Advice on using arthritis supplements for hip joint

[Dimsumkid]

I've been told by my doctor and an orthopedic surgeon I have early arthritis due to some wearing of the cartilage in my left hip. The surgeon mentioned some time down the road, probably years or decades, I may need to do a hip replacement. He also said supplements don't really have any medical backing and didn't recommend any, but I could try them anyway if I wanted to.

I've been thinking about trying Glucosamine and Chondroitin supplements from Costco. Anyone currently using this combination to help with their symptoms? Are you finding improvements from using them? I'd like to hear the results and if not the Costco brand, what supplements are you using and where are you getting it from? Also read the old gin soaked golden raisin remedy from the topic from 2007 postings. I have gin but need to get golden raisins, so it won't cost me much to give it a try too.

 

[Orchidflower]

I have a degenerative right hip only and right shoulder from being thrown over a car (I have mentioned this in several posts). And I've done the chondroitin with glucosamine and the raisins and gin thing. So, essentially we both now have arthritis of the joints and all the pain that comes with that.

My Dr., however, recently put me on Fosamex which you CAN take for 5 years before it really starts to fracture your bones badly. I am sure--in light of recent information--that alot of Drs. are stopping prescribing it, but my pharmacist seemed to think it was the lesser of evils. The pharmacist gave the Fosamex a thumbs up for 5 years only as it will help. Yes, you might get some small hairline fractures but that won't harm you all that much according to her.

However, I did do alot of homework on the net recently about how to build up the bones again if that was possible. Seems the old exercise thang strikes again, so I started back jogging in water for 30 minutes about 4X a week. And let me tell you, I noticed LESS pain almost immediately. Wow!!!

The trick is to build the bones around the joints I found out. So, jogging in water, dancing, cycling, walking all are good for the bottom joints; and for the upper body lifting weights will build those bones.

Yeah, I wish I could take some pill and cure this but, unfortunately, it isn't going to work that way. Seems everything in life requires some hard work doesn't it

Just my opinion and my experience is all I'm offering. There is lots of information on the net about arthritis I found, too.

 

[GregLee]

I've been thinking about trying Glucosamine and Chondroitin supplements from Costco.

I take that. I don't have any symptoms of arthritis, and I think the chance is remote that it will ever be of any benefit, but a remote chance is better than no chance, I figure. There is evidence that it helps dogs, and our vet recommended it for our dog, whose spine is in pretty bad shape.

 

[Dimsumkid]

I take that. I don't have any symptoms of arthritis, and I think the chance is remote that it will ever be of any benefit, but a remote chance is better than no chance, I figure.

I'm curious, are you just taking it as a preventive measure?

 

[eytonxav]

I've been taking the Glucosamine and Chondroitin supplements from Costco for the past year. I lift weights for exercise and fairly heavy for my age (200 lb bench press, 150 lb overhead press), and the aforementioned lifts tend to be hard on the joints, especially in older folks (I'm 62). I have not had any joint issues or arthritus yet (knock on wood), but certainly cannot attribute that to the G&C supp. So, I suppose you could say I am taking it as a preventative measure, irrespective of a lack of scientific evidence that it does any good

 

[GregLee]

I'm curious, are you just taking it as a preventive measure?

Yes.

 

[donheff]

I have been taking Glucosamine/Chondroitin for ten or fifteen years, ever since my dog's arthritis improved on it. I understand that it's efficacy has been discredited but I keep taking it - I am willing to accept a placebo effect.

 

[ohyes]

Have arthritis - in knees. When I asked my doctor about taking Glucosamine and Chondroitin, he nodded emphatically and told me to double the recommended dosage - that it was worth a try. A year later, it was apparent that it did not work and I ended up with a knee replacement. The recovery was tough, the scar ain't so pretty, but that replacement sure did the trick.

I would definitely try it! So many folks swear by the stuff. Also, what about those injections? Some people say those do the tricks for years. Not sure what they consist of. I always imagine WD-40, but am guessing they are way more than that.

Good luck and I hope you find just the right thing!!

 

[GregLee]

Also, what about those injections? Some people say those do the tricks for years. Not sure what they consist of.

Cortisone. My wife has gouty arthritis in her knees. I just asked her how the cortisone injections had worked out for her. She says they work to stop the pain, but you generally have to follow up with physical therapy (which she has done) or surgery. In her case, she also takes a med for the gout.

 

[MichaelB]

I've been told by my doctor and an orthopedic surgeon I have early arthritis due to some wearing of the cartilage in my left hip. The surgeon mentioned some time down the road, probably years or decades, I may need to do a hip replacement. He also said supplements don't really have any medical backing and didn't recommend any, but I could try them anyway if I wanted to.

I've been thinking about trying Glucosamine and Chondroitin supplements from Costco. Anyone currently using this combination to help with their symptoms? Are you finding improvements from using them? I'd like to hear the results and if not the Costco brand, what supplements are you using and where are you getting it from? Also read the old gin soaked golden raisin remedy from the topic from 2007 postings. I have gin but need to get golden raisins, so it won't cost me much to give it a try too.

My understanding from a MD dept head at Yale medical center is that glucosamine is effective at rebuilding cartilage based on their own in house research and they recommend it regularly for people suffering from osteoarthritis.

 

[haha]

My understanding from a MD dept head at Yale medical center is that glucosamine is effective at rebuilding cartilage based on their own in house research and they recommend it regularly for people suffering from osteoarthritis.

Do you remember the recommended dose?

I hate to take pills, but my hip pain has become annoying enough that I definitely would take it.

Ha

 

[donheff]

Do you remember the recommended dose?

I hate to take pills, but my hip pain has become annoying enough that I definitely would take it.

Ha

A boatload. I took two of the Costco GC 1500/1200mg horse pills per day for years. I vaguely remember reading that double that dose or more might be preferable.

 

[bruce1]

I have been taking fish oil occasionally for knee pain for a while. It seems to help the following day and I am less stiff in the morning if I take 2 (costco brand) in the AM and 2 in the pm. Exercise is good for me but not everyone but I am lazy when it comes to that. Glucosamine and Chondroitin did not seem to do much but am thinking of trying them again. They seem to have helped my St Bernard.

 

[donheff]

Glucosamine and Chondroitin did not seem to do much but am thinking of trying them again. They seem to have helped my St Bernard.

They are long term treatments, think years, not days. The science says they are bunkum but my old rickety Golden started climbing stairs again after going on it and that can't be a placebo effect (unless the placebo was that I imagined the improvement, which is not out of the question given the record of witness evidence).

 

[REWahoo]

They are long term treatments, think years, not days. The science says they are bunkum but my old rickety Golden started climbing stairs again after going on it and that can't be a placebo effect (unless the placebo was that I imagined the improvement, which is not out of the question given the record of witness evidence).

My personal experience says G&C works for dogs, not for people.

 

[donheff]

My personal experience says G&C works for dogs, not for people.

Yeah, but I'm an old dog.

 

[bruce1]

They are long term treatments, think years, not days. The science says they are bunkum but my old rickety Golden started climbing stairs again after going on it and that can't be a placebo effect (unless the placebo was that I imagined the improvement, which is not out of the question given the record of witness evidence).

Brandy had been on them for 4 or 5 years. She is 11 which is old for a Saint. I credit them and the low calorie diet with keeping her moving the last few years. When I took it I missed too many doses. If I start again I will have to be more disciplined.

 

[Nemo2]

I'm bone-on-bone, (no cartilage), in both knees. Had arthroscopy in 1998, and have been told by two orthopedic surgeons, (the last one about 10 years ago), that "Sooner or later, but try and make it later" I'll require replacements, (I'll be 69 in 2 1/2 weeks).

Luckily, (I recall reading years ago that a certain percentage of osteoarthritis sufferers don't experience severe knee pain), other than the fact that I had to quit running in the mid-1990s, it doesn't really bother me too much, (my grandmother used to say "No sense, no feeling"), and I usually do two 30 minute elliptical sessions, (on 'interval'), daily.

But......about 4 years ago I was knocked down by a large City of Ottawa truck while out walking, and had one foot crushed. The foot has healed as well as it's going to, and I now wear custom orthotics.......although they're not a panacea.

Trouble is, now with the body being slightly off-kilter, problems have manifest themselves in my opposing hip when I walk any distance........right now I 'suck it up' and don't take pain killers, (which just mask the problem), and I'm unsure whether Glucosamine and Chondroitin would be of any benefit.

Guess there's no 'silver bullet'......either the Lone Ranger lied to me...or they're just for Werewolves.

 

[bruce1]

Yeah, but I'm an old dog.

Can you be taught new tricks?
I know I know.

 

[Tiger]

I have arthritis in every joint. I took Glucosamine/Chondroitin for years and felt no changes. I take Tylenol or a pain killer. I've been told that the best way to deal with it is by exercising. Now I have to find something to deal with laziness.

 

[Alan]

Also, what about those injections? Some people say those do the tricks for years. Not sure what they consist of. I always imagine WD-40, but am guessing they are way more than that.

DW had WD-40* in her knee in 2005 and it has worked fantastically well. She was told it would probably need repeating every couple of years but so far so good.

It was a series of weekly injections that were very painful, especially the first one which consisted initially of withdrawing fluid from the knee cavity.

* it was actually synthetic synovial fluid

Synvisc is a synthetic hyaluronic acid joint lubricant used to replace the synovial fluid of the knee. Synvisc became FDA-approved in 1997. Synvisc injections are approved for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee in those who have failed to respond to more conservative therapy

 

[MichaelB]

Do you remember the recommended dose?

I hate to take pills, but my hip pain has become annoying enough that I definitely would take it.

Ha

Ha, I don’t remember the recommended dose but I do recall the context of discussion quite well. He was answering my question about alternative medicine and joint disease, and described supplements and alternative treatments by breaking them down into two categories: anecdotal treatments that were untested and had no scientific support, and supplements and remedies derived from plants that were effective and had been subjected to research and scientific method. He used glucosamine as the example of a natural remedy that had undergone rigorous testing at Yale and elsewhere and was in their view an effective treatment for joint deterioration. He specifically said it rebuilt worn cartilage.

Mayo clinic says

In most available studies, 500 milligrams of glucosamine sulfate has been taken by mouth as tablets or capsules three times daily for 30 to 90 days. Once daily dosing as 1.5 grams (1,500 milligrams) has also been used. Limited research has used 1,500 milligrams daily as a crystalline powder for oral solution or 500 milligrams of glucosamine [FONT=&quot]hydrochloride [/FONT]three times daily. Dosing of 20 milligrams per kilogram of body weight daily has also been recommended in some publications. One study used a dose of 2,000 milligrams per day for 12 weeks.

 

[GregLee]

The NIH NCAM web site describes GAIT:

GAIT is the first large-scale, multicenter clinical trial in the United States to test the effects of the dietary supplements glucosamine hydrochloride (glucosamine) and sodium chondroitin sulfate (chondroitin sulfate) for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.

Here is the summary of key results of the GAIT study:

What were the key results of the study?

Researchers found that:

• Participants taking the positive control, celecoxib, experienced statistically significant pain relief versus placebo—about 70 percent of those taking celecoxib had a 20 percent or greater reduction in pain versus about 60 percent for placebo.
• Overall, there were no significant differences between the other treatments tested and placebo.
• For a subset of participants with moderate-to-severe pain, glucosamine combined with chondroitin sulfate provided statistically significant pain relief compared with placebo—about 79 percent had a 20 percent or greater reduction in pain versus about 54 percent for placebo. According to the researchers, because of the small size of this subgroup these findings should be considered preliminary and need to be confirmed in further studies.
• For participants in the mild pain subset, glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate together or alone did not provide statistically significant pain relief.

Questions and Answers: NIH Glucosamine/Chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT) [NCCAM Backgrounder]

 

[tmm99]

This is not a supplement, but I've read that strength training helps with pain... I would imagine you would need to do a targeted training specifically for hips... This may or may not have any effect on the arthritic progression itself; I haven't read anything about that yet...

Strength Training - Strength Training for People With Arthritis

Tufts University completed a strength-training program with older men and women with moderate to severe knee osteoarthritis. Study results showed that strength training:

• decreased pain by 43%
• increased muscle strength
• improved physical performance
• improved signs and symptoms of the disease
• decreased disability

 

[devans0]

Caf(fiend) ?