In Annie’s experience, diet has been the primary factor in triggering the lifestyle changes that allowed her to overcome RA symptoms, and the Paddison Program For Rheumatoid Arthritis played a key role in the process.

We discuss in this interview:

• Annie’s first RA diagnosis, after going through infusion therapy
• Her journey with Prednisone and Methotrexate
• How Actemra was added and its side effects
• Paddison Program and diet changes to improve Annie’s condition
• How Annie adhered strictly to the Program and how this led to immediate results
• The importance of full support from Annie’s husband
• How physical improvements led to a better mental outlook
• Dealing with rheumatologists

Clint – Hello and welcome to this episode of the Rheumatoid Solutions podcast, where I am chatting with Annie, who is from a beautiful part of Australia called Noosa, a very, very desirable holiday destination. And she’s going to tell us about her incredible improvements with her rheumatoid arthritis. She’s been on Actemra and Leflunomide and steroids and these medications have provided her with some stability for some time, but she’s had rapid and dramatic improvements by changing her lifestyle. So any welcome to this episode to share your journey so far with us.

Annie – Thank you Clint. Thank you. Happy to tell you all about it.

Clint – Amazing. Okay, let’s get into it. When were you diagnosed? What did that look like? What did the doctors say?

Annie – Um, diagnosed probably about January, February 2020. And, um, that was as a result of I’d had cancer, and I was having, uh, infusion therapy. And they had to stop that because I was in so much pain, which was classed as fibromyalgia, which developed into polymyalgia, which then developed into rheumatoid arthritis. And that’s where I am now.

Clint – Wow. And so did you notice anything lifestyle-related like stress, stressful events, moving house, major loss in the family, anything right up to this situation?

Annie – Well, when I was diagnosed with cancer in 2019, we moved house from a big house to something very small, just for, you know, logic. Um, and no, but apart from that, no big stress in our lives when I had the cancer, I simplified our life totally so that I didn’t have any stress. But I still had the problem with the RA.

Clint – Right. And do you feel that the cancer treatment somehow, whether it be inactivity, the treatment itself, whether it be the way you were eating at that time? Do you feel like that the cancer treatment period was a catalyst towards developing this autoimmune?

Annie – Yeah, the rheumatologist said that they’re finding occasionally people who have gone through infusion therapy end up developing RA, progressively moving towards RA. And I’m geez, I’m just one of the lucky ones.

Clint – And you experienced these joint pains. What did it look like at first? Where did the pain show up?

Annie – Started with not being able to lift my arms and it it just progressively got worse to the stage where I wasn’t able to use my hands particularly much. I couldn’t cut with a knife, I couldn’t pick up jars, I couldn’t open them. Um, I was having trouble getting dressed in the morning, in and out of the old bra. Um, really silly things. I wasn’t able to drive. Also, I’ve lost my confidence in holding the wheel because I couldn’t hold and release quickly. I wasn’t driving and it was psychologically a real downward spiral as well.

Clint – I mentioned at the start of our chat here that you’re on some medications. Can you talk about what the rheumatologist told you and what he put you on initially?

Annie – Initially, I was just on the Prednisone and I didn’t realize until I started doing research what an unpleasant drug that was. However, the effects were, oh, it was a huge relief. I wasn’t comfortable taking it purely because of the impact on the body. Nevertheless, I’ve been on it for four years. Every time I go to the rheumatologist, he said, we’ve got to get you off that. Nevertheless, nothing’s happened to help me to get off it. I’ve just been reducing it myself marginally every month and just learning to deal with the effects.

Clint – Okay, so you started with 20 milligrams.

Annie – I started with 25 milligrams and I’ve whittled it down now to three milligrams.

Clint – Okay. Thus, something’s working and that’s going in the right direction. Why did he only put you on steroids? Normally, if a rheumatologist only places a patient on steroids, it’s because they might have polymyalgia rheumatica. The standard treatment approach that a lot of doctors use for that is to use steroids with a high dose, like 25. Then, try and taper it down over a year or two. Then in some instances, the disease may go into remission or have no symptoms. It’s very uncommon for rheumatoid arthritis to be put on steroids and not to be offered Methotrexate in particular, but also one of the other disease modifiers.

Annie – I was on Methotrexate for a while. 18 months ago, I was diagnosed with polymyalgia for like two years. Then, it just suddenly got so much worse. Then, they said, no, it’s not polymyalgia anymore which is now classified as rheumatoid arthritis.

Clint – It’s exactly what I said and you got upgraded.

Annie – Yes, nothing like being upgraded for free.

Clint – That’s good. We can laugh about it. When you found out you were upgraded, what did the doctor do? Other than the Methotrexate, was that when they added the Actemra as well? How did the evolution go?

Annie – The Actemra I’ve been on for probably about three years. I did about a year at first self-injecting every week, but I was finding I didn’t get a week’s worth of relief. After five days, I was in a lot of pain. It’s when they put me on five weeks’ worth of injections every four weeks intravenously at the hospital. Every four weeks I drive or I wasn’t driving. My partner was driving me down for the infusion and that was every four weeks.

Clint – Not the favorite experience, right?

Annie – No. In my mind, if I have to go to a hospital, it does dictate there’s something wrong with me. I don’t like that mindset because there’s nothing wrong with me. I just have a few aches and pains.

Clint – Okay. Let’s talk now about the more of the positive. Let’s talk about you. You embarked on a journey with our do-it-yourself plan Paddison Program, and you have launched into that. Now, tell me, how did that go?

Annie – Well, the reason why I launched into it. I wasn’t happy with the last specialist appointment. I was in so much pain, so much restrictive movement. What can they do for me? He said, well, there’s nothing else we can do other than just increasing all the medication. I thought, no, that’s not what I want. I thought, if you can’t help me, I’m going to see what I can find. Thus, it’s when I started doing a lot of research online with Doctor Google and everything else. Then, I found a lot of rubbish, a lot of reasonable things. Then, I found you and it certainly made sense to me. It’s why I decided to go with your program and am I glad I did.

Clint – Okay, let’s get into it. Can you talk us through it?

Annie – When I started the program, I did the three days of cucumber and celery juice, nothing else. I thought this might be a little bit of a wank, but I was determined to put my all into it. After three days, I think I’m getting a little bit normal. I would wake up and instead of having clawed hands, I had fingers that could move, hold things, and cut the bread. I stuck with the program, eating only the recommended things. I’ve been off dairy, totally off gluten, 98% off oils, and no alcohol. I’ve even given up my bubbles for you, Clint. Honestly, after the first week, I was thinking yay! After two weeks, I felt brilliant and I could walk the dog. Also, I could hang the washing on the line, and pick up the washing basket. I could put on my bra and wash my hair myself so much. Then mentally, because I was feeling physically improved, there was a huge mental shift. I was no longer depressed and I was so much happier. I felt encouraged about my future rather than depressed about my future. That’s it in a nutshell. Thank you.

Clint – Congratulations on putting the hard work in! What did your husband say? As he has seen you go through this?

Annie – Well, he’s been incredibly supportive through the cancer and everything else. When I said that I was going to do this program, he said, great, and go with it. He said, just give me everything you’re eating, and don’t cook separately for me. I’ll have everything you have I just add a bit of extra meat or a bit of extra something on top of this. He’s been incredibly supportive and he is so encouraged. I even drive myself now, which is huge. I haven’t driven like that for three years. He’s having the benefits also but he finds that because I’m physically a lot better and mentally so much happier, he’s a lot better too. It’s had a positive effect all around.

Clint – Yeah. Amazing. What have been the interventions? What has been the most influential? Would it be the diet? Would it be increased physical movement? Would it be a combination of the two? Would it be that you feel better and your signaling is better to the what? What do you think? How does it work for you?

Annie – I think the diet has kicked off everything else because of the diet. I’ve been able to improve and increase my physical movement. Thus, I’ve been able to clear a lot of depression out of my mind. Also, I’ve been a lot more positive. It goes back to starting good old celery, and cucumber and following your guidelines to the letter. For me, that has worked fantastically.

Clint – Wonderful. So what’s the goal? Are you still on these three meds? Your steroids are down to three milligrams. If we were having a sort of a call as part of our coaching group, which we have, I would advise you to talk to the rheumatologist. First of all, trying to get those steroids down to zero. Then after that, look at what’s left, which is the left side and the Actemra. Then, you come up with a game plan with the rheumatologist to put it to them like this. Let’s say my blood work continues to be consistently great and I consistently feel little to no pain. I have an appetite for a medication taper. What would that look like most conservatively? Then, they would say, if that were to occur they might say, let’s do a slight reduction in the amount of the Amide. Then, we’ll come back in a month and measure after two months. Then, see how you are and maybe continue to do that. They might talk about the Actemra and so on. How do you feel about that as a future? Are you heading down that path? Are you thinking about this as a possibility now?

Annie – Absolutely. When I said to my rheumatologist said there’s not much else he can do other than increase everything, I said, what about diet? Can I change? Can I improve anything with my diet? No, it’s a lot of hooey. Don’t think about it and just stay with the medication. I thought I’d got a closed-off opinion. I thought, no, I’m going to do this on the side. Last time, I’ve always had blood tests every month with my infusion. He didn’t have them last month, but I’ve got them again next week. I’m going to be interested to see if the inflammation markers have dropped. However, I aim to be off the prednisone within six months by reducing it marginally, very slowly. I want to go from the Actemra instead of the five weeks’ worth of infusions every month. I want to go down and eventually back to injecting myself every week. Then, increase that week to ten days to two weeks so that eventually I’m off. Leflunomide, I don’t know how to get off that, but I’ll. I’ll find out.

Clint – The pathway of that is similar to Methotrexate, which is a slow amount of reduction. Then, observe and another at least I’m speaking just in conversations that I’ve had both with people who are on it and their discussions with their doctor. Also, my understanding through being on methotrexate for a long period myself and the way that my doctor and I went about that together.

Clint – How are we going to do that? Let’s talk about the path forward, okay? To be able to achieve those lofty goals. You’re going to have to be as physically strong and as fit as you’ve been in a very long time. It’s going to require you to take the diet away as being the starting point, emphasis, and main backbone of everything. Then, treat that now as the concrete slab and build the infrastructure of your house of health by building immense physical strength and resilience. Thus. it becomes the walls and the roof of the house. Then, once you have put that in place, the scaffolding that’s holding up some of that at the moment, which are the medications can slowly be taken away. Then, you’re left with a freestanding home that is amazing and looks amazing.

Annie – That’s exactly what I want. I am increasing my physical activity all the time now. As I said, I’m walking the dog. I’ve gone back to a very gentle gym. I’m going to be picking up and going to a yoga class as well. I’m doing a little bit more every month, but gradually, and making sure I can cope. I don’t want any setbacks, so that’s why I’m doing it all slowly.

Clint – Yeah, brilliant, which are the areas that are most vulnerable but which have historically been the areas where problems arise?

Annie – The hips and hands.

Clint – The hips and hands and very different approach for both of those. The hands we want to build as much grip strength as you possibly can.

Annie – I mean you’ve got all the exercises in the program which are fabulous. I’ve got a tweak of something I go in. I read what I can do about it to help me increase my strength in that particular area. I’m grateful for all the selection of exercises.

Clint – Great. Glad you know how to find all that. You’re using that to its full capacity because there are so many nuances in the exercises. It took me very many years to work out the few exercises for each of the body parts that only help and do not cause irritation. It is because if you go to a physical therapist who doesn’t have a specific kind of experience with helping RA patients, you’re going to get a vanilla-flavored workout for a certain body part. I’m yet to find someone’s has a positive experience with vanilla-flavored physical therapy. It needs to be uniquely specific for RA joints because they irritate so easily with exercise. It’s great that you’ve got that at your fingertips and you’re using that. Then, the hips and we also need to make sure that we get lots of movement. We build strength around that through the glutes, the quadriceps, hip flexors, the lower back, and even so, all sorts of areas that need to be strengthened.

Annie – I mean, I must look silly when I’m walking the dog because I’m walking not with my legs. I’m walking with my hips, trying to get a little bit more movement happening because I’m tightened up everywhere because I wasn’t doing anything. The legs are going, from the hips and it’s fabulous. I take an apple and the dog, and out I go. I come back 45 minutes later and I feel fabulous.

Clint – Have you ever seen where more exercise doesn’t help?

Annie – It was one of the things that I wasn’t expecting that you’ve said many times in your program about increasing exercise and how it helps. I wouldn’t have expected that, but my gosh, it does and it helps enormously. Even by just having my morning coffee, just doing sort of finger movements and clenching. Then, learning to grip again properly. It’s all encouraging because I can do it and because I can do it. I think that must be helping me and that’s a positive mental effect. It just kicks on.

Clint – Exactly, that’s a discovery that I made for myself a long time.

Annie – You’ve been through hell and back.

Clint – I thought if I give myself this over-the-top sense of achievement for every little positive thing that I’ve experienced, that’s good. Then, I will artificially fake it till I make it and that was a big part of it for me. I can now, for example, walk to the next tree and I’m getting better. Wow, Clint, you’re making it. You’re getting there, you’re awesome, and you’re going to make it. It’s like the body feels things are good. It helps settle down the sort of stress response in the body and it helps you improve.

Annie – All my friends are saying, my God, what’s going on with you? You look different and fantastic. It’s because I’m not dealing with pain all the time. They all say, you’ve always said you were fine, but we all knew you weren’t, but you were faking it. Then, now you’re not faking it and you are fine. It’s been life-changing and I don’t care if I never have another Big Mac for as long as I live. I’d hate to have one because I don’t need it and my body doesn’t need it.

Clint – Amazing. What do you think? What would be one of the biggest surprises about this? I mean, it’s been life-changing for you, but were there some other things other than just symptom reduction that have surprised you?

Annie – It’s my mental outlook because I was on the edge. I only saw black ahead of me. I felt so guilty towards my partner because all he was doing was looking after me. It just wasn’t a life anymore. Apart from the physical, it’s the mental shift that has just turned black into blue and sunny. I don’t know how else I can explain it. I am just so grateful for finding this program and so happy. As I’m working through it and feeling the effects of the improvement in my body and my mind. It’s been brilliant and will continue to be brilliant.

Clint – I guess, is there anything else? Do you have any questions for me? It’s because we haven’t had a chance to speak before this about where you’re at and some strategy things or something to do with the plan or about the future. Any questions for me that come to mind?

Annie – Not really, because I’ve got a sheet of paper that is in a folder. The old files that I put everything in recipes and ideas. Things that I’ve got a sheet in there of questions to be clarified. There’s nothing there or there’s nothing on that page. It is because I can find an answer to everything in the program, whether it’s diet or exercise. It’s everything is there in the program. You can find encouragement and motivational podcasts, and it all goes together to make such a difference. There’s nothing I need. All I want to do is get off the meds and I’m going to do that, but very slowly. I want to tell my doctor, see, the diet that does help.

Clint – I remember that feeling. I had this in a very positive sense, this feeling of that’s okay. Fine. just watch me.

Annie – I’m stubborn, but interestingly, that was the specialist. My GP has been so interested in what I’ve been doing. I had to write down the program and I’ve given it to him. He said I’ve got so many patients that will benefit from this. It’s so good to hear from somebody who’s had first-hand experience. Thus, not everybody is closed, and not every medico is closed off to the potential.

Clint – Of course, which is good. No, we’ve got increasingly more medical experts sending people to the program.

Annie – I can’t wait for my next face-to-face with the rheumatologist because I used to shuffle in, hunched over, and take forever to sit down and get up was hopeless. Well, now, I can bounce in, sit down, jump up. He wouldn’t know me and I can’t wait for him to see that. While that’s been going on, the medication has been going down, and. My ability’s been going up, so I can’t wait for it.

Clint – That’s brilliant. Annie. All right, thank you very much for coming on and having a chat with me. Do you think there’s anything that we haven’t covered that you’d like to share?

Annie – I would just like to share that with anybody who’s in pain with fibromyalgia, polymyalgia, or rheumatoid arthritis. You don’t shut the door on the future, open it, look for a solution, and try the program. You will lose nothing, but you gain an awful lot. Thus, just go for it.

Clint – Awesome, Annie. Wishing you all the best over the coming weeks. Beyond that, when you get into the next stage. It’s because those last three milligrams of steroids, that’s where the rubber hits the road. That’s where it’s the toughest, but you’ve got this. For years you’ve been on that you know what you’re doing. Every signal you’ve it sounds good with regards to taking it nice and slow. You’re working with your rheumatologist okay? We’re not talking about any wacky behavior here. It’s all very under medical supervision. Good luck with that. I’d be excited to chat with you again in 12 months and see how you’re going.

Annie – Happy to you, Clint. Thank you so much. I appreciate, unfortunately, all the pain you went through to give us this program. It’s brilliant.

Clint – Thank you. Annie.

Annie – Okay, bye.