You might try a COX-2 anti-inflammatory like Vioxx or Celebrex.  They last
24 hours, are quite a bit stronger than ibuprofen, but they won't make you
loopy like opiates will.  You might ask your doctor if he feels it's
appropriate for you to try a COX-2 AI, and if so, whether he has any samples
you can try to see if it would work for you.

Katherine

Using chondroitin and MSM in addition to the glucosamine seems to help
a lot of people. Vitamin World, a chain store, has a liquid form
("Joint Maintenance"??) that some people swear by. Other stores
probably have an equivelent product.

The NSAID's (Aspirin, Celebrex, Ibuprofen, etc) actually increase
inflamation or at least allow the inflamation to continue unabated,
although they can relieve pain for a while. The quantity of Ibuprofen
you're taking could lead to internal bleeding. If you have bruising on
your arms, it's already happening.
Kelley, (No, I'm not a doctor)
---------------------------------------
How to cure your impotence with 5-cent capsules. Plus no after-sex
headaches.
For men and women. Visit http://www.itsnotjustforsex.com

Using chondroitin and MSM in addition to the glucosamine seems to help
a lot of people. Vitamin World, a chain store, has a liquid form
("Joint Maintenance"??) that some people swear by. Other stores
probably have an equivelent product.

The NSAID's (Aspirin, Celebrex, Ibuprofen, etc) actually increase
inflamation or at least allow the inflamation to continue unabated,
although they can relieve pain for a while. The quantity of Ibuprofen
you're taking could lead to internal bleeding. If you have bruising on
your arms, it's already happening.
Kelley, (No, I'm not a doctor)
---------------------------------------
How to cure your impotence with 5-cent capsules. Plus no after-sex
headaches.
For men and women. Visit http://www.itsnotjustforsex.com

Using chondroitin and MSM in addition to the glucosamine seems to help
a lot of people. Vitamin World, a chain store, has a liquid form
("Joint Maintenance"??) that some people swear by. Other stores
probably have an equivelent product.

The NSAID's (Aspirin, Celebrex, Ibuprofen, etc) actually increase
inflamation or at least allow the inflamation to continue unabated,
although they can relieve pain for a while. The quantity of Ibuprofen
you're taking could lead to internal bleeding. If you have bruising on
your arms, it's already happening.
Kelley, (No, I'm not a doctor)
---------------------------------------
How to cure your impotence with 5-cent capsules. Plus no after-sex
headaches.
For men and women. Visit http://www.itsnotjustforsex.com

Yes,   many people have found that  Gluco/con has helped with arthritis pain
in their joints.   I have found that Aleve helps me more than ibu but
Naproxyn does a better job of pain relief.  You may not be that way and ibu
works best for you butttttt they both will eat a hole in your gut.  So
please take with food.   Here is a post from the past on Gluco.   My
question for you is are you taking enough/day?
Harv

Ps here is a good site for information.
http://home.gci.net/~cushman4/oa-gcs.htm

Glucosamine Has a Disease-Modifying Effect on Osteoarthritis  CME

News Author: Laurie Barclay, MD

March 17, 2004 - Glucosamine has a disease-modifying effect on
osteoarthritis, according to the results of two three-year randomized
studies published in the March/April issue of Menopause.

"The management of knee osteoarthritis, recognized as responsible for
consistent pain and disability, is a major social and economic target
in health management," write Olivier Bruyere, MSc, from the WHO
Collaborating Center for Public Health Aspect of Osteoarticular
Disorders in Liege, Belgium, and colleagues. "For a few years,
glucosamine sulfate has been considered a potential disease-modifying
drug for osteoarthritis."

This study was a preplanned combination of two three-year, randomized,
placebo-controlled, prospective, independent trials investigating the
effects of glucosamine sulfate on symptoms and joint structure in
osteoarthritis. Of 414 subjects enrolled, 319 were postmenopausal
women. Demographics and disease characteristics were similar at
baseline in the glucosamine sulfate and placebo groups, both in the
overall study population and in the subgroup of postmenopausal women.

After three years, postmenopausal women who received placebo had joint
space narrowing on standing anteroposterior knee radiographs, but
those who received glucosamine did not. Joint space change was +0.003
mm (95% confidence interval [CI], -0.09 to 0.11) in the glucosamine
group and -0.33 mm (95% CI, -0.44 to -0.22) in the placebo group (P <
.0001).

The glucosamine sulfate group also improved in the Western Ontario and
McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index function scale (WOMAC)
reflecting symptoms (-14.1%; 95% CI, -22.2 to -5.9), while there was a
trend for worsening in the placebo group (5.4%; 95% CI, -4.9 to 15.7;
P = .003 between groups).

A potential study limitation is that symptom relief might improve
joint space narrowing as seen on standing knee x-rays, but the authors
found only a poor relationship between symptom relief and prevention
of joint space narrowing. They also found a significant difference in
joint space preservation between patients receiving placebo or
glucosamine when considering only those patients with symptomatic
improvement.

"This analysis, focusing on a large cohort of postmenopausal women,
demonstrated for the first time that a pharmacological intervention
for osteoarthritis has a disease-modifying effect in this particular
population, the most frequently affected by knee osteoarthritis," the
authors write. "Glucosamine sulfate, therefore, is the first agent
that meets the current requirements to be classified as a symptom- and
structure-modifying drug in women with knee osteoarthritis."