Favorite non NSAID and non tylenol pain pill/cream to take?

[Tradd]

Icy Hot with Lidocaine is magical!

[nswef]

Would the turmeric, ginger and pepper mixture in warm milk help? It seems to work like aspirin for my arthritis, but I have no idea if it would help muscle aches or never ending pain. I mix 1/2 tsp. turmeric, 1/2 tsp ginger, a grind of black pepper in about an inch of milk- can use more if necessary. Heat it about 30 seconds in the microwave, stir, drink then I put water in to rinse it out of the glass and drink that. I do it at night and it lasts almost the whole next day.

[catherine]

Cathy, I just saw an article in LIVESTRONG that talked about a like between fibromyalgia and aspartame. Do you consume aspartame?
https://www.livestrong.com/article/8...-fibromyalgia/

Evidence of an Aspartame-Fibromyalgia Link

While there has been no study determining that aspartame causes or contributes to fibromyalgia, one 2010 article published in "Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology" reported on two stand-alone cases of individuals whose fibromyalgia symptoms vanished after they ceased aspartame consumption. In one case, a 50-year-old woman suffering from fibromyalgia for more than 10 years went on a vacation where she did not consume aspartame. During the vacation, her symptoms were nonexistent. After the incident, aspartame was completely removed from her diet, and she saw a complete regression of her fibromyalgia symptoms. A 43-year-old man, who had a similar experience, also saw a complete regression of his fibromyalgia symptoms, without recurrence, upon ceasing aspartame consumption.

Have you ever tried meditation? I know your condition is chronic, but maybe for times when it flares up meditation and breathing techniques would work for you. I have tried meditation and breathing for pain in the past and it has worked for me--most notably when I gave birth to 4 children and required no epidurals or drugs as a result. But I've also used those techniques for headaches and things like that.

[CathyA]

Thanks catherine.........I knew about aspartame and really avoid it. I used to meditate and I should probably get into it again. The only problem is my whining dog. It's hard to find a spot where she won't bug me outside the door.
I did transcendental meditation when I was younger. Very cool stuff. The hard part was emptying my ADD mind! But I did learn to do it. One time, I felt like the only thing holding me down was my breathing. Very interesting experience.
Thanks for the heads-up about the aspartame. I worry about all the sugar substitutes, since they all seem to eventually have problems of some sort. I'm surprised aspartame hasn't been banned.

nswef........do you just ginger powder? That's an interesting combo. I will try it. I just recently starting taking turmeric capsules twice a day. Could I make that concoction with almond milk?

Tradd.....does icy hot with lidocaine burn? I got something like that in a patch and it didn't help. Curious thing though....it didn't burn at all, until I took a shower the next day and when the area got wet, it really burned! Very strange.
I think part of the problem is that my nerves are very weird and act in funky ways. I never know how they're respond to anything.

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate your input.

[Tybee]

herbal lodge Minagin. Worked on my back spasms.

[JaneV2.0]

Ha! I should go back to aspartame--maybe it would reverse-engineer my elderly aches and pains. I had nary a twinge while I was using it. Some may have a sensitivity to the amino acid its made from, but I think most of those "artificial sweeteners gonna kill ya" stories come straight out of the National Sugar Institute's PR office.

A friend of mine liked Artharrest, until she couldn't find it any more. She's ordered a topical pain reliever with the same ingredients--ArthRX. No word yet on whether it works.

[CathyA]

When I do use a sugar substitute, it's the old saccharin. I don't use it hardly ever. Not enough to give me bladder cancer........which was it's main down side.

[Simplemind]

Magnesium citrate is going to cause bowel issues. There are many different types of magnesium and I take different combos (taurate/glycinate/malate sometimes citrate) orally. What I find best before bed is magnesium chloride spray. I get mine on Amazon and spray it on my feet and legs before bed. Malate is good for fibromyalgia. If you google types of magnesium it will give you a rundown of what type is good for different issues. Many people use CALM and I'm one of them but for me the spray is ahead of the pack for muscle aches, pains and tension.

[nswef]

Cathy A., I just use ginger powder. I think you can mix it in anything that has some fat in it. One day I mixed it with a bit of ricotta cheese and it was great. I would think if you take the capsules just a powdered ginger in hot water or hot milk would work, too. I don't know if it has to be taken together...the internet thing I read emphasized fresh ground pepper to make the turmeric activate. Good luck.

[CathyA]

Simplemind.......I've read about some of the spray/cream magnesiums and always was a little skeptical....but it sounds like it works for you. I'll definitely check that out.
Thanks nswef for that info!