As long as I keep my ferritin at 20-40 my joints feel fine.

I have not had serious joint pain, I may just be lucky, however I feel the fact I've taken fish oil (omega 3) supplement as well as glucosamine & chondroitin for years (since I had knee issues due to wear & tear of sport, they used to swell up if I stood up for more than an hour or two, in my 20's!!) has played a big part in repairing my knees and now keeping me free of pain despite HH.

Omega oils (3,6,9, BTW we get plenty of 6&9 in western diet, in fact too much of 6, which can cause inflammation!) have anti-inflammatory effects, there are many other natural anti-inflammatories. Glucosamine & chondroitin help build the joints back, but it takes time. Different studies have shown varying degrees of effectiveness with arthritic patients, however I'm sure it's had a positive effect for me, but you will need to take it long term i.e. years to see full benefits, my knees didn't . Also some studies suggest about 50% of HH's have a different mechanism (crystal-induced arthritis) causing "our" arthritis so maybe the above supplements will be more effective for them than the studies on arthritic patients suggests.

Eating too much highly processed foods have been linked to inflammation (that;s why we typically get too much of omega 6, and not enough of other nutrients with anti-inflammatory effects) etc.

Sounds like you will probably need to take some pain killers to begin with but long term you may be able to stop taking them once you find what supplements work for you (and your iron levels reduce). . . . but give them all plenty of time to take effect.

Most docs will not give you serious pain meds unless you have a severe problem ,if they do ,do not be like me ,get another opinion ,I need a neck surgery which I have now learned was not associated to my joint pain and numbing in my hands due to the hh or the high blood pressure that I had all my life which was associated directly to hh .First I blamed my issues on age ,then the hh and now the most severe with the numbing in my hands which started with joint swelling is not related to the hh at all .Docs even sent me to a pain clinic for a year ,another story in its self .
It was the individuals in this group that requested that I be tested for LYMES that opened up a whole new chapter in my medical file not related to hh but so twin related in symtoms .I have learned that if you are still severe fatigued after being de-ironed for a year that there is more happening that is non hh related especially over the age of 50 .I am a serious firm beleiver in second and third and fouth opinions now more so than ever before ,thank goodness I have good healthcare coverage at least until october .

Many people swear by glucosamine & chondroitin/sulphate, although it didn't help me, alas. I give it to my cat though! He's 16 and has arthritis in his back legs. Seems to help, he's a lot less grumpy since I started giving it to him about a year ago :-)

Not that i noticed, the most of all is fatigue after phlebotomy.
Pain is always and every where the whole day long. Could be from the Hemo or Diabetes they don''t know..and there is a small cause of Lyme, but they can't tell definitely.

So I wake up and go to bed, go on with pain and fatigue every day.
It's depressing me but what can I do ?? I don't use painkillers... and don't want to..(Everyday using painkiller is awful bad for your liver..)

Gr,

Martin

Hey, martin, I see you're in the Netherlands. Where? I'm in Amsterdam. I'm curious to know your experiences re diagnosis and treatment under our marvellous ziekenfonds :)

Oh, and Martin - I, too, have pain 24/7 everywhere. And awful fatigue. Have you been checked out for fibromyalgia?

Hey Andrea,

yeah living in the Netherlands (that means in the middle) Ede.
About the treatments I have not to complain at all, everything is be paid until now they don't know everything if you ask but I'm satisfied...

A few years ago did a second opinion in Nijmegen, because to know of the treatment here in the hospital is right.. and it is so no problem.. they only discovered in Nijmegen that I'm a diabetic too...
(Oh man what a fun pffff)

They never tested me at fibro, the most pain is about muscle and joints, and of course the fatigue is killing me everyday...

Gr,

Martin

I was reading about Cherries. I brought some supplements for that. I think eating more alkaline diet might help too. I have hit maintanence and my joints bother me lately.