GLUCOSAMINE ANYONE??

Stacy

Cathlete
Hi, I was wondering for those of you with knee issues, have you seen any significant results that you can attribute to glucosamine alone?? And, if so, how did it take to feel a difference??

Thanks,

Stacy
 
Hi Stacy,

I had been taking glucosamine chondroitin for months, because my knees usually plague me, and I was pain free, but then I stopped and the pain gradually started coming back, so now I am back on it again, but I also take calcium and cod liver oil with it.
I use to take just the cod liver oil and calcium, and it gave me a little relief, but since I heard about the glucosomine/chondroitin on this site, it has worked wonders for my knees, but you must give it a little time to start to work.

;-) luv hotchick
 
Hi I've read there is alot of different brands and doses. What and how much do you take? Is it pricey??

Thanks again,

Stacy
 
I use glucosamine for my knees and have seen improvement when taking it. I'm currently trying a liquid glucosamine product called Joint Juice. It comes in concentrated juice packets that you mix with water. Each packet contains 1500mg of glucosamine. I bought a 6 week supply (42 packets) for around $42 directly from the company - www.jointjuice.com.

Hope this helps.
 
I take it twice per day, 500 mg each pill. I was told that it needs to build up before it works. I took it about two months and then saw a difference. I was mid-recovery with an injury when I started so I cannot say for sure when it started. Try it and see if it works for you :)
 
I've been taking a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement for 10 weeks at the recommendation of my chiropractor (bad disks in my back). I've been told it takes about 3 months to notice a change. I can say my back certainly hasn't gotten worse and often feels better in the morning - I used to wake up with a stiff lower back 90% of the time. I have intermittent knee pain, depending on how much running I've been doing, and have had NO knee pain whatsoever since I started the supplement.

As far as price and dosages, I take the Vitamin Shoppe softgels (easier to swallow) - 500mg of glucosamine, 400 mg of chrondroitin; two pills, three times a day; after three months, I'll take two pills once a day. I pay $26 plus tax for my bottle of 240 pills (40-day supply)
 
I've been taking the Kirkland brand of Glucosamine/Chondrotin 500mg (available at Costco) for 4 months and have noticed that the pain I usually get in my knees after an intense stepping workout has pretty much diminished. For a while I had cut back to just 2 tabs a day, but I upped it to 3/day after noticing the knee pain slowly coming back. Three seems to be the most effective for me. I also have bad discs in my back, and I don't know if it's the Glucosamine, the added Flax seed oil I also take, or a combination of the two plus exercise, but my morning back stiffness has also improved.
 
An earlier poster used calcium and cod liver oil--what are those supposed to do for bad knees? Hadn't heard of that before. I've been taking calcium for 15 to 20 years and I still have a bad knees so I guess it doesn't work for me or maybe it delayed the problems I have had. My P.A. suggested MSM, and I've been taking that for a couple of months with glucosamine/chondroitin (taking that since January continuously). I don't know that any of it has helped me.

The thing that's helped the most was Synvisc (my doctor calls it WD-40 for the knee). My current health/drug insurance won't pay for Synvisc, but it will pay for hyalgin (spelling). It's supposed to be the same stuff except you need a series of 5 shots to the knee instead of 3 with Synvisc. I probably wouldn't have needed the series I'm undergoing now, but I had hammer toe surgery on my right foot and started favoring my bad left knee. It let me know right away that it wasn't happy about being favored, but the toes are healing and I shouldn't need to depend on my left side so much now.

You might ask your doctor about Synvisc. It's allowed me to maneuver close to normally, but it's horribly expensive if you have to pay for it out of pocket.
 
Sure glad you asked this question. I've been taking it myself for knee and back pain but it hasn't started working yet. It's only been about a month. I'll hang in there, now that I know it may take longer.

Thanks,

Shari
 
Glucosamine750mg & Chondroitin 600mg by BJ's 2 times per day are what I have been taking since April.

I had some knee pain which my chiropractor and Orthopaedic Surgeon called a wearing away of the cartilage under my knee cap. I wear a brace to do workouts, "iced" my knee when pain is great along with taking Naproxen.

When the pain was more intense, I stopped all high impact workouts and walked 4-5 miles at a 4.5 mile per hour pace for a cardio workout or rode stationary bike or swam.

Now, my knees feel great and I am doing all of Cathe's workouts again. I can't tell you that it was the Gluc/Chon alone. I'm more likely to believe that the combination of all these modifications helped.
 
Hi Stacy, I've been on glucosamine (1000 mg.) for about 3 years now. I also make sure to take as much calcium as I can from food and supplement that with a 1000 mg. tablet every night. My bones are genetically challenged. I have bad knees, scoliosis and osteoarthritis in my spine of all places. I used to be on Celebrex and Zanaflex (a muscle relaxant that stopped the involuntary spasms on my back caused by my bad spine) but I'm off those now. Weight training has definitely helped along with the otc supplements, so I can't say glucosamine alone has helped. As for my knees, I make sure to change my shoes every six months and keep my step low, only 6 inches at most, and 4 on days when my knees aren't feeling so hot. When I'm trying to learn one of Cathe's step routines, I take the step away and put that back in once I'm familiar with the footwork. I also stretch a lot during the day, and keep from slouching -- my physical therapist's advice. All these together have helped.

Pinky
 

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