Question: Hello – My husband has rheumatoid arthritis. Because of the meds he’s taking, his bone marrow is not producing adequate white cells. He also has Felty’s syndrome which results in an enlarged spleen, further depleting white cells. So far his body is compensating for this but are there nutritional recommendations you would make to help his immune system remain strong? Thank-you. Susan
Answer: Susan,
Where do you live? There is help for him but your husband needs to be seen by a holistic professional. This is a serious issue; not a time for me to make blind recommendations. Please E-mail me back.
Sincerely,
Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc.
Response: Hello Dr. Ettinger – Thank you for your reply. I spoke to you on the phone once and found you to be both approachable and personable. I get your advertisements and noticed the “ask the Dr” and I was just wondering if you had some nutritional/homeopathic suggestions for our situation.
Believe me, we realize the gravity of the situation and my husband is being seen and monitored regularly by a rhuematologist and a hematologist and is taking Enbrel. Plus, his uncle and brother-in-law are both doctors so we get “2nd opinions” from them. His white count has been down for several years and is now 1.9 but doesn’t drop below that at any time. He’s also been anemic with all this for several years, but is no longer, at least right now. He’s been regularly taking Icelandic cod liver oil and zinc. Occasionally I can get some folic acid, iron, msm and curcumin down him although he says the curcumin seems to makes him ache. We’ve been discussing having him take some testosterone to help maintain muscle mass. He’s 53 and except for this rotten thing, is and has been healthy as a horse. As I understand it, only about 1% of the population gets rha and out of that, only 1% get it systemically, not just in a joint or two or on one side. Unfortunately, my husband is one of the 1% of the 1%. We live in WA state very near the Oregon border. We’re within 4 hrs of both Portland, OR and Seattle, WA. If you know of any well-respected naturopaths in the area, we’d like to hear. Thank-you, Susan.
My Response: Susan,
That’s exactly what I meant. Here is the link to Bastyr University, the best of its kind in the nation. They will be able to help you find a ND local to you or you may choose to go to one of their clinics. I have treated clients with leukemia and many different types of anemia, and I know the natural route is the way to go. Your husband has some underlying condition and/or deficiencies that can’t be corrected by a medication. Medications only activate or suppress reactions within the body; they do not rebuild or repair.
I’ll bet money that when your husband gets on a program with one of the Bystyr doctors, he will begin to move forward in his healing. I’ll also bet that if he juiced beets, beet stems/leaves, carrots and spinach, we’d see a difference in his blood markers too (this is not a recommendation, just my personal thought).
Let me know what happens.
Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc.
