Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion Helpful Tips D-Ribose, (and Krill Oil and Coenzyme Q10)

Sometimes I wish there were such a thing as magic bullets (sigh)

At one point of my life, as the needle went into my heel, injecting me with cortisone, I felt relief and elation, even though the pain would return. I had been a believer in the power of the doctor the heel... er healer that is. NSAIDs, including the cox-II inhibitors and the biologicals seemed to offer great promise. I haven't yet taken the biologicals-path because I've staggered along with an arsenal of several alternatives, including diet, exercise, smaller doses of NSAIDs, and a few items that really do feel like magic bullets. I wanted to share those with this group. As I understand it, they're healthy alternatives that help your immune system and your overall health --which can't be bad--even if they're not specifically relevant to AS. I mention these three (as opposed to going on about all the many other things I take that are well known) because they are important for me, and largely flying under the radar as far as I know. None of them is terribly expensive.

1) D-Ribose.
I did a search in this forum. While the other two have been mentioned, this one appears to be brand new to kickAS.org.
You can get it as a powder you add to water or juice, that can be taken once or twice, even three times a day. I have found it helpful as a source of energy and mental clarity, especially on long days. My doctor (an osteo-arthritis sufferer) is now encouraging me to take it every day, because she believes it helps keep your brain sharp and your body energized.

2) Coenzyme Q10 (discussed on this site, but not recently).
You have it in your body: except as you age, the amount decreases. The older you get, the less is available. Supplements can compensate, supposedly. I am less clear on what it does, than I am clear that my doctor is very enthusiastic about my need to take it. But I've been taking this one too, and I feel pretty good.

3) Krill oil (discussed recently on this site).
It's NKO, not just another source of Omega-3, but a remarkable substance from the little guys (krill) who end up inside whales. I don't know why it works, only that it too has me feeling wonderful. My sister found this one, while searching for the fountain of youth. Anything that fights aging can't be bad (hm, although I guess there's sometimes a downside...).

If you have doubts, read what you can find online, talk to your doctor, OR

Talk amongst yourselves. I'll give you a topic: magic bullets are neither magic, nor actually bullets... DISCUSS!

Thanks for the info, I'm always keen to hear of any new supplements that people are trying.

Quote:

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as the needle went into my heel, injecting me with cortisone, I felt relief and elation

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I had a very different experience when receiving cortizone injections for plantar fasciitis. Something along the lines of "as the needle went into my heel, injecting me with cortizone, I felt an intense searing pain that was beyond anything imaginable that left me sweaty and shaking whilst contemplating the horror of the pain that I was about to experience when the other foot was injected."

It did feel better the next day though.

I"ve got a couple lotions with Coenzyme Q10 ... supposedly for wrinkles. I believe it has something to do with collagen....

I"ve taken a TON of supplements that have helped clarity & stamina. That was when my disease was very mild. Right now, nothing seems to put a dent at all into my fatigue/fog/pain/whatever...sigh...

I know it sounds crazy. I think we could have a separate thread just to discuss pain--how we perceive it, what it means, etc. While a part of me observed from afar and noticed the "ouch", i was mostly in a curious kind of ecstasy, thinking "at least the doctor's gonna fix me". For a few days I believed in my doctor and his ability to heal me and make the pain go away. It was such a strange and counter-intuitive place to stick a needle that I wasn't too troubled by the ouch factor, too busy thinking "well aren't these guys smart".

Needless to say --excuse the accidental pun--that faith in the medical system to take care of me was not going to last very long. I went through the precise opposite --cynicism and anger-- before coming to my present position, a mixture of respect for the challenges (both mine and for the doctors... it's a hard job), skepticism about promises and a readiness to face the music.

woohoo... I work at a manufacturer of those..I can get them pretty cheapo.. Yay Ima try em right now!!
Thanks for the advice..I'll let ya know if they help or not

Sugar

jroc you crack me up. my experience with the cortisone needle was much more like yours. I invented new curse words that day.
Felt like a poker pulled from white-hot coals in the firepit and stuck into my foot. FIRE.

I can relate to the pain of the injections. I had my hands covering up my face and when my toe was injected. I pressed down so hard on my face that I almost broke my nose!

Intense pain, but like the others, felt great the next day and had relief for almost a year.

Unfortunately I have pain again and am terrified to get another injection.

Laurie

I wonder who invented that idea...it doesn't sound very nice to me..