aleve

CAn we take aleve?  I usually take Tylenol but that is like taking tic tacs for this back pain.  My primary suggested Aleve but I wasn't sure that is ok with UC?

I started bleeding a couple days after taking aleve.  I dont think it's good for us with UC.

It is best to not take NSAIDs ever. When I was hospitalized for an infection (thanks, Prednisone!), they gave me an NSAID 30 mins after pre-treating me with omeprazole (Prilosec), hoping that it would protect me from the NSAID nasties. My flare got worse but you could try that if you must take an NSAID. There are some other options:

-Fioricet is a combination of acetaminophen, caffeine, and a barbiturate that is used for tension headaches but is also prescribed off-label to treat other pain. Phrenilin is the same but without the caffeine.

-Valium is a muscle relaxer that can help to alleviate pain from spasms.

-Yoga does wonders for my chronic shoulder pain.

Seasons,

I wouldn't recommend it. I've often wondered if all the years of my use of Aleve (which at times I popped as candy for pain) didn't contribute to my getting UC... who knows it may even be buried among the studies on Aleve some scientist may have?

Why not ask your GI for tramadol for the pain? It's UC friendly.

HI Seasons,

I hope you are much more comfortablle by now?

I also deal with a lot of inflammatory pain, both axial and peripheral.

I get into trouble with Aleve (napoxen sodium) easily. When I must use it, I use it as briefly as possible, in as low a dose as possible and also do all I can to protect my GI tract from this med. That said, there are times I must resort to taking some. My Rheumatologist prescribes much more potent NSAIDs, but I cannot take them, as they give me GI problems from the beginning to the end of my GI tract.

I am now trying to get my body loaded up with other supplements which may assist with inflammation. I am also on an anti-inflammatory diet (Paleo Diet). I think this is starting to work again for me! (I had done this years ago and was able to drop all NSAIDs within 60 days. I am hopeful I will reach a point when I have better and more fully addressed the overall inflammation and will not need to resort to NSAIDs.)

Antispasm meds can help, for sure...Flexeril, Zanaflex, Soma, etc.

Magnesium can also help with muscle spasms, but can also give loose stools for some people. If using magnesium for muscle spasms, the ionic formulas are very (and immediately) effective, esp if a magnesium deficiency is involved!

Also, I find some topicals helfpul.

I have used a topical made by a compounding pharmacist, which was a powerful NSAID mixed into a lecitihin PLO gel base, for max absorption. (Your doctor and/or compounding pharmacist can tell you which NSAIDs work best this way.) Great stuff! Much about it on the net! Not much gets into the bloodstream. Expensive though! The percentages of concentration I use in this formulation needs a prescription. If your doc does not know about these and/or is unsure of how to write a specific script for the compounding pharmacist, the compounding pharmacists are usually very happy to consult with the prescribing physician. Insurances usually will not cover this topical.

There is a topical on the market, avail by prescription. I think it is Voltaren gel?
The problem with this is, it does not work well for most people. It is in an alcohol base and it does not penetrate well into the skin, etc. It does not compare, at all, to the topicals made by the compounding pharmacists.

Also, a non-prescription topical I use and just love is: Ultra Strength Tiger Balm gel. I use this often in major back pain flares! (I am allergic to eucalyptous and many topical have eucalyptous in the mix. This one does not and is so very powerful! Watch out though, if eucalyptous is a problem, as the Tiger Balm patches do add eucalyptous in them!)

I hope you are feeling so well, you don't even need any of this info! : )

In Gratitude~