A couple of alternative healing things that I've recently discovered.

[I Have A Dream]

It's very possible that I'm the last person in the group to discover these things, but I thought that I'd bring them up just in case others have these issues and aren't aware of them.

Item 1: I have had a problem with nasal congestion for a very long time. It got to the point where I was completely addicted to Afrin (with its rebound effect) for quite a few years. I finally stopped using it cold turkey about a year and a half ago, but I still had the problem. The only way that I could sleep without the Afrin was to use a Breathe Right nasal strip. (Luckily, my husband didn't care in the least. :D) However, I recently discovered that taking standardized turmeric three times a day completely opens my nasal passages. I've not had any negative side effects from using this, and I can now breathe at night without any assistance.

Item 2: I've had chronic body aches to the point where I was taking multiple pain killers to help to keep the pain under control. My husband recently found a product called Traumeel that has worked really well to help alleviate my pain. It really is an amazing product, and it's homeopathic. Another nice thing about it is that it can be used for animals too. I use the tablets, but it's available in other forms as well. We purchased it at our local health food store, but it's less expensive on-line, as usual. Here are a few links about it:

The link shows its ingredients: http://www.heelusa.com/Misc/TraumeelIngredients/index.html

http://traumeelremedy.com

http://www.successful-natural-horsecare.com/traumeel.html


I hope that this information helps someone else.

[OneGrassRoot]

1. Oh wow, I vaguely recall hearing about traumeel.....

That's GREAT that it has helped you, IHAD! I'm going to try that and get fiance to do the same.

Are you using the standard recommended dosing?

And I'd never heard that about turmeric. Cool. :)


:hug:

[I Have A Dream]

3. I think that it recommends 1 tablet 3 times a day.

I've been taking 2 tablets at a time sublingually. For some reason, I started out that way. I never tried one tablet; maybe it would work just fine.

I hope that it helps you both, OGR.

:hug:

[get the red out]

2. Thanks

I didn't know that about Tumeric either, I give it to my husband for it's overall positive health effects. And I need to check into traumeel, my husband and I both get aches and pains, he has arthritis in his back and has been taking tart cherry pills (can't take the over-the-counter stuff because it messes with his liver).

I love new information! :7

[I Have A Dream]

4. I hope that it helps you both as much as it has me, gtro.

:)

[Sanity Claws]

5. Tumeric

I heard it was good with aches. Are you sure it was the Traumeel and not the Tumeric which helped your body aches?

[I Have A Dream]

6. I started to take the tumeric several weeks before the Traumeel.

I didn't notice any difference in my pain until the very day that I started the Traumeel.

It's a good question though. :)

[MorningGlow]

7. Great info, Dream--thanks

I may recommend Traumeel to my mom for her polymyalgia aches and pains. :hi:

[I Have A Dream]

8. It's worth a try.

:)

[tanyev]

9. I'm going to have try the turmeric.

The Breathe Right strips work well for me, but after using them a while you start to get a red stripe on your nose. :blush:

[I Have A Dream]

10. Don't I know it!

:D

I hope that it works for you also, tanyev. It is such freedom to be able to breathe again. I never thought that this would be possible.

[Celebration]

11. Thanks, IHAD

I knew about the first two but the reminder is good! I have been known to sometimes put turmeric on a cotton swab and into my nose. I think I will get my husband to try the Traumeel. That is the first I heard of that.

[rumpel]

12. Traumeel is my vet's best friend...

and it works great. I am glad you found something for your pain. Maybe it will help my daughter's knee pains. I did not realize it comes in tablet form, too.

The turmeric I will have to try for my chronic sinus problem. But what is standarized? powder?

Thank you for the info.

[I Have A Dream]

16. I don't know if it will help with sinus problems in general.

What I noticed is that it helps to reduce the swelling of nasal tissues that block the air passages in the nose.

In reference to standardized, it just makes sure that it has a regulated amount of the important ingredient. I take it in pill form. This is what I use:

http://www.drugstore.com/qxp34003_333181_sespider/natures_way/standardized_turmeric_tablets.htm

[rumpel]

22. oh.

thank you.
It is one of the main spices in curry.

Look what else it does:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=78

[NuttyFluffers]

13. for nasal issues, esp serious (but not emergency) ones, i swear by Neti Jar

i'm gonna try out that Turmeric idea tho. already suggesting it to my folks to ease their arthritis. apparently turmeric is a fantastic anti-swelling agent.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

14. I do the nasal rinse with a syringe.

And warm salt water. Don't need a pot.

[I Have A Dream]

15. Oh, I completely agree about nasal irrigation, NuttyFluffers.

I have a Water Pik with an attachment that is used for nasal irrigation. I had chronic sinus issues until I used this. (Several sinus infections a year.) I haven't had any in the last decade or so since I started to use it. (I don't use it all the time -- only when I have a cold or am around something to which I'm extremely allergic.)

It didn't help with my nasal membrane swelling though. (Even after using the Water Pik device, I couldn't breathe out of my nose without some kind of aid, especially at night. That's how I got addicted to Afrin.)

[NJCher]

17. so that's it!

Turmeric is what has eliminated that nasal swelling problem. I knew it had stopped but I didn't think to associate it with the turmeric. Wow, another benefit.

I was reading this thread on turmeric the other day and got a kick out of it. It is comments from people all over the world. Turmeric has so much going for it that some people felt moved to hyperbole:


http://www.indiaparenting.com/diet/data/diet22_01book.shtml


Cher

[FirstLight]

18. I wonder if it would help my arthritis?

With Psoriatic Arthritis, I have been struggling with the pain for years. The skin was so bad they finally gave me Enbrel back in April.
all was well till i had a cold that turned ugly and had to quit the Enbrel to take antibiotics.
see, th whole issue is my immune system and the Enbrel basically takes it down so low that I have none.
so the cold was scary, since I didn;t wanna en up with pneumonia..

so I've been off the Enbrel for 6 weeks and my skin is holding up really well - meditation and less stress is helping alot to keep me from flaring up again...
But the aches are getting worse each day and I DON'T wanna have to give myself another shot and go back on the stuff, it is really toxic...

perhaps I should try this and see if it helps the pain?

[I Have A Dream]

19. I can't say, FirstLight, but it's definitely worth trying.

Some of the material on the web says that it can help with arthritic pain. I don't know whether it will help with severe pain associated with arthritis though.

I hope that it works for you!

[Metta]

20. The gift moves on. That would be you, Dreamy.

:hug:

[mother earth]

21. Metta is right, of course. I'm going to try the turmeric, Dream.

Sinus congestion is a tough one btwn allergies, colds, etc. Thanks, Dream.

Of course, Metta is a gift too...needed to edit to add that. :donut:

[rumpel]

23. Yes. To both comments.

:)

[Metta]

24. smiling

Have another donut? :donut:

[I Have A Dream]

25. Another turmeric benefit: Reduces alzheimer's symptoms by 30%

http://healthfreedoms.org/2010/08/02/indian-spice-reduces-alzheimers-symptoms-by-30

[Sanity Claws]

26. Turmeric may have been the miracle for both problems

Turmeric is an anti-inflammatory and is used to lessen aches and pains. That's why I take it.

I also have to watch my diet; I found that tomatoes give me arthritis-like aches. Could you be eating some kind of inflammatory-trigger?

[I Have A Dream]

27. I've been diagnosed as having fibromyalgia.

What causes that, I don't know. (There may be many causes, if we even know at all.) I haven't really taken the time to research it yet.

The turmeric may be helping both, but the traumeel helps the aching much more, at least for me.

I'll have to watch what I eat to see if I can see a pattern to my aching. One thing is almost certainly that I'm at the computer a very large part of my day.

Thanks, SC!

[Sanity Claws]

28. Soapbox rant follows

Western medicine doubts the existence of fibromyalgia because it cannot find the basis for it, even though many people appear with the same problems, complaining of pain in the same places. At least that's the way it was a few years ago. I understand western doctors are more open to it these days but still, it sounds like getting a western medical treatment is an uphill struggle.

Since this is ASAH, I'd like to suggest you try an alternative medicine approach, particularly Traditional Chinese Medicine. TCM approaches the issue differently and will treat the problem with acupuncture and herbs. A TCM can also make dietary recommendations.

I've used TCM and was much happier with it, than western medicine, for my migraines.

[LiberalEsto]

29. Arnica

Arnica montana, a daisy-like herb, is one of the ingredients in Traumeel. I use arnica gel for bumps, bruises, arthritis and sciatica, and it helps a lot. My boo-boos heal much faster (although it's not for use on broken skin).I also rub it on my achy shoulders when the fibromyalgia gets really bad. I use Traumeel too, but for some reason I prefer the plain arnica.

My neighbor told me about arnica last year. She used it on her broken fingers after her horse spooked and threw her, and the fingers healed quickly. She uses arnica on her horse too.

[Shallah Kali]

30. cinnamon got rid of my sinus congestion

but it increased bleeding when I get a cut. Hemophilia runs in my maternal genetic line so I have to be careful about that. If I recall correctly turmeric has similar constituents and can increase bleeding too. I need to check. In any case anyone who has a history of bleeding problems or are on meds that increase bleeding (such as acid blockers tagamet, prilosec, etc) check several sources when trying medicinal strength doses of even culinary herbs & spices just in case and start with the lowest dose.

I haven't tried traumeel tho I do use something similar homeopathic cream NatraBio The Arnica Rub $5.94 4oz
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/NTB002/ItemDetail?n=0

Natrabio The Rub
2oz https://www.natrabio.com/product-exec/product_id/6759/nm/NATRA_BIO_RUB_ARNCA_CRM_2Z
4oz https://www.natrabio.com/product-exec/product_id/6760/nm/NATRA_BIO_RUB_ARNCA_CRM_4Z

I can't stand anything with menthol, it burns as bad as capsicum creams. I found a wonderful camphor based cream (Jointflex http://www.jointflex.com ) but it costs $15 or more except when I get lucky at biglots and it has a strong lingering aroma. better to reek than be in pain but even better for me to use the Natrabio Rub which has barely any aroma and works just as good, if not better, at taking much of the ache out of my achy bits.

I would love to try an internal homeopathic treatment if I could find one that was just a homeopathic in water or something I am not allergic or sensitive to like lactose grain alcohol, fruit alcohol.


turmeric
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-turmeric.html#Safety
http://www.livestrong.com/article/136636-turmeric-side-effects/

[I Have A Dream]

31. Thanks, Shallah! This is wonderful information.

:)

[Shallah Kali]

32. A few useful herb & nutrition links (IMO

http;//herbs2000.com

MotherNature.com bookshelf
http://www.mothernature.com/Library/bookshelf/index.cfm

Henriette's Herbal
http://www.henriettesherbal.com%


remember to use quotes for an exact phrase such as "Holy basil"
Also to find something close to your search term that hopefully not in an unrelated bit on the page use + such as: "Holy basil" +fibromyalgia or Turmeric +fibromyalgia