Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment: Are Natural Remedies for Rheumatoid Arthritis Better?
There is a lot of debating that goes on about Rheumatoid Arthritis and medication. Some of the most powerful and expensive medications on the earth are used to treat Rheumatoid Arthritis. Concerns include side effects, costs, and feeling reliant upon a substance for one’s livelihood.
People living with RA are usually also living with discussions and decisions about medication. We have plenty to talk about, don’t we? Let’s take the first bite at that elephant today…
What is medicine?
Medicine is defined as the use of any method to treat illness or injury. Medication is any substance used as a remedy to treat an illness or injury. Almost anything could be construed as a medication – and some odd things have been tried – like nettle-beer for a blood purifier, ground cockroach tea for lockjaw, and blood drawing for George Washington’s strep throat…
Aspirin is a good example
Aspirin is probably the most used medication of all time that is still considered to be a medicine in the modern world. Originally, salicylic acid was obtained from the bark of a willow tree, creating the first aspirin. For centuries before that, people used to chew tree bark to get the salicylic acid into their bloodstream in order to relieve pain and inflammation for conditions such as arthritis. Of course there are thousands of other substances that have been uncovered which can either alleviate symptoms or cure illnesses; all of these are medicines!
Natural medication versus drugs
In our modern world, we divide medications into two classes: natural medications and pharmaceutical medications which we call “drugs.” When aspirin was in the form of bark, it would be what we consider “natural.” After it has been refined, purified, and measured by milligrams, it is considered a pharmaceutical. Substances in both groups are medication if we realize that medication is any substance man uses to treat or cure illness or disease.
In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration regulates medications which are produced, marketed, and sold as pharmaceuticals. Substances used as medicines, but sold in their natural forms are much less regulated. That is the reason it is not possible to be certain how many milligrams of a potent material such as kava root is in any given dose. That is also the reason that natural medicine marketers must be careful how their claims are worded.
Companies which sell vitamins, teas, and herbal remedies are not permitted to claim that their substance treats or cures any disease. They have not been required to test effectiveness in any systematic way. They do not have to guarantee the purity of the product or its potency. (This is the reason that RA patients on methotrexate take prescription folic acid instead of buying it from a vitamin company. Rheumatologists know that their patients need to be certain that they are getting the full dose of folic acid required.) Nor are they required to reveal anything about the side effects of the natural medicine.
Side effects
Any medication, whether one considered a natural (unrefined, unmeasured, and unregulated) medicine like St. John’s wort or one considered a drug (substances combined, refined, and measured by chemists) like ibuprophen may have several effects. Some of the effects are desired effects; we call those the “effects” or the benefits of the drug. Other effects are undesired; those we call “side effects.” (Thunder god vine example.)
Thinking differently about what is “natural”
“Natural” is not always the same thing as “healthy.” Viruses are naturally occurring. Snake bites are perfectly natural. Poison ivy and arsenic are natural. And Rheumatoid Arthritis came to me quite naturally. I inherited the genes for it from my grandfather. Natural is not always equivalent to safe or good.
There is so much more to examine about drugs (whether manufactured or natural) and Rheumatoid Arthritis. With today’s blog, I’m hoping to break a few stereotypes in our thinking about medicine. All that is available are the God-given resources here on the earth, whether they are medicines used “as is” or made into more sophisticated treatments and cures.
Recommended reading:
Celebrities and Rheumatoid Arthritis
American College of Rheumatology Redefines Rheumatoid Arthritis
My Basic Class in Rheumatoid Arthritis: RA 101
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Good blog. I particularly like the part about natural does not mean healthy.
I agree 100% with Miss Dazey. I really feel for all of the people who try all of the “natural” methods- not realizing there are side effects there as well. I am not by any stretch against holistic medicine, I just feel you need to research anything before you put it in your body and weigh the pros and cons.
I personally think “integrative” medicine is best approach. I’m a fan of using a combination of both traditional medical drugs and natural treatments. I try to be on as LITTLE “drugs” as necessarily, because, although there ARE side effects to SOME natural “remedies” they are not as dangerous/toxic as those of “regular” medical drugs (unless you are allergic.) That being said, I think if you have ANY autoimmune disease such as RA, you ABSOLUTELY NEED to be on some type of drug…I don’t see a way around it. Also, I think if you wish to start any treatment, even if it IS natural…you should ALWAYS consult your rheumatologist or primary care doctor first! Common sense!! Too many people lack that quality
Great post! I enjoy this debate because I’ve tried both approaches (tons of drugs for my RA, Fibro & Celiac vs. drug-free naturopathic approach) and was not content until I found a “happy medium” by utilizing both. I am IN NO MEANS “better” or “healed” but I do feel healthier by not relying SOLELY on “drugs.” Good blog, thanks for posting!
Thank you, Kelly!
The last time I had my folic acid filled, the pharmacy just gave me a vitamin company bottle and said it was the same. I questioned them at the time, but they said it was the same. I just called the pharmacy and asked them that for a refill to be filled as my doctor had ordered–prescription folic acid, not a vitamin company’s mixture. Sadly, this is the third “error” this pharmacy has made in the last month on my prescriptions. I think it’s time to change pharmacies.
Thank you! I wouldn’t have known.
Noelle
Yes, I hope you do!
I think it is very important to note that there are side effects from mixing over the counter, prescription and/or natural remedies. St. John’s Wart for example can be DEADLY when mixed with anti depressant medication. It is VERY VERY VERY VERY important for all of us to tell our doctors AND pharmacists what vitamins, herbs or non prescription medications or suppliments we take so that they can educate us about any side effect or drug interaction. Some meds you cannot have cranberry or grapefruit that means of ANY kind not even a sip of juice containing it. It can be a scary world out there but if we are careful to talk to our pharmacists and doctors we can keep ourselves safe and avoid unneeded and certainly unwanted trips to the emergency room.
Excellent point about drug interactions: ALL kinds of drugs…
MissD, Jules, Ashley,
Thanks, good points. They are all “medicines” and we need to educate ourselves.
I trust drugs/medicines that have a doctor’s name on the prescription along with an educated pharmacist dispensing them, a brand-name standing behind them and also the FDA…this includes studies, trials, and medical school for goodness sake!
and there would be no one held responsible for regulating what they sell you.
I think vitamin supplements are a very important part of feeling good, especially if you are not getting enough through your diet alone, but these quacks that stand behind the health food store counter and pretend to know more about a person’s body and about medicine than doctors and pharmacists do are absolutely comical to me. Putting something “natural” in your body could kill you (as many poisons are “natural”
I would be foolish to depend on someone at the “Herb Shop” to treat my thyroid, RA, depression, whatever! God put some very intelligent people on this earth with very intelligent brains who work every day to study/create medicines…as well as intelligent people to prescribe them. There is a reason the FDA doesn’t support herbal remedies. I also think they just make your urine more expensive.
Just my opinion!!
Fun times reading the differing opinions on here, when I first found out I had RA in 2005, I only took aspirin and a herb here in Canada called LAKOTA, it did help, then I went on plaqueniel, meth and enbrel, I stayed on them for over a year without any improvent, I stopped the enbrel and meth after 16 months on them, but have remained on the plaquenil and on the really bad days 5m of prednisone- that is not often, I started today on Minocin- as I am going to try the AP approach, I feel pretty positive about it, but I still claim there is not enough research on RA in any medical field, too many do not understand what hell we go through
I have been trying to explore both natural and pharmaceutical treatments for RA (and other autoimmune arthritis conditions) because our up and coming nonprofit will have a large segment dedicated to treatment options, bridging these solutions with financial assistance to sufferers…. one thing I keep finding is much of what is interpreted as the “right” solution is somewhat based on the degree of RA a person is experiencing. While we all know there are no 2 cases exactly alike, and there are no 2 biological chemistries exactly alike, we may end up finding that the solution for each person will vary? Interesting subject, that’s for sure!
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