arthritis sufferers, best OTC medicine

[brava4]

Aleve, Advil Ibuprofen all make my joints worse. I thought it was so odd that 2-3 days after taking them my joints really hurt. I then did some research and it seems this can happen. I stopped them all. And occasionally I take Tylenol.

[jaminhealth]

Originally Posted by brava4

Aleve, Advil Ibuprofen all make my joints worse. I thought it was so odd that 2-3 days after taking them my joints really hurt. I then did some research and it seems this can happen. I stopped them all. And occasionally I take Tylenol.

If you can live without the Nsaids, then you should. Tylenol doesn't do much for the OA pain I live with. But I know the D.O. who was doing my last round of Prolotherapy got me off ibuprofen and what a blessing that was, now I'm back on them since I'm off Prolo but would like to go back on.

Something about more pain meds, more pain receptors. I try to take less ibuprofen and often do that.

[jaminhealth]

Originally Posted by eliza61nyc

Thank you all for your help. I tried to rep as many as I could, a few I couldn't because evidently I rep you too much and must spread the love around (Thanks Republican)

So, I am an OA sufferer (lol, thanks mom, grand mom, back and back) my right knee and feet are my main problem areas.
I do get cortisone shots in the knee but I know that they actually break down cartilage faster so I'm trying to limit or extend the number of times I do that.

It's really weird, the primary problems is at night, it just seems to be that things start throbbing. Once I get up and moving its better.

lol, You all should see me in the morning. It's like a bad impression of the bride of Frankenstein walking.

luckily I'm not on any other medication (knock on wood)

I have a series of stretches I do before I start to walk every morning. If I didn't do them and limber up the body I wouldn't be able to walk, so I'm committed to this work I do for a good 20-30 minutes...worth every minute.

[jaminhealth]

Originally Posted by Travelassie

But NSAIDS can be hard on the kidneys if taken for a long period of time, as in for a chronic condition, or in doses above those recommended. My husband had to cut out his NSAID use significantly as they were beginning to affect his kidneys. He uses acetominophen for pain now.

NSAIDS also carry the risk of gastric inflammation, ulcers. My go to for control of the pain associated with shoulder bursitis flareups has always been Aleve, it did a great job. But even with never taking more than recommended, and never on an empty stomach, a round or two of bleeding gastric ulcers has left me either substituting acetominophen, or taking a minimal dose of Aleve occasionally with extra stomach protection when it gets that bad. I miss my Aleve but don't want any more ulcers.

I thought it was hard on the kidneys to take acetominophen, I take a few now and then but they don't do much for me anyway. It's the Nsaids that are supposedly so hard on the stomach and other organs as well..I'd love NOT to take any. I make sure I have food on my stomach for any of these that I take.

Headed to get back to Prolo as the D.O. I was last seeing had me OFF ibuprofen from the sessions I had in summer 2016. Then the staph infection hit and I've been doing my healing, but I still believe in Prolo.

No matter what we do we can almost always except some side effects...sadly.

[gizmo980]

Cannabis (or CBD if you don't want the "intoxicating" effects) works best for me, but you'll have to check your local laws... otherwise just good old-fashioned Advil/Ibuprofen! FYI: I can't take aspirin or anything related to it, since I'm allergic.

[annabanana123]

Originally Posted by jaminhealth

That's great for you, I don't buy drug insurance, so I have none. Even the generic celebrex was going to be like $80/mo so I said "s***w it"...I'll take my chances with generic ibuprofen.

Is the celebrex doing a great job for you? And you are speaking to choir about all drugs and risks.

It helps. I’m on multiple meds for an incurable, intractably painful condition and I definitely notice a difference with it. It’s far better on my GI system than any other nsaid I tried so it’s the lesser of the evils. When I take it with lyrica I notice substantial improvement.

[The_Resourcer]

Originally Posted by sunsprit

for me, a combination of topical arnica gel or oils and magnesium cream bring significant relief and mobility. 200c Arnica pillules dissolved under the tongue bring amazing relief, too.

as well, I use a TENS unit … sometimes every evening for 20 minutes, sometimes twice a day. But I've been able to get by without using it lately for two weeks. The TENS unit was cheap … $25 at Walgreens and I've only had to replace the gel pads with another 6-pack from Walgreens after many months of use. Still on the original batteries now after 8 months of use.

there will be, no doubt … naysayers on this forum who will gladly tell us that what I'm doing "cannot work". I don't know why it does, just that the routine does work quite well for me. What works for me and for them are not necessarily the same thing.

I prefer to not use NSAID's (which caused me a pyloric ulcer despite using them in moderation and always with food in my stomach), and ibp puts me at risk for liver damage, no thanks. YMMV.

PS: you might also want to investigate "celery juicing". A recent issue of Well Being Journal featured an article on this regimen and I started it (16 oz first thing in the AM) 5 weeks ago. What got my attention was that the RA folk also recommend using the celery juice. Do a web search, read up on this and satisfy yourself as to whether or not it may be worth trying. A key aspect is the anti-inflammatory aspects of the celery juice. So far, for me, the results are noticeable and my fingers are working more freely with a greater range of pain-free motion than I've had in years. I've not needed the Arnica is weeks. Again, YMMV.

Sunspirit:

I have knee joint pain. Where did you get the magnesium cream and the sublingual form of Arnica? I want to research and then diuscuss with my primary care physician. She knows I tend to lean towards naturopathic medicines and she's on board as long as I inform her of my choices.
I love celery and will look up "celery juicing."

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by jaminhealth

I thought it was hard on the kidneys to take acetominophen, I take a few now and then but they don't do much for me anyway. It's the Nsaids that are supposedly so hard on the stomach and other organs as well..I'd love NOT to take any. I make sure I have food on my stomach for any of these that I take.

Headed to get back to Prolo as the D.O. I was last seeing had me OFF ibuprofen from the sessions I had in summer 2016. Then the staph infection hit and I've been doing my healing, but I still believe in Prolo.

No matter what we do we can almost always except some side effects...sadly.

I don't know that acetominophen doesn't have any adverse effects on the kidneys, but the biggie for acetominophen is the liver. Take a look at the bottle and you'll see all kinds of warnings NOT to exceed the maximum daily dosage (think it's 4000 mg per 24 hours), don't mix products containing acetominophen (such as cold preparations and tyelenol), or have more than 3 alcoholic drinks while taking acetominophen products (these have a additive effect on the liver), and to check with your doc about taking acetominophen if you have ever had hepatitis, cirrhosis or other liver disease. Still, it's pretty effective, I find, as a pain reliever but I take it in small amounts.

I always swore by naproxin (generic Aleve) for my occasional aches and pains but the bleeding ulcers (fortunately caught and treated by some very caring docs (they ARE out there) before I ended up in the ER), kind of put the kabosh on taking those routinely.

One of those great docs suggested I try drinking aloe juice, for its anti-inflammatory properties. He suggested this to help heal those ulcers I had (said some people swore by it), but I'm hoping if it does any good it might help general inflammation as well. We'll see.

[tramp]

I have arthritis in my left shoulder. When the weather turns cold, my shoulder is very painful. My doctor gave me a prescription for pain killers that works pretty good. Before that I was taking Advil. Also I would rub WD40 into the joint for relief.

[tickyul]

I eat a lot of fatty fish and take aspirin when needed, seems to work for me.