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An alternative to steroids?

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 9:15 am
by peanutchelle
Hi. I'm wondering if anyone has had experiences with treatments other than steroids for relapses. My girlfriend has MS. She recently started physical therapy and is having problems with leg numbness during the therapy. It's like the PT is making her worse rather than better. She's been on prednisone previously but doesn't want to go back on it. Have any of you used other medications/preparations with success in treating the inflammatory symptoms? I've started reading about Boswellia and Korean angelica and thought they might be worth a shot (after discussing with the doctor, of course). Has anyone tried accupuncture? We're both new to this and I'm feeling rather helpless so I am just looking for direction/advice/opinions.
Thanks everyone!

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 9:36 am
by Artifishual
Pnut I am not to familar with the alternative treatments but I am familiar with the steroids. I hope she finds a good treatment that helps her. As for me when I have a flare up it seems to be the standard practice. Maybe someone with a little more know will post up about the other treatments. Good luck and I hope she starts feeling better soon.
BTW is she taking any of the CRabS ? I have had good luck w/ Rituxan for my RRMS but it is hard to get. She needs to talk to her Dr. about these treatments. Later Arti

Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 4:08 am
by gibbledygook
I find that high dose curcumin from turmeric is almost like steroids. However I'm not taking any doctor's instruction on this and just going on what seems to work. I am taking liver function tests as a precaution. Boswellia and other herbs used in ayurvedic medicine are worth exploring. I am also taking boswellia which like curcumin is hard to get into the system. I've just added bioperine which is basically black pepper and is said to aid the digestion of nutrients by doing something to the digestive tract. Maybe this will make the curcumin and boswellia seem even more effective than they already SEEM to be. Good luck.

Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 5:26 am
by jimmylegs
heya pc, does the PT gets her core temp up much? if it does, it might increase numbness for a while, but i wouldn't say that it means it is making her worse. i swim and it does mess me up, but it's passing and i think it does more good than harm. in fact i don't think it does any harm - it's just the body temperature temporarily affecting nerve conductivity.

i've been dxd since jan 2006 and i haven't ever had steroids or drugs or anything i'd call a proper flare since then, so i can't really advise on how to treat relapse per se... sorry can't be of more help there :S

Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 1:40 pm
by DIM
Curcumin (taken with bioperin, choline, quercetin or other enzyme) helps a lot as Gingko Biloba injections and high doses (more than 500mg) oral pycnogenol which decreases BBB permeability that plays important role during inflammations!

Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 2:12 pm
by peanutchelle
Thank you all for your replies!

jimmylegs ~ how long is "a while"? She was still having decreased feeling in her feet more than 8 hours after PT.

gibbledygook ~ why the liver function tests? Is curcumin metabolized in the liver?

DIM ~ what is BBB permeability?

Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 2:27 pm
by DIM
BBB=blood brain barrier where Th cells pass and attack myelin.
gibbledygook believes curcumin will increase his liver enzymes but as I told him in other thread it works the opposite, enhances liver function and cleans liver as silybum, liquorice, dandelion root etc do.
Fatty acids (omega 3) have potent anti-iflammatory properties but you should take them in high quantities to act like this, say more than 10gr EPA + DHA per day.

Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 2:38 pm
by jimmylegs
hey there, no worries :)

well i'd say numbness from exertion should probably only be annoying until your temp gets back down. 8 hours sounds like a pretty long time to cool down for sure!

i'll jump in for dim since i'm here, just to get it started :)

from what i've gathered to date...

bbb = blood brain barrier. it's supposed to separate your central nervous system from the rest of your bloodstream. if it's letting too much random stuff from your bloodstream into your cerebrospinal fluid, you have a permeable bbb. inflammation time. so you want to toughen it up, decrease its permeability.

dim will be able to elaborate on how gingko, quercetin, curcumin and the rest support BBB integrity. :)

peace

Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 2:38 pm
by jimmylegs
LOL! DIM you were right on it faster than i, good one :)

Re: An alternative to steroids?

Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 10:54 pm
by NHE
Here's some information from the Healthnotes website on Curcumin...
  • The active constituent is known as curcumin. It has been shown to have a wide range of therapeutic actions. First, it protects against free radical damage because it is a strong antioxidant.1 2 Second, it reduces inflammation by lowering histamine levels and possibly by increasing production of natural cortisone by the adrenal glands.3 Third, it protects the liver from a number of toxic compounds.4 Fourth, it has been shown to reduce platelets from clumping together, which in turn improves circulation and may help protect against atherosclerosis.5 There are also test-tube and animal studies showing a cancer-preventing action of curcumin. In one of these studies, curcumin effectively inhibited metastasis (uncontrolled spread) of melanoma (skin cancer) cells.6 This may be due to its antioxidant activity in the body. Curcumin inhibits HIV in test tubes, though human trials are needed to determine if it has any usefulness for treating humans with this condition.7

    A preliminary trial in people with rheumatoid arthritis found curcumin to be somewhat useful for reducing inflammation and symptoms such as pain and stiffness.8 A separate double-blind trial found that curcumin was superior to placebo or phenylbutazone (an NSAID) for alleviating post-surgical inflammation.9

    While a double-blind trial has found turmeric helpful for people with indigestion,10 results in people with stomach or intestinal ulcers have not shown it to be superior to a placebo and have demonstrated it to be less effective than antacids.11 12

    Preliminary research indicates a possible benefit of oral curcumin supplementation (375 mg of turmeric extract with 95% curcuminoids three times daily for 12 weeks) for chronic anterior uveitis (inflammation of the iris and middle coat of the eyeball).13

    Some herbal books recommend not taking high amounts of turmeric during pregnancy as it may cause uterine contractions and people with gallstones or obstruction of bile passages should consult their healthcare practitioner before using turmeric.15 16

    References
    1. Sreejayan N, Rao MNA. Free radical scavenging activity of curcuminoids. Arzneimittelforschung 1996;46:169–71.

    2. Ramirez-Boscá A, Soler A, Gutierrez MAC, et al. Antioxidant curcuma extracts decrease the blood lipid peroxide levels of human subjects. Age 1995;18:167–9.

    3. Arora RB, Basu N, Kapoor V, Jain AP. Anti-inflammatory studies on Curcuma longa (turmeric). Ind J Med Res 1971;59:1289–95.

    4. Kiso Y, Suzuki Y, Watanbe N, et al. Antihepatotoxic principles of Curcuma longa rhizomes. Planta Med 1983;49:185–7.

    5. Srivastava R, Dikshit M, Srimal RC, Dhawan BN. Anti-thrombotic effect of curcumin. Thromb Res 1985;40:413–7.

    6. Menon LG, Kuttan R, Kuttan G. Anti-metastatic activity of curcumin and catechin. Cancer Lett 1999;141:159–65.

    7. Barthelemy S, Vergnes L, Moynier M, et al. Curcumin and curcumin derivatives inhibit Tat-mediated transactivation of type 1 human immunodeficiency virus long terminal repeat. Res Virol 1998;149:43–52.

    8. Deodhar SD, Sethi R, Srimal RC. Preliminary studies on antirheumatic activity of curcumin (diferuloyl methane). Ind J Med Res 1980;71:632–4.

    9. Satoskar RR, Shah SJ, Shenoy SG. Evaluation of anti-inflammatory property of curcumin (diferuloyl methane) in patients with postoperative inflammation.Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther Toxicol 1986;24:651–4.

    10. Thamlikitkul V, Bunyapraphathara N, Dechatiwongse T, et al. Randomized double-blind study of Curcuma domestica Val for dyspepsia. J Med Assoc Thai 1989;72:613–20.

    11. Van Dau N, Ngoc Ham N, Huy Khac D, et al. The effects of traditional drug, turmeric (Curcuma longa), and placebo on the healing of duodenal ulcer. Phytomedicine 1998;5:29–34.

    12. Kositchaiwat C, Kositchaiwat S, Havanondha J. Curcuma longa Linn in the treatment of gastric ulcer comparison to liquid antacid: A controlled clinical trial. J Med Assoc Thai 1993;76:601–5.

    13. Lal B, Kapoor AK, Asthana OP, et al. Efficacy of curcumin in the management of chronic anterior uveitis. Phytotherapy Res 1999;13:318–22.

    14. Foster S. 101 Medicinal Herbs. Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 1998, 200–1.

    15. Blumenthal M, Busse WR, Goldberg A, et al. (eds). The Complete Commission E Monographs: Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines. Boston, MA: Integrative Medicine Communications, 1998, 222.

    16. McGuffin M, Hobbs C, Upton R, et al. American Herbal Products Association Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1997, 39.
NHE

Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 2:47 am
by gibbledygook
I take 800mg of the life extension pills every 2 hours! This is a very LARGE quantity and that's why I'm having liver function tests - just in case. I realise now that when I started taking this dose 2 weeks ago I also started taking boswellia. The dose of this for me is NOW (started with less and built up)746mg of the source naturals brand and 450mg of the life extension 5-loxi brand. So maybe it's the combination of boswellia and high doses of curcumin which is having this steroid like action.... :oops: