Osteoarthritis

[CathyA]

I have it in my feet, knees, fingers and now my hip is starting to hurt. :(
What hurts the most is this constant aching in my legs. Do any of you with knee or hip problems get that aching in all your leg muscles?
It sort of hit me all at once. I've been reading that high humidity can make it worse.........and its definitely been humid.
I take calcium and magnesium, and do stretching exercises, but this aching is awful. Anyone else?
I can't take NSAIDS, and I really try to not take much tylenol. But dang, it hurts.
It wakes me up at night. And in the mornings, its almost all too painful to even get upright.

I keep trying to do lots of things during the day, but it seems to make it worse.

[redfox]

Yup, knees mostly. I use cannabis in edible or tincture form. And, glucosamine/chondroitin supplement, which takes about a month to kick in, all of which are very helpful to me. Let me know if you'd like to know more. Much empathy, m'dear.

[CathyA]

Thanks Redfox.

I can't take the glucosamine/chondroitin unfortunately. It really upsets my GI tract. :(
I'm doing exercises that I learned in PT after I had a torn meniscus removed about 8 years ago. I sort of wish I hadn't had it done, since it caused my lower leg to bow out and mess up my foot. At the time, I didn't realize how much good certain exercises can do to strengthen the knee. But surgeons like to operate.......

[Zoebird]

Do take warm epsom salt baths, as that relieves a lot of ache, and if you can find a yoga or pilates teacher who can work with you, it would go a long way, too.

[Greg44]

I have it in my hands - they use to ache something terrible when I would go to bed. Most nights I would have to take Advil to get to sleep. I have the classic nodes on several of my fingers. This runs in our family - on both sides... :-(

When I changed my diet to a low fat vegan diet the pain has all but gone away. Rarely do I take any pain meds. - once every couple of months.

I changed my diet to help my heart - then one day I thought - wow the pain in my fingers has gone away. I still have some stiffness - but very little if any pain. All I can guess is that the foods I now eat reduce the inflammation in my body which contributes to the disease.

[HappyHiker]

Some people I know (myself included) have had positive effects from eating an anti-inflammatory diet. There's some good info here http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/anti-inflammatory-diet-road-to-good-health?page=2...this is basically close to a Mediterranean diet. I get flares when I eat much in the way of full-fat dairy.

[Rosemary]

I never thought I had pain in my joints until I did an elimination diet for 8 weeks and realized how great and mobile everything felt. For me the primary culprits are flours and sugars.

[CathyA]

Thanks everyone.

[Gardenarian]

In the book "Younger Next Year" they advocate strength training for arthritis - and they have the research to back it up. My arthritis is not very bad yet, and I'm looking into various kinds of strength training to see what will work for me. I don't want the expense of a gym.

I highly recommend the book. Younger Next Year for Women: Live Strong, Fit, and Sexy - Until You're 80 and Beyond (http://www.amazon.com/Younger-Next-Year-Women-Strong/dp/0761147748/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374682129&sr=1-1&keywords=younger+next+year+for+women) by Chis Crowley and Henry S. Lodge.

[AnneM]

Bee venom has worked wonders for me.

[pony mom]

My fingers have suddenly developed painful nodules from arthritis. Bad for me, since I use my hands as a massage therapist. When I wake up in the morning, I have to gradually bend my index and little fingers with my other hand---they're so stiff!

I will begin taking MSM again; I took it before for other inflammation issues so I'm hoping a high dose will help. Topical MSM (called DMSO) is great for aching knees. I've always had some for my horse but would use it sometimes on myself. Was able to do deep knee bends a few minutes after applying.

My horse is doing well on a liquid hyaluronic acid supplement so I may skip the glucosamine/chondroitin and go that route instead. My finger joints are getting quite tender and crooked looking. I've got my grandmother's hands! I'm only 47 : (

[frmeital]

All of the above advice is great, and I would add a recommendation for infrared light therapy heating pad to relieve your pain without any meds. It simply works, it's natural and safe and many arthritis sufferers swear by it.

Also, I would try rubbing Magnesium Oil on the joints. Helps many people.

[pony mom]

All of the above advice is great, and I would add a recommendation for infrared light therapy heating pad to relieve your pain without any meds. It simply works, it's natural and safe and many arthritis sufferers swear by it.

Also, I would try rubbing Magnesium Oil on the joints. Helps many people.

I'm using something similar made by Back on Track. It's made with ceramic threads that create an infrared heat but it's not an electric heating pad. I have gloves and a mat that I sleep on at night and I swear it's helping quite a bit.

http://www.backontrackproducts.com/

[CathyA]

Thanks frmeital and pony mom.
I've been looking for the magnesium oil and I think I'll have to buy it online.
That looks like a good site pony mom. Thanks!