OT Arthritis.

It's getting kinda hard to deal with, never been tested or really diagnosed with it, just told by past medical people that's probably what it is. An MRI on my knee a few years showed something the doc suggested "probably arthritis. I was hoping to avoid the doctor, as I have been told any meds are very high priced. Any one have any advice, am I screwing up avoiding the doctor? Any advice on diet of supplements that would help. Have it in my knee's, hands and back. I'm only 38, not really looking forward to this.

I have arthritis also. Doc had me on Daypro and Meloxicam but they bothered my stomach. I found for me that exercise helps the most.
Sometimes my body feels like one big tooth ache. I also suffer with the gout.

Rollie

I'm taking Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM,which is a dietary supplement,seems to help some.
I asked the Doctor,he said if you think it helps,take it, it can't harm you.
The reason I believe in it,is because we give it to a OLD dog and he gets around better with it,and that can't "be in his mind" like some people who feel better just taking something.

Do what makes you comfortable. I have had trouble since I was ten. I tried all the pills and injections. They didn't help. I had my right knee scoped twice and cleaned up, the first time it help for about four years. The second time(different doctor) I was told there was nothing wrong and it was all in my head. Went to another doctor and he said the arthritis was so bad it cut off the circulation to the bone and the bone was dead. At 37 I had a knee replacement. Good luck.

I have the same problem my knees would swell up,went to the DR.said to get some glucosamine i take it twice a day really works for me, I'm 47 been taking it for about 5 years now.its actually for joint health,give it a try. good luck

I didn't think about it (arthritis) till getting ready for back surgery. The Doc told me that my arthritis was more advanced than most guys my age, and the most likely causes were ;
1 Heavy lifting doing farm work since 7 yrs old
2 Construction labor at 17
3 Oil field/heavy truck mechanic at 21
4 Working out in extreme weather (mostly cold)

At 53, I'm looking foreword toward another back operation. I use Aleive to help with the morning sore joints
Go Get Checked!
You only have one body, so take care of it!

I feel your pain ! I get Gout once in awhile . It is by far the worst pain I have ever experianced ! I try to keep a good diet , lots of cherry juice helps .

Try the gloucosimine, Condroutin and MSN seemed to work for me.

I'm looking for a solution too. I have it in my right hand. The knuckles and joints in that hand and fingers hurt all the time. Often, when I'm eating, the fingers will cramp up and I'll drop the fork or spoon as I'm lifting it to my mouth. Really embarassing.

Randallin, better have that checked by a doctor, sounds like circulitory problem

For your hands, try blue emu oil. You can get it at WalMart. It will be with the ben-gay & icy-hot. Its not expensive, about $14.99 for a 2 in tub which lasts a long time.

My orthopedic dr. recommended it to use on my wrist when it would hurt. Sure seemed to work.

Since its absorbed through the skin, I don't think it would be effective on your knees. It might be able to work on your back.

For $15 bucks, its worth a try.

You might try a combo tablet of glucosamin, chondroitan sulfate and msm. Glucosamin and chondroitan sulfate are good for the joints and the msm is supposed to reduce infamation. Its cheap enough to give it a try.

Hope this helps.

Hey Dave,

I`m kinda in the same boat you are, about the same age. Back in the day I had pretty extensive knee reconstructions done. Now I`m to the point where arthritis, tendonitis, and some long name thing where your knees crackle and pop when you go up and down stairs, has started to set in..

I tried this fish oil stuff, other than leave you with a real crappy aftertaste, it didn`t do anything. I have had the stuff Big Ed is talking about recommended to me, I need to try it.

What I found works the best is if they swell up at all I take ibuprophen and ice em at night. If they are stiff and achy I take aleve and heat at night. I could stand to lose about 40 lbs.

I also work on cement all day, farm hay, and ride horse. Probably no the best things in the world to do, but oh well..

I have arthrits really bad in the knees, hips,
and spine. I got a disibility pension at age 62
because i couldn"t stand for long, due to the
pain. The Doctor says not to stand for more than
15 minutes, but I usually can"t even do that. I
am ok sitting down, such as on riding lawnmower, driving tractor, or driving. nnalert worked
great for me, almost a maricle, I could function
again, but it ruined my kidneys, at one point I
was scheduled for dialysis, but came out of it.
My Kidneys are borderline now, and i"m on a Mayo
clinic special kidney study. BEWARE OF nnalert!
If you are using it be sure you have a good Doctor
who monitors kidney and liver function. nnalert
was pulled from the market once, but now is allowed again, with precautions. I am on
Prescription Darvecet, which is Tylonal with Codine, and am allowed 90 per month, and most
months use that many. It helps the arthrits but
makes me sleepy, and, though i"m adjusted to it
and do normal retired things,drive tractor, mow
lawns, I don"t go to town or drive the road much,
or wait till I get home if I need to treat the
arthrits pain.The "golden years"aren"t golden!

Get it checked, thoroughly. Tell the doc everything. If its regular arthritis its pain meds and such, but if its rheumatoid arthritis you need to get on the meds. A lot of my friends have it, kind of scarey when you think about it, they are all dairymen. I've got my own suspicians about causes and such but, it doesnt change that rhematoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. Yes, it means drugs and such, but the alternative of waiting is pretty bad.

Don't avoid the doctor. Find a good one, and pay attention to the diagnosis and recommended course of action. I have a lot of if; my general practitioner and two specialists told me exactly the same thing: Ibuprophen, glucosamine, and KEEP MOVING.

Best have the doc take a look, then monitor closley for side effects.

The cost? Well...seems this board (many) think that is just the way it is, to bad. As you know I think it is a dirty shame that anyone in the US should be forced to think about cost over cure. You are not alone in your concerns about the cost. However the no pain zone is a wonderful place to be.

Your kids are going to fight over your money some day anyway, and they would feel bad if you are in pain for their benifit at all. If they aren't that type of kids, then for goodness sake spend your money before you die.

Exercise has helped me when I can't think of a good reason to get out of it. I have a list of excuses I could e-mail you, but if you are on dial up, you would be long dead and gone before it down loaded.

Without your health, you realy have nothing anyway. Good Luck

Greygoat..."My Kidneys are borderline now,"
Same here from heart problems. Only got 30 percent of one left. Doc will not let me take any normal pills. Even gave me enalapril (pain killer) but that stuff makes me throw up like a druger cold turkey. A tylenol once in a while only. If you have any thing thats helps, that doesn't over load the kidneys please let me know. E-mail open
KennyP

I've been taking glucosamine/chondroitin for a few years, and it helps my joint pain a lot. I was giving it to my dog also, since he has trouble getting around without it. Recently switched him to Dasuquin, which is slightly cheaper, but mostly because it's one a day for him. I'd consider switching to it if they made a human version. The pills are huge, but they're chewable and smell like roast beef!

Have you checked into what some of the alternative doctors recommend?
drweils.com, drlam.com, drwhitaker.com and drmercola.com

Don't know if you'd call it arthritis, but I cramp up (mostly hands and feet) and get real bad toothache pain that starts in between my shoulders and comes out the forehead. Don't know which one works, but I take a good healthy swallow of vinegar about 4 times a week, a magnesium supplement about as often, drink enough water to float a ship, and sleep on my back as much as possible with one of them little pansy contour pillows. When the neck pain/headaches get real bad, I take a few asperins. I notice that the better shape my back is in, the better the rest of my body feels. I had a shazam moment the other day and got a butterfly screw on the front of my tractor seat free that I had been squirting with liquid wrench for the last couple of years. When I turned it, I could see the seat move up a little. Turned it as far as it'd go and can now ride the tractor without being a half inch shorter after every trip which seems to help.
Our farrier says it's the magnesium and vinegar but I just know I feel much better. He's a little wirey guy about 60 years old and zooms around like a teenager (makes you want to knock him down and kick him a few times). He takes the glucosamin that he gives to horses and swears by a magnetic bracelet he wears. I almost believed the magnet thing until he told me the red shirt I was wearing was part of the problem too (he's a little flaky sometimes).
Had a coworker a couple of years ago that drank a lot and had gout that said vinegar almost eliminated the gout. He sure didn't slow down on the drinking, so it must have helped some.

Good Luck,


Dave

I have tried hot coffee w/lime juce . If you want to stop drinking coffee this will take care of that but not the arthrites. What a he!! of a concoction.

I have fought it for years and buy iburprofin at Sams Club in the two pack. The different meds that the Doctor prescribed over the years never did what the iburprofin does and two of them have been taken off the market. Some people will have stomach problems with iburprofin but I am a lucky one that it does not. It has worked for me for over 20 years but I found that I have to start the day with it and not wait until the pain raises later in the day. The Doctor keeps me on a six month check up.

Here's a different thought. My wife had a lot of issues with joint pains, etc., and assumed she was getting arthritis. Turns out not too long ago a dietician determined that she had a intolerance to the gluten in wheat (also in barley and rye). Removed all foods containing gluten from her diet, and all the problems went away within a few weeks. Feels better than she ever has.

There's a DNA test that can determine if you have a gene that predisposes you to gluten intolerance. Turns out my wife had two copies, got one from each parent. You can order it on-line...I don't think conventional doctors will prescribe it.

There's a lot of info on-line about gluten free diets. As with anything else, you have to kind of sort through a lot of nonsense to get to the good stuff. Do a search on "celiac sprue", which also requires a gluten free diet as treatment, and you'll find a bunch of info.

The gluten free diet is a real pain, because there's gluten in all sorts of stuff you wouldn't expect, but it sure made a difference.

Keith

There are quacks in every profession, but a good homeopathic or alternative medicine (doctor??) is priceless.
Dave

Joe how about my friends homemade moonshine?

Take 2 tablespoons of apple cide vinegar with fruit juice every day. Get away from nnalert, it will destroy the kidneys in time. Also don't use dairy products.

Hi, my wife has had arthritis problems for several years. She went to the doctor and tried a few prescriptions. Nothing really worked well, some are even unhealthy to take. Now she takes L-Arginine from Swanson health products. Fairly cheap, and you can vary the dose for what you need. And it works great. Better than anything else she has taken and she has almost tried them all.

Another glucosamine/chondroitin testimony. In 1999 I suddenly had trouble walking due to pain in my feet. My toe joints were also getting calcium buildup. Doctors diagnosed osteo-arhritis in my feet/toe joints also hips. They prescribed aleve for pain is all. I started 6mos later taking g/c and the swelling and pain went down. I will never be able to wear ski boots again, but my toe joints are not any worse then they were in 2000. Recently added calcium pills and I think I may be able to run again soon.

Concentrated cherry juice has helped my upper body (hands, shoulders,etc) a lot. I get it from Leelanaufruit.com in MI. It's thick like maple syrup and so sour I have to mix it with soda (pop), a tablespoonful twice a day. I also take the glucosame, fish oil, etc. Doc told me I had RA in '84 but it's now mostly osteo. I've had both knees replaced, last one a year ago today. I'm 73. If my back was ok I could do most everything I ever could, only slower lol.

another one: White raisens soaked in Gin,take 9 in the morn.and 9 at nite. Has anyone tried this?

I'm 57, hard work since I was a early teen, mostly outside. Years ago, the chiro told me when I get older I would have problems with Arthritus. About 8 years ago, I got so I couldn't sleep over about 4 hours and then my back hurt so bad I had to get up, couldn't get comfortable. I was telling a guy I worked with(whining, I suppose) about it and he said to try glucosamine-chondroiton. I got some and started taking it and in 2 weeks, I could sleep all night. It works for me, only problem is, I get to feeling good and quit taking it and then the pain comes back. I take 2 Aleve to get thru the day, should go back to the G-C again, kinda expensive to me, but it works. Chris

Gin takes the pain away.

Now, I'm not an OLD country boy, so I probably don't know anything about this. So go ahead and flame away, I'm used to it by now.

But my first wife contracted rheumatiod arthritis at age 16--rheumatiod factor in blood confirmed the medical diagnosis. First doctor told her she wouldn't be walking by age 25. In 1978 the rheumatologist we were seeing prescribed gold injections...but the price of gold, of course, made them too expensive for a newly married couple, and she hated them. And the shots were only good for 10-14 days at a time.

Our son was born when she was 24, and our daughter 4 years later. In the interim my wife went through surgeries at Kleinert, Kutz and Associates in Louisville, probably the most famous outfit in the world in the restorative surgeries of hands and feet. She had carpal tunnel surgery, she had surgery to remove calcification deposits on elbows and fingers, but the arthritis continued to progress. Dr. Harold Kleinert was her surgeon in most of these cases, and he was a really down-to-earth guy with a great sense of humor, and he really put her at ease.

But it got so that she couldn't do the grocery shopping without assistance, because she couldn't grip items on the shelf and put them into the cart. Housework was a struggle, and caring for two kids was a challenge, but she persevered. She applied for disability thru Socia Security, and was denied twice before she won her case. On the second denial, she actually won her case before an administrative law judge, but the Social Security administration had 60 days to appeal...and the SSA filed their appeal on the 59th day.

She was waiting for the orthotics department at Kleinert, Kutz and Associates to fit her for special shoes when she died of coronary problems at age 36.

Based upon those experiences, I've got little faith in doctors when it comes to arthritis and their ability to control it. I've got less faith in insurance companies, because when my wife died the kids and I were left with $12,000 in medical bills that the insurance companies refused to pay. [No, I didn't file bankruptcy on them...I paid them, some in full, and some after negotiating a settlement amount.]

If your doctor is any good, "probably arthritis" is a bullsh*t diagnosis and he knows it. Either it is arthritis or it isn't. Get it diagnosed properly, and then figure a plan of treatment from there. "Probably arthritis" tells you he's just guessing...and you wouldn't want him just guessing as to whether you had cancer or not, would you? Bust his a*s on that one, because arthritis isn't anything to f**k around with. They may not be able to cure it, and they may not be able to control it, but they CAN do some things to make it more bearable.

OK, I'm done. Flame away.

No flame from me, Buzzman, but rheumatoid arthritis and osteo-arthritis are two vastly different things. Rheumatoid seems to be an immune-system problem, can be crippling, even in a young person, and in some cases, life threatening. Osteo-arthritis is what most of us old geezers have to some degree, and while it can make your life miserable, it won't kill you.
No doctor worth the title will diagnose rheumatoid arthritis without extensive testing. Osteo-arthritis generally doesn't require much medical intervention in its early stages, and is the one often subject to a "probably" or "possibly" diagnosis.

our local dumb arse doctor says any ache you have is probably arthritis. been to her for several pains and it is always arthritis with her.

There are probably some arthritis meds on Walmarts $10 for 90 day supply program. Go see your doc. I have some problems with gout, similar to arthritis in some ways (joint swelling/pain) and my meds are on the program.

Indocin (or generic Indomethacin)is a prescription strength NSAID (non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) that works very well with gout. I believe it's in the same family as ibuprofen. If you get a bad attack, see your doc. It's available at walmart for $4 per month or $10 for 3 months supply.

If she was right, cute little nurse bout 15 years ago told me you had to have Xray to find arthritis. Bad part, she Xrayed my hand to see if bone was broken and she said you must have lotta pain from arthritis. Since my hands are some of the best working parts, I didn't pay much attention. Back is bad for 30 years, lumbar disc disease is all they told me. Could ne ver get anybody to Xray it. Activon from drugstore and heating pads and exercise as much as possible. Chiropractor is okay if real bad. Sometimes you can pop your own back after a few appointments.

Had arthritis in one knee real bad and a couple of years ago had it replaced. Before the replacement I started taking OTC Glucosamine/Chondroitin when I around 52 years old and it helped but it was too far gone. Sincerely believe if I would have started the G&C at a much earlier age, say around 40 years old, might have been able to avoid the replacement. The caveat is that the knee Doctor said recent studies show G&C is only significantly effective for about 40% of the population and you should take it for about one year before making that decision. I recommend taking them and hope you are one of the 40 percenters. I still take G&C to hopefully avoid replacing the other knee, because I'm still pretty tough on them. Ride the bicycle about 1.5 hours everyday, either inside or outside, but don't challenge myself anymore to climb the steepest hills.