Stiff, creaky joints?

Getting old sucks! I have occasional joint pain. I don’t really take anything. I walk and that helps. Also, cutting down salt helps and keeping hydrated.

I think you are a little young for this. What is your family history? Any arthritis at a young age?

I'm almost 65 and do not have achy joints. I do take Kirkland Signature Glucosamine HCI 1500 mg with MSM 1500 mg on a regular basis. I am over weight, so I figured I would have some joint issues, but so far, I'm good in that area and want to think some of it is the glucosamine. However, I do have the inflammation issue and I contribute that to being overweight and diet. I'll set out to eat better and before you know it, we've ordered a pizza, (high sodium and processed meats), and I've eaten chocolate caramels (sugar). I think sugar and sodium are the worst culprits for inflammation. Oh, I'm not one that believes every fad out there, but I truly believe wheat is another huge item that causes inflammation/bloating. There are inflammation diets out there and I have thought about looking into those, but if I just watch the sodium, get rid of sugar and wheat, I do well, so figure I don't need another diet to try and follow and fail at.

My joints are achy and stiff... my hips are the worst. I have found when I do yoga and exercise that they feel much better. Not pain-free, but better.

I’m 45.

Perhaps have some blood work to see if you are low on some vitamins

Try something like Whole30 and see if you notice a difference in your aches and pains. Thirty days isn't that big of a commitment.

For me, there is no question sugar and simple carbs increase inflammation and joint pain.

I get stiff joints when I am not getting enough sleep. When I first brought up arthritis with my doctor she told me she thought it more likely the sleep. I didn't believe her, but I took extra care to get enough sleep to prove her wrong so she would look further into it, but after about 3 days of good sleep it was gone!

Now when I start to feel it again I look at my sleep and every time I find I was missing sleep again.

Arthritis can be osteoarthritis, which is age or damage induced, or autoimmune. There are more than 100 types of arthritis. I have a juvenile form of autoimmune arthritis. Onset of autoimmune arthritis can happen at any age.
I recommend seeing your doctor for an exam and blood work.

I am incredibly stiff and sore when I get up at night and in morning. I basically hobble around.

I thought it was because I am running a lot but maybe I am just getting old?? During the day for the most part I am fine.

Oh, I forgot to mention... My joints feel better when I don’t eat dairy. Sucks. But, the improvement is enough that it’s worth it. I’m not perfect at avoiding it, but always feel better when I do.

For me as well.

Even watching my diet though, I’m still stiff and sore most of the time. I exercise regularly and stretch well. When I’m really moving and everything is warmed up, like at work, is when I have the least amount of pain. But I can sit for 20 minutes after that and have a very hard time getting up again. I walked a total of ten miles during my ten-hour shift yesterday, and could barely make it out of the car when I arrived home. It’s usually that way.

I’ve never been a Tylenol fan but I have found that their timed-release, eight-hour arthritis formula really helps when the pain is bad and nothing else works. I try not to take it too often but it’s been a champ at getting me through some rough work shifts and nights sleeping.

My GP said it happens to her (she’s a year older) and to suck it up nicely. Getting old sucks. My weight is not good, I don’t exercise enough, I try to eat healthy foods with 2/7 meals a seafood item sometimes more. I make plenty of vegetables every night but I also snack poorly.

I'm 60 and don't have pain or stiffness in my joints or muscles. I credit my diet. No animal products what so ever. No meat or diary. Both cause inflammation in the body along with a huge host of other problems. Despite what the dairy council has been telling us for years, milk or dairy products are not good for us. In fact the countries that have the lowest dairy consumption have the fewest cases of osteoporosis. And the countries with the largest dairy consumption have the most. While that in itself isn't enough to prove anything there have been years of studies that prove this. There are various books about this subject. 

I don't believe it's "normal" to have this type of pain in middle age nor should we have to "suck it up nicely".  You have a choice. Try changing your diet (you can do it a little at a time and see what happens) or fix it with pills and surgery. It's your body, it's your choice. I'm just sharing what worked for me. 

The biggest problem for Americans I believe is figuring out "what is healthy"?  Because of our sometimes corrupt government that gives subsidies to the wheat, diary and meat industries that "healthy plate" or "food pyramid" is not accurate to what's truly healthy. Factor in Big Pharma who makes a ton of money from high blood pressure meds, high cholesterol meds, diabetes 2 medication and so on, and you can see that these people don't want folks to get better-not when they can keep racking in the money on obese patients. 

So who can you believe as to the question, what is truly a healthy diet?  I went with my intelligence and gut 6 years ago when I watched the documentary "Forks Over Knives". I decided to try it for 30 days and see how I felt. I felt so good I decided to keep going. It's not a vegan diet, because you can be a junk food vegan (Oreo's are vegan). It's a whole foods, plant based diet. 6 years later I'm within 8 pounds of my goal weight-it was 125. It goes up and down. I blame those 8 pounds on my medical cannabis that I use for my chronic migraines-some of it causes the munchies that are too strong to ignore. But-my major point is that it worked. I did lose 60 pounds and have kept it off for 6 years. How many diets can say that? I'll tell you what-I've tried several over and over through the years and this is the first one that worked and that I've been able to sustain-kept the weight off. But more important-it bettered my health. 

My cholesterol went down without medication-from 220 to 165! My asthma completely disappeared. My blood pressure was always low so that didn't change. 

I very much believe this type of eating is the best diet for our health. And it is growing. More and more hospitals are now adding this diet to their menus for recovering patients. I not only read about, I've talked to a hospital person who is charge of this who works at John Hopkins in Baltimore-we met in Whole Foods and started talking. 

For those who might be interested in trying this check out "Forks Over Knives" on Netflix (it should still be on there) and then the book called "The Forks Over Knives Plan" will take you step by step through the first 30 days as you transition either cold turkey (that's how I did it) or slowly (week by week). The website forksoverknives.com has a lot of helpful info too. 

I wish all of us better health as we enter middle age and beyond. I don't know about you but at 60 I still feel I have a lot of years left and have a lot of plans for those years. I still haven't given up my dream of sailing across many oceans, and I have to be as healthy as I can be to accomplish that. 

Could plantar fasciitis be what is causing your foot pain? Does it hurt more in the morning but feel better once you are moving about? Is the pain down in or near your heel? I find keeping my calves good and stretched helps with plantar fasciitis pain.