Counseling Sheet

Agatha M. Thrash, M.D.
Preventive Medicine

These two conditions are usually associated and are probably the same disease, possibly one of the collagen diseases. It is a "modern society disease" and generally said to be of unknown cause, but we have seen apparent association with food sensitivities as well as contact with various factors in the environment. Most cases occur in persons over 60 years of age, becoming more common as the population ages.

A host of diseases have been described in the past 50 years which have never been recognized previously. This disorder is one of those which consist of pain and stiffness in the shoulders and hips, in the thighs and sometimes in other areas. Women are usually afflicted. The woman may have great pain when raising the arms, arising from a chair, or getting out of bed. Muscle tenderness may be present, and many of these patients are anemic. Fever and elevated sedimentation rate are the rule, and a giant cell arteritis is found in the temporal artery on biopsy. The artery may be tender to touch, and may show nodular areas along the course of the artery. Headaches, sore tongue, drawing of the side of the mouth, and a generalized sense of not being well usually accompany this disease. In a severe case, if giant cell temporal arteritis is found, there is an increased risk of blindness. The diagnosis is made by the typical history of the pain and tenderness, and by an elevated sedimentation rate. The onset may be sudden or gradual. It may start with something resembling flu. Generalized muscle stiffness, aches and pains are the most important single symptom. Also present may be fever, loss of appetite and weight loss. The headache, if present, may be on one or both sides, severe, throbbing, and with redness, swelling and tenderness in the temple, along the temporal artery. There may or may not be a pulse in the artery. Serious complications may occur, including loss of vision, stroke, or heart attack.‍

Treatment‍

Diet:

Use a total vegetarian diet, with no contact with any animal products.

Remove with meticulous care ALL the following for a period of 40 days: dairy products, coffee, tea, colas, and chocolate, citrus products, wheat, corn, oats, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, bananas, apples, strawberries, nuts (except walnuts), seeds (except flaxseed and pumpkin), dried legumes, sugar, honey, syrups, malt, all classes of fermented foods including vinegar and soy sauce, salt, head lettuce, all additives, colorings, flavorings, spices, yeast, and alcoholic drinks. When the symptoms are better, start adding foods back one at a time. Keep a diary all through the test of what is eaten and the symptoms for that day to see if a pattern develops after eating any food. If any food worsens the symptoms, that food must be eliminated for a year. Then test it again.

Take a series of 15 fever treatments, five a week for three weeks. Take a break for one week to three months, and repeat with 15 more. May be repeated the third time if needed, then once a year thereafter.

If your general strength will allow it, have a total fast of three to five days. If not strong enough for a total fast have a fresh fruit and fresh juice fast for five to ten days, determined by your strength. Fasting often relieves symptoms remarkably.

Exercise to tolerance daily. Do 15 minutes of stretching exercises every morning before taking outdoor exercise. Walking, gardening, etc., are recommended.

Use all cotton clothing, using old-fashioned soap rather than modern detergents as a laundry aid.

Be certain to follow all the Eight Natural Laws of Health: Get plenty of fresh air, sunshine, pure water, rest, exercise, proper diet, moderation in all things, and trust in Divine Power. The most favorable diet is totally vegetarian, using no meat, milk, eggs, cheese; or free fats, free sugars, or free proteins.

Use anti-inflammatory foods providing eicosapentaenoic acid, a type of fatty acid which could be found in two tablespoons of walnuts or two tablespoons of ground flaxseed, ground fresh daily. Take one to three teaspoons of flaxseed oil daily.

Do not eat more than two or three items at any meal, and do not mix fruits and vegetables at the same meal. The "leaky bowel" syndrome may be a part of polymyalgia. In this syndrome, the intestinal tract allows macromolecules from the incompletely digested food to enter the bloodstream, causing sensitive tissues to react with inflammation.

Rub an extract of red pepper (two tablespoons of red pepper soaked for three weeks in a jar with three ounces of rubbing alcohol) on painful areas, beginning four to six times a day until pain relief occurs (about five to ten days), then drop down to only two applications a day. If preferred, you may use a commercial extract, either Heet or Zostrix.

Apply hot compresses for 15 minutes to the temporal arteries twice daily. End with an ice cold compress for one minute.

Wear a charcoal compress on the temples each night as long as the temporal arteries are inflamed.

Use a little licorice - half a teaspoonful in a cup of hot water morning and evening. If that dosage is not adequate to improve symptoms, double it. Too much may make you lose sodium, causing a sensation of weakness. If, after a few weeks of taking it, you begin to feel weak, reduce the dosage to that level not causing weakness. Licorice has anti-inflammatory properties. Wild yam should also be used as it has the same properties and will enhance the action of the licorice root.

Take two to three Kyolic capsules, or two to three garlic cloves minced or blenderized, with each meal. Garlic is anti-inflammatory.