She should do research to see which foods to avoid that cause inflammation. I take the joint soother pills from puritan's pride and that helps joint pain for me, in fact I have no more hip pain. My sister was telling me that she stopped drinking tea because she found that if she drinks it, her joints ache.

I have been on the meds for years and could not do with out them the pain is just too bad. But one thing she can do is buy a tens machine and do daily treatments on the area of pain, back, hips, knees etc. They are available from Walmart to CVS to Amazon and all over the internet. The prices can vary but you can get a decent 9volt one for under $40. I bought them for both of my sisters because mine helps me so much and they now use theirs regularly.

This is the Omron one I bought my sisters

omron

This is more like the one I have

tens unit

I have a friend who has been coping with fibromyalgia for several years.

I've been thinking that I should pay her a visit. This looks like a good excuse.

She's an inquisitive soul - I'm sure that she's found some resources that might be hepful.

ole joyful

My eye-opening discovery was the way my rheumatologist did a work up on me. Holy smokes. She looked at things no other doctor ever thought about. My problem was arthritis in my jaw, but she checked out everything with my body and drew some blood that she admitted no other practitioner would consider doing!

If your neighbor has not been treated by a professional who works with those maladies and is trying to fix herself using alternative measures, then after a while of low or no positive results, she might have to break down and see someone with advanced training.

She really needs to follow her rheumatologist's recommendations. What she can do on her own is to stop eating any foods in the night shade family. Tomatoes, potatoes, okra, peppers, ect. I know when I eat too many potatoes. Tomatoes for me are a no no because of the acid and other meds I have taken for inflamation. Kills my stomach. She may also need to cut out all gluten. It has been found that many who have fibro are gluten intolerant.

jasdip, sometimes people who say they "prefer to avoid meds" say so because they don't have prescription drug coverage with their medical insurance. Could that be the case with your neighbor?

I can only scratch my head about seeing a specialist and then not following their advice.

Besides the above mentioned ideas,apple Cider Vinegar-tell her to get a bottle,and take a couple ounces a.m. & p.m.

Massage therapy can help as well,if she can see to do it(financially).

Warm to hot baths with epsom salts work wonders for some.

I too,have just been thru a series of tests for what she has,plus-they aren't sure if mine could be this Ankylosing Spondilitis,RA,Lupus,or a reaction to my Remicade infusions.

Unfortunately,because of medication allergies,I cannot take the usual meds for the arthritis'.

I'm glad Raven weighed in on this. I don't have RA but the one thing I read or heard is that it's important to get diagnosed early because the meds slow down the progression of it. I don't like taking unnecessary meds either but think I would take something that slows down the progression of a disease.

She doesn't take meds because she doesn't like the toxins going into her body and thinks they only work in the short-run, in the beginning.

Here's a quick question for you.......what would be an ache down the outside of my leg, thigh to knee. It's not a joint, so what would it be? The tendon? It aches and I rub my leg.

Jasdip...could it be sciatica? I have Fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, 5 herniated discs, sometimes the sciatica is a burning pain down the outdide of my leg, all the way to the top of my foot. Other times a dull ache or throb.

August 15, 2005, about 11:00 a.m. Ah yes, I remember it well. I was just coming out of anesthesia after a total hip replacement.

Pain down the side of the thigh (more of it closer to the thigh than farther away). The surgeon said it wasn't his problem. My primary said that it was/is Meralgia Paresthetica. If that is what you have - Ouch! Look it up to either confirm or eliminate.

I have seen four pain docs and an east Asian MD with training in acupuncture. Nothing improved it, some made it worse. Supposedly, it comes from an impinged nerve. In my case, from the positioning on the operating table.

Yes sounds like a nerve being pinched somewhere in the spine likely very low back to hip area so something like sciatica fits that. It causes the pain all the way down the leg to the foot.

Sounds like sciatic nerve is pinched. Do you have a tennis ball? If you do, lay or sit with the tennis ball positioned so you are laying/sitting on it where the pain is the worst. You will only be able to do this for a couple of seconds. It will open up the area that is pinching the nerve. And ice it! After the first 24 hours, alternate the ice with heat for a few days.

Jasdip, if you bend your knee, raise your leg, does your outer thigh ache, hurt? The area you describe could also be your iliotibial band. Mine can both get tight, but when I was having a hip issue my left was really tight. PT helped. Ice, supervised stretching.

iliotibial band

Jasdip. I had that same situation recently and it did go away without me doing anything. I thought it was sciatic. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in 1990. I can keep it under control with exercise, but if I'm stressed, I get flare ups. I take an Aleve PM at night, plus an assortment of six vitamins. B6, B 12, D3000, Silver Centrum, Magnesium, and C.

I would like to suggest doing some research on something that took care of many of my chronic inflammation issues (arthritis since I was 13-years old, carpal tunnel, tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis, even rosacea as a pleasant bonus) and that was to go gluten-free. My sister has fibromyalgia and a number of "gut" issues, and her daughter (36-years old) has RA, and we all got tremendous relief going gluten-free. Eliminate the cause instead of treating the symptoms. I spent too many years treating symptoms.

I went gluten-free for 3-months before adding it back to my diet. When I did, I had more inflammation than ever before, so the proof was in the homemade whole wheat burger bun and the flour tortilla I ate over two days. By day three I was bedridden. That's all it took. The symptoms of my chronic issues abated gradually, but after the first gluten-free year, I couldn't believe how much my life changed. Just to be able to walk barefoot without hobbling and to be able to knit for long periods of time was a blessing, and to be pain-free was a new experience.

And as far as the radical change in our diet, it was well worth it. I was accustomed to gluten-free cooking since my mother had celiac disease, and I develop recipes for a sorghum mill (many which are gluten-free). We don't do without, we just do "different". It doesn't help to just reduce gluten, elimination is the only way you'll be able to decide if it's a contributing factor. As one person described it - just as you can't be a little pregnant, you can't be a little gluten-free.

At the first of the year I did a 10-day grain detox (eliminating all grains) and felt even better. I discovered I was using too much corn; and not only gluten-containing grains can cause inflammation, but other grains as well. Each person reacts differently.

I take turmeric & bromelain, but that was for digestive issues after having my gallbladder removed (2014), and after I'd been gluten-free for over a year.

I also have sciatica (since 1987) and I found a book at the library about it and I do a series of exercises I found in the book to help mine.

It all comes down to what causes inflammation in our bodies (for me it's gluten-containing grains), and when inflammation goes awry it spreads to every part of the body through the bloodstream. The list of health issues from inflammation is very long. What most physicians do is to treat the symptoms, not the cause.

Thanks so much for your help and suggestions.

I had my CT scan 1.5 weeks ago for my headaches and I haven't heard anything. Might be good news or might be a lapse in information.....

If I have to see my doc again for that, I'm definitely going to mention possible sciatica. I did mention it a couple of years ago, and he said to get a dog and walk more. He wasn't impressed when I told him I had 3 cats! :-)

I second what Grainlady re: going gluten free. I know some of you think it's a "fad" way of eating, but I would seriously suggest reading some popular books on the subject, such as Wheat Belly and Grain Brain. I would even push that recommendation further by suggesting a ketogenic diet for inflammation.

Jim, sounds to me like you were not positioned correctly for your hip surgery. This is an injury that should not have happened.

Jasdip, do you by chance have a new-ish pair of shoes you've been wearing often? Sometimes that is the cause of one of my mystery pain.

As for your neighbor, turmeric is supposed to work better if taken with black pepper; however, I think it would be better to use turmeric and pepper in food. I recall some problem with taking too much turmeric, but don't remember specifics.

Another vote for diet changes. A strict elimination diet for a few weeks and wow. For me it is more than just gluten - also dairy, oranges, grapefruit, tomatoes, paprika and a few more. I felt better right away but it took six months before I could make a tight fist again and a full year before I could take off my ring (knuckles were too swollen). I was on arthritic meds for years before doing this. I wish I was a little more open-minded earlier in my life. I also take fish oil, probiotics and vit D but no more meds:).

It could be sciatica, it could be bursitis, and it could be a bad back. I would do some core exercises while waiting to see the doc. It can't hurt anything and will strengthen the stomach muscles which supports the back.