Reddit mentions: The best glucosamine nutritional supplements

Older dogs benefit from a variety of supplements, and there are several things you can do as your dog is getting older to help with these sorts of issues.

Joints/Bones:
Glucosimine/chondroitin - these are your standard osteo health suppliments. Really, most dogs over 75 lbs should be on some regimen of these as they get older. Don't be fooled by dog branded versions! You can buy these in bulk and save a lot. Here is a great example:
http://www.amazon.com/Kirkland-Signature-Strength-Glucosamine-375-Count/dp/B002RL8FD4/ref=sr_1_5?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1449599521&sr=1-5&keywords=glucosamine+chondroitin

Fish Oil: Fish oil acts as a natural lubricant, but it is important to bear in mind that dogs (as in humans) will not absorb as much as can be absorbed via pills. Frozen tilapia fillets are cheap and plentiful and also have a lot of other beneficial vitamins and such.

You're already off to a great start on those hips with that orthopedic bed, but it sounds like your dog might have lost some weight in her old age? Hips don't generally protrude more or less unless there is a weight change. Consider some organic no ingredient (just peanuts, peanut oil, salt)peanut butter as a way to introduce some extra calories into her diet without resorting to junk food. Although you don't want to fatten her up, keeping her a decent weight will keep her energy levels higher and there is some added protein in the peanut butter as well. This is easy to mix into a diet.

Having trouble getting up on the bed? Consider something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/aBaby-Classic-Step-Up-Storage-Espresso/dp/B00JFLYKHY/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1449600148&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=bed+stairs+for+people

It will take a bit of re-training to help your dog learn to follow steps. In my experience it is better to build these yourself to make it a good size for your dog/bed, also the smooth stairs sometimes are harder to grip than some 'uglier' rough stairs. A handyman should be able to build some basic steps for a case of beer and $50 for supplies.

Heating pads / ice packs are generally not the best ways to deal with this sort of thing. An unfortunate fact of your dog getting older is some new limitations, but the modicum of discomfort they feel is actually productive in keeping them functional. They are less likely to over-stress the joints if there is a little discomfort doing so. One thing you might talk to your vet about is a very light amount of Tramadol. I have a rottweiler with arthritis and joint pain in one leg from a birth defect, and although he doesn't let it slow him down, I find giving him a 1/2 tablet after a hike helps him just enough, basically a super tylenol. For my 85lb Rottie thats about .25mg.

Another thing you can try is turmeric! It has been proven to be a powerful anti-inflammatory and is generally dog safe. It does have a particular taste that not every dog will take to, but that can generally be circumvented with clever treats, and always more peanut butter. A dog about yours size would be about 2 teaspoons daily, but you might have to work up to it if she has a sensitive stomach or is a picky eater.

One very over looked part of a dogs (especially older dogs) life is their teeth. Good teeth help in your dogs old age will help her retain her appetite. An easy way to help this is beef back ribs. Typically available for 2-5 dollars for a single serving (for an 85lb dog, 1lb is plenty for a meal). DON'T COOK THESE! Rendered fat is not good for dogs, and cooked bones aren't good either (cooked bones splinter, raw bones do not). Straight raw in a clean environment and your dog and her teeth will love you for them! You can also do raw chicken carcasses [edit: spend extra to get non-factory chickens!] or lamb shanks if your dog has no allergies to either, and lamb is especially good for dogs.

Hope this is helpful.

As others have said keeping her on the light side weight wise is really important, not malnourished or anything but light. I have all mine taking Glucosamine (this one from Amazon is what I buy ) and salmon oil. For me there was a definite difference in my older dog after he started it and it certainly can't hurt to start early. The orthopedic beds are great especially if you catch one on sale. I've gotten great deals at Petsmart before during holiday sales on really big ones. Or if you find a good deal on one you can cut up a foam mattress topper and diy a bed. I got some at Target super cheap and stuffed them into old dog bed covers I had.

And while I love reddit some of the best places for info on this kind of stuff are breed based forums.

http://www.amazon.com/Jarrow-Formulas-700-Veggie-Caps/dp/B0013OQGUK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452648310&sr=8-1&keywords=n+acetyl+glucosamine

That'll be your best bang for the buck.

I'm dosing ~2100mg am and pm (4200mg total). Studies with Crohn's have gone up to 6g I believe.

> A pilot study in 2000 investigated the efficacy of NAG administration in children with severe ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease who were unresponsive to conventional treatment. Patients were given NAG orally or rectally, 3–6 g daily. Histochemical assessment of epithelial and matrix NAG and glycosaminoglycans was performed where biopsy specimens were available. Eight of 12 children who received oral NAG showed clear improvement. Of the children with symptomatic Crohn’s stricture, 4 out of 7 showed endoscopic and radiological improvement and were able to avoid surgery over a mean follow-up period of 2.5 years. Investigators concluded that NAG administration may be useful in IBD with stricture but that further trials were needed to confirm efficacy.122 No published controlled studies appear to have been conducted to investigate the effects of NAG supplementation on IP defects in humans. However, it may be reasonable to postulate that similar benefits exist as those seen in the above trial in IBD patients due to the shared pathophysiological mechanisms of intestinal inflammation and mucosal oxidative stress commonly found in both IBD and IP defects.>

http://www.naturalmedicinejournal.com/journal/2010-03/nutritional-protocol-treatment-intestinal-permeability-defects-and-related

I tend to feel it within the hour, sometimes 2 to hit max potency. Chronic fatigue is not very well understood but it seems like there is a trigger from many different sources - whether it be methylation issues (severe ones), herpes and enteroviruses (EBV, cytomegalovirus, etc.), certain autoimmune disorders (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, etc) - that results in similar kinds of conditions. The different symptoms being post exertional fatigue/malaise (sometimes bordering on severe - 10s of hours), cognitive issues involving thinking, blank mind, difficulty with speech, short term and working memory, general chronic fatigue not relieved by rest, and sometimes things like limbs feeling really heavy. I don't understand it and I don't think anyone truly does at the moment but it's possible the immune inflammation from leaky gut could be causing these problems. I'm not a Dr or anything but I am in the medical field (nursing & bio bachelors) and have quite a lot of biology/chemistry under my belt, and several years researching my own issues.

Once you look into this stuff you'll be amazed at how much a "supplement" (a very tainted word) can be just as powerful if not more powerful than certain pharmaceuticals. Perhaps not because pharmaceuticals are junk but perhaps because the supplement is targeting something more specifically problematic for you and for which prescription drugs just haven't been created to do quite yet, though some do. Also it may be treating something at the source in a very natural way rather than busting out the mega industrial, billion dollar, high tech, hardcore, super pharmaceutical drug that is incomprehensibly complex and laser targeted in what it does but may be covering up the issue rather than resolving (though relief may occur). Such as if someone uses an SSRI but has a Vitamin D deficiency. They may feel better but if it can be resolved by treating the problem at its source and letting the body's wisdom put things where they need to be that will always be the #1 option.

remicade looks as though it specifically targets TNF-Alpha. Other cytokines may be wreaking havoc in your system as well and it may not even be touching the other ones.

With a quick Google search you can see that NAG resulted in significantly decreased tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin (IL)-6 concentrations in mice. It may be affecting others as well. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22434264

There are a plethora of supplements out there that can help you with this. See a few threads here:
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/chronic-microglial-activation-in-me-cfs-and-its-possible-treatment-using-microglial-inhibitors.34164/
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/completely-eliminated-my-severe-anxiety-symptoms-with-three-supplements.18369/

Have you ever tried Turmeric in moderate - high dose? It does something similar.

I wouldn't be discouraged if NAG doesn't do much, though I suspect it will. It's strongly implicated in helping with Crohn's even outside of pure cognitive issues.

Some of the heavy hitters in terms of this cytokine / microglial inhibition are Memantine and Low Dose Naltrexone. Memantine was a game changer for me, significantly stronger than NAG. It is extremely powerful. I have LDN on the way and can't wait to try it. LDN seems to be very hit or miss with people.

This is going to be the best site you'll ever find on ME/CFS. Trust me, I've been looking for years.
http://phoenixrising.me/
http://phoenixrising.me/mecfs-basics
http://phoenixrising.me/treating-cfs-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-me

If you relate to that you may have some more options in terms of treatment. I'd start out with NAG / Turmeric / maybe a few others on the lists there that are easy to buy / find (in the completely eliminated my anxiety thread).

If you feel you have CFS outside of Crohn's, this is what you're going to want to start looking into:
https://sites.google.com/site/cfstestingandtreatmentroadmap/

That should keep you engaged for a while but in the meantime definitely grab some NAG and maybe Turmeric and based on how that treats you and how closely you relate to all this you can start going down a new path for potential treatments. I'm really curious about how NAG will affect you, it looks very promising. LDN also looks huuuge for Crohn's.

Good luck and if you have any questions shoot me another message.

I track my intake on cronometer so it's nice that I've been able to look what vitamins/minerals I don't get enough of... my current focus is trying to save my hair so here's my current regimin:

1st thing in the morning 1/2 a tablet of this Iron w/ vitamin C with a full glass of water. I don't eat or drink anything else until at least an hour later.

With breakfast: this multivitamin. I've found it to be the most complete in terms of what I'm usually deficit in. Its one of the only multis that I found with a good amount of zinc.

Glucosamine for my joints.

And an omega 3. I choose this one because it has a good ratio of EPA to DHA.

With lunch: another multivitamin (the serving size is 3 capsules, so I spread them throughout the day because i feel like that would be better for absorption,

vitamin E

15g collagen

With dinner: The last multivitamin, another glucosamine tablet, and another omega.

I also make sure I eat dark leafy greens each day, pay attention to my calcium, and spend time in the sunshine. Otherwise I would supplement vit k, vit d, and calcium

And all that adds 107 calories to my intake. Which is sad, but worth it.

This is good advice.

Also if you're active, stuff like this helps a lot:
http://www.amazon.com/Kirkland-Signature-Strength-Glucosamine-375-Count/dp/B002RL8FD4/

I am currently not using my usual "joint supplements", and I definitely notice the difference. I don't have any pain, but there is a noticeable feeling. You might not need it, but you'll notice when you stop using it. I'm going to stock up soon. I stack joint supplements with Omegas. What's the overall benefit? Not sure, and I could go on, and on, but it would be very subjective. It works for me. I use this. If you purchase any joint supplements, make sure you buy the brand for humans, as joint supplements for animals are packaged similarly.

sorry for the late response, sounds like you've got a good grasp on indie's diet. Here's what we supplement our boys' diet with, plus pumpkin 2x a day, in case you wanted to check it out:

http://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Glucosamine-formerly-Liquid-Health/dp/B000VKA93C/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1464040965&sr=8-3&keywords=k9+liquid+vegetarian+glucosamine

http://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-All-Natural-Supplement-Pump-Bottle-Dispenser/dp/B0002ABR6E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464041095&sr=8-1&keywords=grizzly+salmon+oil

Sure. I didn't share it before because they were out of stock on it, and the link on the company website was broken too, so I wasn't sure it was still available. I heard back from their customer service, though, and it was just a temporary out-of-stock due to demand (a good sign, I guess).

https://www.amazon.com/Glucosamine-Chondroitin-Turmeric-MSM-Boswellia/dp/B01M5DEMWI

Glucosamine 1500 mg
Chondroitin 1200 mg
MSM 1000 mg
Plus Turmeric, Boswellia, Hyaluronic Acid
$19.95 for a 60-day supply. That's a good deal, especially for the dosage.

Here's links to the products I use.

https://smile.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-733739028105-D-Mannose-3-Ounce/dp/B000HCMK90?sa-no-redirect=1&th=1

D-Mannose is basically the distilled cranberry sugar that helps with urinary problems (and you obviously can't make your cat drink cranberry juice). I use the gelcaps and give him half of one per meal mixed in with his wet food (so about 500mg per day (1/2 tsp) while he seems to be having issues). I only give it to him if he seems more highly stressed out or has been licking his bottom more frequently and it has cleared up those symptoms. Usually for about 5 days until I am certain it won't recur. Unfortunately if he's already blocked or in a more serious state it can't do anything to help that :(

The product linked above is just the powder without the gelcaps, which is slightly less expensive.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013OSMVG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1

Glucosamine Sulfate is the same stuff they give to people with joint issues. It's good for that but also lowers inflammation overall and has been shown to help rebuild the bladder lining. I give him 1/2 capsule twice daily mixed into his food. Again this is only given when he seems to be showing symptoms rather than at all times.

One of my teammates recommended glucosamine and I feel like it's helped my knees. They were stressed out from BJJ and bike commuting. I take this one.

It's available on amazon for $0.05 per dose.

n-acetylglucosamine. I use Jarrow brand. I found N-A-G through a phoenixrising thread.

i would try glocusamine, it really help me out with my joint pain.

Just eyeballing the ingredients, you can easily buy Fish Oil, Tumeric, Hyaluronic Acid, etc for cheaper.

Hell this alone, https://smile.amazon.com/Glucosamine-Sulfate-Chondroitin-MSM-Curcumin/dp/B00UW3E2HW/ref=sr_1_4_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1526658246&sr=1-4&keywords=joint+supplements+for+men

Covers most of what's in it. Just add some fish oil and some black pepper for the curcumin. Not sure about the chinese supplement part of the Triflex pack though.

I would at least monitor it very closely. In my case I just ignored my injury and it ended up being a big mistake. Mine was more drastic though I got punched in the head at a weird angle like 15 times. I also have a history of some other mild neck injuries from jiu jitsu and muay thai. Bad posture and a family history of bad backs doesn't help either. Ideally you should get an X-ray of cervical spine and maybe see a chiropractor but only if the xray shoes its not a more serious issue. I just started taking this https://www.amazon.com/Glucosamine-Chondroitin-Turmeric-MSM-Boswellia/dp/B01M5DEMWI . Can't really say if it works have only tried it a few days so far.

I have been taking turmeric for a couple weeks and I think it is helping my pain. Dosage is three a day, but I've been taking two. I have been told that my nerve pain is caused by inflammation from degenerative disc that I had surgery on in 2011. I also take glucosamine msm and fish oil. After a few weeks these seem more effective than epidural cortisone injections (in my experience only). The last time I had a pain flare up it lasted over 4 months and I got injections, took NSAIDS, started supplements and the pain subsided for almost 2 years, but I don't really know which of those helped and don't want to get injections again as I'm not sure side effects are worth it or if it even does anything. If you can get the inflammation under control, you might be able to stop supplements for a while, but I might keep taking these from now on to see if I can avoid another flare up. No side effects that I've noticed so way better than pharmaceuticals for me.