Today isn't the greatest day, but things could be a lot worse. Right now my left knee and my right hand/wrist are bothering me. Not enough to take pain med for, but enough to notice.
Over the past few months I've been doing well. In early summer my symptoms started to intensify, but still not too bad. I had been having trouble with my stomach and difficulty swallowing, so my doc did a repeat gastroscopy to see if I might be having a reaction from the Doxycycline I'd been taking for the PRA. Fortunately I didn't have what he was concerned about (Eosinophilic esophagitis), I had another stricture, which was dilated. After the scope I restarted the Doxy and have been doing well on it.
Since the first of August I've been taking Doxycycline 100mg twice a day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday only. This dose seems to be keeping symptoms mostly at bay without upsetting my stomach.
Over the past 2 weeks I've also been trying something different. My doc had given me Voltaren, which is an anti-inflammatory or NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug). Voltaren has been on the market for a long time, and according to my doc, safer than the newer NSAIDs. I'm not convinced of this....they all seem to cause problems related to heart disease. Because of this, I decided to try and get off the Voltaren and switch over to plain aspirin.
Aspirin is not felt to be a drug that leads to heart disease, in fact it's used to treat heart disease. I've also done some research and it appears that aspirin works just as well as the prescription NSAIDs. So, a couple of weeks ago I stopped my Voltaren and started taking aspirin. I'm taking the "enteric coated" aspiring, which makes it less upsetting on the stomach as it's not broken down until it hits the intestine. I also make sure to take it with food and lots of liquid to make sure it doesn't get stuck in my esophagus.
So, right now I'm taking aspirin 2-3 times a day at most and doing fairly well. I'm still having some pain, but mostly quite tolerable. I've also been using Arnica gel on my hands, and other areas as needed. It seems to be working, but doesn't last too long.
Showing posts with label NSAIDs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NSAIDs. Show all posts
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Monday, April 23, 2007
Weigh In week 7
No change in weight this week....again!
Oh well, at least it's not a gain!!!
Joints are much better, but did have a really bad night Friday night! The pain in my left hand and arm woke me several times! (Now, those of you that don't know me, don't know I am legendary in what I can sleep thru!) Nothing seems to help, not naproxen, or ibuprophen, or acetaminophen, or aspirin!! This is quite upsetting, as I am reluctant to try anything stronger, and I know, if this is arthritis, that any doc will recommend stronger meds, especially the new ones for arthritis!! Oh well....time will tell!
Want to mention a few blogs today....on topics I'd like to write on. Why do it tho, when others do it so well?
Dr Mike has a post today, The Bad Fat Brothers, about the AHA's attempt to continue to demonise saturated fat and his Nominee for the Reckless Award.
Dr MD also has an interesting recipe posted. Low carb tortilla soup sounds really yummy. I've never had "regular", since I never heard of it until I started low carbing, but this sounds like a great soup!
Sparky's Girl has an interesting post about Ronald MacDonald.
Dr Briffa has an excellent post today about how Resistance exercise may help to protect us from diabetes.
Bamagal has a very good post about funding for youth suicide prevention programs. There is a link on the post to contact your lawmakers to encourage passage of this bill.
Fred Hahn posted about resistance training and how it can change you.
Dr Vernon posted an excellent response to an email yesterday. Be sure to check it out.
Have a good week!! I've got a lot going on, so I doubt I'll be posting often.
Oh well, at least it's not a gain!!!
Joints are much better, but did have a really bad night Friday night! The pain in my left hand and arm woke me several times! (Now, those of you that don't know me, don't know I am legendary in what I can sleep thru!) Nothing seems to help, not naproxen, or ibuprophen, or acetaminophen, or aspirin!! This is quite upsetting, as I am reluctant to try anything stronger, and I know, if this is arthritis, that any doc will recommend stronger meds, especially the new ones for arthritis!! Oh well....time will tell!
Want to mention a few blogs today....on topics I'd like to write on. Why do it tho, when others do it so well?
Dr Mike has a post today, The Bad Fat Brothers, about the AHA's attempt to continue to demonise saturated fat and his Nominee for the Reckless Award.
Dr MD also has an interesting recipe posted. Low carb tortilla soup sounds really yummy. I've never had "regular", since I never heard of it until I started low carbing, but this sounds like a great soup!
Sparky's Girl has an interesting post about Ronald MacDonald.
Dr Briffa has an excellent post today about how Resistance exercise may help to protect us from diabetes.
Bamagal has a very good post about funding for youth suicide prevention programs. There is a link on the post to contact your lawmakers to encourage passage of this bill.
Fred Hahn posted about resistance training and how it can change you.
Dr Vernon posted an excellent response to an email yesterday. Be sure to check it out.
Have a good week!! I've got a lot going on, so I doubt I'll be posting often.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Gout?
Gout?
Well, I went to the doctors, an urgent care center, for severe pain in my right ankle. His first impression was gout. Or a strain. Kept asking me if I'd injured it, and I kept repeating, no....not that I can remember. But a strain is exactly what I thought it felt like. I also mentioned that I have 2 fairly good sized dogs that I frequently walk with on uneven ground, so there may have been a minor pull at some point.
Do I have gout? Who knows, time will tell. If I have another "attack" I will have a joint aspiration done, and that will prove positive or negative. I doubt it's gout, simply because I don't really fit the profile. Recently I've had a lower protein intake than normal for me, I've not had a big massive gain or loss, have no family history and the symptoms don't match. This feels like a pull. According to what I've read, gout feels like there are needles or broken glass in the joint....and that is not what I felt. This was an ache. The more pressure I put on the joint and the more I flexed it, the more it hurt. The area was red and a bit swollen, but not like "typical" gout.
The first doc was fairly young, and I guess an intern or something, as he had to talk to another doc before prescribing. He immediately said gout. Now I know my age was a factor in his diagnosis, but I can't help wonder if my weight also was an influence. I didn't dare tell him I followed a low carb diet! Of course, he never asked. Never asked about "purine intake", which is supposed to increase chances of developing gout. He never asked about menopause, which is also supposed to increase risk. He did have my blood pressure, which was very normal.....120/82, and he did ask about kidney function....I'd had a creatinine level done recently and was fine. But he never asked about alcohol intake. (See The "risk factors" for developing gout here)
OK....so he knew my BP was normal, and I am "obese" (but only a couple more pounds until I'll be "overweight"....but they didn't check or ask my weight). He knew I was a woman, but did not know my menopause status. Now I am completely grey, so I am sure to a young kid the assumption is that I'm well past menopause, despite my age of 53. He also knew I had, per my report, normal kidney function. I was never asked about diet, exercise, alcohol intake, other diagnoses other than for the meds I mentioned I was taking. I was never asked about thyroid function, or if it had been checked, nor was I asked about family history.
As I sit there, obviously very confused, the doc said he had to run things by the other doc (can't remember how he referred to him, but he was obviously in training). After a few minutes, the second doc came in. An older man, he also examined my foot and said he didn't think it was gout, but just an inflammation. He did say he wanted an Xray, and that if it didn't get better or if it came back I should be tested for gout (joint aspiration), but at this point didn't think that was the diagnosis.
I had an Xray, which was normal, and got a prescription for a "stronger" NSAID, nabumetone. I'd taken ibuprophen and tylenol with no little effect. I was hesitant about the prescription at first, the latest NSAIDs seem to be more dangerous than the older ones, but when I found it was one that is indeed older, figured I'd give it a try. I did, and the pain was gone within 15 hours or so. I only took 2 doses of the prescription (I got 20).
So....is it gout? Who knows. I have been having a problem over the past few months with joint pains. One joint in my body will just ache like crazy....it might be my right elbow, or my left wrist, or one of my ankles, or a shoulder. Sometimes the pain last 3-4 days, but most of the time it's gone within 36-48 hrs. I think this was just another "attack" of this pain. I'd still suspect gout, but the joints involved are all over. My jaw, my back, knee or wrist. Never fingers and toes...and according to the literature it's more often seen in distal joints, meaning joints farther away from the body core.
Well, I went to the doctors, an urgent care center, for severe pain in my right ankle. His first impression was gout. Or a strain. Kept asking me if I'd injured it, and I kept repeating, no....not that I can remember. But a strain is exactly what I thought it felt like. I also mentioned that I have 2 fairly good sized dogs that I frequently walk with on uneven ground, so there may have been a minor pull at some point.
Do I have gout? Who knows, time will tell. If I have another "attack" I will have a joint aspiration done, and that will prove positive or negative. I doubt it's gout, simply because I don't really fit the profile. Recently I've had a lower protein intake than normal for me, I've not had a big massive gain or loss, have no family history and the symptoms don't match. This feels like a pull. According to what I've read, gout feels like there are needles or broken glass in the joint....and that is not what I felt. This was an ache. The more pressure I put on the joint and the more I flexed it, the more it hurt. The area was red and a bit swollen, but not like "typical" gout.
The first doc was fairly young, and I guess an intern or something, as he had to talk to another doc before prescribing. He immediately said gout. Now I know my age was a factor in his diagnosis, but I can't help wonder if my weight also was an influence. I didn't dare tell him I followed a low carb diet! Of course, he never asked. Never asked about "purine intake", which is supposed to increase chances of developing gout. He never asked about menopause, which is also supposed to increase risk. He did have my blood pressure, which was very normal.....120/82, and he did ask about kidney function....I'd had a creatinine level done recently and was fine. But he never asked about alcohol intake. (See The "risk factors" for developing gout here)
OK....so he knew my BP was normal, and I am "obese" (but only a couple more pounds until I'll be "overweight"....but they didn't check or ask my weight). He knew I was a woman, but did not know my menopause status. Now I am completely grey, so I am sure to a young kid the assumption is that I'm well past menopause, despite my age of 53. He also knew I had, per my report, normal kidney function. I was never asked about diet, exercise, alcohol intake, other diagnoses other than for the meds I mentioned I was taking. I was never asked about thyroid function, or if it had been checked, nor was I asked about family history.
As I sit there, obviously very confused, the doc said he had to run things by the other doc (can't remember how he referred to him, but he was obviously in training). After a few minutes, the second doc came in. An older man, he also examined my foot and said he didn't think it was gout, but just an inflammation. He did say he wanted an Xray, and that if it didn't get better or if it came back I should be tested for gout (joint aspiration), but at this point didn't think that was the diagnosis.
I had an Xray, which was normal, and got a prescription for a "stronger" NSAID, nabumetone. I'd taken ibuprophen and tylenol with no little effect. I was hesitant about the prescription at first, the latest NSAIDs seem to be more dangerous than the older ones, but when I found it was one that is indeed older, figured I'd give it a try. I did, and the pain was gone within 15 hours or so. I only took 2 doses of the prescription (I got 20).
So....is it gout? Who knows. I have been having a problem over the past few months with joint pains. One joint in my body will just ache like crazy....it might be my right elbow, or my left wrist, or one of my ankles, or a shoulder. Sometimes the pain last 3-4 days, but most of the time it's gone within 36-48 hrs. I think this was just another "attack" of this pain. I'd still suspect gout, but the joints involved are all over. My jaw, my back, knee or wrist. Never fingers and toes...and according to the literature it's more often seen in distal joints, meaning joints farther away from the body core.
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