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
Michelle says
I’m so glad I came across your blog. I’m currently being tested for RA. I have severe joint pain in my hands and minimal mobility and I’m only 43. No one has it in my family. I have a tooth that has been hurting for a couple of years and it’s broke down to the gum line. I wonder if this has contributed to me having joint pain and inflammation.
Brian Darby says
Hi Michelle,
Thanks very much for your comment, I’m sorry for my late reply.
I’m sorry to hear about your hand pain and lack of mobility, yes I would definitely suspect your tooth and if I were in your shoes I would try to get this sorted out as soon as possible (hopefully you’ve already taken care of it since you posted). The tooth needs to be extracted and the socket thoroughly cleaned and then see if your symptoms improve (again, maybe you’ve already done this).
If you get time, please let me know how you’re getting on.
Misti Griffith says
I have been dealing with issues in my hands and feet for the last year and they can not figure out what is going on. It first started with high blood pressure and then I started waking up with my hands swollen and now cant even close hands when I first get up. I am only 44 and no history of this in my Family. I did however get a root canal when I was 15 and have had trouble with the tooth hurting for years. I like you ignored it and I thought since it was a top tooth the pain could be coming from my sinus cavity. I went to a kinesiologist in the last month and he said there is an infection in my blood but assumed it was in my gut and caused by a food allergy. I have sent him this to look at and hopefully he believes it. My dentist didn’t and said it was just a coincidence. I THINK NOT. I have a friends mom that went through this and had the tooth extracted and it went away soI looked into it and found your info. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING. If this is it I might just send you flowers…LOL!
Brian Darby says
Hi Misti,
Thanks for your kind comment and I’m sorry for my late reply. I’m glad you found the link between your symptoms and your tooth pain. Blood infections can often originate from infected teeth/gums, and are frequently a cause of inflammation. This is one possible reason why the Antibiotic Protocol is so effective for treating so called ‘autoimmune diseases’. Leaky gut and food allergies can also create inflammation but I think if I were you, I would deal with the tooth issue first as this is the most likely cause of your problems, based on my own experience.
Well done for sticking with your beliefs, and I am glad your friend’s mum recovered after having her tooth extracted.
You’re welcome and I hope you are now fully recovered but I didn’t receive any flowers so I can’t be sure :-) xx
Mark Butler says
Hi Brian
First of all I want to substantiate your experience with the Turkish medical system. My wife is Turkish and although she hasn’t lived there for years she is still covered to obtain free health services by her former employer. We were there in June on our annual vacation there and she was having pain in the heel of her foot so she decided to go to the hospital. She was also having a problem with her eyes so she walked in the hospital, asked to see a foot specialist and eye specialist. She saw the foot doctor 10 minutes later but the eye doctor was in surgery so she had to go back the next day. We live in Canada, and it would have taken weeks to accomplish what she did in 2 days. I have more great stories about the Turkish health system but that’s not why I’m writing.
I want to say that dental problems cause more problems than just arteritis. Three years ago I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, Giant Cell Arteritis, and went on a high dose of prednisone, tapering off it over 18 months. It’s the first time in my 63 years that I had been sick, other than colds and 2 bouts of flu, so this was my first real experience with the medical system. My Rheumatologist said they don’t know what causes this disease and it’s life threatening so I needed to start taking this drug immediately.
Two months after finishing my last dose my bloodwork (C-reactive protein) showed the disease was returning so my doctor put me back on Prednisone for another 18 months along with Methotrexate. The side effects of the drugs completely ruined my life and I realized my doctor couldn’t do any more than write prescriptions so I decided to doctor myself. I did a lot of research and came across Thomas Levy’s book Curing the Incurable. This book woke me up to the fact that the conventional medial system is corrupt. I sent Dr. Levy a note to ask if I could take vitamin c with my drugs and he said I definitely need vitamin c but I need to take it a few hours after the drugs. There were only enough hours left in the day to take 35 grams but that was enough to eliminate a lot of the drug side effects. When I finished my last dose of drugs I went up to 55-60 grams of AA with additional homemade lipo C and have been on that for 9 months and my bloodwork has been getting better every month since.
However I still needed to find out why I needed all this vitamin c. I read another book by Dr. Levy – Toxic Tooth” and realized I had a root canal and that this is likely the source of my problem. I went to my dentist and she admitted that the root canal could possibly be toxic but more than likely another tooth with a pocket was the cause. I went to a biological dentist for a second opinion and she said the same thing and wanted to pull the tooth with the pocket. I was about to leave for the Turkey vacation so decided to get it done when I returned. While I was on vacation I read 3 books by Jim Humble, who discovered MMS. MMS has apparently cured periodontal disease, along with many others, so I decided to try this first to see if I could save this tooth. Problem is that MMS is a pro-oxidant so you can’t take anti-oxidants with it so I had to tapper myself off vitamin c. I started the MMS 7 days ago and need to take it a total of 21 days. I take 8 doses, one hour apart each day and brush my teeth and gums with it. In Walter Last’s book he recommends taking anti-oxidants an hour or so after your last dose of MMS so that’s what I’m doing but I’m only taking 5 grams of VC. I had a Herxheimer Reaction on the third day of MMS so that’s a good sign that it’s is killing off a lot of pathogens.
So far, I’m feeling better each day and my fatigue is lessening each day. This is surprising because prior to this if I missed an hourly dose of vitamin c I would start to feel terrible. I think what has been happening is the high dose vitamin c has been controlling the pathogens but it’s not killing them fast enough given that a toxic tooth is pouring toxins in your body 24 hours/day. MMS is far more powerful so I’m hoping it kills the pathogens fast enough to allow my gum to heal by itself. I’ll let you know what happens.
Mark
Brian Darby says
Hi Mark,
Thanks for sharing your story, it’s very helpful and really interesting. I appreciate you taking the time and I’m sorry for the very late reply.
It’s great to hear that your wife is Turkish too and that you’ve had a similar experience with the Turkish health system. I’m sorry to hear about your wife’s health issues, but I’m glad you had a good experience in the Turkish hospital.
So true, the example you provided plus heart disease, gut problems and many more. I’m not familiar with giant cell arthritis but what a scary first experience to have with the medical system! In rheumatology, the causes of most, if not all ‘autoimmune’ diseases are unknown so I’m not surprised at your rheumatologist’s statement.
Wow, that’s a lot of Prednisone; it must have been so disappointing when your CRP level started to rise so soon after ending the first course. Prednisone has its side effects but taking methotrexate at the same time must have been really difficult and very stressful, I’m sorry to hear that you had such debilitating side effects. Yes, I have had similar experiences with many rheumatologists, you go looking for answers and often you walk out with none, (just a prescription) – a lot like Monty Python’s cheese shop sketch. I’m really glad you found Dr Levy and started taking Vitamin C as it’s very effective in counteracting drug side effects. Well done for making your own liposomal vitamin C, I do this myself and it’s very beneficial as you say. It’s great that your bloodwork has improved as a result.
That’s a really good point, if you can tolerate 60 grams or so of vitamin C, then your immune system is obviously putting up a massive fight against something! Great detective work, well done again. It always amazes me that (in my experience and research) rheumatologists never examine or question the health of a patient’s teeth or gums which are so often a cause or co-cause of various autoimmune diseases. Any method of treatment that can cure periodontal disease is worth a try. I’ve never tried Miracle Mineral Supplement but I’ve found Lugol’s solution and grapefruit seed extract to be very effective in homemade toothpaste.
Yes, I’m sure you’re right about the vitamin C, it’s great in helping to fight systemic infection but sometimes has difficulty reaching focal infections such as those in gum/tooth pockets or root canal infections for example. That’s why sometimes you need antibiotics too or a natural equivalent in order to defeat an infection entirely.
Thanks for a really interesting comment and I hope you’ll come back and let me know how you’re getting on; much improved I hope.
Subramanian Nity says
This was an eye opener article from Brian Darby & my sincere thanks to him. The doctor is treating me for gaut and getting nowhere for the last two weeks because the actual reason may be tooth infection. I had tooth infection last month and took antibiotics. Probably the course was not sufficient which resulted in my knee swelling and pain. The first thing I will do tomorrow is to go and check my blood for infection and get treated for it.
Brian Darby says
Hi Nity,
Thanks very much for your kind comment.
I’m sorry to hear about your gout and knee inflammation/pain. I’m glad you treated your tooth infection but it’s also important to continue looking after your teeth using natural methods such as salt water mouthwashes and oil pulling with coconut oil. This will help to prevent any further infections in the future.
I hope your blood test was clear of any infection, I’m sure you did the right thing getting it tested.
Your gout and knee inflammation may have been triggered or aggravated by your tooth infection but could I suggest that you also consider other factors too including your diet, stress (both physical and emotional) and the health of your gut.
I can’t give medical advice of course, but I am happy to help with suggestions based on my own experience with rheumatoid arthritis, gout and inflammation. I sincerely hope you are successful in curing your gout and knee inflammation.
Mary-anne Lindenberg says
Hi Brian
so glad I found this blog, everything makes sense now. I have had an ongoing tooth infection for about 10 years and 3 years ago I started with crippling joint pain, now its in my knee and I can hardly walk its so inflamed and sore. I am having my tooth pulled out in 2 weeks. Can you tell me how I would treat this infection medically and what protocols they use. Isnt long term use of anti biotics dangerous? I have a brilliant diet and do most of what you subscribe to except the oil pulling which I will start tomorow. I would appreciate any feedback about the anti biotics please.
thanks so much for a most enlightening blog
mary anne
Brian Darby says
Hi Mary-anne, thanks for comment and your kind words.
I’m sorry to hear about your tooth infection and your joint pain & inflammation, I know how you feel.
I can’t give any medical advice but I can give you a few tips on how to reduce the infection naturally. Oil pulling is one of the first steps you can take as you mentioned, also I would recommend getting a sonic toothbrush; they are much more effective than normal toothbrushes and even other types of electric toothbrush – I bought one a few months ago and it’s helped me a great deal with my teeth and gums. Combine it with a good quality natural toothpaste or even make your own toothpaste :-)
Add plenty of garlic, onions and leeks to your diet if you can, these are systemic antibiotics – relatively mild but effective. Add Thyme and Basil herbs to your meals too as they are also useful. Raw coconut oil and grass-fed butter are helpful in fighting infection too, especially in your gut (which can be affected by a long-term tooth infection). Another way to fight infection is to improve the quantity and variety of friendly gut bacteria by eating raw miso and sauerkraut.
Yes, any antibiotic use can be detrimental, however Minocin has a fairly narrow, targetted spectrum and its long-term low dose use can be supported with probiotics such as miso, sauerkraut and raw milk kefir for example. So the side effects can be minimised.
It’s great to hear that you have a good diet :-) That’s always the most important thing (next to sleep). Juicing cucumber and celery can help with teeth and gums and support joint and bone health too.
My sincere wishes for your full recovery.