First post here.Getting to the point I figure I'd better start taking care of myself.Mid 40's ,6'1",210-220lbs.I don't do any exercise,but never really sit still much.Strenous job,plus lots of hunting.BUT,starting to feel my age/lack of fitness.I actually used to run and lift weights until about 15 years ago.Started having joints problems-knees and hips when running and shoulders and elbows form lifting.Had a lot of other bad stuff going on at that time (undiagnosed Lymes disease,etc),so basically gave up on exercise.Had been feeling fair last few years,but now aches and pains are worsening.Would like to start with some low impact stuff,and eat a little healthier.Was wondering if anyone could recommend something for the aches and pains.They were so bad before they figured out I had Lymes,that I popped aspirin constantly to get by.Actually felt so bad, for so long that I broke down and saw a MD! ( dropped down to 175,kness visibly swollen,low grade,constant fever,etc) Any suggestons for OTC supplements/etc would be GREATLY appreciated.Thanks,Dave  

First I would suggest starting with some low impact stuff, biking or walking leisurly for 20 minutes 3 times a week. Shoot for doing this for atleast two weeks. If it feels good try for 4 days a week for 30 minutes.

As for the lifting I dont know if you have any equipment at home but a couple of 20 or 25 pound dumbells would be a good start. If you got a bench even better. Start but doing some bench press and curls and situps. You are not looking to do anything heavy just look for getting the movements down.

As eating start by cutting out the junk food. Look at eating fruit or I find peanuts a good snack. Make sure you eat two vegetables with your dinner and nice 4 once portion of meat.  Have a cup of low fat yougurt and a banana for breakfast. Lunch tuna fish on a pita is a nice lunch.

For my joint maintance I take Glucosamine & Chondroitin. I also take a Meal replacement skake to get my vitamins and an extra source of protien.

I hope this helps at getting you started it just a starting point. They hardest thing is starting once you get going it gets a alot easier.

I was getting very little fat in my diet for a long period of time, and developed some serious elbow pain. That is saying a lot for a guy that was in his early 20s. Being poor tends to do that though. Anywho, I picked up some fish oil, and it has made all the difference. I also drink olive oil by the tbs., and that helps, but the fish oil was the key.

I dont really have any problems with it anymore, although I do have to respect what my elbows will and wont do these days. I can still go heavy on the bench and what not, I just have to limit my range ot motion to 80* or so when working out my tris.

I second the notion of the vegitables being added to the diet. Spinich and broccoli are two of the best things I have splurged on in a while.

Glucosamine, MSM, and fish oil will definitely help. I also supplement with calcium.

For low impact exercise, swimming is probably the best.

Glucosamine and Chondroitin really helped my knee pain.  Oddly, I find different brands work to differing degrees.

Quoted: Glucosamine and Chondroitin really helped my knee pain.  Oddly, I find different brands work to differing degrees.

My dad is diabetic and that stuff really screwed his blood sugar up bad.  He was really bummed because he has terrible knees and it was really helping him but he could not afford to mess his blood sugar up.

Quoted: Quoted: Glucosamine and Chondroitin really helped my knee pain.  Oddly, I find different brands work to differing degrees. My dad is diabetic and that stuff really screwed his blood sugar up bad.  He was really bummed because he has terrible knees and it was really helping him but he could not afford to mess his blood sugar up.

That right there is a good example of why these unregulated "dietary supplements" are so unwise. Just because someone on the internet recommends it, and its "natural" (whatever the hell that means) doesn't mean its safe. Eat healthy, get exercise and grow old gracefully.

It's not the supplements that are unwise, it's the people who take them.

You have to do your homework before you take anything, that includes medicines that doctors prescri be. Especially for somone with a medical condition such as diabetes.

A simple web search would have turned up the fact that glucosamine has negative effects on insulin resistance.

Quoted: It's not the supplements that are unwise, it's the people who take them. You have to do your homework before you take anything, that includes medicines that doctors prescri be. Especially for somone with a medical condition such as diabetes. A simple web search would have turned up the fact that glucosamine has negative effects on insulin resistance.

Not for someone that has never used a computer.  The other problem is that these complications are not advertised because the supplements are billed as miracle workers.  There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Try Zeel, and excedrine migraine.
Also, the best thing I have found for shoulders is to grab a can of soup, and hold it in your hand w/your arm fully extended.

Lean over and and rest your other arm or elbow, on a back of a couch, or chair and do really small circles in both directions for about 15-20 minuets. This relaxes all the connective tissue in your shoulder and allows blood flow. Cod liver oil and vitamins can help as well.

Elbows, best thing to do is warm up before you work out by stretching... never workout cold.

At your age, you have to work out to stay healthy, and... ironically, most of us quit when we should be doing it the most, in our late 20's.

Fish oil and flax seed oil work great.

Quoted: Glucosamine, MSM, and fish oil will definitely help. I also supplement with calcium. For low impact exercise, swimming is probably the best.

+1 on the glucosamine and the fish oil, this advise came from my orthopedic surgeon when we found out I had arthritis and I'm only 30. But the stuff really works!

I take glucosamine, chondroiten, and fish oil.  All help with my knee pain.

I used to take MSM, but I never felt it helped much.   What experience do you guys have with MSM?

Quoted: First post here.Getting to the point I figure I'd better start taking care of myself.Mid 40's ,6'1",210-220lbs.I don't do any exercise,but never really sit still much.Strenous job,plus lots of hunting.BUT,starting to feel my age/lack of fitness.I actually used to run and lift weights until about 15 years ago.Started having joints problems-knees and hips when running and shoulders and elbows form lifting.Had a lot of other bad stuff going on at that time (undiagnosed Lymes disease,etc),so basically gave up on exercise.Had been feeling fair last few years,but now aches and pains are worsening.Would like to start with some low impact stuff,and eat a little healthier.Was wondering if anyone could recommend something for the aches and pains.They were so bad before they figured out I had Lymes,that I popped aspirin constantly to get by.Actually felt so bad, for so long that I broke down and saw a MD! ( dropped down to 175,kness visibly swollen,low grade,constant fever,etc) Any suggestons for OTC supplements/etc would be GREATLY appreciated.Thanks,Dave

Not to hijack this post, but I would really be interested in hearing about your undiagnosed Lyme Disease.  How long were you suffering chronic problems before diagnosis?  I have wondered that I might be suffering from this. It would certainly explain a lot of my recent problems with the onset of Arthritis.  After 29 years in the Army, much of it spent in the piney woods with lots of tick bites etc especially in the early years of my career when Lyme Disease was relatively obscure.

Can you continue to suffer from Lyme Disease years after exposure/infection? Is it curable after many years of infection?

I would really appreciate your insights.

Regards your original questions on OTC supplements, I have to add a +1 for Glucosamine & Chondroitin.  I had been seeing a Rheumatologist who recommended it. He stated that there was little in the way of empirical evidence supporting claims of joint repair and reduced deterioration. However, he firmly believe the anecdotal evidence observed in his practice by Glucosamine & Chondroitin users was too strong to ignore. He himself used it so that to me was a pretty strong endorsement.
Thanks

Quoted: Quoted: First post here.Getting to the point I figure I'd better start taking care of myself.Mid 40's ,6'1",210-220lbs.I don't do any exercise,but never really sit still much.Strenous job,plus lots of hunting.BUT,starting to feel my age/lack of fitness.I actually used to run and lift weights until about 15 years ago.Started having joints problems-knees and hips when running and shoulders and elbows form lifting.Had a lot of other bad stuff going on at that time (undiagnosed Lymes disease,etc),so basically gave up on exercise.Had been feeling fair last few years,but now aches and pains are worsening.Would like to start with some low impact stuff,and eat a little healthier.Was wondering if anyone could recommend something for the aches and pains.They were so bad before they figured out I had Lymes,that I popped aspirin constantly to get by.Actually felt so bad, for so long that I broke down and saw a MD! ( dropped down to 175,kness visibly swollen,low grade,constant fever,etc) Any suggestons for OTC supplements/etc would be GREATLY appreciated.Thanks,Dave   Not to hijack this post, but I would really be interested in hearing about your undiagnosed Lyme Disease.  How long were you suffering chronic problems before diagnosis?  I have wondered that I might be suffering from this. It would certainly explain a lot of my recent problems with the onset of Arthritis.  After 29 years in the Army, much of it spent in the piney woods with lots of tick bites etc especially in the early years of my career when Lyme Disease was relatively obscure. Can you continue to suffer from Lyme Disease years after exposure/infection? Is it curable after many years of infection? I would really appreciate your insights. Regards your original questions on OTC supplements, I have to add a +1 for Glucosamine & Chondroitin.  I had been seeing a Rheumatologist who recommended it. He stated that there was little in the way of empirical evidence supporting claims of joint repair and reduced deterioration. However, he firmly believe the anecdotal evidence observed in his practice by Glucosamine & Chondroitin users was too strong to ignore. He himself used it so that to me was a pretty strong endorsement. Thanks

As a fellow sufferer of Lymes, let me tell you this: it's an insidious and very difficult to treat disease. It mimics alot of other diseases. The standard Lyme tests don't always pick up on it; sometimes you have to find a doc who is open-minded enough to actually do the legwork and try to figure it out (instead of just giving you a happy pill and labelling you crazy).

It's VERY difficult to actually cure. The spirochetes have the amazing ability to burrow into tissue when the enviroment gets too hostile (ie, antibiotics), and they create cysts around themselves. They're quite hardy little buggers. They are slow growing, with an approx 28 day life cycle. They can hide out for quite awhile, til you get run down, and then they come out to party. Some docs have had luck with the standard 4 week dosage of antibiotics, but it mostly doesn't work all that well. Some docs have had to resort to IV antibiotics (at $12000 a month, it's real expensive), with varying degrees of success. Some unfortunate people don't get relief even with IV antibiotics, and they continue to go downhill.

I've definitely noticed a significant decrease in my mental function since I got it; short term memory especially. Reflexes are also down.

About 10% of people who get it develop auto-immune related diseases from it, due to the immune system getting all fired up and attacking friendly tissue (complicated, but it's related to "Immune Complexes")...you can develop rhematoid arthritis, all the way up to Lupus. Awful disease.

I do have persistent mild joint pain, which a combination of Glucosamine/Chondroitin and Flax seed oil capsules helps with greatly. As a bonus, the Flax oil helps increase good cholesterol levels (this has been confirmed with actual medical studies). My good cholesterol went from 33 (borderline bad) to 45 in a matter of 2 months after I increased my exercise and took the Flax more regularly...