Joints

I use to believe that everyone had the same every day aches and pains as I did. You know, that it's usual for a ten year old to have joints that average between three to six out of ten on the pain scale. I felt that way, so it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. I wish I still felt that way.

I don't know if my joints hurt much more than they use to; I even suspect that they hurt less. It's just that now I know they aren't suppose to. I that being aware of how things should be bothers me more. It makes the pain less endurable. Having constant pain all over one's body, every single day and night, even if it never really gets all that bad, is demoralizing. That's the joy of having an illness whose primary symptom is rheumatoid arthritis.

If I take a regular old pain killer then the joints feel better and I can accomplish things. That is until the side effects of the pain medication set in. It's doing something wrong to my liver. I get a dull ache in the right side which gets worse the longer I stay on pain medication. My chemical sensitivity spikes and I get listless both physically and mentally. So, I don't know what to do. I don't like pain but I don't like these side effects more.

What other things can I take for pain? I've modified my diet to exclude things like tomatoes and other things known to trigger inflammation. I've added anti inflammatory foods like turmeric. I've tried glucosamine sulfate (sp?). It works, but it sends my blood sugars and moods all over the place so it's out.

There must be something I can have that will not bug my liver. Any thoughts?