There's a product called "Dona" out of Europe....its a great glucosamine product..
Also, there's a chondroitin products called "Chondrosolf"...pretty good too...
injured my shoulder playing softball here in the states, picked up some of this stuff while I was vacationing in EU, and they helped tremendously...probably could be found online somewhere.
I'm sure it's different for everyone but, for me, it took a full year before I noticed tangible improvement. However, the improvement has been significant.
I'm taking GC plus MSM right now and have been for a couple months. Haven't noticed anything at all. What works good for me is gelatin. I've been taking it for a year or so and haven't had any probs since. I think Radar said he takes gelatin too.