I Regret Going “Natural Only” for RA (And What To Do Instead)

Introduction: Fear of Medication and the RA Story 0:00

Have you ever stared at a prescription bottle and felt too scared to open it? Or have you thought, maybe if I just eat better or try these new supplements, the pain will go away naturally? I do understand that fear. But I also know the danger of that. Imagine your body is a beautiful car. Right now the engine is on fire. Many people try to put out that fire with natural supplements. Yes, those natural supplements can put out the fire in the engine, but they don't fix the primary problem. Today, I am going to share the story of a patient.

Let's name him Mark. Mark tried to do everything right naturally and he paid a high price. But his story has a hopeful ending. I will show you exactly how our holistic roadmap, the NASCAR framework that we use to get him back to the road of his life. Stick around. Hello all RA warriors, this is Dr. Ananda Subedi, your rheumatoid arthritis coach at The Room Doc, as well as a practicing rheumeatologist here in Cary, North Carolina. Before we start, please click the link below to get my free holistic rheuimatoids arthritis guidebook, As well a free smoothie recipe to help fight inflammation.

I see a lot of guilt in the rheumatoid arthritis community. People feel like if they take medication, they have failed at being healthy.

Why RA Needs More Than Natural Remedies 1:24

Or they see influencers online saying they cured rheuma arthritis with juice cleansing. But here is the science. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. It is aggressive. Untreated inflammation eats away at your cartilage and your bone like the rust eating a car. Once that bone is gone, we cannot grow it back. So, we need a plan that uses the best of modern medicine to stop the damage and the lifestyle changes to rebuild your energy. And we call this plan NASCAR framework. But first, you need to understand why this matters.

I'll walk you through the process of understanding why it is so important. Now first, let me tell you a story of one of our patients. I remember, I was standing in the hallway of my clinic in Cary, North Carolina, right outside the exam room number 4. It was a busy Monday morning, but I took a deep breath before I opened the door because I knew who was inside. I walked in and saw the patient. He was a big guy, a former construction worker. But today, he was sitting on the edge of the exam table, holding his hand tight tucked under his armpits.

I sat down, rolled my stool close to him and gently asked him. Mark, can I see your hands? He hesitated. He took a deep breath, then slowly he pulled them out.

Mark's Clinic Visit and the Cost of Delaying Treatment 2:51

Now when I saw his hand, my heart sank. I thought to myself, he tried so hard. he drank all the juices.He took the expensive herbal medications and supplements. He did everything the internet told him to do because he was scared of those toxic medications. But the fire of inflammation did not care about it and it chewed up his bone, damaged his joints. At that point, The room felt heavy with regret. Mark's finger were swollen, red, and I could see the start of permanent bend in his fingers. Marc wasn't just in pain physically, he was carrying a massive backpack of same.

His eyes were red. He looked at the floor, then at his hands, than at me. he looked like a man who thought he has failed his family. And his voice cracked when he finally spoke, And he whispered, Dr. Subedi, I thought I was doing the right thing. I wanted to be healthy. I did not want the chemicals from those medications. But now I cannot even button my shirt. Did I do this to myself? Is it too late? That question, is it to late is the scariest questions an RA patient can ask. Then I looked at Mark in his eyes and said, Mark, we cannot undo the damage that is already done, but we can stop the fire right now.

It is not too late to save the rest of the house. The rest your joints. Then Mark finally agreed to start disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. to put out that fire of rheumatoid arthritis. But he was weak. He was tired and depressed. Medicine alone was not enough to help him to get back to his life. Then we built something interesting, something powerful, and we call that NESCAR, N-E-S-C-A-R. And this is the framework I use in most of my patients who have rheuma arthritis and let me walk you through that NASCAR framework.

Now let's start with the N of the nutrition. Mark was eating strictly raw vegan because he read in the internet that it cures somebody else rheumatoid arthritis. But he was losing his muscles. Then we fixed it.

Starting RA Medication and the NASCAR Framework 5:09

We switched him to a Mediterranean diet which included fish, olive oil, nuts and cooked vegetables. And it helped him fight inflammation and fuel his muscle with protein. The next step, the E, exercise. Mark stopped moving because he was afraid of hurting his joints and the fix was we call motion is lotion. We started with hand exercises in warm water and at least short 10-minute walks. Now think of your body as a car. If you park a Car for a year, the engine sees up. You have to move it. Similarly, if you don't move your joint, they will also seize up.

That also increases inflammation. So, we taught Mark on the importance of exercise. Then the third one, the S, that's sleep management. Mark was too much in pain to have a good sleep. Now, after we fixed his arthritis, his pain got better during the nighttime. And we also started a strict bedtime routine. no news or TV before bed, a warm shower to relax his joints before you go to bed.

Nutrition and Exercise Foundations 6:15

These strategies help him improve his sleep. Then the fourth one, the S, stress management. Mark was too stressed about money because he could not work. Stress releases chemicals that increase pain. And the way we fix his stress was teaching him easy breathing exercise. We call that 4-7-8 breathing. Breathe in for four, hold for seven seconds and out for eight seconds. It's a brake pedal for your stress. it's simple exercise that can help minimize stress and it significantly help Mark to reduce his stress Now to see the checkpoints, Mark promised to never skip a lab test again.

We need to check the oil and the tires and those are your blood tests for rheumatoid arthritis and it will help make sure the medication are not causing any problems. Hence the checkpoint is so important in managing rheuma to arthritis. This helps minimize all the side effects that you might have read in those medications. Now comes the A, the avoidance of risky substances. Mark used to be a smoker. I told him smoking is like throwing gasoline on the fire we are trying to put out. He understood and he started a cessation program and finally he was able to stop smoking and that significantly helped manage his rheumatoid arthritis.

Sleep, Stress, and Lab Monitoring 7:33

Now the next one comes are the relationships. Mark was hiding his hands from his wife. We encouraged him to be honest about his pain so she could help him with buttons and jars without feeling ashamed. That relationship with his Wife helped him minimize his stress too. Now going back to our car, you have a great car that is your body and you might have great doctor, your rheumatologist but if the car doesn't have good fuel you can go nowhere and the fuel for your car is the 4F fuel and we call that faith, family, friends and fulfillment.

And the faith is believing that better days are ahead. being hopeful and being faithful to yourself. And the family is whom you drive the car for and your friends are the people who cheer you up on those difficult times. The fulfillment is your bigger purpose in your life so that you can do better, so you feel encouraged, you keep going. For Mark, his fulfillment used to be his construction. He could not do the heavy lifting anymore because of RA and this made him sad. But after he started feeling better, he found a new way.

He started teaching younger guys how to read blueprints. he used his mind, not just his hands. Finding that purpose gave him the energy to keep up with his NASCAR routine to manage his rheumatoid arthritis and his health. Now moving forward, Mark came back after 6 months, and he told me he can button his shirt by himself.

Avoidance, Relationships, and 4F Fuel 9:03

He wasn't cured, he still had RA, but he was in control. The fire of RA was out. If Mark's stories sound familiar to you all RA warriors, please don't wait. you can start your own NASCAR plan today and also don't forget to download the free holistic rheumatoid arthritis guide in the description below. It has all the tools that we talked today including exercises and everything else you need for fighting against rheuma arthritis. And please also subscribe to our channel. Let's build a community of at least 100,000 rheuatoide arthritis warriors who choose hope over the fear and misinformation.

Let me summarize three most important steps that we talked today to help you understand the key concept what we talk today and also help, you avoid the natural only trap and start healing today against rheumatoid arthritis. Now, step number one, the honest look. Look at your joints. Are they swollen? If you are avoiding medication, ask yourself. Is my plan working or am I just having a false hope? If it is not working, call your rheumatologist. Make that appointment so that they can help you. Now the step number two, one anti-inflammatory swap.

Don't change your whole diet today.

Mark's Progress and Final Takeaways 10:27

Just swap one thing. Instead of chips, have one orange. instead of soda have a glass of water. One good choice this week. Now the step number three, the stress break. Try the breathing exercise I taught earlier. Take a deep breath in for four seconds, hold that for seven seconds and out for eight seconds. Do it at least three times in a day. It signals your body that you are safe. it minimizes your stress. All of you are warriors. Please remember the patient that we talked today, Mark. It is never too late to take the control of the wheel of your car.

You don't have to choose between natural versus medications. And you can have both safely for better health. Always remember, you're stronger than your pain. Let's move from pain to the possibilities and from confusion to clarity.