Arthritis supplements and afib

I am beginning to experience a bit of arthritis in the knee joints and am looking for a supplement that would not interfere with afib. I currently take mag, potassium, taurine, L-theanine, evening primose oil and an aspriin daily. Glucosamine condroitin but read that it was potassium citrate and sodium derived from shellfish and wanted to find out if the sodium would have an impact. I try to eat a low sodium diet so I wondered if this would be a problem.

Has anyone had success with supplements for arthritis???
Any help would be appreciated.

Pam;

I take 1500 mgs of MSM 2X daily for arthritis and fibromyalgia--it has helped me quite a bit, and allowed me to terminate my daily Advil regime (was taking 2 3X day). An arthritis specialist was the person who recommended it to me. It has not increased my Afib, and doesn't bother my stomach. The effect is cumulative; you need to take it daily for it to begin to work.

Louise

Pam - if you aren't already gluten free, you might give that a try for a month or two to see if it helps. Some arthritis is directly linked to gluten reactions. Mine disappeared in about two weeks after going GR. But if it's more osteo-arthritis, it might not help so much. I hope you find a solution one way or another.

Echo the MSM recommendation. I HAD chronically arthritic knees from playing collegiate sports (five previous knee surgeries) and have taken for years. The reason why I said HAD is I have had both knees replaced in the past 18 months....still continue MSM with an NSAID (Arthrotec) due to arthritis in hips and shoulders. I take 1500 mg per day.

Have not been able to make any correlation between MSM, arthritis medication and atrial fibrillation.

Steve
Spring, Tx.

Pam - I agree with Louise about the MSM and Darcy about being gluten free. Those are both extremely effective regardless of which type of arthritis. Jackie

Pam,

If you are talking about osteoarthritis then I can highly recommend the MSM/glucosamine/chondroitin combination from Natural Factors - it really does work! If you are talking about rheumatoid arthritis then Zyflamend would be a good choice. You can find both here:

[www.afibbers.org]

I would also second the motion to make sure you supplement with a good probiotic. My current favourite is VSL#3, but as this is very expensive you may wish to try Biobeads (Saccharomyces boulardii) first.

Hans

PS. Look for "glutamine" on the above web page.

What is MSM?

Pam2:

You might also want to avoid oranges, oj, grapefruit juice and cheese. This may cause inflammation in some people.

In addition try to have a low purine diet. Foods high in purines will increase inflammation ..to counteract this effect, I try to eat vegetables like romaine lettuce and other dark green leafy vegetables.

Foods high in purines: Meat and organ meats, seafood such as scallops, anchovies, herring, oatmeal, asparagus, mushrooms, broth etc.....even spinach is listed....but it does not bother me.

[www.navarro.com]

I hope this helps.

Isabelle

Jeff,

Here is a link to information about MSM:

[www.msmguide.com]

Hans

I have taken a lot of Zyflamend this past couple of years.

It has abolished all of the niggling constant nagging irritants like the ache from an old whiplash episode, never treated, and the "trigger" joint in my thumb, and the residual pain in my lame old knees. The primary ingredient seems to be turmeric, but i tried using turmeric capsules the same way and the zyflamend seems superior to me.

It never gave me any afib symptoms, nor has it done so with any of the others here who have taken it. You might want to type the name zyflamend into the search function both in this present forum and in the 2 that precede it, you would find the threads on this topic to be interesting, i think.

My friend the old Vietnam hand, crippled by agent orange exposure and a later back injury, uses zyflamend faithfully to treat the pain from his old back injury, and he has recently succeeded in tapering himself off the most dangerous of the pain medications the VA has gotten him addicted to. Zyflamend is a first class anti inflammatory.

The only negative effect i have seen is that it is a good intestinal disinfectant too, and it nullifies the good effect of the probiotic i have been taking. So i will have to go back to not eating anything with wheat or milk in it if i start taking zyflamend again for the pain in my knees. I am going to physical therapy right now for the pain in the knees plus some other things, and i know from past experience that the knee thing will get better soon.

If i just keep on the way i am going, and take aspirin for the knees for a few days to a few weeks, i think the knee pain will subside and i can just keep right on eating formerly forbidden things. Or if it gets really worse, go back to a gluten free, lactose free diet and resume the zyflamend intake.

PeggyM

Peggy

Someone once suggested that I take apple cider vinegar for arthritis in my hands. When it was bad I couldn't bend my fingers very much, or make a fist.

I was sceptical but started taking 3 tablespoons a day. Here in UK I buy it as 'Honegar', a mixture of the vinegar and honey, which I mix into my daily 'potion' - potassium powder, taurine powder, Waller Water, D-Ribose powder, and lemon juice. (That's my version of PAC tamer!) You can buy the vinegar without the honey if you prefer it.

I have not had a single flare up of the arthritis in the two years since I started taking it and my fingers are fully mobile again. I have recommended it to several friends who also found it helped a lot.

Gill

Gill, every few months i once again take up the habit of cider vinegar and honey in a little hot water as an after-meal cordial, you might call it. It never has done me any harm that i could tell, altho no particular good either. Will try it again soon.
PeggyM

Thanks to all for the advice. I do take zyflamend already but will definitely add the MSM since so many positive comments about it. I have heard about the cider vinegar but just wonder if I can stomach it as I heard it works best in liquid form.