Had an x ray, diagnosed with mild osteoarthritis. Doctor said i should take Krill Oil and Glucosamine with chrodointin. Please help me find a good quality brand for both with good prices. I will not trade quality for price but if it's the same brand i.e. Blackmores, I'd like to buy from the cheapest place for that brand. Thanks all!
Krill oil & Glucosamine with Chrodointin
macr0hard on 29/07/2014 - 17:24
Last edited 29/07/2014 - 17:25
Last edited 29/07/2014 - 17:25
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Funnily enough I've just been looking at the best bioavailability for glucosamine (for our dog admittedly) and concluded that hydrochloride > sulphate.
thanks jzdhgkd. I'm planning to buy either the Blackmores 1500mg or Nature's Own 2000mg Krill Oil. Not sure what brand is better.
What's the difference between glucosamine sulfate and glucosamine with Chondroitin ?
May as well go with Nature's own because it's a higher strength. They're both reputable brands.
Glucosamine comes in two types: sulfate and hydrochloride. You'll have to look at the ingredients list to see which one. Chondroitin is a different ingredient altogether. So you'll be looking for a "glucosamine sulfate + chondroitin" product.
for me i think Swisse is the biggest brand. Most athletics take them.
Swisse has the largest marketing budget.
Surprised that people still prescribe glucosamine + chondroitin sulfate preparations, given that they show very little efficacy, if any at all.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_trials_on_glucosamine_…
Haha I guess not all docs adhere to the evidence-based-medicine model ;)
Ozbargain style - you know bulk is the only way to get bang for buck. Try bulknutrients - never used myself however.
http://www.bulknutrients.com.au/shop/health-vitality-joint-s…
I will give my dr the wiki link, see what he says :)
So then what is a good effective supplement if glucosamine is not?
I had been taking triple strength Krill oil for a few years, then about 4 months ago I was diagnosed with both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, add to this bursitis in both hips, not much joy.
Talk to your local health shop. Not all natural tablets work the same for everyone, I stopped taking Krill and bought Boswellia, wow, within a week the pain from rheumatoid arthritis had decreased. A month later, I also started taking Glucosamine 1 tablet a day strength, Nature's Own brand. Where I live I could not get the combo of Glucosamine with chrodointin.
Do a lot of research on the various tablets that are available, if you feel one tablet is not helping, try another. www.choice.com.au completed a review on glucosamine, worth reading through.
Which krill oil brand had you been taking? Are you saying they didnt help at all but seems to have caused more problems?
I was taking Bioglan Triple strength Krill Oil. I did not notice any improvement after taking the krill for a period of time. I would not say that the krill caused more problems, I just did not notice any improvement with it. By what I have been told, some things work for one, but not for all. Krill may work for you. I have been taking glucosamine for about 4 months now and notice improvement in my joints, ease of movement and a lot less clicking and joint pain.
i'm now taking both krill oil (alternating between Nature's Own 2000mg and Blackmores 1500mg) and glucosamine with chrodointin. It's been about 2 weeks so too early to tell. I still have mild pain and clicking but my joint has stopped being in locked mode like before. Would be great to also know if there's anything we can do to slow down the wear and tear process.
Can I just ask how you knew you had rheumatoid? what were the symptoms?
I have been told that Cartilage is getting rough. I will start taking Glucosamine with Chondroitin, can someone give review, if it has benefited them personally? Also doc said to take Fish oil. So should I take Fish oil or Krill Oil?
Just a background Pain in knee past 3 years, did x-rays, MRIs, CT scan but nothing major come up so doc concluded it looks like Cartilage.
I thought cartilage shows up in X-Rays or scans (one or the other). Not so?
Medical imaging (= x-ray, CT, MRI) often isn't conclusive in typical joint trauma. I had a 6mm disc prolapse in my neck that x-rays didn't detect while active, and MRIs didn't detect after the fact. Yet even breathing was agony.
Patients put their faith in imaging often without realising that false positives and negatives are extremely common.
Just get whatever's on special at Coles or Woolworths. Or Chemist Warehouse.
It really doesn't matter. This is definitely an area where people overanalyze and/or are led to throw money down the sink for questionable clinical return.
IMHO the best advice is to forget artificial fixes (which hunter-gatherer discovered a chondroitin bush?) and focus on low impact exercise ("use it or lose it" is especially relevant to arthritic joints), stretching exercises, maintaining an appropriate weight and eating naturally (including nuts and oily fish). Especially, avoid ingesting inflammatory and/or mineral stripping compounds like tobacco and alchohol.
And also, accept that osteo arthritis is part of aging. It just means wear and tear. These days we expect our bodies to last twice what they evolved to survive, and get upset if they partly let us down on the way.
PS fish oil is krill oil, at the end of the day. Krill are small crustaceans upon which carnivorous fish feed. You can compare the EPA and DHA (the omega fatty acids) between fish oil and krill oil supplements on the packaging. It will be about the same, per mg.
Ok let me give you some updates that might help some people. Yes, there's no cure for OA, but you can slow down the deterioration rate of the cartilage, and most importantly, you can do things to help you not feel the pain and carry on with your days until such a time that you need to have surgery.
So what's helped me so far in the last 2 years - by this i mean, no pain, only very occasional (after consuming bad food), and i'm still able to walk and hike for a lot longer than some others that have no OA
- change your diet, i've tried reducing carbs, dairy, alcohol, sugar and eat more plant based, also try juicing
- take turmeric daily
- take supplements - still take krill oil but also add "cartilast" (search for it in iherb), hyaluronic acid (iherb), and sometimes capsules that have a combo of chrondroitin, msm and some other stuff for joints)
- try to stay away from toxins as much as possible. OA is a sign that the body has been inflamed over time, so dont do things that inflames your body even more, on that note, do all the above diet changes to slowly turn your acidic body to alkalined
- exercise - i do yoga, pilates and stay away from those high impact jumping and running
I wish I had done these things sooner, even before i got diagnosed with OA, then it would've never happened in the first place. Good luck everyone in getting better.
Do you mind letting us know roughly how old your are? My mum is 75 and it's getting painful (her knee) for her to walk.
I have a veterans affairs white card for OA I developed during my 15 years in the Army. I used to take supplements and NSAIDS and still struggled with knee pain. I dont take anything now and almost pain free almost all of the time. Things that helped me:
- Lost some weight
- Took up cycling. Extra exercise for all of the muscles around my knee has done wonders for me. I literally couldnt squat for about 5 years, i thought it was due to the OA. Now no problems due mainly to the extra strength in all of the muscles around my knee, not just the big quads but hamstrings and all of the smaller supporting muscles.
- if it gets bad I take low strength voltaren for a couple of days with food.
I'll let someone else look into the prices for you, but let me help with some other aspects.
1) Krill oil
- try to find a "double/triple/high strength" preparation - you'll need to take fewer capsules daily
2) glucosamine
- a couple of studies (i.e. weakish evidence) found that glucosamine sulfate is better absorbed than glucosamine hydrochloride (HCl) - you may as well get the sulfate version
- again, look for high strength preps
3) big brands
- A big name brand doesn't necessarily mean more effective or safer. Pan Pharmaceuticals anyone?
- But in saying this, I'd still recommend you choose a somewhat known brand (i.e. don't go with "John Smith MD's personal krill oil") because the herbal medicine industry is very poorly regulated and the big players at least won't have any dangerous ingredients in their products.