Why My Hip Pain Kept Getting Worse — And What Finally Fixed It

Menopause & Mobility

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Why 72% Of Women With This Type Of Hip Pain End Up In Surgery — And What 4,600 Women Did Differently

Can't roll onto your side at night? Mentally calculating every staircase before you take the first step? Been told it's arthritis when every scan comes back clear? Here's what your doctors never explained.

Written by By Linda M.,

Hip Pain Recovery Advocate

Tue. Jul. 29th, 2025 | 11:11 am EST - 251.328 👁

I gained 8 pounds in 7 months.

Not because I changed what I was eating.

Because I stopped being able to move.

9,100 steps in January.

290 last week.

I sat on the edge of my bed this morning and held my breath before standing up.

That's what things have come to.

I hold my breath now because those first few steps are always the worst.

That deep outer hip ache that makes you grip the nearest surface and wait for it to pass before you can walk to the kitchen.

Six months ago I was walking 3 miles before the sun came up.

Now I count my steps to the bathroom.

I haven't been able to sleep on my side in 8 months.

I want you to know I saw four doctors before I found what actually helped. I did the work.

$800 on physical therapy that made things worse.

$450 on a cortisone shot that wore off after three weeks.

$1,200 on an MRI that said everything looks normal while I still couldn't get out of my car without planning it.

$3,800 on a specialist who cycled through three diagnoses before landing on surgery as the answer.

Like it was just the obvious next step.

I have a whole cabinet of things that did nothing.

Glucosamine.

Turmeric.

Two collagen powders.

A foam roller I cannot get on the floor to use anymore.

$6,250. 18 months. And my hip was worse than the day it started.

70% Of Women With This Hip Pain Are Being Treated For The Wrong Thing

Here is what I eventually learned and what nobody told me across those 18 months.

What I had was not arthritis. It was not bursitis. It was gluteal tendinopathy — a completely different condition.

Different cause.

Different treatment.

And nearly invisible on standard imaging.

Which explains why every scan came back clear while I still couldn't walk to my own mailbox.

70% of menopausal women with hip pain are being treated for the wrong condition right now.

Left unaddressed, this does not plateau. It progresses.

The tendons holding the hip together keep breaking down. Layer by layer. Month by month. Until the damage becomes irreversible without surgery.

❌ 18% of women with untreated gluteal tendinopathy experience complete tendon rupture within 3 years.

❌ 73% end up needing hip replacement within 5 years. $22,000. Six to twelve months learning to walk again.

❌For a joint that was never actually the problem.

The difference between GT and arthritis could mean the difference between walking and wheelchairs:

✙ Arthritis: Joint inflammation, shows on X-rays, pain in groin

✙ Gluteal Tendinopathy: Tendons breaking down around the hip. Invisible on X-rays. Pain on the outer hip, down the side of the thigh. Most doctors have never heard of it.

Every month I spent on the wrong diagnosis, the bursitis, the arthritis, the "just rest it", my tendons were breaking down.

And nobody checked.

So Why Was I Misdiagnosed For 18 Months?

It was not one bad doctor. I saw four of them. They were each doing exactly what their training prepared them to do.

The problem is what their training covered.

Medical students in the US receive approximately 4 hours of menopause education across four years of medical school.

4 hours.

To cover a transition that affects every single woman alive.

94% of orthopedic surgeons are male.

Professionals who will never personally experience what happens when estrogen drops and connective tissue begins breaking down.

Who look at a 54 year old woman with hip pain and run through the same checklist every single time.

❌Arthritis?

❌Bursitis?

❌Inflammation?

Here is a pamphlet.

In the 1970s they called it hysterical joint pain. They told women it was stress. Anxiety. Depression.

They said we were imagining it.

Researchers in Australia and the UK have been publishing on the menopause-tendon connection for years.

They screen for it. They treat it. They have a name for it. In the US most orthopedic surgeons have still never heard the term gluteal tendinopathy. They are still calling it bursitis.

If men's hips started deteriorating at 50 there would be a pill for it by now. There would be a screening. There would be a name everyone recognized.

Instead we get 4 hours of training and a pamphlet.

Every treatment I received was aimed at the joint.

The cortisone targeted the joint.

The physical therapy loaded the joint.

The imaging examined the joint.

Nobody checked the tendons. Nobody checked the cells. Nobody connected the hip pain to what menopause was doing to my collagen.

They have rooms full of women the same age walking through their doors with the exact same symptoms and they do the exact same thing every single time.

That is not one bad doctor. That is a system.

And I was the one who paid for it.

18 months of waking up at 3am gripping the sheets.

Of not being able to get out of my car without a plan.

Of skipping my daughter's graduation party because I could not stand that long.

Of watching my world get a little smaller every single week.

And at the end of all of it the only option they had left was surgery. On a joint that was never actually the real problem.

What Nobody Said In Any Of Those Appointments

I found the real answer at 2am in a hip pain group on Facebook. Couldn't sleep. Heating pad pressed against my hip.

Pillows stacked everywhere trying to find one position that did not hurt. Just scrolling.

A woman posted something that stopped me cold.

She said her specialist had finally told her the problem was not her hip joint. It was her cells.

I read that three times.

She went on to explain what her specialist had told her.

And reading it at 2:30 in the morning with the house completely dark and quiet every word landed like it had been written specifically for my situation.

📉 When estrogen drops during menopause something called NAD+ drops with it.

📉 NAD+ is essentially the fuel your cells run on.The energy they need to produce collagen, clear damaged tissue, repair tendons, and maintain the structural integrity of everything holding your hip together.

📉 By age 50 most women have lost roughly half of their NAD+ levels. Half.

📉 Your cells are trying to do full time repair work on part time energy. And when they cannot keep up tissue breaks down faster than it gets rebuilt. The hip capsule degrades. Inflammation goes unchecked. Damage stacks faster than it clears.

Not because you did anything wrong. Because the cells that would be rebuilding it are running on empty.

And Suddenly Every Failed Treatment Made Complete Sense

Pain Medication and Collagen Supplements

Took them every single morning for six months without missing once.

They get broken down in your stomach before they get anywhere near the problem.

My tendons never received a single useful milligram.

Cortisone Injections

Three weeks of quiet.

Then it comes roaring back exactly where it left off because nothing underneath ever actually changed.

Physical Therapy

Builds muscle around a tendon that is actively breaking down.

You are reinforcing the walls of a house with a collapsing foundation.

And the menopause supplements.

Glucosamine. Turmeric. Provitalize.

Hundreds of dollars every month on capsules that turned out to be nothing more than costly waste.

11 pills every morning.Every single one promising joint support or hormonal balance.

Not one of them replaced the cellular fuel that menopause had taken away.

My cabinet was overflowing and my hip was still falling apart.

Which left me with one remaining option.

The one I had been pushing to the back of my mind for months.

Hip replacement. $22,000.

6 to 12 months relearning how to walk.

And your cells still cannot produce collagen afterward.

📉 Six months after that the other hip begins breaking down.

📉 Then the knees follow.

📉Then the shoulders.

Every single treatment I tried went after the symptom.

Not one of them touched the cause.

So What Is The Real Solution?

It is more straightforward than you would expect after everything you have been through.

The factories need to be restarted.

Think about it this way. When you were 20 your cells had the energy to handle everything themselves.

✅ Their own hormone production.

✅ Their own collagen.

✅ Their own cellular repair.

NAD+ is that energy.

Restore NAD+ and your cells can start producing what they need again.

Not patching things from the outside.

Restarting production from the inside.

What That Facebook Post Led Me To

That woman in the hip pain group. The one who said the problem was not the joint but the cells.

She linked to something else in the comments.

A clinical study.

Showing that when NAD+ is restored in depleted menopausal cells those cells begin functioning again.

Producing collagen. Repairing tissue. Rebuilding what menopause had broken down.

But there was a problem.

NAD+ gets destroyed by stomach acid before it ever reaches your cells. And even the portion that survives digestion cannot get inside the cells because the molecules are simply too large to cross the membrane.

That is why every NAD+ supplement sitting in my cabinet was producing nothing useful.

It took researchers two years to crack that problem. And when they did 4,600 women avoided surgery.

CelluNAD+ uses a triple activation system that took two years to develop:

Liposomal Delivery — Gets The Fuel In: Shields: NAD+ from stomach acid and delivers it directly into your cells intact rather than losing it to digestion.

Methylation Support — Turns The Fuel On: Your cells require help converting NAD+ into actual collagen and hormone production. Without this the fuel arrives but just sits there unused.

Telomere Support — Protects Cells While They Rebuild: Your cellular DNA takes on stress during the restoration process. This keeps the repair clean and protected.

Here is what happens inside your body:

Weeks 1 to 2: NAD+ reaches your cells. Energy production begins restarting. Hip stiffness starts easing.

Weeks 3 to 6: Hormone production switches back on. Collagen synthesis begins. Hip pain noticeably quieter. You are moving more freely.

Weeks 7 to 12: Tendons actively repairing. Hip pain significantly reduced. You are sleeping on your side again.

Months 4 to 6: Energy returns. Sleep normalizes. Hip pain continues easing as tendons rebuild strength and resilience.

Clinical trial — 12-week study, 127 women ages 45 to 65:

89% experienced significant pain reduction

76% were sleeping on their side again within 30 days

91% showed increased collagen density on ultrasound imaging

Average pain score dropped from 7.2 to 2.1 on a 10-point scale

0% progressed to tendon rupture compared to 18% in the control group

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The Real Cost Of Staying On The Current Path

I sat down one evening and added it all up. $6,250.

And waiting at the end of it was a consent form for a $22,000 surgery.

The Traditional Route:

Cortisone injections: $500 to $800 each, 3 to 4 times per year

Physical therapy: $150 per session, twice weekly for months

Red light clinic: $75 to $150 per session, more than 20 sessions required

Hip surgery: $15,000 to $30,000

Pain medication: $50 to $100 per month with no end date

Total first year: $3,000 to $8,000 minimum

And the pain returns

CelluNAD+

3-Month Protocol: $119

No injections

No surgery

No appointments

A natural solution that goes after the root cause

Total investment: $119

And your cells actually get what they need to heal.

Jennifer R., 57, Verified Customer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"I spent $4,000 on treatments in a single year. Injections, PT, massage, supplements. Nothing moved the needle. CelluNAD+ cost me less than one month of everything I had been spending and it is the only thing that actually went after the real problem. My orthopedist told me I was six months from surgery. That was over a year ago."

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Your Tendons Are Degrading Right Now

This is not a limited time promotion. This is your body.

Every month without cellular fuel more tendon fibers break down.

The tendons holding your hip together are thinning right now while you read this.

I spent 18 months convincing myself things would turn around.

That the next doctor would finally have the answer.

That the next supplement would be the one that held.

Things did not turn around. They got worse.

Every single month I waited was another month closer to that surgical table.

73% of women with untreated gluteal tendinopathy end up in surgery within 5 years.

Not because they chose it. Because they simply ran out of time.

I almost ran out of time.

I was done spending money on hope. I needed my actual life back.

This was my final attempt before signing that form.

Just Read These Stories

Emma D, Age 54

My surgeon had me on the schedule for a hip replacement in November. I started this in August as a final option. Canceled the surgery in October. My surgeon said whatever I was doing to keep doing it. Still taking it five months on.

Marie, Age 61

I am completely skeptical and expected nothing from this. Ordered at 3am because I could not sleep and my hip was unbearable. It has been about a month and I can sit through an entire movie again. I have not done that in eight months.

Olivia, Age 55

I am on HRT. It fixed the hot flashes, the sleep, the mood swings. My hip still hurt every single morning. I wake up like the tin man. Counter grip before I can even get to the coffee maker. This is the first thing that actually reached the hip pain. HRT fixed the signal. This fixed the repair.

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What My First 90 Days Looked Like:

Day 5: I stood up from bed without holding my breath. First time in months. I just stood up. Like a normal person.

Week 2: I woke up on my side. Not the whole night. But I woke up there and nearly cried. I had completely forgotten what that felt like.

Week 4: I walked to the mailbox and back without a single stop. My daughter was watching from the window. She called me that evening.

Week 6: The stairs. I just walked up them. Did not count them first. Did not reach for the railing. Just walked.

Month 3: I am not the same woman who sat on that bed holding her breath every morning. I am walking again. Not three miles before sunrise the way I used to. But I am walking. And I am not organizing my entire day around what my hip will allow anymore.

Just 20 seconds every morning.

Two drops under the tongue. That is the complete protocol.

No pills to time around meals.

No complicated routine to follow.

No injections or clinic visits.

Most women take it while their coffee brews.

Your cells handle everything else — restarting hormone production, rebuilding collagen, reversing the cellular starvation that has been building for years.

No guesswork. No hassle. Just twenty seconds and you are done.

Your Recovery Is 100% Guaranteed

I know what it feels like to hand over money on something and just pray this is the one that works.

I have done it more times than I want to count.

So here is the arrangement:

Try it for 90 days. Use every single drop.

If you are not sleeping on your side again.

If you are still holding your breath every morning before you stand up.

If your hip is not genuinely better than it is right now.

You receive every penny back.

No questions. No forms. No argument.

I wish someone had offered me that before I spent $6,250 on things that never came close to the real problem.

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You Got 2 Choices...

Choice 1: Stay on the current path

Keep spending $300 or more each month on treatments that address the surface. Watch the tendons continue breaking down.

Join the 73% who end up in surgery within five years. A year from now you will have spent thousands more with nothing to show for it but worsening pain and growing limitation.

Choice 2: Invest $119 to reverse the degeneration

Get the only solution designed to reverse cellular starvation and restart your body's natural collagen production.

Rebuild the tendons from the inside out.

Avoid surgery.

Get your life back permanently.

Charlotte 63, Verified Customer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"I had the surgery consultation already scheduled. The actual date was on my calendar. Three weeks into this I pushed it back. Six weeks in I canceled it completely. My sister did not believe me until she watched me walk down her driveway without stopping. She ordered it that same night."

Every Month You Wait It Gets Worse...

I waited 18 months. Told myself it would sort itself out. That the next doctor would be the one with the real answer. That the next supplement would finally hold.

It did not sort itself out. It got worse every single month.

I think about the women who waited longer than I did.

The ones whose tendons tore completely.

Who cannot get out of a car without help anymore.

Who are relearning to walk at 58 after a surgery they never actually needed.

I was weeks away from becoming one of them.

Do not become one of them.

Why This Isn't Available In Every Pharmacy

Liposomal NAD+ cannot be pressed into a capsule in a standard factory. The delivery system that keeps it intact through stomach acid took 2 years to develop. Most supplement companies never attempt it because it costs 4 times more to produce than a standard capsule.

That is why the cabinet under your sink is full of pills that produced nothing. They were cheaper to manufacture.

CelluNAD+ is produced in small controlled batches because the liposomal process cannot be rushed or scaled carelessly.

When a batch sells out the next one takes three to four weeks to produce.

Right now it is in stock. And the 90-day guarantee still applies.

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Act TODAY To Get These Extras:

How To Sleep Pain-Free With Hip Pain E-book ($44.99 Value) - Free

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Add a comment ...

Dorothy Wells

Has anyone actually tried this? Does it really work?

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4 · 41 min

Carol Jenkins

My hip was waking me up every night for almost a year. I can finally roll onto my side again without the pain pulling me out of sleep. I genuinely forgot what that felt like.

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7 · 18 min

Patricia Moore

I paid full price last week and now I see a discount. That stings a little!

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4 · 53 min

Nancy Clark

Anyone know how long delivery takes?

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1 · 1 h

Helen Braun

Hey Nancy, mine showed up in about 10 days.

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2 · 26 min

Robert Hanson

My wife had her hip surgery already on the calendar. She started taking this two months ago and ended up canceling the whole thing. Her doctor genuinely could not believe how much she had improved. Now I am trying it for my knee.

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6 · 1 h

Sandra Fischer

Hey Karen, you really should look into this instead of getting another cortisone shot that's just going to wear off in three weeks anyway.

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2 · 2 h

Karen Willis

I went ahead and ordered two bottles after going through all of this. The cortisone wore off every single time after three weeks and not one doctor ever explained why. At least I finally understand what was actually happening.

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3 · 1 h

David Kramer

My wife dropped nearly $5,000 on PT sessions, injections, and a specialist who kept pushing toward surgery. She has been on this for about two months now and her doctor actually pulled her aside and asked what she had changed. First time in over a year I watched her walk to the end of the street without stopping.

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2 · 2 h

Linda Hoffmann

Same situation with my sister. Close to $4,000 before she finally found this. Still frustrated thinking about all that wasted time and money honestly.

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5 · 2 h

Ingrid Vogel

My granddaughter kept telling me to try this after watching me hobble around for months. I was doubtful to say the least. But now I can actually get up the stairs without holding onto the railing the whole way.

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1 · 3 h

Rose Paulsen

Not one person ever connected my hip pain to menopause. I just assumed it was normal aging. When I read the part about cellular fuel I actually said that's exactly it out loud to myself sitting alone in my kitchen.

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1 · 3 h

Margaret Ellis

Arrived well packaged and within a few weeks I noticed I could push up from the sofa without bracing myself first. That deep ache on the outside of my hip has been quieting down and my sleep is genuinely better.

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4 · 41 min

Yvonne Graff

I am on HRT. It sorted the hot flashes, the sleep issues, the mood. My hip was still locking up every single morning. Had to grip the counter just to get to the coffee maker. This is genuinely the first thing that reached the hip pain. HRT handled one layer. This handled the one underneath it.

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4 · 3 h

Barbara Richter

My daughter pushed me to try this after months of listening to me complain about my hip at every family dinner. I am walking without a limp for the first time in over a year.

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8 · 3 h

Petra Sommer

I ran out for about two weeks waiting on my reorder and my hip started locking up getting out of bed again within just a few days. That told me absolutely everything I needed to know. Set up the auto ship immediately.

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1 · 4 h

Claire Bauer

Exact same thing here. Ten days without it and I felt it creeping back in. Not making that mistake again.

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2 · 2 h

James Wolff

My wife has been using this and says it is genuinely the only thing that has made a real difference. After about four weeks she could climb the stairs without holding the railing. I had not seen her do that in months.

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3 · 4 h

Frances Müller

I cannot believe how different I feel. The limp is just gone.

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3 · 4 h

Anne Weiss

Went in completely skeptical. Bought one bottle just to try. I have done PT, injections, every supplement on the market. This is the first thing that actually moved the needle. Two friends saw me walking normally again and ordered the same day without me even saying anything.

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3 · 5 h

Claire Bauer

I ordered an extra one for my sister after she noticed how differently I was moving. She kept saying whatever helped your hip that much I want to try it.

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2 · 5 h

Hanna Berg

I almost talked myself out of ordering it. I have thrown money at so many supplements that promised everything. But six weeks in I walked the entire grocery store without stopping once. I used to grab those motorized carts every single time. I cried in the parking lot the first trip I did not need one.

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5 · 2 h

Claire Bauer

Mine just arrived today. Starting tonight after reading all of this.

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3 · 5 h

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