About DANIL HAMMOUDI.MD Expertise answer all questions regarding this condition, treatment options and prevenbtion if any
Experience general surgery, expert to several web site and categories, answer about 300 crohn's disease question a month and practical experience for more than 4 years
I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 1998. I have had one resection (in 2000), but I still have what my doctor calls "a bit of rumbling". (I think that means it is still somewhat active.) I take 75 mg of 6MP daily as well as entocort (although I am in the process of coming off the entocort) I also take lomotil to control bowel movements. I've previously experienced what I was told was conditional arthritis, which can be onset by the Crohn's. The arthritis has been so bad at times that I have had to get prednisolone intravenously. I haven't been feeling too bad lately except that the arthritis is coming back. Not as severe as before but still painful and almost more annoying than anything.
So...to the point. A friend of mine has colitis and says that she uses glucosamine to treat her arthritis. My questions are..."Is glucosamine helpful for condtional arthritis in Crohn's, Will glucosamine have any negative interactions with my current medications, and is it something I should speak with my doctor about first or can I just start taking it and see how it goes?"
Thanks so much for your time and advice.
Tammy
Answer I think first yes you should talk with your doc first, treatments are speciafic and I cannot tell you in your specific case if it will be good or not.
this treatment in deed help to significantly relieve the pain of arthritis, to improve cartilage, and to slow the progression of osteoarthritis, but the causes varies and yours is an autoimmune cause that can be benificiary in deed if you do not have contraindication of it [although in general there is no contraindication].
Contraindications and side effects
At very high doses (5000mg/kg oral, 3000 mg/kg IM and 1500 mg/kg IV)
of glucosamine administration, there is no mortality observed in mice or rats. As
such, there is no LD50 for glucosamine(19,22). Evidence from case series
(Evidence level 3,4), short term clinical trials (evidence level 1,2) and 3 year
follow-up clinical trials (evidence level 1) (33,34) show that side effects caused by
administration of glucosamine (mostly oral administration) are generally mild,
always lower than the standard first choice treatment for OA (NSAIDs) and
sometimes even less than placebo. The side effects of glucosamine include epigastric pain/tenderness, heartburn, diarrhea, nausea, dyspepsia, vomiting,
drowsiness, constipation, gastric heaviness, itchiness/allergic episode,
headaches, vertigo, anorexia, abdominal pain, somnolence, insomnia, neuritis,
depressive mood, edema, tachycardia, increased or decreased blood pressure,
cardiac failure (4% in glucosamine vs. 7% in placebo).
Glucosamine also has an important role in glucose metabolism by
increasing insulin resistance. Animal studies have shown that glucosamine
increased glucose insulin resistance in normal and experimentally diabetic
animals. Patients with OA tend to be elderly and obese, as such they tend to be
prone to type 2 diabetes. A subtle worsening of insulin resistance in this type of
patients may well then result in subsequent longer-term sequelae. However,
currently, there is no contraindication to administering glucosamine in diabetic
patients. However, appropriate rigorous follow-up of such diabetic patients would
be warranted. Some experts have suggested that glucosamine not be prescribed
for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, crystalline arthropathies such as gout nor in pregnant women or children. Patients allergic to shellfish should not use
glucosamine
Several abstracts this year have dealt with the effects of glucosamine in OA treatment.[1-3] One study demonstrated that glucosamine therapy improves levels of keratin sulfate, a measure of cartilage health and function. Even more interesting, in a Japanese study that performed both in vivo and in vitro experiments, an assay for the amino terminal portion of type II procollagen was initially low in patients with OA and rose with glucosamine therapy, suggesting that synthesis of collagen was stimulated by the therapy. These data, along with the overall impression that glucosamine decreases pain, suggest that this nutraceutical may have important positive biological effects. Also, an abstract evaluated the effect of glucosamine on levels of chondrex, a substance that is correlated with inflammation within the joint. The levels of this substance decreased with glucosamine therapy.
So overall for me personally I do not see why you cannot take it, but it is much better to talk with your doc first to make sure that you do not have any contraindication on taking it.
thanks
