Hi folks,
I don't "officially" know what's wrong with me at present, but I do know that when it gets really bad, I can get some relief from ibuprofen. Now, I see some sites where it's mentioned as a "treatment" for lupus due to it's NSAI effect... so I was wondering if anyone has used it medium to long term, and what the side effects and consequences of long term use are. Also whether there are specific procedures for taking it that minimise long term effects. You know, all the stuff that they cover their asses with by printing "or as directed by a doctor" and "see doctor if symptoms persist" on the bottles.
The way things happen now, is I wait until joint pains, aches, headaches or general malaise become intolerable, then take it for 2 or 3 days until I feel a bit better, maybe get a couple of days relief, then "suck it up" for however many days it takes to get intolerable again. This is because of my and my wife's abiding suspicion that "It can't be good for you" to continually take an OTC medicine.
So, since it's the only NSAID that is freely available to me, and appears to relieve whatever is wrong with me, and might prolong periods between severe attacks if I have got lupus , if taken regularly, I figure I may as well take it regularly to see if it can help me feel better for longer.... if of course it's safe with longer term use.
I know this is no substitute for getting correct and tailored treatment from a professional, but with the speed things work here, and the hit/miss rate with doctors, I might be a long while getting to that point, so that brings me to...
If I'm set on trying to take it medium/long term, how do I do it, and what do I watch for?
I realize that it can irritate the stomach, and I'm not particularly susceptible to it, not as some people are, by three or four days of taking it though I can feel a bit "refluxy". So I would assume that I need to set a rule like "always take with meals". Then I'm wondering if lower dosages are effective longer term, dosage directions on OTC bottles are basically 400mg every 4 hours, dentist has given me prescriptions for 600mg before and I said I've got 200mg ones in the cupboard, shall I just take 3? and he agreed it was the same... anyway, so higher amounts might get prescribed on occasion. I'm wondering if when I've got over the typical 3 days of taking the full OTC dose, whether it would be effective at all to switch to maybe 3 200mg capsules a day for maintaining the anti inflammatory effect or whether that wouldn't work. So I'm curious as to what dose anyone with lupus has actually been prescribed for advil or ibuprofen. i.e. What does a doctor direct when he prescribes ibuprofen as an anti inflammatory for long term use (rather than as a short term analgesic) ?
thanks,
Flashman
I don't "officially" know what's wrong with me at present, but I do know that when it gets really bad, I can get some relief from ibuprofen. Now, I see some sites where it's mentioned as a "treatment" for lupus due to it's NSAI effect... so I was wondering if anyone has used it medium to long term, and what the side effects and consequences of long term use are. Also whether there are specific procedures for taking it that minimise long term effects. You know, all the stuff that they cover their asses with by printing "or as directed by a doctor" and "see doctor if symptoms persist" on the bottles.
The way things happen now, is I wait until joint pains, aches, headaches or general malaise become intolerable, then take it for 2 or 3 days until I feel a bit better, maybe get a couple of days relief, then "suck it up" for however many days it takes to get intolerable again. This is because of my and my wife's abiding suspicion that "It can't be good for you" to continually take an OTC medicine.
So, since it's the only NSAID that is freely available to me, and appears to relieve whatever is wrong with me, and might prolong periods between severe attacks if I have got lupus , if taken regularly, I figure I may as well take it regularly to see if it can help me feel better for longer.... if of course it's safe with longer term use.
I know this is no substitute for getting correct and tailored treatment from a professional, but with the speed things work here, and the hit/miss rate with doctors, I might be a long while getting to that point, so that brings me to...
If I'm set on trying to take it medium/long term, how do I do it, and what do I watch for?
I realize that it can irritate the stomach, and I'm not particularly susceptible to it, not as some people are, by three or four days of taking it though I can feel a bit "refluxy". So I would assume that I need to set a rule like "always take with meals". Then I'm wondering if lower dosages are effective longer term, dosage directions on OTC bottles are basically 400mg every 4 hours, dentist has given me prescriptions for 600mg before and I said I've got 200mg ones in the cupboard, shall I just take 3? and he agreed it was the same... anyway, so higher amounts might get prescribed on occasion. I'm wondering if when I've got over the typical 3 days of taking the full OTC dose, whether it would be effective at all to switch to maybe 3 200mg capsules a day for maintaining the anti inflammatory effect or whether that wouldn't work. So I'm curious as to what dose anyone with lupus has actually been prescribed for advil or ibuprofen. i.e. What does a doctor direct when he prescribes ibuprofen as an anti inflammatory for long term use (rather than as a short term analgesic) ?
thanks,
Flashman