The Current Cocktail

No, not that type of cocktail, alas. What I am talking about is the cocktail of supplements I’m taking to try to reverse damage from arthritis.

The good thing is, I am my own human subjects committee. The problem with that is that it cuts out some potentially useful input — which I what I hope to get from you good readers.

So, the goal is to reverse damage not only in my shoulders, but elsewhere in my body. The absolute worst case scenario is that I do damage to my body with the supplements. The study worst case is that the supplements do nothing. Median and mode are that it slows the progress down or that it halts the current deterioration. Best case is that it actually helps restore some/most/all joints.

Based on my genetics, my conditions — which includes several issues not listed in this discussion — and an eye towards participation in regenerative medical or advanced materials studies, I’ve chosen the following cocktail:

Joint compound, consisting of glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, and hyaluronic acid

Ceylon cinnamon

Turmeric curcumin with ginger and bioprene black pepper

Multi collagen protein

I’m taking these along with Meloxicam and Hydroxocobalamin (prescribed by my doctor). I’m considering a couple of other additions to the cocktail, but want to see how this does over the next month. My goal is to run the experiment for six months, and decide how and if to continue based not only how I feel, but by what shows up in the blood work, X-rays, and other hard data. Meantime, I’m asking for a blood test in a few weeks to be sure I’m not spiking or crashing any major levels, and to set a baseline for future reference.

In the days ahead, I will take each component and talk a bit more about why I picked them. Most were chosen for more than one reason. Glad I’m not traveling right now, as given the amount of spice-based supplements if I were captured by cannibals they would likely consider me pre-seasoned meat…