GLUCOSAMINE. Save £60 a Year

Ted_Hutchinson

theloft wrote:

If your husband has Stage 2 diabetes, then he is obviously under medical supervision! It amazes me that someone would ask a serious medical question on what is after all a Money Saving Site. Common sense dictates that your husband or you put that question to his doctor and not rely on advice from people who may or may not know what advice they are giving, however well intentioned.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Of the 1.8 million, almost 250,000 people have Type 1 diabetes and just over 1.5 million have Type 2 diabetes. It is estimated that there are up to a million who have Type 2 diabetes but haven't been diagnosed yet. [/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Five per cent of the NHS budget or around £10 million a day is currently spent on treating diabetes and its effects.[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] It follows from this that there are an awful lot of people who may have diabetes as yet undiagnosed who are also of an age when they are likely to be using glucosamine. It is therefore helpful to post links to the latest research findings so people who may be worried by issues potentially arising from the use of this supplement can be reassured by whatever research has been done.
While many may well be satisfied with the nutritional understanding their particular GP may have, some of us have found that our GP knows next to nothing about such matters. “The burden of food related ill health measured in terms of mortality and morbidity is similar to that attributable to smoking. The cost to the NHS is twice the amount attributable to car, train, and other accidents, and more than twice that attributable to smoking. The vast majority of the burden is attributable to unhealthy diets rather than to food borne diseases.” yet it is the case that many [/FONT]doctors still have an inadequate knowledge of the nutritional aspects of health promotion and disease treatment.

I'd also ask you to check my posts and point out to me where I have posted "advice" and not simply pointed to sources of information to my recollection I seem to remember saying you would be best advised to consult with his health professionals.

It may also be appropriate to point out that the evidence is that vitamin D deficiency plays a causative role in Type 2 diabetes. In Clinical Endocrinology, a group from Australia demonstrated that blood sugars go up as 25(OH)D levels fall. At least six studies now support Professor Boucher's 1998 theory in the British Journal of Nutrition that vitamin D deficiency is a major cause of type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome. Yet I wonder how many doctors ever ask for a 25–hydroxy–vitamin D blood test? or provide sensible advice encouraging regular safe sun sunbathing.

theloft

Ted, I think you have missed the point entirely. I was not criticising the value or accuracy of your advice, merely that the question had been asked in the first place. I did note that you had suggested consultation with health professionals, I was merely reiterating that. Obviously if cariad 123 was aware that her husband has Stage 2 diabetes, he has been diagnosed. I am questioning the posing of the question on this site, however well-informed you may be. I repeat, this is a money-saving site and if cariad 123 has dissatisfaction with the response from the doctor, then she should seek alternative medical opinions. I would ask the question, has she even asked the doctor about glucosamine ? There are also plenty of sites specialising in health. I repeat my earlier plea, - let's get back to what this site is all about please.

Ted_Hutchinson

theloft wrote:

I repeat my earlier plea, - let's get back to what this site is all about please.

This site is about having INFORMED consumers. Whether it be for goods or services you have to have a basic understanding of issues involved to know if any purchase is valuable or moneysaving or if there are possible consequences arising from using this product or service.

In order to understand if a particular supplement may be beneficial to you or may cause more problems than it solves having someone point you to up to date, peer reviewed research relevant to that supplement and your particular condition will give you relevant information so that when you consult with your GP you are better able to understand the information they are providing and sufficiently informed to determine if they are in fact providing SATISFACTORY advice based on up to date information.

In order to make sensible choices it is necessary to be an educated consumer. This applies as much to health as any other purchase. It is the point of this site to educate the consumer and as such the information provided was entirely on topic.

theloft

I give up, but on second thoughts, perhaps you should qualify as a medical practiitioner.

djohn2002uk

Directed @ theloft.
I seem to recall you posting in the past relating to the detrimental size of some Glucosamine tablets. We have found the same problem with the Glucosamine + Chondroitin and the Glucosamine 1000mg from Simply Suplements, so much so that we stopped taking them after struggling for 3 months. It has now become evident that they were of benefit but don't know that we could face them again at that size.
So, I was wondering what solution, if any, you found, perhaps with a different supplier. I do faintly remember you talking about crushing them in a drink but think you didn't find that very satisfactory. I'd be grateful for any info you might have.

Loobeylou

Mr Loobeylou and I started taking Glucosamine about three months ago after having been recommended to take them. However, after having paid a lot of money in the supermarket for a large tub of low dose tablets (which was only about one quarter full of tablets and therefore initially rather misleading), we then started looking on the Internet and found the 1000 mg buy one get one free from Simply Supplements.

We too found that they were difficult to get down due to the size and being non-coated. However, we then discovered that the recommended dose was 1500 mg and subsequently fond out that they were extremely easy to break in half - bit of a faf I know, but it didn't take long to do the entire tub. So we are able to take them more easily and at the correct dose.

However, not sure how long it takes for these to work effectively, and obviously as we were taking a smaller dose than recommended we have built up the dose slowly. I have heard about the CHONDROITIN addition to the tablets, but the dose of the Glucosamine is then reduced.

So ... what is the recommended dose of the Glucosamine when combined with the Chondroitin, and what dose should the Chondroitin be?

Browntoa

http://www.coventrypainclinic.org.uk/jointpain-glucosamine.htm

What is the recommended dose of Glucosamine ?

• The maximum recommended dose is 1500 mg per day. This can be taken as a single dose or divided into 500 mg three times a day. Beware combination products which contain vitamin C - it may be quite easy to exceed the maximum RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) with these products. The UK and USA RDA for vitamin C is 60 mg.

Can Glucosamine be combined with anything else ?

• If glucosamine itself is not helpful in relieving arthritic symptoms, it may be combined with chondroitin and other nutrients. alternatively, glucosamine and chondroitin can be started together. The positive effects of glucosamine reducing joint pain are often noticed within a few weeks.

The usual recommended dose of Chondroitin sulfate is 1200 milligrams in divided doses. Glucosamine sulfate is 1500 milligrams in divided doses.

djohn2002uk

Loobeylou wrote:

So ... what is the recommended dose of the Glucosamine when combined with the Chondroitin, and what dose should the Chondroitin be?

Thanks for the response.
We have been breaking them in half for my wifes "dainty little throat" but even then she struggles hence the reason I'm looking for alternatives.
Browntoas right in what he says, and the tablets we have are Glucosamine - 1000mg and Glucosomine + Chondroitin - 500mg + 400mg.
As you can see this gives the recomended dose of both substances and both tablets are the same large size.
It may be that when you get in the region of 900-1000mg the physical size is necessary but I doubt it because after all we are still only talking about 1gramme of the active ingredient(s).
I hope theloft sees this and maybe he has found a solution and will share it with us.

Dora_the_Explorer_5

John, you can buy a pill cutter in Boots for a couple of quid which will enable you to cut pills in half and then in half again. HTH

djohn2002uk

Dora_the_Explorer wrote:

John, you can buy a pill cutter in Boots for a couple of quid which will enable you to cut pills in half and then in half again. HTH

The idea had been in my mind but never thought there'd be anything on the market. Need to go to boots tomorrow swo will look one out then. Many many thanks. :T:T:T:T