I am a skeptic when it comes to using this for horses’ arthritic issues. Has anyone had any success using it on themselves?
I’ve been using it for awhile; currently taking Cosamin ASU - I think it does help a little - but is no miracle cure.
I take Purica Recovery and it’s the different between being pain-free and walking with a limp for me. I have documented arthritis is both hips, worse in the right.
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I’ve been taking GNC’s Triflex (glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM) for probably 8 years and you’re going to have to pry it out of my cold, dead, hands before I’ll give it up.
It keeps my hips less stiff and pain free. My knees were doing well too until I tore my left ACL. The right knee is still relatively pain free despite significant arthritis.
Thanks, I have hope. I bought some yesterday, with MSM in it too. Amazingly, my shoulder is feeling better with it, almost immediately (probably due to positive thinking!). I’m thinking that it is the MSM being helpful with that, as the package says any improvement takes a month. But it is worth a try when the dam doctor is talking joint replacement. I don’t know if the dam doctor was just a drama queen. Getting a second opinion now, transferring xrays… But it’s going to have to get a whole lot worse than it is now before I let anybody cut me and remove and replace a joint. “Surgery happy” doctors are as bad as “surgery happy” vets! Signing up clients for surgical procedures to make money. My level of “trust” is low.
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I wanted to elaborate a little since I was heading to bed when I saw your post last night. It was around 2011 or 12 when I started waking up at 2:00 every single morning with hip pain. I’d take 2 tylenol before bed and they were wearing off at that time. At the same time (and I didn’t put it together at that time) I was finding it more and more difficult to get on my horse, I was trying to use my intercostal muscles to pull myself up and over (needless to say it wasn’t very effective) and I was afraid that if he moved at all I was going to face plant. When I did get on trail rides were out. Anything more than an hour and my hips were screaming at me.
On the advice of a friend I tried the GNC product, I’m a dyed in the wool skeptic but I figured I had nothing to lose. After about 6 weeks I realized I was no longer waking up in pain. Thinking it might have been a fluke I quit taking it. Within 2 weeks I was having pain at night again. That was enough for me, I’ve been taking it ever since. It took another couple of months and I realized that I was mounting the horse much more easily. It helped with knee pain as well. I did have to get my knees injected a couple of years ago and they were both doing great until I tore my left ACL in February. Both knees have a lot of arthritis and I should be in a lot more pain than I am. Doc wants to do a total on the left knee but I’m not quite ready for that. I can ride reasonably comfortably if I ride with my stirrups long and take Alleve beforehand.
A couple years ago I did add another 100mg of HA and recently added some tumeric to my regimen. I’m sure that there are other brands out there less expensive than the GNC brand but I’m at “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” so that’s what I’m sticking with.
Hoping it works for you too.
I take oral HA (hyaluronic acid). You can get it combined with G and C. I started taking it after giving some to my arthritic mare and the trimmer commented, without me saying anything, “You’ve found a new potion for her.” It works for me and if I quit taking it I can tell a big difference. I use NOW HA that I get from Amazon.
I take GNC vegetarian glucosamine and MSM, 1000 mg each, every day. With them I’m a little stiff, but mostly ok. If I stop either one my knees, especially the right, are in serious pain within 1-2 weeks.
None of the nostrums I tried to stave off knee replacements helped significantly. Steroids, glucosamine HA injections, pah.
I even wore ungainly and uncomfortable unloader braces. Finally I threw in the towel due to frequent face plants when a knee would just give out.
I was fortunate in only needing partial knee (smaller prosthesis, a good bit of my knees are the parts I was born with) replacements. I was almost 59 when the first knee was done, had the second one less than a year later and would’ve had it sooner if a horse related broken ankle hadn’t delayed the surgery.
Both surgeries I went home the same day and was riding in 4 weeks. I trail ride and the replacements cope just fine with getting whanged by a tree now and then.
Joint replacements were a Godsend for me. I am more active and in less pain at age almost 66 than I was in my early 50s. I wasted a lot of precious time resisting the very idea of surgery and joint replacement.
My surgeon never ever tried to sell me on the procedure and has been just the best through the replacements, a rotator cuff repair and fusing some bones in my very arthritic left foot. I doubt I’d be able to ride if I hadn’t had all this stuff done. Knees were so bad I was in significant bone on bone pain just walking a smooth and careful gaited horse. (Who also trots, so it’s a good thing I can post without discomfort).
Just sayin’. YMMV, of course.
Yup, the joint replacement is always an option, just an option that I would like to avoid if possible, thus trying this supplement, “won’t hurt, might help”.
My issue is a shoulder, not a knee or hip, which makes it more likely for success with a non surgery option IMO. Not weight baring. And it’s an odd story.
I’ve always been quite physical and active. A rider all my life, and full care for horses at home. Cleaning paddocks and stalls, foaling out, training babies, breaking babies, galloping racehorses, show jump rider. Then we moved our farm to a more remote location and away from racing, and I have been clearing land, building burn piles, by hand and by tractor, and still riding and caring for horses for the last 11 years. Active stuff. Slight backbone issues have come to light, but other than that, not a lot of wear and tear issues. Fairly “sound” for my age (59). Then, last fall, I impaled a small willow stick into the palm of my hand, entering the palm from the side, near my little finger. Went in about an inch and a half. I pulled it out. It bled pretty well, which I always think is a good thing, clears out any splinters etc. Continued clearing the pasture. Came into the house, washed the hand off, put a bandaid on it. It was sore for a couple days, but not really an issue, and seemed to be healing OK. Then, about a week or so later, I woke up in the morning, and my wrist was sore. Thought I had slept on it wrong. But it got worse, swollen, and very sore by a few days later. Had to get a splint onto it in order to get through the day. Figured it must be infected, the willow branch going into the tendons that move my little finger, and extending up through the wrist to the arm. Went to a local walk in doctor (I had no GP) to get some antibiotics, and a tetanus shot (which I was over due for). By this point, the wrist looked like it was broken, and about as sore. But I had not broken the wrist. Doctor would NOT give me antibiotics, said she thought it was arthritis in my wrist. I told her I did not have arthritis in my wrist. She said she thought I did, and I had to go for an xray. So I did that, got the xray and got the tetanus shot at the same time, same arm. I was pissed off, because I know I have no issues with arthritis in my wrist, and never heard about the xray results, so presume they were negative.
So the next day, my upper arm felt like I had had a vaccination, a bit stiff in the upper arm. Expected this. But that was nearly a year ago, and it has got nothing but worse, more sore in the shoulder and upper arm. Wrist is fine. Hand fully healed up and fine. But shoulder sore. So I went to another doctor, who ordered up an ultrasound. But there is an 18 month wait for an ultrasound, as they have not enough operators of the machine, and things are backed up. So, in the mean time, this spring, I heated my spine up (pushing a hand operated fertilizer spreader in one of my little hay fields), and was in a bad way with that. Couldn’t sleep, couldn’t get out of bed etc. So started popping the T3s to get through the day and get to sleep at night. Back got better in a few weeks, but felt like crap, shoulder hurting too. Shoulder “crunching” when moved. Substantial loss of muscle mass in shoulder and arm. Went to another doctor, who diagnosed ulcers, ordered blood work and urine test, and shoulder xray. I thought the xray was useless, as I still thought the issue was soft tissue. But the xray showed “substantial and extensive” arthritic changes in the shoulder (which I have never damaged). This doctor was the one who said “replacement” was what I was looking at. But with the ulcer medication working, I was feeling better, and had MORE motion in the shoulder than previously, and LESS pain. Only slight restriction in motion at the top of the arc of an arm swing, with pain there. The crunching in the joint is noticeable, but doesn’t hurt. So he offered me a cortisone injection, which I was not keen on, thank you. (I’ve trained racehorses, I know about cortisone).
So now I have a new GP, just came to town and WAS accepting new patients (which is rare), so I signed up with her. Went to see her last week. She is getting the xrays, and taking another look. My fear is that the infection is still in there, in my shoulder joint, doing more damage, since it has never been treated. But the bloodwork showed nothing, was “healthy”. That EITHER the infection moved up inside the tendon sheaths, into my shoulder, and is still there, and not showing on the blood work. OR, that somehow, the damage was caused by a reaction to the tetanus vaccine. It was tetanus “toxoid”, not “anti toxoid”, so they didn’t think I had tetanus when they gave me the vaccine. But the wrist got better within a few days of getting the tetanus toxoid shot. Don’t know why.
My mother had a shoulder replacement. She suffered substantially for a number of years previously, fully frozen shoulder. She would sit in a chair alternating ice and heat on it, crying. For years. Eventually, about 20 years ago, someone suggested that the joint be replaced, I guess by then, it was an option. Full replacement, ball and socket. She was already early Alzheimer’s by then. The surgery went smoothly, and she made a full recovery, and FORGOT that the shoulder had ever been a problem. So I do have some faith that if a joint replacement is necessary, it CAN be quite successful. Especially with a shoulder, being non weight baring. But I would still like to avoid it if possible.
Since the ulcer cleared up, I’ve been riding all summer, went to a horse show a few weeks ago with a green hunter. No problems riding or jumping, though brushing a tall horse’s mane often requires my good arm in service.
And if you have read this essay, you must be bored!
Not bored at all, but now I’d like to know if you’ve had any physical therapy for the shoulder. And also wondering if a MRI might be in order. Shoulders being inherently unstable, easily mangled joints, and equestrian activities (boosting hay, getting yanked by a spooked horse, flying off over the horses head and hanging on to the reins like grim death–all things that helped tear up my rotator cuff) being tough on the upper body makes me wonder if you might have something going on in there besides arthritis. Or rather, in addition to.
No, no physical therapy (other than my regular daily chores, and I try to use it as much as I can), no MRI. I loaded onto the flatdeck trailer off the field and stacked 5 tons of small square bales into my barn in August. No problem with that. I can lift stuff. Not even sore afterwards. Other than talking about cutting the joint out and replacing it, no further input from a doctor (yet). Most of the soreness feels like soft tissue still, rather than joint, yet that doc said it is the joint that is “severely” damaged.
Thanks for caring enough to read and post. Sometimes it feels like nobody much does care except me, because it’s my shoulder. In talking to nurses I know (friends), the infection theory seems plausible to them, untreated infection running up the tendons infecting the shoulder joint. The new doc last week didn’t bite onto that theory though, and opined that the joint didn’t look infected to her now. Perhaps more info and action from her when she sees the xrays. She thought the mobility of the joint was pretty good, under the circumstances, so do I. i’m hoping that the damage in the joint will heal and smooth out (I’m an optimist) if the infection is gone (I hope). While I was not keen on the cortisone, I wouldn’t say “no” to some adequan or legend! If they did that sort of thing on humans. That’s “horse people” for ya.
And I’m suggesting physical therapy because it’s non invasive and because a PT can and will in my opinion do a better functional assessment than many MDs. (I’m speaking here both as a RN and as a person who has logged a LOT of hours in physical therapy.)
A good PT can be especially helpful with soft tissue and tendon problems. They have cool contraptions and give ultrasound and other treatments that feel amazing.
In many states you can refer yourself for physical therapy. Where I live I believe its 3 sessions, including that evaluation, and then the PT sends feedback to the doctor suggesting something along the lines of “OK doc, here we have your patient, here’s what we can do to help, kindly order x number of sessions so her insurance will cover her.”
Plus that PT will give you tools to maintain and improve that function at home after you complete treatment.
I’m in a rather remote area in British Columbia, Canada. But I’ll see what I can do about a physical therapist, I’ll quiz the doc on this subject, if she knows. She just got here from South Africa, if she doesn’t know, she can find out about it. Phoning for the appointment with her today, she’s had a week to get and look at the xrays. Thanks for your help and suggestions.
My previous GP would have done all this already, sent me where I need to go, looked after me. I was spoiled for 25 years by him. He became a bit of a family friend, and I miss him. He was a pharmacist before going to medical school, and I found him soon after he graduated, was one of his first patients. I signed on with him because I thought he was smart, and gave a shit. After I moved away from the Fraser Valley, I was driving 5 hours for appointments with him, other patents who had moved further away were driving 10 hours, in order to stay in his care. Good advice, phoned me at home in the evenings to check up on me when I had a problem. Like an “old time” doc. He was forced into retirement 5 years ago, with a stroke, and I was cast adrift as a result. In Canada, there is/was a rating system for GPs, based on public input. My husband looked him up one day. He was rated #1 in Canada. I sent horse riding friends to him, when they were looking for a GP. One friend remarked, “Man, is he thorough, he looks in EVERY nook and cranny”. He told me he liked having patients who were horse people. He said that horse people brought him horrendous maladies and injuries, told him that whatever it was, was “looking better now”, and that they had been treating it with horse medication at home. He found this incredibly amusing. I was guilty of doing this on occasion.
@jeano I have come back here to publicly and profusely thank you for your information. The PT has made all the difference, a huge difference, and I am on the road to recovery. After 3 doctors have been involved, none of which even mentioned the possibility of PT, and one of which was talking about joint replacement, the Physical Therapist and the exercises she has given me to do have already (in a few days) made a huge improvement in my shoulder. It’s freaky. It took a month to get the first appointment with her, just a few days ago. She comes highly recommended, but is the only option in our area. I took the xray results with me, and she was not too impressed with what was showing there, didn’t think that what showed was THAT bad, and felt that most of my issues were in lack of flexion in soft tissue, as a strange result of the tetanus vaccination. Which has been my thoughts on the subject too. And that is what she can work on, and the exercises she has given me to do are making a world of difference for me, and my quality of life. Thanks to YOU. I find it extremely amusing that the best information I can find on my sore shoulder comes from an internet equine site on rider’s health issues LOL. Ain’t COTH great???
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