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Medication for Osteoarthritis


Badrabbit

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I need to take something as it's become unbearable, what is the best thing to take which does not have bad side effects, my insurance does not cover the condition and I would not be able to afford constant trips to the hospital, I just need something to make it bearable.

 

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The usual treatment is NSAIDs which are cheap and readily available at any pharmacy. Ibuprofen, diclofenac etc

 

However contraindicated  if you have peptic ulcer disease, gastritis, kidney disease or are on blood thinners.

 

be sure to take with food. main side effect is gastric irritation.

 

From your prior thread your pain is in the spine and apparently there are bone spurs (I think this was what the "calcium growth on the spine" meant) in addition to arthritis and it may be this that is causing the sever pain. This is often treatable through minimally invasive surgery.

 

I continue to recommend that you go to Bangkok to consult  spinal specialist

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Yes I have been, I can not afford any surgery or further hospital treatment due to my insurance not covering this condition, I have to live with it hence why I have asked for advice regarding taking something to make living with it bearable.

I am taking aspirin every day 81mg

 

The usual treatment is NSAIDs which are cheap and readily available at any pharmacy. Ibuprofen, diclofenac etc

 

However contraindicated  if you have peptic ulcer disease, gastritis, kidney disease or are on blood thinners.

 

be sure to take with food. main side effect is gastric irritation.

 

From your prior thread your pain is in the spine and apparently there are bone spurs (I think this was what the "calcium growth on the spine" meant) in addition to arthritis and it may be this that is causing the sever pain. This is often treatable through minimally invasive surgery.

 

I continue to recommend that you go to Bangkok to consult  spinal specialist

 

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Should not take NSAID and aspirin both. Can the aspirin be stopped?

 

You have not been to the specialist I recommended. Makes a difference.

 

If the pain is due to a bone spur pressing on a nerve it may continue to worsen.

 

If surgery can help coukd do it at a government hidpital though not in Phuket. The dpecialist I tecimmended is an instructor at Chulalonghkorn.

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Taking aspirin after TIA stroke over 1 yr ago, doctor said have to take for the rest of my life, I guess he knows what he is talking about!

Should not take NSAID and aspirin both. Can the aspirin be stopped?
 
You have not been to the specialist I recommended. Makes a difference.
 
If the pain is due to a bone spur pressing on a nerve it may continue to worsen.
 
If surgery can help coukd do it at a government hidpital though not in Phuket. The dpecialist I tecimmended is an instructor at Chulalonghkorn.
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Thanks for your comments I'll just carry on putting up with it!

Better discuss with this doctor your need now to take NSAIDs and see what he advises.

In addition to a combined effect on gastric lining between the 2 drugs there would be a combined anticiagulant effect.

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15 hours ago, Badrabbit said:

I am taking aspirin every day 81mg

 

You are aware that is a tiny blood thinning amount rather than the normal pain dose which is 300 to 650 mg orally every 4 to 6 hours as needed?  US normal aspirin for pain/fever is 325mg per pill so 81mg is only 1/4 of one pill.

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2 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

You are aware that is a tiny blood thinning amount rather than the normal pain dose which is 300 to 650 mg orally every 4 to 6 hours as needed?  US normal aspirin for pain/fever is 325mg per pill so 81mg is only 1/4 of one pill.

 

I think he knows that, he is taking it on medical advice for anticoagulation after a TIA. His mention of it was in response to my asking if he could stop the aspirin (since some people take it on their own).

 

Up the aspirin dose to analgesic levels or take the same low dose along with also an NSAID, probably about the same in terms of both gastric irritation and increased anticoagulant effect. Better to get advice from his doctor before doing either.

 

OP - neck traction would likely give some temporary relief and you can do it at home with simple inflatable device you can buy on line like this:

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?q=neck+traction&_keyori=ss&from=input&spm=a2o4m.home.search.go.1125719c1neDct

 

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=neck+traction+inflatable&crid=2GG1G856YAVE5&sprefix=neck+traction%2Caps%2C260&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_12

 

 

 

 

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Apologies for OT but germane to aspirin/NSAID discussion.

 

I have arthritis in my knees.  Twice yearly cortisone injection have provided some relief but there is still pain.  I have been alternating aspirin and ibuprofin, week to week in the belief that would be better than taking only aspirin which is the most effective of the two.  

From what you wrote, Sheryl, this seems to be a very bad idea.  Can you elaborate a bit more on the topic? 

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I have osteoarthritis in one hip. Either it is still relatively mild, or the recommendations of my (UK second opinion) consultant have had some beneficial effect in making my experience mostly pain free:

 

  1. Don't have replacement surgery until you have managed the condition for some time and run out of options (good advice so far, as I have managed ok for nearly 3 years whereas a Bangkok surgeon from Bumrungrad (would you not have guessed?) wanted me to spend US 10,000 on immediate micro surgery.
     
  2. Exercise daily but learn to recognize when you are overdoing it and don't hesitate to back off to several no-exercise-days until pain/inflammation has gone
     
  3. Take glucosamine and chondroitin; there are conflicting studies pro and anti the beneficial effect of this but my consultant told me many of his patients do find it helpful. Having recently had 2 months off the supplement, due to heart surgery and a concern that gluc/chond might be one drug too many while adjusting to a handful of new heart meds, it was noticeable that my daily walking limit increased, pretty much immediately, once I restarted taking the supplement. May have been coincidental - but not auto suggestive (I tend to the sceptical side!)
     
  4. Take cod liver oil. I don't know whether this helps me or not and there is no conclusive scientific evidence to support its use for arthritic conditions, but it seems to be a relatively innocuous supplement if limited to 5ml per day so I just followed my consultant's recommendation. He's a down-to-earth ex British Army Afghanistan vet orthopaedic trauma surgeon and I formed the view he was unlikely to have any axes to grind with his recommendations! 

 

I also started adopting a low to anti-inflammatory diet a couple of years ago. Again, I have no idea if this has a significant enough effect to reduce inflammatory markers in the body, but it seems to be a reasonably healthy way to go anyway for someone with two conditions that are partly inflammatory in nature (I have a lung condition, bronchiectasis, which is also relatively mild and improving rather than deteriorating). I was previously taking a concentrated turmeric supplement for this, but stopped with my heart op and have not taken it up again as there seemed to be some potential clash with one of my heart drugs. I haven't noticed any difference without the turmeric!

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Apologies for OT but germane to aspirin/NSAID discussion.
 
I have arthritis in my knees.  Twice yearly cortisone injection have provided some relief but there is still pain.  I have been alternating aspirin and ibuprofin, week to week in the belief that would be better than taking only aspirin which is the most effective of the two.  
From what you wrote, Sheryl, this seems to be a very bad idea.  Can you elaborate a bit more on the topic? 
What I wrote was that it would be a bad idea to take both meaning both at same time.

In terms of gastric irritation and anticoagulant effect I think aspirin in normal doses and non aspirin NSAIDs are about the same.

Aspirin at normal doses is safer for kidneys than NSAIDs. High dose aspirin can be as bad.

So not necessarily the case that you gain anything by alternating aspirin with other NSAIDs.

Best thing to do is discuss your use of these meds with a doctor who is familiar with your entire medical history.

And of course be sure to inform doctors and dentists that you take them before any sort of dental or medical procedure. (Bleeding risk).


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