I have rather severe osteoarthritis. I think I have mentioned this before and told you about some of my surgeries. Anyway, my Orthopedic Surgeon told me that I needed my left wrist operated on just as I had done a couple of years ago on my right wrist. My thought was, Just shoot me! It took me a year to get over the right wrist CMC (Carpometacarpal) surgery where the surgeon takes out a wrist flexor tendon and the trapezium carpal bone and wads up the tendon to insert it where the bone was.This surgery resulted in the worst pain I have ever been through and lasted forever. I will have to admit though, it was successful. I no longer have the horrible base of my thumb pain that I had had for years. Unfortunately, I have the same problem with my left wrist that my surgeon tells me needs the same CMC surgery. I just don’t think I could go through this again but may have to at some point but maybe not. Keep reading.

My Neurosurgeon tells me I need another low back operation. Anyway, with all this hanging over my head, I decided to see what an anti-inflammatory diet could do.

We have all heard the saying, “You are what you eat.” Well, I just ignored that for the most part until I devised the diet  I’m going to tell you about.  I started by doing some research on things that cause inflammation in your body. Guess what, the number one food substance that causes inflammation and therefore is to be avoided is sugar. Since I absolutely love desserts, this was a real downer. Some other things to avoid are fried foods (french fries are a real no-no), red meat, grilled foods, or white bread or pasta (substitute whole grains). You might wish to do your own research on this to get a more complete list. Anyway, I comprised my own diet plan with a lot of fruits and vegetables, very little meat (no red meat), and no desserts (no sucrose). I also take supplements such as Glucosamine-Chondroitin, and Turmeric-Curcumin. I drink a lot of water and try to get some exercise every day either on my treadmill or stair climbing or walking outside. I am now totally off all kinds of pain meds including Flexeril, Motrin, Tylenol or any thing  else like I was taking. I am getting a corticosteroid injection in my left wrist every six months. I also wear a left wrist splint frequently during the day and all during the night. All those efforts are keeping me enough pain free that I am avoiding the “knife.” I do not have any low back pain anymore.

Another rather surprising benefit of all this is that I have lost weight. Now I know you are saying, Well duh! But I really didn’t expect this bonus as I still eat a lot of food. But I will take it!

Surely would love to hear your thoughts on this.