Unfortunately, I had to neglect my blogs for some considerable time due to disease and pressure from my businesses. This has been very frustrating for me but I really had no choice, my work pays the bills and I had reached the point where I was working twelve to fourteen hours every day, including weekends.
Due to the additional stress from work I strayed from my diet and became very ill. I had huge problems with my knees and this triggered inflammation in many other joints too.
Unfortunately I had to keep working on-site and away from my office and home, so I began to eat and drink things which I knew would cause problems, but at the same time I needed the energy and often the caffeine too :-)
Eventually I reached the point where I needed to have cortisone injections in my knees again, in order to continue working. I kept saying to myself, I will just get on top of things then go back to my diet and recover but new problems kept getting in the way.
The Original Cause of my Rheumatoid Arthritis – Discovered in Turkey!
As it happens, I recently went to Turkey to be with my mother-in-law (actually anneciğim in Turkish) because she was about to have a major operation. Unfortunately I was still ill myself and I became worse on the journey due to the flights, airports, taxis and such.
The first few days there I was very ill and had to go to hospital for treatment. While waiting for mum’s exact operation date to be confirmed, I also saw several other doctors myself regarding my RA (mostly friends of the family). This is where it got interesting!
I will write in more detail about my visit and the things I discovered there later, but in a nutshell; I discovered one of the original causes (possibly the only/main cause) of my rheumatoid arthritis :-)
The Turkish medical system is very flexible and responsive, and tests results & X-rays can be obtained almost immediately. As a result I was able to accumulate useful test results, scans and expert opinions in a very short timescale – just a few hours.
It was soon explained to me that I had a long standing blood infection that required urgent treatment; systemic inflammatory response syndrome – a kind of sepsis which can be fatal. My doctors there were amazed that I was still alive and equally amazed that I had managed to fly to Turkey in such a condition. They arranged for me to be admitted to hospital for treatment and monitoring and I started taking oral antibiotics soon after an initial intravenous injection.
After discussing the history of my symptoms and studying my many new test results they concluded that I had probably had this infection to some degree for at least the last twenty-five years, but that it was currently life threatening. If I had not gone to Turkey, I would perhaps never have realised the serious state of my disease and would have continued to believe that my symptoms were just a flare-up of my existing RA – and possibly died.
My RA Caused by Tooth Infection Missed by Doctors and Dentists
I was immediately given powerful antibiotics and then referred to a dental surgeon in a local specialist hospital (another family friend) as my doctors suspected a long standing tooth abscess was the original source of the infection. In our discussions, I explained that I had had a problem tooth for about thirty years and that it often caused pain, bad breath and various other symptoms. I also explained that I had brought it up with several of my UK GPs over the years but that they had always dismissed it as a possible cause of my RA and had not considered it to be a serious problem. Unfortunately, after several soul destroying attempts to obtain dental treatment in the UK, I eventually gave up and just accepted the pain. Had I known the extent of the problem, I would have persevered of course and obtained treatment, somehow.
The dental surgeon confirmed my doctors’ suspicions with the help of various scans, examinations and blood tests. Again, he could not believe the extent of the infection and explained that it was difficult for him to remove the problem tooth in my current condition as it was too badly infected. He prescribed additional specific antibiotics to complement the ones obtained from my doctors and asked me to call in periodically to monitor my progress. He also shared his findings with my doctors.
A few days into taking the antibiotics, my symptoms started to improve, particularly in my mouth of course but also I noticed a greater range of movement in some of my fingers and my feet were no longer swollen. A week later whilst discussing new blood test results with my doctors, they confirmed that I had achieved about a 30% improvement in the severity of my infection (apparently enough to silence the alarm bells). Following on from this, they advised me that it would take between one and three years of oral antibiotic treatment to completely clear the infection, along with appropriate dental treatment. My doctors also explained that intravenous antibiotic therapy would be more effective but since I was only there for a short time, it wasn’t really practical because I wouldn’t be able to continue the treatment in the UK.
The upshot of all this is, I have proof of what I always suspected to be the case; that my joint inflammation was caused (in part or wholly) by some type of infection, and now I know what it was and how it started; a streptococci group – tooth/gum infection which gradually became a hidden abscess inside my gum/jaw where most of the infected tooth broke away and left a deep hole which never healed.Streptococcus mutans causes plaque, tooth erosion and cavities and this was probably what initiated my problem decades ago. However, my systemic infection appears to have been caused by group A or B streptococcus originating either directly from my long-term tooth infection/abscess, or by external infection from some contaminated food or drink due to the susceptibility of my broken tooth and the deep surrounding abscess. Unfortunately, because of the rush to administer antibiotics and because I was feeling so ill, I never managed to obtain further more detailed tests to confirm exactly which strain caused or worsened my joint inflammation. However I suspect ‘pyogenes’ because of my symptoms; swollen lymph nodes, intermittent fever, increased joint inflammation, flu symptoms, skin rash etc.
This of course makes me think that there could be many more people out there suffering with rheumatoid arthritis or other inflammatory conditions, who may have a tooth related infection (there appear to be three types of tooth/gum abscesses) and who may not realise its importance as a potential cause of their disease.
I want to recommend that if you have any kind of tooth decay/pain/abscess and also suffer from RA, get your teeth looked at and get any problems fixed straight away, even if like me you have been putting it off or putting up with it. Also, if you do a little research, you will quickly find a number of papers and articles like this one confirming the link between abscess infection and rheumatoid arthritis and this example of a link between a dental streptococcal infection and rheumatoid arthritis.
“Streptococcus” image is public domain
Gabriela says
Thanks for posting. I have been wondering if this may be why I had a sudden onset of RA after I had a massive tooth infection (still there).
Brian Darby says
Hi Gabriela, thanks for your comment.
Yes, that could be the cause or at least the main trigger. I would recommend getting the infection treated as soon as possible but there are many things you can do to recover from this; for example try rinsing your mouth with sea salt dissolved in a glass of water for a couple of minutes each day. Also, have you tried oil pulling? It does work quite well with oral infections – put a small amount of cold-pressed olive or coconut oil in your mouth (a teaspoon or so) and swish it around between your teeth for a few minutes, then spit it out and rinse your mouth with the sea salt and water mixture. If you do this even for a few days you should see an improvement. I do this every day, twice a day and it has helped me a great deal. Please let me know how you get on and whether you would like more information :-)
Paul says
This is really interesting. I came to your page and a few similar others after Googling for a link between dental root canal infection and arthritis. And was surprised to find the number of links suggesting a real connection between the two. I don’t have RA but an yet undiagnosed form of inflammatory arthritis, together with a badly done root canal filling which becomes infected and has to be killed off with antibiotics on a semi-regular basis. Earlier this year a dentist in Thailand told me that the infection never really goes away and this got me to thinking. I have an appointment with a specialist rheumatologist on the 4th of November and intend to bring this up for sure.
Thank you for posting this.
Brian Darby says
Hi Paul, thanks for your comment.
I hope you managed to have some success with your rheumatologist in November. Yes, it is very interesting and I am learning more about the connection with oral pathogenic bacteria and RA all the time. For example, one of the problems with pathogenic oral bacteria is that it also ends up in your bloodstream (potentially causing heart problems and strokes etc.) and in your gut where it can adversely affect the friendly bacteria in your microbiome, potentially leading to leaky gut and more inflammation; particularly in individuals with low stomach acid.
Have you tried ‘oil pulling‘? It does work to reduce streptococcal bacteria and reduces plaque. Also, regular mouth rinsing with sea salt and water is very good. Eating lots of probiotic foods can help too; sauerkraut, kefir, miso etc.
Don’t hesitate to comment anytime :-)
Majella says
Wow, thank you for updating…I find your blogs so interesting and helpful. I’ve had RA for the past year and funnily enough have been having gum problems too. I will certainly look into this-thanks again for your updates
Brian Darby says
Hi Majella, thanks very much for your kind comment. :-)
Sorry to hear that you have RA I hope you managed to get your gums checked out ok. Please let me know how you are getting on and don’t hesitate to comment anytime, I am getting back up to date with my blog now and will be checking the comments more often.
Take care and look after yourself.
omri roberts says
Will check this out with my dentist, Thank you.
Brian Darby says
Hi Omri, thanks for your comment. I hope you saw your dentist and everything turned out ok for you.
nance says
I have been diagnosed with RA and would like to know why you chose not use the standard medication prescribed. The thought of taking these drugs fills me with utter misery.I saw my nhs rheumatologist for the third time on Monday and he was so rude when I said I dint want anything more than the Planquenil Ive been on for 2 weeks.I don’t even like being on this. How are you doing now and what infection did you have? I would like to use antibiotic protocol that Ive read about but pretty impossible to do in the uk.
Brian Darby says
Hi Nance, thanks for your comment. I did not use standard medication because I believed the side effects posed a greater risk to my health than the RA. Also, the standard drugs have a devastating effect on gut bacteria and the gut villi themselves as well as numerous other toxic effects on the gut and other organs. I have been through crippling pain and disability in order to avoid standard treatments and find a natural solution. I have succeeded at great cost but I am still recovering. I understand how you feel, it’s soul destroying to think that in the 21st century the favoured treatment for RA is still a 65 year old toxic drug called Methotrexate!
I have had many similar experiences with GPs and rheumatologists and I feel for you. The least they could do is show some empathy and consideration when you are in such a vulnerable situation. I have had one or two good rheumatologists and I am very grateful for their help but the majority were arrogant and indifferent towards me over the last 35 years.
I hope things have improved for you since you commented and that you didn’t need to take the Plaquenil for too long (due to eyesight issues).
I had a streptococcal infection originating from my tooth abcess compounded by other viral and parasitic infections from other sources. I have been treating them with various herbs, seeds and other supplements. Yes, the antibiotic protocol is very interesting; the recommended Doxycycline (Minocin) is a relatively safe antibiotic in terms of damage to beneficial gut bacteria but requires plenty of probiotics to be eaten during the long treatment period.
If you are still fighting RA and need to talk don’t hesitate to comment any time; I am getting back up to date with my blog now and I have recently redesigned it and will be keeping an eye on comments etc.
Nancy Swift says
Hello Brian,
I am so glad you are back. I often looked at your blog and noticed you hadn’t posted anything for ages , thought you had died !
Three years have passed since I contacted you, and a lot has happened since my diagnosis of sudden onset sero negative RA.
I stopped taking the Plaquenil , only took it for 4 weeks in the end. Found a clinic in Surrey that agreed to prescribe and treat me with Minocycline. Was on a very small weekly dose for a year. I reached remission within six months , blood tests all back within normal range. I took large amounts of probiotics during this time and still do.
I am now near enough back to normal. Still get very mild aches and pains, but can do everything I used to do before the disease erupted. I even managed to fill a six yard skip with heavy household waste recently !
I haven’t needed any form of pain killers for two years , apart from when I had a terrible hangover after a big birthday a few months back.
I am convinced this condition is due to a bacteria of some sort. My NHS rheumatologist has discharged me, and has refused to acknowledge that my remission is down to the year long treatment of Minocin and pro biotics. He really was an arrogant and patronising little man, with a huge ego !
Anyway , as I said before, I am glad you are back, because your blog gives people like me , hope.
Nance x
Brian Darby says
Hi Nance,
It’s great to hear back from you, thanks very much for your comment/update, it’s really interesting.
I’m still alive :-) Although I’ve had some severe setbacks. Improving again now though, slowly.
I’m so glad you were able to stop taking the Plaquenil, it’s an antimalarial drug and amongst its many side-effects, eyesight damage and even blindness is possible (I also tried it briefly and it severely affected my vision; it took over a year for it to return to normal after I stopped taking it).
That’s excellent news about the clinic and I’m so happy that the Minocycline worked for you! :-) xx Well done for combining the treatment with probiotics, they are essential to protect your gut and to aid in recovery.
Wow! I can imagine how satisfying it must have been to fill a skip :-)
Again, excellent news; any form of drug based pain killer can have a negative effect on your health so best avoided if you can manage without.
I agree with you, I know that pathogenic bacteria played a major role in causing my rheumatoid arthritis. The strength of your remission confirms your belief.
;-) I understand how you feel about your
egotologistsorry rheumatologist, it’s so frustrating that he wouldn’t acknowledge the good work that you’ve done and admit he was unable to help you. It’s almost as though his pride is more important to him than seeing his patients recover and get well again, by whatever means.I’ve met many of these kinds of ‘doctors’ but fortunately I’ve also had one or two that were very skilled and actually cared about getting results (there are some genuine physicians out there who care about their patients and their work but it can be difficult to find them). One even had a great deal of humility and patience and as a consequence, I had great respect for him – unfortunately he retired.
That’s very kind of you Nance, thanks very much. Take good care and keep up the probiotics and hopefully your eating some fermented foods too :-)