Surprisingly, there are more than 100 different types of arthritis. Some are due to wear and tear, such as osteoarthritis, and others are due to autoimmune and inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis. Even people with the same arthritis often experience their symptoms in slightly different ways.
Homeopathy is prescribed by understanding the symptoms each person is experiencing. For example, is the pain better or worse with heat? Is it worse at night or during the day? Is it accompanied by flulike symptoms or fatigue? Are there accompanying skin complaints? Is there anger or sadness along with the pain? Homeopaths look at how the symptoms are expressed in each individual and prescribe a medicine based exactly on those symptoms.
Julie had recently been diagnosed with palindromic arthritis, a rare precursor form of rheumatoid arthritis, and was in such pain that she was considering the DMARD (disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs) medications suggested by her specialist. Before embarking on the medications, however, Julie asked for a three-month postponement in order to try alternative treatments.
Along with nutritional supplements prescribed by a naturopath, Julie embarked on intensive homeopathic treatment. Before treatment, Julie was experiencing severe pain that would move from joint to joint every 2–3 days, keeping her awake all night during the attacks and causing her limited mobility in each particular area. The pain was so severe that it affected every aspect of her day-to-day life. If the pain was in her hands, she needed her husband to help her get dressed. If it was in her hip, she found it difficult to walk or drive her children to school. During the flare-ups she would often develop a sore throat and feel like she was coming down with the flu.
After describing all her symptoms to her homeopath, Julie commenced homeopathic treatment. Her homeopath monitored her condition fortnightly, then monthly. At the three-month mark, her symptoms had dramatically reduced in both frequency of attacks and severity of the symptoms.
Her specialist agreed that, as things were going well, they would hold off on the medications and monitor again in three months. At the six-month mark, her condition was 95 per cent improved. Julie continued with homeopathic treatment, in consultation with her specialist, and was better each day. Occasionally, if she had a particularly hard or exhausting day, she would still have a flare-up, but they were few and far between and nowhere near as severe as they used to be. For the first time in 15 years, Julie was able to train to do a fun run with her children later in the year. How far she had come in a relatively short period of time!
DAVID LEVY, professional homeopath, NSW