Re: Arthritis

Hi Susan, Sorry that you have such a painful and debilitating condition.

There's a definite link between diet and flare ups. You tried vegan but maybe you should try a low GI type diet maybe using a food diary vs symptoms and starting with a baseline to eliminate trigger foods. What triggers your flare ups will be unique. Have you tried gluten free? I also have a nut allergy to some nuts but it wasn't until I went gluten free that I had a relief from all sorts of auto immune problems.

I have a genetic tendency to Osteo, but cod liver oil and avocados seem to help me a lot. Smoking caused a lot of symptoms for me too when I was relatively young (in my thirties). Giving up totally reversed it. Have you considered HRT?

I've had mild tinnutis that comes and goes and I wonder if that's also diet related.

Your gp should really give you a blood test for RA so you have a formal diagnosis. I had one in my early thirties when I had my acute attack to rule it out. It does sound like RA but there's always a chance it could be something else.

Re: Arthritis

I did try GF but I found things tended to have more sugar in,my tinnitus seemed significantly worse if Ive eaten a lot of sugar in a short space of time.

I'm not sure what the GI diet is I'll have to look that up but I try not to over do the sugar.

I tend to avoid pies, pastries, only have wholemeal bread or wraps when I do have 'bread'. lots of salads (summer) and slow cooker veggie stews and curries (winter).

Occasionally throw in a treat (had hot choc fudge cake and ice-cream and a couple of whiskies when family took me out for birthday meal but don't usually eat alot of puds or drink much).

I've never smoked so that's never been an issue for me.

Don't drink much next time will be xmas day now, as focused on getting as fit as I can over summer before the cold weather triggers symptoms.

I don't eat any red meat or processed meat products, but have chicken and turkey and fish (tuna and some white fish).

Dairy is mostly just milk in tea or in breakfast cereals. Not a big cheese eater (never tried any of the soft/expensive cheeses and strong cheese gives me splitting headaches) but like a bit of Wensleydale on toast!

Don't drink coffee at all (smell of it makes me feel sick) Mostly drink just water in this weather. Tea and drinking chocolate (made with milk) through winter.

Is the HRT for menopause or do you mean to take it to reduce arthritis symptoms? I did hear HRT raises the risk for breast cancer so trying not to go on it during menopause if I can get through it without it.

Re: Arthritis

I'm not sure they know quite how it works but it appears that oestrogen plays a role in maintaining bone and joint health.

Re: Arthritis

From webmd
“ Because hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is linked with heart disease -- another increased risk for women with rheumatoid arthritis - doctors rarely recommend it for treating menopause symptoms in women with RA”

I always remember the regular airport transfer taxi driver I had telling me about a customer he had who was in a wheelchair in the UK but shortly after arriving on the Costa
del Sol for her months holiday all her pains disappeared as well as the wheelchair wasn’t needed , :which goes to prove our climate is a lot to do with these rheumatic conditions and you can spend a fortune on this and that product or diet trying to get rid of the pain but you cannot beat the weather ,ever .
Several of my friends are on morphine type patches .
It’s pouring with rain today and my pains are excruciating .

Re: Arthritis

Not according to recent studies cited by the British heart foundation. There have been numerous new studies which have debunked many of the health scares around HRT. There is an increased risk of stroke/blood clot with the tablets but this can be avoided by using patches or gels.

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsu...-heart-disease

Benefits and risks from NICE :

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng2...d-risks-of-HRT

Re: Arthritis

yeah it's wet and rainy here too all day, I awoke with back pain and stiffness.

The way global warming is going the UK will be as hot as the Med in a year or two, so we may all get relief eventually!

Re: Arthritis

This was in an old Telegraph article .

Rosehip could be more effective than painkillers at easing the pain of arthritis sufferers, scientists claim.

So I looked into it further and found


https://www.lewtress.co.uk/subprod/r...SAAEgJvQfD_BwE

Re: Arthritis

so you aren't taking these rosehip capsules then? .as you mentioned being in a lot of pain above.

Re: Arthritis

I’m not taking anything at all ,a painliller hasn’t passed my lips since 2011 , tho plenty of tears have been shed and if I fight through the pain I do get some respite during the day and retired living alone it doesn’t matter how long it takes me to do things .
During the night I feel I only cat nap because I have to keep turning to relieve pressure on my hips both of which are damaged and osteoarthritic and I have a prolapsed disc .
To be honest I don’t know what this is and if the GP ‘s diagnosis of Polymyalgia Rheumatica proved incorrect years ago which did go away on its own , what chance now ?
Seeing your age in another thread I know I’m a lot older than you .
Actually I put that about Rosehips for you .
You seem willing to try anything ?

Re: Arthritis

lol! .. well I'm currently taking Turmeric capsules with black pepper in to help absorption. It has made a difference to how much my hands and knees swell up when its cold but not sure if its cos Turmeric is a blood thinner but I usually stop taking them for a few days when my monthlies start otherwise they seem to be heavier, if I restart too soon they seem to coming back just when they'd gone lighter and were nearly ending this last month it's happened 3 times in a row.

Not sure whether thats the menopause or cos Turmeric acts as a blood thinner? so was going to see if there was an alternative I could take as I don't like taking prescribed or OTC inflammatories (most have Ibuprofen which I'm severely allergic to).

I'll look into the Rosehip capsules further but I'm also looking at an 'immune system detox' I found on another site to see if that would help inflammation stay at a minimum for this winter!