Research has been found that arthritis and other rheumatic conditions (AORC) are the primary cause of disability in the United States, with direct and indirect costs reaching over $116 billion--approximately 1.4 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product.
More than 38 million U.S. adults suffer from arthritis or other rheumatic conditions. Direct costs attributable to AORC were estimated at $51.1 billion, while outpatient, inpatient, prescription drug, and residual direct costs totaled $22.0 billion, $14.7 billion, $4.1 billion, and $6.5 billion, respectively.
The report highlights the need for state and local public health officials to create more self-management programs so that patients can achieve a higher quality of life while overall costs to the United States would be reduced.
Centers for Disease Control November 20, 2003
It’s most unfortunate that Americans are spending billions of dollars on drugs and surgeries to treat these conditions when the bottom line is that drugs and surgery are both terrible options for most of these patients as they in no way, shape or form solve the problem. If the problem is caught prior to permanent irreversible joint damage, neither therapy is needed.
Although I don't agree with most traditional medical approaches, at least most specialists occasionally provide authentically useful care. ER docs are great examples of course. However, I have never seen the need for rheumatologists, and I never refer any patients to them.
Since 1989 I have treated over 3,000 patients with RA and most have done quite well. In the early days I used antibiotics to treat what Dr. Brown believed to be an underlying mycoplasma infection. More recently, I have used a variety of natural therapies to help the person's body resolve the infection.
Interestingly, the recommended diet may be completely different for each person. Recently, I saw two severely crippled patients with RA who were on multiple pain meds, anti-inflammatories, prednisone, methotrexate and interferon.
They both received extensive emotional therapy and an individualized diet based on metabolic typing. Interestingly, one patient received a near vegetarian diet, and the other was told to eat plenty of fat and meat and very few vegetables.
At their two-month follow-up appointments, they both were off of nearly all their meds and were pain free. It was remarkable and convinced me that I had reached a new threshold in the plan for RA, as now most do not even need the antibiotics that I have used for the past 14 years.
So this study is ridiculous as neither drugs nor surgery are needed to preserve hand function. The only thing that is needed is to address the underlying cause of disease. If you know any patients with RA who are struggling with this devastating disease and they are seeking a real solution you would serve them well by contacting our office.
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