I have suffered with psoriatic arthritis for two years. Initially I was in pain throughout my entire body to the extent that I couldn’t walk; get in the bath or even go to the toilet unaided. It was horrendous. I have three children, the youngest being two years old now, and not being able to pick him up or cuddle him was heartbreaking.

The pain affected me mostly in the spring but we have our own garden design business so I couldn’t take time off. This meant that my husband had to help look after me instead of being able to work at our busiest time of year. This had a knock-on effect of increasing financial stress – in turn the stress provokes the inflammation!

I went to my doctor, who prescribed a chemo-therapy drug which I didn’t want to take due to its recent appearance on the market place and possible side-effects, as well as the need to have weekly blood tests. Instead I took opium-based pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs. Although these helped to a certain degree, I was still in a lot of pain for about six months.

Having refused the medication suggested by the rheumatologists and doctors, it was up to me to find a solution that I could live with. I read a lot about various diets and eventually followed a combination of the Kousmine and Seignalet diets a strict diet which eliminated wheat, dairy, alcohol and caffeine. I had to supplement my diet quite heavily to ensure I was not missing out any essential food elements at this point with omega 3, probiotics and a combination of colza, olive and nut oils. I was still taking the ani-inflammatories, but was able to lower the strength. I also replaced the opium based pain killers with paracetamol, and after 4 months I started to feel better.

I was worried though, as I was still taking anti-inflammatories and paracetamol on a daily basis, as the pain was still significant in my fingers, knees and feet.

I then heard about a copper insole called The Original Copper Heeler through my mother-in-law (who also uses them) and decided to give it a try.

I have been using The Copper Heeler for 2 months now and wear them every day. They are so comfortable that I forget they are there. They started reducing my pain immediately and I have since been able to reduce my medication by more than 50%, taking the lowest dose possible of anti-inflammatory every 2 to 3 days and no pain killers. My blood levels are now completely normal for the first time in 2 years.

I was recently invited to the Cannes Film festival and had a glass of champagne which would normally mean I would be in quite a lot of pain the following day. I would never normally take the risk, but as I knew I could just slip on my sandals with the copper heelers in, I took a chance. Sure enough, half an hour after putting them on, I was fine. This sums up the difference they have made to my life. I am now able to live my life as I used to – I can run around as any other mother of three can. A year ago I wasn’t even able to get my (then one year old) out of his cot! I cannot recommend them strongly enough, The Copper Heeler is a natural, low cost solution to regaining an active life.