CA POPPY
Santa Clarita, CA, USA
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Be careful, because some glucosamine/chondrotin tabs are so darned big that they scratch your throat when you swallow them. I found some gelcaps that don't cause that effect. Our smallest dog has knee problems and has taken G&C for years and I am positive it's why she's as good as she is, along with her regular walking routine. We just open the gelcaps and mix it in her canned food.
Judy & Bud (Judy usually the one talking here)
2004 Pleasure-Way Excel TD
co-pilots, Rosie & Poquita
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Bumpyroad
Virginia
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sams club sells glucosamine tablets in 1500 mg strength quite reasonably. buy them, not the fancy name brand drinks, etc. where you will pay about 20 x as much $$$. the same goes for chondroitin but I think MSM is a better choice.
as long as you don't overpay, I see no reason not to take them, I do. even if it a placebo effect, it is cheap.
be very careful when you are pricing these products. I have noticed that some say they contain 1500 mg per "dose". of course the dose is three tablets. so calculate out what the per 1500 dose is costing you. I have gotten "confused" myself figuring that out and I taught pharmaceutical calculations at the college of pharmacy many years ago.  so be wary.
bumpy
* This post was
edited 06/20/08 04:45am by Bumpyroad *
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Crowe
Billerica, MA USA
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Thanks, all. I have no seafood allergies at all so no issue there, and the cardiologist already OKd my taking them. I'm a Sam's Club member so I'll hop on over there this weekend to get some. I need to get arthritis strength Tylenol anyway. Lets see, if if I add 2 more pills to what I already take that makes 11 a day! I'm getting to be just like my poor departed Aunt Mary!
Life is too short to spend it all in one place!
2004 Gulfstream Endura
2005 Chevy Tahoe toad
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Hoops
Indiana
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I started taking the glucosamine/chondroitin with MSM about 6 years ago. I have arthritis of the spine and it has helped alot. Got to the place I couldn't move, but now I can play golf again. So it does help. Takes about 2 or 3 months to start seeing results. Take 2 a day.
The Hoops. ED and Becky
Missy our little Bichon
2004 F350 V10
2005 Jayco Legacy 38RDQS
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BaldyD1
Central Florida area
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I advise you to take the doc's advice.
I take 1 tablet in morning and 1 at night {total 1500 glucosamine, 1200 chondroitin}. Have noticed slight improvement over the 5 months have been taking the tablets. Friend {retired firefighter} with whom we camp has been taking the tablets for about 3 years and swears that after a year the benefits will be much more noticeable. Have had no ill effects since starting the medication.
Speedy, Jackie & Dusty {Shih-Tzu/Maltese}
2006 Kountry Star KSDP 3912
2005 Saturn Vue (dinghy)
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CJ5 jeeper
Auburn, Ca
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When you look at the label if you buy the ones that contain 1500 milligram per pill you will only have to take one per day. If you have a longs drug watch their sales. They just had a buy one, get one free and if you purchased $30.00 worth you can send in for a $10.00 rebate.
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dturm
Munster, IN
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DW takes them and they work great, I tried an didn't really do anything for me. I prescribe chondroitin/glucosamine frequently for my dog and cat patients with very good results. One thing I've learned is that the nutraceutical industry is under a different set of rules than prescription drugs- much less testing and government regulation. It has been found that some of the cheaper brands don't always have in them the amount of glucosamine/chontroitin that they claim. Just a note for information sake.
Doug, DVM
Doug & Sandy
Megan (14 yr old Golden)
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Bumpyroad
Virginia
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dturm wrote:DW takes them and they work great, I tried an didn't really do anything for me. I prescribe chondroitin/glucosamine frequently for my dog and cat patients with very good results. One thing I've learned is that the nutraceutical industry is under a different set of rules than prescription drugs- much less testing and government regulation. It has been found that some of the cheaper brands don't always have in them the amount of glucosamine/chontroitin that they claim. Just a note for information sake.
Doug, DVM
It's a different set of rules allright. but no testing and no government regulation for the "weeds and seeds". In fact it was in yesterdays paper that it was reported that the FDA was finally cracking down on the quack web and other cancer cures. I'd hate to think of when they will get around to the more mundane stuff.
But I would like to see the data on the cheaper brands not having label claimed amount of "drug" in them.
I would never take a generic product (unless manufactured by the name brand company) if the dosage was truly critical. But where the recommended dose is one to 5 tablets, 3 to 6 times daily for anywhere from a 90 lb. woman to a 300 lb. man, what is the significance? do you prescribe the same dosage for a cat as you do a bull?
I remember vividly listening to a seminar put on by a scientist from a drug company who said that they could produce aspirin tablets containing 99 to 101 % of label claim but they would cost X$ per tablet when at that time years ago aspirin was selling for 67 cents /hundred.
bumpy
* This post was
edited 06/20/08 12:34pm by Bumpyroad *
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dturm
Munster, IN
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I did a quick search and couldn't find the study. One of my senior moments setting in  . It could have been one of my veterinary journals. As I remember, they tested several brands and most had levels close to those claimed, or slightly more. A few had 20% less than claimed value. At the varied doses the only difference might be lack of efficacy or length of time it takes to achieve success. My understanding is that the higher prices might indicate more stringent self-testing and quality control by the manufacturer. I don't claim to be an expert on the subject, but thought the information might be useful to someone.
By the way, all medications in animals are dosed by weight and species. I've often found it amusing that human doses are sometimes split by child/adult- like you said 90# versus 300# same dose?
Doug
Found it! It was a local report of a Consumer Reports article.
Supplement Article
* This post was
edited 06/20/08 02:56pm by dturm *
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Bumpyroad
Virginia
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"My understanding is that the higher prices might indicate more stringent self-testing and quality control by the manufacturer. "
when it comes to these pseudopharmaceuticals, I think the higher prices are only due to more profit for the "name brands" or highly advertised ones. Joint juice compared to generic glucosamine. both will work exactly the same but I bet the JJ costs at least 5 times as much as generic.
will have to check out the local report of a consumers reports article. My regard for consumer's reports is not high.
P.S. didn't really see any data at that link but did notice that the article reported Puritan's Pride Maximum Strength Glucosamine Chondroitin and Spring Valley Glucosamine Chondroitin Double Strength were the best value.
bumpy
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