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    CravenMorhead's Avatar
    CravenMorhead Posts: 4,532, Reputation: 1065
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    #1

    May 25, 2015, 12:31 PM
    Rhemetoid Arthritis and high cholesterol.
    The two aren't connect in so much as they seem to be happening to me. I am in active treatment and conversations with my GP and am asking this as more of a personal experience question rather then a quest for answers.

    I am a early middle age fellow, 35, and just swtiched doctors for a variety of reasons. I hadn't really had any serious come back before but I am starting to wonder if that was just inattention on the part of my previous GP. Got the blood tests, and x-rays for my back. The x-rays show arthritis in my lower back. Which, considering my lower back issues, isn't that much of a surprise. All the surprises came from the blood work. It showed that my body was creating antibodies that come with rheumatoid arthritis. On top of that my cholesterol, which was insignificant 8 or so years ago, is high.

    So the questions are, what are your experiences with the arthritis, and cholesterol. How do you treat these through diet/over the counter? I know the big treatments are prescription medication and I am fine with that, but I would rather not if able.

    Thanks!
    Craven.
    joypulv's Avatar
    joypulv Posts: 21,591, Reputation: 2941
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    #2

    May 25, 2015, 03:12 PM
    I've been researching the general topic of inflammation, because at 68, I'm feeling unusually sore all over. I had chronic pain in my left abdomen and down my leg for 30+ years, which I now know is scarring around my sacral nerves on my sacro-iliac. The pervasive burning inflammation is totally different.

    What I am learning, and it's nothing new, despite all sorts of 'new' studies of various conditions, is that EVERYTHING in our bodies is connected and related. High cholesterol doesn't seem related to arthritis, but the diet you eat that raised it also most likely didn't provide the nutrients needed to fight the factors that cause inflammation - anti-oxidants. They are produced by the body as well as ingested by all those foods you hear about, blueberries and tomatoes and red wine and so on. Oxidants are cells that occur normally ("oxygen free radicals, or OFRs") but can usually be overthrown by the anti-oxidants. When you don't eat right, and have stress, and aren't active enough, get injured, have surgery, take heavy doses of antibiotics, and on and on - there you are. Inflammation. Your body literally scars inside. There are actual molecules called adhesion molecules. We have all heard of 'adhesions' occuring as a result of surgery, but really, all kinds of arthritis and scarring around torn tendons and stiff joints around an injury are very much related. Aside from all that, 70% of your immunity lies right under your gut wall, and if it's working overtime and losing, those OFRs create a chain reaction, and you get damaged cells, you get fatigue, you allow organs far away to get affected... and down you go.
    So that's how cholesterol is related to arthritis. It isn't direct cause and effect; just part of the big picture.
    (I do not know much about RA other than it involves the same kinds of defense cells, but they attack 'good' cells for wrong reasons, making it an auto-immune disease. What was your RA number on your blood test? Did you have a sed rate and CRP too? My RA was in range but sed rate and CRP are high.)
    I'm working finally on a healthy diet, cutting down intake and cutting WAY down on sugar. I also have HBP and the 2 medications I tried so far had awful side effects. This isn't uncommon. I'm going to try to bring it down with diet. And probiotics, because of too many times over 40 years of big doses of antibiotics. Without that good gut flora (good bacteria), you invite all sorts of invaders.
    ALL RELATED.

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