RA & Glucosamine | Arthritis Information

Since RA is a disease of the joint, will taking Glucosamine help us? Will it strengthen the joints that are being damage by RA?

I am already taking prednisone, plaquenil, methotrextrate, calcium, fish oil, and fosamax ... too much medicine already ... should I add glucosamine too?

I would check with your RD first. Just to make sure it doesn't conflict with anything else you are on.Don't know what the latest findings are, but a few years ago a RD gave a talk on this at our Arthritis Foundation function for young adults. Apparently it appeared to be effective for osteoarthritis of the knee, but showed no improvements in RA subjects.

I haven't found any other information to make me want to part with any of my small income or swallow any more pills, even though a lot of my well-meaning friends have tried to pressure me to try it.

My RD says it's useless but he didn't say it would interfere with my RA drugs. I know it helped with the minor OA I have in my knees. I stopped it when I started the RA drugs and a couple of months later I had a return of symptoms like stiffness in my hands. I thought the gluc. was helping so I went back on it. Then I stopped again a few months ago to test it one more time. This time, no return of symptoms. So I'm really confused. Since I have some OA also I thought I should keep taking it, but now I'm not sure I need it anymore. Sorry, I guess I'm not much help.

Cindy, I don't know the answer to your question. I have been taking a Chondroitin Glucosamine supplement for years now and found it to be very helpful with my back pain. I have stopped it a couple of times and noticed the difference. However I have not stopped it since my RA started...and I'm also not sure I would be able to see a clear difference since my RA pain is a bit more random.

If your doctor doesn't have an objection, you could try it for 2 months and see if it makes a difference for you. It is expensive, but I take the Nature Made TripleFlex brand and take advantage of the "buy one, get one" sales at the drug store chains as well as Nature Made's frequent buyer program (you enter bottle codes on their website) to get coupons. (I'm not affiliated with Nature Made, just a loyal customer)