Arthritis

Wonderful piece, Robin, thank you so much.  I believe there are a lot of readers at Lumigrate interested about joint pain because when Petie the OT started writing on Lumigrate she had to take a break because of having to have a knee replacement and the piece she wrote about it in the occupational/functional therapy forum had a LOT of reads! I believe there's going to also be an interest from our customer/followers who have fibromyalgia.  They don't generally like it when I say this but I stand by it and this is a perfect example of why I say it: Fibromyalgia is a bad case of what most other people have a lesser case of or are on their way to developing. 

I do not say it with the intention of making anyone feel that I'm minimizing the extent of their pain, fatigue and etc., but in the hopes of concerning the people who are perhaps tired and have tight muscles and knee or foot pain who are thinking 'it's just age/stress/etc.'  Lumigrate's about solving medical issues through 'functional medicine' -- finding the underlying causes and changing things to take away the problem, through 'integrative' approaches -- using a variety of providers who address the body, mind and spirit of a person and how it affect wellness/illness.  Recently, one of my long-time friends revealed to me she had asked her provider if she might have some signs of fibromyalgia, and he responded that at her age and being a single parent with a career you should expect to have aches and pains and be fatigued.  She took my advise about nutrition and supplementation of nutrition and emailed to thank me and say she was feeling back to her good old self.  And yes, she's pushing 60! The best doctor she has is the one inside of her, she proved that! We all have that doctor if we take the time to listen/feel/sense what it has to say to us. 

I know I always listen to what YOU have to say to us, too, Robin. As always you do an awesome job of bringing in valid research and citing sources and making it easy to understand and enjoyable to read.  I'm thrilled to see this kind of research being conducted, so thank you for following it and presenting it at Lumigrate for our customers/users/followers, who actually end up being 'leaders' in health care in how they chose to spend their time, energy and money.  That influences what others do and they are a powerful agent for change.  I hope the next generation has a whole different base of health care advise being given to them when they start out going to the doctor as newborns and through the years, as that's going to have some impact on what they experience as adults, naturally.  

Naturally, I respectfully disagree with the doctor related to dairy; I have long believed that it makes no sense that humans would be healthiest by drinking the lactation of another species, but instead looking to food sources our ancestors ate and drank. Historically, as man progressed in terms of abilities with agriculture, an industry surrounding cows and the milk the females produced offered an improvement in what they had previously which appeared to be 'good for people'.  So that's the 'logic' of that which I would hope people would take some note of.

I believe personally that everyone needs to decide this for themselves, but suggest each person considers that dairy is one of the more common foods that is leading to inflammation in the body in the first place; others not consumed by our paleolithic ancestors accompany dairy on the list; wheat, soy, corn, etc.  There is information on Lumigrate about this: For those who are interested enough to watch a video, Dr Lepisto's on food allergies covers it and if you prefer written/readable, another naturopathic doctor, Deirdre Rawlings has readable information here in the forums.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the taste of milk, butter, and cheese as much as anyone, but when I had health problems in the 90s that baffled the neurologist, I pursued food allergy testing that at the time and still are not embraced by allopaths/covered by insurance (IgG methodology), but for $400 I was given information which turned my health from being so bad it was thought I might have MS, to 'normal' in months! I was at the far end of reactive to dairy and also extremely high in wheat and eggs.  

My parents both were allergic via IgE to eggs and my mother to wheat, which insurances tested for and paid for therapy through allergy injections but I'd not exhibited any problems when younger, that you'd think of as food allergies.  Testing via IgE/scratch testing in my adulthood had and continues to yield 'no allergies' to any foods or inhalants.  So I'm passionate about this because if all I did was listen to the experts in allopathy who rely on what the insurance and pharmaceutical industries said was 'true', I'd literally 'not be here' now.  I might be alive but with poor quality of life and certainly not having had a career where I gained experiences and then was able to found and produce Lumigrate!

There's also a podcast Cinda Crawford did with Christopher Lepisto, which Dr Lepisto has posted a link to from a topic on Lumigrate.  Here's a link to that topic on Lumigrate (from the Top Picks about FM forum at the very top of the fibro/pain section): www.lumigrate.com/forum/my-interview-naturopathic-medicine-cfs-and-fms-cinda-crawfords-website

Petie the OT has a lot of people following her -- you can find her in the regular section about integrative medicine, the part that makes the whole -- there are forums for all the different players on the health care team with integrative medicine, including occupational therapy/functional therapy.  I'd recruited her to write about core occupational therapy things as she is both a generalist and an upper extremity guru, in the past owning a therapy service contracting service which employed PTs and speech therapists as well.  But she's finding her thoughts taking her to what it's like to retire and all that goes along with aging and the end of life, and people are really enjoying going along for the ride with her! I'll be sure to let her know of this piece, Robin, as I do want the best for her related to wellness.  

Gary King, one of the co-presidents and founders of ITC Pharmacy had a total knee replacement a bit after Petie had her partial -- they actually are about an hour away from each other on the Front Range and I've hoped they would both seek out the PT that helped me so much almost 10 years ago that's right in between them.  He was back on his feet (pun intended) faster than she was, and while she has about 10 more years gracing her life experiences and body, he said it had more to do with women having less muscle mass and how important it is to supplement testosterone through the menopause and andropause timeframe and ongoing through later life.  That also makes a lot of sense to me.  For those who wish to explore more about that, we have much on Lumigrate related to hormones and their information about supplementation can also be found in the nutrition/supplementation forum, where you/Robin post a lot of incredibly helpful pieces.   Again, THANK YOU, and I hope YOU have perhaps had some spark of furthering your thoughts and knowledge from what I've added in response.  ~~ Mardy

Yes, this particular interview was not specifically fibromyalgia related, but I think Dr. Barker raised some excellent points.  Teaching the basic lifestyle changes, and including supplementation--especially the addition of vit D and a high quality glucosamine (they are not all the same!!) will help prevent this painful inflammation and resulting degradation of the joints.  I do believe that these tips will also help many who have fibromyalgia.  I have seen, if not a "cure," significant improvements in the quality of life for many.  

Mardy, I share your concerns about what consists of a "healthy diet".  Dr. Barker is definitely not a nutritionist who specializes in food sensitivities.  We all must be proactive in discovering what foods actually increase inflammation in our own bodies, leading to so many debilitating symptoms.  Personally, my family avoids dairy and gluten also, because of my son's reaction to them.  Sometimes you only need to avoid milk treated with rBST, and sometimes it's the milk itself that is the culprit. 

You remember my friend, Julianne Koritz, a Registered Dietician who works with mediator release testing (MRT) to determine what foods are reactive for you as an individual.  She then will work one-on-one with you on an elimination diet that can make a huge positive impact on your health. This can be done via telephone, etc.

If you ARE looking for a high quality glucosamine product, I must recommend USANA's Procosa . Procosa includes a high quality vegetarian source of glucosamine sulfate, Vitamin C, manganese, and silicon to provide additional nutrition essential for joint health. 

Another advantage of Procosa is that it contains the Meriva bioavailable curcumin complex, speeding the supplement’s action to provide more immediate benefits.  Studies have shown a 30x improvement in bioavailablility of Meriva turmeric (curcumin) than the turmeric herb on it's own.  

Robin

Mardy's Note: In order to assess the providers and their products, I do attempt to try as many products as I can.  Robin does an excellent job of assisting and shepherding in a very gentle approach (and we have some laughs on the phone as we go) and I seem to have had good results from the Procosa (in general pain after sitting/end of day.)  For what it's worth, that's my personal experience. I hope this helps! 

Robin,

Great article. It's very helpful to learn about which vitamins and supplements ease inflammation. Also beneficial to understand how to prevent some of these issues. Now, people can participate in their care and healing thanks to your tips. Also good to remember your advice about eating the right foods to maintain our health.

 Thanks, Martine,

I am certainly enjoying and learning from the articles you have posted.   I think a common thread here is that we are all "learners" when it comes to our healthcare.   We must be active in taking care of ourselves.  

Take care,

Robin