I have found that adding magnesium and fish oil to my diet has aleviated a lot of my pain naturally. I have psoriatic arthritis & suffer from bouts with gout.
These were recommended to me by a friend (magnesium) and the Doctor (fish oil). Don't expect results right away, it was suttle coming to me. After about 5 or 6 weeks I just noticed that I was moving better, feeling better, and had almost stopped taking my over the counter meds, because I too am scared to death of these prescriptions that they're pushing now. Hope this helps!