Glucosamine Sulfate

Are there any interactions with medications?

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Warfarin (Coumadin)
Interaction Rating: Major Do not take this combination.

Warfarin (Coumadin) is used to slow blood clotting. There are several reports showing that taking glucosamine sulfate with or without chondroitin increases the effect of warfarin (Coumadin), making blood clotting even slower. This can cause bruising and bleeding that can be serious. Don't take glucosamine sulfate if you are taking warfarin (Coumadin). Many natural medicines can interact with warfarin (Coumadin).

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Medications for cancer (Antimitotic chemotherapy)
Interaction Rating: Moderate Be cautious with this combination.
Talk with your health provider.

Some medications for cancer work by decreasing how fast cancer cells can copy themselves. Some scientists think that glucosamine sulfate might increase how fast tumor cells can copy themselves. Taking glucosamine sulfate along with some medications for cancer might decrease the effectiveness of these medications for cancer. Any person who is receiving chemotherapy should talk with their health provider before taking glucosamine sulfate.

Some of these medications are etoposide (VP16, VePesid), teniposide (VM26), and doxorubicin (Adriamycin).

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Acetaminophen (Tylenol, others)
Interaction Rating: Minor Be cautious with this combination.
Talk with your health provider.

There is some concern that taking glucosamine sulfate and acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) together might affect how well each works. But more information is needed to know if this interaction is a big concern. For now, most experts say it is okay to use both together.

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Medications for diabetes (Antidiabetes drugs)
Interaction Rating: Minor Be cautious with this combination.
Talk with your health provider.

There has been concern that glucosamine sulfate might increase blood sugar in people with diabetes. There was also the concern that glucosamine sulfate might decrease how well diabetes medications work. However, research now shows that glucosamine sulfate probably does not increase blood sugar in people with diabetes. Therefore, glucosamine sulfate probably does not interfere with diabetes medications. To be cautious, if you take glucosamine sulfate and have diabetes, monitor your blood sugar closely.

Some medications used for diabetes include glimepiride (Amaryl), glyburide (DiaBeta, Glynase PresTab, Micronase), insulin, pioglitazone (Actos), rosiglitazone (Avandia), chlorpropamide (Diabinese), glipizide (Glucotrol), tolbutamide (Orinase), and others.

Dosing considerations for Glucosamine Sulfate.

The following doses have been studied in scientific research:

BY MOUTH:

• Osteoarthritis: 1500 mg once daily or 500 mg three times daily.
• Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) arthritis: 500 mg three times daily.