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I went to see a naturopath who is also a homeopath and a chiropractor - this visit cost $323.00 for a thorough consultation. Advice I've received from him and from other sources:
Quit gluten, all durham wheat products - I know two people who say this eliminated all swelling and joint sensitivity in their hands so I'm giving that a shot, supposedly it takes a month to see results - will report back in three more weeks. It's not as hard as you'd think, there are a lot of gluten free products in the better grocery stores including breads, pastas, cereals, double dark chocolate muffins, cookies and such.
Osteo-biflex Energy Formula, you can find it reasonably priced at iherb.com. studies show that this combination of ingredients reduces pain and swelling in about a week, and takes about three months to really kick in. Over time it will help rebuild cartilage.
Sierrasil is a mineral supplement clinically proven to relieve osteoarthritis symptoms and rebuild cartilage, you can read about it on wikipedia. You can find a store that carries it near you by visiting their website.
Foods to avoid or minimize according to the naturopath: wheat and barley, alcohol, sugar, turkey (btw, it so happens that my hands flared up Dec 27, and the above is my entire month of December!)
Foods that may help: milk, eggs, oats, green veggies, strawberries + exercise and fresh airView Thread
I went to see a naturopath who is also a homeopath and a chiropractor - this visit cost $323.00 for a thorough consultation. Advice I've received from him and from other sources:
Quit gluten, all durham wheat products - I know two people who say this eliminated all swelling and joint sensitivity in their hands so I'm giving that a shot, supposedly it takes a month to see results - will report back in three more weeks. It's not as hard as you'd think, there are a lot of gluten free products in the better grocery stores including breads, pastas, cereals, double dark chocolate muffins, cookies and such.
Osteo-biflex Energy Formula, you can find it reasonably priced at iherb.com. studies show that this combination of ingredients reduces pain and swelling in about a week, and takes about three months to really kick in. Over time it will help rebuild cartilage.
Sierrasil is a mineral supplement clinically proven to relieve osteoarthritis symptoms and rebuild cartilage, you can read about it on wikipedia. You can find a store that carries it near you by visiting their website.
Foods to avoid or minimize according to the naturopath: wheat and barley, alcohol, sugar, turkey (btw, it so happens that my hands flared up Dec 27, and the above is my entire month of December!)
Foods that may help: milk, eggs, oats, green veggies, strawberries + exercise and fresh airView Thread
I would recommend wrapping a towel around the handles to lessen the damage to the Ulnar nerve and avoid the damage. This will save you a lot of grief.View Thread
I would really appreciate it if someone could help me because i dont think i can take this anymore, or as anyone had this similar problem.
PLEASE HELP!!!View Thread
I was in the military when I had both my ankles fuse due to a jump. I had the best surgeon at UCLA med center. He did a fine job fusing my ankles. This was in 2002 I was 20 years old. Almost 12 years later and a few mental break downs, going from active athletic to hardly walking or being able to have a job and support my six kids or play ball with my 5 boy's sucks. I go through the V.A. for my health care and they don't seem to care. Hear take more 10mg loratabs, up to 240 a month now and that doesn't even take away half the pain. The pain has moved from my ankles to lower feet, knees, and back that is all out of whack because the way I walk, VA says no that's not true and we are not going to up your disability. I support 6 kids a wife and myself on 1654.00 a month that they give me. Years after the fusion your body will continue to get worse, sorry fellow fusion friends. The pain gets so bad that I can't sleep at night until I take 40 mg of hydrocodone, 2 mg clonazepam to stop the lag shakes and 10 mg of Ambien. This is no way of life! I am tired of being in pain and tire of not being able to be me, and 12 years later in worse pain then when I started. I am ready to give up on life, no doctor will help the only reason I stay around is for my kids. I don't want to sound like a complainer but I have no one that understands the pain. Just a question has anyone else with fusions like mine considered amputation? I see amputees doing amazing thing, things I can't come close to doing???
View Thread
I had the surgery 6 weeks ago. Was out of the hospital in 3 days and started PT (outside of my home) 5 days after my surgery. Used a walker for 1 week ( walked a mile with the walker on no PT days) and a cane for the second week (walked a mile with the cane on the no PT days) . Went back to my surgeon after 5 weeks and he allowed me to start riding my road bike. Doing PT 3 days a week and biking or doing the elliptical stepper for and hour on the off days. Everyday is getting better. The PT is critical - much of it is a mind game. You will experience some pain, expect it and do the PT. My biggest issue was not being able to sleep more than 2 hours at a time for 4 weeks. A pillow between my legs helped, but I would wake up and roll over every 2 hours. At 5 weeks my sleeping improved and now I sleep most of the night. My goal is to be back to full time physical activities with little or no pain in 3 months.
Hope this helps anyone that requires knee replacement surgery.View Thread
I have also discovered that the the needles used on these syringes are fat and blunt. They hurt. I have been using Becton Dickenson 1mL, 12.7mm, 30gauge insulin syringes. I remove the the plunger, place it in it's sanitary cap, inject the prefilled syringe into the barrel of the BD syringe, and barely place the plunger back on the BD syringe, being careful not to squeeze it out. Invert the BD syringe and tap the barrel to get the air up so you can squeeze the air out. The sharp, 30gauge syringe is absolutely painless. Half the time I don't even feel it.View Thread
I too pop my sternum. It just feels so good. But, as it feels better and better, the pain and need in my sternum gets greater and greater. So, I gave it up. At first, it was like a drug and I really wanted to keep popping it. I felt a dull throbbing in the middle of my sternum that just demanded popping. For months, I denied it. And after a few months, the need got less and less until I couldn't feel anything at all. Sometimes, when I sit at a computer for too long, a bit of that feeling of misalighnment returns, but, for me at least, the more I do it, the worse it feels. My advice, quit popping it like a bad habit. It'll take a long time for the pain to stop, but everytime you want to pop it, just say no. Good luck!!View Thread
My tip is that for the person that has any type of degenerating disease, such as OA or RA, and have the type of job ( such as I did ) that basically depends on your health and strength. Look into a supplemental kind of insurance, such as Aflac, and start paying into it early as compared to later. I'm sure it is costly but seriously think about what you are going to do when down the road, you are no longer able to do that job. And in this economy, don't fool yourself into thinking that there are other "easier" jobs that you could do. The last job I had, which I also had to quit, I had to lie like a dog about my knee problems. Just to get my foot in the door.
But back to the point, I am wishing I had something to fall back on during this period of waiting for my day in court for my disability claim.
I guess there are those who are fortunate enough to have a spouse to help them out financially during this period but I don't have that. I would think I had hit the jackpot if I were able to get unemployment but that doesn't happen either.
So, heed my words, take it upon yourself to plan for the future while your still working! We all know that arthritis doesn't disappear and go away - it only gets worse. And who is going to help you financially when you have lost all income? It's ironic to me how I got denied the SSI help because it was based on the spouses income and he doesn't give me a penny. I have been put in the position where I have to steal just to get dog food. Or anything else for that matter.
Do some reading on the effects of a disability claim. People lose their homes, go bankrupt, divorce rate is high, and suicide rate is high.
Be smarter than I was and be prepared!!View Thread
is it correctly diagnosed? if not right drug?View Thread
I also have arthritis in both knees so I really "feel your pain."
Good luck to all of us in such pain. Bless you all.View Thread
Buy the gel, ingredients are menthol & alcohol.
Great Stuff!! Mild smell.View Thread
Arthritis Foundation Support Page on Facebook:)View Thread
Had other knee done 10 years ago with no problems. You
absolutely must follow doctor orders and physical therapy
procedures to the letter. Sure, the excercises are painful,
but they do the trick. Confidence in your surgeon and your
therapist is very important. Just with anything else, if you
are willing to do the work, your knee will be great in no
time. Unfortunately, your knee will not lift itself or bend
without your help!! Keep a positive mental attitude and
stop feeling sorry for yourself.View Thread
Oh I also take Celebrex. Tried to go off and was in so much pain, I went back on.
Thanks for the time,
KarenView Thread
bobView Thread
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