Fifty Plus (50+) - Glucosamine, Chondroitin Any believers or non believers???

I am 51 no health problems but I am stiff and achy. I am being told by lay people to start taking Glucosamine and chondroitin.....
Any believers, please tell us your story.
Any non believers, please chime in.

ARed

Took it for almost a year waiting for the effects to kick in, I only got stiffer and more sore. I ended up in an industrial athlete class where I work and learned some great stretching techniques and excercises that helped more than anything else. That said some folks swear by the stuff it just never worked for me.

StringBreaker, Love your avatar.
keep on truckin my friend...

ARed

Not sure but I do take one every day.

Not sure but I do take one every day.
Thanks for the input cylinfool

I originally started taking it for my knees but it seemed to help my finger joints more than knees. At first I took a drug store house brand and it had no effect. Then I switched to one of the big name brands and it made a lot of difference. If I miss more than about three days my hands and fingers start to ache.

I am 51 no health problems but I am stiff and achy. I am being told by lay people to start taking Glucosamine and chondroitin.....
Any believers, please tell us your story.
Any non believers, please chime in.

ARed

The human mind can "cure" many illnesses ,and problems, all one has to do is "believe". So it is with this "Miracle in a Bottle". Snake oils one and all.........

Cartilage once gone.............is just gone forever.

Low impact workouts ( riding a bike or walking ) and a good diet will do more to make you feel better than all the pills in the world and will keep you healthier longer.

I just checked Consumer Reports Health, which is 1 of the very few impartial and objective clearinghouses for information on the effectiveness of herbal remedies. They say that there is insufficient evidence to flatly state that Glucosamine is effective for knee pain or the relief of Osteoarthritis or Rheumatoid arthritis. They do say there is "some" evidence but apparently it is short of definitive. When Consumer Reports says evidence, they are talking about genuine managed blind medical trials with control groups.

Probably the glucosamine does some good but the results are spotty and somewhat less than a panacea even in the best case. Stuff is expensive though.

My wife and I tried it with no results. I was talked into trying it again recently, different brand, extra ingredients, etc. No results.

I did it for a while, and really couldn't tell. It sure didn't do as much to stop the as an ibuprofen.

What's worked for me when i can do it: Drop a few pounds and skip the second glass of wine.

Darned if I know, but it seems to help me. If it is snake oil and it keeps me going another few thousand miles, then it is worth it. Getting old is a pain in the ....

I tried it for about a year and gave up after no discernible benefits.

tried it for 9mos, didn't do anything for me.

I've taken it (the Costco generic version) for about two years, twice daily. I feel terrific and previously had some joint discomfort. I have no idea whether it has contributed to the improvement or not. My wife and I are willing to believe, though.

"Believing is seeing..."

Phil

I take it.

Don't know How it works, but it makes me (Overall) feel much better.

I started out using it then switched to Triflex from GNC which worked better. Now I use Ligaplex II which is marginally better. I have arthritis and cartilage issues on both knees and can tell the difference when I miss a few days. The most effective relief for me though is Alleve.

If your body has slowed the production of glucosamine down.... it can help.

I have stopped taking it a number of times, and gone back on it each time
because my joints felt old.

Get glucosamine sulfate, chondroiten didn't do a thing for me.

I took the pills for 3 to 4 years due to severe osteoarthritis in one of my ankles. A year and a half ago 9 screws with a plate did the trick and there is no pain anymore plus I can walk longer than a 1/2 mile and up and down stairs without holding the railing.

Nope, took it for my arthritis and it just turned me into a fart machine and that is all!!!

I've read some of the studies on Glucosamine. Some show a positive effect, but most don't. What I noticed is that they measure the effect on pain with out determining the source of pain. Actually determining the source of the pain is most often impossible unless the damage is sever enough to show up on an imaging device. If the joint is that far gone, a supplement likely has no chance I would think.

Joint pain or pain that appears to come from a joint, can be form actual joint damage, a stressed/pressured nerve nerve or a stressed tendon. Glucosaminne theory has it applicable only to joint damage like arthirtus. So if the pain does not come from the actual joint, glucosimine can't be effective.

My wife has arthitus in her fingers/hands and she says it gives her relief. When she stops it, she gets pain again. I tried it for elbow, knee and shoulder pains and thought it was working for the elbow/shoulder. It really wasn't. All the pains eventually succumbed to home physical therapy using techniquss from books which have to be used periodically. They were apparently not from a joint.

My surgeon some 15 years ago who did a rotator cuff fix on me said that Glucosamine had a chance of being effective, but Condriotin could only work if it was injected directly into the joint fluid.

Al

I use it, but that's because I need all the help I can get, however minimal.

I've used it for many years. Can't prove it but believe it helps as I'm achier if I stop. I supplement the supplement with exercises to strengthen joints and improve flexibility. There is no such thing as a magic pill - you need to work at it also.

I tired it for about six months, but the negative impact on my stomach was too much to deal with. Hence, I stopped before any benefit could be seen.

I've been taking it for a while and tried getting off of it twice and I can feel the pain in my elbows coming back. I just got off of it my second time 6 weeks ago, after 4 weeks I could feel the pain returning. I've been back on it for the last 2 weeks and I'm feeling better already. I say take it, if it works for you and forget the studies. How long have they been doing studies on coffee. They say it's good for you and a year later, they say it's bad for you. I just said coffee because it came to mind first, there are many others that you could include in different studies. It reminds me of the weather.

I tired it for about six months, but the negative impact on my stomach was too much to deal with. Hence, I stopped before any benefit could be seen.

I had a problem like that and my doctor told me to try Osteo Bi Flex, works great.

What did you find out about your eye?

Is it regulated by the FDA?

I've been taking it. I can't really tell the difference. I've had good luck with fish oil.

I had a problem like that and my doctor told me to try Osteo Bi Flex, works great.

What did you find out about your eye?

Surgery seems to me holding. The next marker is in two months. If it's still holding by then, I'm probably good long term.

I've used SAMe for many years. Before I couldn't sit for an extended period of time without having to straighten my legs to alleviate the pain in my knees. Now, no more pain. It did take about six weeks to start working and I did have some GI discomfort that soon subsided.

See this: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/same/NS_patient-same

I just checked Consumer Reports Health, which is 1 of the very few impartial and objective clearinghouses for information on the effectiveness of herbal remedies. They say that there is insufficient evidence to flatly state that Glucosamine is effective for knee pain or the relief of Osteoarthritis or Rheumatoid arthritis. They do say there is "some" evidence but apparently it is short of definitive. When Consumer Reports says evidence, they are talking about genuine managed blind medical trials with control groups.

Probably the glucosamine does some good but the results are spotty and somewhat less than a panacea even in the best case. Stuff is expensive though.

I haven't put much trust in Consumer Reports since they rated a Sparkomatic car strereo as a top pick back in the 70s. Sparkomatic? Ever since that one, I have had a questioning opinion of CR. Many times something that costs less makes it as a top pick, based on cost alone and nothing more. By that reasoning we should all be riding Wal-Mart's 40-lb bicycles.

I fell for that in the early 90's. I tried it for a long time before doing my own research. Now I know better, and have a few extra bucks in my pocket.

I fell for that in the early 90's. I tried it for a long time before doing my own research. Now I know better, and have a few extra bucks in my pocket.

So........ what did you learn?

Took it for years. I'm 67 and got to the point where I pretty much had to use crutches to get to the garage to get on my bike. I rode 40 miles in little more than 2 hours the day before surgery. Resting pulse of 49 in surgery prep. Now I have one more month on crutches then back on the bike with a titanium ankle. I chose this route rather then fusion with screws, pins, plates and a shortened leg.

Wife had used it for 5 years and progressively took a higher dose each day. She even got me to try it- but it had no effect on me.

Then about a year ago there was a "Medical" report that was highlighted over here stating that it had no effect on creaky joints etc. We both stopped taking it and nothing has improved or worsened.

It's not a question of "belief" or "non-belief" for me; I'm well aware of how Expectation Bias and the Placebo Effect work, and I'm just as willing to believe [sic] that's what's going on as any actual physiological effect. It doesn't actually matter to me which it is, because what matters to me is the perceived result.

So I take Glucosamine/Chondroitin because I perceive a benefit...not a great one, but one that's worth the expense of taking the supplements.

It's not that my creaky, crepitis-plagued knees feel really good when I take the supplement, it's that if I don't take the supplement for several days they start to feel worse.

If I got those same perceived results from eating pork rinds I'd take them regularly instead.

It's not a question of "belief" or "non-belief" for me; I'm well aware of how Expectation Bias and the Placebo Effect work, and I'm just as willing to believe [sic] that's what's going on as any actual physiological effect. It doesn't actually matter to me which it is, because what matters to me is the perceived result.

So I take Glucosamine/Chondroitin because I perceive a benefit...not a great one, but one that's worth the expense of taking the supplements.

It's not that my creaky, crepitis-plagued knees feel really good when I take the supplement, it's that if I don't take the supplement for several days they start to feel worse.

If I got those same perceived results from eating pork rinds I'd take them regularly instead.

Many times I've read of medical studies that compare a group who was given a medication or supplement against groups given no medication and those fed a placebo. Usually the group with the placebo realizes some benefit over the group who took nothing and far less benefit than those who took the real product. When in drug stores I frequently look in the supplement isle for bottles of placebo but have yet to find the stuff.:D

I'm a 59 yr. old bass player/ singer by trade. I play between three and seven nights a week depending on seasons. I take the stuff because I can feel the difference in my knuckles when playing! I've stopped taking it several times and noticed some difference after a few days! Nothing major, but...Just somewhat more loose in the hands.

I did it for a while, and really couldn't tell. It sure didn't do as much to stop the as an ibuprofen.

What's worked for me when i can do it: Drop a few pounds and skip the second glass of wine.

Yeah, that second glass is a killer. The third is even worse.

I tried Osteo BiFlex for 2 months and all it did was give me constant "near-diarrhea". I guess my body can't tolerate ground-up seashells. The symptom stopped 2 days after I stopped taking it.

I tried it for about a year and gave up after no discernible benefits.
Same here (glucosamine).

Took it for almost a year waiting for the effects to kick in, I only got stiffer and more sore. I ended up in an industrial athlete class where I work and learned some great stretching techniques and excercises that helped more than anything else. That said some folks swear by the stuff it just never worked for me.

Same for me. No noticeable improvement after about a year.

201737
Had severe shoulder joint issue; thought I'd have to quit riding about a dozen years ago.
A friend suggested to take Oil of Evening Primrose. Within 3 days, pain was gone.
Quit taking taking it, and pain promptly returned.

Switched to Glucosomine/Chondroiton/MSM and had the same near magic effect.
My wife developed joint issues and she also takes Gl/Ch/MSM.
Works for bothof us.
We are ages78/76and still ride +/- 100 miles a week.
Your result could vary . . .

When I bent my knees they used to crack, sounded like tiny popcorn popping. After taking Glucosamine/Chondritin for a while much reduced popping sound but I'm still corny.
Also am trying Hyaluronic acid.

When I had a knee scoped (meniscus) about 5 years ago the orthopod gave me an incredibly poor xeroxed copy of a flyer describing possible benefits. His thought was that he didn't know if it would help, but he doubted it would hurt. At the time I was 49 and still playing basketball twice a week and volleyball once a week. On the days after I played VB in the afternoon and then BB later that evening, I would have a LOT of knee aching. About 9 months after surgery (and starting G/C) I noticed that on the days after playing both I had little to no pain - and could not remember that last time I had significant pain. I have nothing other than the G/C to ascribe the difference to.

I had to give up VB because my team of younger folks had kids growing into athletic activities and cold no longer find the time. But I still play BB twice a week - and hope to play into my 60's. I take a couple of ibuprofin when I get home fromm BB, and get up the next morning with no pain after I get past the normal aging stiffness.

I tried most of the brand names, and currently use Puritan's Pride below, buying large quantities when they run their frequent 'buy 2 - get 3 free' sales. Apparently they currently have 'buy 2 - get 4 free'.

I also cycle at a relatively high cadence, which I believe helps - but that's been consistent for 20+ years.

http://www.puritan.com/glucosamine-chondroitin-045/triple-strength-glucosamine-chondroitin-msm-joint-soother-017896

Ive been taking Bio Flex for over a year along with rotator cuff exersises for shoulder pain. Pain is gone now but can't say which is the primary reason.

Well, I assert from what I am reading here that I need to try it for myself and see what if any effect it has for me.
Thank you all for your input.

ARed

We had a cat with severe arthritis. Vet suggested glucosamine and it worked wonders. The cat didn't know we were mixing it with his food so it couldn't have been the placebo effect.

I took it for years after we saw what looked like a very positive response in our dog (no placebo there unless it was in our perception of the dog). I followed the studies which always seemed inconclusive but not very positive. I read recently of a well done major study that found absolutely no benefit. I stopped taking it. Sorry, I didn't keep a cite on the study.

I took it for years after we saw what looked like a very positive response in our dog (no placebo there unless it was in our perception of the dog). I followed the studies which always seemed inconclusive but not very positive. I read recently of a well done major study that found absolutely no benefit. I stopped taking it. Sorry, I didn't keep a cite on the study.Having just said that, I looked it up on Wikipedia. It says the studies are still inconclusive and there may still be some hope. Maybe I dropped the stuff too soon?

I should add that I don't think it is intended for aching muscles or regular stiffness, it is more for arthritis.