I have been a fisherman since I left school at 15. It’s in my blood! My first memory is of being out on the boat with my dad when I was about four. Fishing has been in the family for generations, but sadly, I am last in the line.

My sons didn’t want to follow in my footsteps; they’ve seen how hard work it is – early mornings, long days and when the weather is good, going out 7 days a week. The work has become tougher, and the pay has dropped. It’s a demanding job, but I love being out at sea; I couldn’t have imagined doing anything else. It’s hard on the body, with plenty of aches, but you get on with it. It’s only been the last few years that I started to suffer with painful hands. My sons reckon it’s because I have been exposed to the cold, wet weather for many years. But I think I could have suffered with this awful condition no matter what job I’d done. My wife passed away when she was only in her late 30s. Fishing has kept me sane, and my sons are my life.

Three years ago, I started to notice that my hands were becoming more painful and hauling in the nets was more of a struggle. My sons persuaded me to see a doctor, and I finally gave in to keep them quiet. My GP wanted to put me on anti-inflammatories. I tried them for a week, but they made no difference, and taking pills is not for me; they can have too many side effects, and I’ve managed all these years without them.

I knew I’d have to cut back on the fishing, but I needed another income, so I got a passenger licence so that I could take groups of people out for the day fishing. This way, I still get to go out to sea and keep my boat. It was on one of these trips that I got chatting to bloke who told me it was his first time out fishing in five years. He was clearly a keen fisherman so I asked him why has he put it off for so long. He told me until a few months ago, he wouldn’t have been able to hold the rod! He’d had arthritis in his hands for years, and it had got so bad that he had a poor grip and was in pain most days.

I started to worry as this could happen to me. I was intrigued about what had made such a difference for him to be out fishing now. He told me he used a gel on his hands every day. After a few weeks, he said it was ‘miraculous’ that he got full flexibility back and had almost no pain. I asked him to write down the name of the gel as I’ve got a terrible memory, and he wrote Advance 7. That evening I mentioned it to my son Tony. Four days later, he came over to see me with a few tubes of Advance 7! He always amazes me, he ordered by phone the very night I mentioned it. I’ve never been one for taking pills or using gels, but I knew I had to try something, I want to be able to pull in a line when I’m in my 80s, so I gave it a go.

I can’t believe how good it’s been; my hands feel like they did years ago. I’ve been using it for six months now, it’s been fantastic. I’ve got my strong grip back, and I can carry the weighty boxes of fish and haul in the nets as fast as ever. This gel is truly remarkable, now I can carry on doing what I love most: fishing! My grandson and granddaughter have started to take an interest in coming out on the boat with me; what more could I ask!

THE years of surgery have taken their toll! All the bending and stooping have left me with constant pain in my neck, shoulders, and lower back.

I've been in the privileged position of being able to improve the lives of others and I always felt it was important for my job to keep fit. I played squash regularly to let off steam and shake off the day’s events; I also jogged and went to the gym regularly.

When I retired 3 years ago, I was looking forward to an active life of leisure, long walks, playing more squash, and travelling with my wife, Pheobe.

Sadly, my retirement didn’t go as planned! Within weeks, I started to suffer with constant pain in my neck (which I was used to after performing surgery), but also in my shoulders, lower back and even my knees.

I think that after years of working at full steam, now that I had stopped, my body decided to scream out ‘help’.

Phoebe was not impressed with the timing of my body seizing up! She had been badgering me for years to retire and was looking forward to us spending more time together and travelling.

I wasn’t going to give up too easily and let these pains get me down, so I went with Phoebe to her pilates class. I don’t think it helped my pain very much, but we did have a laugh with me trying, unsuccessfully, to get into various pilates positions!

I was sharing the pilates experience with my squash buddy John over a pint, and he wanted to know why I’d given up playing squash. “My joints just can’t take it anymore. After every game, my knees would throb, my shoulders ache, and my neck was stiff; it’s just no good; I’m too old for it, and I’ve been getting aches in all my joints, even when I’m not playing.”

“Nonsense, you’re 10 years younger than me; you’ve still got plenty of life in you” he told me. John is 81, still really fit, and could beat guys 30 years younger than him!

“What's your secret John?” I asked.

He laughed, “I can tell you, but I’m not sure you'd try it as I know that you medical types are not interested in natural treatments!”

That was true; I am very much a medicine man, but who was I to argue with a super fit 81-year old who looked and moved like someone 25 years younger! He was still hitting the squash court every week and went on annual ski holidays. He was amazing for his age, so I was all ears.

“Advance 7 gel,” he told me.

“I’ve been using it daily for over 6 years; it’s marvellous. I can tell you that before I tried it, you wouldn't have recognised me, I was a hunched-over old man, and I struggled to walk, never mind running around a squash court! But after just a couple of weeks of using it daily, my joints were more supple and over the weeks, my flexibility improved. I felt much stronger and hardly ever suffer with aches and pains these days, but when I do, I just use more Advance 7”.

I’d only met John 5 years ago; it seemed unimaginable that he’d once struggled to walk. But I know the body can heal, even in old age. He said he’d pop around to my house the next day with the order line number.

True to his word, the next morning, he popped over with the number and a tube of the Advance 7 gel “try this, rub it in twice a day, every day. In return you have to promise me a game of squash in 2 weeks’ time.”

I promised him, but I thought he was highly optimistic! But I'd give it a go!

John wasn’t wrong; this gel really did the trick! It gave me some instant relief, and over the next few days I noticed more movement in my shoulders and the pains had eased off, particularly in my back and knees.

Two weeks later, I was on the squash court with John. He thrashed me as normal, but at least I could give him a game.

That was 6 months ago, and now, life is pretty good! I use the gel daily and have no more agonising pain. I wish I’d found this while I was still working. It works wonders on my neck and shoulders, but the big win has been suffering no more back pain. I would urge anyone to give it a go. If it works for two old codgers like John and I, it’s well worth a try. Phoebe is thrilled I am more active again, and she has now booked a walking holiday in the Pyrenees to celebrate my newfound, pain-free, good health.

A couple of years ago, she suffered from excruciating knee pain, so bad that she could hardly walk and getting up and down stairs was agonising.

Yet today, when she opened the front door and took me through to her living room, I was in no doubt that this woman was as fit as a fiddle and clearly had no knee problems.

I was eager to find out more about the ‘miracle’ that turned her life around! Mother of two, grandmother to six and great-grandmother to four, she told me what happened.

About two years ago, I started to get pains in my left knee. I am not one to feel sorry for myself, so I tried not to take any notice of it.

I am very active, always busy and on my feet most of the day. But as the weeks went by, the pain got worse and worse, to the point where I couldn’t ignore it any more.

It was painful to walk; I couldn’t bend my knee, and getting up and down stairs was awful. My husband, Laurel, persuaded me to go to the doctor, who sent me to have an MRI scan.

The MRI revealed that I had arthritis in my knee. The doctor said this was due to general wear and tear and probably due to wearing high heels when I worked at the Stock Exchange years ago.

The doctor prescribed me with anti-inflammatories and painkillers!

I can tell you that was the last thing I wanted to hear; I don’t like taking pills, never have done – I grew up on a farm, and we used to take natural remedies if we were ever poorly.

I decided there and then that I was not going to touch the pills. But there were days when the pain got so bad I was desperate to find some relief. I prayed that I wouldn’t have to use a walking stick.

That’s when I heard about Advance 7 gel. I read a newspaper article that said it contained all-natural ingredients and could help with arthritis.

I ordered a couple of tubes to try it out; the first few days, I rubbed it on but didn’t find much relief.

I then read the instructions that came with it – it said it should be massaged in directly at the point of pain for a good few minutes, twice a day. I did exactly what it said, every day, twice a day. Straight - away, I noticed the difference and was very pleased. I thought, don’t expect miracles in just a week, but it was!

And as the weeks went by, the results were amazing; the swelling dramatically reduced, and the pain disappeared. This gel works wonders; I can now get up and down stairs with no problem; the inflammation has completely gone, and I can do all the things that I love doing.

I am back exercising. I do lots of stretching, but now I can kneel on the floor, which I haven’t been able to do for years!

I love this product; I tell everyone about it; I sent some to my daughter in Canada, who suffers with back pain, she loves it too.

I’m always telling my friends to try it – if it works for me at 79, it will work for them too.

I tell them two things: there is no point just rubbing over the joint; that’s pointless; what you need to do, is massage it in so that it penetrates into the painful area.

The other thing I tell them is to persevere, make it part of your daily routine. I use it after I’ve had a shower in the morning, and at the end of the day when I have done everything I need to do, I put my feet up and do the massage.

Some people are looking for a quick fix and rely on taking pills, but what I say is persevere with this natural treatment, use it every day, twice a day, and it will work; don’t give up. I wouldn’t be without it.

Three months ago, I had to go to A&E as I was in so much pain with my back. That’s where I discovered a ‘miracle cure’ that has made my back pain disappear once and for all!

I was a postman before I retired, so I was always on my feet, but since then, I’ve not been as active and have put on a bit of weight. I started to get back pain about a year ago, just a few aches and pains when doing certain things. But after a few months it got so incredibly painful that even walking became almost impossible.

My wife Jenny was always on at me to go to the doctor, but in the end, I gave in. My GP checked my heart, my blood pressure and my weight. I was bracing myself for it... he said it was highly likely the pain was due to being overweight. He suggested I lose a couple of stones and gave me a prescription for painkillers. He said if that didn’t work to come back in three months. I felt pretty helpless.

I did try to, but losing weight seemed impossible when I could barely walk.

The pain got steadily worse; it was excruciating and life was pretty miserable. Then, one night, I struggled to get out of bed and didn’t make it to the toilet in time. I was mortified! That was the final straw for Jenny; she insisted we go to A&E as I needed immediate help.

I’d never been to A&E before, and it was absolute mayhem! After 3 hours of waiting, I finally got to see a nurse, then she sent me back to the waiting room. Another hour passed, and then I was called in for a blood test, and then I went back to the waiting room. Then, a couple of hours later, I was called to see a doctor, and you guessed it, back to the waiting room! It was like a round of ‘musical chairs.’

I was in agony and the hard seats didn’t help. Looking around, everyone else looked pretty miser able too, apart from a man in handcuffs escorted by two police officers. He was as high as a kite and grinning from ear to ear. I laughed with the guy sitting next to me and joked, “I’d love a bit of what he’s on! It might take my pain away”. That’s how I got talking to David, who was there with his wife, who’d fallen and banged her head. He was quite posh and very chatty. It turned out that he came to the hospital a lot as his wife was battling with breast cancer.

David asked what I was there for, and I told him about my back pain. My problem felt so insignificant compared to his wife. He asked all about my back pain, how long I had it and how often it was painful. I thought he was asking just to be polite; he was that sort of guy, or maybe he was just killing time. Let’s face it, we had plenty of that in A&E!

David then told me he used to have the same back problems, and I thought, here we go, he was going to launch into every ailment he’s ever had, like the lady I sat next to 5 hours ago! But he didn’t. Instead, he told me he no longer had any back issues at all. I asked if he’d had an operation, but he hadn’t, and that’s when he told me about a natural gel his physio at a private clinic had recommended. Before using the gel, he struggled to get up and down stairs, and was devastated that he had to give up tennis and golf. But now he was back playing sports again and had no more back pain. He used the gel religiously twice a day. I was all ears, and this sounded just what I needed. At that moment a doctor called in David’s wife so they got up, wished me good luck and before I knew it they were gone. I told Jenny what he said. “That’s amazing,” she said, “we’ll order some; it’s got to be worth a try, what’s it called?”

Then I realised, he hadn’t mentioned the name, I was so deflated. What an idiot that I’d not asked him what it was called! I was kicking myself.

After about another two hours, I was called in to see another doctor, who said he would arrange for an X-ray the following week, and he prescribed some strong anti-inflammatories.

We were sent off to another waiting room to wait for the prescription. It was such a draining day but I was glad that it would only be a few days until the X-ray, I was still gutted that I hadn’t asked for the name of that gel. David looked as fit as a fiddle and it was hard to believe that not long ago, he’d been struggling to walk.

I nodded off at that point and the next thing I heard was David’s voice saying, “Goodness me, you’re still here!” He sat down next to us and wanted to know how we got on. They were having to wait longer as his wife had to have a CT scan, I felt so sorry for them. By this stage, Jenny was nudging me, and before I got a chance, she asked him, “What’s the name of that gel you use for your back?” “Advance 7, sorry didn’t I mention it earlier” replied David. He reached into his pocket for his mobile and gave us the phone number. Then my name was called, and my prescription was ready, so we said our goodbyes. It was very late when we got home, but David said they had a 24-hour care-line so Jenny ordered three tubes. They had a great offer of a free tube and also gave us a 90-day risk-free trial offering a full refund if the gel didn’t work. How crazy is that? It was a no-brainer not to try it.

I couldn’t wait for it to arrive and used it the minute it came through the letter box. It has a pleasant tingly sensation and I now massage it into my lower back twice a day. And guess what? It really worked as well, as David said, and day by day, week by week, I feel more movement, more flexibility and less pain.

The X-ray showed that I had osteoarthritis in my lower back, and there wasn’t much they could do about it apart from keeping me on painkillers. Thankfully, thanks to David and Advance 7, I haven’t had to take a single painkiller or anti-inflammatory. The gel has completely cured my back pain.

If it wasn’t for my mammoth 11-hour wait in A&E, I would have never met David, but I’m so thankful our paths crossed, it has truly made a world of difference to me. Jenny believes it was fate but whatever it is, Advance 7 is truly remarkable. Jenny uses it on her knees now, which no longer gives her problems. I only hope David and his wife are well.