Wellness

[goodstuff]

I am currently recovering from a right total knee replacement (knee #2 waiting in the wings) and am doing pretty well, working with a physical therapist, cutting back on prescription pain meds, regaining strength and range of motion, etc. My main quandary is the pain and stiffness I'm experiencing in other joints since my doctor took me off my usual twice-a-day NSAID (Voltaren) a week before surgery and instructed me not to resume it till I completed a month of enteric-coated aspirin therapy to prevent post-surgical blood clots. If I'd ever wondered if that NSAID was doing much to ease joint inflammation and pain, my question is now answered. I've been in misery since I stopped it. Not only do my knees hurt; so do my ankles, elbows, wrists, thumbs, you name it. Another wrinkle is that I had been struggling with elevated blood pressure for a while, and my primary care doctor had suggested that the NSAID might be contributing to that problem. Lo and behold, since I stopped the NSAID, my BP has been like a teenager's. I may have to consider laying it aside for good.

Oh, my. What am I going to do? Anybody had good success with other types of medication or "natural remedies" to ease joint pain? I don't want high blood pressure or stomach problems.......but I don't want to be hobbling around in arthritic pain, either. HELP!