A Fourth Painkiller Is Linked to Increases in Heart Problems

NY Times ^ | December 21, 2004 | GARDINER HARRIS

[goodnesswins]

Well, isn't this special....I have to take 375mg naproxen (prescription) for pain of RA......although I'm only taking it once every other day right now......maybe I should go back to 6-8 aspirin a day instead!

[Imaverygooddriver]

Let`s see...Bill Clinton married to Satan....Bill Clinton needs open heart surgery...

[AntiGuv]

There's always Vicodin and Percocet once everything else gets banned. That'd give John P Walters a heart attack though..

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

as of 3 hours ago, I quit taking 375 mg naproxen twice daily after nearly 2 years of it. No need for me to discuss it with anyone.

Also, the reason I was switched to it from Motrin is that motrin-Advil-ibuprofen crowds the cox-2 receptor on platelets, preventing the anti-platelet benefit of aspirin. (Feb 03 NEJM, if memory serves)

[goodnesswins]

Soooo....what ARE you taking now? Anything? I'm in PAIN!!! And, at the end of the 48 hours since my last Naproxen.....it's gonna be a REALLY BAD night if I don't take something.

[DestroytheDemocrats]

I sure hope you don't have to start taking that many aspirin. They are very hard on your stomach. My husband takes Aleve for knee pain and he raves about it. I like it too. I don't think we will stop taking it until they do lots more research that is more definitive. If it turns out that all these NSAIDs are dangerouse I don't know what some people are going to do...lots of people can't take aspirin.

We will remain loyal Aleve users for now.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

Discovery of Unexpected Ibuprofen-Aspirin Interaction will Force a Change in Ibuprofen Prescribing
New England Journal of Medicine

A new study published in the December 20, 2001 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine has found that ibuprofen blocks the heart-protecting effects of aspirin.

The study entitled Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors and the Antiplatelet Effects of Aspirin by Francesca Catella-Lawson, M.D and her colleagues concludes: "The concomitant administration of ibuprofen but not rofecoxib, acetaminophen, or diclofenac antagonizes the irreversible platelet inhibition induced by aspirin. Treatment with ibuprofen in patients with increased cardiovascular risk may limit the cardioprotective effects of aspirin."

The study found that when patients took a single dose of ibuprofen beforehand, aspirin lost 98 percent of its blood-thinning power. If aspirin was taken first, three daily doses of ibuprofen eliminated 90 per cent of aspirin's benefit.

The study found show no conflict between aspirin and three other arthritis drugs: rofecoxib, diclofenac, and acetaminophen.

[goodnesswins]

Aleve just doesn't do ANYTHING for MY pain. That's the problem....The prescription is a timed release one that seems to help - at least makes some days more bearable. Thanks.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

I have some percodan. I never thought the Napro did much for me anyway.....OR the Motrin, for that matter.

(from the article above)
:.....federal officials are warning patients not to exceed the recommended dose of two 200-milligram pills a day...."

(you wrote)
I have to take 375mg naproxen (prescription) for pain of RA......although I'm only taking it once every other day right now

---

You are below the threshold of the gov warning....they say 400mg/day maximum, and you take only 375 every other day.

since it appears effective for you, I think you'd best give your doc a call, though.

[goodnesswins]

LOL...well your post reminds me....I have some codeine hidden away somewhere.....maybe I should pull THAT out!

Thanks.

[neverdem]

Thanks for the citation. Folks taking daily aspirin should take it at least one hour before taking any NSAIDs.

Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors and the Antiplatelet Effects of Aspirin

FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list. IIRC, rofecoxib was Vioxx.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

".....Folks taking daily aspirin should take it at least one hour before taking any NSAIDs."

My understanding was that the anti-platelet interference was ONLY for ibuprofen......and that other NSAIDS were ok in this regard......I STILL think that the paper I read at the time was in the Feb 15, 02 NEJM, despite the piece I posted above.

Anyway, the ibu and napro weren't very effective, so I will just quit it.....I had a ticker-clot in 99, so I will never quit the asa.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

correction

The paper I read was in Feb15, 03 NEJM....not 02, as I typo'd, sorry

[Veto!]

Over here. Read post #8

[GOPJ]

One word:
A-S-P-I-R-I-N

[Chewbacca]

I think I will just stick with Asprin and/or Tylenol.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

LANCET.....Feb 15, 2003 (so much for memory, LOL)

Thomas M. MacDonald, M.D., medicines monitoring unit, department of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Scotland; Garrett FitzGerald, M.D., chairman, pharmacology department, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Feb. 15, 2003, The Lancet

Study Warns of Mixing Ibuprofen with Aspirin
Painkiller combo may spell trouble for heart patients

http://www.hon.ch/News/HSN/511778.html

[DestroytheDemocrats]

I think you ought to take your pain meds as usual and wait and ask your doctor about all these studies coming out.

[neverdem]

During the 1990s a hematologist told me that all the NSAIDS reversibly inhibit platelet aggregation. Only aspirin irreversibly inhibits platelet aggregation. Now this with multiple doses of ibuprofen and the effectiveness of aspirin being decreased. IIRC, about twenty percent of folks are aspirin resistant with respect to its cardioprotective effects.