NSAIDs

[Sarah A]

Just wanted to know what dosage everyone takes each day? :unsure: :erm: :shrug: :overhere:

Thanks

Sarahxxxx

[flowergarden]

Sarah, I can't take any now due to gastritis. I used to be on the max. dose of nabumetome (Relafen).
:)

[cath]

Hi - I'm on mobic (meloxicam) 15mg daily.

Good luck with your survey! :luck:
X C X

[Lily]

Sarah, It will differ widely because of the differences in individual drugs however for the record I take 1000 mg of Naprosyn SR each day. Any less than that I stay in bed :D

love
Lily

[Vette73ds]

Originally posted by Lily@Oct 5 2004, 10:42 PM
I take 1000 mg of Naprosyn SR each day.
I also take the same amount of Naprosyn daily - but have to combine it with 300mg of Ranitidine for the GERD.

[Jirel]

I'm one of the lucky ones, all I need for constant joint pain is 800 mg of Lodine XL once a day.

Now back pain and intermittent pain is another story - but that's not what I take the NSAID for. :D

[jewel877]

hi,
i take 1000 mg of enteric coated naproxen/day....500 in a.m. and 500 in p.m.

don't know what i'd be like without it and i dont want to try, before i started taking it daily times were very tough

love, sue

[anitalew]

:wave: Sara

At this point I am taking 200mgs of Celebrex daily. It helps some but think it may need to be increased.

:love: Anita

[JaneE.]

Hi,
I take 600 mg of Ibuprofen in the morning and 600mg in the afternoon. If I feel really bad I'll take more before I go to bed.

Jane

[Sarah A]

Thanks everyone. :hello:

The reason i asked because at my last visit to St thomas i was told i could up my dosage to the maximum of 150 mg a day.

In my ignorance i thought that this level applied to all anti-inflamatries, so wondered what you all took.

I take diclofenac and since upping it have found that it has really helped.....either that or am not in flare!!! :wacko:

Hugs

Sarah

[lovemythreeguys]

For those on Naproxan, how is it different than Motrin and how does your stomach handle it? I was DXed last year with esophagitis, so I am scared to take an NSAID.

Also, are these safe for everyday??...I guess I always just think of them as more for short term.

I need something though, I think I will end up going off Bextra...maybe I could try a low dose pain killer?

[Lily]

Hi lovemythreeguys,

I've never taken Motrin so maybe someone else can comment on that.

I take the brand name Naprosyn, can't take the generic because it upsets my stomach something fierce. My pharmacist said that the coatings may not be as good with the generic available here and also that the fillers they use in generic may give me some kind of allergic reaction. I find it gives me good coverage through the day because it is released slowly, and I find it gives me no stomach problems as long as I take it on a full stomach, it has a good coating on it. I really can't compare this to any other NSAIDS, the only other one I've tried was Ibuprofen and it was not as effective, did upset my stomach and I also found I had to take a huge amount to get the relief I get now. I was bombarding my stomach 4 times a day with it because the effects didn't last long enough.

Are they safe for everyone? It would depend on your individual circumstances and only your doctor could assess that. Medication decisions are always arrived at taking our particular circumstances into account, symptoms, disease severity and possible and probable side effects and long term ill effects. When the first outweighs the second they usually try and find something to help.

I also have to take other pain killers from time to time when disease is active. My dosage of NSAIDS is as high as my doc wants it. So we go for other forms of pain relief at times.

Some people do use NSAIDS only when they hurt, if you hurt every day then you need to take them every day. If you have inflammation every day then there is no choice either.

But we are each individuals and our doctor will help decide on a med regime that suits us personally.

Hope this helps,

love
Lily

[alobreto]

I take Voltaren XR 100mg a day. (diclofenac)

To: Lovemythreeguys---BEXTRA IS AN NSAID.

Regards,
Angela :flowers:

[hattycat]

I take 100mg Voltorol/day

[lovemythreeguys]

BEXTRA IS AN NSAID.>>>

I know, but it's a cox 2 inhibitor, easier on the system, I am nervous about a "regular" NSAID.

[raggedyann1]

I take mobic 22.5mg per day the max dose.

Karen

[hippyhattie]

I take 90mg arcoxia daily...used to take celebrex but it stopped being effective!

[Anisah]

If needed, I take 1000 mg Naproxin (the max). The tablets are 500 mg each and I take them separately, i.e. one in the morning and one in the evening.

Anisah

[Paulin46]

Hi My doctor just perscribed meloxicam today. 7.5 mg.

Hope it works! style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif

[tbunny1]

I take 500mg Naproxen 2x's a day, with no side effects, and I have esophigitis and GERD. I was a Naproxen sodium (brand name ALEVE) junkie, but find the prescription stuff works much better and longer, thus I don't need to take as much.

[barefut]

What was the big scare about cox 2 inhibitors awhile back? (USA media)

[Paulin46]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(barefut @ Oct 22 2005, 11:38 AM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
What was the big scare about cox 2 inhibitors awhile back? (USA media)
[/b][/quote]


If you know please tell me.

What have been some of your side affects using NSAIDS?

[Lily]

From a past thread on the subject when Vioxx was taken off the market:

" Update 13: Merck Halts Worldwide Sales of Vioxx
09.30.2004, 01:29 PM

Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. is halting worldwide sales of its blockbuster arthritis drug Vioxx, once viewed as possibly being able to prevent some cancers, because new data from a clinical trial found an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Its stock price plunged more than 26 percent as the company said the recall will hurt its earnings.

Merck said Thursday that data from the trial showed the increased risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular complications began 18 months after patients started taking Vioxx. About 2 million people worldwide are currently taking Vioxx, according to Merck, and a total of 84 million have taken it since it came on the market with great fanfare in 1999.

The data comes from a three-year study aimed at showing that Vioxx at a 25 milligram dose prevents recurrence of polyps in the colon and rectum. Such polyps can turn cancerous. The trial was stopped after Merck discovered study participants had double the risk of a heart attack compared to other participants taking dummy pills.

Medical experts advised patients to stop taking Vioxx and consult their doctor about alternatives.

"It's a disaster for Merck, coming at the worst time," said independent health care analyst Hemant Shah of HKS & Co. in Warren, N.J.

Vioxx is one of Merck's most important drugs, with $2.5 billion in sales in 2003 - about 11 percent of the company's $22.49 billion in revenue that year. But sales dipped 18 percent in the second quarter of this year to $653 million, partly due to increasing concerns about the drug's safety.

"We're taking this action because we believe it best serves the interest of patients," Ray V. Gilmartin, Merck's chairman, president and chief executive, said in a statement.

The Food and Drug Administration said there were early signs of potential problems with Vioxx. A Merck study led to warnings about heart risks being placed on the drug's label in 2001, and the FDA has been monitoring problems reported to it since then.

"This is not a total surprise," said Dr. Steven Galson, acting director of the federal Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Officials don't know yet how the drug may be causing the increased risk.

Merck, the world's third-biggest drug maker, announced the news before the stock market opened. In midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Merck shares plunged $12.02, or more than 26 percent, to $33.05.

Shah said for Merck, the withdrawal of Vioxx comes "at a time when they really need to get ready for expiration" of its patent for Zocor, a drug for high cholesterol that is the company's top-selling drug.

Zocor loses patent protection early in 2006 and sales are expected to plunge when generic competition begins. In an effort to replace those revenues, Merck recently launched a drug with partner Schering-Plough Corp., Vytorin, that combines Zocor and Schering-Plough's Zetia to attack cholesterol levels in two complementary ways.

"This makes it almost inevitable for the company to find a merger partner for them to continue to grow," Shah said.

Merck's announcement stands to benefit rival Pfizer Inc., the world's biggest drugmaker. The two companies have been battling for market share, with Pfizer's Celebrex arthritis drug dominating the market with about $5 billion in U.S. sales alone last year. Pfizer shares were up 30 cents to $30.48 in early trading on the NYSE.

"I think Celebrex sales are going to significantly increase," Shah said.

Vioxx and a successor drug called Arcoxia, approved in some other countries and awaiting Food and Drug Administration approval here, are part of a class of anti-inflammatory drugs heavily touted by the pharmaceutical industry as being more effective and having less side effects, particularly on the gastrointestinal system, than older drugs.

Pfizer's Celebrex and its successor drug, Bextra, which already is on the market in the United States, also are in that class, called cox-2 inhibitors.

Vioxx's removal will be a blow to hopes that it and other cox-2 inhibitors could be used to prevent cancer in people at high risk of developing it. A landmark study in 2002 showed that small, daily doses of aspirin could prevent colon cancer, and studies hinted that cox-2 inhibitors might do the same, possibly without aspirin's side effects.

All cox-2 inhibitors can raise blood pressure, but Vioxx appears to be the only one that's been linked to higher risk of heart attacks and strokes, said Galson said.

Merck said the Vioxx recall will slash about 50 cents to 60 cents a share from its earnings for the rest of this year. That includes foregone sales, writeoffs of inventory held by Merck, customer returns of product previously sold and other costs of the pullback. Merck expects foregone fourth quarter sales of Vioxx of $700 million to $750 million alone.

Merck, which is based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., had previously been expecting 2004 earnings per share of $3.11 to $3.17.

Merck is scheduled to release financial results for the third quarter, which ends today, on Oct. 21. "




a subsequent post:

" Having read your article about vioxx being taken off the market and why, I would like to say that I was on celebrex until about nov 04. It was effective for my symptoms and I had been stable for most of the summer, giving me a positive feeling that I would be able to return to work again. Alas that was to be shot down with the withdrawal of celebrex from the market as well. I am on a new drug now, but it isn't as effective as celebrex. And just to top it off I reacted badly to my Pnuemonia and Flu Jabs "

The end result was that Bextra was pulled, Vioxx was pulled and Celebrex had to put a black box warning on their product, Celebrex was not actually taken off the market as far as I know?

Celebrex belongs to the class of drugs called Cox-2 inhibitors. The only Cox-2 now on sale in the U.S., Pfizer's similar Cox-2 drug Bextra was recalled in April over safety concerns, and Merck & Co.'s Cox-2 Vioxx was recalled last September after studies showed it doubled the risks of heart attacks and strokes.

love
Lily

[barefut]

Very informative article.

Thank You, Lily!

(Somewhere my husband got the idea that ALL anti-inflammatories are cox-2 inhibitors and has been telling me I'm an idiot for taking them.)

[Scottie]

Hi

I'm on the 1000mg Naproxen like many others.

I forgot to renew my prescription in time and ran out of Naproxen on Saturday and couldn't get any till today.

To my dismay - there was little difference in the joint pain I have. Without the meds, there were other aches and pains but my joints hurt with or without it seems.

[raggedyann1]

Scottie,

I have almost always been the type that needs additional pain medications on top of my NSAID. However it might be worth trying a different NSAID to see if it gives you better coverage. Even with Bextra and Vioxx off the market there are still 6 or more NSAIDS still available.

Let us know how you do.

Take care,
Karen

[HelenS]

i am allergic to NSAIDS, wish i wasnt. pain control is very tricky for me cos i am allergic to codeine as well.
i take extra strength tylenol, i keep a mild morphine for when things are really bad.
luv helenxxxxxxxxxxx