My Love/Hate Relationship with Ibuprofen
If you have RA, you likely take quite a bit of ibuprofen like I do. It does temporarily make me feel better, but there are a lot of things I don’t like about it.
- It makes my ears ring, and ibuprofen may cause hearing loss. Article here.
- It may cause kidney damage. Study here.
- I’m not old yet, but I’m getting there. Recognizing the Risks of Chronic Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Use in Older Adults
- It hurts my RA long-term.
Let me tell you a little story. In 2012, when I was doing well with Paleo (remission), I went to the water park with my son, niece, and sister–in-law. I carried a heavy raft on my head up a hill with my sister-in-law and hurt my neck. It was a dumb thing to do, and for those with RA, know that there is a risk of neck instability where your skull and spine connect. I didn’t know that at the time. Anyway, I started taking ibuprofen until my neck improved. As it did, I found that I couldn’t get off the ibuprofen without my RA acting up. My doc recommended prednisone, but I didn’t want to go that route. I finally made the decision to go cold turkey and spent 8 days I think in a flare with splints and everything. At the end of 8 or so days, I went back to being in my normal in-remission self. Since then, I think of ibuprofen as a sometimes necessary evil, and very hard to get off.
The reason I’m bringing this up today is because I generally take 3-4 ibuprofen a day right now, occasionally up to 6. This morning, I woke up pretty sore, more sore than the last 2 days, and wondered why. I couldn’t remember if I took my ibuprofen last night. In recent years, I always take 2 at bedtime, or I can’t sleep through the night. Maybe I did take it (I didn’t mark down that I did) and maybe I forgot. If I did forget, I had a really good night, all things considered. If I took it, it wasn’t such a good night. I did take one when I got up, and I’m feeling a bit better. Also of interest, a big storm is coming, and it was windy today, with the barometric pressure dropping below 30.
This is my post from October, 28, 2012:
I haven’t written anything since June! Agh! I guess it’s time for an update. I had a major setback. On July 23rd, I was feeling fabulous until…. I took my son to the water park. I carried a raft on my head multiple times. Not smart. I got my neck out of alignment (as happens frequently). Then, I went on a 2 week vacation, then school started back up. Still, my neck was not back in alignment, I was taking ibuprofen, I drastically slowed down my exercise program, and I was having mild RA pain. I stopped the ibuprofen in early September and immediately flared MAJORLY. The doc wanted me on prednisone, but I refused. I held fast to my diet and 8 days later, the flare passed on its own. That never happened before, so a weird accomplishment.
I started physical therapy and found out I had weak ligaments in my neck. There is another ligament, not easily testable at C1 (that’s the very top of your spine) that may have been shifting and causing spinal cord compression (very very bad). I had xrays done, and it was ok. The PT got me back on a good course, and I “graduated” last week.
My exercise routine is a mess, and I’m trying to restart it. I work on a Pilates reformer, which I started 2 years ago in exercise rehab. I now have one at home. My PT taught me some stronger core positions, and it’s a lot harder restarting. My tummy muscles hurt!
In my hunt for probiotic answers, I posted some questions on a Paleo website. The answers I got were that some people have a hard time starting probiotics and need to start them more slowly, typically doing better with foods rather than supplements. Just yesterday, I restarted the supplements, as I really don’t seem to have a taste for the probiotic foods. So far so good.
Thus far, I’ve lost 32 pounds (44 from when I started my exercise program). My inflammation markers were still normal as of 2 weeks ago. I went from a size 16 to a size 8, pushing a 6. My energy is better, but definitely decreased with the lessening in my exercise program.
I am currently at a crossroads. I want to restart exercise rehab, but I worry I need more help than that program is able to give me. I want to find a Pilates Reformer class, but there aren’t any near me. It helps me to have somebody to check in with, but right now, I’m flying solo. I think that’s fine in the short term, but if I fall off the bandwagon, I need good people to help me get back on. Again, time will tell.
That’s it for now!