Glucosamine....Anybody else using it?

[jennyb]

I take Glucosamine and have done for a couple of years. I ran out over the Christmas period and found that I stiffened up very quickly. I have been taking fish oils for donkeys years but they have not done anything for me in recent years.

I have back and knee problems caused by 40 years of squash and tennis - who says exercise is good for you!

It was my chiropractor who recommended that I try glucosamine.

BTW CM, what effect does it have on blood sugar? My husband is diabetic and recently started to take my glucosamine.

Jenny

[KIDSTYPIKE]

Many thanks for all your answers. It would seem that it helps some but not others. I'll give it a try for a few moths and see if there is any difference. Thanks to everybody.
Dave

[beckiscott]

I've been taking it 18months now. 1x1000 a day.
It took 2 months to make a difference, but now if i don't take for a few days i know about it.
it doesn't solve my back, hip, shoulder and knee ache 24/7, but certainly makes it more manageable.
My one tip: get the really expensive stuff from holland and barrett when its on special offer. 120x 1000 tabs can be £9.99 when its on special, and works out way cheap! i find them easier to swallow (despite being bigger) and it doesn't matter as much if i miss a day!

[nightshade]

Originally Posted by KIDSTYPIKE

After my recent problems I have started to use glucosamine on a regular basis. After speaking to a local herbalist he advised that for the first month I should take 3 x 1000mg tablets per day to "build up levels", and then to drop the dosage to 1 x 1000mg per day.
I was wondering if anybody else was taking Glucosamine and what their thoughts on the dosage were.
I've only been taking them for a week or so, so it's too early to say if they are doing any good just yet.
Dave

I was recommended a similar regime and followed it to the letter,again my surgeons comment was that it "could do no harm "
I tend to stick with fish oils and folic acid, as my father suffers from
osteoporosis,with vitamin'C'+zinc when my workmates start coughing and
sneezing

[ron1863]

My mother takes it but she doesn't know if it is doing her any good but she also says that it isn't doing her any harm either.
She would only know if it was beneficial if she stopped taking it but is reluctant to do so.

[elleme]

I was thinking of taking glucosamine as I walk regularly and I want to start jogging. One of my knees which was injured in the past is a little creaky and I am nervous about making it worse if I jog. I wonder if glucosame would help it much as it seems it works for some and not for others. Sounds like fish oil could be helpful, I don't like the taste of oily fish so it doesn't tend to feature in my diet. Perhaps I should at least start taking that as a supplement in capsule form.

[pressld2]

Originally Posted by jennyb

I have back and knee problems caused by 40 years of squash and tennis - who says exercise is good for you!

My son's class are currently debating whether sport should be compulsory at school and I made a very similar point to him, only in relation to all the people I grew up with who played regular Sunday football, ended up having ops on their knee cartillage and now couldn't run for a bus to save their lives. I also pointed out that the only bone I have ever broken in my life I did playing football. His answer was that sport keeps you fit but not necessarily healthy!

As for glucosamine, I have no experience either way but I do everything I possibly can to avoid taking anything. Some of my elderly relatives are on cocktails of a dozen or so pills and potions per day but half of these are taken to counteract the side-effects of the other half. I don't want to go down that route until there's no other choice. I haven't even taken a paracetemol for over 30 years and am very upset that I now have to take daily omeprazole for heartburn.

Dave P.

[honeybee]

I take Glucosamine, Chondroitin and Omega 3,6,9, definitely helps with creaky joints.
Chondroitin is from shell fish I think.
Too much Omega 6 is bad for you if you have asthma.

The dog had to have these after a cruciate ligament snapped and it def helped the recovery.

[Wendy Bee]

I took Glucosamine for about 6 months last year to help with tennis elbow, bad shoulder and neck. I felt great and so did my bones. Anyway did an experiment and stopped taking it to see if there would be any change. My joints went down hill very rapidly. I can't think of anything else that would have affected the situation except the weather or time of year. I am back on it now and will never stop taking it I'm convinced that it helps my joints no end. By the way i take the liquid you only need one dose a day of that. I was always forgetting to take the tablets especially as you should eat first!

[m1.carson]

Hi,

My wife uses Glucosamine, perhaps I can save you all lots of cash, B&H charge nearly £10 for 30 X 1000mg tablets, Lidl charge Approx £1-50 for 30 X 600mg tabs.

Her honest opinion is, she's not sure if it helps, but she was instructed to take them by her doctor.

Max.