Glucosamine recommendations

[cherinyc]

Hello all - I am thinking of starting on a daily dose of the stuff. I have had 3 knee operations, herniated disks and a fractured vertebrae. I am fine mostly, but being an ex-gymnast ahs definitely taken a toll on me. And I am only 31.
So - I have heard that some people swear by this stuff - the Glucosamine, and the other is Chondroitan? I think?
When looking in the store, the selection was overwhelming - so I chose nothing - and figured I would check with my Advisory Board first (aka - the ladies on the TE forum);)
Any brands, combos, side effects, successes, misfortunes.....I should know about?
thanks!
cheri

[Kathi]

Can't help you with the regular Glucosamine because I'm allergic to shellfish. I take a vegetarian formula, Glucosamine and MSM. It's made by a company called "NOW" and available in health food stores.

[caligurl]

i just buy the big bottle of glucosamine and chondroitin they have at sam's club... the one a day version!

i've tried a couple different brands plus i've tried glucosamine with MSM... noticed no difference between the two!

i say buy what's cheapest (remember to factor in how many pills you have to take... the cheaper bottle that wants you to take 3 a day may not be the best bargain!)

[colby]

Hello all - I am thinking of starting on a daily dose of the stuff. I have had 3 knee operations, herniated disks and a fractured vertebrae. I am fine mostly, but being an ex-gymnast ahs definitely taken a toll on me. And I am only 31.
So - I have heard that some people swear by this stuff - the Glucosamine, and the other is Chondroitan? I think?
When looking in the store, the selection was overwhelming - so I chose nothing - and figured I would check with my Advisory Board first (aka - the ladies on the TE forum);)
Any brands, combos, side effects, successes, misfortunes.....I should know about?
thanks!
cheri

My dad started taking glucosamine/chondroitin and exercising regularly last summer (especially in the winter and this summer). He found that exercising and building the muscles around his knees made a huge difference for regular day to day pain, and the glucosamine was helping his joint pain to some degree (harder to tell, but he's religious about taking it). He has arthritis in his knees -- you can actually see how much larger one leg is than the other because he favored it for so long. Now, he still can't run or anything hard like that for any distance, but he can bike and ski, and has become a LOT more mobile in general in the last year. His legs are a lot more comparable in size now, and he favors one leg over the other much less. I'm sure you can appreciate the day he got all excited about how fast he could go up and down stairs... something that seems so simple to the rest of us ;)

One of the glucosamine formulas is absorbed by the body easier, so you actually have to take less to get more of the good stuff. Glucosamine HCl is about 80% glucosamine, while Glucosamine Sulfate is about 65% glucosamine. Small difference, I guess, but if you don't like taking a lot of pills, that could be a good thing :)

My dad was taking glucosamine+chondroitin for a while, but he switched to just glucosamine and didn't really mention any difference. I think it was just convenience, it's easy to find glucosamine by itself and only have to take one pill rather than 2-3.

This is the one he's taking:
Glucosamine Link (http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11101187&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&N=4013450&Mo=14&No=10&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&Sp=C&topnav=)

These are the ones he was taking with the chondroitin and mojo:
Glucosamine+Mojo Link (http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11133911&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&N=4013450&Mo=14&No=4&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&Sp=C&topnav=)

(Edited to fix obscenely long URLs, sorry ladies)

Hopefully more TE'ers will have more input that I can give back to him, too! ;)

[SadieKate]

Just used the search function to find this.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=5062&highlight=chondroitin

[Squirrel 2]

Why do you feel you need to take this supplement? It is supposed to be beneficial for stiff or sore joints. So unless you are suffering from serious pain, I don't see the point. Docs recommend that glucosamine be taken together with chondroitin, they seem to feel it works better that way. I have arthritic joints & take it to keep from getting so stiff I can barely get up from a sitting position. It seems to help that condition. But I didn't get this way until I was in my 40's. If you don't need it, I wouldn't bother.

[Dogmama]

I take Move Free. It has glucosamine, chondroitin & MSM. It is by far the best combo I've taken. MSM helps with inflammation.

[VeeVee]

I injured my left knee in a car accident many years ago. My knee would usually only hurt when the weather changed and got colder. A few years ago, though, it started hurting all the time. I couldn't sit on the floor or cross my leg without excruciating pain. I saw a knee doctor who told me to take glucosamine and chondroitin. The bottle says you have to take it for awhile before you get the full effects, but I noticed almost immediately after taking a pill that the pain was better. Now I only take them when the pain flairs up, which it hasn't done in awhile.

My mom suffers from really bad arthritis. She asked her arthritis doctor about taking it--Mom was told that her type of arthritis would not respond to glucosamine.

The only other affect that I ever noticed was that it made me have more bowel movements. I took the chewable kind, in raspberry flavor that I got from The Vitamin Shoppe :)

Hope you get to feeling better!

[salsabike]

Even my family doc, a young, very smart mountain climber and cyclist, recommends this stuff because there's research to back up its effectiveness. I take Move Free, bought at Costco, on her recommendation.

[Duck on Wheels]

I take it for osteoarthritis in my ankle (after a bad fracture some years back). Seems to work pretty well. I take whatever's cheapest and haven't noticed any differences in effectiveness. Usually I get a G + condroitin combo, sometimes G alone, sometimes G + MSM, sometimes all 3. Never have been able to sort out if one works better than another. I also take ginger and turmeric (against inflammation). Have totally done away with stabbing pains in the ankle/leg/knee/hip ... and without getting stomach pains (as I would have done from daily doses of aspirin or NSAIDs).

[Trek420]

What sis said. 'cept I like to take the ginger and turmeric in the form of Cambodian or Thai food :p

[RoadRaven]

I use it for 3-4 days when my knee feels old - dunno whether it is a placebo or has a physiological effect - but the relief I have is quick and genuine

Good luck in finding the right thing for you