A few years ago I was diagnosed with arthritis in both thumb joints. The pain was very bad. The only option the orthopedist offered was taking an NSAID, which in my case was Meloxicam (Mobic.)
So I began taking this and it worked, taking away the pain. About a year after beginning to take it, the prescription ran out and I called to get a refill but the office said that I would have to come back in for an appointment before they could write a new scrip. Since I wasn't happy with the idea of taking meds for the rest of my life for this I decided to go off of it for a while to see what would happen, and the pain returned and was very severe. So I went back to the office and got the new scrip.
The same thing happened about 3 weeks ago. My prescription ran out and the office said I'd have to come in again before they'd write a new one. This time, though, I decided to research if there were any dietary connections to arthritis and that's when I first learned of Dr. McDougall and this site. I decided to quit the meds and start this new WOE at the same time. I had already been a vegetarian for 28 years, but one that didn't eat very healthily; I love fried foods and used oil just about every time I cooked.
It's been almost 3 weeks since I stopped the meds and cutout all dairy and oils from my diet and I haven't had any pain at all in my thumbs! Being skeptical though, I wondered if it was possible if my arthritis could just spontaneously go away. Googling "arthritis cures" I came across the Wikipedia entry for arthritis which has this quote:
"Osteoarthritis, like rheumatoid arthritis, cannot be cured, but one can prevent the condition from worsening. Physical therapy to strengthen muscles and joints is very helpful. Pain medications are widely required by individuals with osteoarthritis."
It's still hard for me to believe that something which was so painful that if my thumbs even lightly brushed against something I flinched in agony has gone away.
I must also add, that even though I am very active; swimming, biking, and kayaking, my little paunch of belly fat persisted...and this too is now almost gone!