My DH had lung surgery several years ago and has had severe pain ever since. Recently the doctors have finally listened and after a bone scan, MRI, and whatever other tests discovered that he has one rib on the front and two in the back that are moving in and out of place and a large buildup of scar tissue that is causing him the pain. (So nice of them to finally believe him.

Supposedly there is nothing they can do for him surgically so they have sent him to see a pain specialist. He gave him six injections of something into his back which helped for a day. He also told him to start taking vitamin D and alpha lipoic acid since a deficiency in these can lead to pain. He is having blood tests this afternoon to test for a bunch of other stuff too.

Has anybody had any experience or advice about using vitamins, minerals or other supplements to ease pain?

http://www.lef.org/protocols/health...nic_pain_01.htm

http://www.vitacost.com/articleResu...s&ss=1&Ntt=pain

http://www.google.com/custom?domain...ID%3A1%3B&hl=en

I would recommend a low glycemic diet, "mega" high quality multivitamin and lots of fish oil for everyone.

Not sure that it will help much specifically for pain - but it should reduce inflammation and help their body heal itself.

If your huband / friend (?) problem is with inflammation - then you can also add supplements that reduce inflammation.

I like both vitamin D and alpha lipoic acid - but prefer for people to take a well rounded full set of vitamins and minerals - since it is hard to say which exact vitamin / mineral you need and then exclude all the others.

Sorry I am not of much help - please ask again if you have more questions.

I don't have time to go through all these right now - this is a pain reliever formula for join pain. I'll try to go through this list later to find out what is for joints and what is for pain.

Feverfew, Celery Seed, Wheatgrass Boswelia, Bromelain, Papain, Corydalis Root, Cayenne, Turmeric, Shark Cartilage

Vitamin D deficiency linked to greater pain

By Clarisse Douaud

10/15/2007- A new study has linked vitamin D and a reduction of chronic pain, lending to voices calling for increased fortification or supplementation of the nutrient in diets.

The study, presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists 2007 Annual Meeting in San Francisco, found that one in four patients who suffer from chronic pain also have inadequate blood levels of vitamin D. As such, the researchers put forth that the vitamin D deficiency possibly contributed to the patients' ongoing pain.

Vitamin D deficiency - which can lead to osteopenia, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, fractures, common cancers, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases and cardiovascular diseases - s been found to be lacking particularly in inhabitants of colder climates.

A recent study, for example, indicated that the median adult intake of vitamin D in the US is only 230 IU per day, versus the researchers' recommended 2000 IU per day.

The latest study, undertaken at the Mayo Comprehensive Pain Rehabilitation Center in Rochester, Minnesota, involved 267 adults undergoing outpatient treatment for chronic pain. The researchers recorded their serum vitamin D levels, pain medication (morphine), as well as general health, and found patients lacking sufficient vitamin D also required higher doses of morphine for a longer period of time.

Of these patients, 26 per cent had vitamin D inadequacy and needed almost twice the dose of morphine of the group with adequate vitamin D levels.

The vitamin D inadequacy group were also reported as using morphine for an average of 71.1 months compared to 43.8 months for the other group. As well, the vitamin D deficient group showed lower levels of physical functioning and poorer overall health.

"…this is the first time that we have established the prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy among a diverse group of chronic pain patients," said study author, Michael Hooten, medical director and anesthesiologist at the Mayo Comprehensive Pain Rehabilitation Center.

However, inadequate levels of vitamin D has long been associated with causing pain and muscle weakness and studies have suggested that pain-related symptoms of vitamin D inadequacy respond poorly to pain medications.

One possible outcome is supplementing patients with vitamin D.

"The implications are that in chronic pain patients, vitamin D inadequacy is not the principal cause of pain and muscle weakness, however, it could be a contributing but unrecognized factor," said Hooten.

Vitamin D inadequacy can be easily and inexpensively treated using a prescription supplement, once or twice a week for four to six weeks, according to Hooten.

Deficiency in vitamin D affects inhabitants of colder climates, because sunlight induces synthesis of vitamin D in humans. As such, if a consumer is not getting adequate exposure to the sun for vitamin D and its subsequent impact on their serum 25 (OH)D levels, they should be supplementing with vitamin D.

Vitamin D refers to two biologically inactive precursors - D3, also known as cholecalciferol, and D2, also known as ergocalciferol. The former, produced in the skin on exposure to UVB radiation (290 to 320 nm), is said to be more bioactive. The latter is derived from plants and only enters the body via the diet.


http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com...gists-vitamin-d

Thanks for the replies. I've been looking at them and searching other places on the net when I have a few minutes of quiet time. (Which is sometimes next to impossible in between my 3 kids and the 2 I babysit.) I've seen lots of references to studies where vitamin D reduces pain but have not been able to find a reason (or even a guess) as to why?

I haven't really read much yet about the alpha lipoic acid but I hope to work on that tonight.

Also do you have any recommendations on a type of multi-vitamin?

Or maybe a site that lists how much of what vitamins, minerals, etc. we are supposed to get each day? (Then I could compare different brands to this.)

As for a low GI diet, I've been trying to get him to try it out but he is already underweight (it's a family trait) and doesn't think that a diet I'm using to lose weight will help him when he wants to gain weight. I try to sneak it into everyone's diet as much as possible and the kids are learning about good and bad foods but I just can't get him to give up potatoes, pasta and junk food. I'd love to find a good source of info on how he could gain weight - especially if one of it's main features was controlling carbs.

If you have any other suggestions or ideas please let me know.

Thanks again!

Amanda

You might send a private message to Zuleikaa - or post your question to her in her journal. She is the "Vitamin D princess" and knows much more about it than I.



I like Vitacost Synergy line and life extension. Gostrydr will have some good suggestions. My suggestion is to expect to spend $40 per month for a good multi-vitamin plus more for fish oil

http://www.vitacost.com/productResu...s=1&Ntt=synergy

http://www.lef.org/newshop/cgi-shop...cgi?catid=40018



http://www.worldhealth.net/p/anti-a...-reference.html

is the best reference I have seen. Thing is - it does not make sense to try to buy them seperately - so I recommend that you buy a high quality multi-vitamin



Yeah ... but eating high glycemic foods makes you unhealthy and adds fat - not lean. Whereas a low glycemic diet will make you healthy - build lean body mass, rebuild organs, etc.

If you keep the carbs above like 50 grams per day - he may add some weight in the form of fat. If you keep the protein very high - he can gain weight from bone, muscle, and other lean body mass.

Low carb diet is not just for losing weight. It can help gain weight and improve health.

BTW - once you reach a healthy weight there are a lot of healthy veggies and fruit you can add into your diet. In Atkns world - we call this Atkins Maintenance - but any of the low carb diets have equivalent. IMHO - mediterranean diet is about compatible to low carb maintenance.

Most sites are going to publish the RDA, and IMO, that's only the barest minimum. Read the sites that sell the better vitamins (LEF.org is the one I use; there are others); get Dr. A's Vitanutrient Solution if it comes your way. It's a good overview of supplements but I don't think he addresses pain specifically.

Would also recommend that you read all the pain books in the library and stay away from the ones that proport to solve all pain problems with one solution. The most useful book I read was James Dillard's The Chronic Pain Solution: Your Personal Path to Pain Relief. He lays out the 9 major categories of pain and you can decide which parts apply to your situation. He also has a good overview of treatment options, not all of which are medical.