Are you Taking GLUCOSAMINE? What are YOUR results?

florentinovillaro
florentinovillaro Posts: 342 Member
in Getting Started
I have recently added Glucosamine to my supplement regimen because I was recently diagnosed with Osteoarthritis on my right knee. I honestly feel better for the short time I have been taking it.

I would like to hear from members who have tried this and have you felt a difference?

Replies

  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    i take it, and yes I've felt a difference.
  • TAMayorga
    TAMayorga Posts: 341 Member
    I have taken glucosamine/chondroitin for years and can't live (pain-free) without it. I know some people say it doesn't work for them, and I have heard that it is only good for knees. There was a period of time where I didn't feel like I could afford it and my office was on the second floor. My knees were in agony. Glad those days are past me. Something else that's interesting; when I first started taking the supplement, the directions said that you had to give it at least a month to build up in your system and start working. Based on comments, that no longer seems to be the case.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I've been taking it for a little over a year now and yes, it has helped immensely with the knee pain I was having.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    I understand that the literature doesn't really support its use.
  • SbetaK
    SbetaK Posts: 398 Member
    I couldn't takae it! Tried every different brand and formulation and it upset my stomach and mede me spend most of my time in the bathroom. Probably a filler ingredient in the pills but don't know which one. Have heard it works well for some people.
  • Blokeypoo
    Blokeypoo Posts: 274 Member
    I'm a research nurse, I weighed up the odds and checked the recommended therapeutic dose (1500mg) and have been taking it for some years and would say I am better on it. I was taking it combined with 1200mg chondroitin but can't get it in a combined tab now.

    Some research here (UK) put people off but it was done in older people with advanced osteo arthritis and examined it's effect on pain - as I don't fall into the cohort I opted to not be swayed by the findings.

    Working in research you know to take some findings with a pinch of salt and also that another piece of contradictory work will follow and unless/even when you know how to critique it it can be mind boggling.

    Frankly people will still make choices regardless of research not because of it.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    I've been taking it for 3 years, and yes, there's a positive difference. I used to have difficulty especially going down stairs, and now I can just skip down them (I'm 59--by the way). I'm also alot better going up stairs than I used to be. A friend of mine who had her knees operated on and whose husband is a doctor told me to forget it, that glucosamine was worthless---and I'm so glad I didn't listen and tried for myself.
  • xTattooedDollx
    xTattooedDollx Posts: 426 Member
    I've been taking it for a few months now and I love it. It helps so much.
  • 93nan
    93nan Posts: 130
    Bump
  • nancyluckhurst3
    nancyluckhurst3 Posts: 122 Member
    Absolutely. My husband and I have been taking Osteo Bi-Flex for about 15 years and it makes a huge difference. My Rheumatologist also recommends it.
    I have recently added Glucosamine to my supplement regimen because I was recently diagnosed with Osteoarthritis on my right knee. I honestly feel better for the short time I have been taking it.

    I would like to hear from members who have tried this and have you felt a difference?
  • dmoppy
    dmoppy Posts: 45 Member
    My 79 year old father turned me on to it and swears by it. I take now as well (with MSM whatever that is) since I was having a little knee pain from running. I don't have the pain, but I don't run as much as I was so who knows but I'll keep taking it until some study shows otherwise or offers something better.
  • socomary
    socomary Posts: 52
    I was taking it because my knees were hurting. I stopped taking it because it did something to really lower my blood pressure, and I got pretty woozy, and I could really feel my heart working, particularly when I would drink a glass of wine or something. Turns out that it's one of the side effects (lowered blood pressure).

    Figured out that better (read FLAT, minimal heels) shoes/boots and losing weight helped my knees - I don't have pain there anymore, and I'm not arthritic.
  • bid1130
    bid1130 Posts: 56 Member
    I started drinking a bottle of Joint Juice about a month ago and I've noticed that it has made a difference in how my hips and knees feel.
  • tkotaka
    tkotaka Posts: 17
    I actually STOPPED taking it after years of use. My radiology doc (I was diagnosed w/breast cancer last summer) said there's no firm evidence that it actually works. Since its so expensive she suggested stop taking it and doing the same workouts and see if there's a difference. My knees are actually feeling better so I think I'll continue to not take it. My husband swears by it.

    I start my 3x/week workout with 2 trips up and down the stairs (8 floors) and running down the stairs I don't have the tweaky pain in my knees that I had when I was taking gluco/MSM. Go figure. I've had years of knee pain from an old ski injury and now its gone.

    That said, it's helped a lot of people (and dogs!).
  • fizzfizz
    fizzfizz Posts: 94 Member
    well can't tell my results as I went travelling for a few months shortly after buying some and didn't take it with me .. but my friend who's an orthopaedic surgeon recommended it (with chondroitin) and I'll definitely give it a long-term trial .. I've had 4 knee ops for torn cartilage and my osteopath also suggested omega 3 which I'll take too .. no harm in giving them a go!
  • KatrinaWilke
    KatrinaWilke Posts: 372 Member
    I have taken all sorts of supplements off and on for years now. I can not tell the difference between when I am taking them and when I am not. I have tried glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, fish oil, zyflamend, bioflex, you name it.....and honestly I have never been able to tell if my knee pain gets better. Losing weight is what helped the most!
  • JG762
    JG762 Posts: 571 Member
    Tag for future reading...
  • ScientificExplorerGirl
    ScientificExplorerGirl Posts: 535 Member
    I've been taking it for about a year or so--arthritis in my hip. Not sure if it has helped or not. Any effect has been confounded by my increased activity--especially biking. Riding my bike really seems to help alot. I should go off glucosamine, continue biking and monitor the impact.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    bump
  • TimElwis
    TimElwis Posts: 56
    Take it!!!! And cold liver oil. They both do wonders.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    great
  • Greytfish
    Greytfish Posts: 810
    If you're going to try glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM etc. make sure you get capsules, not caplets. Solid pill forms have almost no absorption.
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,213 Member
    http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/glucosamine-supplement-does-not-help-knee-pain-or-deterioration-1.2567070

    Glucosamine supplement does not help knee pain or deterioration
    No evidence popular supplement helps in osteoarthritis in knee
    CBC News Posted: Mar 11, 2014 5:00 AM ET Last Updated: Mar 11, 2014 5:00 AM ET


    The use of a glucosamine supplement orally does not help in decreasing knee pain or lessen cartilage deterioration among people with chronic knee pain, says a new study.

    The double-blind, placebo-controlled trial by researchers at the University of Arizona is published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

    Don't pay for joint supplements, insurers told
    Arthritis costs Canada $33B a year
    The researchers say its the first study to investigate whether a glucosamine supplement helps with knee pain, prevents the worsening of cartilage damage or improves bone marrow lesions – which are thought to be the source of pain in those with osteoarthritis.

    Osteoarthritis affects an estimated three million people, which amounts to roughly one in 10 Canadians, according to the Arthritis Society.

    Dr. C. Kent Kwoh enrolled 201 people with mild to moderate pain in one or both knees in his study. The participants, aged 35 to 65, were recruited from physician offices and the University of Pittsburgh Arthritis Registry.

    They were split into two groups:

    Those treated daily with 1500 mg of glucosamine hydrochloride in a 16-oz bottle of diet lemonade.
    Those treated with a placebo.
    During a 24-week period, the participants were followed up with phone calls every four weeks. At the end of that period, they all underwent an MRI to assess the cartilage damage in their knees.

    Researchers assessed both groups on four things:

    knee pain.
    degradation of cartilage.
    bone marrow lesions.
    the excretion of CTX-11 in urine.
    Researchers discovered that there was no difference in any of those characteristics between the group that took the glucosamine and the group that had the placebo.

    The urinary excretion of C-telopeptdes of type II collagen (CTX-11) is a predictor of cartilage destruction. Researchers found that there was no decrease in that either.

    “Our study found no evidence that drinking a glucosamine supplement reduced knee cartilage damage, relieved pain, or improved function in individuals with chronic knee pain,” concluded Dr. Kwoh in his study.

    The study was funded by The National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the Beverage Institute for Health & Wellness and The Coca-Cola Company, which provided the lemonade.

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