What have you found to be the most effective over-the-counter arthritis drug, especially for hands? Not just for easing pain but for range of motion.

Thanks, RS

Most effective was giving up coffee. Then minimizing sugar intake. Beyond that a combination of naproxin sodium and actaminophen, taken together.

Turmeric has worked well for me.

ibuprofen

Dad used Dona and swore by it

2 Aleve,...or 2 shots of vodka.

Aleve, 2 per day.

Another naproxen (Aleve) fan here for some ortho repairs/arthritis in the past.

It has worked better for me than some prescription meds (Celebrex, etc.), and the ibuprofen and aspirin stand-byes.

Not over the counter but very effective.

I take it once a day, every day.

Meloxicam Rx

Mobic

Raging alcoholism isn't bad.

Glucosamine + Chondroitin + MSM in 2,000 to 3,000 mg. once to twice a day, talk to your doctor first and see it you can start a 90 day trial. Natural Supplement so there shouldn't be any side effects, but you'd want to be sure it doesn't have any effects on any other medicines you might be taking. Ibuprofen and nearly any pain killer taken on a daily regime long term can kill you...

Phil

Depends a lot on which type of arthritis you suffer from.
Osteoarthritis has responded well to glucosamine chondroitin MSM.
The arthritis in my thumbs is different. I take Krill oil for the inflammation and it is 90% better.

Not OTC, but I went through a DNA testing and Diclofenac 50MG was perfect for me. No side effects, just total release from the pain and inflammation..

Truly, DNA testing is the future of pharmaceutical medicine.

kd

Stated by another earlier, Meloxicam has been very good for me. Sure easy to tell when I skip a dose or two.

Agree, Meloxicam and trammadol once in morning and again at bedtime. Not a pill taker,drilled doctor over safety. Get a regular blood test and you will be fine.

I've tried it all, as I've had arthritis pain in my hands for year. Mobic worked better than anything.....but, turns out I was allergic to it. Celebrex works to a degree, but I only wanted to take it when the pain was bad. A doctor told me I could take 2 Aleve twice a day for arthritis, but when I asked my regular doctor about it, he said he thought that was too much. Different medicine works for different folks.

Beer helps!

Quite the opposite....alcohol is one of my triggers...tart cherry juice has done wonders for me....it doesn't help everyone though.

After you laugh give it a try. my brother-in-law used to be a millwright. He had arthritis in his hands. One day he got some WD40 all over his hands and in a couple minutes they quit hurting. I tried it on my knee and rubbed it in. Almost by the time I finished I was pain free. After using it for a couple years my knee appears to be well.

I called the WD40 company to asked them about it. The guy told me they get at least one call per week telling them how good it is and every time I tell them it is not for human use.

Over-the-counter WD, or is that prescription strength?

Wonder what your blood tests look like.....

Interesting. I wonder if that causes cancer over time?

Of course, what doesn't now days...

I go in every year for a full physical, which includes a complete blood workup. The doctor said I am healthy as a horse. Like I said in the other post, my knee is completely pain free and has been that way for fifteen years.

2 Aleve and 2 shots of vodka works very well.

I have been using Mobic/meloxicam daily since '09 for arthritus in my hands. The Dr wanted to rebuild my right thumb in '09, but I have put off the surgery for eight years via use of NSAIDS. I also had to start Omeprazol to control stomach pain. So an Omeprazol each night and morning plusthe Mobic each evening allows me to function at work.

But now that regimin is failing to control pain and inflamation in hips and knees, so i have added 600 mg of ibuprofin each night and morning. Got an apt with orthapedic surgeon in two weeks to see what can be done.

Crude!

I had an elderly cousin that swore by WD-40 as arthritis for His knees. I can barely tolerate the smell when I have to use it outdoors. I have been taking Etodolac 500Mg tablets twice a day for probably 20 years for Arthritis in my neck and shoulders. miles

Voltaren is very effective for arthritis, especially hands and feet,and back. Only trouble is it,s a prescription. in USA.
in Canada it,s over the counter. They also have 2.3% vs the 1% we have here.

Snake oil salesmen of the 19th century depended on ppl like you for a living.

What kind of arthritis do you have? If you have osteoarthritis from overuse and all the cartilage in the joint is worn away I don't know of anything you can take for the pain and remain concious. I've had 3 finger joints replaced in the last 4 years because the cartilage was gone and the bone was wearing away. Go to a good orthopedic surgeon for an examination, an x-ray will show how much cartilage is left in your hand joints. My Mother had rheumatoid arthritis in her later years and she was prescribed drugs that reduced the pain.

Can you refute the fact every week someone calls WD40 with glowing reports of it helping them? Can you refute the fact that my brother-in-law never heard about it helping with pain and discovered empirically that it helped him enough to pass the good word along to me? Can you refute the fact that my knee would quit hunting almost instantly? Can you refute the fact that my knee has not hurt for at least a dozen years?

As a natural-born skeptic, I tend to think many things are a snake oil remedy. Like the idea of rubbing Vick's on the bottoms of one's feet to treat night-time coughing. The manufacturer doesn't make such recommendation. Nor does the maker of WD-40 suggest that their product be used topically. That doesn't mean that it doesn't work - as many people far and wide have suggested. Nor does it mean that either practice is safe or healthy. But few people would argue that a sufficient dose of grain neutral spirits isn't effective in reducing certain pains. Again, certain side effects might make it's use as medical treatment somewhat undesirable.

I don't need to refute any anecdotal statements as to the efficacy of unproven folk remedies. On the contrary it's you that have all the burden of proof as the science currently stands on my side of the argument.

One thing is for sure though frequent repeated transdermal delivery of petroleum distillates over a period years will dramatically increase your likelihood of developing a multitude of cancers.

Which might be the very reason no credibility is given to certain "snake oil" treatments. Then again, while I make no defense for cancer causing materials, one has only to watch many of the multitude ads for FDA approved drugs to realize that heart attack, stroke, depression, suicidal thoughts, death and other factors are 'weighed' in their recommendation for use.

Tylenol extra strength worked for me. Mobic, a prescription medication, worked better. Lots of folks with bad tickers can't take NSAIDS. Taking vodka with any pain reliever is, well, not prudent.

Both of these statements are clear over-reaches, if not outright untrue.

As far as scientific applies. I am not into that here. I don't remember the original poster asking for scientific reviews here so I gave some info that helped my brother-in-law and me; and apparently several others according to the number of calls WD40 gets.

It appears you're doing something very UNscientific here. It appears you are assuming I did it for years. I applied it for a few months and didn't need to anymore for the rest of my life. If it killed the nerves, fine. If it healed the problem, that is even better.

As mentioned WD40 is a petroleum distillate. Not much different than rubbing gasoline onto the area. Did it heal you? Most definitely no, because as of now there isn't a cure for arthritis. Treatments yes. Cures no. Did it kill the nerves? Well, let's hope not. Nerves control organs, muscle function, sensory recognition. Bone nerves usually are sensory in nature and serve the purpose of letting you know when something is wrong. Kill them and you end up damaging the bone further and eventually, you would have additional problems. Arthritis doesn't go away, and since you no longer have the problem, the best-case guess is you had a soft tissue/muscle injury that referred pain to the knee and eventually healed.

One thing for sure would be that petroleum distillates are not good for the lungs. Long-term breathing of WD40 droplets will most definitely case irreversible lung damage, and it doesn't much with fragile lung tissue. How is WD40 metabolized or eliminated from the body? Liver? Kidneys? I don't know, but long-term flushing can't be good for either.

I'm not saying it doesn't work, I am saying there is more than a better chance that it is not an innocuous remedy.

DMSO helps knuckles.

I worked with a guy from south LA. He swore by some kinda horse medicine. Said both him and his dad took it.

Might try almonds.

tag

An old WW2 Navy aircraft mechanic I use to work with had gold injected between the joints in his elbows and left shoulder... guess it was an old last ditch remedy way back when but he swore by it, wasn't permanent but lasted nearly 20 years each time he had it done, and he had it done 3 times. Don't know how its done and/or even if its done any more, don't remember if he even had it done in this country, he spent a lot of time in Belize after the war rebuilding ditched war equipment and building a hotel. As bad as he said his joints were... he worked till the day he died in 86'.

Phil

Aleve is an awesome quick fix, but there are some dangerous potential side effects and you can't take it anything like chronically. Just not healthy.

The very best nonprescription arthritis treatment is a sugar and starch free diet. Within three days you will feel like you're on Aleve all the time. Nothing simpler to do, even if it can be a self discipline challenge for many.

PS don't use artificial sweeteners. Just give up sweet tasting food, including fruit. No potatoes, rice, anything made from any sort of grain. Everything else is fine. Eat like an Eskimo, basically. All the animal fat and proteins you want, with lots of butter-or-cream-drenched non-starchy vegetables.

Oh, and the only side effects are improved health, elimination of most common chronic medical complaints, weight loss, and lowered risk of heart attack.

That is all well and good. But, will it cause the cartilage to regenerate in my joints where it is gone and the joint is bone on bone?

When you eliminate the source of inflammation (the modern diet), the body's capacity for healing and regeneration is remarkable. Can't guarantee anything in the case of severe damage like you describe, but eliminating the root cause of inflammation has got to help. Give it a try.

Whatever I had was chronic and painful for years. My knee has been fine for years. I will take the cure I received over a few more painful years.

The one and only time that I took Aleve, I broke out in Hives, all over. Very itchy and uncomfortable until my wife could get me some antihistamines. We had none on hand, and a 50 mile round trip until She returned with them. She put me in the tub with oatmeal. Can't say that it helped, but it did not seem to hurt. miles

I've been doing a lot of research on vitamin K2. Unlike vitamin D3 which helps absorb calcium, K2 is more of the traffic cop for where absorbed calcium in deposited in the body. Some arthritis is related to calcium deposits in joints and soft tissue as opposed to bone. K2 has been shown to increase bone density and reduce the density of calcium in soft tissue. One of the potential uses is reversal of calcification in arteries. Another would be reversal of calcification in joints. This is not an over night fix of course. It would be something that may take months or years. But it may hit one of the root causes. I've been taking 4x 90mcg per day for the last 4 months. Look for products with MK-7 such as the following:

https://www.amazon.com/Jarrow-Formu...1851&sr=8-2&keywords=jarrow+mk-7

It's called DMSO and it probably does help with some joint pain but once all the cartilage is gone in the joint no drug or diet will give you any long term relief