Natural remedies

Arthritis, especially Osteoarthritis is a real problem and many older people are affected.
It is prevalent in the joints where rubbing action reduces the cartilage protecting the bones as they rub against each other. It is painful with no known cure. Pain medication helps to keep the person active while building muscle around the affected areas. Surgery is also a solution.

I have a problem with my right shoulder and the doctor says it is arthritis. I take an 800 mg tablet of Ibuprofen each morning. It helps to relieve the pain and keeps me active, however the pain is getting worse and I don’t want surgery or more pain medication. In discussing this with our Choir director at a celebration last week, he and his wife told me of a remedy. Our choir director is Russian and his wife a Russian of German descent. They claim that a mixture of pig fat (lard) mixed with Beinwell (Comfrey) will actually heal the arthritis. With nothing to lose, I decided to try this treatment. Got some Beinwell (English “Comfrey”). See. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfrey and some pig lard and made a mixture to apply to my shoulder. Mrs. Ivanschenko said that it takes some time to absorb into the skin and therefore some protection for clothing against the grease is recommended. She says a daily application for two-three weeks and then stop for a week or two before applying it again. Eventually the joint will heal - so she claims. She says it has healed many of her relatives in Russia with their arthritic problems.

Nothing to lose by trying. Thought I would share this information in case anyone else is experiencing arthritic pain in the joints and would want to try this.

My experience is that natural remedies often work for a time, both from our belief that they will work and that they often have the ingredients later adopted by modern pharmaceutical companies for the modern medicins.

When I lived in Germany, the apartment was very old (1500's) and awful for my allergies. The doctor prescribed a tea. It cleared me up right away. I've never again found something so useful.

I am glad you are not eating it. Hope it works for you.

My mom has suffered from arthritis for years. What works best are cortisone shots and a heating pad.

No, Alice, not eating it, nor do I drink rubbing alcohol.

I take a blend of glucosamine/chondroitin every day an and I swear by it.(doesn'r seem to help my typng, though, does it) When my hands hurt to the point I can't type, I will sometimes take a little ibuprophen.

Some natural sources say to avoid tomatoes and bell peppers - any nightshade vegetables, but I don't find that it helps. A light amount of alcohol does, though - preferably a little red wine.

My mom had rheumatoid arthritis. I have a photo of my great-great grandmother when she was about my age. You can tell from her hands in the picture that she had it, too. They called it "rheumatism" then. Mom's symptoms did not get severe until she was about my age, but the doctors, I believe, over-treated her. Her doctor at the retirement center pretty much said so. She had been on steroids and methotrexate for some time, along with severalothers I don't remember. At one time she was taking gold injections. I told her it would be cheaper and probably more effective to wear more of the gold rings she already had. She didn't.

I firmly believe that those medications contributed to her death. The longer you can stay with natural agents the better, IMHO.

The pharmaceutical industry would have us paying out high prices for things that harm more than they help.

Just me.

Abe, I developed what my doctor called a "frozen shoulder" several years ago. He suggested that it was worse because I was overprotecting it. He then suggested movement - stretching to the point where it was beginning to hurt and holding at that point for a few seconds, then repeating. Over a few weeks I was able to stretch further, then further, until one day I realized that it had not hurt at all for some time, no matter how far I stretched it.

Annie

Most of my friends highly recommend yoga - there's a special yoga with chairs for older people or those with getting up from the floor issues...balance, etc.

dkchristi wrote:

Most of my friends highly recommend yoga - there's a special yoga with chairs for older people or those with getting up from the floor issues...balance, etc.

I stopped my yoga routines when the girls stopped taking midday naps. Big mistake. These days, I go by this source:

http://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Dummies-Georg-Feuerstein-Ph-D/dp/0470502029

If you can speak or understand German, these videos tell you much about the plant Beinwell.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abtbkx7xZxU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJR80TaC_gM

alj wrote:

Abe, I developed what my doctor called a "frozen shoulder" several years ago. He suggested that it was worse because I was overprotecting it. He then suggested movement - stretching to the point where it was beginning to hurt and holding at that point for a few seconds, then repeating. Over a few weeks I was able to stretch further, then further, until one day I realized that it had not hurt at all for some time, no matter how far I stretched it.

Annie

That must be what I have. I am supposed to exercise it. You have inspired me to get with it. Thanks

Abe, couldn't interpret the video, but a quick google search identified the plant as comfrey - a common herb that was used for a long time to reduce swelling, etc. It was often made into a tea, but today, the FDA has banned its internal use because of a possibility of liver damage. The FDA has banned many herbal treatments based on questionable reports. It forces people to buy the far more expensive drugs that do far more harm.

Many reports indicate that the adverse side effects from natural and herbal remedies are far, far less harmful than the popularly prescribed drugs.

Pharmaceutical lobby is POWERFUL. Just look at the Affordable Care Act and any legislation regarding cost of drugs.

Ann, I agree that exercise is needed and that is why when the pain is severe I take something to reduce the pain so I can continue to function normally.
As for natural remedies, for the most part they are not harmful. If taken internally, caution should be used. Many plants are used for tea and have been a remedy source for many years. When I get some advice about herbal remedies from someone in their 80's or 90's, I figure it is safe. It may also be a reason they are still active.

As DK pointed out, pharmaceutical companies will try to discourage use of homemade remedies since it will cut into their profits. Doctor's often follow that line and only want you to use prescription drugs. There are holistic doctors that only prescribe medicines with herbal ingredients. Seldom is there a problem with side effects. When one reads the possible side effects of any drug, the side effects can be more dangerous than the problem being treated.

Being willing to experiment with remedies that have served people before prescription drugs is not much of a risk. If it works, use it. If not, you haven't lost much, if anything.

I agree about the drugs. Abe, are you on statins? They can cause joint pain.

No Alice, I'm not on Statins. I understand that is used to reduce cholesterol. I don't have a cholesterol problem. I do take Beta Blockers since my heart operation as well as 100mg Aspirin, once daily.
I believe the arthritis is simply a common aging thing. I've know people who have suffered with much pain for many years. Fortunately much of the pain can be remedied by pain medication. That is what I'm trying to avoid. Anything natural that can eleviate the pain and/or work to repair the damage from loss of cartilage is something I will try. Nothing happens overnight and patience is needed. If they come up with a medication for patience, I will be a good customer.

Well, I know natural is best, but it's not always the most efficient. My parents only eat organic food, steroid-free meat, take vitamins, are totally into exercise and health. But nothing works better for my mom's rhematoid arthritis than a prescription pain patch.

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a very difficult, destructive, painful condition.
My mother had it. I am hoping to miss it.

Alice -you've said your mom was somewhat crazy (I'm paraphrasing), and my mom is like that, too. I've wondered if the RA was partly responsible for that.

The damage done by RA is extensive - my stepdad was in misery and affected by the drugs and surguries seeking release from the pain.

My mother had a destructive brain surgery 20 years before the RA came upon her.

She had post partum depression, which untreated, turned into psychosis.

Trans orbital lobotomy was the treatment--no longer done--Thank Heavens!

Not making any claims with this posting - just relating some personal circumstances. It's probably just amazing coincidence, but as everyone is putting in their experiences, here are mine.

At 65, my mother was in perfect health. Pictures show she looked at least 20 years younger. She could walk me, her daughter-in-law, and even her granddaughters to death. We know, because we took long shopping trips together.

She hit 70, and began rapidly falling apart. Her sister-in-law, who was very close to her, and one of the few people I could talk to openly about her and our relationship, was concerned because she was afraid that number was shutting her down. She had lived her life believing that her sole value was her beauty. You guys have seen enough pics here to get why she might think that.

"She does not want to get old," my aunt said. "She is literally killing herself to prevent it." The first sign was joint pain, especially in her hands, knees and ankles. They hurt too badly for her to do any of the things she loved: housecleaning and cooking, walking, and playing bridge. Suddenly, she was spending her days sitting in her chair in her den.

She had always hated driving. After my dad died, she learned well enough to creep to the nearest supermarket to shop, and carefully creep back home again. One day, as she was putting her car in the garage, her spike heel caught under the accelerator. (She always wore high-heeled shoes and "pretty little dresses.") Before she could react, the car sped forward and into the powder room at the back of the house. She hit a water line and water was spraying everywhere. She frantically called her brother who lived down the street. He came, turned off the water, and called the repairman and the insurance company. Mom held it together really well for a while, until the repairs were made and she had redecorated the powder room. We teased her about doing it on purpose because that was the last room in the house that she hadn't redone. But it was just after that she sat down, and basically, never really got up again. She stopped eating. Her weight dropped from a healthy 130 (she was 5'8") to about 100, and eventually down to 95, but by then, she had lost a couple of inches in height.

We insisted she see a doctor.

He told her she had arthritis and he wanted to do more tests. She told us that she was sure it would turn out to be RA because"that was the worst kind." She was diagnosed with having the RA factor in her blood. We all went to Orange for Thanksgiving, and my sister-in-law, my daughters, and me took over and "did" Thanksgiving. This had never happened before. She didn't even enter the kitchen, but stayed in her chair in the den and visited with the men and boys. While we were still there, my nephew developed flu symptoms. Mom said that she would probably catch it. She did. She said it would probably turn into pneumonia. It did. I had to take David out of school (he was the only one still at home) take a family emergency break from work, and go to Orange to look after things. My sister-in-law reluctantly took my place after a week.

To shorten the story, after family get-togethers to discuss the problem, it was decided that she should move to Houston to live with me, since Dave was leaving for college and my nephew was still at home. I won't go into the hell that ensued that led to me finding a therapist. Main point - she said she was glad she was living with me because "old women fall and break a hip."

Want to guess what happened a couple of months after she moved in? She died at 78. She looked over 90.

All through this, I continued talking to my aunt, and we both talked about this powerful woman who had always found a way to control the people and situations in her life. She told us what to do. She even told us who we were, and who she was, and we were scared sh**less into believing every word she said.

All this stuff is my way of saying that it seems, that sometimes, some conditions, have a strong connection to our psychological sense of reality.

I don't have any answers. I'm not even sure I know what questions to ask.

I tried talking to her doctors. They were not interested in her mental condition, only in her physical symptoms. They prescribed an anti-depressant to go with the steroids, NSAIDS, and methotrexate, etc. They never told her what it was. She called it "that little pill that helps me sleep."

My aunt's daughter, my cousin Jill, is a Facebook friend. Her mother is still alive, but not very aware. Jill and I use FB to keep in touch. If you were to look, you would notice that we always "like" each others comments, etc. She is probably the only other person I know who "got" my mom and still loved her, too.

Ann,

Your poor mother. Now I see why you are so positive.
You don't' want to be like her.

YOU AREN'T

Once in a while, Alice, I hear myself saying something that sounds like her. It's very scary

I should probably explain something I said. Two months after she moved in, she fell and broke her hip. She lived with me for several years after that. My mom was an extremely strong-willed woman. If she wanted something, she generally got it.

The point I wanted to make is that there is a close connection between our minds and our bodies that nobody really understands.

RA is an autoimmune disease. The body attacks itself. No one has ever been able to figure out why. I'm sure there are multiple reasons.

I am glad we are having this discussion. As most of you know, my 70th year started this month. I look around me at the people whom I know that are 70. It is a frightening sight. I would have to say that most, if not all the people I know who are my age have given up most activities and are happy that their children dote on them and hover about. I am not that way. It is a matter, somedays, of sheer determination to not be a sorry old bat. I am thankful for stuff to do. The responsibility of the animals and the vegetables are ones that I choose. Forever learning is important.

My David works at Sun City Center where a lot of the people are 80 plus and still making the most of their lives. They are active and involved, mentally and physically. There is more to living than breathing in and out. The body and mind need exercise.

Love, Betty



This message board helps me feel connected to other people. (Thank you Shelagh!)