I had a lot of swelling in face & body. My eyes were almost swelled shut. All this started with stomach ache & heartburn. No doctor could figure it out so I paid to have my blood tested (after doctors ran all their own blood tests, etc) from a functional medical doctor & I had alarmingly high levels of C-reactive protein, my blood RA levels were some of the highest any doctor had seen. I go to National Jewish Hospital for monitoring but I have refused to take any prescriptions they want me on. I found out this immune response came from leaky gut that somehow lets particles of food, toxins, etc. into my bloodstream which has caused the RA symptoms - my body was always super inflamed & my immune system was attacking my joints & tendons - so very painful. Lots of other horrible symptoms went along with this 2 year nightmare. I am being treated by functional med doctor & natural pathic doctors now. I started on a regimen of oil of oregano & grapefruit seed oil + plus protein powder & a powder that helped my digestion. It is working & I have since been put on other herbals that help with inflammation, etc. It's been a long process but I am 100% convinced this is saving my life. If you can afford to have pay for blood work that is not usually ran by doctors (insurance issues) then I strongly suggest that you try this. I can not tell you how many doctors blew me off, told me it was all in my head, etc. Now they have all been very seriously involved in trying to heal me but I am not doing any western medicine as it just masks symptoms. I needed to & did get to the root cause & am on a much better, healthier path to recovery but it's been very hard - there are no easy paths to true healing - must find CORRECT TYPE OF DR, endure, follow strict diet, be patient & heal slowly.