It takes a long time (longer than a month) to get rid of the side effects. If I would go back on it my osteoporosis would be worse and I would need to take something other than the calcium I currently take, I "progressed" from osteopenia to osteoporosis. I would say it was three months before I got rid of the joint pain. I got the "score" after my surgery, it was used to determine my future treatment, PET scan followed. I will ask about the saliva vs blood test for hormone levels. Good luck to you as well.