I take it both ways and have found it to be effective on pain. I recommend the LifeExtension brand since it has a nice strong dose. I used to use Doctors Best version but for some reason i like the LE a tad better. They seem to use the same form of R-Lipoic so it is probably because it has a stronger dose per pill. If you go with Doctors best you may just need to take more pills. Wish this stuff would come down in price already.