I found a zombie on this topic from 2003, so I thought I’d ask again as formulations/experience may be different.
What has been your experience with this supplement? Has it relieved whatever symptoms prompted you to start it, and how long before you noticed results? I tried it, but didn’t stick with it long, as my impression was that it raised my blood sugar. I give it to my dogs, and the older one is less stiff when he gets up. This is all very unscientific.
If you do take it and believe it has helped you, what brand do you use? Do you take the formula with chondroitin?
My mother takes G&C and she swears that it helps her out. She also practices homeopathic “medicine,” so you have to consider the source.
My personal opinion is that it doesn’t seem to do anything BAD to you, so even if it is all hokum (which I don’t know - it’s hard to find any studies that aren’t obviously biased one way or the other) even if all you get is a placebo effect off of taking it and you feel better as a result, eh, then it’s “working” for you I guess.
Many years ago a doc told me she was on it and found it helpful for her arthritis and it may be useful for mine. I took it, I didn’t notice much but it supposedly took a while and it just became part of the daily routine. Same doc told me a few years on that the research was garbage and she had gone off it and suggested I do the same. Only my wallet noticed the change.
I had a dog with elbow dysplasia who was on glucosamine/chrondritin from about a year old until his death. When I missed several days, I would definitely see a difference. His ortho vet said that he heard a lot of positive feedback from dog owners aboujt how it worked…of course there probably is a high level of confirmation bias in those observations (including mine) but…it really did seem to work so I kept up the regime faithfully his whole life. Another elderly arthritic dog got it for a couple of years…don’t know if it really worked but in all the reading I’ve done I never found a real downside, apart from the cost. I know some horse people swear by it.
I tried taking it (chronic bad back) and it did squat for me. A friend with bad knees and early-onset arthritis took it for several months and said it did nothing for her, either.
So, it may be woo, or only useful in limited situations. Probably wouldn’t take it again for myself. For a dog with joint issues? I’d put it in the “can’t hurt, might help” category and would again.
Oh - the brand I used for me and the dog was Synoflex. Sometimes I’d pick up a different brand, liquid formula for horses and other animals for the dogs at a local feed and farm store.
I haven’t researched this, but my understanding is that it seems to work in some people and not in others. It thus doesn’t get official status as “effective,” but it can be very effective for some individuals.
It seems to help my wife, she can sense a diff if she hasn’t taken it for several days (we tried experimenting.) It doesn’t seem to have any (or much) effect on me. Now, obviously, this isn’t any sort of legit “blind” experience since we both KNEW when we hadn’t been taking it.
Last week, I had to visit the quack (sorry Qagdop) as I had a dreadful searing pain in the joint where the big toe joins the foot.
Swelling and unbelievable pain if there was any lateral movement. Initial thoughts were gout (as I feared) but an X Ray revealed wear on the bones to the extent that no cartilage existed anymore- this was from years of running and treadmill. (I would also say my appearance says I have not done enough of the above).
Anyway, little can be done. Except take glucosomine. I asked about Wild Krill Oil and that stuff and it is unproven. So I am taking these tablets that would choke a donkey. And my foot hurts. And the cats a bastard as well.
I take it for arthritis in my hip. I am terrible about taking it every day, and I don’t know if it really helps, and I don’t know if I will buy more when the (giant uber expensive) bottle runs out.
The cat, on the other hand, gets it every day. Some mixed in to his wet food, along with Metacam, and he also loves a brand of salmon treats that contain glucosamine & chondroitin. I don’t know if it’s helping, but he’s missing a front leg (congenital deformity) and has arthritis in the front leg he does have, so I’m willing to keep giving him the stuff as long as it’s not harming him, on the off chance it reduces the pain he must be in.
ETA: Let’s see if this link works for a photo of Napoleon.
I’ve never taken it for me but since I’ve started giving it to my dogs they defintely seem less creaky. Mojo is jumping on and off the bed again when a few weeks ago I was looking at doggy steps. The dogs don’t know they’re getting medicine, it’s just another treat to them.
I’ve been taking Glucosamine chondroitin for years - I developed chondromalacia (not enough cartilage) in both knees when I was 23. I buy whatever brand I find cheapest.
I have gotten a lot better. I cannot be both a control and a person who took GC, but every doctor I’ve had over the years has said it won’t hurt and could help. Something has helped my cartilage situation (I also bike a lot and have orthotics, both of which help the skeletal system in my legs align properly, which helps symptoms).
I take it. I actually stopped for a few months, and my knee pain came back. I got back on the pills, and felt better. I can’t say for sure it isn’t a placebo effect, but it seems to work for me.
I took glucosamine/chrondritin for about 2 months and noticed zero difference. The great part for the manufacturer/seller is that the dosage recommendation is “you have to take it for a while to see any difference” so even if it’s useless they sell a ton.
It may help some people with some things re cartilage loss or cartilage damage issues, but IME for plain old joint pain due to aging and/or muscle stress it’s not much help.
The original question was on glucosamine alone, I did notice a difference in my joints with chrondritin and MSM, just not with the glucosamine. The difference wasn’t enough to have me keep taking them after a cost/benefit analysis but I believe there was one.
I have occasional discomfort in my right shoulder and elbow from using my wheelchair (don’t ask me why my left arm never bothers me - it’s not the chair itself because I’ve had the same problem with previous ones). I take Glucosamine+Chondroitin+MSM, and it does seem to help. I do grant that it might be a placebo effect, but I am pretty sure it’s more than that in me. I’ve been taking it for years.
It was a long time ago and I’m far too lazy to try to google it, but I did read an article way back when that clinical trials had shown that Glucosamine does have some effect on mild to moderate arthritic pain but that Chondroitin did nothing. Haven’t read anything about the efficacy of MSM (apparently it’s supposed to be an anti-inflammatory).
I just grab a bottle from Safeway or Shoppers Drug Mart - I don’t worry about the particular brand.
My dad would give it to his elderly dog and it seemed to perk her up big time, less limping, less whining when she walked, she just seemed more comfortable. But since she is a dog we can’t really ask her if it was the medicine that was making her feel better
It seemed to help our old dog. She was much less stiff and achy-acting when she was on G-C. (I don’t remember MSM, just glucosamine-chondroitin.)
It also seems to help my MIL. When she runs out, she has more problems with her joints. Since she can’t keep track of her own meds, I doubt she knows exactly what it is or when she’s getting it vs not.
However, I’ve talked to a couple of other people for whom it did nothing.
I’ve been taking G-C for years. I have a bad knee and hip. Does it help? Possibly. I’d have to quit taking it to see if things get more painful. There’s some science that says it does help somewhat. I’ll keep taking it until a good scientific study or two says it’s worthless or even harmful.
