Some people, myself included, think Rheumatoid Arthritis and most autoimmune type diseases including Lupus, Scleroderma, Fibromylagia, Ect.are caused in some way or another by mycoplasma bacteria and can be treated with specific antibiotics.

Minocin is the antibiotic that I use, but there others that can be used plus other options for more stubborn cases including oral and IV Clindamycin or oral Zithromax to jumpstart treatment.

Dr Thomas Brown pioneered this treatment over 40 years ago when he discovered mycoplasma bacteria in the synovial fluid of RA patients and no bacteria in healthy patients. His original protocol (antibiotic protocol) was IV antibiotics twice daily for a week followed by oral tetracycline. Dr Brown treated over 10,000 patients with a very high success rate. The book The New Arthritis Breakthrough by Henry Scammell tells Dr Browns story and is available in most libraries.

I recommend anyone thinking about this treatment find a doctor experienced with the antibiotic therapy. Most Rheumatologists do not have the experience or desire to treat with this method especially the IV antibiotics that may be necessary. This treatment is not a one size fits all, it should be tailored to fit you. My original Rheumatologist humored me and wrote me a prescription to get started but he had no experience with this treatment and I dont think he wanted me to succeed. He told me it wouldnt work because I had RA too long. Right then I knew I had that doctor too long.

I dont recommend this, but I have been self treating myself for over a year without a doctors guidance. I use the philosophy that I have a bacterial infection and I treat it by enhancing and strengthening my immune system with an ovo-vegetarian diet high in raw and cooked vegetables and some supplements, and killing the bacteria with Minocin. This is the opposite of conventional thinking, but its working so far, we will see!

I have found a new doctor two hours from me that will treat me with antibiotics, believes in the treatment and uses it on himself for his RA. There are other doctors around the country using this treatment and a list is available.

I broke this journal down into months through April 2001 to give an idea of my progress. You can see a slow but steady improvement. From May forward I will be timely.

I acquired RA in Feb of 98 and began Minocin in Feb of 2000 on my 2 year RA anniversary.

Feb 2 2000

I started minocin 100mg x2 daily. I was already on Vioxx 50mg daily, Arava and prednisone 10mg daily. My condition was very bad at this time I was unable to function normally, I couldnt walk without crutches, or even lift a fork. I spent most of my time in bed and getting up to go to the bathroom took 10-20 minutes and a lot of cussing. My sed rate was around 80 at this time.

Feb 15 2000

I actually got worse, they call it the Jarisch- Herximer reaction. This happens when you have a immune system response to a die off of bacteria. This is normal and expected and even wanted as it shows the antibiotic is working. This lasted several days and then my pain returned to the previous level.

April 2000

I dropped Arava; it was making me ill and wasnt working very well if at all.

June 2000

My condition improved a little and I started reducing Prednisone. Changed my Minocin dosage from 100mg twice daily to 100mg twice-daily mon/wed/fri. This is known as a pulsing dose. I did this to minimize the possibility of side effects. I also went to my GP and had a liver enzyme test and my weight was at about 155lbs. I looked like a stick figure with huge knees.

July 2000

Im off prednisone this month. Wasnt easy those last couple MG

August 2000

I turned a corner and noticed a big improvement. I now notice Im not always in severe pain and I dont feel like blowing my brains out with my 45! My knees are still painful requiring crutches most of the time, and im still weak and stiff, but better. I dropped Vioxx and replaced it with 6 advil daily at the end of the month

Sept 2000

My knees arent swelled, first time in 2 years. In fact no swelling anywhere. I also notice my joints are not always warm. Knees still painful though and they both grind and pop and seem loose like the worn out ball joints on a 66 Buick. I still need crutches often l. Other pain has improved and I'm able to reduce to 4 advil daily. At this point Im really working on stretching and improving my range of motion. Also started doing weights with a free weight machine. 5 pounds bench pressing and 5 pounds curl. Im so weak and have no muscle tone, but I can now use a manual can opener!

Nov 2000

Still improving slowly. Able to open a jar of spaghetti with my bare hands! Knees are improving and I rarely use crutches. They have tightened up a bit too. I get comments on how good Im looking from family members and friends.

Dec 2000

I stayed pretty level, no changes. Still using weights daily

Jan 2001

Dropped to 2 Advil daily for pain, down from 4. Brain fog is much better I notice.

Feb 2001

I was able to bench press 105 pounds. I also began using a Nordic Trac.

March 2001

This was a big herximer month. I got worse, mostly my wrists and shoulders. I realize now that this was a classic Jarish- herximer reaction, but at the time it worried me and I started looking for an experienced doctor(which I found). After about 2 or 3 weeks I improved a huge amount. This is very common with antibiotic therapy, 1 step back and 2 steps forward. I upped my Advil during the herximer to 4 daily.

April 2001

Best month in 2 years. 3<sup>rd Saturday in April was a monumental day. I was able to work on my moms house replacing the siding. I removed and replaced about 250 board feet. I was swinging a hammer like days before RA. I thought I would pay dearly on Sunday, but 1 extra Advil took care of the aches. I also mowed the back yard twice this month at my house with a little self-propelled mower. RA pain level is almost 0, well if 0 was no pain and 10 was severe pain I would say I am at 1-2.

I added Zyflamend, an herbal anti-inflammatory; we will see how this works. My knees continue to improve and now Im thinking maybe I dont need those replacements quite yet. Also I notice my joints are never warm.

My current meds are Minocin 200mg 3 times a week, Advil 1 am 1 pm and Zyflamend 1 am 1 pm, I also take glucosamine, flax oil, and a whole food supplement called Perfect Food.

May 7, 2001

I went to my appointment to see my new doctor, (This is the reason for doing this journal) a doctor that prescribes oral and IV antibiotics for himself (he has RA) as well as his patients. But as luck would have it he was still out, not yet back from his hip replacement surgery.

I saw a nice female doctor, I guess his partner, who apologized for that and did the basics, weight (Im up to 193,gained a little when I quit smoking), and blood pressure. Upon reading my new patient questionnaire she said oh your one of those on Minocin, thats becoming popular I said yes for 15 months. She looked at the medication section again and said Advil? Thats all you take? I said yes 1-2 a day. She said no prednisone or anything else? I said no not for 8 months or more. She said wow, your doing really well. I said yes, better than I have in a long time. She said I probably wouldnt need IV antibiotics as I was doing so well. I asked for, and she wrote me, a new script for 90 100mg Minocycline pelleted to get me by and said to come back in a couple weeks when my doctor was back at the office for a thorough exam and blood tests. He was the expert on arthritis and she didnt want to pay for tests that I might not need(I dont have insurance). She didnt charge for the visit either which was nice.

June 1, 2001

A couple things have happened since my last update.

First, my doctor called me yesterday and told me he will be ready to work in two weeks (hip replacement) and wanted to see me. He asked how I was feeling (I said great) and reminded me his arthritis was gone and wanted me to achieve remission as well (I love his attitude). He gave me his cell number and told me to call in a couple weeks to set up an appointment. I can tell this guy really cares about his arthritis patients.

I started walking up stairs more or less like a normal person instead of leading with my good right knee and dragging the left behind one step at a time. Im still not ready to walk down the stairs that way though. I also can keep up with the self-propelled mower at regular speed; I used to slip the clutch a bit to keep up. I am starting to walk all the time flexing my left knee sort of like a normal person without thinking instead of having to remind myself to do it. It totally amazes me my knees are doing so good.

I started getting serious about yoga and my sister the yoga instructor is teaching me new moves I need a lot of work in the area of flexibility. I have been able to get up and down off the floor unassisted with knee power alone after a session without using a chair or any furniture. I used to have this fear of falling and not being able to get up, but I dont feel that way anymore.

July 10, 2001

I can't believe its been so long since my last post. Guess time flies when your having fun. I started school and had to do things to get ready for that.

I was thinking that I will tell you what I did this last weekend and you be the judge on how well i am doing right now. Ok, I have to say it, I built a deck. I just love to say that! Ok, its only 9x 12 but I still impressed myself and my family too. Friday I poured the footings and attached the ledger board to the house with lag bolts. Saturday I went to school from 8am till 1pm and when i got back we went to Lowe's and bought lumber, then I framed it and did 1/4 of the decking. Sunday I finished the decking and half the railing. Today I finished the railing. I had help digging the holes for the footings and carrying the lumber and that's about it. I mixed the concrete, I drove in every nail, and cut every board. Its pre RA since I have been able to do this much hard work. And, no pay back the next day, I felt fine each morning when I got up after all that work. So, it seems like I'm continuing to improve.

September 23, 2001

I started Minocin 200mg daily in February 2000 and at that time my RF factor was tested at 400 and my sed rate was 80. I recall the pain I was in and the despair I felt because the meds the rheumy gave me weren't working. I felt like they were making me sicker and sicker with no positive outcome likely. I also remember him telling me minocin wouldn't work, but he wrote me a prescription anyway to humor me. I never went back after that, I don't want to have to fight with a doctor of all people to get my health back. I found ways to get Minocin and kept going as my own doctor. I recently found a new doctor that supports me. He uses a combination of Minocin and Flagyl and a antifungal(the name escapes me). He says 100% of his male patients and a slightly less percentage of females respond, many get remission with this combo. I will stick to Minocin only because last weeks blood tests showed my RF at 36 (down from 400) and my sed rate at 2 (down from 80). For the most part my RA is gone at this time. I require no nsaids, not even Advil anymore. I have no swelling, inflammation, warm joints, or morning stiffness. I'm currently only taking Minocin 100mg daily and thats the only medication I am on. I feel simply fantastic with limitless energy. I guess if I can get the RF factor below 20 I will technically be in remission.

December 30, 2001

Well its update time. No real news, still doing fantastic. I have little or no sign of RA and in fact have improved since my last post. Im continuing to gain strength in all my joints and my problem joints, my right wrist and knees, have continued to improve. Im still on Minocin 100mg daily and following faithfully the diet I have been on for almost two years which is vegetarian natural raw foods type, no dairy, or processed foods. I believe this diet has helped the Minocin work better and the combination has exceeded my expectations. I dont know if it will work forever, but my arthritis has simply disappeared. If my labs still look good when I have them done in the next month or two I will probably reduce the Minocin dosage to 5 days a week.

February 19, 2002

August 12, 2002

Still doing fantastic even better than my last post. I have no disease activity at all, no pain, swelling or warm joints since my last update. Just completed an 800 foot horse fence with no difficulty except my left knee complained sometimes, but a lot of walking was involved and it has previous damage. I lost some weight, about 10 pounds, and I gained muscle and strength. For the first time since RA have somewhat impressive biceps. My BP, which was high, has become normal to high normal without the need for BP meds. I reduced my Minocin dosage to 100mg 3 days a week about a month ago with no effect on my remission. I feel absolutely fantastic.

April 2003

Its been a long time since updating. Really nothing has changed. Im still in remission and in fact doing better than ever. I currently take Minocin 100mg mon/wed/fri, though I do forget often because theres no RA to remind me.

I am currently adding on to the fence I built last summer which will enclose about 1 additional acre. I notice I am stronger and can do more work than last year. After 6 or 7 hours of constant walking and standing my knees do get sore, and after digging 7 or 8 post holes my wrists get a little sore, but its hard digging and theres a lot of slamming the tools into the hard Georgia dirt. I really cant complain about minor pain considering what I am able to do and how much more normal my life is now.

I still follow my diet and have made no changes with it.

Gary