Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Treatment in Seattle, WA

There are approximately 1.5 million people in the United States who suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis. Roughly three times more women than men are diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, but interestingly enough, the symptoms are oftentimes more severe for men than for women.

Rheumatoid Arthritis usually strikes between the ages of 30 and 60, but Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis is also seen in infants as young as six months. It has a genetic aspect and runs in families, but people can develop RA without a family history. RA is an extremely complex autoimmune disease and manifests differently in every individual it strikes.

At Water’s Edge Natural Medicine in Seattle, WA, we have years of experience treating RA and other autoimmune diseases, and we are here to help. Compile your list of symptoms, and call Water’s Edge Natural Medicine in Seattle, WA at (206) 966-4522 or contact us online.

What is Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a debilitating disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks your body’s joints – moving into the joint lining tissue and causing irritation that creates swelling, pain and eventually loss of function.

As this progressive autoimmune disease wears away your body’s cartilage, the cushioning between the bones narrows, leading to a fluid buildup within your joints. As your cartilage is broken down, bone erosion can also eventually occur. RA can also harm your internal organs – from your nervous system and heart to your lungs.

Though often confused with Rheumatoid Arthritis, the most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis, is a different disease with different causes, symptoms and treatment. Osteoarthritis does not usually cause the levels of inflammation so characteristic of RA.

Understanding Autoimmune Diseases like Rheumatoid Arthritis

An autoimmune disease can attack any part of your body. Autoimmune diseases can profoundly impact and weaken bodily functions, becoming debilitating – and even life-threatening. In fact, Autoimmune Disease is now one of the top 10 causes of death for women in the U.S.

Over 50 million people suffer with autoimmune disease in the U.S., and for so many, it can be a battle that lasts a lifetime. Oftentimes with an autoimmune disease like Rheumatoid Arthritis, people can suffer for years before getting an accurate diagnosis – and even if eventually diagnosed, conventional medicine offers no cure and few effective treatments. Most often, modern medicine employs steroids, pain pills or immune-suppressing medication, all of which are approaches that can create even more troubling issues.

That’s why our naturopathic approach to Rheumatoid Arthritis can be life changing. While conventional medicine treats symptoms, naturopathic medicine looks at the individual as a whole, assessing factors ranging from diet to hormones to digestive health. Our goal is to enable you to overcome autoimmune disorders, utilizing targeting testing and accurate diagnoses that will help us develop a personalized treatment plan to maximize real healing.

When your immune system is functioning properly, it defends against infection and disease, but when it instead begins to attack your healthy organs, tissues and cells, it is considered an autoimmune response or malfunction caused by an Autoimmune Disease - and it often becomes a chronic response. There are many different diseases categorized as Autoimmune Disease, including:

• Graves' Disease
• Hashimoto's Disease
• Lupus
• Primary Immunodeficiency
• Relapsing Polychondritis
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Sjogren's Syndrome

More than 100 forms of Autoimmune Disease have been identified. While some are more commonly recognized - like Type 1 diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus and Hashimoto’s - others are more rare and not easily recognized. If you have symptoms that cannot be successfully diagnosed or treated and you suspect Rheumatoid Arthritis or any of these autoimmune diseases, let Water’s Edge Natural Medicine in Seattle help you restore healthy immune function.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Causes and Risk Factors

The cause of Rheumatoid Arthritis is not always clear. There can be multiple causes or risk factors. Rheumatoid Arthritis can cluster in families, impacting generations. They can also cluster in individuals – if you have one Autoimmune Disease, you may be prone to have multiple Autoimmune Diseases.

Environmental triggers—like an infection, food allergy, physical trauma, exposure to toxic chemicals, etc.—may be necessary to actually trigger the disease, even in people who are genetically predisposed.

Take tobacco use as an example of exposure to toxic chemicals: For people who are genetically predisposed to RA, smoking raises their risk of developing RA or having a more severe version of the disease.

Research, however, is not truly clear on the precise causes of autoimmune diseases like Rheumatoid Arthritis or who might be more at risk. Outside of genetic factors, other risk factors for RA appear to include:

Age: Rheumatoid arthritis symptoms can start at any age, including childhood, but they most commonly develop in people between the ages of 30 to 60. Many autoimmune conditions occur in the second half of adulthood when immune function has declined.

Gender: Even though females tend to be healthier and live longer than men – and are less susceptible to infectious disease in general – seventy percent of people with RA are women. As we stated at the outset, three times more women than men are diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, but the symptoms are oftentimes more severe for men than for women.

Related Health Issues: Having other autoimmune conditions is a risk factor for developing RA. Being obese or even just overweight appears to increase your risk of developing RA.

Family history – A genetic background of Rheumatoid Arthritis can be predictive for future generations. Also, Rheumatoid Arthritis can cluster in families.

Some of the causes or triggers for autoimmune disease in general – including RA – can include:

• Certain medications and treatments (like radiation therapy)
• Specific medical conditions or sometimes simple infections or illness
• Some congenital diseases that are present at birth
• Exposure to toxins (e.g., mercury, mold, agricultural chemicals or even tobacco)
• Certain foods or ingredients in foods, or simple food allergies
• Thyroid issues that trigger an autoimmune response in the thyroid and even in other areas of the body
• Stress response to a severe stress event or chronic lesser stressors
• Digestive issues, which makes sense, since the immune system is believed to be centered in the gut

Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis can manifest with symptoms like joint pain, swelling and redness. The joints in your feet, toes, hands, fingers and wrists are often the first joints affected, but any joint in the body can be impacted - and it usually manifests on both sides of your body. There is often stiffness in the morning upon awakening or after sitting for long periods of time throughout the day.

Extreme fatigue is usually part of the symptom profile for RA. Some people say the weariness and exhaustion that comes with the disease can be worse than the pain. Because Rheumatoid Arthritis involves inflammation, you might also experience symptoms like fever or loss of appetite. The disease is not consistent in the way it affects different people. Some experience a sudden onset of symptoms while others experience gradual intensification of symptoms over many years. Two people diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, for instance, will not always have the same symptoms – which is one reason why Rheumatoid Arthritis can be so challenging to diagnose. It requires considerable knowledge, experience and expertise – which means finding the right doctor.

Diagnosing Rheumatoid Arthritis

At Water’s Edge Natural Medicine, the course of treating Rheumatoid Arthritis and its symptoms will vary with each individual patient. We almost always conduct blood tests and x-rays. There is a specific blood test that reveals a rheumatoid-factor antibody (RF antibody), which is present in most people who have RA. An x-ray will reveal osteoarthritis, which will typically be characterized by uneven cartilage loss, underlying bone spurs and bone damage. These changes often show up in a person's feet first, so your healthcare provider may want to x-ray your feet even if you do not initially report a problem with them.

The where is important – where are you are experiencing RA’s characteristic painful swelling? The when is telling too – when are the swelling and pain most intense? The results from x-rays and blood tests are key, as is whether or not there are any bumps or nodules under the skin. All these factors can help us discern whether or not you have Rheumatoid Arthritis.

We recommend you compile a complete list of your symptoms, medical conditions and medications before your first consultation. We will review your medical history, lifestyle factors, current medications and other health concerns.

Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis

At Water’s Edge Natural Medicine, we offer the most up-to-date and comprehensive testing and treatment to bring renewed health and healing from the troubling symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis – getting to the root causes. Finding out what is triggering your symptoms is the first and most important step in treating the disease.

Our goal is to utilize healing regimens free of the side effects that come with conventional treatment options. Water's Edge Natural Medicine specializes in a naturopathic approach to treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis, including:

• Medical nutrition plan to avoid foods that trigger Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Targeted vitamins, supplements or IV vitamin therapy
• Identifying and addressing food allergies and sensitivities, as well as environmental allergies that may be contributing factors
• Herbal remedies
• Identifying and removing environmental toxins in your life
• Stress management and restoring adrenal function
• Acupuncture can be helpful with many autoimmune conditions, including Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Medical weight loss plan, together with a customized movement regimen that is appropriate for your physical condition, to help counter the weight gain that is commonly experienced with certain autoimmune conditions
• Other recommended lifestyle modifications

Since your immune system resides in your gut, healing any issues with your digestive system will be an important step, but there are many other approaches to treating RA. Helpful approaches can range from choosing the right fish oil to signing up for Tai Chi. If you are struggling with Rheumatoid Arthritis, working with a doctor who understands the complexity of your condition – as well as the complex array of treatment options that can maximize a healthy immune response – is absolutely essential.

Request your consultation today!

If you have been diagnosed or have symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis and have questions, we invite you to reach out to us. We’re here for you, every step of the way, and happy to answer any questions you may have about your symptoms and our methods to restore balance and bring you back to optimal health and normal immune function.

Compile your list of symptoms, and call Water’s Edge Natural Medicine in Seattle, WA at (206) 966-4522 or contact us online.

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