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Partner Sick Too - Autoimmune Help!

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Posted 12/17/2020 12:04 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, all. Tough times in my household right now.

As you know, I have been sick for nearly five years, to varying degrees. Now my partner seems to have developed psoriatic arthritis, which is autoimmune, and debilitating when it flares. Frankly, we have a kid and a house, and both of us just can't be debilitated regularly. I'm hoping that someone can give me guidance about alternative treatments and the best books and websites for information. (We consider the immunosuppressant biologics to be a last resort.) No one in his family has any autoimmune illnesses of any kind (and he has nine siblings) and he has none of the risk factors.

I should add that he has not had blood work done yet - just agonizing joint pain that flares along with psoriasis. The psoriasis (on his scalp right above his neck) began a few months after he began chiropractic treatment for neck issues. Now his hands are very painful, and small psoriatic lesions have developed there as well. His sacroiliac area also hurts a great deal. This all got much worse when the pandemic started and he began to take immunity-boosting supplements. He stopped those supplements a couple of months ago, but is no better yet.

He's already doing the following:
Aloe vera and Oregon grape on psoriasis patches
Epsom salts baths
Magnesium glycinate
Glucosamine
DHA+EPA
Gluten-free diet
Whole foods organic diet
Healthy fats
Daily meditation
Stretching and physical therapy
Curcumin
St. John's wort and 5HTP for depression
Daily walks and time outdoors
Ergonomic work habits
Tons of fermented foods
Penetrex
CBD (ingested oil form and topical balm)
Trauma release exercise (TRE)
Vitamin D
Intermittent fasting (all meals eaten in a six-hour span)

Other health issues:
Canker sores
Broken tailbone two years ago
Seasonal affective disorder
Stress from having a partner with Lyme ;)

Please tell me where to go from here. One of us has to be okay!
Posted 12/17/2020 1:00 AM (GMT 0)
Sara,

So sorry your family is going through so much, especially at this time of year. I would definitely get proper testing before assuming it’s an autoimmune disease.

Did anything happen prior to the beginning of his issues - accident, illness, surgery, trigger event?

Is there a Functional MD he could see since you don’t want traditional treatment?
Posted 12/17/2020 1:33 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, WBF. Thanks for the sympathy. I know you understand a household in which everyone has health issues. smile

Isn't psoriasis always an autoimmune disease? I keep reading that having it carries a 40% chance of developing related joint problems. I definitely want for him to have testing done, since it seems wise to have an autoimmune disease in one's medical chart, just in case. We know some functional medicine doctors in our new town but no one impressive; still, they could run the tests. We're just not comfortable having indoor blood work done until the pandemic risk is lower.

He always had some neck pinches here and there, but it got much worse soon after I got sick. Chiropractic treatment made it worse for a while, and seemed to trigger to first psoriasis patch, but he stuck with it for a couple of years. Craniosacral therapy helped more. The sacroiliac joint issues started when he broke his tailbone while ice skating a couple of years ago. It healed fine but the pain flares with pain elsewhere. The hand issues began in the past few months, following pandemic stress, unique work stress, and the use of immune-boosting supplements. He'd had little tastes of the hand pain when he got especially gnarly chiropractic adjustments, but not otherwise, until recently. Never swelling. Never just one sore joint. Our craniosacral therapist is taking precautions we feel comfortable with, and she was able to help pull him out of a flare about a month ago, but he's in bad shape again already.

I really hope to get some pointers from folks here, since so many people with Lyme have autoimmune or auto-inflammatory processes going on. And of course there's an okay chance my partner has Lyme! Either from me or from one of his two known tick bites, asymptomatic and treated with brief doxy. So I'm thinking he should fire up the Buhner protocol and see what happens.
Posted 12/17/2020 2:15 AM (GMT 0)
"No one in his family has any autoimmune illnesses of any kind (and he has nine siblings) and he has none of the risk factors."

-Well, thats good. Autoimmune ran in my mothers side and I had several genes for it via 23andMe tests- and specific antibodies.

Does he have RA or ANA antibodies? Was he Dx'ed from a Dr who is familiar with psoriasis? Oh wait, looks like covid has delayed that for you..............

"Isn't psoriasis always an autoimmune disease?" - Its thought to be, but not certain since they have not found one specific antibody for it. I would guess that sometimes it it and sometimes not. Skin candida can look similar sometimes.

Ive known three people with it (bad) and they did not have pain. Obviously the two can be unrelated.

Im just thinking outloud here...........

SI joints have very little movement. So little that its controversial in conventional medicine, yet (not surprising) chiros can adjust it. THEY DO MOVE!!!

My SI was stuck out of place for a long time, a chiro could snap it in place (not easy!) but it took quit some to to remain in place. After months of chiro, It became so loose and unstable at one point that rolling over in bed would move it, that was actually good.

I did several common bridging floor exercises for about one year for it during and after the "chiro time" , so common they are on you tube. There are self SI adjustments shown on you tube also. Via the you tube comments- some had success, some didnt. I tried but was very stiff/stuck, I needed a chiro.

After lyme my body is certainly calmer more relaxed. And as Ive wrote about, - I eat per Mediator Response Testing diet results. How much that helps depends on individual. One antibody normalized and one ten year old tumor dissolved, so yes, I have less blood and tissue inflammation now.

I never tried Low Dose Nexaralin (oops spelling), but wanted too. It can mess with thyroid which mine is managable now so dont want to wreck a good thing.
Posted 12/17/2020 2:32 AM (GMT 0)
Agree with astroman on LDN - often used for autoimmune. Very little downside to trying. It took 5 wks before i noticed some pain relief and I’m only on .5 mg. I have what i think are si joint issues (low back & hips are very painful). I do have positive ANA but no autoimmune illness diagnosed.
Posted 12/17/2020 2:44 AM (GMT 0)
The one diet I never tried- Keto.

If I knew about it five years ago, while all he// was still breaking loose with my health, id have given it a try. DCD's recent posts about keto got my attention.
Posted 12/17/2020 8:20 AM (GMT 0)
I'm working a lot on getting out of fight or flight and the massage gun has been great for that. My girlfriend has also noticed that she gets a lot calmer after she uses it. I think it’s a great thing to buy when both are sick, as you get more out of it. It's easy to use on yourself to relax, but also nice to use on each other to reach some areas you cant by yourself.
When the body is in fight or flight a lot of the systems in the body aren't prioritized, and don’t work as well. Meditation, yoga, etc also helps with this, but I have found the massage gun to be the most effective and easier to do.

IR-sauna is also great, but a lot more expensive. Ours is very small and only 1 meter in diameter.
https://www.luxway.se/bastu-infraroed-foer-1-person/bastu-jade-singel-rund.html

There is also so much extra stress this year with Covid that I think most underestimate how it affects them. Other things I can recommend to experiment with, is finishing showers on the coldest. But just start with a bit colder than normal to build up the tolerance. And walking barefoot (earthing)

As you wrote Seasonal affective disorder, SAD light might be something to try also. I never used mine that much when I bought it over 10 years ago, and when I tested it this year, it didnt turn on sad

Post Edited (Deep_sleep) : 12/17/2020 1:44:25 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 12/17/2020 9:17 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, saraeli:

Well, like the other commenters, I'm very sorry to hear of your partner's psoriatic arthritis. That has to be absolutely miserable for him. Of course, it affects everyone else in the house, too.

If it's of any interest to you, I have an audio copy of the following book:

The Autoimmune Solution: Prevent and Reverse the Full Spectrum of Inflammatory Symptoms and Diseases
by Amy Myers, MD
https://www.amzn.com/b00k53d3ni
https://www.amymyersmd.com
https://www.youtube.com/c/amymyersmd/videos

That's a bold title, font aside, but maybe she can back up the proclamation.

I also have a 146 page supplemental PDF that accompanies the audio book and contains symptom trackers, graphics referenced during the reading of the audio book, checklists, recipes, various lists (supplements, websites, etc.), information about testing, heavy metals, chelation, mold, biological dentistry, root canals, cavitations, detoxifying the home, sleep, resources, and more. Basically, it's the most important stuff a person would need,if listening to the audio version of the book.

If you'd like to listen to the audio book and view the supplemental PDF, please e-mail me. I just enabled my e-mail for you, should you need it. Or, if you received my e-mail from November 4th, you can respond to it.

Otherwise, I wish your partner success in finding someone/something helpful. And, I wish the best for your entire family.
Posted 12/17/2020 12:23 PM (GMT 0)
Hey saraeli,

I'm very sorry to hear about this. Yes it is definitely autoimmune. It is a t-cell disease, which is the reason why there are no antibodies for it. It's the other half of the humoral immune system (cell-mediated) that doesnt use antibodies.

My brother has it. He also has been having problems with his sacroiliac joint specifically. He's been to lots of orthopedists and physical therapists for about 7y, all because of his SI joint, and they keep telling him its mechanical...lots of theories about you pulled this, or the cartilage is wearing away, or you walk wrong...even though I've been saying all along that it is autoimmune and related to his disease.

T-cell diseases are inflammatory. I would explore a strict elimination diet, and def try keto. Limit stress. Try to figure out if he has any exposures that could be causing inflammation, like mold or lyme. I would stay off any immune stimulatory herbs. LDN is also worth trying. The treatment for this is going to be similar to lyme...its all about the immune system and limiting triggers.

My brother uses Cosentyx and it works very well for him. The good news is the cytokine inhibitors work great for this type of thing when you find the right one, and they are less harsh than some of the other biologics, as they are very targeted to a specific cytokine without shutting off a large part of the immune system like some of the other biologics do.

There are also at home light sets you can use. I cant recall if its UVB or which light specifically is good for it, but google will know.

This type of thing can go into remission if you play your cards right, but that requires lifestyle changes. Again, remember, its inflammatory. Figure out if there is a trigger. Diet is usually the first place to start.
Posted 12/17/2020 3:07 PM (GMT 0)
Per google: "What kind of drug is Cosentyx?"

"Secukinumab belongs to a class of drugs known as monoclonal antibodies. It works by blocking a certain natural protein in your body (interleukin-17A) that may cause inflammation and swelling."

Interesting specific drug above. I had IL-17 tested a couple times, was good, but that was after i started feelling better.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/interleukin_17

Edit additional: Cytokine tests are common insurance accepted tests by Labcorp, Quest ect. (Quests' test "menu" is avail for all to seen on their website). Panel groups and individual cytokins can be tested.

Note on Auto Immune Protocol diets. - they are still a guess and mis things.

The Mediator Response Test from Leap/Oxford I routinely mention, is testing cytokine release in your blood sample when introduced to the foods they list on the test. Test I did was 170 North American foods and food chemicals, theyve updated it. Besides gluten, I had some oddball inflammatory foods that I never would have guessed.

So if someone is incorporating a specific diet and they keep unknowingly eating something that unusually releases cytokins, well, thats still a problem with autoimmune. AIP, keto, paleo- you can still be eating inflammatory foods. Example: Turkey is very high on my cytokin list, I never would have guessed it Inflames my blood.

Post Edited (astroman) : 12/17/2020 8:43:13 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 12/17/2020 3:14 PM (GMT 0)
Ah interesting astro. I've never had a cytokine panel, but i would like to
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