Problems w/nsaids

Hello,

I'm a newbie to the board. I have been diagnosed w/SLE for almost three years. Of course I took the same long path many have with numerous doctors, neurologists, internists, even a few psychologists! I am very lucky that my Lupus is controlled w/plaquenil and nsaids. I do take acid reducers, and other meds to address misc. health issues the Lupus seems to acerbate.

I am starting to have really bad stomach pain, nausea, and indigestion daily on the nsaids. But.. I am afraid to try another medication. I have been off naproxen before (I stupidly decided I didn't need it anymore) and it took months back on the nsaid to effectively relieve my joint pain and inflammation.

Besides taking the general acid reducers do any of you take other meds to help w/gastritis while on nsaids? What about other anti-infllammatory drugs that you have had good experiences with? I guess I just need that little motivational kick in the pants to get me back to the rheum once again.

Hi Melissa, welcome. I am on several meds (see list in my signature) and none of them completely relieve my joint pain. I have tried several NSAIDS some were harsh on my stomach and other's simply didn't work for me. I am on Piroxicam now and it works well for me, I have mild gastritis and I try to take Prevacid, etc but mostly like Rosie I always take my meds with food. Which acid reducer are you on? Maybe switching to another one may help. It seems like our body gets use to one med and things need to be switched around sometimes.

There are hundreds of NSAIDS out there and unfortunately it's a process of elimination until you find what works best for you. Be sure to tell your rheumy about the pain / nausea, it may help them in choosing another NSAIDS for you. My doctor had me try this about a year ago,... boy that wasn't fun. Of course it threw me into a flare and I ended up going back on my original NSAIDS.

Please let us know what your rheumy says. Take care and I hope you find something that works for you.