Glucosamine works . Agree or Disagree?

I have consumed two tubs of this wonder drug and had no help from it

I took it for six months there was no difference whatsoever.

I'm convinced it works...

It does sort of work for me, doesn't take the pain away but does reduce it.

My dh took it for six months. No difference whatsoever.

I took it for nearly 2 years and it did zilch for me.

My DH takes it for his dodgy knee. He swears by it and can always tell if he has forgotten to take a tablet.

Glucosamine and Chondroitin have been shown to be effective but have to be in specific dosages.

jane can you tell us the dosages, please?

I take it religiously each day but it's not made any difference nor does that Volerol12 which is advertised as keeping you pain free for 12 hours doesn't really do diddly squit

There was a fairly small blind test run on this very subject by Trust Me I'm a Doctor .

The results showed no difference between those taking it or those taking a placebo .

The conclusion was if you feel it's doing you good -take it .

I found the capsules very hard to swallow, so I use it in liquid form. Fingers crossed it's working. A few months ago I was actually limping from bad knee pain. On Sunday I did a 3 mile walk. I also do quad exercises, so perhaps it's the combination of the medicine and exercise.

If you look up the research, you will find that glucosamine does not, in large clinical trials, appear to have a significant benefit overall.
But some trials (not disagreeing with NanandGrampy, there have been other trials) show that it benefits some people, more than placebo. What remains unclear, is which people?

There do however, appear to be very few reasons not to give it a try; you may be one of those it does actually benefit, or you may be someone who gets a significant placebo effect. I'm not sure which I am,I just continue to take it and benefit from it!

If it works for you, great. Double blind trials (where neither the patient or the doctor know who is getting what) indicate that like most of the stuff sold in so called health food stores it is ineffective. Once something is proven to be effective it goes mainstream and is prescribed in pure form by your doctor. It is a bit like when you were a child and mummy kissed better all sorts of bumps and scrapes. It worked.

My rheumatologist is someone whose research evidence I listen to. She suggested I stop taking G and C because there was no research to support it being useful for me and it was yet another thing for my kidneys to be working on.

I can't remember the dosages. I heard about it from a senior medic at the Mayo clinic who was talking about osteoarthritis. I tried them after that and, certainly, my OA was kept at bay. Eventually I stopped. The latest bottle of pills ran out and I just didn't get any more. No excuses -I forgot.
OA back with a vengeance!!

I found them of no use at all, I did ask my pharmascist wether they are of any benefit for osteo arthritis and he said they werent and were a waste of money. As others have said the 'placebo' effect.

On a word of caution, my friend asked her GP about taking it and was told that it was not recommended unless her blood sugar was normal as it raised blood sugar levels. With so many older people being Type 2 diabetics it is probably better to be wary.

My sister swore by them but has more joint pain since taking them, hardly a walking advert. She suggested I tried them but I told her I wasn't ingesting ground sea shells on her say so.

One thing that I have tried worked , and that's green lipped mussel extract. We bought ours from Boots at the time. Apparently Maori people have a very low incidence of joint issues and scientists deduced it was down to a diet which contained green lipped mussels.

I first heard about it in the 90's , and used it at first for an arthritic dog! Seeing the improvement in the dog ( a breed that had joint issues) , my husband decided if it was good enough for the dog he would try it ( it is tested for human consumption) .

He too, felt a great improvement in his joints and has continued to this day . It's not cheap but certainly, we actually saw how much better the dog was and my husband has very little joint pain at all.

Interesting NanaandGrampy

Different "medications" work differently on different people depending on their own body chemistry and their genes.

This idea is becoming increasingly acccepted by the medical profession and is being tested to try and tailor medications to suit an individuals particular DNA.

It obviously works for some people and not for others.

I did however recommend it for a friend's border collie who was having trouble with her back legs. After just a few weeks she was squeezing under fences and climbing over styles on her walks. Co-incidence? Maybe but then again maybe not.....and certainly not the placebo effect!

I began taking tablets on the advice of my family when I started long distance jogging late-ish in life. To date, I've had no joint issues but I don't know if the tablets have made a difference.

I've recently resumed training for a couple of half marathons and have omitted the tablets. So far, I've noticed no difference.

When I asked my GP, he said the tablets would do me no harm but would go no further than that.