01/21/2011: Pam from Marlborough, Ct, Usa: "Has anyone tried Devils Claw for arthritis? I have had a problem with my hands, swelling between the knuckles, and have tried vitamins, acv, tumeric, and they have helped somewhat, but I still have to take pain medicine. I will probably be going to a doctor to find out what is causing it hopefully, but I have a 24 year old horse that was really getting lame and I didn't want to put her down yet. Well I bought her a product that contains devils claw, yucca and a few other things. I give her a small amount in her grain daily and I can't believe in a week the difference it has made, she is acting like an young horse again and is hardly stiff anymore. If anyone knows if it helps people I would like to here from you. Thanks Pam"

01/23/2011: Bess from Calgary, Alberta, Canada replies: "Hi Pam - After injuring my foot and dealing with the pain for over two months, I started reading a book called "The Inflammation Syndrome" (Jack Challem) which mentioned the following about Devil's Claw - "This herb, originally from southern Africa, can benefit people with rheumatoid arthritis, lower back pain and various other rheumatic complaints. In one study, French researchers gave 435 mg of devil's claw daily to 92 people with osteoarthritis. By the end of the four-month study, people taking devil's claw had significantly less pain and greater mobility and also used fewer anti-inflammatory drugs and painkillers. " I hope that helps.

As for my foot, I think I will try pycnogenol first (which helped the author who had a similar foot injury and is also beneficial for those suffering from arthritis). It's a great book (I got it from the library)... All I need to do now is get some of the things he mentioned and experiment to see what works for me. Good luck - I hope devil's claw works for you."

[BETTER BUT NOT CURED]  10/07/2011: Pat from Coventry, England replies: "I have been on devils claw now for around 3 to 4 weeks. I take 1200mg ( 2 capsules) morning and night. Since being on the medication my pain is still there but much less. It is definitely worth giving it a try. It is widely used in Germany and France and has undergone clinical trials. Good luck and keep me posted.

Pat"

05/10/2012: Lilia from Wanneroo, Western Australia replies: "Hi Pat, you wrote an article dated last year 10-7-11 about the Devil's Claw and at that stage you have been taking it only 3-4 weeks. I am also a rheumatoid arthritis sufferer just wondering how is your well being now.

Regards,
Lilia"

04/05/2012: Debbie from Melbourne, Australia : "Here is an excellent article for anyone with arthritic type complaints. It is entitled: "ARTHRITIS, A NEEDLESS CRIPPLER" by Dr. John R. Christopher

From the article 3 things can improve the condition even if nothing else is done.

1. eliminate meat from the diet
2. eliminate refined sugar from diet
3. drink plenty of "distilled water"

The article is excellent. It talks about how inorganic calcium in water builds up around the joints. Red meat contains uric acid which exacerabates the problem. ACV helps to dissolve the calcium build up. Herbs to take are also recommended.

I also recommend Dr. Christopher's book on natural healing. He was somewhat of a guru on natural healing and also has an amazing personal story.

http://www.whale.to/w/arthritis1.html"

[NAY]  05/09/2013: Bradshad from North Providence, Rhode Island: "Very long story, I will try to be brief. This has been a 2 year process trying to heal from psoriasis and ankylosing spondylitis aka arthritis. I recently was allergy tested, blood tested and a stool test was done. I am showing an allergy to over 75 foods. The naturopath said in over 20 years of work he has never seen anyone so allergic. I'm assuming from the leaky gut. Also, fruits are out for now because they seemed to be bothering me apparently due to some yeast and 2 pathogens that he was not to concerned with. So I have gone about this routine and I am extremely limited. I eat lentils, brown rice, some veggies (not all allergy), red meat, fish, sunflower seed butter, walnuts, corn tortillas, and that is about it right now.

To make matters worse, I Proper Food Combine which means I don't combine protein and carbs and obviously fruits are out and not a concern right now, but would be eaten alone. So when I eat protein and vegetables thru the day the next day I feel minimal arthritis pain. If I have brown rice and veggies the next day I have pains. Can anyone explain this. I really can't afford to cut out more foods. Also, it's not just brown rice its other grains as well but grains in general to keep it simple. I have done the digestive enzyme route and it does not seem to matter.

This has been 2 years of torture. On the bright side the bloating in the belly has subsided, my psoriasis looks like its clearing, I'm in great shape, but pain is still ever present from arthritis. I have taken magnesium, fish oil, turmeric, everything you can name but my GI tract is still unhappy. Any help would be great. What am I missing here. Thanks in advance Brad."

05/09/2013: Louwrencel from Rustenburg, North West, South Africa replies: "Hi Bradshad, Starches are acidic & can cause the pain. So there is the reward & punishment system, if you eat starches you suffer & if you dont you feel great."

[YEA]  02/14/2009: Edward from Norwich, United Kingdom: "I have suffered from arthritis for years and have tried several types of medications.Most give pain-killing results but with side effects. Feeling hungry one evening, I ate a large handful of dried dates, and next morning I felt like a different person. All pain had gone! Why is this? Have I discovered a miracle cure? Could others try this, to confirm or refute. I double checked the food I had eaten the previous couple of days, but the only item that was unusual was the dates. Your's Edward."

EC: Perhaps it is the region where the dates are grown? Read this page of facts from a California orchard: http://www.hadleyfruitorchards.com/funfacts.cfm

We also found this:

"Dates are great for post-viral chronic fatigue syndrome sufferers as well as excellent for those who suffer with anaemia. Most varieties of dried dates are very high in iron. All dates have a reasonable amount of fibre and are a rich source of potassium." http://www.femail.com.au/driedfruits.htm

[BETTER BUT NOT CURED]  08/29/2012: Suzy from Eugene, Or: "I ordered Emu oil and Emu Oil cream for my 92 year old grandmother from Amazon and had it shipped directly to her. The oil arrived yesterday and she applied it to her knees and feet using a kleenex. She reported to me that the pain from the arthritis in the knees vastly improved within 15 minutes. She said she did not notice improvement in her feet (neuropathy) but she is going to continue to use it on both areas. The cream was shipped separately and she has not recieved it yet. I have asked her to keep me updated on her symptoms and perception of the pain decrease."

[YEA]  11/28/2011: Soleil from Atlanta, Georgia: "My belief about most health issues, that most of us have, is that it stems from our guts. Whether it is arthritis, leaky gut, or any other ailment. If we fix our guts, we fix most of our health problems. For years I've suffered with diarrhea and just came to accept that I had a stomach issue. When you have diarrhea all the time, your body isn't absorbing any nutrients or minerals it needs for your whole health. This being the case, your body will react by giving you certain symptoms.

When we try to discover what causes our symptoms, we read and read and read about what may cause each specific one. We then take supplements to rid us of a specific symptom, while not understanding the overall cause of a specific symptom. In my case, I developed arthritis in both knees and am fatigued much of the time. My knees hurt so badly I couldn't fall asleep at night. I tried many different products, all natural, (Zyflamend, ginger extract, Instaflex etc.) to no avail. I'm a flight attendant so it's very difficult to think of mixing Apple Cider Vinegar and baking soda at work, when there is no time to even eat!

I recently discovered something called "Repair Gold" by Enzymedica (the enzyme experts). Most of the ingredients are enzymes, no MSM, etc. It contains bromelain, protease, amylase, catalase, papain, serratiopeptidase and lipase. I've been able to sleep the last 4 nights and haven't had the usual bouts of diarrhea. It makes me wonder how many others have arthritis and diarrhea. I believe my arthritis stemmed from my malabsorption of nutrients and minerals from the food I eat, thereby causing deficiencies and bone loss, etc. I would never have connected the two. I encourage many of you to continue to research and read as much as you can, and to look way beyond a specific symptom. Wishing you good health and discoveries in nature."

[YEA]  01/19/2008: susan from brisbane, australia: "I have been taking epsom salts all year every morning a few spinkles in my 500m water bottle (room temp water) and my aches and pains have all but disappeared. I remember my grandmother always put epsom salts in her tea each morning just a few sprinkles and she said so she did not get arthritus. Well I have to say I think it works but what I want to know is too much bad for you internally anyone know thanks."

[YEA]  09/13/2009: Teresa from Nacogdoches, Texas: "Fire Ant Remedy for Arthritis

Back in the day when doctors weren't readily available people who worked in the fields had to find ways of healing themselves. If someone has a really bad case of arthritis the best thing to alleviate the swelling and pain are bites from fire ants.This has been done in my family for four generations and has always worked."

[YEA]  09/04/2011: Dalene from Johannesburg, South Africa: "This remedy helped my old arthritic dog recover, nothing short of a miracle, he's like a young dog after the Prednisone the vet prescribed nearly killed him! I suspect this might help for human arthritis? I give him a teaspoon of unflavoured gelatine every day, dissolved in some warm (not boiling) water, add to his food and let cool. It's tasteless so no prob there, and he also gets a fish oil capsule twice a week. He weighs about 10kg so the dose must be adjusted for bigger dogs. God bless al you dog lovers"

08/05/2012: Ken.nyc from New York City, Ny/USA: "About arthritis treatments. I have tried the usual mentioned here (on an alkaline diet, tried apple cider vinegar for a month) and nothing seems to make a difference - Well, I haven't tried stopping the chondroitin and glucosamine supplements, curcumin etc. , so maybe it could be worse without them.

Doing more research though, I found out that there are two other avenues to search: (1) possible food allergies, for which one approach is to start a water fast and slowly figure out which foods one has become allergic to, and which triggers the arthritis, and (2) possible microbial infection, for which the standard treatment is taking a daily dose of 2x100mg of the antibiotic minocycline, accompanied with the proper probiotic to keep the intestinal flora active - see for example http://www.roadback.org/ or drmirkin.com.

I generally prefer natural treatments, but since I've been following a pretty heathy diet, these are the next avenues to explore for me. It would be interesting to hear about others who have already tried either of these two types of cures."

08/05/2012: Robyn from Melbourne, Australia replies: "Ken, I dont get as much nerve pain since being tested for food allergies and not eating those foods. If I take a supplement my body doesnt like my knees can swell up to 10 x their normal size. since looking into chlymadia pneumonia, know I have had it, I trialled 3 antibiotics at the one time, minomycin included & I did have lesser pain. It returned when I ran out of B3 and one of the antibiotics. Im still trying to work out which one helped the most or if it was both."

11/22/2012: Mel from Sydney, Australia replies: "I remember my nana doing that for her arthritis when I was a child. I don't know whether it made a difference or not as it was so long ago and she has since passed away. Worth a try though. Maybe it's the drinking of the champagne before bed that helps :)"