Rheumatoid arthritis

My Rheumatoid Arthritis:

Alternative Treatment Methods, My Personal Experiences

January 22, 2013, Tuesday

Comfrey Poultice

My mother-in-law, Pam, is studying to become an herbalist, in one of her classes she was told of a woman who was in her 70's who fell in a pit at a mechanic shop and broke her back. This woman's daughter made a poultice of comfrey and applied it to her back. Eventually, her back was healed and the elderly woman said that even her arthritis that she had prior to the break was gone.

I have not had medical insurance for some time and have been having to pay cash to go see doctors to get my prescriptions for my medications that have been keeping my arthritis tolerable - so I could at least function. I have not had the money for several months to go to the doctor and all my meds have run out except for my tramadol, which I have about three weeks left of that.

My arthritis pain has become severe again - in every joint of my body - so when I heard the story of the comfrey, I thought, I gotta try me some of that!

I ordered comfrey oil online through Rose Mountain Herbs, (Nature's Sunshine didn't carry this) and talked with a very nice girl, Ashley. My total order was over $30 - all I ordered was a small bottle of comfrey oil and peppermint oil, the shipping was the killer! It was more than both those items together!

Using the comfrey oil was so easy, I made it a morning and nightly ritual to slather it on ever place that hurt. I didn't notice anything until after about five to six days, where my knees were less swollen, and my shoulders did not ache so much - the only way I could sleep was on my back. I would turn on a side and my shoulder would be aching within three minutes, and I'd have to turn on my back again. After using the comfrey oil for about five or six days I was able to sleep on my side for several hours! Unless you have experienced this - you just don't know the joy I felt... to finally be able to sleep solidly and restfully - without tossing and turning.

But alas, all good things must come to an end - as my comfrey oil was all used up within ten days. My naproxin was all gone and the doctor wouldn't prescribe me any more without coming in and seeing him. So for three days I was without anything except tramadol. I could feel all my joints becoming stiff and swollen again and the pain so very intense. My sweet husband started calling around to the local health food stores to try and find me comfrey oil.

He found comfrey at Three Rivers Food Co-Op, but they didn't have the oil.

They had dried leaves and powdered roots and dried roots. I remembered

the story of the elderly lady and having a poultice - so I thought that's what

I would do.

We got there and purchased a baggie of the dried leaves and a baggie of the powdered comfrey root. I was thinking I could make a poultice of the leaves and infuse the comfrey root powder with olive oil and make comfrey oil.

The total amount we spent was $4.06!! What a difference from the first experience with comfrey. The little girl who helped us was so friendly and helpful also.

I came home and immediately started gathering things together to make a poultice.

I have never done this in my life. I have only seen it done on youtube and read about it online - so I was very worried about this... but when you are filled with all consuming pain - you'll try just about anything.

The first thing I did was put a small amount of water (room temp) in the bottom of the bowl (it has comfrey in it because this is a picture of my second or third poultice - I didn't think of chronicling(?) this until after I'd done a few).

I made sure that the bow in the bottom of the bowl was completely covered with water - but I didn't want too much water.

Then I poured in my comfrey - just enough to cover the water. Then I stirred it and stirred it - folding it over and over till all the dried leaves were covered in water.

One thing I noticed was the sweet smell of the comfrey. Like a subtle sweet tea - very faint. I really love the smell.

Once all the leaves were saturated, I let it sit and just soak the water in more... remember, I'm just guessing about this - everything I saw online was made with live comfrey - no dried, so I was just making it up as I went.

I was too excited to wait much longer... but I did wait long enough for the water to turn green, about three minutes or so.

I first got a long piece of plastic wrap and put it on the table, then put a paper towel on that, folded once - all I saw online was people using cloth to wrap their poultice in. I didn't want to mess with cloth, I wanted something I could throw away when I was done.

And the plastic wrap idea came from some guy on youtube - he said that he used that just to keep the comfrey more contained and off his clothes and furniture, etc... sounded good to me - so I decided to use the plastic wrap.

I then scooped the wet comfrey onto the paper towel.

I figured I wanted it all on the poultice - even all the liquid that was left over - so I poured all the juice on it too.

I found this to be bad and good later on. The good - it kept the poultice all adhered together, in one mass. But it sure made it cold. I had read in the comments of the plastic using guy - that it had made one guy burn, and his response was to add more water to it, so I didn't want to take the chance of it burning me.

I found that a little "burn" would have been nice - it was so COLD. But it is winter.

I folded on side...

Then the other side - I also folded up the bottom of the compress - to keep it from falling out. This one was going on my knee, so I just folded the bottom and left the top open.

This is where I got creative - the optimum thing to have would be an ace bandage to wrap this all on with - but alas, I did not have one, but I did have packing tape!

So - first I wrapped the plastic wrap really tight around my knee then I taped it on. All around the bottom of the poultice - but the top I left open, in case it got hot and I had to add water - which it NEVER did, but I felt it needed to breath - so leaving it open on top turned out to be good.

The pictures are a little dark and a little blurry - but it gives you the idea.

I kept these on (one on each knee and on each wrist and one on my hand) over night. It was about 3 p.m. when I finished poulticing me all up. I was very interesting looking!

In the evening I was so cold from the poultices that I put thermal underwear on and sweats on over that, then got under a huge thick blanket, and it was bearable - but I would do anything just to get rid of the pain.

Early the next morning, about 4 or 5 o'clock, I noticed the poultices didn't "feel right". I can't explain, but like they had been on long enough.

So I took off the ones on my wrists and the one off my hand - they were all I could do easily, and then when I woke up later in the morning I took off the ones on my knees.

I noticed that each of these poultices had such a putrid smell - like rotten. It scared me at first - but then I thought, maybe they are pulling all the toxins out of my body... I don't know.

BUT - my bed was a mess! After making several poultices very wet - I made the two on my wrists very dry and they did not stay together at all. Leaving "breathing" areas in the poultices let the drier comfrey escape.

The next day I repeated the process - except I used hot water and made warm poultices for my knees and feet.

January 22nd, Tuesday, I noticed my pee smelt like comfrey. I don't know why this bothered me, I know that that's how you expel toxins. But I didn't put any more poultices on for two days. I did notice though, it was way cool, that where the poultice had sat on my knee was not swollen, but the area outside of the poultice was swollen.

I have decided though - I have too many joints that hurt to put poultices on every joint - and its so time consuming and messy... I decided to infuse olive oil with comfrey and apply it that way and see if that works - and if that is any better...