All pain gone after one "test"
Woke up for the first time in years WITHOUT PAIN
My friend has always told me, "If you wake up one day without pain, you know you for sure you're dead!"
Fortunately it was not true.
I have suffered from Chronic pain in my lower back for the last 6 years which started after I was diagnosed with Lyme disease. Initially, Steroid injections in the back helped.
After a few years, the injections eventually stopped working after a few months.
Then I was treated with RFA (Radio Frequency Ablation of the Medial Nerve)First with a hot needle (90 deg C) in 2 locations which lasted for 2 months.
Secondly with a cold needle (60 deg C) in 8 locations. But now the pain changed to a burning sensation "in a wide belt" inside my lower back for 4 months.
After that I have been in pain constantly with varying intensity plus feeling inflammation in all parts of my body.
Therefore I have been "treating" myself using finely ground Turmeric, Cinnamon, Ginger, Vanilla, black pepper and honey as a thick slurry. Taken as a tablespoon every evening before bedtime as it is supposed to be good against inflammation. I have felt some relief but nothing significant.
NOW
As a Chemical Engineer I started looking at the nature of inflammation and compared it to the active ingredients in my cocktail. And it turned out that it should work.
HOWEVER
Without getting too technical, the inflamed areas were in zones of a fatty nature which are hydrophobic (repels water - like water droplets on a goose)
At the same time, the active ingredients in my cocktail (except for honey) are also hydrophobic.
SO the cocktail had little effect because they were not properly dissolved and released as the stomach fluids are the opposite of hydrophobic = hydrophilic.
In other words the active ingredients went down the toilet.
Alcohol
It turned out that the active ingredients in my cocktail powders would easily dissolve in Alcohol.
So to make a long story short
I dissolved one teaspoon of each spice (but only a 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper) with a table spoon of honey in a double shot of Rum.
Stirred it for some minutes and enjoyed it.
The next morning; I WAS PAIN FREE!
I was laying in bed looking up at the ceiling enjoying every minute of it.
After going for a swim in the afternoon, I began to feel slight pain or rather tension but only 10% of usual.
The day after (at the time of this writing) I have only minimum pain, or rather a tension in my back.
I realize my test only represents one datapoint, but it is a good start with an unbelievable outcome.
MY NEXT APPROACH
I have already made a bottle of slurry (same ingredients) but using only enough alcohol to make it flow like a thick slurry for the purpose of limiting the alcohol intake.
I plan to take one tablespoon of slurry in the evening before bedtime.
DISCLOSURE
I am 6 feet, 216 lbs. and enjoyed not only one but 3 cocktails that evening. So the medical term could suggest I was under anesthesia when I went to bed (in leigh man terms: DRUNK)
I am not suggesting anyone do as I have done, and also check the side effects of the spices in the cocktail.
Moderator's Note
All information shared by members on the Mayo Clinic Connect is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding your health. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the community. Read more: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/about-connect/tab/community-guidelines/
Alcohol may not be recommended. Please check with your doctor.
Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Chronic Pain Support Group.
Connect

👍
Yes And sadly, often lack thereof the last one@mrmik
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionThat sharp focused eye for detail. Yup, the extras in products people don't think about can definitely mess with the Px meds.@mrmik
Interesting, thanks. Alcohol is out for me as I've been sober for 14 plus years now.
One thing I tried recently, just for fun while on a cruise, is acupuncture. I was treated for my upper and lower back.
My back is very stiff in the am and takes a while to loosen up. After my first acupuncture treatment, my entire back was relaxed, and I woke up without any lower back stiffness.
I'm going to keep doing acupuncture. Medicare Part B covers 12-20 treatments/year for the lower back, although I plan on doing more.
Joe
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction@heyjoe415
Wow, I hope someone out there can get relief like you did with acupuncture.
I did try it half a year ago but didn't notice any improvement, unfortunately.
I'm reasonably sure mine is inflammation occurring after nerve damage throughout my body from Lyme disease.
@bunstuffer
Im an old nurse, 👵🏻 age 85. In the early years of my nursing career I worked at the large Mayo Clinic Hospital, St Mary’s in Rochester, Minnesota.The Med Room on the medical floor had several bottles of mostly Bourbon.
They were prescribed for patients to help with circulation. It’s seems very old fashioned now but there were no medications that were as effective then.
@sidegate83
Wow, a great piece of history.
Thank you.
@heyjoe415
Great news! Did you find an acupuncturist who takes Medicare? I did it last year, filled out the Medicare forms, sent in for reimbursement. Got nothing back rom Medicare. Gosh, since it cover 12 to 20 treatments a year, doing it monthly over a year, plus a bit more could give a year of relief. Think I’ll try and find a person in northern california who takes medicare where I don’t have to submit the forms myself and wait for no payment back from Medicare
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction@willow5 If your doctors are part of a large multispecialty clinical group, there are often specialists like acupuncturists who are "in network" and then they handle the paperwork.
@sideg I'm an old nurse, 84, and I simply likeknowing that there is another one out there still sleuthing out problems.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 Reactions