Research on glucosamine use for specific conditions shows: Osteoarthritis. Oral use of glucosamine sulfate might provide some pain relief for people with osteoarthritis of the knee. Some research shows that it may also help slow knee joint degeneration associated with osteoarthritis.

Glucosamine is found naturally in your body. It plays an important role in making glycosaminoglycans and glycoproteins, which are essential building blocks of many parts of your joints, including ligaments, tendons, cartilage and synovial fluid.

Dosage and Preparation It is OK to take glucosamine every day, but check with your healthcare provider. For example, with osteoarthritis, the following doses have been studied: By mouth: 1,500 milligrams (mg) per day, taken either at once, in two doses of 750 mg, or in three doses of 500 mg.

Reported improvement (e.g. reduction in painful symptoms) varies from three weeks to as much as eight weeks. Some studies have shown continued improvement of symptoms after oral intake was stopped. Generally, if there is no pain reduction after two months, there is little chance of improvement.

Glucosamine hydrochloride is possibly safe for most adults when used for up to 2 years. N-acetyl glucosamine is also possibly safe when used for up to 6 months. Glucosamine can cause some mild side effects including bloating, nausea, diarrhea, and constipation.

You can take glucosamine at any time during this that feels most convenient for you. There is some opinion that drinking in the morning is best. There are some people who like to drink them with meals. Others prefer to drink them on an empty stomach with a glass or two of water.

Glucosamine hydrochloride is possibly safe for most adults when used for up to 2 years. N-acetyl glucosamine is also possibly safe when used for up to 6 months. Glucosamine can cause some mild side effects including bloating, nausea, diarrhea, and constipation.

You can take glucosamine at any time during this that feels most convenient for you. There is some opinion that drinking in the morning is best. There are some people who like to drink them with meals. Others prefer to drink them on an empty stomach with a glass or two of water.

Likely Effective for Osteoarthritis. Taking glucosamine sulfate by mouth for at least 4 weeks can provide some pain relief and improve function for people with knee osteoarthritis.

What the Science Says About Safety and Side Effects. No serious side effects have been reported in large, well-conducted studies of people taking glucosamine, chondroitin, or both for up to 3 years. However, glucosamine or chondroitin may interact with the anticoagulant (blood-thinning) drug warfarin (Coumadin).

So use caution when taking glucosamine if you take:

• acetaminophen (Tylenol)
• Certain chemotherapy drugs, including doxorubicin, etoposide, and teniposide (Vumon)
• Diabetes drugs, including glimepiride (Amaryl), glyburide, insulin, pioglitazone (Actos), and rosiglitazone (Avandia)

You can take glucosamine at any time during this that feels most convenient for you. There is some opinion that drinking in the morning is best. There are some people who like to drink them with meals. Others prefer to drink them on an empty stomach with a glass or two of water.

Because glucosamine products might be derived from the shells of shellfish, there is concern that the supplement could cause an allergic reaction in people with shellfish allergies. Glucosamine might worsen asthma. There's some concern that glucosamine might raise eye pressure.

Glucosamine should be used with caution in patients with renal impairment, with monitoring of side effects and renal function. It is advisable to avoid use of glucosamine in patients with severe renal impairment and those on dialysis until more data is available.

Glucosamine has no serious adverse effects, but possible complications include [14]:

• Epigastric pain.
• Heartburn.
• Diarrhea.
• Nausea.