I'll recommend a product that has put surgery off for both my husband and myself. About three years ago he was diagnosed, after months of agonizing pain, with bone-on-bone arthritis in the hip. His options were much like yours, though his research indicated that the shots and meds were NOT the way to go, and actually counter-productive. He actually got the point where he was checking the calender for a good time to be laid up for several weeks. As a last ditch effort, he got on-line and found a liquid joint care product that intrigued him and decided to try it. In two weeks, he was pain free and has been so to this day. His bad knees were also improved. You'd think that I would have started taking this stuff as a preventative, but I wasn't that smart. I was recently diagnosed with bone-on-bone arthritis of one knee and the other one looks bad, too. It took me a bit longer to feel the benefits, but though not pain free, I am about 75% improved. Our product of choice is Flexicose Liquid Joint Care. We have bought it by the case for two years, now. Don't be tempted into the inexpensive pills that can be purchased at Cost-Co, etc. Compare ingredients and the percentage of the ingredients. I am sure that there are many good products out there; we just happened to have discovered this one. It would be well worth the investment to try something like this. His chiropractor now stocks this stuff for his clients after learning about Robert's story. We are both relatively young (50s) and I'm not sure if that has anything to do with how well glucosamine works. My elderly aunt didn't have the response that we have and had to have surgery.

I agree with asolo; coumadin must be monitored carefully. Depending on his coumadin levels, my husband has a blood test every 2-4 weeks. My mother went through the same thing after her hip surgery. However, all their blood work was done at a lab. If your MIL is just going to a lab, she probably needs to make a specific appointment with her primary care physician to discuss the pain issue. Would that doctor have access to all her medical records, including those from the specialists that have treated her for the heart valve replacement & ileostomy? That way the doctor could make an informed decision about which medications could work for her. It also may be time to consider accompanying her to the doctor appointments. Often times the elderly don't understand what the doctor has said and, therefore, can't explain what was done. And sometimes, after weeks of complaining to their loved ones, they won't even mention their complaints to the doctor. Your MIL may need a second set of eyes & ears and an advocate when she sees her doctors.

EllenP123 , I have been mulling over what to post since I read the above last week. I am sure you did not intend it to be humerus but I laughed reading that you" went to bed 49 and woke up 100". I have been struggling with horrific leg pain for over two years. I daily think holy moly how in the world do people with chronic pain function.Although I have been dealing with my leg pain for months I am not going to categorized it as chronic. My first reaction to my leg pain was to see an ortho specialist who dx the leg pain as stress fractures since I had carried over 900 pieces of granite over a two week period. Yup I counted them. The M.D. gave me a few packets of celebrex that was given to him by the pharmaceutical sales rep. I told the Doctor I am allergic to Aleeve. Alleeve makes me swell and I gained five pounds after three doses. I was smart and had removed my wedding band . It took a good week to reduce the swelling since Alleve has a long half life. Those who are allergic to aleeve are recommended not to take celebrex. I questioned the Medical Doctor who assured me I was misinformed. I took one dose on the way home since the leg pain was horrific. Within two hours I was a mess. It felt as someone was squeezing my heart. I did not need to be hospitalized but monitored . I no longer take Motrin since this is a sister NSAID of celebrex and Aleeve. My point is there are some majorly hubris doctors out there who screw up at your expense. I have had a few nights where I cry cause the leg pain is horrible. No position soothes the ache . I have tried rest, aspirin, warm soaks, ice packs, massage therapy,accupuncture and a dose of darvocet . I came across a book a few years ago about how the body is aligned in two parts. While attempting to find a position to relieve the pain I massaged my toes, foot pad, achilles tendon, tibia ,fibula, knee,thigh, hip ,butt and lower back with a tennis ball. What I figured out is that the pain is in my knee area but when I massage the upper thigh and achilles the pain goes away. A few years a go I had tennis elbow from shoveling the driveway for five hours. When I massaged the shoulder blade and my pectoral muscle the elbow pain disappeared. Pain is not simple . One must identify the source. For me the pain is due to overused muscles and menopause. I am tiny but can llft 60 pounds with ease. If you gave me 62 lbs I balk. I think for some the pain we are experiencing is the lose of estrogen so our tendons get brittle. I too went to bed feeling great and awoke with the crippling pain. What i found that works is to take care of yourself. Take breaks when doing your chores. Swim. Stay active. Place down pillows under your hip and knees at night. Take calcium with magnesium DAILY eat bananas three times a week. The potassium helps with any cramps MAssage your legs from toes to butt with a rolling pin or tennis ball. Make sure you stretch the ham strings( the rear thigh leg muscles). So after two years of several medical visits, accupuncture treatments and masseuse visits for me I figured out what works for me. Some who go into menopause never experience leg pain whereas others are crippled. I was 45 when the periods stopped. My male ob gyn said this was impossible. Sorry but not everyone is a text book case. I have had some wonderful male physicians but at this point in my life I need someone who is informed on a women's life cycle. THe key is to enjoy life. Drink the coffee if it makes you feel good. You will need to experiment with your diet , and supplements. I found that black cohosh did squat. Eating the bananas and religiously taking my calcium with Mg helps. You are not alone. Pilates helped too!!!!!! My mind is racing since I need to get my chores done. A sip of wine at night helps some. For me a little rhum took the pain down a notch. My best solution is the stretcthing and staying active. I am still in pain at times but I can manage it.

I tried it--in fact, I bought a large bottle (360 caps) by Neutraceuticals from Vitacost.com. I didn't try it for long, though, because it seemed to make my joint pain worse. I can't say for sure that the ACV was responsible, but I stopped at least temporarily. Later I read that it is the acid in grapefruit and oranges that causes joint pain for some, so perhaps the acid in ACV is the problem. Somehow that doesn't seem all that likely, though, so I may give it another try. If that doesn't work, I'll be offering the bottle as a giveaway on the KT. :-) My joints are feeling relatively good now, though. Giving up peanuts and grapefruit made a huge difference! Thanks for asking, Judy.