living with OA and no drugs

loving

I am a 45yo woman and I am surfering with OA (along with osteopororsis) since 2005 (after a total histerectomy du to recurrent ovary cancer) in my shoulders and neck (with bony spurs in each cervical) big toes, hips and spine. I am against drugs and use only natural remedies which are not always helpfull but at least there is no side effects. I have a very good diet with fish veg and fruits every day.I do not drink or smoke. I walk an hour a day whatever my state and work P/T and never miss a day.
In my experience less you do and more you are surfering and yes someday I have to suck it up and kick my **** but i never stay a day without exercice. If i do my pain worsen anyway.
I am looking for people who surfer with the same condition and do not use drugs to share our experience and tips.
Flo

elnafinn

Hi Flo

Welcome to the forum. You have done well to be able to do what you do without taking any prescribed medication from a gp. I wish I could say the same but I have a few years on you - I shall be 61 at the end of this year and have had two new knees, op on three toes and various procedures done and atm am suffering with my neck which is causing problems in my arms, hands and legs. I could not be totally without medication now although for many years I had no need to take any although the OA started a goodly few years ago now.

I wish you well with your regime. I do agree with the "use it or lose it" saying but have at times had to forgo my nearly daily exercise regime for a while because of pain and discomfort. I do not "sit around" for too long, however bad I may feel though.

Look after yourself,

Elna x

Ankyspond

I have tried the natural thing and worked for a few months but when I got to the stage that I was crawling around my house and having to take time off work and not being able to look after my children I reaslised I need some medical help. I would rather not be on medication but sometimes in life we don't have choices, but I am really pleased you are doing so well without it. xx

elnafinn

Hi again Flo

I had a hysterectomy when I was nearly 50 years old, but had the oa well before that.

Elna x

paddyw

Hi Flo,All power to you doing it without these toxic drugs.I have RA and like you very very bad a lot of days , I walk my dog and in pain but i do it,and feel better for it ,i swim thats the best thing out there.My rhumy dr thinks its great but still hopes i will change my mind and take these drugs! I think one has to really think about this,and somtimes not just do it because dr says so. Well done Flo hope all goes well for you for long long time Regards Pat (paddyw)

frogmorton

Hello Flo and welcome to the forums from me .

There are lots of folks on here who eat as healthily as they can myself included....maybe even more who have tried 'natural' remedies over the years.

I have to congratulate you genuinely l am impressed at your determination to avoid all medication.

I am not able to say that this is me....l do take medication, but in the past before arthritis started l did use homeopathic medication and avoided conventional drugs.

I hope you find some other like-minded people on here and wholeheartedly agree about doing exercises and keeping as mobile as possibelas thinsg do seize up without it.

Love

Toni xx

stickywicket

Hi Flo,

Mine's RA and the doc told me when I was 20 that I'd be in a wheelchair before 30 if I didn't take the meds. I'm 65 now and glad I listened to him.

I also do the healthy diet & plenty of exercise stuff. I'm not too sure about the 'no side effects' thing with natural remedies though.

I hope your regime works for you and I wish you well in finding some like-minded souls.

loving

Thank you so much for your encouragments.
I do know that natural remedies are not harmless and have to be used with caution.
I realised that I may not be able to deal with OA without drugs for ever but I am still struggling with that cancer for now10 years and have to have regular surgeries so I tried to keep my body free of drugs in between to encourage it to keep fighting. And I have olso a very sensitive and lazy stomach.
I surfer with my health since birth so I guess my body is well trained and can take a lot.
As long as I keep moving during the day I am not too bad but as soon as I get home and relax I feel like if I had been crushed by a truck.
I think doctors give drugs far too easy- as if you dont teach your body to fight it will become lazy. If I had taken all the drugs the doctors gave me over the years Ill be dead by now (I never refused a prescription as doctor dont like it). They should concentrate more on helping people to cope with the frustration and anger who come with the condition in another way that condam you to life on Prozac.
I never go to my GP as i know its a waiste of time, they just try to put you on drugs without discussion and I find that very rude.

kellerman

Hi,
I read your post with great interest. I have had ovarian cancer twice and both times had 2 cycles of poisonous chemo afterwards.
It was stage 3 cancer so without this I wouldn't be here.I was also given loads of meds after each session none of which I took.
I now have OA and osteoporosis.I take my dog out twice a day and when I get back I'm in agony.I also swim twice a week.
I don't take anything for the OP but I do take pain dullers for OA.
I really admire your spirit but without these I just wouldn't be able to function.
I have never been a pill popper until I had a fall in December.
I do hope this carries on working for you as long as possible.If it work for me I'd be a happy bunny.
The very best to you
May

hileena111

Hi,
Like a lot of others on here I admire you managing for as long as you can without medication.
Pre OA I used to take Homeopathic remedies for various things.
What I'm ciurious about is.....do you do this on your own or do you go to a homeopath or naturalist or whoever it is that deals with your kind of natural medicine????
Love
Hileena

stickywicket

There can definitely be a lot of anger and frustration with arthritis, Flo, but there are ways of dealing with them as I’m sure you know. Here, on the forums. We have all vented our anger or frustration at one time or another and received very sympathetic responses from kindred souls.

Have you seen the ‘Challenging Pain’ thread towards the top of this forum. Some people on here have attended these courses and found them very helpful. There are also Pain Clinics which your GP could refer you to, to help you deal with the pain.

Not all GPs just dish out unwanted prescriptions. I don’t see mine very much but, whenever I do, I find them all very helpful and always willing to discuss things. Maybe a change of GP might be helpful for you?

If you are regularly feeling ‘as if you have been crushed by a truck’ maybe it’s time something changed.

traluvie

Hi Flo..

I was quite amazed when i read your post.. No drugs at all..That is good going.. I have inflammatory arthritis in most joints and OA in fingers and knees.. I cannot imagine how i would cope without the drugs from GP.I have symptoms for a yr now, what started in my finger has quickly spread everywhere...i have kind of got things under control with teh help of GP, but most days i am still in alot of pain and i could not guarantee that i could walk everyday regardless as my hips and knees wouldn't physically let me...
Everyone is different in how there arthur affects them and the degree of which they have it,.. some can carry on a fairly normal life with or without drugs, for others things are alot worse and it cannot be tolerable on it's own..
I hope you manage to continue the way you are for as long as possible.
Take care..

dfawke

hiya i no how you feel about not wanting to take painkillers, i feel the same at the moment even tho i do think i will have to consider them at some stage in my life.
I recently purchased an exercise bike to use at home and have made more effort to go to water aerobics and swimming, as exercise is the key to our joints feeling better and helping the emotional side of having arhiritus.
good luck and keep at it!
just keep on moving x

loving

The rheumy who diagnosed me years ago wanted to send me to a pain clinic but as he said it will involve taking drugs i didnt go.
To answer to Hileena, I was studying aromatherapy myself. You can find books and advices on the net easely.
I had a look at "Challenging Pain" but couldnt find any in London...
flo

elnafinn

I went to a pain clinic and I cannot thank the doctor enough - I had been suffering from sciatica for nearly one year. He offered to give me injections under xray direction and that was on 3 December 2009 and so far so good. Perhaps you do not wish to have injections though as well as prescribed drugs.

Elna x