Turmeric, Colchicine & Pains

[Lubyluboo]

Hi all,

I am including turmeric in a lot of my cooking but a lot of people online recommend taking a supplement. Does anyone do this and if so, does it seem to make a difference? I also want to make sure that I buy a decent supplement that is pure and not containing other random ingredients, so any suggestions would be appreciated.

I have been on 0.5g of Colchicine a day but have now been asked to double it as a few ulcers have started coming through again after being on it for 4 weeks. I forgot to ask if I should separate the doses or just take both tablets together, any advice on this?

Lastly, and randomly, does anyone get a pin like stabbing pain down below or in their mouth before an ulcer appears? And do sometimes the lesions below look more like a small lump rather than an open ulcer?

Sorry for all of the questions but any responses would be much appreciated

Thank you

Lucy

[Bob1945]

Sorry I can’t really add much on Colchicine as I took it for gout. Had no side effects and helped to reduce the inflammation.Cheers

Bob

[Icefire]

Hi Lubyluboo,

I think we spoke before!! I'm not yet diagnosed but I did see a Rheumatologist a few years ago who said 'it could be Behcets'. I have had mouth ulcers and nether region ulcers for the last 25 years! I have recently been through a period of stress and had a mega flair of Uveitis, erythema nodulosum and joint swelling. I await confirmation but I'm sure its Behcets. There is a back log and I am having to wait ages for diagnoses but I see it as an opportunity to fine tune diet and try some supplements. I have had symptoms since end of April till last week when I started taking Solgar Turmeric root extract and Pure Encapsulations Magnesium (Glycinate). Having felt quite unwell and exhausted for a few months I now feel much better! It could be coincidence but I did find a journal article saying that Magnesium may lessen the symptoms of vasculitis.

I have also been gluten free since flair and try to eat lots of vegetables and not much processed food. Mouth ulcers and Nether region ulcers are not really a problem if I supplement with Methyl folate (not folic acid). If you search the term in the groups lots of people have low levels of folate. When I do feel an ulcer coming (small painful bump) I immediately use topical steroid (Dermovate Ointment) and it disappears with almost no interruption to life!!

I'm not on any medication but have read that there is a theoretical risk that turmeric can interact with Colchicine. There was a case study of man who had nephrotoxicity but he was taking 10 tablespoons plus a day. Otherwise the only studies have been done in animals. I hope someone is able to tell you if they are taking Colchicine and Turmeric with no problem.

I don't think there are any known interactions with magnesium. ( I have membership to the natural medicines database which is where I get my info!)

I hope this helps.

I'm interested to see how you get on. Last time I saw the Rheumatologist she was keen to start me on Colchicine but I was asymptomatic at the time other than the odd mouth ulcer. I'm not sure where I lie on the scale of severity but do everything I can diet and lifestyle wise to stay in the non sever zone! I was plagued by ulcers and fatigue until changing my diet.

Good luck.

[Psalm116]

Yes, I use a product called: Terry Naturally Curamin Extra Strength. I find that it helps my joints.

I get those strange nerve feelings as well. In fact, just before a flare-up my nerve endings sometimes feel like shingles. It hurts to touch my skin or have clothes rub my skin. It's an awful feeling.

Take care,

Sara

[muttiof3]

HiI have just started researching colchicine and turmeric because I read on this site that the two together could have a negative impact on my body. Also, recently I have had some weird symptoms, primarily, weakness in the outside of my hips - stairs have become very difficult and I'm actually fairly capable, physically. Unfortunately, the negative interactions fit my symptoms really well.

I've been diagnosed with osteopenia (not yet osteoporosis) and that can be brought on by taking prednisone, which I have taken for extended periods time, especially early on. I've taken colchicine from the beginning, 22 years. I had a period about 15 years ago where I started taking turmeric in hopes that it would help. Long story short, it gave me uncontrollable diarrhea, emphasis on uncontrollable, the entire time...6 months at least. I just thought it was my behcets flaring for an extended time and for some reason I thought about the turmeric and decided to give it up and see what happened. The diarrhea went away. So, I've stayed away from turmeric. Recently, I have been having problems with constipation (it has never been an issue for me...ever) . So, I had the brilliant idea to take a low dose turmeric supplement to keep me regular and it worked. Over the last 4 months, I've noticed muscle pain when sitting for extended periods of time (very painful) in my right glut and that developed into weakness at the indentation on the outside of both hips. The weakness in the hips is very noticeable when going up stairs. I always try to stand up straight when I walk and do stairs and now, I have an incredibly difficult time going up stairs without leaning forward and my hips always feel like they are going to give out. Well, guess what? Turmeric and colchicine together can (possibly?) cause something call Osteonecrosis and my symptoms are the same symptoms at onset...sore hips. I have other symptoms on the Osteonecrosis list but the hip thing really caught my eye.

So, I Googled Osteonecrosis and this is at the top of the search page:

"Death of bone tissue due to temporary or permanent loss of blood supply to the bones. Early stages have no symptoms, eventually, it may cause pain in the joints and limit physical activities.

Condition Highlight

Urgent medical attention is usually recommended by healthcare providers

How common is condition?

Rare

Is condition treatable?

Treatments can help manage condition, no known cure

Does diagnosis require lab test or imaging?

Requires lab test or imaging

Time taken for recovery

Can last several years or be lifelong

Condition Highlight

Common for ages 30-60

msn.com/en-us/health/condit...

Do I think I have this? No, not really - okay, maybe a little - after all, I have Behcets (and hardly anyone has heard of that). Is my rheumatologist aware of this in regards to turmeric and colchicine? Who knows? I do know I've taken colchicine for 22 years at least, I have taken both prednisone and turmeric for extended times, and I have Osteopenia - "Osteopenia is when your bones are weaker than normal but not so far gone that they break easily, which is the hallmark of osteoporosis - WebMD"

I'm on my way to house sit for my sister for two weeks so I've decided to give up all supplements for that time and see how I feel and then see my rheumatologist when I get back. I was thinking about taking magnesium glycinate and my daughter, who I've talked to about all this, said I should wait and talk to my doctor about everything before adding something new. She's right.

I live in the US and none of my doctors have behcets patients except for me. HealthUnlocked has been a great starting point for me to bounce off of to doing my own research for myself and I've discovered a lot. The biggie is that everyone here seems to have similar symptoms but we present symptoms differently a lot of the time. Reading many of the posts, I've found all of my symptoms, just not all in the same person. I've heard 5 or 6 times from various doctors that something I have isn't a Behcets symptom but someone, or many someones, have mentioned the symptoms here on this site (Also, I'm sorry....In a nutshell, Behcets is basically inflammation of the small blood vessels in the body and where do we have small blood vessels?....Everywhere). I am fortunate in that I have neuro-behcets symptoms without having neuro-behcets. That's not sarcasm - neuro-behcets sounds bad. My symptoms are not that bad...3 or 4 on the 1-10 scale most of the time. But when I have flair ups, it seems to be almost always nerve related. Which leads to your question:

"Lastly, and randomly, does anyone get a pin like stabbing pain down below or in their mouth before an ulcer appears? And do sometimes the lesions below look more like a small lump rather than an open ulcer?"

Yes, all the time. Originally, I would get a sore spot on my lips and think, "Oh no, I'm getting a cold sore." I've never had a cold sore - thank goodness, they look painful. I did however have one spot on my lip that was a small lump and it hurt. A friend of mine said there are lots of nerve ending in one's lips...That lump lasted about a year and when the pain went away, it left a little white spot on the colored part of my lips. Strange. Anyway, I know I'm flaring when my lips swell, gums and/or tongue swell, teeth get loose, get stabbing pains, in joints especially, my skin starts to hurt in patches, and most recently, get rashes that spread AND get deep. I rarely get rashes downstairs anymore but I have had the small lumps in the past that generally don't break open, just hurt and I don't get a lot of lesions in my mouth anymore. Interestingly, if I hit my gums with my toothbrush, I can end up with a flare. Fun, fun, fun

Sugar and Stress are the big triggers for me.

Sorry so long. I proofread many times...sorry for any errors...got tired of reading it