Has anyone tried Umary Hialuronica Acidio from Mexico?

Posted by jixster @jixster, Feb 20 12:16pm

I bought a bottle of this UMARY Hialuronica Acidio from Amazon - I wanted something to help with my morning stiffness from PMR. I tried one pill mid- afternoon and the next morning I felt like new! No pain - no stiffness. BUT - after reading some negative reviews on Amazon I became aware of some possible issues, that because it works so well there must be an unlisted ingredient(s) - perhaps a NSAID OR A STEROID? One person mentioned after a couple months of using it started to mess up his liver enzymes. Since I am on 10mg of prednisone I decided to only take this supplement once every 4 days until I see my rheumatologist in April - I did not see any warning from the FDA for Umary - there are many more positive reviews than negative reviews on Amazon- I wish I could get it analyzed to be sure it’s safe but I don’t know where such can be done.

*****

Note from the Community Director

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns that some arthritis and pain management products contain hidden ingredients that could be dangerous. 

Tainted Arthritis | Pain Products FDA

According to the FDA, over-the-counter (OTC) arthritis and pain management products may have potentially harmful hidden ingredients. Use caution before using any OTC arthritis and pain management products. Umary may have hidden ingredients that are potentially harmful.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) Support Group.

@crystalrn

I'm concerned that they reported this as a percentage. We need to know how many milligrams that corresponds to. 40-45% could be any amount of mg. I guess I need to get my gram scale out and weigh the tablet. That would definitely come in as a W.A.G. (aka wild ass guess!)
I have also lodged a request with the FDA and they have it now listed to be checked into.
One surprising thing I discovered is that the first bottle I got did a fantastic job of relieving my arthritic pain. Then I was out for a week before I got some more delivered. It is not working like the first bottle did. That tells me that there is basically no quality control being done. I've never had that issue with a name-brand prescription drug. I expect that the FDA will test it and find the diclofenac and ban it since diclofenac was a script drug only. The drug was discontinued in the USA because it was found to cause heart attacks similar to the drug Vioxx which was pulled off too years before. Diclofenac was supposed to be the replacement since it worked very well. Also, apparently Voltaren Gel has also been discontinued by the manufacturer. I guess it comes down to whether or not you want to take the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

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The bottle says each pill is 850 mg which would make 40-45% about 400 mg. Very high.

You can go to the website and see all results.
This is what they said about my sample:
“Your sample (expected as Umary) tested as microcrystalline cellulose (pill filler) 45-50%, diclofenac 40-45%, and an uncertain oil (pill binder) 10-15% by FTIR spectrometer. It tested
negative for fentanyl or fentanyl analogs by test strip.”

This is inBC, Canada and it appears that these strips are used for testing there at government drug testing sites as well.

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@laurieh

The bottle says each pill is 850 mg which would make 40-45% about 400 mg. Very high.

You can go to the website and see all results.
This is what they said about my sample:
“Your sample (expected as Umary) tested as microcrystalline cellulose (pill filler) 45-50%, diclofenac 40-45%, and an uncertain oil (pill binder) 10-15% by FTIR spectrometer. It tested
negative for fentanyl or fentanyl analogs by test strip.”

This is inBC, Canada and it appears that these strips are used for testing there at government drug testing sites as well.

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I think I read it too early this morning. I didn't think about the total dosage. I'm going to do a screenshot of your reply and save it. Thanks for pointing that out.

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I know supplements are not regulated but I have used uMary capsules from Mexico and probably some others I bought on Amazon that I noticed have a 2nd label on them. I am a cancer patient who has blood work done every 2 months. I did have one come back that was questionable concerning my kidney functions. Which I saw someone else on Amazon who showed the same issue. But the next time I did blood work it was fine. I will be having my blood work done again here in mid-May. Have another friend who also is a cancer patient who recently did blood work and his came out fine. The one thing I have noticed is that after a time the pills did not work. So, I stopped taking them for a bit and started the up again. But not I take them when I start hurting. This is how one of my sisters takes them. Another 2 sisters and a brother-in-law had to stop taking them cause them caused BM problems. That could be due to the turmeric but then the turmeric is what probably helps with the pain. The hyaluronic acid, as someone mentioned, is good for skin and eyes and has been shown to help build collagen and is good for joints. The pharmacist at the cancer hospital looked at the ingredient list and said it was fine for me to take. I've wondered about why uMary is so good for pain. Could it have a hidden ingredient?? Maybe! But it is nice to get up without being in pain.

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@crystalrn

I'm concerned that they reported this as a percentage. We need to know how many milligrams that corresponds to. 40-45% could be any amount of mg. I guess I need to get my gram scale out and weigh the tablet. That would definitely come in as a W.A.G. (aka wild ass guess!)
I have also lodged a request with the FDA and they have it now listed to be checked into.
One surprising thing I discovered is that the first bottle I got did a fantastic job of relieving my arthritic pain. Then I was out for a week before I got some more delivered. It is not working like the first bottle did. That tells me that there is basically no quality control being done. I've never had that issue with a name-brand prescription drug. I expect that the FDA will test it and find the diclofenac and ban it since diclofenac was a script drug only. The drug was discontinued in the USA because it was found to cause heart attacks similar to the drug Vioxx which was pulled off too years before. Diclofenac was supposed to be the replacement since it worked very well. Also, apparently Voltaren Gel has also been discontinued by the manufacturer. I guess it comes down to whether or not you want to take the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

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The link already given to you several times includes the information that a Umary pill containing 40-45% is about 320mg of diclofenac. Could I suggest you read the link.
"Pharmacist urges people stop using Umary supplement after Steinbach woman's health scare."
https://www.steinbachonline.com/articles/pharmacist-urges-people-stop-using-umary-supplement-after-steinbach-womans-health-scare

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@megz

The link already given to you several times includes the information that a Umary pill containing 40-45% is about 320mg of diclofenac. Could I suggest you read the link.
"Pharmacist urges people stop using Umary supplement after Steinbach woman's health scare."
https://www.steinbachonline.com/articles/pharmacist-urges-people-stop-using-umary-supplement-after-steinbach-womans-health-scare

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I've read the article but I am not convinced about the accuracy of the dosage. The bottle "says" 850 mg. We know they lied about the actual content of the tablets. What you have are percentages in a single tablet. You would have to know more about the actual weight of diclofenac to accurately determine the milligrams. When I see this article saying 320 mg. that's not 45% of 850. It's not even 40% so we are talking apples and oranges until you know the weight of each component. The pharmacist was giving as good a guess as he could based on the components he identified.

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@crystalrn

I'm concerned that they reported this as a percentage. We need to know how many milligrams that corresponds to. 40-45% could be any amount of mg. I guess I need to get my gram scale out and weigh the tablet. That would definitely come in as a W.A.G. (aka wild ass guess!)
I have also lodged a request with the FDA and they have it now listed to be checked into.
One surprising thing I discovered is that the first bottle I got did a fantastic job of relieving my arthritic pain. Then I was out for a week before I got some more delivered. It is not working like the first bottle did. That tells me that there is basically no quality control being done. I've never had that issue with a name-brand prescription drug. I expect that the FDA will test it and find the diclofenac and ban it since diclofenac was a script drug only. The drug was discontinued in the USA because it was found to cause heart attacks similar to the drug Vioxx which was pulled off too years before. Diclofenac was supposed to be the replacement since it worked very well. Also, apparently Voltaren Gel has also been discontinued by the manufacturer. I guess it comes down to whether or not you want to take the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

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Diclofenac and Voltaran are still available in the US. They have not been pulled off the market. In fact I just saw the gel on the shelf at Walmart last week//

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I did another search through the FDA. You're right. Apparently generic diclofenac is available but Voltaren has been discontinued by the manufacturer except for the Gel. What I was reading on the FDA website pertains to all the OTC stuff like UMARY that has undisclosed diclofenac.
I did find an Authorized Generic made by Novartis. For those who don't know, an Authorized Generic is where the original manufacturer gives the "recipe" for the drug to a secondary company and anything they produce/sell is exactly the same as the original formula. The FDA has a very long list of these drugs that are updated quarterly. If you ever want to know if an AG is available and what manufacturer produces it, ck this list. Other companies have to reverse engineer the drug and that's why alot of generics don't work as well.
GSK was the original Voltaren manufacturer in the USA. It was started in Japan in 1974. It became generic in the US in 1999. Apparently it is not actually taken off the market but docs are not prescribing it due to the risk of heart attacks and strokes, especially for seniors over 65. My doc would not refill my Voltaren script some years ago and I had to switch to Feldene brand name. That is still available in the US but is about $500/month. Canadian PriceProPharmacy.com charges about $126 for 90 days. Actually works about as well as the original Voltaren.
At any rate, since it is a prescription drug, it should not be found in any OTC product except the brand name Gel.
Also I did satisfy my curiosity about the weight of the tablet. I have a gram scale that I use to weigh dyes for fabric dyeing. It goes to a tenth of a gram. One tablet weight 0,8 grams or roughly 800 mg so it's possible that the 850 is actually correct, in which case, our calculations are on track.
Anybody got any other ideas or suggestions?

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I hate that UMary has these hidden ingredients because this stuff works! I am wondering if you take a 1/4 or 1/2 a tablet if that would reduce the risk and it still work.

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@titchou1

Diclofenac is an NSAID and long term use can reduce kidney function, not liver. Tylenol can impact your liver. A pharmacist friend has sent a Umary sample to the Auburn University pharmacy school for testing. I haven't heard anything back yet.

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Please post the test results when you get them.

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Remember all oral caps and tablets have a significant
weight in fillers and excipient.
You will be safer taking another generic for Mobic such as meloxicam. Avoid the mystery Mexican mixture.
Do they even control strength from lot to lot.?

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