Which, if any, NSAID drugs can you take?
#247440 - 02/20/06 01:50 PM
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michele
Reged: 06/02/03
Posts: 6886
Loc: southeastern michigan
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I did the high dose pack of steroids but finished it early last week. My hands felt relatively ok and overall I felt MUCH better! However, over the last few days, all the swelling has returned and my hands hurt so bad I just want to cry. I am going to physical therapy and thats helping the fibro pain but isn't doing anything for the RA. I'm already taking 8 extra strength Tylenol a day for the pain. I'm also on placquenil which should help long term but it can take 3 months or so before it starts working. I'm really hurting and I just don't want to go on steroids for any length of time. I've tried ibuprofen in the past but it ALWAYS upsets my tummy. I have even tried a couple of the prescription ones that I think are off the market now, like the Bextra but that also upset my tummy. I'm talking about major stomach pain, not just a little tummy ache. I was wondering if anyone has had any luck with any specific nsaid drug. I'm willing to try about anything right now. I'm starting to lose hope. I was so hopeful last week after the steroids helped so much but I'm right back to where I started from. I feel like I just can't catch a break even though I'm trying to do everything right. Sorry for the pity party, I'm just really frustrated and hurting.
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I've done something to my hip, leg, or back and my doctor suggested I take a prescription med called "Prevacid NapraPAC" where you take 1 dose of Prevacid (a PPI) each day along with two doses of the NSAID Naprosyn, 500 mg each. The theory is that the Prevacid limits the stomach damage from the NSAID. If I'm reading everything correctly, Naprosyn is a brand name for Naproxen, which is the same medication that's in Aleve. ( info here and here )
Since I didn't want to take the Prevacid, what I'm actually taking is generic Naproxen, enteric coated, 500 mg twice a day. I already take Tums for my calcium, so I'm getting some stomach acid help already and that, combined with the enteric coating, seems to be working - I'm not having any stomach problems with this at all.
I think the idea of combining an NSAID with some type of stomach acid help sounds like a good one and it seems to be working for me. That said, however, I've never had bad stomach reactions to Motrin or Advil, either, although I've never been on either one long term - just the occasional pill now and then.
Oh, and the Naproxen worked incredibly well. My pain backed off about 50% after 4-5 days. I know whatever I've done to myself can't compare with your RA pain, but the Naproxen definitely helped me.
I hope this helps you find something that will work for you.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Thanks so much Sand!! I bought the generic form of the Alieve and just took 2, so we will see. It says for the initial dose to take 2 but then to only take 1 every 8-12 hours. I also take Rolaids on a daily basis so hopefully I won't get too much of tummy upset.
I bought the paraffin wax machine last night and did a 20 minute treatment this morning. It felt really good while it was on and I plan on doing another treatment when I get home tonight. I wonder if the wax will help with the swelling?
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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I hope the Aleve helps. If your stomach tolerates the recommended dose, maybe you can talk to your doctor about taking more than that.
What is the paraffin wax machine? Sorry if you've already covered that, I haven't been in the LR much lately.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Its a big "crock pot" kind of contraption that heats wax to the melting point. You then dip your hands in it 5 or 6 times to get a good coat of wax on, covered your hands with the hot wax in a plastic bag and leave it on for 20-30 minutes. Its like a deep heat treatment for the swellon joints. I got it at Bed, Bath and Beyond.
I'm to the point today, that I just can't stop crying. I called my mom and cried to her for a while. I'm tired of being "sick" and in pain. Its all I can do to type this, my hands look like balloons and the pain in unbearable.
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Michele, I'm sorry you're in so much pain! 
How long should it take for the naproxen to start working?
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Thanks. I'm not exactly sure how long the naproxen will take. I took two at 10am and I think its helping a little. I feel very queezy but that might be nerves, so far my tummy isn't any worse then it was this morning. I still can't bend several of my fingers and I'm holding my spoon like a shovel while I'm trying to eat and typing with two fingers as the rest of them hurt too much. I did the 6 day high dose steroids and it really helped but I guess the effects are only short term for me.
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Naproxen works the best for me. Ditto for percocet.
Kate.
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Michele,
I agree with Sand that Naproxen does the trick for my pain. It does give me sort of an acidic feeling stomach so I think the prevacid with it might be a good idea.
I just wanted to comment on the RA. I am sorry you are going throught this. Autoimmune disease is not fun and I can sympathize with you. Last summer was a flare for me and I spent the month of July in a panic that I was always going to feel like crap or worse! My feet were the main problem. I could hardly walk when I woke up in the morning because I could not stand to put my feet flat on the floor. It was so painful. That's when I resorted to Naproxen. I also had a nodule on my hand that prevented me from straightening two of my fingers and made use of my left hand generally painful. I guess the reason I am telling you all this is because I feel very different now. My feet are much better and the nodule has disapperared on it's own. I still pop an Aleve now and then, but most days I can deny that I have an autoimmune disorder. It has really waxed and waned for me and I think this is typical. I want to give you hope that you can feel like the old Michelle again. Maybe all the hormonal shifts that you have experienced last year put you in this awful flare, but I am hoping you will see the end of it sometime soon. Of course I'm just guessing, but I want you to know that I've been there and back and I am thinking about you.
How have you been doing with the Plaquenil? It's hard to stay on a med when you have to wait so long to get any benefit from it. I not sure how you find it in you to get through the day at work right now. You are a very strong person. Praying that things get better for you soon.
Laura
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The hot wax treatment sounds wonderful. I remember my mother visiting one of her aunts in Norway many, many years ago. My mother offered to help with the dinner dishes and the aunt said, no, she liked to do them herself because the hot water made the arthritis in her hands feel so much better. The treatment you're doing sounds like it would be that kind of relief times 100.
I am so sorry you're having such a terrible time. Being in pain constantly is so incredibly exhausting. I hope the Aleve/Naproxen helps until the placquenil begins to kick in.
One suggestion and this is based on almost total ignorance on my part about RA, so take it with a huge grain of salt. Have you considered acupuncture? My impression is that acupuncture has a pretty good track record for relieving pain in general, although one article I found says the studies with regard to arthritis are sketchy and inconclusive and may show acupuncture does better with soft tissue pain( here ).
Please take care.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Take care,
Michelle
...the greatest of these is LOVE. (I Cor 13)
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but even thats been causing problems lately.. I'm off all of them, but celebrex did wonders for me last winter...
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Dietetics Student (anticipating RD exam in Aug 2010)
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I needed to hear that. I need to know that my life won't be this painful forever. The dr's tell me it will come and go but when all its been doing is coming lately its hard to remember it will go! 
My feet and toes are also very painful. I've been doing good with my stretches and physical therapy but some days its so hard to be positive. The therapist gave me some silly puddy like stuff this morning to take with me to keep my fingers moving. The hot wax treatments feel good but only give temporary relief.
The alieve does seem to be taking the edge off much better than the Tylenol. I do feel a little acidy and just general upset tummy but nothing compared to the pain of my hands and feet. I typically eat 6-8 Rolaids a day as I used to be on prescription Previcid but stopped when I got pregnant last time. I think I still have a bottle of them so maybe I'll start taking those again while I'm taking the Alieve.
I seem to be tolerating the Placquenil ok. The first few days I was on it and when he upped my dose, I got a little sick feeling but that has went away. I just hope it starts to work soon. Thanks for giving me hope.
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You know, I have been considering Acupuncture! One of my patients suggested a place about a half hour from me and I'm been think about calling. Its $60 a session but if it helps, it'll be more than worth it!
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last time I took them was when I had some kind of weird muscle/rib thing, chondro-something or other. Anyway, by the time I was done, I was having major D and other digestive issues. So ever since then, I try to avoid them. I'm so sorry you're still struggling!
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