My naturopath suggested dropping nightshade family plants from the diet. It seems to have had an effect.

I'll recommend a product that has put surgery off for both my husband and myself. About three years ago he was diagnosed, after months of agonizing pain, with bone-on-bone arthritis in the hip. His options were much like yours, though his research indicated that the shots and meds were NOT the way to go, and actually counter-productive. He actually got the point where he was checking the calender for a good time to be laid up for several weeks.

As a last ditch effort, he got on-line and found a liquid joint care product that intrigued him and decided to try it. In two weeks, he was pain free and has been so to this day. His bad knees were also improved.

You'd think that I would have started taking this stuff as a preventative, but I wasn't that smart. I was recently diagnosed with bone-on-bone arthritis of one knee and the other one looks bad, too. It took me a bit longer to feel the benefits, but though not pain free, I am about 75% improved.

Our product of choice is Flexicose Liquid Joint Care. We have bought it by the case for two years, now. Don't be tempted into the inexpensive pills that can be purchased at Cost-Co, etc. Compare ingredients and the percentage of the ingredients. I am sure that there are many good products out there; we just happened to have discovered this one.

It would be well worth the investment to try something like this. His chiropractor now stocks this stuff for his clients after learning about Robert's story.

We are both relatively young (50s) and I'm not sure if that has anything to do with how well glucosamine works. My elderly aunt didn't have the response that we have and had to have surgery.

As an aging landscape professional myself, I can sympathize :-) According to my doctors, osteo-arthritis generally will develop in damaged or weakened joints, but in most cases it is easily managed by anti-inflammatories. And it can appear at quite a young age, depending on the damage. Rheumatoid arthritis is different and often genetically motivated. I don't presume to second guess your physicians but this sounds more like tendinitis to me. And the one time I had tendinitis, a steroid injection and a period of time without repetitive activity did the trick.

At this time of year, it would be hard to avoid activity that will aggravate the situation - it may be a case of grin and bear it until your slack season. Using ergonomically designed tools and pruners could help - they do for me. And I wouldn't underestimate the power of diet as well - various food types can aggravate or worsen inflammations (chocolate, caffeine, red meat, dairy products) and others can help to relieve inflammation - soy products, green or black tea, pineapples, grapes, broccoli, and fish to name a few.

And maybe it's time to consider modifying your career in landscaping to a less physical activity. You might consider design, consultation, project management or estimating, greenhouse managment/growing, etc. There're many possibilities to consider.

Thank you for the suggestions - I shall try them all!

I also am inclined to think tendinitis - maybe it's wishful thinking, because surgery can help that, whereas surgery for wrist arthritis is not so doable.

I've had to cut back on my work significantly. I rest for weeks until it gets much better, then it flares up again when I start doing a significant amount of work. And the pain doesn't start until a day or two after, so it's a real crapshoot about how much is too much. One time it was merely an hour of intense weeding, another time it was two solid days back-to-back of planting container gardens.

I am hoping to switch to something less physical, but I'm not sure I have the experience, credentials, contacts, or interest to make that work for me. It's the hands-on stuff that I really enjoy the most.

Meanwhile, I am throwing everything but the kitchen sink at it. Acupuncture, yoga, glucosamine/chondritin/MSM, copper magnetic bracelets...along with the less-than-helpful traditional doctor stuff.

My orthopedic surgeon prescribed 1500 mg of glucosamine and 1200 mg of chondroitin to stave off knee replacement in my right knee. The left knee had already been replaced. I found a brand of caplets at GNC with a dosage high enough that I only had to take three a day for the prescribed dosage. After taking the first bottle I saw an add on TV for a liquid that had the exact dosage I needed in a tasty fruit juice. Easily and quickly absorbed and providing results in a matter of a couple of weeks rather than the several months the pills would take. You can buy this at your local grocery pharmacy including WalMart. I drink one a day and if I skip several days I can tell the difference. My knee will begin to "click" again and be painful. This is definitely an alternative to ordering online as you will always be able to get it locally.

Since I'm not selling this product and it is highly advertised, I won't mention the name here. You can find it in the pharmacy section and it comes in a six pack as well as individually sometimes.

The only time I had tendonitis the steroid shot into the area cleared it right up. Have you considered carpal tunnel? Usually caused by repetitive movements related to you job. It's an inflammation of the nerves in your wrist and usually requires surgery to correct.

It's not carpal tunnel, according to the docs, since there is no numbness.

I've been taking glucosamine/chondritin/MSM pills, and actually already ordered a liquid version online, but the pills are really messing up my digestive system, so I'm going to stop for a few days. :(

Hello iamsore,

I have rheumatoid arthritis, in both hands, wrists, feet knees etc...I am 37. I use the wrists braces on days that I am really sore. The key is to not overdo it and to use your body in different ways, it is difficult though in the line of work we do!

If I were you I would get a referral to a specialist in arthritis. There are specific blood test that will rule out rheumatoid arthritis etc. Tendonitis can be a symptom of rheumatoid arthritis and if it is this form of arthritis it is very important to get on disease modifying drugs. Over the counter and health-food supplements are not going to stop the disease from progressing. Trust me. You don't want to end up with completely immovable fingers and deformed joints.

Glucosamine only works for osteo-arthritis, so it is important to find out what you are actually dealing with before you waste money on over the counter preparations.

Here is a link that might be useful: mayo clinic info on arthritis

Hi Iamsore,

Veggierosalie is right. I closed my nursery in 2006 because of joint pain. After fooling around with all kinds of over the counters remedies I finally got blood work and was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. I am now going to a homeopathic doctor and can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. In the mean time try DMSO cream twice a day. It worked wonders on my sore hands.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Road Back Foundation

Update - I am doing much, much better. I think the biggest help has been acupuncture, which I had sworn that I would never try! It gave me tremendous pain relief almost immediately.

I have also been using the Flexicose liquid supplement and returned to my weekly yoga class (I have a wonderful teacher who is very good about modifying positions for any medical issues people may have).

I also found a different hort job in which the work is more varied. I still have days where I feel some discomfort, but it is manageable with Tylenol Arthritis formula. And I only work part-time, and never two days in a row, so I get some time to rest and recover in between. I do wear my wrist braces on occasion, and ALWAYS if I expect to be doing any heavy lifting.

I'm pretty that it is osteoarthritis.