Nita could hardly get up in the morning. She knew that when she went to bed that getting up would be rewarded with her turning into the tinwoman. She felt like she needed to soak in oil before she went to bed. She had suffered through some very challenging times raising her children and her stomach seemed to be very sensitive. At 51 she was advised to take a baby aspirin everyday to prevent heart attacks and strokes. She thought that she would be at high risk because she was taking estrogen to avoid menopause. Her husband seemed to like her on hormones and she did want to make him happy. She did not tolerate the aspirin very well. She took it with food and seemed to have indigestion with every meal. She visited an arthritis specialist who offered some strong medicines that had the risk of unusual infections and tumor growth and thought that there must be another approach. Tylenol or acetaminophen was what she was taking recently but it had some liver toxicity and did not help her stiffness at all. She exercised but suffered after each workout.
Many people across the world are now turning the clock backwards and rediscovering herbal medications. It is still unusual to see someone admitted to the hospital for an herbal complication. The number of people admitted to the hospital for intestinal and stomach bleeding is increasing. This is just the tip of the iceberg. For every person that is admitted to the hospital there are
The most recent studies on blood thinning and heart disease have suggested that the more blood thinners the better. If you have any stents in your heart then the doctors will be prescribing 3 blood thinners or more. The stents are more likely to stay open if you take lots. The problem with this approach is more bleeding. If you develop an ulcer in your stomach or your small intestine from the aspirin it is more likely to bleed if you taking other blood thinners. If you do not take the blood thinners then the more likely you will clog your arteries or the stents that the doctors are placing inside of them. It is almost like we all need some sort of human drano.
Doctors are starting to take notice of the herbal medicines that several cultures have been using for thousands of years for arthritis as first line agents. Turmeric is one of many herbs that is being looked at as an arthritis solution that helps stiffness and pain but does not cause severe side effects taken in low doses. It is the chemical, curcumin, in the root of the plant that seems to help. If you turn around the mustard container that you have in your
Unfortunately, careful research done for arthritis and turmeric is just beginning to come out. Many patients have resorted to herbal treatment for arthritis with turmeric in combination with other herbs as their doctors have not come up with better alternatives. When arthritis is severe enough to actually cripple people, the stronger arthritis meds seem to be a better approach—but they are risky. When arthritis is more a pain than a disabler, the herbal approach is starting to look better.
Nita started her research and ended up with a turmeric based herb and seemed to do ok. She started with about 1/3 the recommended dose and slowly adjusted it based on her stiffness and pain. She continued to search the internet and papers for new information and treatment for her arthritis. She was happy but leary of what side effects that the medication would have. At least she could get up in the morning now and move about with a lot less need for WD-40.
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