I'm currently on methotrexate but have completed a 6 day water only fast and am currently on a very restrictive diet to see if I can snuff out this Rhuematoid arthritis. Is there any harm in backing off the meth to see if the pain is gone? If the pain is not gone, I would kick it back up to my prescribed dosage. I'm just curious, if I don't stop at some point, how would I know if the pain is still there? or know if what I am doing, is working to reduce or eliminate my need for the meth? Currently I am on 25 mg oral along with 3 mg folic acid( mouth sores with less) I cut my dosage in half after my water only fast. It's only been 5 days. If the pain in going to come back, how long would it take likely. Is there any harm in doing this. Curious minds want to know.
Reducing methotrexate after a water only fast combined with a restrictive diet?
Question posted by Patrick80132 on 12 Jan 2024
Last updated on 16 January 2024
Answers
I’m new to RA so I really don’t have any answers to help you but I have a few questions for you if you would be so kind to answer. I have never heard of a water fast. Did your doctor put you on it? If your doctor did not put you on it, where did you hear it was helpful? What are the purposed benefits of it? I have an inquiring mind also.
It’s a therapy that has been practiced for millennia. If you think about it humans as a species as we evolved had to live with long periods of time without food. Our body has adapted to that and it is shown that it has a number of benefits to doing so one of which is reducing inflammation. It tones down your immune system, certainly while fasting. You can learn more about it at a facility called “true north“ in Santa Rosa California. In my case I believe my fourth COVID-19 vaccination set off my immune system into overdrive. My hope is that with an extended water fast that I just completed of six days combined with an anti-inflammatory diet, which is primarily Whole Foods plant-based that perhaps my immune system has been ratcheted back. I have cut back my methotrexate from 25 mg to 12.5 for the last two weeks. So far I have not experienced RA symptoms. Although it could come back, and if it does, will increase my dosage back to what it was.
However, I think the body Can heal itself if you treat it correctly. I think in my case, and how my rheumatoid arthritis presented itself I think this might be a viable answer. I don’t know. In addition to toning down the immune system, some of the other benefits of water only fasting include autophagy where the body recycles damage cells in the body. Your best bet is to do a Google search on benefits of water only fasting. If you’re as curious as I am, you’ll find it interesting. If you do a long-term water fast as I have, up to 13 days, you’ll find it it’s a life-changing experience, that very few attempt.
Related topics
rheumatoid arthritis, methotrexate, diet
Further information
- Methotrexate uses and safety info
- Methotrexate prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Methotrexate (detailed)
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