Originally Posted by
canklecat
A relative gave me a couple of huge bottles of the stuff, so I took it for a year or so for neck, back, hip, wrist and knee pain. Didn't make a bit of difference. One or two aspirins or ibuprofen worked better.
Topical analgesics work for me as well - salicylates, menthol, etc. I use them to minimize the ibuprofen. Gotta be careful with the topicals, especially salicylates - in rare incidents some people may experience serious reactions.
I'm hoping regular exercise will help, but I'm avoiding any hammering or grinding.
Perhaps you took Glucosamine HCl, or a poorly formulated brand. I just know it works for me. I can't take aspirin or NSAIDS due to strong allergic reaction and the Glucosamine Sulfate certainly helps me.
From the Mayo Clinic website:
"Evidence supports the use of glucosamine sulfate in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. It is believed that the sulfate portion may help strengthen cartilage. If this is confirmed, it would mean that the glucosamine sulfate form is more effective than glucosamine without sulfate."