Guest guest Posted January 8, 2003 Report Share Posted January 8, 2003 Hi everybody, This came to me from another Group I belong to, and thought you all might benefit: *********************************************** If you are subscribed to a Group for your group(s), you'll want toread this carefully and follow the instructions listed here to opt outof 's new internet "snooping" program. is now using something called "Web Beacons" to track Groupusers around the net and see what you're doing - similar to cookies.Take a look at their updated privacy statement:/pixels/details.html About half-way down the page, in the section "Outside the Network", you'll see a little "click here" link that will let youopt-out of their new method of snooping. I recommend doing this. Onceyou have clicked that link, you are opted out. Notice the "Success"message at the top of the next page. BE CAREFUL because on that page there is a "Cancel Opt-out" button that,if clicked, will *undo** the opt-out. Feel free to forward this to other groups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 23, 2005 Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 Hi Jane, Oh my gosh you are awfully young to have had such problems with your hips. I'm so glad your surgery has been successful. However, believe me you CAN be worse off after surgery...I have two cases, one at work and one in my family. Lynn > > Lynn > > i think at the end of the day surgery will be your only option. You can kid yourself that you > aren't too bad.... i've done that before now and with hindsight can see that is exactly what > i did. > > i have had bilateral hip resurfacing recently and am amazed at the results. Throughout my > life i have had lots of major surgery (over 20 general anaesthetics) ok so the first few were > life saving, then many have been to save my eyesight, not life threatening but pretty > important. Recently they have been on my hips to improve my mobility, again not life > threatening but i feel pretty important, so in my early 30's i could hardly walk, had hips of > an 80 years old. Now at 37 i have a chance to live my life normally and do the things > everyone else does. > > i am sorry to say this but your fear of surgery will mean you will miss out on life, that is > your choice but i actually find your attitude quite insulting to the hundreds of us on here > who have had surgery and are still here to tell the tale. > No one joyfully looks foward to surgery, we all get scared but neccessity is.... and at least > we have given ourselves the chance to have our lives back. If these op's go wrong so be it, > we take a chance, we can't be worse than we were before and AT LEAST WE HAVE TRIED. > > jane - in Wales UK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 23, 2005 Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 Thanks, Margaret Incidentally in Sweden the medical research is trying to get cartilage to grow in knees and hips to supplant replacements in some people. However so far they have not been able to get it to grow and stabilize for a long time in knees, and because of not enough blood flow (I think) not at all yet in hips. But who knows what the future holds? Lynn > I would rather Lyn explore all the options, and make her > own decision than feel obliged to make the decision we > made. > > When the decision makes sense to her, she will make the > decision, maybe it never will make sense to her. > > Just think of the mess I would be in if I had been pushed > to have that first total hip. Life would be totally > unliveable at the moment for me. > > Let everyone make their own decisions. > > Hugs > > Aussie Margaret > > > Re: Opting out > > > > > > > > Lynn > > > > i think at the end of the day surgery will be your only > option. You can kid yourself that you > > aren't too bad.... i've done that before now and with > hindsight can see that is exactly what > > i did. > > > > i have had bilateral hip resurfacing recently and am > amazed at the results. Throughout my > > life i have had lots of major surgery (over 20 general > anaesthetics) ok so the first few were > > life saving, then many have been to save my eyesight, not > life threatening but pretty > > important. Recently they have been on my hips to improve > my mobility, again not life > > threatening but i feel pretty important, so in my early > 30's i could hardly walk, had hips of > > an 80 years old. Now at 37 i have a chance to live my > life normally and do the things > > everyone else does. > > > > i am sorry to say this but your fear of surgery will mean > you will miss out on life, that is > > your choice but i actually find your attitude quite > insulting to the hundreds of us on here > > who have had surgery and are still here to tell the tale. > > No one joyfully looks foward to surgery, we all get > scared but neccessity is.... and at least > > we have given ourselves the chance to have our lives > back. If these op's go wrong so be it, > > we take a chance, we can't be worse than we were before > and AT LEAST WE HAVE TRIED. > > > > jane - in Wales UK > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 24, 2005 Report Share Posted March 24, 2005 Jane--I stand in awe about what you have gone through. What has kept you so positive? Eleanor Re: Opting out Lynn i think at the end of the day surgery will be your only option. You can kid yourself that you aren't too bad.... i've done that before now and with hindsight can see that is exactly what i did. i have had bilateral hip resurfacing recently and am amazed at the results. Throughout my life i have had lots of major surgery (over 20 general anaesthetics) ok so the first few were life saving, then many have been to save my eyesight, not life threatening but pretty important. Recently they have been on my hips to improve my mobility, again not life threatening but i feel pretty important, so in my early 30's i could hardly walk, had hips of an 80 years old. Now at 37 i have a chance to live my life normally and do the things everyone else does. i am sorry to say this but your fear of surgery will mean you will miss out on life, that is your choice but i actually find your attitude quite insulting to the hundreds of us on here who have had surgery and are still here to tell the tale. No one joyfully looks foward to surgery, we all get scared but neccessity is.... and at least we have given ourselves the chance to have our lives back. If these op's go wrong so be it, we take a chance, we can't be worse than we were before and AT LEAST WE HAVE TRIED. jane - in Wales UK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 25, 2005 Report Share Posted March 25, 2005 Jane You are an inspiration Thanks RUTH --- eleanor <moneyhill@...> wrote: > Jane--I stand in awe about what you have gone > through. What has kept > you so positive? > Eleanor > > Re: Opting out > > > > Lynn > > i think at the end of the day surgery will be your > only option. You can > kid yourself that you > aren't too bad.... i've done that before now and > with hindsight can see > that is exactly what > i did. > > i have had bilateral hip resurfacing recently and am > amazed at the > results. Throughout my > life i have had lots of major surgery (over 20 > general anaesthetics) ok > so the first few were > life saving, then many have been to save my > eyesight, not life > threatening but pretty > important. Recently they have been on my hips to > improve my mobility, > again not life > threatening but i feel pretty important, so in my > early 30's i could > hardly walk, had hips of > an 80 years old. Now at 37 i have a chance to live > my life normally and > do the things > everyone else does. > > i am sorry to say this but your fear of surgery will > mean you will miss > out on life, that is > your choice but i actually find your attitude quite > insulting to the > hundreds of us on here > who have had surgery and are still here to tell the > tale. > No one joyfully looks foward to surgery, we all get > scared but > neccessity is.... and at least > we have given ourselves the chance to have our lives > back. If these > op's go wrong so be it, > we take a chance, we can't be worse than we were > before and AT LEAST WE > HAVE TRIED. > > jane - in Wales UK > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 25, 2005 Report Share Posted March 25, 2005 Hi Lyn I can understand that there is occaisionally problems, but you must appreciate that this is very rare, it is such a sad coincidence that you know of two cases. But you must look in the long term as to what will bring you the best possible relief. I researched for a long while not only to find the proceedure but also to find a top class surgeon who does the proceedure. The resurfacing (Birmingham Hip) was for me the only way to go at my age, because it is bone preserving and also means i get an extra go (at the thr) in the long term. I wish you luck and hope that you can find a way to ease your pain. love jane - in sunny Wales Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 25, 2005 Report Share Posted March 25, 2005 Hi there, I just did a search on the results of clinical trials of glucoamine sulfate. Remember it is a nutrient that we need to make cartillage. The current evidence is that it may slow down the cartillage breakdown but it is not going to make you grow back cartillage. Lynne, I think you will find that you may find treatments that alleviate pain or stop your arthritis getting worse. But watch out for the quacks! My experience was that it took about a year from moderate hip symptoms to complte misery and surgery. Others differ. I tried had accupuncture, a variety of NSAIDS, keeping a low body weight, exercise, and in the end strong pain meds etc but only because I had to wait 6 months for surgery on a waiting list. Remember to include all the options in your research. I just filled in my 6 month post op questioaire today. I have no pain even after exercise and lots of walking. I dont need any painkillers, supplements, etc and I feel good about the future as I am likely to keep seeing emprovements and not get worse, as I was before. I went from climbing munroes to not being able to stand on the leg without pain in the space of a year. Don't let your fear of surgery rule this out for you. You want to investigate all your options, including supplements, accupuncture, pain meds, exercise. Some people sear by a TENS machine. I really wanted to try one but it was going to be expensive to get a good one. All these options do alleve symptoms for varying amounts of time. But remember lots of us here are recovering from surgery just now so negative attitudes about surgery are going to upset us who have had fantastic results, or those who are about to undergo surgery and have exhausted all options. You sound like you still have some options to pursue and I wish you all the best in your endevours, Leigh Here's the results of some of the glucosamine trials I found using the best medical search site used by scientists. I'm a biochemist by trade... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi As you can see, the jurys out on knee's, but some studies show its beneficial. I could't find a single study saying it helped hip arthritis symptoms or helped rebuild hip cartillage. Glucosamine sulfate reduces osteoarthritis progression in postmenopausal women with knee osteoarthritis: evidence from two 3- year studies. (RESULT-AFTER 3 YEARS, POSTMENOPAUSAL PARTICIPANTS IN THE GLUCOSAMINE SULFATE GROUP SHOWED NO JOINT SPACE NARROWING [JOINT SPACE CHANGE OF +0.003 MM (95% CI, -0.09 TO 0.11)], WHEREAS PARTICIPANTS IN THE PLACEBO GROUP EXPERIENCED A NARROWING OF -0.33 MM.) Bruyere O, Pavelka K, Rovati LC, Deroisy R, Olejarova M, Gatterova J, Giacovelli G, Reginster JY. WHO Collaborating Center for Public Health Aspect of Osteoarticular Disorders, Liege, Belgium. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of glucosamine sulfate on long- term symptoms and structure progression in postmenopausal women with knee osteoarthritis (OA). DESIGN: This study consisted of a preplanned combination of two three-year, randomized, placebo- controlled, prospective, independent studies evaluating the effect of glucosamine sulfate on symptoms and structure modification in OA and post-hoc analysis of the results obtained in postmenopausal women with knee OA. Minimal joint space width was assessed at baseline and after 3 years from standing anteroposterior knee radiographs. Symptoms were scored by the algo-functional WOMAC index at baseline and after 3 years. All primary statistical analyses were performed in intention-to-treat, comparing joint space width and WOMAC changes between groups by ANOVA. RESULTS: Of 414 participants randomized in the two studies, 319 were postmenopausal women. At baseline, glucosamine sulfate and placebo groups were comparable for demographic and disease characteristics, both in the general population and in the postmenopausal women subset. AFTER 3 YEARS, POSTMENOPAUSAL PARTICIPANTS IN THE GLUCOSAMINE SULFATE GROUP SHOWED NO JOINT SPACE NARROWING [JOINT SPACE CHANGE OF +0.003 MM (95% CI, - 0.09 TO 0.11)], WHEREAS PARTICIPANTS IN THE PLACEBO GROUP EXPERIENCED A NARROWING OF -0.33 MM(95% CI, -0.44 to -0.22; P < 0.0001 between the two groups). Percent changes after 3 years in the WOMAC index showed an improvement in the glucosamine sulfate group [- 14.1% (95%, -22.2 to -5.9)] and a trend for worsening in the placebo group (5.4% (95% CI, -4.9 to 15.7) (P = 0.003 between the two groups). CONCLUSION: This analysis, focusing on a large cohort of postmenopausal women, demonstrated for the first time that a pharmacological intervention for OA has a disease-modifying effect in this particular population, the most frequently affected by knee OA. Effectiveness of glucosamine for symptoms of knee osteoarthritis: results from an internet-based randomized double-blind controlled trial. (Results-THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TREATMENT AND CONTROL GROUPS IN TERMS OF CHANGE IN PAIN SCORE (2.0 +/- 3.4 VS. 2.5 +/- 3.8, P = 0.41), STIFFNESS (0.7 +/- 1.6 VS. 0.8 +/- 1.5, P = 0.52), PHYSICAL FUNCTION (5.2 +/- 9.5 VS. 4.6 +/- 9.6, P = 0.49), OVERALL SCORE (7.8 +/- 13.1 VS. 7.8 +/- 13.5, P = 0.81), AND ANALGESIC USE (133 +/- 553 VS. -88 +/- 755, P = 0.12). McAlindon T, Formica M, LaValley M, Lehmer M, Kabbara K. Division of Rheumatology, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA. tmcalindon@... PURPOSE: To present the safety and effectiveness results of a prototypical 12-week, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial of glucosamine among subjects with knee osteoarthritis who were recruited and followed entirely over the Internet. METHODS: The study comprised 205 subjects aged 45 years or older with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis who were recruited over the Internet; eligibility was authenticated through medical record review. Participants were assigned randomly to 1.5 g/d of glucosamine (n = 101) or placebo (n = 104), of whom 108 completed the intervention (93 in each arm). The primary outcome measure was the pain subscale of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (Likert version). Additional outcome measures included the physical function and stiffness subscales and overall score of the questionnaire, and analgesic use. RESULTS: THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TREATMENT AND CONTROL GROUPS IN TERMS OF CHANGE IN PAIN SCORE (2.0 +/- 3.4 VS. 2.5 +/- 3.8, P = 0.41), STIFFNESS (0.7 +/- 1.6 VS. 0.8 +/- 1.5, P = 0.52), PHYSICAL FUNCTION (5.2 +/- 9.5 VS. 4.6 +/- 9.6, P = 0.49), OVERALL SCORE (7.8 +/- 13.1 VS. 7.8 +/- 13.5, P = 0.81), AND ANALGESIC USE (133 +/- 553 VS. -88 +/- 755, P = 0.12). Stratification by osteoarthritis severity, glucosamine product, and use of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, as well as exclusion of opiate users, did not alter the results. The number and type of adverse events reported was similar between the groups. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that although glucosamine appears to be safe, it is no more effective than placebo in treating the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 2001 Oct;15(4):583-93. Related Articles, Links Pharmacological therapy of osteoarthritis. Hochberg MC, Dougados M. Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University of land School of Medicine, Baltimore, land, 21201, USA. In 2000, both the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the European League of Associations of Rheumatology (EULAR) published recommendations for the use of pharmacological therapy in the treatment of patients with lower limb osteoarthritis. These recommendations are based on the level of evidence observed in systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses of published randomized controlled trials as well as expert opinion. Acetaminophen (paracetamol) is considered as first-line oral therapy for symptomatic lower limb osteoarthritis with mild to moderate pain because it is more efficacious than placebo and is generally considered to be safe and well tolerated. Data obtained in recent trials and the results of a meta-analysis, however, show that acetaminophen is not as efficacious as non-steroidal anti- inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for pain at rest and pain on motion. Furthermore, data from a recent epidemiological study suggest that use of high-dose acetaminophen (>2 g/day) may convey the same magnitude of increased risk for serious upper gastrointestinal adverse events as NSAIDs.NSAIDs have demonstrated efficacy superior to placebo in patients with osteoarthritis. The newer cyclo- oxygenase (COX)-2-specific inhibitors (coxibs) have comparable efficacy to traditional dual inhibitor NSAIDs and have demonstrated a better gastrointestinal safety profile. Thus, for patients who have severe pain and/or signs of inflammation or who have failed to respond to acetaminophen, the use of a coxib should be considered, especially if the patient is at increased risk for serious upper gastrointestinal adverse events from a traditional NSAID.Compounds different from pure analgesics and NSAIDs are also used for the management of patients with osteoarthritis. Recent clinical trials have demonstrated statistically significant efficacy of such compounds (e.g. chondroitin sulphate, diacerhein, glucosamine sulphate) with the following characteristics: (1) the effect size seems to be of slightly lower magnitude than that seen for NSAIDs; (2) the onset of action is delayed for approximately 4 to 6 weeks; and (3) the symptomatic effect is maintained after stopping the treatment for periods of 4 to 8 weeks.The methodology for evaluating the possible structure-modifying effect of drugs has dramatically improved during the past decade. Two agents have demonstrated a beneficial structural effect: glucosamine sulphate in osteoarthritis of the knee, and diacerhein in osteoarthritis of the hip. The clinical relevance of such an effect needs to be further evaluated in long-term outcome studies. Copyright 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 30, 2005 Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 Thanks Edwin for the references. Lynn > > Dear Lynn, > > Glucosamine Sulphate (1500 milligrams per day) has been shown in > > clinical trials (again, sorry I don't have the medical references) > to > > help cartilage lost for some people. Well worth trying, although > you > > need to take it for 3 weeks regularly to build up before seeing if > it > > has worked. My husband never takes anything, but for some reason > tried > > this, and is back to hiking mountains. It didn't seem to help me > > particularly, however. > > > > I have a cousin who is a vet and gives it to arthritic animals. > His > > wife asked him for some of the same thing he gave their pet dog, > as it > > made such a difference. No placebo affect there, I guess. > > Eleanor > > > > Opting out > > > > > > > > > > I've opted out of any surgery (my hips and knees hurt and have > lost > > cartilege and so far that's all the doctors have offered me is > > rs)..and I take nothing but tiny aspirin...so far. But I am now > > restricted in how long I can walk and I can't ski anymore. I'm > > hoping for some less intrusive alternative to appear as I mistrust > > all surgery except life threatening. > > Lynn > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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