Anti-inflammatory meds

[gigim 8]

I once was told in 2008 when I got my band that you could never take anti-flam meds, like aleve.. Then about 2 years ago I hear that you could... Which is true????

[gowalking 10,790]

Check with your doctor. Some bandsters can take NSAIDs and some cannot per their doctor's preferences. Also...like any med taken, it's a question of risk/benefit. I have joint disease and was in severe hip and knee pain so for me, it was take these meds so I could walk. If your issues are not as severe, you may be able to substitute the NSNAIDs for something else. Good luck.

[2muchfun 8,927]

Aspirin, Aleve, Ibuprofen are all Nsaids. Nsaids can cause your stomach to develop ulcers. It's not the pill or the Fluid going into your stomach, it's the drug traveling through your veins that can enable some bacteria in your stomach to weaken making it easier for you to develop an ulcer. Ulcers can develop at pressure points in your stomach such as the band area.

Not everyone is susceptible to this so you should check with your doctor. I still take them if my knees ache from working out but it's rare. Some people have to take them since it's the only drug that lessens the pain of arthritis. Tylenol does nothing for me, so it's ibuprofen or nothing.

tmf

[mrsto 2,925]

My doctor says no NSAIDs. However, he does say that things like Meloxicam and Celebrex are okay. But if they're taken, he wants us on an antacid like Omeprozole, Pepcid, Nexium, etc. Once I emailed him that I really needed some Advil, but I was nervous about taking it. He said to go ahead and take it, but don't take 3 at a time. He also (again) said, make sure you take an antacid with it.

Regarding the Meloxicam and Celebrex, they know that so many have other issues like arthritis, etc., that without these drugs, people's lives would be absolutely miserable. They can't expect that people will live in debilitating pain because they had WLS. But he's really big on the antacids to mitigate any potential damage to the stomach lining.

Edited March 16, 2014 by mrsto

[parisshel 1,892]

I've been posting a lot about this topic over the past month on this forum because I've had relentless pain since early February. Here's what my experience with NSAIDS (specifically Advil) was:

On Feb 3rd I slipped a disk in my back. Long story short, I could not get out of pain with Lapband-compliant painkillers, which included Tylenol with codeine (in very large amounts), Valium (as a muscle relaxant, not for the fun of it), and tramadol, which is just a pain-masker. What I truly needed was an anti-inflammatory. So my GP put me on the lowest dose of Advil for the shortest amount of time, hoping this would do the trick. Please note my GP is obviously not my WLS surgeon. My WLS surgeon had already told me no anti-inflammatories without getting an unfill, since the anti-inflammatories not only provoke ulcers, but make your stomach (the organ itself, not your tummy) swell and press into the band. We all know that a stomach pressing into a band is not a good thing...not only because you'll be so tight you'll suffer, but for the potential of band slippage or erosion.

I could not follow my surgeon's advice because I was in so much pain I couldn't get to the radiology clinic to get unfilled. I could not walk five feet, let alone get in a car and up on an exam table.

So I did three days of Advil, dosed at 400 mg twice a day. And alternated with the Tylenol with codeine and the Valium. (Thankfully I was put on work stop and did not have to drive...man, I was a loopy mess.)

The amount of Advil was not enough to get the inflammation down and I was still in excruciating pain. But my GP said she really could not in good faith let me continue with the Advil, since I was already displaying signs that my band was getting too tight--it wasn't bothersome, but I could tell my stoma was becoming more restricted. Oh, and I was on Nexium at this time, too, to protect my stomach.

Finally I bit the bullet and leaned into my pain, and went to the hospital where I got a scan done to see precisely where the problem was. The protuding disk was identified, and 24 hours later I got an epidural steroid injection (and let me take a moment here to thank all the Bariatric pals who responded to my question about steroid injections.)

This was absolutely the way to go and I wish I had not suffered for 5 weeks uselessly trying to get rid of a pain that clearly needed large doses of anti inflammatories to go away. The injection is totally compliant with a Lapband, as the steroid stays localized and does not effect the band or the stomach in any way, shape or form, contrary to oral anti-inflammatories which work systemically (as the above-posters say...the medicine goes all over your body, and does not only target the area where your pain is, so of course your stomach is involved.)

The point of this post is actually to share with you what my experience with three days of Advil provoked. Even though I "only" took 2400 mg total over the three days, my stomach eventually swelled up to the point that I PB all liquids (even hot tea doesn't pass) and have not been able to eat any solids---even yogurt---for a couple of days. And to think: I stopped the Advil on February 20th and it is almost one month later but the side effects of that low dose was enough to have my stomach swell up and make me unable to follow my normal band compliant way of eating.

I go tomorrow to get an unfill, done under fluoroscopy thankfully, because I don't want a complete unfill, but just enough so that my stomach can recover and I'm not risking damaging the band. As soon as my stomach recovers, I will refill to my current level, which under normal conditions is my sweet spot.

This may not be your experience, and certainly sounds like it is not the experience of the above posters who do use anti inflammatories for other pain-related reasons, but this is what I experienced and just want to put it out there for information purposes.

Edited March 16, 2014 by parisshel

[mrsto 2,925]

Shel - I've had several epidurals, and they worked great......for as long as they lasted. The ones for the herniation in my lower spine, only lasted a few weeks. But the two I recently had for the herniation in my cervical spine, worked beautifully. I had the last one about 2 months ago, and I pray it lasts for much longer.

The meloxicam I take keeps my lower back issue in check. I don't take it daily; more like 2-3 times a week. That drug is the difference between hell and "okay". Wish I could say it's the difference between "heaven and hell", but I don't think I'll see heaven without disc surgery. Which I know is in my future.

[parisshel 1,892]

Shel - I've had several epidurals, and they worked great......for as long as they lasted. The ones for the herniation in my lower spine, only lasted a few weeks. But the two I recently had for the herniation in my cervical spine, worked beautifully. I had the last one about 2 months ago, and I pray it lasts for much longer.

The meloxicam I take keeps my lower back issue in check. I don't take it daily; more like 2-3 times a week. That drug is the difference between hell and "okay". Wish I could say it's the difference between "heaven and hell", but I don't think I'll see heaven without disc surgery. Which I know is in my future.

Gosh, I hope mine lasts long enough for the disk to slip back into place. It really is the difference between heaven and hell for me right now. To be out of that teeth-clenching pain for the first time in weeks was just....transformative. I have such empathy for those who live in chronic pain now.

Crossing my fingers this will give me relief until the "mechanics" of my problem reset themselves right.

Glad you get some relief from the meloxicam...and once you get disc surgery, you'll be right as rain.

[BandedBrunette481 310]

My surgeon told me that an occasional NSAID would be ok but I can't take them all the time because they can cause band erosion. So if you need an NSAID for pain management on a regular basis, I would definitely talk to your doctor about what he/she recommends!

[mrsto 2,925]

Shel - I think you should be fine. When that disc sits on and pinches the nerve - YIKES! I've had that so bad (different than the herniation), that I had to roll out of bed onto the floor, just so I could get up. I slept in a recliner for three nights the last time it happened. I'm not sure if it was a slipped disc per se, but it was an acute pinched nerve....which was bone on nerve (or disc on nerve?). Either way, I feel your pain - horrible! The biggest thing with the epidural, is staying mindful of your movements when the pain has dramatically subsided. We forget when we're feeling so much better

Edited March 16, 2014 by mrsto

[parisshel 1,892]

Shel - I think you should be fine. When that disc sits on and pinches the nerve - YIKES! I've had that so bad (different than the herniation), that I had to roll out of bed onto the floor, just so I could get up. I slept in a recliner for three nights the last time it happened. I'm not sure if it was a slipped disc per se, but it was an acute pinched nerve....which was bone on nerve (or disc on nerve?). Either way, I feel your pain - horrible! The biggest thing with the epidural, is staying mindful of your movements when the pain has dramatically subsided. We forget when we're feeling so much better

Yes! You describe exactly what was going on. I dreaded having to get up from the bed and "perfected" a similar move: like log rolling...I'd s-l-o-w-l-y roll over onto my side, grasp the headboard, push myself up to about 45 degrees (this is when the pain REALLY took off and I'd have to self-talk my way through this) and drop my legs to the floor. Then I'd reach for crutches and slowly lift myself up off the bed with my crutches. My crutches served to kind of separate my vertebrae so I could get up without full impact on the pinched nerve.

I thought about dropping to the floor but wasn't convinced I could get back up again...like if I could do a movement that didn't trigger more pain.

I very much envied men who could just pee in a bottle from the bed...because seriously, the only reason I was even moving from the bed the first days was because I had to go pee...and that was another whole story of pain. So much pain I braced myself against the bathroom walls just to sit, and had to tear the TP off the roll with my teeth.

Oh lord thank you for modern medicine. And my work stop, so I can get the full benefit of this shot before I have to go back to the office.

Have a great day and stay painfree!

[mrsto 2,925]

You too, Shel