emptynester

Hi everyone. I have very bad arthritis in all of my weight bearing joints, except my new hips. I am 44 years old and have been suffering with degenerative joint disease since I was 18. It is not RA, but has been very serious and has profoundly impacted my life. I had both hips replaced left 4/2000 and right 1/2001. My ankles and knees are still arthritic and I will probably end up with knee replacements in the future. My wrists and finger joints give me problems sometimes and my left shoulder and left elbow are just starting to ache alot. Earlier this year, I started a walking and resistance training regime. At first my joints screamed at me all of the time. I started taking glucosamine about a month ago, now I am walking 4-6 miles a day and resistance training every other day. The glucosamine has really helped my less affected joints and now that I am losing some of the extra 50# I have been carrying around, I am sure the weight bearing joints will feel better soon as well. I was very hesitant to try the glucosamine. Not only is it an unregulated dietary supplement (which I tend to shy away from), it is rather expensive and not covered by my health insurance. If the first month is any indication though, I guess I will keep using it.