Hi,
I thought the board members might like to see the current list of top
patient-rated Lupus treatments on RemedyFind.  A little background,
Remedyfind is an independent and unbiased site (not sponsored by any drug
companies etc.).  I started it 4 years ago to try to find help with
treatments for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (which I¹ve had for some 20 years).
After doing the CFS section I realized the same approach could also work for
other health conditions and so the site has now grown to cover some 30
conditions, with some 65,000 members and newsletter subscribers.

Obviously this Top 10 list has to be taken ³with a grain of salt²,
especially as so few ratings have been submitted to date (for some reason
the Lupus section has always been a little slow and I¹d love to drum up some
more activity).  We are all different, and what works for one person won¹t
necessarily work for another, but my hope is that certain trends might show
themselves over time (and after hundreds or thousands of patient ratings).
We¹ll have to see about that, but at least in the meantime I think it is
helpful to hear other patient accounts of what has worked, or not worked,
for them.  

There are currently some 200 Lupus treatments listed - from medications to
nutritional supplements, alternative / complimentary therapies etc..  The
full list of treatments can be seen here -
http://www.remedyfind.com/all_remedies.asp?id=75 (and please suggest
anything that we are missing). The site is free and members can be as
anonymous as they would like - you choose your own member name and your
contact information is not shared with anyone.

If you have a few minutes to rate some of the treatments you¹ve tried, it
would be wonderful.
   
All the best,
Brett Hodges
Founder / Editor

Top patient-rated Lupus treatments
(As of January 20, 2005.  Based on 9 or more ratings.  The first number is
the averaged rating (0 = poorest; 10 = best).  The number in parenthesis is
the number of ratings the treatment has received.)

Emotional Support: Online Discussion Groups 9.8  (18)
Prayer / Spirituality    9.3  (17)
DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone)    7.6  (21)
Advil etc. (Ibuprofen)    7.1 (9)
Rheumatrex etc. (Methotrexate)    7  (11)
Plaquenil etc. (Hydroxychloroquine)    6.8  (96)
Deltasone etc. (Prednisone)    6.8  (39)
Imuran etc. (Azathioprine)    5.9  (15)
Bextra (Valdecoxib)    5.3  (13)
Cytoxan etc. (Cyclophosphamide)    5.2  (13)