Hi, I’m Alexis Obi and I’m on a mission to share my on-going natural journey to wellness, with anyone that suffers from the pain and symptoms associated with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, chronic inflammation or any auto-immune condition.
Summary
I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) in early 2018. Since then I have worked hard to get from being in agony all over my body, all of the time to being relatively pain free through:
- natural food supplements
- diet
- exercise and
- improving my mental well-being
Mission
I would like to help others who are experiencing a lot of pain realise that they can take control of their life, have control over their body and feel so much better! If I can do it, then so can you! The first step is to believe. The second step is to take action and try.
My Story
I was born and raised in London, England. As a child I had asthma, allergies, hay fever etc, but aside from that I was otherwise very healthy. I was also very athletic. I have always loved sports; sometimes as a child I would watch the various sporting events of the Olympics all night. I was an athlete in school and also played netball. As much as I loved football I unfortunately didn’t play in my teens (not sure why).
So if we fast forward to the year 2017 – I was living in Lagos, Nigeria. I had lived there are about 4 or 5 years and got married in May 2017. This was supposed to be the happiest time of my life but a few months after getting married, I woke up one morning feeling like I’d be hit in my shoulder with a sledge hammer. It was one of the most painful experiences of my life and it lasted for about 2 days. I had no idea what caused it and hoped there was a reasonable explanation – maybe I had hit my shoulder against something during the night?
A few days later the pain in my shoulder had gone but suddenly, this time in the opposite shoulder, the sledgehammer pain started again. I was so confused, in so much pain and I was extremely frustrated because this pain was interfering with all the plans I had made. Driving was now difficult if not impossible and everything was difficult to do because I could only use one arm really. And the pain was terrible!
From this point on the pain in my shoulders would come and go, my legs started to feel very still and this stiffness began to engulf my whole body. I went to a few doctors (in Nigeria) and none of them could tell me what was wrong with me. My husband and I were also trying for a baby and a few months without conception I had my hormone levels checked and found out that my prolactin levels where through the roof. But still, nobody could tell me why or what was wrong.
Before I knew it the pain had spread throughout my body and so I decided to return to the UK to try and get come answers. By this point I couldn’t even get my coat on and off on my own. I was worried they may not let me onto the flight if they thought that I was seriously unwell so I did my best to hold it together and get myself back home to the UK.
By the time I got back to the UK even lying down was painful, doing things felt painful and not doing anything, being completely still was painful. It is so difficult to describe the pain of rheumatoid arthritis to someone who has never experienced it. It’s something I could never wish on anyone.
I made an appointment with my GP and the first doctor looked me over and diagnosed me with a vitamin D deficiency. I was so frustrated with this because I knew it was completely wrong so I made an appointment for a second opinion a few days later. The next doctor I saw was amazing -sympathetic, understanding and straight away knew that something was seriously wrong. He diagnosed me with an underactive thyroid and also referred me to my local hospital rheumatologist straight away and luckily they had an early intervention program for arthritis, so my doctor re-assured me that I would be seen relatively quickly. I have to say that I have always had a great experience with the NHS, even more so during my diagnosis and treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
Once my rheumatologist saw me she was sure that I had rheumatoid arthritis and the blood tests confirmed it. I remember the sympathy in her eyes when she saw me struggling to walk and sit down. My inflammation levels where through the roof. My rheumatoid factor, C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) levels all confirmed it. She told me that I would likely need medication for the rest of my life and there was currently no cure for it. I was heartbroken by the bleak outlook she presented but it could have been so much worse and I appreciate her frank honesty. Deep down I was glad it wasn’t something worse.
For the next few months I was in my local hospital at least once every one or two weeks, seeing doctors, having blood tests. I attended every appointment and did everything my doctors said. I needed to do everything they said to make the pain stop.
One of the first drugs my rheumatologist prescribed was a steroid called Prednisolone. This drug was amazing and is one of the only prescribed drugs that made me feel almost normal. It is very strong so you take it in increasing doses and in my case, I never on it for more than 10-14 days. To come off it you have to reduce the dose over a few days. For me when I came off prednisolone I would have terrible flare ups, so eventually even though it was amazing to be on it, I really didn’t want to take it and experience what I would describe as a terrible “come down”.
My every day drug for rheumatoid arthritis and lupus was Hydroxychloroquine. I had been prescribed Sulfasalazine before Hydroxychloroquine but I was allergic to it – it made me anaemic. Hydroxychloroquine seemed to work for me but I wasn’t completely pain free and my doctor had told me that after a few years on Hydroxychloroquine I would need to have a special eye test to make sure that my eyesight wasn’t being degraded by the drug over time. One of the many side effects that I was scared of.
A few weeks earlier I had been referred to an endocrinologist. They put me on medication to get my prolactin level down (an MRI scan had shown I didn’t have any time of growth on my pituitary gland which was the only other reasonable explanation for such high prolactin levels). They hoped this combined with the drugs for rheumatoid arthritis would allow us to conceive.
Looking back at myself during this time in 2018, I can see that I was very depressed and anxious. I think understandably. I was a difficult person to be around and I will be eternally grateful to my husband, friends and family for putting up with me. My husband especially. For a long time I didn’t talk about how much pain I was in, how scared I was for the future. I couldn’t hide it from my husband though so he is the one person that knew everything. My mum was so worried about me but I tried to put on a brave face.
I had become very weak and was easily exhausted but over time I started to feel stronger and hopeful that one day I could work again. I had accepted that I would never be “normal” though and lived with flare ups daily. I did some research about rheumatoid arthritis and how possible it was to heal from it but the outlook looked bleak. Everyone I found online talked about how much pain they were in, how terrible it was and the people who seemed to be doing well were on drugs called biologics. I’m not sure why I wasn’t interested in more drugs but at this point I didn’t believe or had no idea that it was possible to get better naturally. Many people talked about the importance of exercise though and I hadn’t really exercised regularly since I played volleyball in Nigeria in 2013/2014.
Around this time the women’s world cup was taking place and being a football lover, I decided I would start playing again because it would be more appealing to me than going to the gym. I knew I wouldn’t make excuses to avoid playing football. Having stopped playing in primary school or very early in secondary school I was not very good at football, but I really enjoyed it! Playing with women who were in a similar situation made things easier and before I knew it, I was becoming more sociable and starting to feel better about life. Things were looking up.
Playing football helped me to get fit again and I was feeling stronger and less exhausted. My husband and I were still trying for a baby in late 2019 and had an appointment with a doctor about starting IVF. Before we could start IVF, we got the fantastic news that we were expecting (it still feels like a miracle to me) and our daughter was born in October 2000. As soon as I found out that I was pregnant I wanted to come off my drugs (Hydroxychloroquine). I stopped taking turmeric and another food supplement that I can’t remember. My rheumatologist reassured me that Hydroxychloroquine was safe to take during pregnancy but I was honest with her about wanting to come off it so we agreed I taper off the dosage until eventually I had stopped taking it. Strangely during pregnancy my rheumatoid arthritis symptoms were almost none existent
Our daughter was born in October 2000 and I was so relieved that she was healthy. I hoped my rheumatoid arthritis symptoms would stay as they were (minimal) but within a few weeks of giving birth, my symptoms came back with vengeance. I was in agony all over my body and the pain felt worse than before. I could barely look after my daughter. I couldn’t even carry her out of her cot. This was one of the lowest moments of my life and it became what I would describe as the defining moment of my life. I decided I was going to change my life. I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life living in pain. I would be pain free naturally and be the mother that my daughter needed. I would teach her how to play football, run, and walk – basically do all the normal things that parents do for their kids. That day was the day that changed my life.
How I became pain free
I started researching how to heal or cure rheumatoid arthritis and after a few weeks, started to read about Moringa leaf powder and noni juice. Other people with rheumatoid arthritis were saying amazing things about Moringa and noni so I became a human guinea pig and tested various brands of these food supplements on myself. Most of them didn’t work so I tried the particular brands that people with arthritis talked about and amazingly one brand worked for me!
I eventually found certain high quality, natural food supplements reduced my chronic inflammation levels - Moringa Leaf Powder, Noni Fruit Capsules and Noni juice and these are what I take daily until now. They are available to buy through Nature Purevita.
My diet also plays a huge part in me being relatively pain free I am vegan, gluten free and avoid sugar as much as I can. This can also include natural sugars (fruit). I keep away from alcohol, coffee, processed food, flavour enhancers (e.g. MSG) and preservatives, caffeine and fast food. Food that is natural and fresh is best. I will go into more detail about my diet and what I eat/avoid here.
I exercise regularly; I go to football training once a week and also play football once a week (not the best sport for people with rheumatoid arthritis). When I can I ride my bike and very rarely go running. I must confess I find running a little bit boring so it’s a bit difficult for me to do.
I’ve come to realise that my mental health is very important for my healing and overall health. Being calm, happy and not stressed is a must so I avoid stressful situations as much as I can
Flare ups
I need people to know that I am not pain free 100% of the time. I would say I am pain free roughly 85% or 90% of the time. The way I feel now is amazing compared to the level of agony I was in before. I can open bottles, do my hair, look after myself and my family, cook, clean etc. I occasionally get flare ups but they are nowhere near as painful or as frequent as they are before and I know how to stop them sooner when they start. For example a few weeks ago I devoured a bag of cashew nuts (never been allergic to these) and within a few hours my wrist was hurting and that lasted for a couple of days.
My health goals
These are my health goals:
- I want to get my rheumatoid arthritis and lupus into remission.
- I want to have a normal thyroid function and come off levothyroxine.
- I eventually I want to take Moringa leaf powder, noni capsules and noni juice occasionally, not every day because I need to.
Thank you for reading my story. If you want to talk or need help/advise, just email hello@naturepurevita.com.
