Has anyone out there tried taking Glucosamine for stiff joints/knees? Any success? I have done some research and it is farely cheap and there are no real side effects. Thoughts?
Kevin
Glucosamine - Pacific Crest Trail
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#2
I swear by it. I was actually encouraged to start it by my Orthopaedic who, in his own words, rarely prescribes anything approaching naturopathic. He told me about a double-blind study at Johns Hopkins, followed by radiating it to watch it move through the joints. The team of Orthos were impressed enough to recommend it to their patients. I was suffering from pain on the outside of my knees when going downhill (now 52, have been hiking/backpacking since my 20s). As he suggested, I buy the cheap stuff @ 500mg Gluc + 400 mg Chondroiten and take 2-3 a day, with meals. It takes ~ 30 days to get into your system. He also added that their studies were inconclusive with respect to MSM, which you’ll also see added often. Additionally, I use vitamin “I” and watch my training throughout the year. (More of the latter available if requested.)
OregonHikerDave
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#3
Kevin,
I have long thought about trying it too based on some good word-of-mouth. Still, there is nothing really medically-based out there to prove its effectiveness. NIH is currently doing the first large-scale medical study of it, due to finish this year…I’m waiting to see what their findings are. There was a recent post on this forum (I believe) by a user who said it did indeed help his joint problems, but produced impotence…kind of a nasty, well-hidden side effect if you ask me.
BT
Backtrack
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#4
Glucosamine causes impotence??? Coincidence isn’t causation, I cannot imagine how those two are even remotely related. Possible the “forum poster” had other issues causing his flaccidity. :eek:
BK is correct, the results of a large NIH funded study (meaning not done by some company selling the stuff trying to turn a buck) have not been completed, I too am awaiting the results.
One interesting thing I do note about it, a vet I know began giving it to her older dog, who after 2 months began showing improvement, relative to its owners observations of the dog walking up and down stairs. Humans tend to screw up subjective findings, the dog simply was able to walk up and down the stairs again with less pain. Not very scientific, merely an observation made.
-xtn :boy
airferret
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#5
I’m a fan of the glucosamine… I’ve got a bottle of glucosamine/chondroitin pills sitting here on my desk. Yeah, scientifically there’s no hard evidence yet, but there certainly seems to be a lot of anectdotal evidence supporting it. I’ve been pleased with what it has appeared to do for my knees, I’ve had friends equally as pleased, one friend swears by it for his black lab, and I’ve had a couple of orthopedic dr.s reccomend it to me. From my understanding it at least helps protect and strengthen the cartilage you’ve got, and doesn’t do so much to “regrow” cartilage; once you’ve lost it, it’s gone, from my understanding. Anyways, I’ll keep poppping pills, myself.
Backdraft
Backdraft
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#7
Regarding impotence, I (and my wife) can only speak for myself and I guarantee that is not an issue. (Maybe it’s the DHEA that I also take!) Also, my ortho indicated that studies to-date indicated no side effects.
OregonHikerDave
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#8
Here’s a comment from another “senior” who swears by the stuff. I even stopped for a while a couple of years ago and noticed a considerable difference; so, I started back on it. It takes (I think) 4-6 weeks to notice a difference. I don’t bother with the condroitin because, according to “Consumer Reports”, it has negligible effect, and just makes the product more expensive.
FYI…I take the Nature’s Bounty 1500 mg. one a day tablet. Around my area CVS has a BOGOF every so often, and that’s when I load up on it. :tongue
Lady Di
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#9
I’ve been told the same thing by my ortho about chondroitin. He said that if I could not tell a difference in two months to take it w/ chondroitin, otherwise it is just a waste of $$$$$$$$$.
I take 500mg of Glucosamine Sulfate three times a day w/ food at home. When on the trail I take 1000mg twice a day. The reason is simply b/c two pills a day is lighter and easier to keep up w/ than three a day.
Jerm
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#10
Joints have poor vascurality and extrememly slow mitosis (ability to create new cells), so it takes a lot longer for the body to repair an injured joint or joint capsule than it does for it to repair muscle. Unfortunately, while the body will heal itself, the joint tissue will never be as strong as it was originally.
The body needs glucosamine to do the repair and it takes a while for it to build up in the system before it starts using it for repair work. I would recommend use before your hike, but if you start it during a hike your joints will be happier by the end of your thru-hike 
Wild Hare
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#11
I take them both daily and have found a major change in my pain levels. I developed a torn miniscus in my rt knee which was operated on, so it went from occasional pain after strenuous exercise to hurting all the time- bad trade off. My ortho doc suggested taking chondroitin with glucosimine and the aches and pains went away within 2 weeks. I can only speak for myself- it seems to work. Warning, there are now liquid formulas on the market such as “Joint Juice”, and what ever you do, dont take it with the pills, I did and the pressure was awful in my rt knee. I just threw it away and didn’t try it again, thought it may be good, i chose not to come off of the pills to try it. Hope this helps.
LightSeeker
LightSeeker
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#12
Before going on my thru-hike last year, I heard that a lot of people took glucosamine so I asked my doctor about it before I left. He said that there’s not that much hard evidence in favor BUT that he took it for his neck pain. Says a lot I think.
Tell it like it is
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#13
well, all i know is my vet recommended it for my moms 12 year old great dane, who had trouble doing pretty much anything but sleeping. after about 3 weeks he was moving around like he was years younger. he takes it both 2 times a day, and now my dog, who is 8, is on it as well as a preventative as her breed is prone to joint problems. I’ve talked to both vets about studies in animals about arthritis and been shown some interesting articles, which led me to talk to my doc about using it myself. My doc recommended I try it and see for myself, and I swear by it for myself too. I even know a friend who gives it to a gerietric cat as well and that has shown improvement for the cat.
so even though we are all different, fundamentally we must all work somewhat alike. I am going to stick with it. The pills do cost a bit, but if you suffer from the pain in the knees/back/ankle its a small price to pay for relief if it ultimately does work for you. It certainly is much healthier than popping tylenol or vitamin I. A good regimen of this, and some Icy Hot just might make you keep the pain pills in the pack and not consume them on your next hike. I know it certainly has helped for me.
Good Luck.
Big Boy
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#14
I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2002, and since then, I’ve had chronic knee pain. Well, I started taking Glucosamine consistently about one month ago, and I would say that my knees now feel about 50-70% better. It takes a couple of weeks to really start working well, so be patient. All in all, I’m very pleased with the product, and I take 1000 mg of glucosamine sulfate twice daily. For about a three month supply, it costs about $12.50 at Wal-Mart. I have to say that happy knees are definitely worth the $4.00 per month charge!
Superfeet