[kykaree]

Now I am not taking this for weight loss, but I didn't know where to put this, so mods, kindly move if you can think of somewhere better to stick me

Since losing 60 odd pounds, I have knee pain. My knees, particularly my left, clicks and crunches occasionally. The pain isn't great, but it doesn't sound too good! Especially some of the poses in class!

I've started taking glucosamine and chondroitin capsules in the hope that this will help.

Has anyone had much success? I thought I would try this for a month before seeing the doctor.

I don't want to see the doctor just yet, because they will probably suggest an arthroscopy, which requires a general anaesthetic. I am still an anaesthetic risk, and have a 10k run coming up (yeah great for the knee! so I am prepared to walk if necessary) and my trip to Australia in mid June, so don't want to do anything drastic until those two events are behind me.

[alinnell]

My knees are similar--cracking and sounding very yucky with things like lunges. I'm sure it was all brought on by years of downhill skiing. Anyway, I don't do lunges anymore (besides, I'd rather do without the pain). I used to take the Glucosamine and Condroitin regularly, and did so for over 6 months. I noticed no change in my knees (soundwise or painwise). Since then, I've read some articles that say they don't work. So I stopped taking them and have had no change. I recommend reading up on it more, try it yourself for a few months and see if you notice a change. Perhaps you may be one of the lucky ones that may benefit from it. (Oh, I used to give it to my older dog, too--they make it especially for dogs. She didn't seem to benefit from it either.)
Good luck on your 10k. If it were me, I'd walk it--I just can't run with these knees!

[penpal]

I tried glucosamine/chondroitin for a while and it didn't do anything for my severe arthritis (feet, hip, knee). I have almost no cartilege left in my ankle. I was desperate for pain relief when I had to stop taking Vioxx and my naturopath put me on fish oil.

What HAS helped me a lot is high doses of fish oil (8g - 9g per day). I get a very high quality kind as I don't want to overdose on mercury! I now work out 3x a week at Curves and can walk for about 20 minutes at a stretch. My knee used to snap, crackle and pop, but that went away.

If you use fish oil in high doses you should do it under your doctor's supervision as it also acts as a blood thinner and you need to be careful what other supplements you may be taking that also thin the blood.

[Meg]

I've taken it for about five years and think it's helped, to an extent. I have severe arthritis (no cartilage - I'm bone on bone) in both knees and am fighting to keep from totally replacing them. I originally started the glucosamine-chondrotin because I read that it can help you regrow cartilage - obviously it didn't do that for me! Last month I asked my doctor whether he thought it was worth continuing and he said probably because it seems act as a pain reliever for some people, equivalent to anti-inflammatories. I thought that was interesting because I don't have the degree of pain that I should with my knees (especially the right) being as bad as they are. Of course, having ridiculously strong quads is a huge help also!

So my answer is that it may act as a pain-reliever for your knees even if it doesn't successfully regrow cartilage.

I also asked my doctor what I can do now to prevent my left knee from becoming as bad as my right and he gave me some advice that I think applies to anyone with knee issues:

1. Maintain a normal weight (every extra pound that you carry exerts FOUR pounds of pressure on your knees, ankles, and feet!)

and

2. Strengthen the muscles that surround the knee as much as possible.

I know you're doing both Kylie, so maybe the glucosamine will be a good addition. Hope your knees behave for your trip!

[cagirlygirl]

Tough to follow words of wisdom from Meg...but I'll give it a shot.

I've taken glucosamine before. I had pain in my right hip that went away completely after a month or so of using it regularly. I still take it occasionally, but not consistently. When I talked to my doctor about it, she mentioned that it's sort of a hit and miss proposition. It works great for some folks and not at all for others. They're not sure what makes the difference.

My suggestion would be to buy a bottle and give it a shot. Can't hurt - might help.

Best of luck!!

[40poundsago]

I used it years ago when I worked at a retail store and was walking on the concrete on the time and I think it worked for me.

And on the whole weight loss thing, you made me think, when I was working at menards I took the glucosomine and I took am 300 for wieght loss, and I lost a bunch of weight, I stopped taking the am 300 and maintained my weight for about a year, then I went through a divorce and move then I had another baby and gained all the wieght back. So I tried the am 300 again and it didn't work, so I wonder if it wasn't the am 300 that helped me lose the weight in the first place. interesting....

I would say buy it and give it a shot. best of luck

[jtammy]

My husband takes it and it helps him. His orthapedic surgeon recommended it after he had arthroscopic surgery on his knee (bone on bone for him also).

[Ilene]

I take Glucosamine without the Chondroitin someone told me if the Glucosamine works alone why bother with the Chondrointin since it's more expensive with it.... It works VERY well for DH and I... If we go a couple of days without taking it we feel the pain in our knees... My doctor doesn't seem to believe in it, but I feel it works. I have recommended it to several people and they all came back telling me it worked like a charm for them too...

Just buy some and see... It takes 4-6 weeks to work ...

[djadecatz]

I use it when the weather changes start my knees hurting. It really makes a difference for me. I have arthoscope surgery 6 years ago and was told beforehand with xrays of my knee the cartlidge was wearing and I would develope arthritis eventually. I think it works to lubricate the joints so how well it works depends on how much cartlidge you have remaining in your knees. Since your body weight is constantly wearing it down over the years I think the most significant help for the knees is getting to an average weight and taking the extra pressure off - I personally am guilty of having a long ways to go!

Diana

[WaterRat]

Another "bone-on-bone" chick here! I've tried Glucosamine several times, and don't think it helps me at all. But others swear by it, including for their pets with bad joints. My knees don't make any noise, nor do they hurt normally. It's just doing any kind of thing from a squatting position - like cleaning the litter box , or kneeling down, which I cannot do without a lot of pain. I know that getting back to goal will help, but like Meg and others, I see replacement in my future.

[Amarantha2]

Recently, I've read about some new studies that found no basis to claims that glucosamine/chrondoitin is anything more than a placebo for pain relief. However, you'd have to tell that to the bazillions of seniors that live in the part of the country that I do. The supplements, or glucosamine alone, are widely used and most people (including me) seem to think they are effective, but that COULD be a placebo effect ... if you think it'll work, it'll work.

But explain that to my dog! She's quite elderly and I give her the supplements (the most expensive I can buy) and after a month or so, she just seems to move better and feel better ... then somehow she seems to not want to eat the chewable tablets anymore and refuses to do so, and she starts to move more slowly and not feel as well.

She doesn't even know how to spell "placebo" ...