Friends:
I have a friend whose 10 year old daughter has been diagnosed with our lovely disease. She went to a pediatric rhumey at Vanderbilt. The parents are still soaking in this diagnoses and the mom has asked me if I knew anything about or know anyone who has used the antibiotic approach.
Any thoughts!
Are you talking about the minocycline thing?
The problem with it is that during the looong time it takes to (maybe) work, severe joint damage can happen. Also severe internal bleeding and possible death can result from long term use of the meds. And it only works for some people.
Yes.
That is basically told the parents but I wanted to see if someone else believed the same way. Thanks!
There is a form of arthritis virtually identical to PsA caused by bacteria that has had some recent success in being treated with long tern low dose of a combination of antibiotics (this is different than the leaky gut thing) Its called Reiters Syndrome. I would think Vanderbilt would have been able to figure it out.
These poor folks are often HLA B-27 positive which leads to some confusion. While the Disease best responds to Sulfazine (of all things) it can get WORSE if exposed to the biologics or MTX. Reiter’s syndrome or seronegative spondyloarthropathy, typically develops within a month of an infection and is characterized by pain and swelling in no more than four joints – usually in the knees, ankles and feet; heel pain; conjunctivitis, or pink eye; pain and stiffness in the lower back; and skin problems including psoriasis or eczema.
Its most commonly an STD (chlamydia) something I wouldn't suspect in a 10 year old, but is also linked to food poisoning and Pink Eye (really common in kids) among other "infections"
I'm not so sure but what if it wasn't my child and the fact there is no "test" for Reiters, that unless I could positivley eliminate Reiters as a possible disease that I wouldn't try the antibiotic treatment for it.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1049094/
I'm not at ALL refering to the quackery minocycline thing, l;eaky gut etc etc.
so glad you reffered to it as quackery TNT. I have also heard that these people are called smurfs because their skin turns a bluish color. I know someone who is on this treatment. She looks like hell, alwys looks sick and is a horrible color.She did not want to be on traditional meds. She has RA . Anyhow she has gotten worse, much worse for lack of proper treatmentand still she refuses proper treatment as it might kill her. Fear the disease not the meds. Rebel mom you could bring that one statement to your friends. That may help them decide.
Talked to the mom today and they are starting methodextrate. Didn’t want to but decided to go with the doctors advice and see how she tolerates it.