My 40+ body is getting creeky now days – after a hard ride and regular free weights sessions.

Snake oil or not – its not particularly expensive stuff so I might give it a 6/12 try.

Recommend me a brand please.

Zipvit are a good price

healthspan chondromax

No idea if this is a particularly good one, but I get my stuff from the protein works;
http://www.theproteinworks.com/glucosamine-sulphate-1255.html
I’m happy with the suff I’ve bought form them so far.

Sugar pills will work just as well. You could ask your doctor to prescribe them for you, which will increase their effectiveness.

Much thanks.

I use Healthspan, 1500mcg. Other good brands to try are Lambert’s, Solgar, Jarrows. Cheaper brands tend to have dodgy fillers.

I took them when my knee was FUBAR’d, think the only studies that found them to be any good recomended some huge doses, and combined with condroitin. About 1000mg glucosamine, 400mg condroitin. Also, check the lable some brands quoted a weight including the potasium chloride that makes up the bulk of the tablets*.

Ordered them in a huge tub from naturesbest.co.uk

*if you’re going to take a placebo, it may as well be a strong one, some brands only had 100mg of stuff in them, others had >1g and recomended 3 a day!

TBH…

I wouldn’t bother – you’re more likely to see a beneficial effect by having a good diet than by taking any snake oil (choose your preferred derogatory term of choice..)

Aldi own brand are 500mg glucosamine sulphate which the bottle says is equivalent to 395mg glucosamine.

Two a day has definitely improved my dodgy knee which used to feel like it was going to explode when pushing the big gears.

TBH…

I wouldn’t bother – you’re more likely to see a beneficial effect by having a good diet than by taking any snake oil (choose your preferred derogatory term of choice..)

Have you tried it?

Have you tried it?

Yep.

No discernible difference whatsoever. Also, most of the credible peer reviewed medical evidence backs me up. Though the placebo effect can be very powerful..

No real evidence it works better than placebo.

Some people here will tell you it works but anecdote is not evidence, and many people are emotionally invested in believing they can control age, illness, tiredness and emotional issues with tablets. They usually describe this as a holistic approach. The ironing…

Also, most of the credible peer reviewed medical evidence backs me up. Though the placebo effect can be very powerful..

Sponsored by Big Pharma?

Sponsored by Big Pharma?

Unlikely, Big Pharma own most Vitamin companies, they are hugely profitable and subject to few regulations…..

With current prescription charges its cheaper to by glucosamine than get sugar pills.

Sugar pills are probably not quite as effective but both are contra indicated if you have diabetes.

Arthritis Research did a great study on complimentary treatments and medicines which looked at all the available scientific data and rated them on efftiveness and risk.

Arthritis Research report

May be worth trying Capsaicin

I could not find any evidence that the stuff works so didn’t bother with it.

havent seen simplysupplements mentioned so ill throw them into the mix. i used them for ages cos they were the best value. loads of BOGOFs etc.

gluco/chrond was a regular for me, (just about to hit 50), but then i decided to stop them and see if i noticed any difference, you know, more aches/pains/joint probs. nope, none, so i dont bother now.

mrlebowski – Member
Have you tried it?
Yep.

No discernible difference whatsoever. Also, most of the credible peer reviewed medical evidence backs me up.

pmsl – what measures did you use to track ‘difference’?

pmsl – what measures did you use to track ‘difference’?

Probably the same measures that those experiencing a positive benefit used.

FWIW… I got told to take Glucosamine by this guy… http://www.mcnicholaskneeclinic.co.uk/kneesurgeryclinic.htm and I’m guessing he knows more than everyone else on this thread combined.

He also said don’t bother with Condriotin or Green Lipped Mussel Oil* (the later of which I think is amazing for my knees) because there wasn’t enough medical evidence it worked.

* These are my “knee savers” (http://www.regenovex.co.uk/capsules/buy.html)

If it is cheap and you get a result out of it, even if it is a placebo effect, then it is worth it.

I used to believe 1g of vit C a day kept me from getting colds and coughs, and it seemed to.

Now I don’t believe in it so much and it doesn’t work anymore 🙁

I still ‘believe’ that lemsip max works better than all the other remedies, and try not to question that belief in case that also stops working.

I buy the value ranges of ibuprofen and paracetamol though.

What would JESUS do? 😉

Marshall… May just mean he is out of date. There was some evidence from early trials that people with knee problems would benefit. Subsequent larger trials did not confirm this. We now practice medicine based on evidence where it exists, rather than opinion.

Good to see the Big Pharma flag being raised… If you want to see regulation evasion, high profit margins and lack of effect, go to the vitamins/supplements/alternative medicines providers. Look at the number of US legislators in their pockets.

Doesn’t it have to have shark cartilage in it or something? Sounds dodgy for sharks.

pmsl – what measures did you use to track ‘difference’?

Whether my knee felt better before or after – like I said, no discernible difference.

Simple enough for you?

A friend of mine at work has a labrador that had problems with its joints and the vet recommended glucosamine capsules but charged an absolute fortune for them. The company my wife works for sells the capsules considerably cheaper and she told me they had numerous customers who bought them for their dogs as it was the same ingredients to the ones the vets sell only a lot cheaper.
My friend now gives his lab glucosamine and the joints are a lot better. Now I know labs are intelligent but I don’t think they get the placebo effect 😉
Could just be coincidence I suppose.

I think the bottom line with Glucosamine et al is this: try it but don’t go looking for a guarantee that it will work for you, as nobody can give you one as it has yet to be conclusively proved that it can. This thread is representative of a thousand other threads on this subject & similar. They all end up saying the same thing: it works for some & not for others…

You pays your money….

My knee feels a little better now than when I started taking glucosamine. I put it down to a thing called “time”. But as mrlebowsi says, it works for some, not for others.

Now I know labs are intelligent but I don’t think they get the placebo effect

so it has been ‘lab’ tested, that’s good enough for me…

mrlebowski – Member
pmsl – what measures did you use to track ‘difference’?
Whether my knee felt better before or after – like I said, no discernible difference.

Simple enough for you?

A highly subjective, non-benchmarked, single case non-blind trail is pretty simple, yes. How long did you try it for?

I used to pay £8 a month but now use Aldi’s own £1.99 for 50 tablets. 3 every morning. No pain still after 3 months with my hip.

I believe that mine have helped my knees when starting up running again. I bought the vegetarian ones from Boots. Paid what appears to be the going rate for such tablets. I take one per day but am cutting down am so far have not experienced any ill effects.

I started taking glucosamine only (cannot remember the dosage) on the advice of my GP in my mid thirties for knee problems (it was painful walking down stairs, two steps at a time).

It seemed to work, but when my knees hurt, I simply took things easy which may have had the same effect, as did cycling through nettles at the weekend, which tingled until Tuesday and then my knees seemed pain free until Saturday.

I am now 49 and take the full dosage of glucosamine and chondrotin (healthspan chondromax as mention by others) and have very few knee problems, just using my landrover’s clutch in heavy traffic can be uncomfortable after a while.

A highly subjective, non-benchmarked, single case non-blind trail is pretty simple, yes. How long did you try it for?

Get over yourself. What are you trying to prove?

FYI Nearly 3 years whilst I was racing – didn’t stop me getting Tendonitis or bone spurs.

Edit: why do you have such a problem with my opinion? Do you have shares in Glucosamine production?? I’ve explained my opinion – it works for some & not others but this for you seems hard to accept…..

it works for some

question is who does it work for ? how and why does it work?

Having lots of people saying ‘it worked for me’ doesn’t answer the above

Seems popular to give to dogs too. Check the brand Yumove on amazon..
I wonder whether its the placebo effect on the owners brain or it actually works??

Now I know labs are intelligent but I don’t think they get the placebo effect

so it has been ‘lab’ tested, that’s good enough for me…

tip o’ the Tam O’Shanter to you, Sir.

seems to work on my dodgy knee but not on my hip cycling helps the hip i use holland and barrett 1000mg