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I've got lower back problems and have been taking Ibuprofen for years to reduce swelling and pain. I go through a lot of the stuff and I worry about what it's doing to my liver. Dr has me do blood tests several times a year to check liver function. Unfortunately Ibuprofen is not as effective as it once was for me, so I'm looking for alternatives. What do you think about Aleve? My doc doesn't seem to hold it in high regard, but I'm really not happy about sticking with Ibuprofen and increasing dosage.
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Aleve is great stuff for back pain, but (like Ibuprofen) it is not without its risks:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/0...9540.shtml
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Give it a shot. The best place to get it is from Costco in 400 count generic bottles. I have been taking it for the past 6 months for my lumbar stenosis instead of ibuprofen. It lasts twice as long per dose. I do 2 every 8 hours. I guess the only person to judge if it is right is YOU. Everyone's body chemistry is a bit different, and every type of inflammation responds a bit differently.
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They have more chance of harming your kidneys or stomach than your liver, if taken regularly at high doses. Take whichever works better for you. They both work the same way.
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With either one eat something just before you take a dose to reduce the possibility of stomach irritation.
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I find Aleve works a lot better on back pain than Ibuprofen. I would not take it long term (2x a day for more than 10 days) unless it was the only thing that worked for me. If I was taking it long term, I would make sure to have regular tests to see if it was causing problems.
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As mentioned, neither is good for the body over the long haul, so some of us just have to pick our poison. I've been taking 1,000mg a day of Naproxen, which is in the same drug class as Aleve - NSAIDs. (Non-steroidal anti-inflamatory drugs.) Celebrex fell in that category, too, although apparently there was some other compound in it that caused even more problems, assuming you consider death a "problem." The bottom line is, if you need the drug to control pain, you need the drug. The use of any of them on a long term basis can lead to heart, liver, kidney, and/or gastrointestinal bleeding, which is why any of us who have to take them do have regular blood tests; in my case, that's every 12 weeks. I've been on that dose of Naproxen now for over eight years. So far, so good, but there's no telling when my number will be up. Like I said, pick your poison, which in your case is a drug or pain. Oh, and I always make sure that I take mine with food. I'm sure it takes longer for it to get into the blood stream and do its magic, but I'd rather have that than take it on an empty stomach.
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Ibuprofen taken regularly for any length of time is bound to result in internal bleeding.
I've been a Celebrex achiever for about 5 years now, off and on.
Over the past year or two it gives me a bit more heartburn, so I've become an antacid tablet afficionado (the wintergreen Tums are great!) but it's worth the 'price.'
Not sure why we're "discovering" 4-5 year old study findings here.
Celebrex and the other cox-2 inhibitors are believed to possibly increase potential for cardiac arrest in those considered to be already at risk.
This is all based on extremely limited research.
