Schiff Glucosamine Review

Several months ago when my new dance season began I noticed that my joints were aching more after hours of practice.  I had to take into consideration that I was a bone cancer survivor and that I have had Lupus since I was 21 so it was apparent that with lots of physical activity and having an illness that effects my joints and connective tissues was going to one day take its toll on my body; especially my bones and joints.  So, after seeing commercials on TV for Glucosamine I decided to try a product.  I settled on Schiff Glucosamine Gelcaps because I was able to get a bottle with 166 gelcaps for approximately $16-18 and taking 2 a day meant the bottle would last me for almost 3 months.  And the other perk was this came in a gelcap.  I don't tend to stomach vitamins well so I thought I would be good to go.

Schiff's website at www.schiffvitamins.com says the following:

Glucosamine helps support cartilage and maintain structural integrity of joints and connective tissue.** Glucosamine is a building block for joint fluid, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, membranes and blood vessels.

That in and of itself is enough to get your attention, right?  So I added 2 gelcaps (1,000mg of Glucosamine each) with my morning vitamin and medication regimen.  The first evening I felt a little sick to my stomach and just chalked it up to taking a new vitamin.  So, the next morning I decided I would only take 1 gelcap and then take the other one when I got home from work.  Several hours later while at work I once again felt sick to my stomach.  But this time my eyes began watering as if I was crying and then my skin began to have this weird itching sensation.  By the end of the day I really wasn't feeling well.  I was feeling short of breath, like I had just run a marathon, my heart was beating a little faster than normal and I was feeling very faint.  I called my doctor because it didn't dawn on me that it was the Glucosamine Gelcaps.  I thought something was wrong!

Okay, so during a routine doctor's visit.  They take your vitals and my BP was higher than normal but since I have a rather low BP it was just entering a more normal range.  However, my heart rate was extremely high and my eyes were now puffy and still watering profusely.  The doctor went into the question/answer routine about adding anything new to my diet, cleaning supplies, etc. and I told her about the Glucosamine Gelcaps.  At this point you are saying thank God for the Internet.  Because she typed in the name of the product and got the ingredients and there was the culprit.

Contains soy and shellfish (shrimp, crab, lobster and crayfish).  I am allergic to seafood AND shellfish so my doctor said had I continue to ignore the symptoms and taken the vitamins I would have done some major damage to my systemic organs.

Other Ingredients: Cellulose, coating (polydextrose, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, caramel color, triacetin, polyethylene glycol, gelatin, titanium dioxide, dextrin, dextrose, soy lecithin, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, sodium citrate), hydroxypropyl cellulose, stearic acid, croscarmellose sodium, silicon dioxide and magnesium stearate.

I am still giving this product a 3-star for several reasons.  I was able to swallow the gelcaps a lot easier than the traditional non-coated, herbal grainy style vitamins.  I gave the bottle to a friend who suffers from arthritis and after about a week she said she could see the difference in her knees when she would bend and stoop and in her fingers when she would type and play the piano.  So, when taken on a regular basis over a longer period of time the product seems to deliver good results.  It has the ability to strengthen the cartilage in joints that is slowly worn down by either the aging process, physical activity or illnesses that can attack the joints.  The product also has a good shelf life with approximately 3 years from the date it is manufactured.

My only complaint and it's not just against this product but most joint care supplements is that I haven't been able to find any that don't have the shellfish ingredients.  After we discovered what was causing my "sickness" I went back to the store and compared the ingredients on about five other joint care supplements and all mentioned one or more shellfish ingredients.  So my question is this?  If someone wants some added benefits for joint care but they are allergic to seafood and/or shellfish; what can they use?