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Turmeric anyone?

(37 Posts)
GrannyLiv Tue 07-May-19 23:12:41

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and have been really struggling recently with knee pain. Various people at work have been offering all sorts of advice, all of it well-meaning but some of it absolutely bonkers (for example, one girl said that if I ate only grapes for two weeks, then the RA would be totally reversed. How wonderful, an auto immune disease cured by grapes. I wonder if my consultant knows this?!)

Anyway, several people have mentioned turmeric. One person even told me that she feeds a turmeric paste to her horses to treat their joints, with good results. I've googled and there seems to be a lot of positive testimony.

Has anyone here tried turmeric for joint pain? If so, how did you get on?

Cheers!

giulia Thu 09-May-19 14:39:11

jura2 What is the difference between turmeric and curcumin? When I look up the translation of "turmeric" in my English/Italian dictionary, it is "curcuma".

Esspee Fri 10-May-19 14:35:55

I'm not advocating the use of turmeric but just received an offer by email of turmeric and black pepper capsules £7 ish for a 4 months supply.

jura2 Fri 17-May-19 21:56:31

Curcuma is the French name, turmeric the English one.

Curcumin is the name for the Holland and Barrett turmeric extract - liquid capsules.

Resurgam123 Sat 18-May-19 08:54:35

I cant help thinking that if something makes you feel better and does no harm then it works.

I think placebos can work . That has been known for a long time. They may not cure your cancer etc but if you feel better it will help you.

My trusty hot water bottle helps my painful back joints.

GrannyLiv Mon 27-May-19 08:44:41

I've been offline for a while,so have been surprised by the amount of replies here! Thank you all for taking the time.

And good to hear that it has benefitted some of you (while noting that it also didn't for others!).

SueH49 - thanks for the recipe, I will try that out. So far I have found no contraindications with my prescribed meds, so I think I'm good to go!

mostlyharmless Thu 30-May-19 21:37:24

I’ve been using Curcumin (which is a the active ingredient in Turmeric) for the last three years.
For twenty years previously I was on Ibuprofen for arthritic pain in the knee caused by a car accident. After a couple of weeks of taking Curcumin I was able to give up the Ibuprofen completely.
I take two capsules a day of “Curcumin 95 with bioperine”. Costs about £16 for 60 capsules online.
It’s brilliant. I no longer have pain in my knees and my joints are more supple.
It is supposed to have several other benefits such as being an anti-oxidant but I can’t vouch for that. Definitely works for me as an anti-inflammatory though.

grannyticktock Sat 01-Jun-19 17:52:45

I take turmeric + black pepper capsules which I buy online, it's not expensive. I do use it in cooking too, but to get enough you'd need to have most of your meals tasting of turmeric.

Since starting it, I have had a definite improvement in the osteoarthritis in my knees. I also go swimming twice a week which may be contributing to the improvement, but I'm not going to abandon either. My GP approved of the turmeric, and told me his partner uses it. He says that it's more effective if taken with black pepper, which is why I buy the capsules.

Avor2 Sat 01-Jun-19 20:30:12

Started taking them, didn't make any difference like everybody was telling me, then I found out that I shouldn't be having them if I was taking Omeprazole, so I have now stopped. Just check that you aren't taking other medication that might cause a problem. I know it works for a lot of people, so hope it does for you. x

GrannyLiv Sun 02-Jun-19 20:15:23

Noted Avor2. I have been prescribed Omeprazole because I also take Naproxen, however I have not had any gastric issues with the Naproxen so I don't take it.

I've started on the turmeric capsules, so fingers crossed that I am in the group who finds it beneficial!

Avor2 Sun 02-Jun-19 21:51:55

GrannyLiv Hope it works for you, fingers crossed smile

mostlyharmless Mon 03-Jun-19 14:08:04

GrannyLiv if you’re taking a non steroidal anti-inflammatory like Naxproxen, you might find you can give that up when the effect of Curcumin kicks in.
That’s what I found. I was also taking Ranitidine for years to protect my stomach from the effects of the Ibuprofen.
Good luck with it.