PBW was reading my mind, or perhaps, my body today. Her Monday Ten was titled, “Health Ten.”

I’ve been taking Osteo Bi-Flex for at least a month and a half now. That’s a brand name for glucosamine chonroitin. It’s supposed to renew cartilage and lubricate joints. My PA recommended it. Other than the fact that it’s wickedly expensive, I figured over the counter might be preferable to prescription. After taking it for a couple weeks, I began alternating days with my Feldene prescription. It seemed to work ok.

A week ago, I stopped taking the Feldene. The residue in the body takes a week or two to work its way out. I’m feeling aches and pains–knees, hands, shoulders, and biceps. If they don’t get any worse, I think I can tolerate them. The knees feel as if a sheet of paper or plastic has been slipped between the femur and the tibia. The hands retain a full range of motion, but I “feel” them. The shoulders and biceps I figure is pain from pushups and not to be worried about–it was just masked under the Feldene.

And all these aches made themselves known today. Just in time to read PBW’s article loaded with links to helpful places.

And just an interesting bit of trivia: While waiting to talk to my vet about Hershey’s health status after he got his annual exam, I noticed a poster in the treatment room for the medication you would give your aging hound to rejuvenate his or her achey joints. What was the active ingredient in the medication? You guessed it! Glucosamine Chondroitin. Twenty years ago, I gave my St Bernard Ascriptin (also a human analgesic pain reliever). My dog and I have so much in common.

Go check out PBW’s page if you haven’t been there yet. Lots of good stuff!