Smelly

In the past month, I have tried hard to do everything possible to get my body to recover from having missing cartilage under my knee.  I am not having surgery, and am willing to try just about anything to get my body to heal.  This meant researching some drugs to take that would help me.

I read a lot about cartilage and tissue recently and found that many people take glucosamine to help.  According to this website, glucosamine:

Glucosamine sulfate is a chemical found in the human body. It is used by the body to produce a variety of other chemicals that are involved in building tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and the thick fluid that surrounds joints.

Joints are cushioned by the fluid and cartilage that surround them. In some people with osteoarthritis, the cartilage breaks down and becomes thin. This results in more joint friction, pain, and stiffness. Researchers think that taking glucosamine supplements may either increase the cartilage and fluid surrounding joints or help prevent breakdown of these substances, or maybe both.


I feel like my body is responding wonderfully to all the TLC, fruits, vegetables, and supplements I have been taking.  However, there is one thing that is terribly wrong with glucosamine: the smell.

Prior to taking glucosamine, I did not consider myself to be a sweaty runner.  Everyone knows people that sweat a lot, but I was almost the opposite.  I didn't sweat much at all, but that seems like a distant memory now.  Glucosamine makes me sweat like there is no tomorrow.  For example, after 5 minutes on the elliptical machine I'll be sweating.  By 10 minutes, my sweat increases and I'll need to use the towels to start wiping sweat away.  It gets worse...

In addition to dripping sweat, I also smell really bad.  My sweat isn't normal sweat.  It smells so gross.  I'm sure other people at the gym are thinking "does this girl wear deodorant?!?!"  There is nothing that can mask the smell of glucosamine, unfortunately.  My aunt who is a pharmacist told me that one of the side effects of glucosamine is the smell.  One of her friends stopped taking it because they couldn't stand how they smelled after working out.  I can totally relate to her friend.

With July almost over and visions of running happy miles in the near future, I am wondering:

Do I keep on taking glucosamine and smell and pollute the air but have it keep on helping repair my knee?

Or, do I stop taking it, smell better, and risk not taking something that could be good for me?

I'm not sure what I'll be doing yet, but I do know every time I work out I smell bad.  It makes me more thankful for showers.