> The Beesley Buzz: Me and my arthritis: GOPO rosehip supplement 4 week update

Me and my arthritis: GOPO rosehip supplement 4 week update

Around 4 weeks ago I began to take the GOPO Rosehip supplement to see if it helped with my long-term health condition of arthritis which I was diagnosed with at the age of 10.

Having tried various treatments and supplements over the years I was not particularly hopeful and I was under no illusions. Different treatments can have a different impact on each individual person and arthritis can be affected by so many other variables too that I just didn't want to get my hopes up and yet I did want to give it a try in case it did help. 

I started by taking a dose of 3 GOPO tablets twice a day as recommended and at 3 weeks I reduced it to the maintenance dose of 2 tablets twice a day. 

I have kept a diary over this time to record anything significant or notable. For the first couple of weeks, there was nothing noticeably different. I was waking up each day with back pain and stiffness. Throughout the two weeks I had 'up and down' days as usual. 

It was at the beginning of week 3 that I noticed that I was waking up in the mornings with less back stiffness. By then the weather had been dry and warm for several weeks too which also has a positive effect on my arthritis. 

I managed a shopping trip at the shopping centre that week which can often be problematic. I also noticed a little mid-cycle bleeding and I wondered whether that could be linked to taking the GOPO supplement. A quick phone call to my GP reassured me that it was more likely to have been caused by stress and unlikely to be linked to taking GOPO. The GP was really pleased for me to keep taking the supplements especially when I told him that I had noticed a positive effect.

We then had a few days away and that was a real test. I had some pain and stiffness during and after the car journey there (it was several hours in the car so that was to be expected). 

We've often had to cut our holidays short and return home a day or two early because of my back pain worsening by not sleeping on my own orthopedic bed. Thankfully this time it didn't get so bad to have to return home early. I had one particularly bad day when the strong painkillers came out but the rest of the time things were relatively settled.

Week 4 has been another week of glorious weather. Very dry and very sunny. I had a bad day of hip pain the day after travelling back from our few days away which was probably a consequence of the long journey back the day before. 

I managed a spot of gardening this week too which has been a bit of a rarity lately. 

I also saw an arthritis specialist that I'd been waiting to see for the past couple of months. From the X-ray it appeared like there is some damage to the top part of the pelvis in addition to the previous damage to the actual hip socket. That could be the culprit for why the back pain has been getting worse over the past year or two. He asked for further blood tests and investigations, so I should know more next time I see him.  
Less pain equals happier mummy. 
So whilst I've had a positive time with my arthritis over the past couple of weeks, we've got some not-so-good news about 8 year old D. He has been experiencing the odd episode of hip pain over the past few months. My rheumatologist strongly urged us to get him referred. Based on my history (my arthritis began at a similar age), they are concerned that it is likely to be arthritis in his case. These days there are apparently ways of preventing so much damage being caused to the hip joint and so we are hoping that early referral will prevent things getting really bad for D should it be confirmed as Arthritis. Needless to say, I'm continuing with taking the GOPO supplements and I'll be giving another update on how I'm getting on in a few weeks time. 

Disclosure: I have sent a 12 week supply of GOPO to trial and review. 

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