SWR,

I've mentioned this before in many different threads, and I'll say it again for you: Liquid glucosamine is the best thing that ever happened to *my* arthritic knuckles. You have to take a dose once a day, and it takes about a month to notice any effect, but it eventually not only stops the pain, it actually seems to restore a large degree of the flexibilty and freedom of movement that you've already lost.

I'm a long-time fingerpicking guitar player, too. I had been playing less and less over the years, and at about age 50 (6-7 years ago), my hands had become so stiff and my upper knuckles so grotesquely enlarged that I was finally unable to play at all. Of course, once I *couldn't* play, I suddenly *wanted* to resume playing.

I saw my doctor, who referred me to a specialist, who ordered x-rays and a lot of other stuff, only to tell me, "take aspirin when it really bothers you."

My wife has similar problems with her back, and her doctor had prescribed Vioxx. I started taking her Vioxx, and noticed some improvement insofar as I experienced less pain, but there was still extreme stiffmess and immobility. Eventually (about two years ago) I learned about glucosamine from health-food/supplement enthusiasts, found a source on the Internet, and tried it out. It has made a *huge* difference, and now I'm picking almost every day.

Liquid glucosamine generally comes mixed with another supplement called chondroitin, an extract of shark cartiledge.

Do a web search on "Syn-Flex" for a source for the stuff I've been using; costs about $30 per one-month-supply bottle. I'm ready to try switching to another product: Sam's Club (the Wal-Mart subsiidiary) sells a much larger bottle (about 3 month's worth) for $25-30, labelled generically as "Liquid Glucosamine."

I realize that what works for me will not necessarily work for another person's ailment, but I think it's worth a try. Good luck.