Have you stopped your Arthritis Medication because of diet & exercise?

ashleymcn01
ashleymcn01 Posts: 108 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Long story short, I lost 40 lbs and back in 2016 I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. I have kept the weight off, and my RA has been in remission for nearly a year. I'm wondering if anyone has gotten off of their RA medication, I'm currently on Plaquenil, without any relapse simply by eating a healthy diet and exercise.

I am mostly a plant based eater, rarely any processed foods or meats, and with my RA appointment coming up next month, I'm just curious if anyone has told their doctor they are getting off their meds. I've read stories where people have reversed their autoimmune disease simply by diet and exercise, is it really possible? I've also read much research that states if you get off of RA medication, the disease will come back. Has anyone experienced this before? My doctor will obviously tell me that it will come back if I do stop.

I'm not looking for medical advice, just if any of you have successfully gotten off of your RA medication without relapse. I would love to hear your story!

Replies

  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
    I would listen to my doctor. If you haven't talked to them about this before, I'm not sure why you'd assume they'd automatically tell you to stay on the meds. If they do, have a discussion about why they believe the arthritis will flare, and push until you're satisfied with the answer one way or the other. TBH, there are so many chronic diseases that go into full remission with proper medication and lifestyle changes, and we often feel well enough in the moment to believe the meds are no longer necessary (thyroid for me), but in reality it's the combination of the two that keeps the issue under control.

    If you do decide to go off your meds, be vigilent for the return of symptoms and get on top of them before you have to start over from ground zero. Best of luck!
  • bgeorgie13
    bgeorgie13 Posts: 10 Member
    ashleymcn01, some good advice from mph323!

    My story is not a success story, but hopefully it helps you in some way.

    I have seropositive RA with the first symptoms starting in 2016 but RA not actually diagnosed until 2018. Upon diagnosis, I was put on Methotrexate & Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil). My disease activity got really low after a few weeks of starting the meds but I had also completely changing my diet at the same time (no highly processed foods and refined sugars, very little wheat and dairy).

    I was already a healthy weight and exercising regularly, as well as doing my best to keep my stress levels in check so I thought it must have been the diet that worked rather than the meds kicking in so quickly. My thinking was that there's something I still ate that meant the symptoms did not fully go away so I decided to try an elimination diet that has proven to be successful in some RA cases.

    When I consulted my Dr about my plan, he told me he wouldn't be so worried if I only stopped the meds for a few weeks, but concerned about the inflammation and damage that would occur if I was not going to take them for a couple of months or more.

    Two weeks before the diet I decided to stop all medication anyway, so that the response to food wouldn't be dampened by it. All was good until about 3 weeks into the diet, when pain and stiffness levels increased from 1 out of 10 to 3 & 4 out of 10) - at first I thought I reacted to a food but most likely the medication is getting out of my system, hence the worsening of the symptoms.

    Whatever you decide, make sure you are well informed of the risks.

    Would you mind letting us know how you are getting on? Good luck!
  • ashleymcn01
    ashleymcn01 Posts: 108 Member
    Thanks to you both for the feedback. Chances are I won't stop the medication. I wanted to seek out others that had tried to get off their meds and see what the results were, but if getting off has a higher chance of pain and inflammation coming back, it just makes more sense to stay on. I just hate the havoc it creates on my immune system and I know it's due to the RA meds.

    But would I rather have grapefruit sized knees, ankles and wrists or take a bit longer to get over a cold, I'll take the cold I think!

Categories