My rheumatologist believes that I very well might have this. my hands, pelvis were xrayed and showed positive signs, as well as I tested positive for genetic marker blood test. The question is- I have been feeling heat in my knee. Not pain as of this moment, but alot of heat. Is this common with this diagnosis. What made me even see the rheuma doctor was over a year ago, my right knee suddenly swelled up with fluid and became very painful and warm to the touch. All the last year I have been dealing with alot of knee pain, stiffness, pain when driving etc. I had not been able to excercise for over a year and have gained weight. Until I began the supplement tumeric about 2 months ago. I am now back to excercising.:) My pain level when driving went from a 8 to a 0 or a 1. and My daytime pain went down to a 1. I have been amazed at how well this natural anti inflammatory works for me. And my doctor is too. I had tried numerous trials of many supplements for arthritis to no avail. Even tried a arthritis med called Meloxicam to no avail. I really do not want to take any prescriptions. I take only natural products. I hope that does not change. Karen

Hi Dobey and Welcome!!

I have a lot of heat in my knees and my lower spine just radiates heat. My theory (not being a dr) is that the heat is inflammation.

I understand your not wanting to take meds but you might need some NSAIDs to calm the inflammation.

I am not taking any meds at all now but I have tried everything in the books. I have just been doing this since I was a child and I am a Sr. Citizen now. (Can't believe I just said that!) I started having reactions to the meds and had to go off of them.

A lot of people on the forum have very good luck treating their disease with diet. You might check out the Diet Centre.
It didn't work for me personally but we all are different and it may just be the perfect thing for you.

Your knee pain/discomfort/heat can certainly be from a type of arthritis. I have RA but I also have OA in my knees. It is worth talking to your dr. about.

Your will get a lot more responses. This is a great forum. I am glad you found us.

Best Wishes. Looking forward to getting better acquainted.

Possi

Hi Karen,
When I read you are taking tumeric I wanted to tell you what happened to me while taking tumeric for my antinflammatory. It worked great for pain, but after taking it at the dose prescribed, I started having spontaneous nose bleeds. The first one started when I was in the grocery store, and it poured out of me. I went to the washroom and packed my nose and went home. I thought just a fluke, I haven;t had a nose bleed since I was a kid. Then the next day , and the next day, another nose bleed, which I couldn't stop. I ended up in the ER and they had a heck of a time stoppig it. They tested my blood and my platlets were very low. I was transfusd with two units of platlets, and told to stop the tumeric. I had to stay in hospital for two days, until my platlets recovered. The supplement was called Zyflammend . IT is always good to keep an open mind that supplements also change the bodies chemistry, and can have negative results. My rheumy told me that also Omega 3 fish oil can cause you to bleed to death by the nose .

Janet

that's what i've been dx'ed too.

as i have the enthesitis, inflammation in my SI and spine (but not much "damage" yet, just some bone spurs and degenerative changes, so not AS right now), inflammation in my stomach and ileum (but not IBD), a few skin rashes (but not psoriasis), and kinda "generic" autoimmune stuff (dry eyes and mouth sores and fatigue when i flare). so a bit of this and a bit of that of the various spondy symptoms.

i have some problems with my knees. the only joint that hasn't bothered me too bad has been my elbows.

Thanks for your info:). I am well aware of the fact that tumeric especially should not be taken by someone on blood thinners because it can thin your blood. But this is a small risk( a rare one at that). The benefits of using a natural supplement versus a prescription ( which can have far worse side effects) really outweighs the small risk of bleeding for me. I strongly believe in trying natural products first. That's why God placed certain things on this earth for us.:). And so far turmeric( a spice of the earth) is working to eliminate my pain better than anything else I have taken so far. I am also aware that it may not work for all. But after living with horrible pain for over a year- I am happy that I finally have found something that works...so I will stick with it for now.

Hi Karen,

I am glad you are aware of the potential side effect... I was not. I was not taking a blood thinner. But the Omega 3 thins your blood also. Glad it works so well for you , wish I could take it again, but bleeding isn't an acceptable side effect. I was shocked how it poured out of me, really scarey. I am not taking any prescription antinflammatories. I do take Omega 3 Fish Oil in high amounts , and that and the tumeric ,I guess was too much for me.

Janet

There are distinct disadvantages of using "natural" supplements too - a couple of the biggest ones being that they aren't made under the same kind of controls as prescription meds and therefore you could be getting quite variable doses, and the other disadvantage that jumps out at me is that prescription drugs have been well tested to determine precise dosages, whereas you don't have the researched and documented knowledge that tells you what a safe therapeutic dose of a non prescription chemical is (and it is still a chemical even if it comes directly from a plant) or the labelling that tells you clearly what the side effects are or how it is likely to interact with other drugs.

I'm incredibly wary of "natural" supplements now, having had several friends suffer badly in different ways after using them on the assumption they were totally safe.

Its all comes down to it being a choice, but like everything else there is no one right answer for everyone.

I completely agree with you on this one cemc. I know of lots of people who have taken natural supplements and ended up in hospital. Now I know more with prescription meds, but at least they know how to treat when things go wrong. If I hadn't of had medical care I would of bleed to death. What ticked me off when I called the store where I got it, was their reaction . " never heard of any side effects ,they are natural " How stupid is that, and the lack of education these store clerks have is scarey. They have none in chemistry, pharmacology, etc. I think a naturalpath would be the person to see if try supplements. That's my opinion.

Janet

I do my homework about supplements. And am very careful.But I also do alot of research into the side affects of prescriptions. I also believe in using the fruits/spices of the earth to treat my symptoms if at all possible. God is the great physician and He would of not listed certain things in His word, if it were not true. I lean on his wisdom for my body. That's just what I believe. And you all do know that tumeric is just a spice, right?

I also know of many people that have developed life threatening conditions because of taking certain prescription drugs, and others that have died. So it goes both ways. Always use wisdom. Many more than from supplements. The media just likes to hype up the risks of supplement use.. In order to support the drug company's agenda to make money.. I know there's alot more to the story. You just don't hear it reported.. Many supplements are quite safe when used wisely and with your doctors approval.