Turmeric capsules
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I took all sorts of things in my early years of RA but now I stick with the meds. If you're going down the route of supplements etc do check with your doc or pharmacist that they won't interact with either any prescribed meds or with each other.
If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
Steven Wright0 -
I'm not on any prescription medication, as the hospital wont put me on any, if I had RA instead of OA then I would be , so only taking painkillers when needed , so they should be fine hopefully0
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Someone who had good results recommended them to me, but I checked and found they're incompatible with one of my other meds, so I couldn’t take them.
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There is certainly some research evidence in support of its efficacy and I took it for a while.
One of the studies I read found Turmeric to provide an equivalent effect to Phenylbutazone. I have taken Phenylbutazone (wonderful stuff) but whilst I did detect some benefit it was not at the same level (and I took it at the same dose as used in the study).
It also took some time before I noticed any benefit - about three weeks. I took it for just over two months.
Ultimately I had to cease taking it as it negatively affected my Crohn's Disease.
Thus surprised me as it is very commonly prescribed for lower gastrointestinal problems in both ayurvedic and traditional chinese medicine. My wife also discovered several positive (allopathic medicine) studies for its use in the management of inflammatory bowel disease (mainly for Ulcerative Colitis).
So currently we are considering trying it again but using a different regimen such as a lower dose but four times a day instead of twice.
I wish you well with it, I hope you find it beneficial, but would caution you not to expect results overnight.
Arthur
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I find it very difficult to say what medication works and what doesn’t, however I’ve recently started to wear a lower back support belt for long walks and gardening jobs and find that it works very well, It’s one of those with magnetic strips, they may work or not, but what the do is to give extra support.
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I have one of those - it's rather good. However, most physios hate them.
Arthur
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The last time that I saw a physio It was at a top training hospital, my shoulder locked solid during his prelims, I extended my arm in a Nazi type salute and twisted it vigorously making it crack life a gun shot. He looked very shocked before saying “it shouldn’t do that”, I replied “yes I’m aware of that” that’s why I’m here.
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It does tend to grab the attention when such events occur.
Arthur
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Blimey @Crookesey
That sounded scary!
As far as i am concerned what helps one might not another, so trial and error @stoddy best of luck and i hope they help 🙂
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Hi everyone
I'll just leave this related article here https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2019/november/all-about-turmeric/ but you may have seen it in the Inspire magazine, if you get it.
MarzMac
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When I last saw my rheumatologist in March I mentioned that I'd been thinking of supplements ,he said some of his patients had said they'd had some success with Omega 3 fish oil .(As well as your medication, not instead of, he also said looking at me intently 😂 )0
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Out of bed have a shower get dressed. Have breakfast then so tierd! Anybody else feel the same?3
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One of the suppliers is offering the first 28 days supply of Turmeric capsules free (well £1.50 postage) £16 a month thereafter. Thought I'd give it a try; I don't expect a result in 28 days, but I'll see if they agree with me in Future. Google will tell You who they are.
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Well I’ve been taking an Omega 3 fish oil capsule daily for donkey’s years, I was of the understanding that it made up for the lack of fish oil in modern diets, that helped to protect from colds and flu. As I’ve been taking it long before my R/A diagnosis it obviously didn’t stop me developing the condition, if it helps my body against the ravages of R/A I have no idea, but as I don’t suffer from colds and flu which are COVID conditions, what’s the harm in it?
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As far as I understand it, current thinking is that these supplements (Turmeric, Fish Oil etc) aren't going to stop joint damage in future but they might help control the inflammation around existing joint damage (The company I looked at was subjected to an advertising standards authority investigation for claiming the former).
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N1gel,I agree, that's what my rheumatologist meant,some people had told him they found some alleviating benefit from supplements, alongside their medication. Thank you for your post.
Fingers crossed for the turmeric for you,let us know what you think.
Best Wishes.
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Well, I ordered them on Sunday and they turned up this morning, not bad service.
I went to the dentist this afternoon, no problems driving into town, but using crutches to get to the boot of the car, getting the wheelchair out, getting across some ropey paving and into a Georgian building etc etc.
But my teeth are ok! 😁
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If these supplementary herbs and spices worked we’d have been given them on the NHS long ago. You are fooling yourself to think you might have a cure. Stick with what your doctor, consultant can offer. I’m sure the medical profession would love to have a cure for us without having to deal with the side effects caused by poor quality products produced in foreign lands and constructed with unknown constituents in who knows what amounts and brought in by the unknowing and hopeful people who think they know better than the medical profession.
Rant over, for now.
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Personally I am so crippled by OA that I would try ANYTHING that may give me some relief so I would not knock anyone from trying something that may or may not help. I would first of all do some on-line research into whatever it is and try to read up as much as possible, both positive and negative, before spending my limited financial resources. I do, however, agree that one should ensure that the substance should be obtained from a recognised source.
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I agree with you (good rant btw). I'm not looking for a 'cure' - just to alleviate some of the symptoms. The medical jury is out on Turmeric (see the article at the top of the thread). I've had people tell me it works for their horses.
Remember, the medical profession were prescribing Paracetamol, Ibuprofen etc for long term chronic pain but only on Monday NICE said that was a waste of time. It seems to me that modern medicines are as much about statistics as treating people. (No disrespect to the medical profession).
If a reputable supplier who advertises in a national weekly ABC1 magazine is going to send me 28 days supply free, I'd be a fool not to try it! 😀
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Hi Airwave! - I'm afraid I have to disagree with the attitude of "if it worked, they'd give it to us as medication." That is far more trust in the system than I think is deserved.
TL:DR - natural substances are not tested as too expensive so cannot be prescribed by NHS. Doesn't mean they wont work, so def try and see what happens.
It's mostly because of the huge amount of testing and such which must be done before anything can be declared safe or useful. This is a good thing - believe me, I am totally agreed with having lots of good quality tests done on things before they are declared safe medicine and also useful. However this testing and study process requires a LOT of money to go through. The drug companies pay for the studies and tests themselves when developing drugs. This in theory makes sense. The drug companies then get a medical patent on the resulting drug and can sell it for a premium price for the first 5 (I think it's 5) years before you can start to get generic brands copying it.
This works brilliantly for our normal drugs and medications. But it runs into a snag when it comes to any "natural" cure. Turmeric, for example, has shown anti-inflammatory properties in some studies - enough that it's worth trying out. But it will never get through our current drug testing as no-one will spend the money on putting it through all the required tests. It's too expensive, given it is impossible to patent turmeric (or any other natural substance). The drug company would get no benefit form doing so, it would just cost them a lot of money. There are no other organisations who do drug testing to get it through those hoops, and the NHS is not allowed to recommend or suggest anything which hasn't gone through these tests to make sure something is safe and works. Because the system is set up for drugs which have been developed, it falls down when it's a naturally occuring substance. It's one of the reasons drug companies look for the "active ingredients" in natural remedies, and then extract that ingredient and use that instead - this is something they can patent and make money from.
This isn't a fault in the testing system - but it is a fault in leaving all the testing to be done by the drug companies who develop the drug. Not only has that led in the past to some slightly dodgy tests being done as they have a vested interest (although this has been improved) but it also means there is no incentive for anyone to just try something which is natural and see if it works. This is an actual problem with our medical system, and it's far more understandable than thinking everyone who thinks a natural supplement helps them in some way is either deluded, foolish, lying or under the placebo effect. There are *so many* people who have found natural supplements to be helpful it's very unbelievable to dismiss them all and think that if they really worked the NHS would be giving them to us. The NHS can't. The NHS is not in charge of drug testing - they can only use the results they are given.
Also, no-one is saying they're a cure, people are saying they help manage symptoms - inflammation in the case of turmeric - which can reduce pain for some people. It depends on how much inflammation you have and how your body reacts to it. In my experience, medical professionals are happy to accept anything which works for you - whether it's a supplement you've found yourself or a painkiller they have prescribed - so I'd always recommend telling your doctor you are taking supplements, but don't discount them just because the NHS doesn't prescribe them. Realise they are a bureaucracy who have to follow red tape.
Sorry, think I ended up ranting more there.....
If in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout
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Hi all, just adding this in to the chat in case you haven't already had a look
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The trouble with our human body is that just because we take a complimentary additive that we think is doing us good, it will often do us good in so far as our emotions are concerned, we are fooled by our bodies if you like, the well known ‘placebo’ affect.
Our emotions will usually follow along behind our illnesses and the up and downs of our emotions are normal, we just need to recognise this. In the case above our emotions get ahead of our illness but unfortunately this state does not persist and will not cure the many.
Yes there are many supplements that assist our bodies but in the greater scheme that is medicine, other means of a cure for all are needed as in drugs or radiotherapy.
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Turmeric is probably the most quoted anti inflammatory food but there are many others, ginger etc. I incorporate fresh turmeric root into my dishes whenever appropriate but cannot say whether or not it helps my arthritis.
Possibly more effective is reducing omega 6s and increasing omega 3s.
It seems that as a society we are consuming too much inflammatory foods which contribute to metabolic syndrome. Osteoarthritis is an inflammatory disease.
"Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food" - Hippocrates
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Jooms quotes current research quite often however it is currently understood that OA is not an inflammatory disease, as it states on the Versus Arthritis document on the subject "Inflammatory arthritis isn’t the same as osteoarthritis, which happens when the cartilage in your joint wears away." (See https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/treatments/the-inflammatory-arthritis-pathway/ ) However, there is a lot of research being undertaken which suggests and/or indicates that OA may be inflammatory but this is not conclusive. Irrespective of this whether Turmeric helps or not is very much down to the individual and I wouldn't knock anyone trying anything that may help their pain.
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