Desperate for Help!!

Alright, I am absolutely desperate to find out some Medicinal Plant or berry, roots,,etc=== which will help aleviate some or all of this pain I am having to endure in my hands. I was diagnosed several years ago with arthritus as the cause. I have absolutely been miserable the last few months, and it has only gotten worse. I am not on any type of Prescription Medicine now, and have not be on any for about 3 or 4 months or so. I really need to find out what it will take to get rid of some of this pain I am suffering with!
Any and all help will be greatly appreciated,,,, so what should I do or get to use? ???

[RangerRick]

Sorry to hear around the pain suffering, been there done that.

Diagnosed with RA in 1992 and been down the drug road and back again. Never did find any herbal remedies that helped me for a prolonged period but the wife has had me on quite a few. Some of those I've tried with limited success are ginkgo biloba extract daily, shark cartilage pills, turmeric, devils claw, yucca, aloe vera juice, crystal star, vitamin C, grounded flax seed, alkalizing enzyme, yerba mate tea and green tea.

The only thing that has really had long lasting results of which I've been on for the past 4 years is mobic and folic acid on a daily basis, methotrexate once a week and I take an infusion of Remicade every 8 weeks.

One day I was hobbling around on a cane, couldn't walk 500 feet and could manage to tie my shoes only with difficulty and felt like I was 90 and the next day after my first Remicade infusion, someone flipped on a light switch, my RA was but a manageable irritant.

Just sorry it took so long to get on Remicade. Do labs frequently to keep a check on my liver and todate everything is fine.

Rick

[leera]

HillBillyPapa,try looking up anti inflamatories rather than pain relievers.......you might have a little more luck.

I take mortin for mine,and use pain patches,which are nothing more than menthol and camphor......

I'd probably have better luck finding relief if my doctors could all agree on what it is that's causing the pain in the first place.........

If I may make a suggestion about pain in the hands, I think it could be gout related if your diet is off at all. If you look up "gout diet" on google, there are many regular foods that can cause this, if you don't drink enough water. At least look at this as the possible cause. Lots of water, easy on the caffeine and alcohol.
Sour cherries (pie cherries)have a compound in them (fresh or canned) that helps the water wash away the problems. Are you using any chondroitin source?
Frequently gout first manifests in the feet and toes, but not always.

Leera is right anti inflammatories will help a lot like Aleve

I think its best to take one every day , even if the pain is not bad because it has a building up effect.


and ditto on the cherries mentioned here.

The darker the color of fresh cherries the better .

I know gout sufferer's who eat cherries every day and swear it keeps them from being in pain.

[leera]

Three different doctors,three different answers.......but motrin helps me more than anything else.

When my wrist gets really bad I cut a pain patch in half and put it on my wrist,then put my wrist brace on and go to bed..........by morning the pain is gone.

[JeffColorado]

I make a nice and spicy hot green Chile sauce. My mother in law, who has arthritis in her hands, shoulders and knees swears that when she ate it she got relief for several day to a week. I shared my secrete recipe with her and she makes large batches of it and now regularly has large helpings of it. Still swers that it works better than any drug she’s used.

[leera]

Jeffcolorado.........hot peppers have an oil in them called capsasin........it's what makes them hot,it's also a good pain reliever,that's why it's in many pain relief rubs.

It would take an awful lot of green chilies though,they don't have much heat in them.

[sage_morgan]

My mom used to take a lot of alfalfa in tablets. She said she had to take it for awhile before it worked, and she could tell if she quit. I'm sorry I don't know any mgs or dosages or anything.

Hope one of these things helps.

[JeffColorado]

Originally Posted by leera

Jeffcolorado.........hot peppers have an oil in them called capsasin........it's what makes them hot,it's also a good pain reliever,that's why it's in many pain relief rubs.

It would take an awful lot of green chilies though,they don't have much heat in them.

Your not getting the right kind of chilie. Some make some sweat producint burns.

Sooooooooo where is the recipe for Chili Verde? ;D

[theresehirko]

My mom has arthitis in both of her hips and she drinks organic apple cider vinegar in a glass of water every day. She swears it helps her with the arthritis. About 1 tBsp. in 8oz of water.

[CarolAnn]

Plants that might help the inflamation would be white willow bark & other plants high in Salicylic Acid. (Same as aspirin.)
see
http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/bot...cbotany/Salix/

Plants to avoid are high in oxalic acid, such as rhubarb, spinach and sorrel because oxalic acid prevents the GOOD absorption of calcium.

see
http://www.herbalisthealth.com/arthritis.html

[Rachel]

I have heard very good things from a few friends about MSM, but haven't tried it personally. Also, there are many natural anti-inflammatories that you may want to check out. I actually did a presentation for one of my classes on natural anti-inflammatories. Some of them include: Curcumin Turmeric Extract, Ginger Extract, Bromelain, & Boswellin. There are many more.

In case you want to look into it more, here are some websites I found informative:
www.nutriworld.co.uk/d-flame.shtml
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?stor...gory=eat_right
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/PAG00326

[Machelle]

another option is to try essential oils. Butterfly Express sells two blends that I've given to people with arthritis for a while. Deeper and Paine. Both are anti inflammatory and analgesic, and help alleviate joint pain. They also have an AR (Arthritis Plus) Herbal tincture that is certainly worth a look. Any essential oil company that sells 100% pure therapeutic grade oils would sell blends similar to Deeper and Paine, but Butterfly Express is just the brand that I use and love. Do some research, and you may find that is a good option for you. Best of luck!

[backlash]

I think this is the oldest thread I have ever see revived.
Almost 7 years.
Not that there is anything wrong with that it just surprised me.
To add my 2 cents to the OP.
My wife has suffered with her hands for a long time.
She drinks Pectin mixed with grape juice every day and it has helped her a lot.
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2005/...ctin-for-pain/

[doc]

Looking back at the original post, I have to wonder if someone "desperate with pain" is suffering from simple arthritis or a more serious problem like scleroderma, arteritis, diabetic neuropathy or even a tumor invading the spinal cord. A million possibilities.

We've all got our aches & pains. If yours seem to have gone beyond routine, see your doc to check for more serious things.

"Icy hots" like capsascin or menthol, etc work by irritating nerves and re--directing your attention, like the old joke about stomping the guys foot to make him forget his toothache. They don't cure anything; just pain relief.

The OTC drugs like aspirin, ibuprofen etc are dangerous drugs: bleeding ulcers, kidney and liver failure are among their problems when used in high doses for prolonged periods. Popping them for a day or two shouldn't hurt, but don't use them chronically.

Plants are well known to make chemicals that have medicinal benefit. One chemical in the plant may help you, but the plant makes 20,000 other chemicals. What are they doing to you? Caveat emptor.

Glucosamine has been around forever. It's relatively cheap and safe. The veterinarians have detailed research showing it really helps osteoarthritis and injuries. The human medical literature has no such evidence only because the stuff is already on the market as a generic and there's no money to be made by doing the tests.

[whitehairedidiot]

What I've heard with glucosamine, is that it needs to build up in the body for some time, before there's any real relief. That said, it's probably worth the patience. There are a couple different ways to approach something like this, and as doc said: you really need to figure out what the real cause is, before committing to a certain treatment.

I have some nerve pain issues and what helps a lot for me, is vitamin B complex and OTC skin rubs, heat and ice treatment. Massages help, too. I'd really like to find a sports medicine or physical therapy rehab center, because I believe that since I injured a knee and ankle (and have an old shoulder injury) on that side - some of the pain I experience now is mechanical and can be corrected with exercise. Specific exercises! I just don't know what they are right now. Some of the things I do know, and have tried, make it worse... until I can "pop" my hip, that is. Maybe I have hip dysplasia... LOL!!

Because my pain seems all located on one side of my body... I realize some of the experience of the pain is probably neurological. And one of the ways I can "treat" that, that really works for me, is to play simple puzzle games on the computer or the DS. It somehow "soothes" the part of my brain that activates that pain center. Needlepoint works the same way, too - it's repetitive, doesn't involve problem solving, and activates the parasympathetic nervous system (which is the calming part of the central nervous system).

[motdaugrnds]

Hasn't anyone noticed that Hillbillypapa started this thread in 2007 and hasn't been back since? Maybe a PM would be more helpful. I'll try that.

Well, cannot PM a "guest".

[Ellendra]

I don't know if this would help with arthritis, but sometimes I'll get a muscle that seizes up, and skullcap helps with that. It's a muscle relaxer. I've also found it helps with restless legs or twitchy muscles at night.

Just make sure to be careful until you know how it effects you. I found out the hard way that it's better to use the bathroom first, and be sitting in bed BEFORE taking my skullcap every night!