Easing The Pain
Happy Thursday ladies. Today, I’m updating a post from a few years ago because I see the error of my ways. You may not be able to teach an old dog new tricks but you can remind them of ones they knew;)
Several years ago, arthritis in my thumb began inching toward excruciating. My doctor prescribed a hand brace and copious amounts of Advil to reduce the pain. The results were not terrific. Some days my entire hand burns and I have trouble using it at all so I decided to try an urban myth that promises great relief. Gin-soaked raisins.
I know that cortisone shots can relieve inflammation and reduce pain, but I’ve heard they may also degenerate the thumb joint, so I decided to not go that route.
Update- I have gone that route.
I have to admit, that shot was an amazingly uncomfortable excruciating procedure and no amount of numbing spray could make it tolerable.
Several years ago, a friend recommended something she swears by, which I thought sounded insane. The theory is that a daily regimen of ingesting gin-soaked raisins will help ease the pain of arthritis. I thought she was kidding but a quick look around the internet turns up many recipes and testimonials about its effectiveness.
It sounded so unlikely I checked it on Snopes, the definitive internet fact-checking resource for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors
Here’s my gin-soaked raisin recipe:
Ingredients
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1 -2-cup gin (enough to just cover the raisins)
Directions
I let my raisins sit for 2 weeks, not to make them stronger but because they looked gross. Some of my raisins didn’t plump up. They actually looked pretty nasty so I assume they were too dried out to start with and I tossed them.
Gin soaked raisins are an acquired taste but if they help the pain, they’re worth it.
Update, this did help alleviate some of my arthritis pain so I gradually stopped taking them! Very dumb. I’m back in a thumb brace, waiting for the cortisone to kick in and preparing my next batch of gin-soaked raisins.
Have you tried this?
How do you treat your arthritis?
Thanks for reading ladies and have a great day!
I have osteoarthritis in my spine, among other places. My insurance paid for 2 months of pt a year ago. I couldn’t believe how much it helped. At the end they gave me a set of exercises and resistance bands. I am still faithfully doing them every day a year later. All the difference in the world.
I am doing PT for my back and you’re right, it makes a big difference! I wish insurance would pay for me to go every day.
I have been taking them for arthritis in my left knee. They have been a miracle for me. No pain or stiffness. Best thing I found!!
I had problems when I took turmeric and ibuprofen. I’m going to try the golden raisins w gin. They guy at the liquor store said the dry gins have more juniper. I also eat two cups of jello ever day and after several months, it has improved my knee issues. SAM-E helps after two weeks and also helps w mood and liver. Costco and Swanson’s are the most affordable – use 400 mg. I want to try the MSM again too.
They’re safer and have no side effects. I take Sam e as well and think it helps! Good luck and keep me posted
I have been thinking of trying drunken raisins to see if it would offer any help for the arthritis in my knees. I am looking forward to finding out how they did for you. My Dad, who never drank alcohol when he was younger, has for the past year or so found that one small shot (glass), I didn’t ask if it was a whole or partial shot glass, of gin (no raisins) at night helps his arthritis knee pain so he can sleep. He actually tried the same amount of vodka instead a few times, and it didn’t help at all. He says the gin does help. Makes me wonder if it’s something in the juniper berries, and not the effect of the alcohol. He is 89 years old. I’m thankful he found something that helps him.
I noticed many commenter’s recommendations for tumeric/turmeric, and also ginger, here. I don’t work in any medical field, but I am a user of one of the newer blood thinners. The blood thinner I use had regular advertising that it was not affected by foods, they may have been referring to salads and vegetables. I have since found mention of ginger, and just now when I checked about tumeric/turmeric, I found it may also have some possible interaction with blood thinners. Grapefruit,
and any grapefruit products also have an interaction possibility with my blood thinner according to my cardiologist.
I don’t want to overstep any mind-your-own-business bounds, but I would strongly suggest to anyone who uses blood thinners and are considering using ginger and/or tumeric/turmeric as a pain reliever to please call your doctor and/or pharmacist and ask if there are any dangerous interactions between these (what I always considered to be simple spices) and the specific blood thinner that they take. It’s easy to ask questions, to be safe. I find my pharmacists to be excellent sources of information, are easier to get a chance to speak with, and know exactly what accurate interaction information to refer to. I wish the pharmaceutical companies and doctors would make a greater, more intense, effort to clearly inform consumers about common foods, drinks, spices that may have interactions with various blood thinners.
I hope that all of us suffering from joint pain can find relief one way or another.
I totally agree Susie! My pharmacist is a wealth of wisdom. Often more complete than my physician, which makes sense, drugs are her specialty. My husband is also on a blood thinner and avoids grapefruit etc. I think it’s the juniper berries, perhaps in conjunction with the sulpher in golden raisins. I have an update coming out in my experience in a few days. Thank you for sharing. We all learn from each other!
I’m not fond of raisins, but I love gin. If this is okay for diabetics, I’ll get right on it. I’ve already had surgery for arthritis on one foot and would like to avoid it on the other. My husband has already started looking up recipes with turmeric. He’s a keeper.
I was diagnosed with RA 5 months ago. The doctor put me on an anti inflammatory diet. No wheat, dairy, sugar, corn, or meat. I am allowed FIA, turkey and fish. Turmeric gives me an upset stomach. I put ginger in my smoothies. I was on steroids for 2 months before the methatrexate started working. Alleve doesn’t work for me. The RA is in my hands, mostly in my right thumb.
I hope you are getting relief from the pain, Ginger. It can be so debilitating especially in the hand! I have heard that corn and sugar can be a problem so may need to alter my diet.
Hi, This is an interesting topic. I use Roll on bio freeze. it helps my hands and other areas of my body. I also use Great Lakes collagen in my coffee. I buy it from Amazon. A tablespoon a day seems to do wonders. What I want to know is if you combine all these treatments, would it be to much of a good thing. Is that possible?
Karen
I too have horrible arthritis (Rheumatoid) pain from time to time. I learned that I had food allergies and by eliminating the offending foods, I was able to control a good deal of the pain and inflammation I was experiencing throughout my body! Relief for me means staying away from all dairy, tree nuts, wheat, gluten and some of the “nightshade” vegetables like white potatoes and peppers. It’s tough to discipline myself to eat this way but well worth the effort when the pain stays away! You might want to try writing down your daily intake of foods in a journal and then making notes of how your thumb feels each day. You would be surprised how common food allergies are and yet most doctors won’t tell you there is any connection to pain in the body! Good look using the gin-soaked raisins…hoping it works for you!
I think that’s what I’m going to have to do Renita. Gluten free is not enough do there must be other allergies I’m not aware of. My doctor has been of no help with this at all! But my readers sure have. Thank you!
Tomatoes and peppers (and other members of the “nightshade” family of vegetables) can cause arthritis flare-ups. As much as I love fresh tomatoes, it only took a week of feasting and a month and a half of painful hobbling to realize that the correlation was real. So now I limit my intake of tomatoes.
Oh no Wendy! I love tomatoes! I’m going to have to watch and see what causes it to flare up.
Let me offer an alternative to “no” nightshade veggies, including peppers and tomatoes: I spoke to southern Italians about their lack of large numbers of folk with severe arthritis. They indicated, in two cases, that Italians have always skinned and removed seeds from eggplant, peppers and tomatoes. The acid is under the skin ( unfortunately, likely most of the vitamins too) and in the seeds.
So, buy Italian or ? canned tomatoes with no skin or seeds and prepare peppers, eat your eggplant similarly. New habits!
Good to know! Thanks Debbie
My uncle shared this remedy with my mom years ago and they both swear by it!
Yay! I’m hopeful.
Forgot – A friend drank apple cider vinegar – she would show us how well she could now move her hand/fingers.
The lady in Whole Foods mentioned cider vinegar to me today. It’s a rough taste to get used to 🙂
@Jennifer: Try one part apple cider vinegar with two to three parts warm water and add about 1 tsp. of liquid honey to it. Actually once you get use to it, it is quite pleasant to drink but do not overdose on it as understand it can thin your blood. -Brenda-
Good to know, Brenda, Thanks.
My grandmother – 40 years ago – always started her day if her fingers/hand were sore/stiff by holding her hand over a hot burner on the stove. The dry heat really helped with reducing the pain/stiffness.
Wow, she was a tough gal. Amazing she figured that out!
Really want to know how it goes for you. I have arthritis in my lower back, makes it really hard to walk and I’m only 55. I’ve had injections many times they now want me to take a combination of 2 narcotics. I refuse to take them because I do not like that feeling. I also am not a big drinker, wine on Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I’ll probably get drunk on those nine raisins. That might be a good thing, won’t feel the pain. I’m also going to look into some of the other suggestions as well. Thank you, ladies.
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Please don’t take the pain meds. A co worker ( lovely lady ) had back problems and ended up addicted to them. It’s very sad.
When I quit grains and dairy, and started consuming 1 cup daily of homemade organic bone broth, all my joint pain disappeared. I think the elimination of grains/dairy quenched the inflammation, and the nutrients and collagen in the bone broth help rebuild healthy tissue.
I’m thinking I have to get rid of the dairy Eileen. I do love good cheese but it’s not worth eating if it causes my pain !
If you read the book “Wheat Belly” I believe you’ll see that grain is the problem source for many issues. There are also many people I know who are using a product called “Plexus” which helps gut issues. I had a trigger thumb problem but refused to have surgery or take medication. It’s gone away with proper diet and with using SIRI on my phone instead of my thumbs to text. I believe there are always holistic remedies to use instead of relying on medication. Best of luck to you. I enjoy your blog and advice.
Thanks Sandy! I’m hoping to find a non RX remedy. My brother insists I read Wheat Belly, so it’s on the way from Amazon!
Hi Jennifer, I’ve had arthritis in my thumb on my left hand for years. There were times I could hardly stand the pain. I began wearing a copper ring on my finger and a copper bracelet on that wrist, It took a while and now I rarely have any pain in that joint. But if I remove it the pain is back within a week or so. Others I know say it doesn’t work for them. My son was bothered with pain in his wrist and I bought him a copper bracelet. He is now a believer also. Works for me! Good luck with your raisins. I say whatever works!!
A copper bracelet would be so easy! I’ve never heard of the connection so I’ll check into it. Thanks Darla!
I use a magnetic bracelet that my husband ordered from Amazon. It helped me so much, I order one for my mom and she swears by it also. I ordered a prettier one from Amazon that looked like turquoise but it didn’t work so I sent it back. I’m sure it doesn’t work for everyone but this helps me. I’ve tried the gin soaked raisins and they did not help me. I think you just have to keep looking and trying things til you find what works for you.
I agree, Sally. We are all so unique we will have individual results!
Wow! What a ton of great information! Personally, I was just going to put a raisin in my martini but now….
People really seem to be helped by removing gluten and using turmeric. Lots to look into. I’ll be interested in what works for you.
I am bowled over by the wisdom my readers are sharing. I love my readers! I’ll be taking Tumeric for sure, just to start!
Costco has it.
I’ve never heard of gin soaked raisins! I can recommend Turmeric w/ pepper in capsule form. It is sold at Costco. I noticed a big difference in less than two weeks. Please nix the Advil as that just causes more serious damage. Hope this helps.
Thanks Karen! I know the Advil is so bad for me, but the pain is brutal. Off to Costco tomorrow. I’ve been cooking with Tumeric but clearly it’s not enough.
Hi Jennifer, I’ll look forward to hearing how the turmeric supplement works for you. ????
I have arthritis in both thumb and index finger joints–it can get hugely painful. I had been seeing a physical therapist who practices myofascial release for a back issue, and recently asked if she could help with my hands. Result: almost total freedom from pain, AND you can learn to use the technique on yourself.
It can be hard to find. PT with training in MFR, but it’s worth the effort. This kind of PT has rescued my degenerating 70 year old back, too.
Oh my Lisa! This makes total sense. I don’t think my insurance will cover it but I’m going to ask. I’m so disappointed with my primary care Dr response to my pain. It’s unacceptable.
Definitely worth trying if the alternatives are cortisone shots, lots of pain meds or surgery.
I used Dr. McDougall’s Free Plan. It really helped my inflammatory arthritis, bad knee and some other problems. I’m still eating the plant based way that he prescribes, although not quite 100%. I started March 1st & have lost 19 lbs, since then, too.
https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/education/free-mcdougall-program/
There’s other Arthritis Video success stories, but this is my favorite:
https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/education/health-science/stars/stars-video/paula-rheumatoid-arthritis/
Thank you Chris!! I’ll check this out. I don’t eat any meat but my diet is not totally plant based either.