Ibuprofen - Motrin, Advil, Nurofen

[BP4MS]

Ibuprofen is one of the most commonly used non-prescription drugs for helping with back pain and is widely available in pharmacies. It comes in a variety of brand names such as Motrin and Advil in the US and Nurofen in the UK.

There's a lot of detail about Ibuprofen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ibuprofen_brand_names) on wikipedia.

[Rose]

I wanted to say that Ibruprofen hurts my stomach and makes me feel ill if I take it over a long period of time, try drinking milk with it. Also, painkillers when you take them every day make your body very acidic. This isnt good for your overall health and liver, combat this with lemon juice. Although this is citric acid it becomes very alkaline in the body. You won't feel nearly so ill ensuring you keep as alkaline as possible whilst on all your meds. This helped me and the more alkaline I could make my body the less painkillers I actually needed! Instead of a vicious circle a good circle! Be strong!:)Rose

[BP4MS]

Rose, I find the same with Ibuprofen - it's OK when you need it for short periods. But if I take lots of it or if I take it for several days it starts to cause stomach problems and I just have to stop taking it.

[Pauline]

See if you can hold of Nurofen Plus it is great an anti inflammatory and never had any stomach problems, another way is to get a script for suppositories, work straight away and no stomach probs obviously.

[sandrawall]

There are several medications that are used for back pain other than Ibuprofen. They are Anaprox (Naproxen), Indocin (Indomethacin), Relafen (Nabumetone), Colchicine, Celebrex (Celecoxib), Motrin (Ibuprofen), Feldene (Piroxicam), Robaxin (Methocarbamol), Ibuprofen, Naproxen, Indocin (Indomethacin), Piroxicam and make incredible savings

[Chriswa]

Ive taking ibuprofen for years for various aches and pains, never had stomach pain. Guess im lucky, glad theres alternatives for other folks though

[Highlander2000]

I wanted to say that Ibruprofen hurts my stomach and makes me feel ill if I take it over a long period of time, try drinking milk with it. Also, painkillers when you take them every day make your body very acidic. This isnt good for your overall health and liver, combat this with lemon juice. Although this is citric acid it becomes very alkaline in the body. You won't feel nearly so ill ensuring you keep as alkaline as possible whilst on all your meds. This helped me and the more alkaline I could make my body the less painkillers I actually needed! Instead of a vicious circle a good circle! Be strong!:)Rose

Thanks for this. My father takes ibuprofen on a regular basis for a neck problem he has been suffering from for years. Unfortunately the painkiller causes stomach discomfort. I'll pass this information on to him. I hope he gives it a try.

[wiccibat]

A side effect of all these non steroidal anti inflammatories is gastric irritation, heartburn or even gastric bleeding. Long term use can lead to kidney failure too. If you have to take them advise your doctor who may prescribe a different pain relief, or something to protect your stomach such as ranitidine or omeprazole.
Try alternative pain relief such as co-codamol 8/500 or 30/500 dose this is codeine and paracetamol combined so you need to watch you don't get constipated! My GP gave me tramadol but I found it was no better than the 30/500 co-codamol, instead it made me drowsy and mushy brained.

[Leeann]

The only problem with those two drugs - co-paracetamol and co-codamol is that they have too much "tylenol" in them ~ if taking them for a long period of time, your liver can be affected. If you have severe pain, you'd be better off taking extended release opiates, which "as a rule" don't affect the liver - at least not like tylenol!

[lifeisattitude]

If you truly have severe back pain like me, these over the counter medicines will not even touch the level of pain. My Dr once stopped my prescriptions of vicodin and I literally thought I was going to die. Back pain can be so excruciating. My only remedy has been a decent set of medications and a positive attitude which is hard to maintain when your throbbing in pain.

[Leeann]

I've had severe back and leg pain for 25 years and the pain has been agoniziing. I've tried just about every medication out there and nothing helped. I got so depressed that I just holed up in my home and spent alot of time feeling sorry for myself. I DID research alot, and I wrote to this one website and a DOCTOR answered me!!!

She said that she had a lot of luck with her patients by prescribing the Fentanyl patch along with Methadone. I told MY doctor about that and we tried it. IT WORKS!! After 25 years, I finally have some level of comfort!!! I'm not pain-free, but I don't expect to be. But this is manageable.

Perhaps this would work for you too! It's worth a try. God bless and take care. Hugs, Leeann

[Ixasum]

Hi all, new to the forums. I am on hydrocodone 7.5/500, $oma 350mg and Gabapentin (at night only as it knocks me out). I have had back problems/pain on and off since '96 when I first bulged L4. In Jan. '08 I ruptured L4, a 'mushroom rupture' which pushed the calcified bulge material into the spinal column. LOTS of pain then. I had a discectomy to correct the onset of cauda equina syndrome shortly after that. All was well but my lack of taking care of my health and excessive smoking took its toll. I am now living with a large mass of scar tissue engulfing the S1 nerve root as it leaves the thecal sac, a small bulge on L5-S1 disc that is pressing on the scar tissue primarily on the left side but also in the middle. I also have a Schmol's Node at L3. The odd thing is that my pain is primarily down my right leg, outside thigh. I know surgery wont help the scar tissue long term so I dont know what the best course of action is with my doctor. I hurt but its managable with 3 to 4 lortab and **** a day and a single gabapentin at night. I've been dealing with this for so long I swear I think I am losing my mind. Like Leeann, I am starting to feel sorry for myself. I am also doubting my pain. Am I just a drug addict or do I really hurt. If I dont take the meds I have a lower quality of life but my pain isnt impossible to deal with....or so I think. I miss a couple doses and I am miserable. The pain increases, the muscles in my back go into spasms that twist my body and I feel the only relief is to drink myself into an unconcious state. Taking the meds is no picnic either. I constantly feel 'dumb' and cant remember things that I know. The long term effects of pain, according to my doc and webMD, are worse than the long term effects of chemical dependecy on these meds. This affects every aspect of my life. TMI but my wife and I had sex for the first time in over a month yesterday because I managed to get numb enough that I knew it would hurt so bad that I would lose my erection. Yes, this is embarrassing to discuss but I am fighting to get this out in hopes that others have advice. I really feel like I am losing my sanity. My doc added ****** to the mix to help but I still feel the same.

My doc is an osteopath but also a GP. He doesnt believe in pain meds/muscle relaxers but he keeps prescribing them to me....but that is all he has done. I cant get an answer as to whether I should seek out a pain management doc. To that end, I know I cant because I also smoke pot as it helps me relax and eases the pain in conjunction with the prescription meds. Let me be clear, I dont smoke all day long and I stay sober at work, save the prescription meds. I am not looking to simply get high. I am seeking relief in any way possible. I dont want to increase my dosage for pain meds because I feel I can manage on this level even thought it doesnt relieve the pain more than 50%. I am also scared to ask for an increase in the meds for fear he would cut me off completely, which would make my life beyond horrible. I have considered those websites where you speak to a doctor and they write a prescription which you then fill at an inflated price for a larger quantity of meds but I just dont believe those sites are legit. Sometimes I just want to let myself break down but I cant. I have to stay strong and keep fighting. I go to physical therapy and an acupuncturist but this has really drained my savings so I dont know how long I can keep that up. I really feel like I am a weak man for complaining about this as there are so many people out there that have worse problems. I dont really know what I want in the way of response to this post. I dont feel like I need sympathy and I dont really want it. I guess it would be nice to hear from other sufferers that I actually do have real problems and that where I am at is pretty normal. Feel free to flame me if you think I am being a wuss.

[Leeann]

[FONT="System"][/FONT Even Vicodin has "tylenol" in it and again if you've been on it for an extended length of time, your liver can be damaged. You should have a liver panel done, and then ask your doctor to put you on an extended release opiate, such as MS Contin, Oxycontin, or perhaps Methadone or Opana. These drugs are known to help severe pain and they last longer than Vicodin and DO NOT hurt the liver.

Just a word of warning. Thanks Hugs, Lee

[Leeann]

Dear Ixasum ~ I've been a chronic painer for almost 26 years now, and I can't tell you how horrible it's been. For most of those years, I couldn't get a doctor to BELIEVE that I had pain!! Yes, I had herniations and bulges but these docs thought I shouldn't have the amount of pain that I did. :mad: I've also had severe sciatica all that time, which the doctors questioned too. But I didn't give up ~ I've gone thru 3 pain management clinics and have had every single thing done that those clinics can do to a patient ~ now they believe me. Trouble is no pain clinic will take me now because they can't do anything more to me. LOL

I finally found a doctor who will treat me, and we have found a combo of meds that WORK -- it's for "problem" patients who are hard to treat. I'm now on the Fentanyl Patch accompanied with Methadone -- and it WORKS. For the first time in 26 years I have a level of comfort that I have never had before. Perhaps this would work for YOU. We can PRAY that your doctor will try it on you. The patch is .75mcg (not very high) and the Methadone is 10mg. As you can see, it doesn't take a huge dosage like some of the other meds did.

I wish you the very best, and I hope your doc will at least try this. God bless and take care. Hugs, Lee

[kaleb80]

Ya, i am agree with Sandrawall, i had this kind of pain and i tried lots of medicine but there is no relief. Even i tried yoga for my pain but no results. I found many online drugstore which provide pain relief medicine but some are dubious. So i consult with my friend he told me about buytramadol24x7.com for purchasing medicine. They provide medicine at lowest price only at $0.54 per pill. I have good experience with tramadol drug. Now my pain is gone and i am physically fit and fine.

[Leeann]

You're absolutely right ~ most of us who NEED to take medication for back and neck pain need prescription medication as the over the counter meds just do NOT touch the pain. Usually long-acting opiates work the best for us, along with immediate release meds for in-between doses. I've tried everything under the sun in my 26 years of suffering chronic pain, and this is the only thing I've found to work.