Can Glucosamine And Chondroitin Help With Knee Pain?

I used glucosamine/chondroitin in pill form for years and decided it did nothing. Then I started taking Osteo-Pro-Care, which is a liquid calcium, mineral, glucosamine chondroitin mix, available on the intrnet,and I THINK it has helped. I was expecting to have to have a 2nd knee replacement before now, and I am still well enough to put it off. But who knows if this is why?

I used both glucosamine and chondroitin for nearly two years with no relief for very arthritic knees. I had heard so much about it that I just kept trying.

I have been taking glucosamine and chondroitin for 10 years and I won't say the pain and stiffness from Osteoarthritis in my knees is gone but it has definitely stabilized over the years and has not gotten dramatically worse. I think that a sensible program of walking and other low impact exercises as outlined by the American Arthritis Society along with weight loss and glucosamine and chondroitin taken daily, definitely works to relieve the onset of arthritis and the accompanying immobility for most people.

I have no pain in my hands after taking 2000mg of glucosamine for a year. Before I was on Aleve twice a day all the time. I don't think people take glucosamine at a high enough dose or a long enough time to evaluate.

For knee pain my physican put me on Glucosomine Sulfate NOT chondroitin & was emphatic about the one vs.the other. It took a few weeks for it to kick in but really did the job. Then went on a maintenance dose of 500mg/day for quite a while and until I had a probem with my hands. The dosage was upped to 1000mg/day and within the few weeks period it once again did its thing. Works for me!

At the advice of my respected orthopod, I tried glucosamine/chondroitin. Very mild relief; huge cholesterol increase. Lipitor has handled that; eventually had to have knee replacement (after arthroscopy did not help) and am not taking g/c for other joint aches.

i have the gout about twice a year. i thought about taking the glucosamine to help all my aching joints. the warning labels warn against taking the product if you are allergic to shell fish. well is it the allergy reaction or is it the possible purine food theory about not eating shellfish if you have a history of gout.

My home companion and I have received substantial benefits from taking glucosomine. We have not tried chondroitin.

I took glucosamine for 3 months for moderate knee pain with no effects. I was told to take it again as it would take 6 months to 1 year before I would notice a difference. I took all kinds of preparations with no benefit until I read about turmeric. I took 3 capsules a day and vitamin C and the pain completely went...

I started taking glucosamine HCI 1500mg w/ MSM 1500mg in June 06 for pain in right ankle. Before this, I received an injected of chorizne every 6 months for the pain. My last injection was 27 Sep 06 & have no pain. I take 2 tablets daily that I buy at Costco for $12.39 for 250 tablets.

My husband tried this and stopped after 2 weeks, as his joints hurt WORSE! I've been on it about a month, and have the same problem EXCEPT that my fibromyalgia seems to be better. I'm going to keep taking this for a while to see if my joints will start feeling better. I talked with a 85 year-old friend, and she said she had been taking it for 6 months, and she thinks HER joint pain is worse. Has anybody else had the same problem?
Debby

I started taking for my knees, and they seemed to get worse, but my FIBROMYALGIA got much better!!! After 12 weeks, my knees are better. It's worth it for me!

Wonder what dose level was shown to be ineffective. From what I've read and from my own experience, it takes at least 100 of glucosamine sulfate per every 10 pounds of body weight to be results.

I've witnessed very good results with glucosamine in arthritic cats -- e.g. a cat who used to limp upstairs could climb stairs without limping, a cat who hadn't jumped on kitchen counters for years was again able to leap that far. (They were on a 100 mg per 10 pounds of body weight dose.)

I've seen studies that indicate that topical capsaicin is ineffective. However the doses used in those studies were very low. It took me longer to work up to being able to tolerate an effective dose of capsaicin than those studies lasted. Now it cuts the pain in my damaged, arthritic neck by about 50%.

I had heard so much about it that I just kept trying. I used both glucosamine and chondroitin for nearly two years with no relief for very arthritic knees.

Isn't it interesting how the results of any study are interpreted?

This website, http://www.glucosamine-arthritis.org/glucosamine/gait-guide-study.html, declares that the GAIT study found that the combination of glucosamine and chondroitin was found to siginficantly reduce pain compared to prescription drugs and the placebo. Of course they are selling one such combination.

As for my own experience, I found that glucosamine/MSM helped my knees for a long time, then didn't seem to work so well. Have been off of it for a couple of years now and am thinking of going back to it, perhaps in liquid form this time. I have also recently found that regular use of an eliptical machine is helping reduce the pain in my knees, and wearing a neoprene knee sleeve while I exercise also helps.