Fungus Among Us

By swollenmystery On February 25, 2011 · 1 Comment

This week I reluctantly visited with an ear, nose and throat specialist to find out results from a tongue biopsy. Why? Well this story started approximately six months ago. Last summer I began to notice some mild discomfort on the top and back of my tongue. A month later I began questioning why the entire top of my tongue became coated with a white, pasty film. After a little reading I discovered what was described and felt like oral thrush. Sinus drainage has been a problem for me for as long as I can remember, but I don’t recall ever growing such a distasteful fungus inside my mouth. Several weeks later the pain on top and sides of my tongue increased, and the discoloration would not cease. This was also about the time I started having a deep aching pain below one of my teeth. My dentist didn’t find any oral hygiene issues but did notice a few pesky tongue ulcers upon observation. I thought perhaps a chipped molar may be the culprit, but even after a light grinding of the tooth and some prescribed mouthwash the pain remained constant for weeks. Next I dropped by my family physician for a quick visit. He promptly agreed that it was indeed thrush and prescribed a bottle of clotrimazole lozenges. Lozenges. That can’t be bad, right? Let’s just say they don’t add much in the taste department. Another week went by and things were looking better. I still had some [...]

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Arava For Consideration

By swollenmystery On February 2, 2011 · 2 Comments

Upon my last visit to the rheumatologist, he suggested if I’m not seeing results from my current meds I can try Arava. “Never heard of that one before”, I said. Some patients have had success he tells me, and since I’ve already tried methotrexate without any luck this apparently is the next step. But how do I go about taking yet another new prescription without still knowing what I am treating? Besides having one clue (a brother with severe psoriasis), not one of my relatives has had a case like mine. And most of my grandparents and their parents are no longer here to ask. Sometimes I wish I knew to ask questions while they were still here. As far as I know there were a few cases of osteoarthritis, but nothing of the autoimmune variety. So that leads me back to the next step in my investigation… or should I say treatment. Arava, or Leflunomide for those of us who like tongue twisters, is bright red on my hesitation radar. Anytime I notice severe liver injury as a possible side effect it makes me think twice. Not to mention it still feels like a treatment of symptoms rather than going after the cause. Another concern is the notation that Arava may remain in the body for up to 2 years after you stop taking it. I could go on and on about the other possible side effects or how many warnings mention the word fatal, but that [...]

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Autoimmunity Epidemic

By swollenmystery On November 18, 2010 · 3 Comments

Are we on the edge of an epidemic when it comes to autoimmunity? Or just aggregated media spreading like wildfire? Among the expanding gluten-free sections at grocery stores and special menus now at restaurants and a multitude of online articles, NPR wrote an enlightening story referring to a study in a recent article about increasing cases of celiac’s disease, an illness caused by the body’s reaction to gluten. What I find interesting is the question about the number of cases reported more recently and how more cases of the disorder are showing up in older people who have eaten gluten packed breads and grains for decades. So why is going gluten free, celiac’s disease and autoimmunity such a big thing these days? Maybe it has more to do with our over processed world of consumption than we think. One of the experiments my wife and I have tried lately is cooking with more whole foods, and little or no processed ingredients whenever possible. I have to say, its’ so difficult! Everything around us is processed. It’s quite a chore to find ingredients that are natural or whole and food companies seem to latch on to “natural” or “organic” to fill their pockets more than a concern for our health. But that is another topic on it’s own. The past two weeks I’ve gone gluten-free to see how it affects my knee inflammation. So far I haven’t seen a lot of change in swelling. While it has [...]

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About Me

I'm a freelance web designer with a background in graphic design. I'm also a part-time nutrition student. When I'm not creating or designing, I'm studying nutrition. When I'm not doing either of those I'm usually eating or talking about food. I've been interested in health and fitness for a long time but it wasn't until I became seriously ill with a mysterious chronic autoimmune condition in my early 30s that I realized how intricate and complex the human body is.

Along my journey to healing from chronic illness and Lyme disease, I discovered that eating healthier has improved my life the most. This blog is not just a journal of my progress but is also intended to help anyone that might be suffering from an autoimmune illness. My goal is to learn how to support the body's natural healing process holistically so that it has the resources to fight off illness the way it was designed. As I learn more every day, I write about my journey here at Diagnosis Unsolved. Read more about how all this started and my story here.
-Brad Linberg-
Now Reading
Planned books:
- The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food by Kaayla T. Daniel
- Recipes for Repair: A Lyme Disease Cookbook by Gail Piazza, Laura Piazza
Current books:
- Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price
- Folks, This Ain’t Normal: A Farmer’s Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World by Joel Salatin
- The Salt/C Plus Protocol for Lyme Infection by M. Fett
- Seamus Mullen’s Hero Food: How Cooking with Delicious Things Can Make Us Feel Better by Seamus Mullen
- The Candida Cure: Yeast, Fungus by Ann Boroch
Recent books:
- The World’s Healthiest Foods, Essential Guide for the Healthiest Way of Eating by George Mateljan
- Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dict by Sally Fallon, Mary Enig
- Accidental Cure: Extraordinary Medicine for Extraordinary Patients by Simon Yu
- Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Epidemic by Pamela Weintraub
- The Top 10 Lyme Disease Treatments: Defeat Lyme Disease with the Best of Conventional and Alternativ by Bryan Rosner
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Book Review: The New Arthritis Breakthrough

A Fungus Among Us

Arava For Consideration

Autoimmunity Epidemic

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About Me

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Recent books:

Lime Disease – Story of Recovery

Book Review: The New Arthritis Breakthrough

A Fungus Among Us

Arava For Consideration

Autoimmunity Epidemic

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Categories

Archives

Good Sites about Health, Lyme and Living

About Me

Now Reading

Planned books:

Current books:

Recent books:

Lime Disease – Story of Recovery