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Originally Posted by Yorkiedaze  I've been diagnosed with OA 32 years ago. Never had an ache or pain and came down with it hitting every joint in my entire body at the same time. It was so painful and scary. We were visiting my brother and his wife in FL. when this happen so I had no doctor down there. Since I knew there is no cure, I had my husband take me to a pharmacist. I ask for the strongest pain med. available without a prescription and he took one look at me and said I should see a doctor. I told him my doctor is in MN. so he gave me some red pills that looked a lot like a red M&M's, then he said I will also give you something at no charge if you will take one each day and let me know how your doing. He handed me stress tabs with iron and said he had just gotten a study in that shows arthritis could be caused by the lack of B vitamins. I took what he gave me and left feeling completely let down, but I did as he said and from day one of taking the stress tabs with iron I started feeling better. By the end of a week, I was not in any pain at all. From then on I never let myself run out of stress tabs with iron till 2 years later I ran out of them and let it slide since I had never had any pain anywhere, but a week after not taking them, the OA hit my right knee hard. My husband ran to get my stress tabs and then the knee cleared up in a few days.
I stopped taking them about 5 years ago and the OA flared up again but when I went back to the stress tabs again, they didn't seem to help. My right knee got so bad that the orthopedic doctor had me taking lots of tests to prepare for knee replacement surgery. I was a basket case. I don't take medication of any kind and never have, now all of a sudden I'm faced with a very invasive surgery and he wanted me to take meds the day before surgery that is a blood thinner. No thanks. I even gave blood in case I needed it which I should not have had to do because there is a procedure where they take your blood on the operating table and give it right back to you. Anyway the second time I went to give blood they wouldn't take it because I was a little low in iron. Thought I was going to have a breakdown so much was happening in so little time. I went to a friend of mine who has a phd in nutrition and ask her what can I do to help keep me off any meds. and to help with my OA. She put me on several supplements and wouldn't you know that my knee cleared up and I'm pain free and walking normal.
So to end this, I may need surgery yet in the future, but I still won't take medication if I do. There really are safer alternatives. |
Wow.....I want me some stress tabs. Is that the name brand "Stress tabs"? I recently had very bad low back pain. Its like the 5th time that happened to me in a year. When it happens, I cant stand up straight. The last time it happened, I couldnt sit up straight. I went to the doc and she said the x-ray showed osteoarthritis. I dont even understand what that is...but it doesnt sound good after reading everyones posts.
The flareup I had last summer, I couldnt do anything for like 6 weeks and the back pain radiated to my hip joint. Talk about some PAIN!!!!