Bone and Joint Health - What Supplements to Take?

1Athena1
1Athena1 Member Posts: 6,696
edited June 2014 in Alternative Medicine

I should really be posting this in the complementary forum, but I am writing here because it seems to attract more readers - lol!

I am self pay at the moment. Not anxious to shelve out thousands of dollars insisting on tests and bone scans for now. If/when I get insurance I will certainly broach the topic with my onc or an internist.

FOR NOW, however, what supplements are sisters taking fo joint and muscle pains? I get charley horses all the time and I had to stop exercising because of injuries. I blame the Tamoxifen. I already take 10,000 IU of vit D3. I have taken Magnesium too, to no avail.

Which supplements have worked? How about glucosamine/condrointin? Anything else?

I am premenopausal, a non-smoker and of normal weight. I have not taken Tamoxifen for about 2 years but I believe it made permanent changes in my body and I seem to sprain things more often.

Thanks to anyone who can share their supplements. I don't cook, so hopefully it's something I can buy as is. :-)

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Comments

  • ruthbru
    ruthbru Member Posts: 57,235
    edited December 2012

    Charley Horses: eat bananas and drink tonic water (with or without the gin Wink), some people swear by the 'bar of soap under the sheet' method......seems crazy to me! 

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  • 1Athena1
    1Athena1 Member Posts: 6,696
    edited December 2012

    Hah - ruthbru - I want to open my mouth to ask "Which soap brand!!" Almost that desperate. Don't know why, when I am the youngest in my family, I am also the only one who aches like an old lady.

    Ready to try a rain dance....

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  • ruthbru
    ruthbru Member Posts: 57,235
    edited December 2012

    I think any would do....it sure can't hurt! Here's my prescription.....drink two gin tonics, eat a Banana's Foster dessert, put the soap under the sheets and call me in the morning.Tongue Out

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  • madpeacock
    madpeacock Member Posts: 369
    edited December 2012

    Try Curcumin/turmeric. It is anti-inflammatory and works wonders on aches and pains. Add the magnesium back (if you tolerate it) and balance it with calcium. Keep up with the D. Vitamin C is a good basic. 

    Hope it helps! Laughing

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  • 1Athena1
    1Athena1 Member Posts: 6,696
    edited December 2012

    thank you, madpeacock - I will try curcumin/tumeric. How much should one take?

    Yes, I can add back the magnesium. I was on 500/day - maybe I should increase that?

    Also, does glucosamine/condrointin help at all?

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  • dogsandjogs
    dogsandjogs Member Posts: 1,907
    edited December 2012

    i had a lot of bone pain in 2004. turned out i had a tumor in one of the parathyroid glands; the symptom was too much calcium in my blood. might be worth it to have that checked.

    i take calcium with d

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  • shore1
    shore1 Member Posts: 739
    edited December 2012

    Madpeacock, I haven't added turmeric to my ever-growing list of vitamins yet - do you know if it is estrogenic? My MO says all I need is a multi, D3 & calcium, but she's very by the book.

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  • ruthbru
    ruthbru Member Posts: 57,235
    edited December 2012

    DH takes glucosamine/condrointin for his achy knees and he says it helps him.

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  • 1Athena1
    1Athena1 Member Posts: 6,696
    edited December 2012

    Do you know how much?

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  • ruthbru
    ruthbru Member Posts: 57,235
    edited December 2012

    His bottle says the glucosamine is 1500 mg & the chondroitin is 1200 mg. It also says take two a day.

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  • 1Athena1
    1Athena1 Member Posts: 6,696
    edited December 2012

    Thank you! Good to have a basic premise.

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  • Outdamnedspot
    Outdamnedspot Member Posts: 297
    edited December 2012

    I have been taking eggshell membrane capsules for about 5 weeks now and I can't believe how much better my arthritic back and knees feel. Google it and there is quite a bit of info on it.

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  • juliaanna
    juliaanna Member Posts: 1,043
    edited December 2012

    Don't short-change the bar of soap in the foot of the bed for leg cramps.  I had 94 year old resident who would take quinine for leg cramps until they took it off the market for cardiac SE.  I put a bar of soap at the end of the bed, under the bottom sheet.  She didn't have cramps until one night.  We looked under the bed in the morning and the bar of soap had fallen out.  I bought her the cheapest bar of soap I could find.  Of course, gin and tonic couldn't hurt.

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  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited December 2012

    Ruth, now that is the ind of alternative medicine I like, :D

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  • HLB
    HLB Member Posts: 1,760
    edited December 2012

    I take 900 mg turmeric and also boswellia is a good anti-inflammatory and if you take them together it works better than one or the other. Also for bone health, pineapple and prunes are very good for strong bones. Its the bromelaine in the pineapple that is so good for the bones. The core has the most concentration of it but its chewy and it burns the inside of the mouth. I haven't tried this yet but I'm thinking of putting the core in my smoothies. The turmeric and boswellia I'm actuaLly taking to fight cancer but they are excellent for joint pain. The boswellia is to prevent brain mets.

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  • madpeacock
    madpeacock Member Posts: 369
    edited December 2012

    I take 500 mg of curcumin and 500 mg of magnesnium, along with about 500 mg of calcium to balance. These all work together with the D. 

    I take glucosamine, but have not noticed a major difference, but started it after the curcumin. My mother always says she does not know if it helps, but she notices it when she STOPS taking it!

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  • pip57
    pip57 Member Posts: 12,401
    edited December 2012

    Turmeric is definitely at the top of my list.  I take one capsule am and pm.  I also liberally sprinkle a mixture of turmeric, black pepper and garlic powder on dinner every single night.  My dh also notices a difference in his arthritic pain.

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  • ruthbru
    ruthbru Member Posts: 57,235
    edited December 2012

    I am 'The Prune Queen'.....I eat a serving every day: I started eating them for my bones, mentioned that to GP, who told me if everyone ate prunes on a daily basis, there would be few cases of colon cancer!

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  • cp418
    cp418 Member Posts: 7,079
    edited December 2012

    I feel for me the anti-inflammatories mentioned such as curcumin, boswellia, NSK-SD, Omega 3 helped more with my body/joint pain then the Glucosamine/Chondroitin. I refer to my daily suppplements as my daily "rock collection". It was getting to be too many so I dropped the GC supplements.  I'm on Femara so I need to take daily Ca/Mg/Vit D supplements - - plus other rocks. Bromelain also anti-inflammatory take on empty stomach for better absorption.

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  • pip57
    pip57 Member Posts: 12,401
    edited December 2012

    GC only helped me when it also has MSM.

    http://www.msmguide.com/

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  • 1Athena1
    1Athena1 Member Posts: 6,696
    edited December 2012

    Ok, so I have started to take Tumeric (400 mg/day) and calcium 1000 mg/day - in addition to my Vit D3 and multi vit. Hope this helps.

    For about six months now, I have had pain in my right groin that has moved to my right inner thigh (not sure how else to characterize it).

    Reaons why it could be mets:

    --I'm stage IIB

    --I would most predictably recur to bones in areas where there is a large blood supply

    --My rotten luck

    Reasons why it would NOT be mets:

    --Over 6 months the pain has improved markedly and I can now walk briskly with no pain at times

    --It is most likely a sports injury

    --It feels like muscle pain - I think.

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  • dogsandjogs
    dogsandjogs Member Posts: 1,907
    edited December 2012

    Athena: From your description it sounds like a stress fracture of the hip. Do you run?

    I had groin pain years ago, but ran through it. Found out later it was a healed stress fracture of the pubic bone! I also had 5 others in different areas - all from running too much on hard surfaces.

    Stress fractures take at least 6 weeks to heal. Since yours is better now, I bet that is what you had.  Hip fractures cause pain in the groin, I was told.

    PS I also had a hip fracture in 2009, but that required hip-pinning surgery as the pain did NOT go away---healed completely though--

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  • Heidihill
    Heidihill Member Posts: 5,476
    edited December 2012

    http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=3116&setappvar=page(1)

    Vitamin k may help, as in spinach and broccoli.

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  • 1Athena1
    1Athena1 Member Posts: 6,696
    edited December 2012

    thanks, dogsandjogs and heidi - yes, I am almost positive it is a stress fracture and absolutely NOT mets, particularly because the discomfort comes and goes based on levels and types of activity. I am also making a conscious effort to make sure my leg muscles are relaxed and that helps.

    That's what happens with cancer - common sense explanations are always the last to occur to you when you feel pain - don't we all know this!

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  • dogsandjogs
    dogsandjogs Member Posts: 1,907
    edited December 2012

    Athena: And what makes things difficult - when a doctor knows you have had cancer they immediately suspect mets when something is hurting.

    I had a bad headache and was sent for a scan right away. 

    It is depressing because you want to forget you have or have had cancer, but the medical people are afraid to take your symptoms lightly - and seem to expect the worst. 

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  • 1Athena1
    1Athena1 Member Posts: 6,696
    edited December 2012

    Wink....and that is the very reason why I haven't consulted my onc....

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