Alternatives To NSAID's (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)

Many people are quickly discovering that the damage done to the body by the NSAID drugs is significant. NSAID's (non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) also known as ibuprofen (Motrin) as well as many others (see below) are commonly used to manage pain.

The reality of what these drugs do to our digestive systems & stomach health, our arteries and kidney and liver is truly staggering when the research is read through carefully. It is amazing to me that these drugs are legal to sell at all, and yet it is one of the most robust sections of pharmaceutical sales in the world today!

As you may know by now, Ginger and Turmeric are fabulous anti-inflammatory agents and truly support the very same systems that the NSAID's tear down. Ginger has been reported again and again to actually repair the damage to the stomach lining done by NSAID's.
Again (and this will not be the last time) I will refer you to the Book
 Ginger Common Spice & Wonder Drug, written by Paul Schulick. 

However, this post is about another very effective Homeopathic by a company called Traumeel.
I have used their products for so long I watched the company change names from Traumeel, to Traumed and then back to Traumeel. I was never really sure about what that all was about, but I do know that over the years this product has been extremely successful at addressing everything from a bruised body part, to severe pain.
They sell a number of products, some internal and some topical, all of which work amazingly well.
If you are one that finds yourself reaching for Motrin or Bayer often, I encourage you to give this a try. The fact that Homeopathy's are safe and effective and can coexist safely with other drugs that you are currently taking is a real plus.

I sincerely hope this short introduction to Homeopathy and the awareness of how damaging NSAID's can be to your health inspires you to study for yourself and research what you have been taking and what the alternatives are that are healthier.

Below a link to a Mercola artice that has more research-links in it for you to begin to learn what you can. And I also added a list of NSAID's. fecome empowered to heal by educating yourself!

Finally -- FDA Admits That ALL Anti-Inflammatories May Kill You

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NSAIDs : non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Aspirin (Anacin, Ascriptin, Bayer, Bufferin, Ecotrin, Excedrin)
Choline and magnesium salicylates (CMT, Tricosal, Trilisate)
Choline salicylate (Arthropan)
Celecoxib (Celebrex)
Diclofenac potassium (Cataflam)
Diclofenac sodium (Voltaren, Voltaren XR)
Diclofenac sodium with misoprostol (Arthrotec)
Diflunisal (Dolobid)
Etodolac (Lodine, Lodine XL)
Fenoprofen calcium (Nalfon)
Flurbiprofen (Ansaid)
Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, Motrin IB, Nuprin)
Indomethacin (Indocin, Indocin SR)
Ketoprofen (Actron, Orudis, Orudis KT, Oruvail)
Magnesium salicylate (Arthritab, Bayer Select, Doan's Pills, Magan, Mobidin, Mobogesic)
Meclofenamate sodium (Meclomen)
Mefenamic acid (Ponstel)
Meloxicam (Mobic)
Nabumetone (Relafen)
Naproxen (Naprosyn, Naprelan*)
Naproxen sodium (Aleve, Anaprox)
Oxaprozin (Daypro)
Piroxicam (Feldene)
Rofecoxib (Vioxx)
Salsalate (Amigesic, Anaflex 750, Disalcid, Marthritic, Mono-Gesic, Salflex, Salsitab)
Sodium salicylate (various generics)
Sulindac (Clinoril)
Tolmetin sodium (Tolectin)
Valdecoxib (Bextra)
Note: Some products, such as Excedrin, are combination drugs (Excedrin is acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine).
Note that acetaminophen (Paracetamol; Tylenol) is not on this list. Acetaminophen belongs to a class of drugs called analgesics (pain relievers) and antipyretics (fever reducers). The exact mechanism of action of acetaminophen is not known. Acetaminophen relieves pain by elevating the pain threshold, that is, by requiring a greater amount of pain to develop before it is felt by a person. It reduces fever through its action on the heat-regulating center of the brain. Specifically, it tells the center to lower the body's temperature when the temperature is elevated. Acetaminophen relieves pain in mild arthritis but has no effect on the underlying inflammation, redness and swelling of the joint.
Paracetamol, unlike other common analgesics such as aspirin and ibuprofen, has no anti-inflammatory properties, and so it is not a member of the class of drugs known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs.
* Naproxen Sodium
" Naprelan contains naproxen sodium, a member of the arylacetic acid group of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)"
"The chemical name for naproxen sodium is 2-naphthaleneacetic acid, 6-methoxy-a-methyl-sodium salt, (S)."

You Are Not Your Pain

   The title-statement of this post sounds daunting, or perhaps even unrealistic for those of us who deal with chronic pain & discomfort; and yet, at the same time it can be a real blessing too.
The idea that "we are not our pain" is a powerful place to begin in understanding how to manage and even transform our discomfort as we move towards a more positive and empowered place of acceptance about what is happening in our bodies.

  Pain itself is an important part of living life. In Buddhist teaching it is said that all emotions are suffering. Though pain is not really an emotion, it is a signal worth paying close attention to.
In fact, a person with no pain receptors, or of they were not functioning properly, the likelihood of having severe injuries to oneself would be great. So our pain is something that can actually be helping us understand that something need attention.

  How we work with the signal 'pain' is where the deeper path towards understanding begins. One of the most powerful methods of actually managing pain is to not identify with it too much. Even thinking that
"I am not my pain" with sincerity throughout the day can help to transform this attachment that can often plague our psyche for all that live with the discomfort of pain.
We live in a society that places a lot of weight on comfort and ease and yet life is full of challenges. Acknowledgement is a powerful tool for discovery: "I experience this pain" and then honestly cultivating the deep knowing that
"I am not my pain" then the next step is to work with what that pain is about and what we can ultimately learn form it. This simple protocol is an empowered place to begin to understand and transform it.

  The next tool to learn is a method known as The Body Scan. This is done by laying down somewhere comfortable and starting at the left toes, moving up the leg ever so slowly, scanning as you go for how things feel. Proceed until you reach the hip-area, then starting at the toes of the right foot and doing the same until you reach the hip-area, then go on to work your way throughout the pelvic region and up the spine and through all your internal organs. If you feel nothing in your toes for instance, there is no need to wiggle them to create feeling. We are just using what is called Bare Attention as we go. On any give day your experience will most likely be different, if you feel nothing, in an area, your scan of that spot is of nothingness, if you feel pain you can just feel it without attaching any more to it, but just using this bare-attention in the process of discovery.
Once you get to your shoulders, begin at your finger-tips and work up to meet the breast-bone, and up the neck & head.
This scan is best done in a relaxed environment and over about a 45-min period. Finally you will let the energy move entirely through your body from tips of toes through your crown, or top of your head; then just relax and let your body melt into the ground, or bed, or where ever you happen to be practicing the body scan.

  Practicing the body scan once a day for 3-4 months can train oneself in obtaining information that normally is difficult to get in the normal busy life-flow.
It is a valuable and personal tool that you can develop with some practice. The Body Scan has been taught to many suffering from chronic pain with significantly positive results of decreased pain.

  I welcome you to try it out for yourself and remain with the practice for several months before judging it. Here is a link to a guided meditation of the Body Scan posted by Jon Kabat Zinn.
If you would like to read more about this process I will refer you again to the Book
Full Catastrophe Living. In there you will find more information on the body scan as well as other information on managing pain and developing awareness of ones emotional and physical life.

Blessings of Health and Goodness to you.