Who are we?, page-3

I'm one of the lab rats.

I'm sorta retired - I keep busy investing the proceeds of one divorce and one retrenchment package, plus my SMSF.

Most recently I spent nearly 20 years as a software developer in the investments division of a large insurance company in Sydney; before that I was a Forex options dealer and market maker for two of the big banks here and prior to that in the UK (I emigrated in 1988)

I am afflicted with OA (it runs in the family - Dad has two artificial knees) - I had my left ankle fused in 2013, and both my knees are grade 4 OA. Over the years I tried various remedies - no opoids (Although I took Endone after the ankle fusion for about a month), but plenty of NSAIDs (Celebrex originally and then Voltaren because it works better)

I first found out about PAR a couple of years ago, from memory from a tipsheet from The M*tl*y F**l. At the time the shares were around 34c, and obviously having a personal interest I piled in.

Late last year I was fortunate enough to be accepted on the SAS and had my course of treatment between August and November last year. The difference is night and day - before, I could walk about 200m before my knee would start to lock up and spasm and the pain was intense not only in the knee but also up and down the rest of my leg and my lower back. It was a generalised 'whole of knee' pain. It was inconvenient, to say the least.

Around week 4 of the treatment, all the received pain and the 'whole of knee' pain and the spasms and lock ups just stopped. What I was left with (and have to this day) is one specific pain, which isn't too intense, and is focussed at the exact point in my medial compartment where I know it is bone on bone. I can exercise (a mixture of yoga, walking and the rowing machine) and while I feel the knee it doesn't impair my performance or enthusiasm.

I haven't had an MRI to confirm this but I am convinced that our magic juice has shrunk the BMELs, as promised. My knee will never be perfect, unless we can find a way to regrow cartilage, but the difference is staggering.