glucosamine - how long before it starts working?

I've recently started taking glucosamine - does anybody know how long before it begins to have a noticeable effect?

Thanks,
Jo
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Comments

  • What dosage are you taking Jo?
    When i started it a couple of years ago it seemed to make a noticeable difference after a couple of months.
  • The pack says to take 1 or 2 capsules daily (500mg glucosamine, 400mg chondroitin (or however its spelt!)) - I'm taking 2 daily.
  • take foru a day for the first few weeks. i'm not being facicious. glucosamine has a cumulative effect, and the greater the build up of the glucosamine, the more you see the effect.

    for this reason, when high% launched their joint care system, they recomended "loading" with the system for the first couple of weeks, to build up the nutrient. they therefore reduced the amout taken in times of maintanance. and in times of intense training and recovery from injury, they again recomended upping the dose.

    see this link for information on the high5 philosophy of joint supplenemtation.

    right here
  • oh, this is the more direct link to the joint protection site

    high 5 joint protection
  • BarklesBarkles ✭✭✭
    Couple of months..

  • i've been taking glucosamine in liquid form (tangly lemon flavour!) which provides 1500mg every day. Is this the best form to take it in. I keep hearing that tablets are not at all effective and my vegetarian lifetsyle means i cannot take those horrible gelatine capsules?

    and also should i be taking the glucosamine sulphate with condroitin. If so does anyone know of such a supplement in liquid form or are the tablets good enough?

    and regarding the main thread article i've been taking glucosamine for three months and don't feel any benefit yet.
  • Ron - where do you get the lemon liquid stuff from?
  • Yes that sounds interesting.

    Ive been taking it for around 3 months and havent notice any difference yet.

    I take three a day i think 500 gluc and 500 condr in each
  • I take a drink called ActivJuice and its made by Optima (www.optimah.com).

    It comes in 1 litre bottles and in two yummy flavours (lemon and orange). Each bottle costs around £11.00 and lasts 40 days (daily intake of 25ml supplies 1500mg of glucosamine sulphate - equivalent to 3 500mg tablets). It also states on the bottle how as little as 20% is absorbed in tablet form whilst 90% of the liquid supplement is absorbed immediately! So why bother taking tablets if only a small amount is actually absorbed?

    One more quickie. What sort of effect are you supposed to feel from taking glucosamine/condroitin? Do your joints suddenly become springier?


  • Gosh thats a shock, i didnt know such a small amount was absorbed from tablets!

    To take Condroitine seperately is quite expensive i think.

    Is condroitine really that essential?
  • of course i may just be gullible to the advertising!

    but as for condrottin (how many spellings does this word have?)i do hear it is important in the take up of glucosamine. but i only know of tablets containing both glucosamine and condrottin.
  • As far as I understand the few good scientific trials that exist deal with glucosamine only (not chondroitin) in a dose of 1500 mg daily. Looked at effect on osteoarthritis of knee joint over 3 yrs use in terms of symptom improvement (pain/stiffness) and x-ray appearances (progression of arthritis). Results favourable but need further investigation. I take for arthritis of the big toe and noticed benefit in terms of pain after 1 month so probably worth trying for a few months and if no benefit then probably not worth spending money on it. Liquid formulations much more expensive than capsules/tabs.If can't bear thought of tabs/capsules try mixing powder with capsules in fruit juice - much cheaper than liquid preparations. Cheapest source I've found is at www.zipvit.co.uk
  • I order some of the drinking stuff today from Zipvit along with a seperate condroitin supplement, will let you know how i get on
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    I've been taking 1500 mg daily for 6 weeks and have definitely noticed a difference in the last 10 days. Daren't stop taking them now, just as well I bought a year's supply!!

    Have been taking tablets, is it better to crush them in juice then? Might as well try it as they're like horse tablets and have to break them up to swallow them.
  • Sorry if Im asking a stupid question but what is glucosamine and what's it for?
  • Good idea shades, I've got some horse tablet-sized glucosamine tablets and they tended to get stuck in my oesophagus, giving me a nasty acid indigestion after a while. I stopped taking them, maybe it's time to start again!
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Danni - I'll leave one of the techy runners to explain fully, but it's a supplement for joints and is reputed to help rebuild cartilage, and ease joint pain. I run quite a few marathons and have a niggle in my right knee, which is probably a potential injury. Over the last 10 days I have had not even a twinge from that knee, despite doing a 33.4 off road event on Saturday followed by a road marathon on Sunday!! So, i'm hoping it's the tablets that are working as I have a 32 road event tomorrow, with a lot of hills.
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Nettle Lover

    I was taking the horse tablets for a week, before I discovered they break up really easily!! & I'm not blonde!!
  • For those of you who prefer glucosamine liquid I've just had a brochure through from www.zipvit.co.uk with their new liquid glucosamine - and seems to be reasonably priced compared with capsules/tabs.
  • Supposed to take 4-6 weeks to take affect. Nutraceutical that prevents cartilage deteriorating & has mild anti-inflammatory activity. If no improvement noticed after 6weeks i would stop taking it & spend the money on alcohol personally :)Much more fun
  • Decided I will give glucosamine (liquid!) a try - though not instead of alcohol (good point, B's M)!
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Completed the Dartmoor Discovery yesterday, for the 3rd time, (32 miles road, hard and hilly) and my legs feel fine today, so I'm putting that down to the horse tablets, I'm gonna keep on taking them
  • My doctor tells me that you need to take 1500mg a day for it to be any use, not just the 500 that is recommended on the bottle.
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    That's what I'm taking 1500 mg, the tablets are huge, the packet wouldn't fit in my letterbox, the postman had to ring the doorbell. Got mine from zipvit. A year's supply was about 13 quid, much cheaper than in the shops.
  • 13quid for a year's supply? Are you sure you've got the right stuff???
  • to throw a spanner in the works!

    i've been taking the liquid form (optima's activejuice in case anyone skipped the earlier parts of the thread)but does anyone also take condritin/MSM supplements. Is glucosamine sulphate enough to keep out joints etc...protected???
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Blott's mate - Yes I definitely got the right stuff, check out zipvit's website. I can understand you asking me that, I've seen the price in the shops.
  • I'm taking Glucosomine and Sulphate for the past 4 weeks. Haven't noticed anything remarkable happening yet. How do you know what is a 'good brand'? My health food store had so many and some of them were very pricey! Do I need to spend more to get better quality ones? or are they all the same and someone somewhere is making a fortune? I did read any article saying that it is important to take the full daily dosage of 1500 to 2000mg per day to get full effect. This article said that people who say they did not have any positive results usually were not taing the required amount.
  • Bottom Line - Chondrotin is very hard for the body to absorb and is almost certainly not worth taking. Glucosamine Hydrochloride is FAR more bioavailable than the Sulphate form AND encourages the body to produce more of its own chondrotin. www.higernature.co.uk. Expensive though... Pay your money and take your choice! BUt quality varies a LOT in this product and we don't want cheap pills, we want results...
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