Hi,

This might be a dumb question, but If you have an inflammatory type of arthritis (lupus, RA, AS, etc..) - has anyone ever felt the inflammation coming and/or going?

In certain joints of my body I feel sensations in the area when swelling is coming on, though I can't really find a way to describe it. (especially in my ankles and spine) Aside from feeling the stiffness and pain it's as if I can fill the fluid filling up in my joints - I feel some sort of "activity" going on in there. It's not very prickly or electric feeling like pins and needles but kind of a muted down version of that. Or maybe it seems to feel a bit like when you get a really fast muscle twitch..it has a similar feeling but only it's inside and around the joints and with the feeling of pressure building up. Also, when I took steroids and even bextra....I seemed to able to feel the same sensations as the swelling was going away. Once my swelling was completely gone.....I had no more of these odd feelings inside my joints ( and of course no more pain, no stiffness, nor pressure)

I also get the same feelings. The only way I can describe it is like someone is using a pump and filling my joints with air. There is alot of pressure there too. I had that feeling in my hands and my doctor to me that it was carpal tunnel syndrome. But I also get it in other joints too. I can tell when I am going to flare. I get realy tired and there is more swelling. Then with in a few days later I can't get out of bed.

Yes, I do experience similar. Docs have not given a specific diagnosis, they call it inflammation. I have it from head to toe.

I actually feel it move from one area to another.

At present I am taking "Limbrel" a new anti-inflammatory medication which is considered a "health food" but is only available via prescription. Limbrel works by blocking some enzyme that causes inflammation.

The pain/misery has improved and I have hopes it will continue to reduce inflammation to a liveable state or gone completely. Have only been on Limbrel 4 weeks.

I have inflammation in feet, knees, thighs, hips, groin, lower back, upper back, rotator cuffs, upper arms, and hands. Sometimes the sensation will be on my head, face or neck or all at same time on one side or the other.

I had posted a thread about Limbrel a couple weeks ago, but got no replies & figured no one heard of it. My doc gave me samples of Limbrel to try for OA. It turned out it was only 10 days worth so I have no idea if it would do me any good and I don't go back to this doc until mid September.

Are you taking any medications besides Limbrel for pain or inflammation? If not, is your improvement pretty noticable from it?

I certainly would try a script for it as I read the studies done on this seem to take a couple months before people notice a benefit from it, and I only took it for 10 days. Especially since it is so low risk and is FDA approved. To me this might be better than experimenting with other OTC herbal remedies and supplements which have not been studied.

I was also given samples of Limbrel. When I was near the end of samples I called the doctor for a prescription. The samples were to see if it worked for you.

In about 2 weeks I could tell a difference, not a cure, but a difference, nothing drastic, just improved. I have now been on Limbrel for 4 weeks and notice more and more improvement in little ways. Every time I tried to get up all thru the hip/groin area felt like I was going to crack/break. That has subsided and now just have some misery trying to get up. After taking a few steps things kinda loosen up.

I was to the point I needed another contisone injection in one knee, but after taking Limbrel the knee has improvemed. The knee will straighten out more, seldom pain, not as swollen.

Saw orthopedic hand specialist this week and I have trigger thumbs and trigger fingers in both hands. Got steriod injection in the right thumb which was locking and I asked the doc what he was going to do for the other fingers. He said nothing, wait and see if the Limbrel will help them.

No, I do not even take Tylenol now that I am on Limbrel. I take no other meds for inflammation or pain.

So far I have had no side effects from Limbrel. I have hopes Limbrel will continue to improve my problems.

Wow, I hope the Limbrel keeps helping you, too! That would be great.

I think I am going to ask my doc for a script to see if it helps me anyway. It doesn't seem like it can hurt any b/c it's so safe with really no side effects. So I might as well give it a try. THanks so much for your input as well!