I would like to tell you how I am doing now, even though on my first report two month ago I was 'booed' out of the arena by many.
I have been on 20 mg Prednison since March of this year and had extreme difficulties reducing. I received lots of advise from this site, but nothing worked and I still had painful arms in the mornings and chills in the evenings. I consulted a Homeopathic Doctor who was recommended by a friend with his own success story. After 2 long sessions of intense interviewing, a remedy was chosen (Causticum) and I dissolved one of the miniscule little pellets under my tongue.
I started reducing my Prednison by 1 mg every 5 to 7 days.
End of August I was down to 10 mg, end of September down to 5 mg, now I am down to 2 mg. Next Monday 1 mg and ( I hope) after that ZERO. All this time NO pains at all, no flare ups, no side effects. I only take a little pellet occasionally, so far only used 5.
I have been on long walks, I did my 3x a week Aerobics and free weights, I have lost 15 pounds with healthy eating ( 125 pounds now) and feel very normal. I am still a bit weaker than I was before PMR, but I am slowly building up my muscles again.
Some of you will react negatively to my report, some might even call me a liar or say it was just a placebo, and some have already said that their Homeopathic Doctor told them they could not help.
I guess it is the same as it is with traditional Doctors: some are good and some not so good.
All I can tell you that it is working for me.
P.S. I traded one of my paintings instead of paying with money.
Written by
km5yx7
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I think your news is fantastic! It's great when something works! I have GCA only and have a hard time tapering with success. Or not...lol. After 1 year starting at 60mg, having a concussion 5 mos later, ups & downs, I'm on my 2 last weeks of 25 & 22mg. After that down to 20 over a month. Wonder if I could take it and keep my taper schedule going at the same time, without speeding it up? Then again, I'm in line for Actemra... maybe I get to have it and maybe I don't, depends on price. Anyway, good for you!
That's right, km! And Actemra only helps in 52% of the people, but if you're one of the lucky ones, chances for GCA to reappear later are dropped in half. Prednisone has most of those side effects. And, our bodies can create any one of those side effects without us taking a pill. Preserving sight in the one eye I have left is my #1 priority. Me...the one who has led a chemical/additive free life probably 80% of the time. I get what you're saying! Still may have room in the plan for causticum. Thanks!
There is no " cure" for GCA/PMR but just as Homeopathic remedies help the symptoms and side effects for some and not others while on Steroid Therapy , Actemra can be an eye saver to some but not work for others too.
And everything has side effects , both Natural or Pharmacological.
I've been known to get acid reflux and Fatigue from a bad poetry night!
There is , as you say , room for all different combinations of Therapies , Drugs and Supplements in the Grand Plan for each of us , in our journey of managing GCA/ PMR. All individual to our personal needs .
Just because " It" works, or doesn't work, for one , doesn't mean it will have the same effect on others .
It's more important to remain positive , and be positive , about the possibilities we can try , and can be tried by others, and, not be scared by the possibilities of different treatments of all kinds because they may have had negative effects on some .
Whatever floats our boats and gets us through the Day , that's what important , and we should all be happy and respect people's choices , because all we really want is for all of our forum Faraway Friends to get success at getting better.
Hope that Actemra gives you the relief you need , and hoping it will eventually be available to me and bring me some relief too.
the right homeopath, mine is also a doctor and very knowledgable about food.He suggested I get this book: Nourishing Traditions--by Sally Fallon. Lots of good information in there.
I'm glad it's working for you! I tried every anti-inflammatory product and they didn't work. I guess they weren't strong enough to take care of the pain. This is how Causticum works: "Causticum for arthritis
- While there has not been much scientific research on the effects of causticum on arthritis, what little research has been done suggest that its anti-inflammatory properties on nerves, tendons and muscles could prove helpful with rheumatoid arthritis." You can find it at: healthline.com/health/caust...
I agree with some of the advice, I don't get the flu shot, nor the shingles but the tetanus shot can save your life. I'm allergic to most antibiotics but if I really need one, I will take the one that works for me. We must use common sense and not rely on our doctors all the time. I went to the chiropractor for a 3rd evaluation when I first developed PMR, and when no one knew what I had, and he told me not to take ANY medications. Well, if I followed his advice I would be stiffer than a board by now.
I am happy for you. I studied homeopathy in the 80’s and saw remarkable things. However, I must point out that Causticum is a remedy suited to you with your individual symptom picture. It would be no use for someone to buy that remedy for themselves in the hope that it would work for them too They would need a consultation with a homeopathic practitioner .
It is interesting that conventional medicine is moving closer to treating people with tiny quantities of what ails them to trigger the body into fighting it. It seems preferable to the heavy harmful chemicals we have to take to combat diseases. I hope science continues to explore the body’s potential for healing itself. 🦋 I hope your journey towards health continues positively and keep your open mind.
I think your ability to prophesy is pretty much nonexistent considering the replies you actually did get. I have never heard of causticum so I looked it up and can't find anything but its relative, which is lye, a caustic substance used to make soap and other industrial uses. One paper said the compound's recipe is a mystery so can't find it anywhere except on sites wanting to sell it but don't tell what it is made of.
Thank you for the link, which I read and have a thousand Q's to do a search on. Of course, you might remember that I have not heard of 'homeopathic medicine' before either so this is all new for me. P. S. Down to 12 mgs pred. today. Yay for today.
I don't support the use of homeopathy particularly - but I had a flatmate at uni who did mainstream medicine and much later homeopathy. Her civil engineer and very sceptical husband was convinced!
I didn't finish my reply, sorry. Anyway, the people here are quite happy about your success and are wonderful for that. Have to say, something with the word 'caustic' in it scares me off. I am having a taper too, although not very spectacular I'm afraid.
What brings on symptoms in a healthy person can-- in a very small dose-- treat an illness with similar symptoms. It will trigger the body's natural defenses.
Homeopaths ( plural of Homeopathic doctor) weaken these ingredients by adding water or alcohol, the mixture is shaken, a process called 'potentazation'.
This step might be repeated several times until only the essence ( the healing essence) is left.
The lower the dose the more powerful the remedy-( molecules of the original substance).
In my case Causticum was determent to be right for me.
Well, apparently homeopathic medications have been known to work for animals, so who am I to say they won't work for people. What I don't understand is how the water can take on the "shape" needed to combat disease, but then be shaken up in transport and sit on a shelf in a store and then be taken home by a person, and still retain the properties so carefully imparted to it. And what effect does the container itself have on the contents?
I really don't understand it myself. But then do we really understand how some of these other drugs we are taking work?
I am also more the kind of person who needs to see something to believe it.
But I was desperate enough to try it, since I had heard good (great) things about this Homeopathic Doctor. I am adverse to taking some of his other advise, like not taking antibiotics, since they saved my life at the time when I had Pneumonia.
These homeopathic treatments have worked on many people for over 150 years. For me it was and still is like a miracle. No pain, fast reducing of Prednison over just a few weeks and it's still working without taking anything else.
I am holding my breath to see how I will fare when I take NO Prednison next week. I will report on it after that.
I am not trying to convince anybody of going the same route, I just wanted to tell everybody
that there is hope for us with these conditions, even though it sure sounded depressing
when I was first diagnosed with PMR and joined this forum. I just wish that everybody could be as lucky as I am...so far. (knock on wood)
As we have little idea what causes PMR, we also don't really know what helps it out of our lives again. Thank you for sharing. If you are in terested in my own dabbling in alternative therapy have a look at my profile and read about low level light therapy.
It's not homeopathy but years ago I took Glucosamine for months with no effect. When my dog started getting arthritis I got the animal version and within a couple of weeks she wasn't limping. At first I thought she must have had a pulled muscle. Took her off it. Limping within a couple of days. Back on it no limp. I wish it had worked for me that way!
I have never had any problems with my joints before and during PMR.
But I have heard that taking Glucosamine as a preventive before the problems might start
is a good idea. My husband took them for a while, had trouble with his hip, and it helped. With a change of diet, also less sugar and more exercise---hence he has lost weight , feels better and we go for lots of hikes now. I am glad it works for pets, too.
Very interested in your success with homeopathy which I have used a lot in the past but had not considered with this condition. I will consult a local homeopath and see whether causticum might also suit me.
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