The promise of supplements
I get lots of questions from patients with joint disease about nutritional supplements- the type of stuff available at Costco in a large bottle. None of the stuff in these pills has ever been proven to get to the joints- like many vitamins, it just goes out the GI tract. So the issue is, this is probably a waste of money. Even doctors have been taking the stuff- but of course they are people too, and everyone is looking for a free lunch. Remember St. Johns's Wort (for depression)? Someone- I think Osler- once said you have to use a new medicine real soon, before it loses its efficacy. There is a high "placebo effect", be aware of that.
As to safety, I also get concerned that chondroitin in supplements is not from cows that have been tested for mad cow disease- it is not regulated. That is why this material is not sold in a pharmacy etc. So caveat emptor!
posted by Dr. Norman A. Marcus, MD @ 9:23 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Wouldn't intra-articular injection of glucosamine the most direct method of delivery? How come we don't see this method available? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7008939&dopt=AbstractPlus
I take the glucosamine. Maybe it helps--my wife swears by it, and it has even helped our dog. I also tried the Sam-E, but couldn't see that it helped. I've had two shoulder surgeries (cleaning, decompression, tendon repair) in ten months, and it has been hell, which is why I'm awake now. My thoughts are mostly oriented toward hope for a better tomorrow--or at least a better next year.
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