Hmm, I'm not sure, I wonder if there is something over the counter to try to cleanse everything? I have no idea on how that stuff works. I will read up on it though that's for sure :-)

I really doubt it, but I'm not giving up yet. Have been off gluten and nightshades for over a year, many many other foods since last xmas. Got worse and worse and the only thing that helped was meds. Then this summer I reintroduced some foods and a few weeks later started having more problems. Of course because we're talking about a month or so, other things changed. So nailing down whether or not food is or is not a factor has been a challenge. I am back to my full elmination and see if things settle down. I do think the lack of gluten has helped, at least my hand eczema cleared up.

I think the idea that RA is comming from issues in the gut are based in the idea that something a long the lines of 70% of our immunity starts in the gut. So if we have an autoimmune disease (like RA) the malfunction is likely in the gut. I can follow with that but I also think that if it was that simple we would have a universal cure by now. It's just my humble opinion but I think that the gut may be just a small piece of a very complicated puzzle.

Kim.. Ive askd that same question..just posted about it last week..im kee askingthat question..but who really knows ..it makes perfect sense to me ...my family dr ...keeps pushing a colonocopy..seriously ashe had her office call me at least four or five times in one week to see if i made the appt .yet ..i knwo some dr 's feel that can go out of there field since she is a family dr she cant say much about gastro stuff...but in a round about way ..i feel she is trying to tell me something ..how great that would be ????..if that would make a difference for RA patients ..or at least a head start and advancement in research ...i ve noticed for myself ..once a HUGE sweet tooth person..and now i cut wayyyyyyy back that i dont have that churning sensation in my gutt like i used toi crave sweets ..but i now dont eat nearly as much as i once did ..im in on the leaky gutt idea ...maybe for some it is genetic ..or predispotion of handed down genes ..my great aunt had RA ..so mabe for myself its a combo deal ..or i inherited bad gutts ..my mo had pre cancer in her colon and they removed a good amount ..soooooooo very very interesting .

P.S If anyone remembers Triad she posted about gut and gluten all of the time ...

After reading a lot about the relationship between the intestinal biota and the immune system, I ready to give this a try.

Here's what has been recommended to me: Metagenics Ultraflora Spectrum -- "a 6 week course of 2 daily then returning to whatever formula you are currently using. It would be a concentrated blast of normal flora to overwhelm what didn't belong or what is out of balance (too much of something and/or not enough)."

It's an expensive probiotic, about $37 for a bottle of 30. However, it is less expensive than a "colon cleanse" (which I would never do anyway). I have taken other Metagenics products with good results.

Here's a link to Metagenics' brief description: http://www.metagenics.com/mp/products/ultraflora-spectrum

I will probably buy it from here: http://vitamins-supplements.professionalsupplementcenter.com/search?w=Metagenics%20Ultraflora%20Spectrum&btnSearch=Search

I am in the early stages of rheumatoid disease. The treatment protocol calls for aggressive treatment. I think it makes sense to add this to the arsenal.

Nancy

Hi- I have been gluten free for two years. It has definitely helped with my consistent bloating. However I still had an onset of RA in June(well they think it is) and I still watch the gluten but it didn't keep the onset away. I know guten adds to inflammation. I am staying gluten free because I am intolerant.

Tami, let's get one thing clear here, OK? "Leaky gut" is something the alternative and complementary medicing people talk about. It's not a medical diagnosis per se. It will NOT show up on a colonoscopy. That test is mainly to look for colon cancer or pre-cancerous polyps.

Sally has talked about having a perforation in her intestine. That is an immediately life-threatening condition. It is not what the folks talking about "leaky gut" are referring to, at all.

Calm down Alto ...red what RASally posted ...im dumb but not that dumb:)and like i wrote my mom had surgery to remove pre cancer tissue in her colon ..i get eh leaky gut things and i m a vegatarian for over thirty odd years not my first rodeo with research and guts and crap ...relax ...and this is a peronal choice to beleive in alternative medicine or prognosis etc...
so chill my freind and read on :)

P.S I get a gluten free magazine that had a topic in it on leaky gut and autoimmune 70% of our immune system starts in our gut ..so i m not going to vall a great magazine a liar ..caspsico ???? capsice !

i don't know how much i believe that our guts lead to - or can alleviate the symptoms of - RA. i know that much of our immunity can be linked to healthy flora in the gut. and re: colon or body cleanses, our bodies are designed to cleanse themselves. if you eat a fairly balanced and healthy diet, there should never be a need for a colon/body cleanse.

as for elimination diets, some people are more sensitive than others to bloating or inflammation from certain foods; i can easily see how some diet changes may help alleviate some symptoms of RA, but do not believe they can eliminate them all together. i believe this because if RA was all in the gut, i do not think we would see the strong hereditary evidence we do. my first cousin and i only share, what, a quarter of the same DNA? and we both have drastically different lifestyles. however, she was dx'd with RA at 31 and i was dx'd with RA at 33. and her father (my maternal uncle) also has RA.

i think a lot of what RASally says is on point - there has been a rise in dx'd autoimmune diseases and a rise in processed foods. similar correlations have been noted by some people in relation to autism, asthma, obesity, diabetes, and other chronic ailments. could the uptick in dx's have to do with better education? maybe now we know to go to the doctor when we have these issues? maybe. but i believe the link between processed foods and chronic crap is strong. my husband doesn't have any chronic illnesses but has felt so much better since we really limited processed foods. he's even been sleeping better. and if we have a crazy day or weekend where a lot of processed foods are ingested, it's like he has a crappy-food hangover on monday.

One more thing since i on a roll and if my hands will allow .. first of all , just my opnion..i think we all should take respsponsibility for what we shove in our mouths and the consiquences for that desicion ..we cant drive through MC Donalds and then complain we are getting fat ?? rite ? after all the imaginary driver isnt picking us up and force feeding us fast foods ! second of all ...it is up to each one of us to do what is best for us as individuals, grown adults making healthy or non healthy choices in foods .. no food police to stop us , only what we think is best for our selves ...if we eat crap , we wil eventually feel like crap , period ! plain and simple ..one way or another it will catch up , heart disease ...colon issue , etc..i actually might take a smideg of blame for MY disease ..i slipped off eh ehalthy food bdnd wagon ..being a veggie i wanted to enjoy sweets,proven fact sugar , especially un refined sugar can tears in the colon !! sooo lets picture the colon like a rubber balloon the ones that make animals out of at the festival ..you play with that ballloon ..rubbed it on the ground ...on someones head , the thin rubber is going to give way ..just like the colon ..it would be a different story if it was made of pure steel ..last i checked god didnt design us that way ..resonsibity to ourselves is the key to good health ..unless genes are involved and we cant do much about that !!!!!

my Sicilian grandafterh ALWAYS SAID and in SiCLIAN that old saying opinions are like beeps every body has one !

i like taking my probiotics (about 3 plus years) so that is enough to put me in a good mood. it takes me forever just to do vitamin homeopathic regimen in the AM. i feel powerful. i feel efficacious. i feel emotionally good. i feel like i am doing something other than (and besides) pharma. i don't do as much research as you all. i just do feel good things. they help compensate for the feelings of helplessness i get from the disease and the drumbeat of the disease. to me taking probiotics is like doing yoga. a compensatory factor for me. nothing more nothing less.

the bigger choices like being a prednisone refuser, those are harder but I try to visualize my adrenals hugging me. again my choice. helps me feel better about feeling helpless.

the veganism makes me feel better also, emotionally, i have no idea if it is really contributing over the 10 percent that I hope it is. but to me, it's a choice I made, not the doctor. there's that theme again for me, I am doing it to myself, it is not being done to me.

Ros

P.S.S .colonoscopy is rammed up the rear rite ? hence bowel/gut unless that scope has a blinders on ..im thinkig it will see ALOT on teh way up to the COLON .Ciaooooo .jeese !