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Status:
"Mistress of finance and foods."
(set 17 days ago)
Location: Coastal Georgia
50,001 posts, read 63,325,358 times
Reputation: 92501
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I could only find a very old thread on this, so I'm starting one specific to my question.
Do you take Glucosamine/Chrondrotin for arthritis, and if so, has it helped you?
My DH is taking it, on the advice of his doctor, following a hip replacement, and other joint pain. I started taking it too, but haven't really noticed any difference. How long before it kicks in?
Haha, a 67 yr old was limping with a cane...I suggested 1500 mg of each...he
never heard of it...one month later (I saw him every month)...no limp, no cane.
Btw, it was 17 years after some sort of knee surgery they said would last 20 years.
(Not a replacement.)
Have patience.
But, what I found for arthritis (and it is extreme, but worth it to actually see)....
2 weeks...no coffee, alcohol, sugar anything with white flour, corn, no aged cheeses
(esp, no feta or blue cheeses, swiss) no fungus, as in mushrooms!....
a simple bland diet...org chicken, org veggies and fruit, pure water...no real herbs and spices...or teas
(Why? because of the molds and spores in them),
Try it and wowsa!....will you see inflammation and pain go away!
Most people will not care enough to do this, tho, even to experiment with, I have found.
Status:
"Mistress of finance and foods."
(set 17 days ago)
Location: Coastal Georgia
50,001 posts, read 63,325,358 times
Reputation: 92501
Quote:
Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn
Let at least 3 weeks go by....but a bit longer.
Haha, a 67 yr old was limping with a cane...I suggested 1500 mg of each...he
never heard of it...one month later (I saw him every month)...no limp, no cane.
Btw, it was 17 years after some sort of knee surgery they said would last 20 years.
(Not a replacement.)
Have patience.
But, what I found for arthritis (and it is extreme, but worth it to actually see)....
2 weeks...no coffee, alcohol, sugar anything with white flour, corn, no aged cheeses
(esp, no feta or blue cheeses, swiss) no fungus, as in mushrooms!....
a simple bland diet...org chicken, org veggies and fruit, pure water...no real herbs and spices...or teas
(Why? because of the molds and spores in them),
Try it and wowsa!....will you see inflammation and pain go away!
Most people will not care enough to do this, tho, even to experiment with, I have found.
Oh Jeeze, Miss Hepburn, I already gave up sugar and flour, but I hope I don't need to give up coffee and booze too. I go easy on cheese, and I could live without mushrooms.
I am glad you have relief from your pain. I only take 500 mg, so I guess that isn't really enough? I'll give it 3 weeks and then up the dosage. Can I take it all at once, or split the dosage?
Haha, a 67 yr old was limping with a cane...I suggested 1500 mg of each...he
never heard of it...one month later (I saw him every month)...no limp, no cane.
Btw, it was 17 years after some sort of knee surgery they said would last 20 years.
(Not a replacement.)
Have patience.
But, what I found for arthritis (and it is extreme, but worth it to actually see)....
2 weeks...no coffee, alcohol, sugar anything with white flour, corn, no aged cheeses
(esp, no feta or blue cheeses, swiss) no fungus, as in mushrooms!....
a simple bland diet...org chicken, org veggies and fruit, pure water...no real herbs and spices...or teas
(Why? because of the molds and spores in them),
Try it and wowsa!....will you see inflammation and pain go away! Most people will not care enough to do this, tho, even to experiment with, I have found.
Most people will not care to do this because it is hog wash...
Reducing sugar, starch, alcohol, trans fats? Certainly
Cutting out coffee, corn, cheeses, mushrooms, herbs and spices, teas???? Nonsense, show even a shred of evidence that these foods contribute to inflammation.....and not just "folksy" wowsa.....
A "simple bland diet" is not necessary (or enjoyable for most people) eating healthy and reducing processed foods and sugar? Absolutely
Speaking of herbs and spices, spicy foods and certain herbs have been shown to be HELPFUL for arthritis pain NOT harmful...
As for glucosamine and chondroitin, its worth a try since its harmless but there is very little hard evidence that it does much for arthritis sufferers....some people swear by it, just as many or more try it and find no change in their symptoms....
If you have tried it for a few weeks and haven't noticed any improvement, save your money and move on...
I know different things work for different people but I thought I'd throw this out there, in hopes that it may help just one person as much as it's helped me.
I have very bad osteoarthritis, partly from age and partly from too much running on cement in my younger days. I tried fish oil and lots of other over-the-counter meds (including Glucosamine/Chrondrotin) but nothing worked. I even tried a couple of prescription pain meds but didnt like the side effects.
Then, a few years ago, I started taking Schiff Move Free Ultra, an over-the-counter arthritis med that has changed my life. Before I started taking it, I could barely walk from bed in the mornings. I had to hold onto the furniture because my knees and feet hurt so badly. Two weeks after I started taking Schiff Move Free Ultra, all the pain was gone.
One small pill a day is all it takes. My joints truly feel as good now as they did when I was in my 30s (almost 40 years ago). In fact, I was feeling so good that I stopped taking it about a year ago. Within two weeks, I was back to limping in pain. Never again -- now I keep a healthy supply of it on hand.
I had fusion surgery on the five joints in the middle of one foot and was planning to have the same fusion surgery on the other foot. That was before I started taking the Schiff Move Free Ultra. Now I dont need the fusion surgery on the other foot.
One serving (one small pill) contains:
Cartilage Blend (cartilage and potassium chloride) (providing 10 mg undenatured type II collagen) - 40 mg
Boron (as boron glycinate) - 5 mg
Hyaluronic Acid - 3.3 mg
Other Ingredients:
Cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, croscarmellose sodium, silicon dioxide, coating (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, modified corn starch, mica (color), polyethylene glycol, titanium dioxide, magnesium trisilicate, glycerin), magnesium stearate.
You can get it at pretty much any drug store. Walgreen's sometimes has a 2-for-1 sale. I'm including the Amazon site not necessarily for the pricing (which is sometimes cheaper than Walgreen's) but for the info:
Status:
"Mistress of finance and foods."
(set 17 days ago)
Location: Coastal Georgia
50,001 posts, read 63,325,358 times
Reputation: 92501
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluedevilz
If you have tried it for a few weeks and haven't noticed any improvement, save your money and move on...
Well, the thing is, I take diclofenac and it works quite well, so I'm not sure how to tell if the g/c is helping or not. I still get backaches so maybe it will help that.
I have done a lot of research on this. The fact it, the results on the efficacy of glucosamine and chondroitin are mixed. There is little scientific evidence that taking it helps the symptoms of arthritis and the people who say it helps them may just be experiencing a placebo effect. My wife takes a liquid form and swears it helps her, however, she is short, small (size 4), and very energetic and physically active, and I'm sure these factors help a lot.
As an aside, I started giving the supplement to my aging arthritic Great Dane girl and it didn't help her one bit. I gave it to her several months, added Rimadyl after about two months, and she stopped limping in the right leg. When I discontinued the Glucosamine and kept her on the Rimadyl, her leg is still better. Although dogs aren't humans, thus a dog's arthritis treament normally bears little relevance to that of a person's, her case is worthy of note because she took a full human dose of human Glucosamine, which is commonly done in the Great Dane breed and easy to do because of their giant size (144 pounds in her case).
Whether there is scientific evidence that Glucosamine helps, there is also no evidence that it is harmful. Therefore, if you feel it helps you, why not take it? There is no reason to have painful joints, and many traditional antinflammatory drugs have nasty side effects. If you can take fewer of these antinflammatories or none at all, go for it!
Rimadyl (generic name Carprofen) was originally developed as a medication for human arthritis and was actually used by people from 1988 to 1998. It was very effective, but OTC meds like Advil made it too cost-prohibitive. Pfizer then developed it as a med for canine arthritis.
I have done a lot of research on this. The fact it, the results on the efficacy of glucosamine and chondroitin are mixed. There is little scientific evidence that taking it helps the symptoms of arthritis and the people who say it helps them may just be experiencing a placebo effect. My wife takes a liquid form and swears it helps her, however, she is short, small (size 4), and very energetic and physically active, and I'm sure these factors help a lot.
As an aside, I started giving the supplement to my aging arthritic Great Dane girl and it didn't help her one bit. I gave it to her several months, added Rimadyl after about two months, and she stopped limping in the right leg. When I discontinued the Glucosamine and kept her on the Rimadyl, her leg is still better. Although dogs aren't humans, thus a dog's arthritis treament normally bears little relevance to that of a person's, her case is worthy of note because she took a full human dose of human Glucosamine, which is commonly done in the Great Dane breed and easy to do because of their giant size (144 pounds in her case).
Whether there is scientific evidence that Glucosamine helps, there is also no evidence that it is harmful. Therefore, if you feel it helps you, why not take it? There is no reason to have painful joints, and many traditional antinflammatory drugs have nasty side effects. If you can take fewer of these antinflammatories or none at all, go for it!
And I have known dogs who were helped immensely from glucosamine/chondroitin. So much for the placebo effect, since they didn't even know they were taking anything. They didn't have to weigh as much as a human to be dosed appropriately.
People and dogs are all individuals, what helps one may not help another.
When it comes to something that isn't harmful, like glucosamine/chondroitin, it never hurts to try, you {your dog or cat} may be one of the lucky ones it does help.
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