A Case Report of a 53-Year-Old Female with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoporosis: Focus on Lab Testing and CAM Therapies

Summary

In this case, the patient presented with inflammatory arthritis of almost seven years’ duration. She described the pain in her hands, wrists, and elbows as frequently unbearable, rating it 8/10 to 10/10, with 10 being the highest level of pain. Kara Fitzgerald, ND

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A Case Report of a 53-Year-Old Female with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoporosis: Focus on Lab Testing and CAM Therapies. Alternative Medicine Review. 2011.

Details

A 53-year-old female presented with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis. Additional conditions and symptoms included Raynaud syndrome, fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome-associated constipation (IBS-C), gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), menopausal symptoms, chronic urinary tract and upper respiratory infections, and weight gain.

Despite the debilitating pain, she had discontinued three prescribed medications – hydroxychloroquine, methotrexate, and prednisone – against medical advice, because she experienced intolerable side effects, including reflux, alopecia, and severe photosensitivity. An initial comprehensive laboratory evaluation identified IgG4 food-specific antibodies, essential fatty acid and amino acid imbalances, nutrient and essential element deficiencies, and dysbiosis, in addition to elevated antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and high sensitivity c-reactive protein (hs-CRP).

After one year of therapy, the patient experienced significant resolution of all subjective symptoms and was able to discontinue her medications. ANA and rheumatoid factor (RF) levels had normalized, indicating clinical remission of arthritis. She also experienced improvement in bone density, 30 pounds of weight loss, and improvements in sleep and menopausal symptoms.

- Published in Alternative Medicine Review