Hetal, i read your articles almost every day. i really appreciate your efforts in helping everyone.i happen to read your worries about arthritis to lathavaidyanathan and i thought i can check with you on an issue.
i am patient of rheumatoid arthritis.i am 34 years old. i got my first symptoms during and after my second pregnancy. i did not care much, i thought stiffness, weakness and mild shivering is because of 28 hours labour. during pregnancy i used to have severe leg pains but dr said its normal during pregnancy.

after 1 year, i felt as if i was not able to hold things properly.my fingers used to get stiff and things started falling off.
so i got worried & saw my dr.i was diagnosed with lower levels of rheumatoid factor.
i was given medication for a month and i was perfectly fine. so i stopped taking medicines.
but after a month,stiff hands & knee pain started.in winter it got worst.
i had already taken allopath medicines so i thought going for alternative medicine might help me this time.
so i consulted a good ayurvedic dr in India.he gave me some ayurvedic tablets and was adviced to do yoga and some home remedies. It includes the famous cinnamon,honey remedy. i was also adviced to reduce all spicy foods, extremely sour foods and my intake of dairy products was also reduced.
for the first 2 years i felt great.i felt so healthy that working overtime dint bother me anymore.i thought i was out of it.

But, after 2 years i started getting mild fever every couple months.i thought may be i need to slow down.so i took vacations. i hired maid.
even after a good vacation and maintaining relaxed schedule in office and home.i started getting tired.i had severe body pains almost through out the day.i planned my visit to india after 2months to see my ayurvedic dr again.

but just a week after that, my hands got stiff for almost 10minutes when i tried to wash my hair.this had never happened to me before.
i managed to get out of shower somehow.i felt paralysed.so i rested.
after 30-40 min, my legs started to shiver and my body temperature shooted upto 104.all this happened in span of half n hour to 40 mins.
i was rushed to emergency.my reports showed extremely high and abnormal levels of rheumatoid factor.i was gven shots in hospital,medications and some physical therpy.
i was out of hosptial in 3 days.i was adviced to see their rheumatologist as soon as possible.so i consulted one from the same hospital.my rheumatologist adviced to take advil regularly along with some other prescribed medicines. for 5 months, i did not show any symptoms so my dr adviced me to reduce advil and take it only when needed. by that time, my precribed medicines were also over.They worked really well for another 1 year.

after 1 year i had gout.it was treated and i am doing quite well after that.

it has been a year and a half, i dunt have any symptoms.whenever i work overtime or my schdule gets very busy i have body pains.
so i take advil whenever i have body pains or mild stiffness in winter as adviced by my dr.
i am feeling better now.

i had my checkup last month and reports were okay.my dr said things are under control and added that i was lucky to have treatment on time.But he told me to be ready for another arthritis attack with higher risks. it will come again.he gave me precautions and steps.

but my worry dun stop here.
my dr also told me during my visit that it can also be genetically inherited.now my worry is since this started during my second pregnancy.
is there any possibility that it will pass to my second kid or my both kids might have it in future.
my cousin who is my far relative is suffering just like me.our great grandfathers(grandfathers father) were same.but no one else got this disease in the whole family.
can this be passed on to far off relatives.how far it goes.
i am really worried about my kids. i searched on internet but was not able to get clear answers.

Hetal, do you have any tips that can help me to avoid this for my kids.
i know that if its genetically inherited my kids will have it anyway.But if i can do something to keep them away from this disease for a couple more years, atleast i will be satisfied that i tried my best.
please share your thoughts on this. I would appreciate any home remedies,ayurvedic medicines or any diet tips that will help me to avoid this.please feel free to share about the risk factors or any other source of information you have about rheumatoid arthritis.
It would be great help.Waiting for your mail.

Regards
Deepa
Hetal replied. hi deepa, you went through alot..i have to say that you sure are a very bold lady.

since my reach is mostly upto child care, and women health related to child care,,i wont be able to satisfy you with exact answer or much more convincing answer. however i will be able to tell you upto my reach of knowledge..if you are ok with it, then only read further.

since you are already a patient you must be knowing that there is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis,,but with proper treatments and a proper strategy for your joint protections and changes in lifestyle will help you to live longer and have a wonderful productive life even in this conditions.
now about inheritance,,some research have suspected that arthritis is often triggered by an infection,,either viral or bacterial..in people with an inherited susceptibility.....
however,when your dr said this, you must have understood that it a gift from family forefathers..just want to let you know that,,although this disease in itself is NOT inherited,,certain genes are present that create the increased susceptibility..and people who have inherited these genes wont neccessarily develop rhematoid arthritis..they many have more tendency to do so than others, but that does not mean that THEY WILL HAVE IT IN FUTURE.. the severity of their disease also depends on the genes inherited,,some research results have shown that hormones may be involved in development of this type of arthritis but the exact cause ARE UNCLEAR...

so if i were you, i will think positive and prevent my kids from living a stressfree environment and also giving them healthy diet.

now about some risk factors,,,
rheumatoid arthritis increases with age,,so for you like your dr said,,it will be at much higher risk next time,,,
and being a female is one big risk factor..so if you have all girl kids,there is possibility that in future they might be susceptible to rheumatoid.also it dpends on their overall lifestyle,after marriage life and ofcourse food habits and pregnancies !!!!
being exposed to some infections either viral or bacterial may sometimes trigger this disease esp if you are having it in your family history..so try to avoid these...also smoking,drinking, eating too spicy foods,,eating tamarind based foods, sour foods in later part of the day,,eating foods that produces gas/vayu in your body,,foods that give you heartburn and irregular meal times, latenight dinners or too much of caffeine in your diet might trigger rheumatoid on early ages of life..
so key is live simple, eat healthy, avoid being in stress, and even if you are working in demanding environment, try to manage you things in a way that you dont have to struggle much in taking care of everything personally !!!
doing yoga has given wonderful results with this condition,,,esp some asanas and yoga exercises,,so continue that,,let your kids involve in it..
also rheumatoid may increase your risk of developing osteoporosis,esp if you take corticosteroids..it might increase your risk of heart disease or in future might lead to physical disability...
so the key is to give your children a calcium rich diet along with the components that will prevent these dairy products to digest easily rather than producing vayu and agni in your body.
here are some self care basics---
exercise regularly so that movements of your joints dont get stiff.try not to give your joints ne jerks or sudden bounce..maintain a good posture in sitting,standing,walking and ne physical work..control your weight,,since you had gout, keep an eye on proteins intake..take light food,,
include fruits, vegetables and whole grains in your diet and reduce proteins.applying heat packs set on low setting or taking a hot shower often helps to reduce mild stiffness. next time when you have body pains,try these instead of taking advil..if pain still persist then only take.m telling you this because your dr said use only when needed..so if by hotshower,heat pad,if the pains go off,why take ne medications ????
often go for relaxation therapy..deep breathing,muscle relaxing,,hypnosis often helps and also these will keep you away from stress..keep a good relazxing music in your working area to keep you energetic and stop being stressed...often music helps because you can do nething while hearing music ! for your kids, keep a relaxed fun filled environment around your house,,keep it refreshing...
and knowing your limits, reduce the use of all devices that require strain in your fingers or legs..also lift the things, in a way that the weight is evenly spread on all the joints than just one joint like e.g.lifting things with both the hands,,pushin the object with a level or indirect force than a direct force from legs,or hands,,...
now about some ayurvedic home remedies,,
i like this website personally for its wonderful explanations and many practical approaches..
http(:)//www(.)ayurveda-herbal-remedy(.)com/home-remedies/arthritis(.)html

also there is mothernature dot com,,has a nice info about home remedies and massage therapy..they are really worth a try..

there are some excellent dos and dont on this site so suit yourself with it.
i hope this helps your somewhat..thats all in my reach..
Good Luck and you have a wonderful time.