Have you tried CBD? I have heard several rave about it. My sister is a diabetes educator and has patients who have other ailments. She has had several who have had good results with CBD. I asked one of my dad's drs about it for him, and while she was favorable she did say there are not studies to support the results - yet. She preferred the drops or even gummies. As for prescript, my dad took Celebrex (sp?:) for years and it helped him greatly. Then came the warning about heart patients (he had a stent put in 17 years ago) using it and his cardiologist took him off it. Hopefully someone will also weigh in on anti-imflamatory diet, that might be of help also. I hope you find something that works!!

Over at the Kitchen Table there is a women who bicycles long distances, Moni. She is older, and she swears by raisins soaked in gin for relief of arthritis. She has mentioned it several times, and crazy as it sounds, I thought I would mention it to you, just in case. I don't know how many she takes, or any details.

My aunt suffered with arthritis in her back as well. She would up having some injections (steroids?) in her back that gave her relief for many years so far. I think hers was higher up than yours on her back.

Also, on the fish oil thread, people are saying that it helps with arthritis.

I know someone with severe arthritis pain in his back, neck and shoulder. The only thing that touched it was cortisone injections. He’s due for another round since his pain has been flaring again. They don’t completely eliminate his pain, but they definitely take the edge off so he can function. I will have to suggest he look into CBD per tinam61’s suggestion. I have already suggested an anti inflammatory diet - he eats a lot of bread, pasta and such - but he doesn’t think it will help. If it were me, and I weren’t already eating keto, I’d definitely try it.

Nutramax Cosamine DS for joint health. I take 3 different supplements in the morning. Since they are supplements, I feel I have the right to skip if I choose. I notice a difference in my back when I skip the glucosamine for 2 days in a row.

I actually first started giving this to my elderly Golden Retriever when she developed arthritis. The people version at Costco was so much cheaper than at the vet. I decided to try it for myself.

The biggest improvement that we personally witnessed was my sister's Golden. I left pills for her dog who could no longer walk up and down the flight of stairs to her basement from the garage.

Within 6 weeks this dog was able to walk up these stairs.

Dogs don't lie.

I mention the brand because I truly believe that they are all different in results.

Start with three pills and see. I find just two works for me.

There are some who feel that avoiding anti-inflammatory foods help. Sorry, but I need to have tomatoes and peppers among others in my rotation. But, in your case, if you have difficulty sleeping I would certainly examine all the foods you are eating and try to eliminate those that might cause inflammation.

CBD oil is all over the place. I think, like glucosamine, it is not all equal. Again this time bringing my present dog into the equation, I tried it for a calming effect for him. Nothing! I am on to other things.

I would use CBD oil that people I personally now have used and experienced good results.

I am skeptical about all the studies.

It runs in my family. I don’t like taking meds if avoidable. I have lower back issues. I take tumeric each morning. I buy it loose and add it to apple sauce or juice. It’s not immediately noticeable if you start taking it. I sure do notice if I run out though. After a few days I’ll wake up and wonder why I feel like the tin man in need of oiling. After a few days of taking it again, I feel better. It works for me.

In my opinion, most importantly, you have to move. Low impact. Walking and yoga are what I do.

Thank you all -this is just the info I was looking for. Most of these I had heard of, but it's hard to separate hype from real-life results, so I appreciate the input. I had forgotten about gin-soaked raisins -that's something the People's Pharmacy used to advocate. I'm headed to Colorado at the end of October, which means I'll have full access to quality CBD products, so I'll definitely experiment with that. Does anyone know if I can bring those back in my luggage? I hadn't heard of Nutramax Cosamine DS , but will definitely look into that. As you say, dogs don't lie. I also absolutely agree with moving as a big help. I walk Savannah for three miles every day, and when I had to travel without her recently, I definitely noticed a difference, I've heard tumeric can make a big difference and have just started to look into it -that's something I could easily add to my smoothies. I do have to say, my diet has not been as good for the last month or so as it usually is, due to traveling, stress eating, etc. I'm a pescatarian, and generally eat pretty healthfully, but have definitely been eating my carbs and sweets this month. Thank you all again-

Zalco, i think I'll head over to The Table and ask Moni about her raisin recipe.

You probably have, but if not you might try icing your back when you go to bed. You can get the thin flat gel-type packs that are comfortable to lie on. When my arthritis was bad (I have rheumatoid) Imy knees would feel like they were on fire at the end of the evening. I would ice them for 15-20 minutes while I read in bed before going to sleep. It was such a treat...really relieved the pain and thus relaxed my whole body. It definitely helped me to sleep, and my knees felt better in the AM as well. (Incidental advantage was having a gel-pack nearby when I woke with a hot flash in middle of the night!) Aging is not for the faint of heart! Good luck - I hope you find relief!

Bestyears, you can travel with CBD oil as long as it doesn't have THC in it. I use CBD oil at night to help sleep, it helps with sleep but I don't know that it helps my arthritis. Most painful are the knuckles in my index fingers in both hands. I keep looking for something to relieve that pain. I also have been giving my anxious dog Rocky ( my photo) bacon flavored CBD treats, it's helped greatly with his appetite.

Michele, Do you just use the turmeric from the spice aisle at the grocery store? How much?

I just started taking Celebrex, a low dose, and doing specific exercises for my knees, but I’d rather not take the Celebrex long term until I really need to. it’s been helping though!

hmm, I'll try the icepacks. I do often sleep with a heating pad on it, though I haven't lately. Roarah, I'm sorry to hear about your pain which sounds truly awful. I'm a little bit familiar with the idea of ignoring pain. I read about a fascinating study which illustrated how patients with longterm pain continue to feel the pain after the cause of the pain is eliminated and there is a theory that the pain kind of carves a path in the brain that remains after the pain itself disappears.

Pam, what CBD oil do you use and where do you get it? There is so much going on out there.

I too would like to know about turmeric.

Pain is a neurological interputation of a signal sent to our brain. We can not control the signal but I do believe with practice we can control how we interput that signal. Pain killers, not NSAIDs but opioids, work by damping down the glial activity that pain signals activate in our brain. Meditation can achieve that same effect as seen in brain scans of long term mediatators. NSAIDs work by reducing inflammation responses. Meditation, CBT and diets have also been proven to reduce many inflamation markers in blood work and brain scans. And none of these options come with side effects or dangerous addiction. I will admit to being addicted to my yoga classes though.

I had a feeling someone was going to ask .. I'll reply again when I get home and can get you the website. It was recommended by my old yoga instructor. She is into homeopathic remedies and researches everything herself. I trust everything she recommends. because I know how thorough she looks into everything. More to come when I get home from work.

From Moni (Kitchen Table)

buy a box of yellow raisins, and a bottle of gin. At home take a pie pan (not metal) and pour the raisins in, and pour gin over. It does not have to cover the raisins. Leave sitting on the counter (uncovered) for about 5 days, stirring ever so often, to make sure all raisins make it to be bottom at some time. The gin should be pretty well all absorbed by then.

The stuff that makes the raisins yellow, and the ingredients in the gin interact, and that is what helps.

After 5 days I put mine in a couple of canning jars and put lids on. I just set them in the pantry.

Hey Sophie. We order from various vitamin/herb sites. I’m out right now, but as long as it’s organic and at a good price we get it. My husband is the shopper between us so I don’t remember off hand. In a pinch I will buy it in the market. The organic.

I found this online. I'm not a gin drinker, so don't know much about the different brands. This article indicates that to get the benefit for pain relief, you need to buy one with real juniper berries as an ingredient, not just juniper flavoring. They mention Gordon's Gin as a low-cost example.

I'm home from work ... I get my CBD Oil from www.hempworx.com/body This is my old yoga instructors site since she's a distributor. If you message me, I can send you the Word Doc she put together that explains about CBD Oil, it's uses and how to take it. As I said, it helps me sleep and it helps my dog Rocky with his appetite .. he's on seizure meds, and loss of appetite is a side affect, so CBD Oil helps him.

pamghatten -I clicked on your user name and sent you a 'message' -hope that went to your email. I would love to review the Word Doc -thanks so much.

Got it, sent you an email!

Bestyears, I hate taking medicine, too, but If the other remedies don't work you might get a script for Meloxicam. It is an NSAID, but can only be taken once every 24 hours and other NSAID's can't be taken while taking this. My orthopedic surgeon has all his knee surgery patients start taking before and thru the knee replacement surgery (he apparently believes the inflammation reduction is more important during surgery than the bleeding issue) I had one knee replaced very successfully and the other would qualify, but the Meloxicam keeps me pretty much pain free, so until it quits working I'm not feeling the need to do the second one. My sister has since started taking it for her back arthritis and is getting relief from it also. Hope you find something that works and come back to share.

On a side note, your dog is so beautiful Pam! I’m glad he’s doing better.

I take this as a daily supplement and feel it Is helpful. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F9F2OR2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My girlfriend uses a tumeric supplement. She purchases it in capsule form from Amazon.

DH has arthritis almost from head to toe. Nothing rids him of the pain, which is the worst in his neck. His hands are like claws, even when sleeping in wrist/hand guards the last several years. He's another that does not like taking medicine. He has tried everything mentioned above, with the exception of raisins. In 2018, he had 8 trips for injection and neck decompression surgery (went in the back). This year, he had surgery from the front with donor bone and a plate inserted. He started using CBD (no THC) and some of it has helped him sleep, but lately not so much. I read somewhere (don't think it was here) about a couple that recently traveled to CO, and they mailed products home containing THC. Hope you can get some relief and sleep. They really wear on a person.

Allison -your poor husband. I think pain is one of those things that we don't truly truly understand until we're in the midst of it. It can be so overwhelming and exhausting that it's hard to put it out of your mind for even a short spell. One thing we haven't talked about in this thread but that I've looked into a bit is stem cell therapy. It's years away in this country from full implementation, although there are some chiropractors offering a version of it. Some countries around the world are having some impressive results. A friend of mine traveled to Sweden and got stem cell therapy there for her ankle and it was really effective.

Regarding turmeric -coincidentally, I came across this yesterday, which just underscores the need to be diligent in sourcing anything we put in our bodies. Turmeric contaminated with high levels of lead.

Thank you, Bestyears.

For me, yoga, Pilates, swimming, and water aerobics have helped me regain power over my fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis infested body. I started out doing exercises from a chair!

I also take CBD oil and Flexicose to much benefit.

When I think back on my life before I started some simple exercises, I get tears in my eyes.

I cannot take nsaids, Mobic (meloxicam) was responsible for putting me in the hospital.

Rhizo, Since I'm currently taking Meloxicam, I would be interested in knowing more about how it caused your hospitalization, if you don't mind sharing.

When I get laid up and don’t do my walking and yoga, I feel my body stiffen. The more I move the better I feel. One of the worst is taking a long car trip! It takes a while to stand up properly

I used to get shots every 3 months in my back. Now, from my Harvard trained pain doc in Tucson, I get a series of 2 shots, 6 weeks apart. The approach is transforaminal and it lasts for over a year.. shots are given over an X-ray. I love this guy. No back pain

Westsider40 -are those standard steroid shots? I've had them twice, and each time got a bit of relief but not an absence of pain.

Bestyears, sorry about your pain. I have osteoarthritis in my lower back and thighs but thankfully it's not an every day issue.

Please be careful taking ibuprophen. When I was getting bad headaches I'd take it a couple of times a day along with Tylenol & ended up with a dreadful ulcer. The pain would hit 30 min after I took an ibuprophen. The doubled over type of pain.

Always make sure you eat something taking NSAIDs. When in CO, what you could do is buy 1 dose or whatever they call it (a joint? lol) of cannabis just to experiment and see if it works. My SIL was on morphine for years and they took her off and put her on cannabis since it's legal here. She loves it and is totally off the morphine. She said it has helped her pain tremendously.

Thank you Oakley -it's actually my concern about taking too much ibuprofen that is driving me to look for a better solution now. I'm really hopeful my Colorado trip might be fruitful!

Good to know that about your SIL.

Yes, Best years, the 3 month shots were standard shots, i cant think of the word. But the ones in Arizona are likely not in every doctor's bag but likely pretty standard for this particular dr. The key is the transforaminal approach. done in an xray room with 2 shots, one left and right and repeated 6 weeks later. Perhaps the injected material is not very standard but I have no info re that. good luck in your quest. Btw, I had both knees replaced with great success.

My doctor prescribed Voltaren gel for my knees. It is an NSAID, but wow oh wow, it completely eliminated the pain. I use it rarely, but it sure does work when I need it.

ETA: I have also used a little on my finger joints once or twice.

You might also consider a collagen supplement. I have trouble with one of my ankes and take collage and tumeric every day. My ankle issues are due to a skeletal abnormality, so supplements don't affect it directly, but I'm trying to keep my cartilage and tissues as healthy as possible to avoid further issues or complications.

@ pamghatten, I sent a message to you.

lizbeth-gardener, I sent you a private message.

Reading some of these replies are giving me hope. I have always managed my pain through exercise, shots (but rarely) and an occasional mix of Aspirin/Tylenol/Motrin before bed. When I get the fibromyalgia on top of arthritis I pretty much just have to ride it out. Easy Pilates helps but I‘m otherwise laid up for a bit. I have learned to work around it. Now I have another layer of pain which is heavier on the muscle pain and includes spasms. I had my blood works done in May which showed no irregularities, even my bp was normal. This latest thing sucks the life out of me. Some days I don’t even trust myself to drive due to lack of sleep which greatly affects my concentration. I do get a lunesta prescription twice a year so get some sleep relief there. My fingers have been swollen and stiff so I haven’t done much artwork. Thank goodness for the Oilist App because I can still play around with something creative. Anyway, my doc wants me to go to a Neurologist next. I keep putting it off.

justterrilynn, so sorry to hear this -it's been eye opening to me how constant pain, even if it's low-level, can feel like it's taking over your life. I will update this post with my results after I decide how to proceed.