Case Studies

1) R.B.'s arthritis had come on very suddenly thirteen years before when her hands and feet became swollen and painful. Her whole body was affected and she was treated with prednisone. She improved rapidly but was left with chronic pain in her hands and feet. She had received every known treatment, including gold injections, all of which started out being helpful. In each case, she became sensitive to the treatment and developed severe side effects.

Three years before, her arthritis deteriorated following separation from her husband, but that year she recovered to the point that she could walk and eat by herself. Later, she was given a three-week juice fast at an arthritis clinic. She went to the clinic in a wheelchair and came out walking. On resuming food, she quickly deteriorated. She then completed a ten-day fast, once more feeling much better. She had eliminated milk and sugar from her diet with no relief; tea rapidly increased swelling.

Dr Abram Hoffer advised her to eliminate sugar and every other food she thought made her worse, including tea, coffee, and chocolate. In addition she was given niacinamide, ascorbic acid, pyridoxine, bioflavonoids, and zinc sulfate. Two weeks later, she reported it was easier to walk and her elbows moved more freely. 

2) For a year and a half, all of J.H.'s joints, except her hips, were very painful. She was diagnosed as having rheumatoid arthritis but failed to respond to Valdene, aspirin, or Naproxen. Her elbows and wrists were especially painful and the pain was worse before her periods; she also suffered from water retention. If she sat still, she froze and had difficulty starting to move again. Her feet were swollen and painful and she had to take eight Bufferin tablets per day.

She was started on a sugar-free, nightshade-free diet, supplemented with niacinamide, ascorbic acid, pyridoxine, zinc sulfate, and vitamin E. Three weeks later, she was better in spite of very severe stress from learning of her mother's cancer. She was able to sleep without being awakened by pain, had more energy, less stiffness, and required less Bufferin. But she suffered increased allergic reactions from spring flowers and grass. I (Dr Hoffer) added bone meal, magnesium oxide, and cod liver oil. One month later, she was much better and the pain in her shoulders was gone, but her ankles and toes were worse. Three months after that, she was free of pain everywhere except in her feet and at the back of her knees. 

3) V.K. was the sickest arthritic I have ever seen in all my years of practice. The first symptoms struck in 1952 and she was diagnosed arthritic in 1957. She had exacerbations and remissions until she was finally confined to a wheelchair most of the time in 1962, which became a permanent situation in 1973. For awhile, she was able to propel herself in her chair using her feet, but for many years she had to be pushed. For the past three years before seeing me, her husband, occasionally helped by a homemaker service, had nursed her.

When I saw her, V.K. was in a wheelchair, severely deformed, sitting with her feet crossed under her as they could not be extended. Her hands were horribly deformed and misshapen. She suffered severe, continuous pain in her arms, hips, and back, and her legs were swollen. She wore pressure stockings to try to keep the edema down. She claimed she could still feed herself, but it must have taken heroic effort to do so. She could not , was depressed, and had not been able to sit up in bed unaided for fifteen years; she needed 24-hour total nursing and home care. She told me she realized I could probably help her very little, but she hoped I could relieve her of the dreadful pain in her back.

I started her on a sugar-free, nightshade-free diet plus niacinamide, ascorbic acid, pyridoxine, zinc sulfate, linseed oil, and cod liver oil. One month later, she was wheeled in, smiling, by her husband. Her back pain was much less severe and her hips were free of pain. She was able to sit in her chair with her feet dangling. She was much more comfortable. I added Linodil to her program, and a month later she was even better. She was now able to sit up in bed unassisted and her depression was gone. Ten weeks later, V.K. telephoned me. I was surprised to hear from her and blurted out, "How did you get to the phone?" She replied that it was no problem as she could now get around alone in her chair. She had made steady progress but had called to ask what she could do for her husband-he had the flu and she was nursing him!

I saw her again one year later. She had regained muscle tone and strength, but she still had some pain in her left arm. She agreed to consult a surgeon for the possibility of correcting her severe finger deformities. This is a remarkable response in a very sick arthritic who had deteriorated steadily for at least fifteen years.

4) About eight months before I saw her, M.L. suddenly became ill. Three months later, all her joints were affected: her hands were puffy, walking was very painful, and she was weak and tired. She had failed to respond to Devil's Claw root, special diets, or aspirin, but Climesteron relieved pain and stiffness. When I saw her, she was able to play the piano again but both wrists were painful, and she remained weak. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) applied to the joints had been very helpful.

No dietary change was recommended, but she was given niacinamide, ascorbic acid, pyridoxine, zinc gluconate, and a multimineral preparation. After one month, she was no longer weak and the pain had diminished. After six months, she was able to play the piano for many hours with only some minor pain in her left wrist.

5) About sixteen years before, M.W. had developed arthritis shortly after an injury, when he tore a ligament. Since then, he had been ill, having been treated in a hospital once and with a variety of medications. He had taken kelp supplements on his own and was convinced this had helped more than anything else. When I saw him, he had little pain but his joints were stiff, both hands had the typical deformity of rheumatoid arthritis, and his fingers were deformed. For a number of years, he and his wife had been carefully avoiding "junk" foods.

He was advised to avoid sugar and nightshade plants and to supplement with niacin, ascorbic acid, pyridoxine, zinc sulfate, halibut liver oil, bone meal tablets, and thyroid. He could not tolerate the full doses of niacin and ascorbic acid and had reduced them to one-third the recommended dose. When I saw him after one month, he was much better and had no problem with any arthritic symptoms but still felt cold. He was then asked to continue on niacin and ascorbic acid and to reduce the bone meal. He continued to improve.

From: Hoffer A and Saul AW. Orthomolecular Medicine for Everyone. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Pub, 2008.