Osteoarthritis

[Greg44]

Since my 50th BD it seems like osteroathritis began creeping into my fingers.

My parents both have it and also the prior generations.

I have all the classic symptons - tenderness in finger joints, stiffness, shooting pain at times, my fingers are like a weather barometer - I can predict incoming storms better than the weather man! A couple of my fingers have already began to develop "nodes" and are bending.

For now Advil takes care of the pain. But I would like to slow down the progression of the joint degeneration.

Just wondering if others are blessed with this disease? My GP said it was "basically" caused by inflammation - not much you can do for it. I am not big into taking a lot of prescriptions, but more interested in diet, excercise, etc. How do you cope with this?

[redfox]

Mine is in my knees, from a lifetime of being overweight & of hard physical work. I lose and regain weight regularly, which is not helping! I'm now getting cortisone shots in the knee that is the most painful. It lasts for about 8 months, and is easier on my system that oral NSAIDS. I've yet to investigate an anti-inflammatory diet, which is being promoted in the Seattle area - for a cost, of course, and unproven scientifically, so I've not jumped thus far.

Movement helps me, and my arthritis PA tells me to keep moving through the pain, which is hard to do, but it lubricates the joints. So I do it! And gentle heat helps as well. We have a hot tub that is wonderful for my knees and lower back (compressed disc - from bucking hay & generally all the farm work I did).

[CathyA]

I have OA pretty bad. A couple of my fingers are bent and I probably should get a knee replacement, but I'm trying to put it off.
Glucosamine and Chondroitin are supposed to be excellent to help rebuild cartilage........but I can't take it since its too hard on my GI tract. But if you can take Advil without problems, you probably would do okay.
Also, tart cherry juice is supposed to help. They usually sell a concentrated form of it in the grocery store, and you can just add it to water. Be careful of the NSAIDS. You can think you're doing okay with them......then all of a sudden your GI tract is damaged.
Definitely try a good brand of the Glucosamine and Chondroitin. And some people do get pain relief from the tart cherry juice. Unfortunately, it bothers my stomach too! I guess I just live with the pain. :(
And daily exercise is good too. You could do a google search of what foods cause inflammation and which ones are anti-inflammatory.
Good luck to you!

[Rosemary]

Read about an anti-inflammatory diet.
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02012/anti-inflammatory-diet

[JaneV2.0]

Joint deformation points more to rheumatoid (an auto-immune disorder) than osteoarthritis.

Weil is coming around (thanks to Gary Taubes), but I'm not convinced he's there yet. A lot of people find relief from giving up gluten grains and other starchy carbohydrates (I know, I'm repeating myself...) Also, some people are sensitive to nightshades like tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant.

[SoSimple]

I visited my rheumatologist yesterday and had an interesting conversation with him about diet. To summarize what he said: there is no magic bullet when it comes to diet. You may find that wheat/gluten are an irritant. You may find that nightshade vegetables are a problem. Some find that cutting out all animal protein is beneficial (I am experimenting with that one myself right now). An anti-inflammatory diet is definitely a good idea anyway, and may be more helpful for osteo than auto-immune type diseases. (The inflammation is more of a symptom than a cause - reducing inflammation helps, but does not stop the destruction of joints: you need an immune system modifier to do that - which is what I ended up having to take).

[Anita]

I use Glucosomine wich does a great job of keeping the pain away.Also I'm not to eat grape fruit or drink grape fruit juice.I try to walk 1to 2 hours a day wich is not happening right now with tons of snow on the side walk.So i walk the stairs or the lane way I live on a farm so that helps.
Anita

[CathyA]

SoSimple........your Rheumie sounds smart. May I ask what med you take?

[Blackdog Lin]

I also suffer.....and just figure it's part of my particular aging. 1000 mg of nsaids, taken as necessary (and with food), seems to "break the cycle", and I'm okay for days or weeks.

My physician says that as long as I don't do it more often, I'm okay. Maybe, maybe not, but it cuts the pain, so.....

I just try to stay active and moving, and loving my nsaids (when necessary).....

[JaneV2.0]

So I was noodling around with a Google search of autoimmune and gluten, and I stumbled on an article that gave me a shred of hope for what passes for health care these days. Instead of just masking symptoms, this doctor is actually making a case for TREATING THE UNDERLYING CAUSE OF DISEASE!!! I thought the drug companies had successfully eradicated the concept of cure, but this guy is hanging on. Bless his heart.

I was really impressed with the article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/is-there-a-cure-for-autoi_b_756937.html

[Greg44]

JaneV2.0 - thank you - very interesting article. This is exacting the stuff I am interested in - curing the underlining problem.
Not just throwing drugs at the symptoms.

[Wildflower]

Glucosamine Chondroitin with MSM has helped my arthritis immensely!! My knees were so bad I could barely walk, but now they are so much better that I can walk around the block now pain-free. I highly recommend it. You have to take it religiously for a few weeks before you will see or feel any difference. Don't give it up too early, even if you think it's not helping. I take the Osteo BiFlex brand, which you can buy at any big box discount store for a fairly decent price. And you can also print out coupons online at www.Osteobiflex.com to use at any store. Evil Walmart has the best price though.......:0!>8)

[CathyA]

I just wish I could take it. It gives me horrendous gas all the time. :(

[SoSimple]

SoSimple........your Rheumie sounds smart. May I ask what med you take?
He is an excellent doctor - I really lucked out with him. To answer your question, I am currently taking Humira, one of the "biologics" that have come out in recent years. I also take Methotrexate (but am about to start tapering that off) and Celebrex. Humira is fantastically expensive (about $1750/month for the routine dose I take), but it has changed my life. I also take fish oil (though I'm currently eating a vegan diet otherwise), ginger and turmeric, plus vitamin D.

[Susan]

From other reading that I have done, if you have one autoimmune disease, chances are that you will develop another one. Mine is Hashimoto's thyroiditis and starting with arthritis. Getting the thyroid under control has really helped with the arthritis. Boswellia is a good anti-immflammatory herb that helps with arthritis pain and doesn't tear up your body the way that OTC pain meds do. Regular exercise helps as well as flaxseed oil and borage oil. I actually use boswellia for my cat and it helps him a lot. Turmeric is also a good anti-immflammatory herb. Accupuncture has also been shown to help.