I stopped setting an alarm because the pain woke me up anyway

For two years my alarm was irrelevant. My hips started at 2am, sometimes 3, and that was my night finished. I would lie there doing the calculation — is it bad enough to get up, or do I try to find another position for the fourth time. I tried melatonin, magnesium, a wedge pillow, everything my GP suggested. Nobody connected it to my joints until a physio friend asked if the pain was what was waking me. It was. Six weeks on Golden Formula I slept from 11 to 6:15. I lay there for a moment not quite believing it. Then I got up and made coffee and sat in the quiet and that was the best morning I had had in two years For two years my alarm was irrelevant. My hips started at 2am, sometimes 3, and that was my night finished.... For two years my alarm was irrelevant. My hips started at 2am, sometimes 3, and that was my night finished. I would lie there doing the calculation — is it bad enough to get up, or do I try to find another position for the fourth time. I tried melatonin, magnesium, a wedge pillow, everything my GP suggested. Nobody connected it to my joints until a physio friend asked if the pain was what was waking me. It was. Six weeks on Golden Formula I slept from 11 to 6:15. I lay there for a moment not quite believing it. Then I got up and made coffee and sat in the quiet and that was the best morning I had had in two years View More

I gave up the one thing that didn't hurt. That's when I knew it was serious.

Swimming was the last exercise I had left. Running went first. Then cycling. Swimming I kept because the water took the weight off my knees. When even that started hurting at the turn wall I stopped going. I didn't tell anyone. I just quietly stopped. My husband noticed the bag had stopped disappearing on Tuesday mornings. He didn't say anything either. I started Golden Formula in February. Last Tuesday I was back in the pool. Forty laps. I stood at the end and had to take a second before I got out because I hadn't expected to feel that good Swimming was the last exercise I had left. Running went first. Then cycling. Swimming I kept because the water took... Swimming was the last exercise I had left. Running went first. Then cycling. Swimming I kept because the water took the weight off my knees. When even that started hurting at the turn wall I stopped going. I didn't tell anyone. I just quietly stopped. My husband noticed the bag had stopped disappearing on Tuesday mornings. He didn't say anything either. I started Golden Formula in February. Last Tuesday I was back in the pool. Forty laps. I stood at the end and had to take a second before I got out because I hadn't expected to feel that good View More

My signature looked like it belonged to someone else.

I am a primary school teacher. Writing on a whiteboard, marking books, holding a pen for five hours a day — my hands are my job. When my knuckles started swelling I began writing smaller so nobody would notice the tremor. My signature changed. I noticed it on a bank form and I sat in my car and stared at it. That was somebody else's handwriting. I had been on turmeric capsules for eight months and they had done almost nothing. A colleague suggested Golden Formula. By week four the swelling had reduced enough that I could grip a marker without shifting how I held it. My signature is mine again. I am a primary school teacher. Writing on a whiteboard, marking books, holding a pen for five hours a day... I am a primary school teacher. Writing on a whiteboard, marking books, holding a pen for five hours a day — my hands are my job. When my knuckles started swelling I began writing smaller so nobody would notice the tremor. My signature changed. I noticed it on a bank form and I sat in my car and stared at it. That was somebody else's handwriting. I had been on turmeric capsules for eight months and they had done almost nothing. A colleague suggested Golden Formula. By week four the swelling had reduced enough that I could grip a marker without shifting how I held it. My signature is mine again. View More

I started avoiding introductions. You don't realise how often people want to shake your hand

I work in sales. My whole career is built on a first impression and mine starts with a handshake. When my grip became painful I started engineering situations where the handshake didn't happen — leading with a nod, starting early, holding something. My colleagues didn't notice. My clients didn't notice. But I knew. And every time I got away with it I felt a little smaller. I found Golden Formula through a men's health forum. I wasn't expecting much. Five weeks later a new client reached out across the conference table and I shook his hand without thinking about it. That was the moment I knew something had actually changed. I work in sales. My whole career is built on a first impression and mine starts with a handshake. When... I work in sales. My whole career is built on a first impression and mine starts with a handshake. When my grip became painful I started engineering situations where the handshake didn't happen — leading with a nod, starting early, holding something. My colleagues didn't notice. My clients didn't notice. But I knew. And every time I got away with it I felt a little smaller. I found Golden Formula through a men's health forum. I wasn't expecting much. Five weeks later a new client reached out across the conference table and I shook his hand without thinking about it. That was the moment I knew something had actually changed. View More

He never said anything. He just started opening everything before he put it in the cupboard

At some point my husband started pre-loosening every jar in the house. The pasta sauce, the jam, the pickle jar. He never mentioned it. I only noticed because I opened one easily and realised I couldn't remember the last time I had struggled with it — and then I realised why. He had been quietly doing it for months without saying a word because he didn't want to make me feel bad. I started Golden Formula because I was embarrassed enough to do something about it. Eight weeks later I opened a stubborn olive jar at a dinner party. Cold, from the fridge, one handed. I caught my husband's eye across the table. He smiled. That was enough At some point my husband started pre-loosening every jar in the house. The pasta sauce, the jam, the pickle jar.... At some point my husband started pre-loosening every jar in the house. The pasta sauce, the jam, the pickle jar. He never mentioned it. I only noticed because I opened one easily and realised I couldn't remember the last time I had struggled with it — and then I realised why. He had been quietly doing it for months without saying a word because he didn't want to make me feel bad. I started Golden Formula because I was embarrassed enough to do something about it. Eight weeks later I opened a stubborn olive jar at a dinner party. Cold, from the fridge, one handed. I caught my husband's eye across the table. He smiled. That was enough View More

It sounds ridiculous. I stopped going because of the cobblestones.

I went to the same farmers market every Saturday for eleven years. It is on cobblestones. About eighteen months ago I stopped going and told myself I would go back when the weather was better, when I had more time, when things settled down. I never admitted to myself or anyone else that the real reason was that I could not face twenty minutes on uneven ground. My feet and ankles hurt on flat surfaces. Cobblestones were out of the question. I have been on Golden Formula for ten weeks. I went back last Saturday. I walked the whole market. I bought tomatoes and sourdough and stood talking to the cheese man for fifteen minutes. I cried in the car on the way home. Happy crying I went to the same farmers market every Saturday for eleven years. It is on cobblestones. About eighteen months ago... I went to the same farmers market every Saturday for eleven years. It is on cobblestones. About eighteen months ago I stopped going and told myself I would go back when the weather was better, when I had more time, when things settled down. I never admitted to myself or anyone else that the real reason was that I could not face twenty minutes on uneven ground. My feet and ankles hurt on flat surfaces. Cobblestones were out of the question. I have been on Golden Formula for ten weeks. I went back last Saturday. I walked the whole market. I bought tomatoes and sourdough and stood talking to the cheese man for fifteen minutes. I cried in the car on the way home. Happy crying View More

My daughter offered to carry my groceries. She's eleven. I nearly died of embarrassment

When my eleven year old daughter started automatically reaching for the heavy bags because she had noticed I struggled, something in me collapsed. I had been hiding it for over a year. Modifying how I got out of the car so she wouldn't see the grimace. Sitting at the back of her school concerts so I could leave early. Saying no to things without explaining why. A forty-nine year old woman hiding a mobility problem from her child. I started Golden Formula the same week. I did not tell her why. I just quietly started. By week five I carried everything in from the car in one trip. She didn't notice. That was exactly the point When my eleven year old daughter started automatically reaching for the heavy bags because she had noticed I struggled, something... When my eleven year old daughter started automatically reaching for the heavy bags because she had noticed I struggled, something in me collapsed. I had been hiding it for over a year. Modifying how I got out of the car so she wouldn't see the grimace. Sitting at the back of her school concerts so I could leave early. Saying no to things without explaining why. A forty-nine year old woman hiding a mobility problem from her child. I started Golden Formula the same week. I did not tell her why. I just quietly started. By week five I carried everything in from the car in one trip. She didn't notice. That was exactly the point View More

I dug up the vegetable beds and put down gravel. I told myself I wanted something low maintenance

I have had a vegetable garden for thirty years. Last spring I pulled everything up and laid weed mat and gravel and told my wife I wanted something lower maintenance. That was not true. The truth was that I could not get down on my knees anymore without it taking twenty minutes to get back up. I could not carry the bags of compost from the car. I did not want to admit that to her or to myself so I made it about aesthetics. I started Golden Formula four months ago. Three weeks ago I bought seeds. Last weekend I dug out a corner of the gravel and built a raised bed. My wife watched from the kitchen window and did not say a word about the low maintenance gravel. I have had a vegetable garden for thirty years. Last spring I pulled everything up and laid weed mat and... I have had a vegetable garden for thirty years. Last spring I pulled everything up and laid weed mat and gravel and told my wife I wanted something lower maintenance. That was not true. The truth was that I could not get down on my knees anymore without it taking twenty minutes to get back up. I could not carry the bags of compost from the car. I did not want to admit that to her or to myself so I made it about aesthetics. I started Golden Formula four months ago. Three weeks ago I bought seeds. Last weekend I dug out a corner of the gravel and built a raised bed. My wife watched from the kitchen window and did not say a word about the low maintenance gravel. View More

I got very good at acting normal. Too good

My pain management strategy for eighteen months was performance. I learned exactly how to get out of a chair without using my hands so nobody at work would notice. I timed bathroom breaks around meetings so I would not have to stand up in front of people. I pre-planned seating at restaurants based on proximity to the door and how low the chair was. I became very good at seeming completely fine. The problem with being very good at seeming fine is that nobody offers help and you stop getting it. I found Golden Formula because I was too tired to keep performing. Four weeks in my assistant asked if I had done something differently because I seemed less stressed. I had not changed anything except the pain My pain management strategy for eighteen months was performance. I learned exactly how to get out of a chair without... My pain management strategy for eighteen months was performance. I learned exactly how to get out of a chair without using my hands so nobody at work would notice. I timed bathroom breaks around meetings so I would not have to stand up in front of people. I pre-planned seating at restaurants based on proximity to the door and how low the chair was. I became very good at seeming completely fine. The problem with being very good at seeming fine is that nobody offers help and you stop getting it. I found Golden Formula because I was too tired to keep performing. Four weeks in my assistant asked if I had done something differently because I seemed less stressed. I had not changed anything except the pain View More

I had a whole system. Most people don't know how organised you get around pain

People who have not had chronic joint pain do not understand how much planning goes into a morning. My routine: alarm at 6, fifteen minutes lying still while things loosened up, hot shower before attempting stairs, right hand only for the kettle because the left was worse until 9am, no lids on jars before 10. I had optimised my morning around my pain so completely that I had stopped noticing it was strange. I started Golden Formula in January because a friend mentioned it at book club. By week three my husband asked why I was up before him. I told him I had just woken up. No lying still. No calculations. I had simply woken up and got out of bed like a person People who have not had chronic joint pain do not understand how much planning goes into a morning. My routine:... People who have not had chronic joint pain do not understand how much planning goes into a morning. My routine: alarm at 6, fifteen minutes lying still while things loosened up, hot shower before attempting stairs, right hand only for the kettle because the left was worse until 9am, no lids on jars before 10. I had optimised my morning around my pain so completely that I had stopped noticing it was strange. I started Golden Formula in January because a friend mentioned it at book club. By week three my husband asked why I was up before him. I told him I had just woken up. No lying still. No calculations. I had simply woken up and got out of bed like a person View More