Depressed

TheEnglishman

After being told there are no positive options for the damage in my hands while seeing the hand consultant this morning I had a weak moment and bought a heart rate monitor from the Apple Store at lunchtime. Just typing this shows a HR of 68. I'm guessing that's not very good.

Ive been reading diet things on the train on the way in to work and while I can read the words I just can't transpose them to real world meals. What is '60g or protein' or 100g or carbs??? Why can't they say things like 'eat one steak, 6 new potatoes and a bottle of Hogsback Brewery 'TEA' - which is what I had for dinner last night. So more 'confusing' reading ahead.

And the Glucosamine tablets I'm supposed to take for ever more cost the earth!! And the tablets are more suited to be shoved up a Horse's arse than swallowed down my throat. mmm - just checking the instructions again.... Nope - orally is the way. :shock:

Maybe a cuppa will buck me up!

Secteur

What's wrong with your hands? Was it bike related?

Yukirin

dont get too hung up on numbers, even if you eat 60g of protein (which your body cant digest in 1 meal) it doesnt mean you'll absorb 60g as everyone digests foods differently. 60g of protein is about 2 chicken breasts.
How much glucosamine do you need? Reflex do 1000mg caps x 90 for £7.99

my heart rate is 63 at the mo. Dont know what that means though.

vitesse169

Hi - I get my glucosamine and all supplements from healthspan - all quality stuff and much cheaper than elsewhere..... look on 'tinternetweb for them....

jim453

What the hell is wrong with your hands?

TheEnglishman

I had a big off on a motorbike - landing on your hands on tarmac fractured a radius (not in the joint thankfully) a few bones and ruptured ligaments.

The bones are fixed, the ligaments aren't.

I'm hoping to stave off arthritis for as long as possible. The consultant said 1.5g of glucosamine a day.

Still, I'm fed and watered and my new toy is working a treat!

Headhuunter

TheEnglishman wrote:

I had a big off on a motorbike - landing on your hands on tarmac fractured a radius (not in the joint thankfully) a few bones and ruptured ligaments.

The bones are fixed, the ligaments aren't.

I'm hoping to stave off arthritis for as long as possible. The consultant said 1.5g of glucosamine a day.

Still, I'm fed and watered and my new toy is working a treat!

Interesting that the consultant has told you to take glucosamine as long term research which finished last year and was published in the British Medical Journal or the Lancet or something reported that glucosamine and chondroitin have no effect on joint health.

As for 68bpm heart rate, I don't think that's bad, I though average heart rate for a human being was something like 72bpm?

TheEnglishman

Well, she said the opposite - Glucosamine and Cod Liver Oil were the only things that had evidence based study supporting their use.

I'll go see my GP and get it sorted. The damages solicitor said she's getting another opinion from another hand specialist person (along with a knee specialist) so it's early days. It's just that it's so much to take in in a 10 minute consultation. Kind of in, sit down, listen to a pile of info, then a handshake and the door opens. It's like a compressed episode of Mr Ben.

veronese68

Sorry to hear about your troubles, I can imagine it's very frustrating. With regards to the amount of information you have to take in during a short consultation I would recommend taking someone with you if you can. I had a long saga that started with rheumatoid arthritis in my knees, after many appointments and all sorts of other things going on it turned out it was all caused by a lymphoma. It was often really confusing and quite shocking at times so you don't think straight. I took my wife with me after the first few appointments, quite often she would pick up on something that I had missed, or vice versa.
I don't know your exact circumstance, but if you can take someone you know well I would heartily recommend it.
Good luck and I hope you heal well.

keef66

I was about to ask the same thing; any clinical evidence to support the use of glucosamine??

Headhuunter

TheEnglishman wrote:

Well, she said the opposite - Glucosamine and Cod Liver Oil were the only things that had evidence based study supporting their use.

I'll go see my GP and get it sorted. The damages solicitor said she's getting another opinion from another hand specialist person (along with a knee specialist) so it's early days. It's just that it's so much to take in in a 10 minute consultation. Kind of in, sit down, listen to a pile of info, then a handshake and the door opens. It's like a compressed episode of Mr Ben.

I think cod liver oil is proven to help but glucosamine and chondroitin less so. Basically glucosamin and chondroitin provide the building blocks which make up the cartilage in your joints, however many don't believe there is any way for the body to transfer these minerals to the cartilage as there are no nerve endings and therefore no blood there.

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/interactive/ ... tab_id=116

I take glucosamine and chondroitin myself but I maynot buy anymore when my existing stuff runs out...

TheEnglishman

Bugger. I hate Cod Liver Oil - I guess the capsules are better than the bottles used to be when I was a kid.

Yossie

keef66 wrote:

I was about to ask the same thing; any clinical evidence to support the use of glucosamine??

I smashed up my knees years ago (big motorbike accident - snapped ankles, funked knees, the normal stuff) and have what I call Fisherman's Arthritis - ie when its damp and wet my knees seize up and its agony (I live on the coast, so it 9 months of the year really).

I had a knee rebuild operation and the surgeon asked if I was on anything - only glucosamine I said. He chuckled and said "well, isn't everyone?".

When pressed by me on whether it was doing any good, he said that the clinical trials were pretty inconclusive, but hey, it isn't going to do any harm, and if it has a beneficial placebo affect then go for.

Agree on Healthspan for this sort of stuff, however bizarrely Boots works out cheaper for cod liver oil (which I'm also on). Freakin expensive for glucosamine though .......

HTH

Rigged

Ask your doctor about Vitamin D supplements. Obviously I'm not a medical professional so I'm not going to sit here and preach what I think is right and wrong because I'm not sufficiently informed to do so but there's growing evidence to indicate Vitamin D deficiency is linked with a lot of joint problems such as arthritis, and potentially other things such as MS too.