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Dx with gastritis--can I still take NSAIDs occasionally?

Posted by nancyjt @nancyjt, Sep 29 10:40pm

A year ago, after an abnormal FIT test, an EGD showed gastritis with erosions, but not too bad, and no H. pylori; colon was clean.

I HAD been taking a lot of Aleve--800 mg/day--for arthritis and general achiness (fibro) for 10 years, and before that took daily doses of Advil for another 10 or 15 years. So a lot of NSAIDs over a long time!

After the diagnosis, I laid off the Aleve (a year ago) except now taking smaller doses very occasionally--sometimes once a week, sometimes once every few weeks--when I have too much pain (maxed out on Tylenol already).

I have ALWAYS been careful to take the NSAIDs with food and/or a lot of liquid.

I need a knee replacement but want to postpone it. I'm wondering whether taking smaller amounts of Aleve--say, 400 mg/day, maybe once or twice a week, would re-damage my stomach lining--which I HOPE has healed by now. I can't tell, because I didn't have stomach pain or other gastritis symptoms to begin with--it was only found because of the abnormal poop test.

Any advice?? Thank you!

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nancyjt | @nancyjt | Oct 5 11:00pm
In reply to @jlharsh "Balancing the pros and cons of knee replacement sounds tricky. I just listened to a podcast..." + (show)
Profile picture for Janell, Volunteer Mentor @jlharsh

Balancing the pros and cons of knee replacement sounds tricky. I just listened to a podcast about maintaining healthy joints that you may find helpful. A transcript version is also available to either listen to or read online.
- Aging Forward podcast episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mayo-clinic-aging-forward/id1742273984?i=1000727343930
- Episode transcript online: https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/healthy-aging/maintaining-healthy-joints-and-feet-from-the-ground-up/

I hope you find this information helpful, @nancyjt. I am interested to know what you think after listening.

Bone-on-bone knees sounds difficult. I understand why you want to be intentional to gain as much strength as you can and get your pain under control before considering replacing. Would you have both knees done at the same time?

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@jlharsh Thanks so much for the links, Janell. I'll check them out.

No, I don't think I would have both knees done at the same time unless a surgeon really recommended it. The pain from one sounds AWFUL, so I don't know how I'd stand the pain from two knees at once!

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Lynn Brooks | @lbroomayo1 | Oct 8 7:04am

I started having joint pain and my doctor prescribed Ibuprofen. It's extremely effective, but it did upset my stomach as I was warned. Google says that I can take the drug intermittently with Tylenlol at least 3 to four hours apart. I found that Prilosec can also help neutralize the acid. Also, I take Ibuprofen with fiber which minimizes the acidity of the drug.

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nancyjt | @nancyjt | Oct 8 3:25pm
In reply to @lbroomayo1 "I started having joint pain and my doctor prescribed Ibuprofen. It's extremely effective, but it did..." + (show)
Profile picture for Lynn Brooks @lbroomayo1

I started having joint pain and my doctor prescribed Ibuprofen. It's extremely effective, but it did upset my stomach as I was warned. Google says that I can take the drug intermittently with Tylenlol at least 3 to four hours apart. I found that Prilosec can also help neutralize the acid. Also, I take Ibuprofen with fiber which minimizes the acidity of the drug.

Jump to this post

@lbroomayo1 Hi Lynn, thanks for sharing your experience. Yes, you can take ibuprofen together with Tylenol, I always did (not spaced out, but usually together). I did this for 20 years with no problem until last year, when I had the abnormal FIT test--otherwise I wouldn't have known I had a little stomach bleeding. My FIT tests had always been normal up til then.

I ALWAYS took ibuprofen with a meal and plenty of liquid. I think that's why I didn't have any problem for two decades.

Good luck!

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