What are the known side effects of taking glucosamine for arthritis?
Glucosamine in general is a very safe and side effect free medicine. The only problems occur if you are allergic to shellfish, are Diabetic ( it can fluctuate blood glucose levels ) and if you are pregnant. There haven’t been enough studies in it’s use in pregnant women to determine it’s safety, although it is not thought to be harmful. Avoiding use in pregnancy is pretty much a given for most medication anyway. You may expericence slight upset stomach or diarrhoea and nausea are possible, but this is reported to only occur if very high doses are taken. These side effects are common to many other drugs and are pretty much standard in the listing of a side effect for anything. Glucosamine has the advantage that it is meant to be in your body so the body will react to it less than it would something that wasn’t a natural part of your body. Glucosamine is a component of the structure of the joints and the fluid between the joints as well as the ligaments.
