GLUCOSAMINE. Save £60 a Year

Ted_Hutchinson

It looks like you have to check on the particular supplement you are using to see which is the cheapest.

Zipvit

Glucosamine Sulphate 500mg with Chondroitin 400mg - 200 (size 00) £21.75

Simply supplements.
Max. Strength Glucosamine Sulphate 750mg, Marine Chondroitin 600mg and Calcium 50mg - 360 Tablets Product Code S352

Sale Price: £24.99

zipvit
Cod Liver Oil 1 A Day 1000mg - 360 (size H) £8.75

Simply supplements.
Cod Liver Oil - 360 Capsules 1000mg Sale Price: £11.99

Edit I don't really know why people take Cod Liver Oil rather than Omega Fish Oil. The purpose in taking these supplements is surely to increase the amount of Omega Oils in the diet and this can best be achieved by using the Omega Fish oil rather than the Cod liver version. The Omega 3's in 1000mg Cod liver oil are DHA 74.5 EPA 62.5 total 137mg while the Omega Fish oil contains DHA 120 EPA 180 total 300mg so although the Cod Liver is cheaper than the Omega3 fish oil it simply isn't the same quality and you will have to take twice as much and it still won't be as effective.
Taking one teaspoon of Zipvit's Omega Juice provides 600 mg DHA and 900mg EPA TOTAL 1500 so is equivalent to 11 capsules of Cod Liver oil or 5 capsules of Omega fish oil. There are more details of the research into appropriate doses in the thread Omega Fish Oils

oap

You can get Chondrotrin and Glucosamine on nhs from your doctor on prescription.

Ted_Hutchinson

oap wrote:

You can get Chondrotrin and Glucosamine on nhs from your doctor on prescription.

Post 27 of this thread John mentioned this and in post 35 I posted this link BMJ LETTER which shows that some GP's are confused about what they may prescribe.

If you want to check if the supplements you are currently taking are Valid as Prescribable Product then use the search facility at Medicine Guides

Clearly there would have to be a medical diagnosis to support the use of the particular medicine/supplement in order to justify the prescription.

zzzLazyDaisy

Ted_Hutchinson wrote:

BMJ LETTER extract......glucosamine-chondroitin as an off prescription preparation. Can anyone explain why it is usually recommended so, despite evidence of efficacy that is as good or better than most non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which cause a huge burden of morbidity and mortality)?,...........snip................
Most patients with osteoarthritis will qualify for free prescriptions and are in the age group with least income flexibility. Most do not need surgery but are still suffering. I understand that glucosamine is prescribable, but rheumatologists and general practitioners seem to advise patients to buy their own—why?

Unfortunately you have to pay for the full text of the article so unless someone has a subscription to BMJ we'll have to guess. But it does confirm the suggestion that you should ask to have them on prescription.

What is the difference between Glucosamine-chondroitin; Glucosamine-sulphate and Glucosamine-hydrochlorate, please? I get free prescriptions and have cervical spondylosis so Glucosamine might help, but am confused about which to ask for.

Thanks

Ted_Hutchinson

zzzLazyDaisy wrote:

What is the difference between Glucosamine-chondroitin; Glucosamine-sulphate and Glucosamine-hydrochlorate, please? I get free prescriptions and have cervical spondylosis so Glucosamine might help, but am confused about which to ask for.

Glucosamine-chondroitin is a formulation which includes both Glucosamine sulphate and chondroitin as it has been found that the Chondroitin actually improves the development of cartilage and thus rather than simply treating the inflamation also improves the situation so further damage is reduced.
Glucosamine hydrochloride vs. Glucosamine sulfate
Glucosamine hydrochloride vs. Glucosamine sulfate
Glucosamine hydrochloride was chosen instead of glucosamine sulfate for a number of reasons. The hydrochloride form is more concentrated than the sulfate form, and the hydrochloride form contains substantially less sodium per effective dose than the sulfate form. Glucosamine sulfate is stabilized with sodium chloride (table salt) and can contain as much as 30% sodium. This is a consideration for individuals who want to reduce their dietary intake of sodium.
However I have to report I've done a search of
Pubmed for Glucosamine in relation to cervical spondylosis and I can't find any published research which indicates it may be of value. The link above shows an exceptional case where manipulation was effective but exceptions aren't very common and I think you need to do more research into what may be effective in relation to your cervical spondylosis.
[size=+1]Efficacy of home cervical traction therapy.[/size]
Cervical Spondylosis: Diagnosis and Management

zzzLazyDaisy

Thanks for this Ted, much appreciated. Unfortunately I am *only* 49 and my condition has deteriorated rapidly over the past three years following a car accident when I sustained severe whiplash. I can't take the NSAIDs, Ibrufen, Voltarol, and other commonly prescribed meds, as I also have crohn's disease and am at risk of internal bleeding. So, although the Glucosamine isn't specifically recommended, I still think it might be worth a try as I have a lot of pain and stiffness.

BTW... by coincidence, I just made an order from Zipvit for Omega Juice and L-Carnitine (I have FMS/ME since the accident) and qualified for a free gift of...... would you believe... Glucosamine-Ch!! So I'll give it a try and see what happens

Ted_Hutchinson

zzzLazyDaisy wrote:

I can't take the NSAIDs, Ibrufen, Voltarol, and other commonly prescribed meds, as I also have crohn's disease and am at risk of internal bleeding. So, although the Glucosamine isn't specifically recommended, I still think it might be worth a try as I have a lot of pain and stiffness.

BTW... by coincidence, I just made an order from Zipvit for Omega Juice and L-Carnitine (I have FMS/ME since the accident) and qualified for a free gift of...... would you believe... Glucosamine-Ch!! So I'll give it a try and see what happens

As the BMJ letter was suggesting that gluc+chon was better than NSIADs for osteoarthritis and the link I provided earlier says that NSIADs are the routine treatment for Cervi/spondy it may be you will be lucky and benefit.
Omega is an anti-inflamatory agent see [size=-1]Simopoulos [/size][size=+1]Omega-3 fatty acids in inflammation and autoimmune diseases.[/size]
Crohn's disease
It will be interesting if you could post back at a later stage. Though for Omega it may take 12 weeks before any benefit is noticed.

zzzLazyDaisy

Thanks, and will do! :beer:

syenom

oap wrote:

You can get Chondrotrin and Glucosamine on nhs from your doctor on prescription.

hello
my wife needs these tabs
but her doc said
she cant have them
because their are not a drug

Ted_Hutchinson

Medicines.orgshow clearly that this is a prescribable product.
I can only suggest that you copy the extract from the
and copy the details from Medicines.org which show that glucosamine+chrondriotin is a prescribable product to your PALS and ask them to find out why your GP isn't allowed to prescribe a product which is demonstrably more effective that the NSIAD's it is replacing.
It would be very helpful to others if you could post back here what happens. It is an unfair postcode lottery if some MSE readers are able (as they report) to get these supplements on prescription while others, equally deserving, are denied them.