What brand glucosamine do you take?
 

I've decided to start taking glucosamine supplements to help my hips. I've read comments from some who say that glucosamine alone works wonders... others who say it works best in combo with condroitin.

If it works for you, what brand did you take? I realize it can take many weeks before I begin to feel any results.

Forgot to include a bike-related qualifying statment. My hips don't hurt nearly as much after cycling as they do after (and during) walking. :)

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...=1&topnav=&s=1

Edit: I take it as a supplement and do not know if it "works".

Sam's generic.

Schiff Move Free advanced with MSM

I take it in the morning, before riding my bike... or after, depending on your perspective.

Did I mention that I'm 50+ and not interested in following this thread to Foo?

I use the Walgreen's house brand generic stuff. Double Strength G/C 500/400. Twice a day (dosage recommends three times a day).

Just about one week out of every month it goes on a 2 for 1 sale. So I usually get 480 capsules for $50. Good for 8 months.

It has worked wonders for me. Been taking it for 7 years. My knees hurt so badly then that I had a hard time walking. It has knocked out about 95% of that pain. I went off of it 3 years ago just to see if it was really doing anything. About a month later my knee pain returned. Went back on G/C and had to deal with the pain for about 3 more weeks then it subsided again.

I'm not one to take medication or herbal remedies. But for me, this stuff works.

Whatever is cheap - when I remember, that is....

Schiff Glucosamine w/ Chondroitin (sp?) w/o MSM. I like it because I only have to take it once a day.

This may be a weird recommendation but Men's Health suggests 'Osteo Bi-Flex', but I don't remember exactly why.

I do take it but can't honestly tell if it does any good for me, but YMMV.

Good luck.

Walmart house brand Glucosamine Sulfate. It's all you need, it works, and the price can't be beat.

I take Cosamin DS. It's pricey. But the wife uses it and says it helps her. If she feels it works then it's good enough for me.

I have been using for a year or so & it definately helps my knees. I quit taking it last fall, because I was feeling less discomfort for a while; late fall-early winter I noticed my old problems had returned. I have been back on it & notice the improvement again.
I get what is cheapest, but prefer the triple strenght (only 2 a day) for convience.

That's what I take because it's easier on the stomach and it done wonders for me. Before I started taking this, I could hardly botton my shirt. Now I feel normal, in the body that is.:D

Spring Valley double strength. 500 mg glucosamine and 400 mg chondroitin. I've been taking it for several years and no longer have knee problems from biking or walking like I did in my mid forties.

Thanks everyone, some amazing testimonials here. Obviously if it works for animals as some claim it does on their pets, there's more than a placebo effect involved.

Hubby said the Kirkland brand at Costco is a good deal... anyone tried that?

A consumer magazine, and I think it was Consumer Reports, did say that all brands were not equal. Not all actually have the amount of Glucosamine as they say they do.

They tested 17 brands and found the top three in terms of lowest cost with highest strength were: 1) Kirtland Signature from Costco, 2) Spring Valley from Wal-Mart, and 3) Target's house brand.

The Walgreen's brand that I take would have been right there with these, at the 2 for 1 price that I pay.

Glucosamine was prescribed for our arthritic cat 6 years ago. It worked wonders, which convinced us.

A recent study determined that condritin does nothing. We take glucosamine by itself.

We buy Natural Factors, a Canadian brand. I am wary of anything from China, and it claims to be a product of Canada, but it is possible the ingredients are imported from China and put in capsules here. I would be suspicious of the cheapest brands, even if the label says product of USA, Canada, UK, etc.

+1 for Spring Valley at Wal-Mart. Been on it for years, no knee or joint pain.

+1 Spring Valley, triple strength. My husband takes it for his hips. He had surgery for bone spur removal on both hips this spring. Stopped the gluco while taking other meds. Started taking them about a month ago again and felt much better last week.

The study you are probably referring to was the major study conducted by the National Institute of Health. The results of that study were not reported accurately by several of the major media outlets.

That study cast doubt on the effectiveness of both Glucosamine and Chondroitin for certain types of arthritis. Many reports ran with only that finding. However that same study found a statistically significant positive effect when both Glucosamine and Chondroitin were taken in combination by those suffering moderate to severe pain.

So while many people took the articles at their word that Chondroitin was ineffective, that isn't a fact. For many people, they need to be taking a combo G/C pill to get the most positive outcome.

http://www.nutraingredients.com/news...osteoarthritis

I should add that I once switched from Gluc/Chon to Gluc/MSM because the G/M was on sale. The pain in my joints partially returned after a couple of months, so I went back to G/C and it subsided again.

I should add that Tom got me on this stuff and It's been a life saver for me, thanks again Tom.

You are the fifth person to tell me that. I'm glad it helped you.

There were another 4 people who took it on my advice and had no improvement.

Given that the price isn't a killer, I'd say it is worth the chance. It helps certain conditions better than others. And one person's joint pain is different than the next. So it isn't a silver bullet, guaranteed to work.

Is there any reason to take G/C if you don't have any joint pain right now? Is it effective at preventing joint problems from cropping up in the future?

I've never seen it advocated for prevention.