Does Glucosamine/Chondroitin sulfate actually work?

[bmccasland]

My rhuematologist (regular M.D.) recommends Cosamin ASU joint health supplement. It has glucosamine & chondroitin but also an avocado/soybean additive. It has actually been shown to help arthritis.

Where do you find this? My crunchy knees would like some relief please.

[Rebecca19804]

Where do you find this? My crunchy knees would like some relief please.

+1 on that please!

I've had arthritis in my knees since mid-30s. I cycle to/from work 18 miles a day because cycling aggravates the pain far less than walking/standing/stairs (i.e. public transport) does. I still have to ice my knees morning and night or risk swelling.

I've tried glucosamine/chondroitin but it made me nauseous so I quit. Don't know if it would have actually helped or not if I'd carried on taking it.

My mom seems to think glucosamine/chondroitin does help her. (She's 75 years old, has had arthritis in her knees since her mid-30s like me. She had a knee replacement a few years ago, then was all set to have the second one done last year but torn rotator cuff took priority.)

As for me, I've been spending my summer thinking very seriously about proceeding this winter with an orthroscopic procedure that's been recommended by two different orthopaedic surgeons. But in the meantime, I'll have a hunt to find out if Cosamin ASU joint health supplement (or equivalent) is available in the UK. If it helps, it may only delay the inevitable, though, whereas I understand a successful keyhole procedure would turn back the clock on the pain by a few years. I'd be so happy to go back to just the clicking and grinding I had 5-6 years ago - if it meant I could walk the quarter mile to the end of the road without pain!

[OakLeaf]

Are dietary sources mostly a matter of getting it directly from other critters' cartilage? Canned fish with bones, meat soups, that sort of thing?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Like Knot says...Move it or Lose it.
Every time i cut back on my fitness walks etc....within a month I get noticeably more stiff and achey- my hip joints, knees, etc. I beef up the walking and voila, no more problem.

i do take Glu/chond, and I feel it helps me. I can't tell you whether that's placebo effect or not.

[Dogmama]

Where do you find this? My crunchy knees would like some relief please.

The cheapest place I found it was on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WJLZ0I/

Note that it is Cosamin ASU, not Cosamin DS.