Alternative treatment for WG

[stephwest]

Hi all.
Has anybody investigated alternatives to drugs.
Including:
Herbal
Holistic
Homeopathy
Acupuncture
Diet
Acupressure
Meditation
Yoga
or any other?

Please post any info good or bad.

All best
stephwest

:confused1:

[annekat]

The consensus on here seems to be that some of these things can help us, for sure, but that is very dangerous to try to treat ourselves for Wegs using alternative therapies in place of our standard medical treatment. You can probably find quite a few threads on this subject by doing some searches. There will be opinions on both sides of the issue.

[pberggren1]

Bottom line is: Wegs is autoimmune and so far there is not alternative to the rtx, chemo and steroids to treat Wegs.

[pberggren1]

But, that does not say that things like chiro and accupuncture and certain herbs cannot help. I go see a chiro at least every 2 weeks. I would not want to live without a chiro. But with herbs, one has to be under the careful care of a good naturopathic doc.

[annekat]

Diet is also important in helping reduce the inflammation in our bodies, along with our standard meds. There have been quite a few threads on diet, including some recent ones, which can also be searched. I would think a person in a drug-free remission might benefit greatly from an anti-inflammatory diet and some of these other things and it could reduce chances of a flare and needing to go back on the meds. But as Phil says, there are things to be careful of, one of which is herbs that stimulate the immune system, and his advice to consult a good Naturpathic doc is very valid, I'm sure. Also, any of these things that reduce stress, such as yoga, chiropractic, anything that relieves tensions in the body or mind, is sure to help. Unfortunately, there seem to be few of us in drug free remission, so anything we do would be in conjunction with our meds.

[DJS]

Any alternatives?

death!

[stephwest]

But, that does not say that things like chiro and accupuncture and certain herbs cannot help. I go see a chiro at least every 2 weeks. I would not want to live without a chiro. But with herbs, one has to be under the careful care of a good naturopathic doc.

Hi Phil, can I ask what you are going to a chiro for every 2 weeks is it muscle weakening? or bone related thanks

[pberggren1]

The chiro treatments are mainly for just a tune up. But I started seeing a chiro weekly back in 2010 when my coughing was extremely bad due to the Mycobacterium Abscessus Lung Disease I had. The coughing put the ribs out of alignment and I could barely walk one day so I decided I better start seeing a chiro if I didn't want to live in extreme pain and wanted to walk again. I also have a slight curvature to my spine that needs correction as well. Everyone should go see a chiro at least once a month just for tune up. Would you let your car go over 3 months without an oil change?

[gilders]

Firstly if somebody has active/flare/relapse WG then I would never advise against medication.
As for periods of remission then I would recommend anything that you personally believe in. The reason being is that, in my opinion, the mind can be a strong tool.
When I was initially diagnosed I was told that I wouldn't leave the hospital alive. The hospital chaplain visited me everyday and could not believe my positive attitude. The truth is I felt like a fraud. I wasn't being mentally strong and positive, I was 17 and just didn't accept that I was going to die. Maybe it was naivety, but in my mind I would survive and I did. Now, obviously, without the drugs no matter what my mind thought, I wouldn't have survived.
Conversely, when I've been more stressed than usual I've had relapses. As stress is a mental state I think it somewhat shows that your mind can also turn against you.

I can also be argued that voodoo only works on people that believe in it, i.e. it's all in the mind. Therefore if you think any of the alternative treatments will work, then chances are they will because your mind controls more than just thoughts and memories IMO.

[mishb]

The chiro treatments are mainly for just a tune up. But I started seeing a chiro weekly back in 2010 when my coughing was extremely bad due to the Mycobacterium Abscessus Lung Disease I had. The coughing put the ribs out of alignment and I could barely walk one day so I decided I better start seeing a chiro if I didn't want to live in extreme pain and wanted to walk again. I also have a slight curvature to my spine that needs correction as well. Everyone should go see a chiro at least once a month just for tune up. Would you let your car go over 3 months without an oil change?


I have never been to one and don't plan to start going now :sad:
My husband goes occasionally for back and neck troubles but they are very expensive and I just can't afford it

[Wegetarian]

I would think that a healthy diet, meditation, yoga and excercise would be good additions to the meds. Not sure about the others, I don't know enough about them to have a valid opinion.

Woodo for wegs... that sounds interesting... we could put pins for all our affected areas in the voodoo dolls and if all else fails we could at least rise again as zombies. Glad to see you posting again gliders! I hope you feel a bit better :)

[D.B.]

consulted dr who practices eastern medicine. process was quite interesting basically she made different teas to address issues. lik ones for anti-inflammatory, nausea, sleep issues, pain, pms (which makes it all so worse).
also she was able to provide lists of good foods and thosr to avoid. for me , she is very important part of my overall well being. 1 hr visits whete we tslk (shes amazing listener), and then go into apothecary to make teas. sometimes i make my own. some teas dont work at all! like the one that gve me crazy dreams. just b sure you check w rheumy before introducing anything new to your treatment.

[Auntie TooToo]

Same here .... would not want to think how life would be without my chiro & massage therapist. I go every 2 weeks for adjustment and massage; sometimes sneak in appointment in between depending on pain level.