My Mother Is 62yrs Old. She Has Pre Existing Rheumatoid

Posted on Sun, 25 Nov 2018

Question: My mother is 62yrs old. She has pre existing rheumatoid arthritis(taking ayurvedic medication) and thyroid(25mg dosage). Since 2 weeks her legs, hands and face has swollen up too much. Blood reports suggest sugar levels increased to 175,haemoglobin dropped to 8.1 and increased TSH. Our general physician inspected her and increased dosage of thyroid medication from 25mg to it 75mg, prescribed haemoglobin and diabetic medication. It has been a week since, but there is no relief and she is unable to walk inside the apartment (needs support to visit the washroom). The general physician says that ayurvedic medicine had steroids which caused inflammation, and now the prescribed dosage shall work within due time. However there hasn't been any sign of getting well. Kindly advise

Answered by Dr. Vasudha (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Detailed explanation below.

Detailed Answer:
Hi Write 2 shamikghosh,
Thanks for the query. I understand your concern.
I am sorry to read about your mother... I understand your concern.
Rhrumatoid arthritis itself is a progressive condition which leads to swollen &painful joints making movements difficult..it can cause debility &anaemia too... it is not likely to cause swelling in areas other than joint in extremities.
The swelling you refer to seems to be on arms &legs apart from joints... &this can be due to various factors in her case -like severe anaemia,hypothyroidism&weight gain due to raised diabetes & thyroid problem too.
As you inform about possibility of steroids in Ayurvedic drugs....it seems to be less possible in market brands /it can be analysed &found in dispensed medications.
Actually steroids can raise blood sugar level ... but they mask low thyroid by lowering TSH....&she has ther TSH raised with increase in her hypothyroidism.
I agree to the doctor about need of some more days for new treatment, to improve her condition...but they do not seem to replace ayurvedic drugs(the said culprits for her condition)
*Thus you would find whole thing to be creating a confusion in understanding her present state of health.
*In such scenario I would suggest for a complete investigation range for all the three conditions she is suffering from... this would help in knowing the exact cause °ree of upset due to each of her ailments. This should be followed by a combined advise of a diabetologist,rheumatologist &endocrinologist to give her an overall relief.
I know.. it's all going to take some time...but this is the way I suggest to give her a justified management.
I hope you got my point & the answer would help you in taking decision.Any follow up query is welcome . Thank you.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T