These days, you’re more likely to take your time pondering a menu than you are looking into the side effects of your medication for your arthritis or other illnesses. This is actually detrimental to your wellbeing, as drugs can rob the body of nutrients that you need for physical and emotional wellness, and so you need to ‘marry’ your medicine with the right nutrients to minimise, avoid or reverse certain side effects.
Corticosteroids, for example, used for rheumatoid arthritis , as well as various autoimmune disorders like lupus and multiple sclerosis, and inflammatory conditions. However, this kind of treatment has been linked to many side effects, the most noted of which are an increased loss of bone mineral density (BMD), and a suppression of your body’s ability to absorb calcium – a mineral that it vital to bone health. Further, corticosteroids also interfere with calcium by interfering with your body’s ability to activate vitamin D. Calcium and vitamin D go hand in hand and without one, the other suffers and you have an increased risk of bone loss.
But how do these side effects affect your wellbeing? A decreased BMD can make you predisposed to osteoporosis, and a calcium deficiency can cause you to experience neuropathy (which is demonstrated through numbness or tingling in your hands and feet), convulsions, cardiac irregularities, bowel problems and osteopenia, as well as osteoporosis. Both osteopenia and osteoporosis can increase your risk of fractions, and so if you’re on corticosteroids, the benefits of taking a high-quality form of calcium supplement are clear.
Finally, a study of 95 patients has shown that corticosteroids may reduce your serum magnesium levels. When you have a magnesium deficiency, you can experience constipation, body odour, insomnia, migraines or headaches, widespread body aches, weakness, chronic fatigue, nausea, cardiac arrhythmias of all sorts, and possibly a heart attack in severe cases, as well as pancreatic difficulties and diabetes. And that’s just the physical side effects!
When it comes to your emotional wellness, a magnesium deficiency can cause depression, tearfulness, irritability, and suicidal ideation. If you’re on corticosteroids for your arthritis, and are experiencing any of these symptoms, consult your doctor about magnesium, calcium and vitamin D supplementation, and look online for more information.
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