Joint pain....looking for advice

[naturalmama4]

Hello everyone! I was wondering if anyone had tips and advice to ease joint aches and pains naturally.

I recently went to the Dr (something I rarely do) to have some tests done after reading Survival of the Sickest. A friend had recommended the book after she had read it and hemochromatosis made her think of me. I'm drained and exhausted most of the time, I have achy joints that tend to feel better after my period, and while taking multivitamins the pain in my knees often feels worse, though they do help with feeling drained. They tested my thyroid, hemoglobin, and ferritin levels and everything looked normal. So I've just come to the conclusion that I'm achy and drained because I'm 30 and have 4 kids. Plus I'm tired of looking at the numerous other things it could be. I've been told by others it could be gluten intollerence which wouldn't be fun because I try to stick to a diet with complex carbs (wheat's a biggie in my diet) along with other whole foods, high protein, high healthy fats, and such because of my hypoglycemia. It was also suggested it could be because of my paragard (i had pains before though), lyme disease, along with many other things. It seems joint pain and exhaustion are symptoms of many different things. 

I've googled some and came across just as many natural remedies for joint pain as I found causes of joint pain. So I wanted to ask to get an idea of what works for others. I usually don't take the route of "treat the symptom", I like to treat the cause. I don't know what the cause is though 

Thanks for any and all advice! 

[MountainMamaGC]

I take cat's claw, turmeric, and glucosamine/MSM. I have crohns and arthritis and it helps. 

[Asiago]

Did you have a Rubella (MMR) vaccination?

[naturalmama4]

Thanks MountainMama! I'll look into those........Asiago, I'm almost certain I had the vaccine as a child. 

I've been looking into things and I believe I just need a good detox to heal my liver. I don't know if that's causing my joint pain, but I do know the liver affects a lot if out of balance. For awhile now I've been feeling not myself, feeling like my body's out of wack. I've thought a lot of doing a mild detox (I can't fast for any length of time with hypoglycemia) but that's as far as it gone - thinking about it! It's just finding the time and determination. But I've been feeling so run down I need to do something! I need at least some energy to keep up with the kids!

[CandyLandQueen]

Welll... I hate to say it, but I have had arthritis in my hands for years (I'm only 28! I've done a lot of hard labor in my life and my mom has chronic arthritis they think is fribro myalgia ) and the only thing that helped was to go GF. Wheat is highly inflammatory. It would be worth it to try a GF diet (it totally sounds harder than it is!) for 3 months and see if that makes a difference. I couldn't even shake people's hands or take the plastic seal off mayo jars. The swelling went down almost right away. But I hear you have to go all or nothing for at least 3 months to see if it works, that combined with acupuncture and daily fish oil.. it worked for me :)   

[CandyLandQueen]

I hear the GF diet also really helps for energy too! I know, it sucks. I love bread. ;)

[naturalmama4]

I have looked into gluten sensitivity a little but not at length until today. After reading your post CandyLandQueen I looked more into it and based on the information I read here - http://www.naturalnews.com/038170_gluten_sensitivity_symptoms_intolerance.html - I think this may be my issue. I deal with all six of those points to some degree or another and have looked into fibromyalgia but I don't have the debilitating all over pain. So I believe I will try to remove gluten from my diet and see how it goes. 

Thanks!

[autumnsummers]

Hi Naturalmama4,

So sorry to hear this happening for you. Lots of good ideas so far. There are many reasons why you may be having these issues as you know. On the herbal front Turmeric is certainly worth a try. Here at Herb Pharm we have our Inflamma Response compound that contains Turmeric and other anti-inflammatory herbs.  Another approach – as you mentioned exhaustion – is to support adrenal health and your stress response. Adaptogenic herbs such as Eleuthero can be helpful. We have an Adrenal Support tonic that contains Eleuthero, Licorice, Oats and other supportive herbs. Consulting with a Naturopathic Physician may be a good idea as they are trained in using natural medicines. 

Best of luck to you and hopefully you will see improvement soon. So great that you have this community to reach out to!

[naturalmama4]

Thank you for that information autumnsummers. :)