Immunomodulators

General
1

Psoriasis and Psoriatic arthritis are both born of over active immune systems and I am currently on MTX which isnt helping but is supposed to supress the immune system with a view to lesson the symptoms.

I am currently seeing a very good nutritionist who believes my arthritis to not only be hereditory (positive HLA B27) but also poor gut health this is something that makes sense to me and maybe if you consider it, to you as well? Diet must play a major factor in this disease...you are what you eat.

The nutritionist has started me taking Bovine Colostrum which is supposedly natures best kept secret...it helps moderate immune systems wether they be under or overactive.

Iam only a couple of weeks into this treatment but Iam willing to to try any natural products as they do no harm and frankly make a lot of sense.

As down as the disease makes us feel I believe if we keep plugging a way we will find things that help and Iam hoping this is one of them...watch this space.

2

Bovine colostrum also named Immuno gG

3

Please be careful. Most of it is digested immediately anyway. so aren't getting much for your money.Bovine Colustrom is great if you were a cow, as antibodies are generally very specific. The protiens used to make biologic drugs are either human sourced or humanized to avoid reactions. You are prolly not getting any with the tabs or cheese anyway. But there are a number of incidences of immune-deficient folk using bovine colustrum reported such as vomiting, abnormal liver function tests, and decreased red blood cells.

Its not a big secret..... Colostrum is the first breast milk produced. The benefits of breast feeding have been known for centuries. Kind of amazing the body naturally quits producing colostrum and starts making milk. Kind of make one wonder why natural types always want to go backwards and always sell their stuff in pills....

4

I used to take Immunical. It helped raise glutathione levels and was purported to sustain immune system health. It tasted terrible, though it did help me through a bad bronchitis year. I haven't taken it for years. It was expensive. Some with lung issues including pulmonary fibrosis were helped by this supplement. It did not do Anything for my PS at the time. I did not have a PsA flare then. I'm not certain if what you are taking is similar. Hope it helps.

5

Asparagus, avocado, and walnuts are also good sources of glutathione. Its a group protein its not part of the colostrum. It is good stuff, not sure what its connection to PsA would be though......

6

How long has your nutritionist being practicing medicine? And does she/he have a rheumatology degree? Does he or she specialize in any other medical practice? Where did he or she study and what was her or his thesis on? Has he or she any medcial fact behind what they are proividing as a service? When I can see what kind of experience this person has, where they have practiced and the kind of research they base this on I may be inclined to investigate this more. I will "watch this space" for your answer. I do want to know what they would give you if you were allergic to dairy, especially cow dairy or any kind of dairy in fact, human included.

7

Be careful Dave, don't let anyone talk you out of Rheumatology effectiveness! Go to someone who is not trying to sell you something, and get yourself straightened out, the results of the new biologic drugs are amazing, people who have suffered horribly for years, decades are getting results. The road to these biologics is usually through SZ and MX, taking around 6 months or so.

I have a truck load of all this health food store stuff, it has a place in our lives, but is NOT going to help you like the meds these specialists prescribe. Most of these people who are your Doctors, Rheumatologists, have been in College and med school for longer than a decade, with on-going education, their findings are based on clinical trials, tried and true patient results. We all wonder, but get past it, get the conspiracy theory out of your head and allow yourself to get better! The longer you stay in that zone the more damage from disease you are going to have, nothing in this world is going to reverse that.

Most insurance companies require you to start with Sulfasalazine, Methotrexate, You have to try these inexpensive drugs before you can get to the biologics, that is out of the mouth of my Dr. who is board certified in Internal medicine, Rheumatololy, college professor/ scientist. I had to BEG to get in with him, he is so busy!

All of us wish you the very best, please reconsider your position as to who is going to treat you, take the vitamins, but be careful, by all means listen to the specialist and take the meds, you are on the path, make sure it is the right one! I am on Enbrel, at 7 weeks it is starting to work, one day you wake up and you know it, and are elated!

8

Dave,

Immunomodulators certainly do exist, though there are probably ones that’s effects are better established. Look up the immunomodulatory role of Vitamin D, for example, and how recent research has shown it to be a hormone interacting with the HPA axis, rather than just a vitamin.

I really don’t think these can take the place of the serious rheumatology treatments - its like trying to move a mountain using a spoon!

9

I had no idea! Thank you for that great vit D info, are you one of our nurses?

10

Nope, just someone with a science background good at research. I’m 36 with a two year old with the greater contribution to our household salary, so when the disease hit like a Mack truck 6 months ago, I made it my business to find out about it :). Still plenty to learn though!

SK said:

I had no idea! Thank you for that great vit D info, are you one of our nurses?

11

I know it, the more I learn the more reverence I have for the medical/science community, any conspiracy theory wonderings get thrown right out the window! Just remembering all of this is astounding to me!

Love those two year olds! My great grandson is 2, he wanted to come today, I said maybe tomorrow! Runs my legs off, but I know I will be in motion, he is my best physical therapist,! LOL! OBTW it is never just for a day, and he never comes alone, we just had either him or the 9 year old grandson for 10 days straight, and I thought we would all be in the ER before they got home sick!!

I know about the Mack truck, believe me Jen! It will get better with the right med.

We have had such an influx of young people like you, and I am so sorry this has to knock you down so early in life, this is supposed to be for the old, but I come to believe in the genetic link if we look back we can see that this has been sneaking up on us a lot longer than we realize, just like it did our grandparents.

Come to us when you need to, there is almost always someone from somewhere in the world here, just reach out.

So nice to talk to you. Wishing you all the best, hug that baby for me!!

SK