I'm looking for an anti-inflammatory that doesn't cause bowel issues......

Manda,
I swear by Aleve and everyone I have convinced to give it a try has told me it's the best anti inflammatory hands down. Good luck!
Beth

I limit myself to occasional tylenol. I also take two DMARDs (plaquinel and Leflunomide). Those two along with gabapentin seem to keep my inflammation pain down.

You could try to add in some watermelon or apples into your diet, but you will have this issue with any medication for inflammation or pain...if it gets really bad you could talk to your doctor...but it's probably would be best to just add the fiber in your diet or foods that you know will help...
Also another trick and this really works, is to use your hairblower on the bottom of your feet and heat up your feet up and rub them and this little trick should help...

Blow dry feet? I'm intrigued, I've never heard of that!

I'm going to try Celebrex. I am slightly concerned about this medication. I'd rather battle stomach pain and constipation over heart problems.........I'm going to research Celebrex a bit more before I start it.

It's natural to feel scared, no one wants to have anything wrong, but its also part of what we've been raised to believe as well. Counseling might be able to get to a point of acceptance of your disease and that with meds you can have a life. It just means that you need some help medically now to get your life back but it's not a game changer...
There is a older post on here about some natural pain relievers, but I would urge caution with them as they can produce unwanted side effects if you over do them, so maybe try ginger, but in moderation and sometimes it doesn't help...Tart Cherry juice but only at bedtime as it causes drowsyiness and too much causes diarehea...Blueberries are a natural anti inflammatory food but you might not notice it's help.
Really wish I could tell you it will get easier over time, but I can't and you probably should seek out some counseling help because it's okay to take medications, they are there to help you, the warnings on them yes are scary but they have to posts them but it does not mean they will happen to you, so give yourself permission to try a medication and you might not get the side effects....
Many well wishes and keep us posted on how your doing...

Thank you :)

I am only on an NSAID. I have a tentative seronegative arthritis diagnosis. If no other symtoms present themselves, I will get a RA diagnosis but he's just waiting for a bit see if the arthritis is secondary to another disease. I've been tested for lupus, Crohn's, and everything in between so he's just taking a wait and see approach at the moment. We're starting with the NSAID and will progress of we have to.