Day 1 - Taking Naproxen for the first time - NRAS

This morning I woke up with the usual joint pains in my fingers, knees and foot.

I swallowed my Lanzoprosole pill (with water) then showered, dressed and headed into work...with great difficulty. Even buttoning up my shirt took forever. I expected this to be another rubbish day.

2pm is my usual work lunch break. I decided to eat a sandwich, alongside a pear, some grapes and Apple Juice. Afterwards, I took Naproxen for the first time and continued on working.

At 6pm my knee joints didn't misbehave like they usually do. The pain threshold was low. For the first time in weeks I could actually walk as before. This made me break down in tears. It was nice to feel myself again. I didn't celebrate too much. Maybe me taking the pill was causing a placebo effect?

However, for the rest of the evening I was able to enter/exit the train carriage, walk 2km at a normal pace and walk up/down stairs without struggling.

Had my dinner at 9pm, and took the second pill.

While the joint pain in my hands remains consistent...my feet and knees felt so much better. Its been a long time since I could walk without pains.

Is it the medication or psychological? I don't know...maybe its a bit of both...but I ended my day with a smile and a tear.

Let us see what tomorrow brings...

26 Replies

oldest • newest

wishbone

in reply to nomoreheels

a year ago

I was under the impression that lansaprazole, omeprazole, etc were all pretty much the same thing. At least I'm pretty sure that's what my GP said when I asked him about trying something other than omeprazole to see if it would help with my stomach issues.

I was taking omeprazole for a while in the early days of my RA. That's until my GP asked me if I was having stomach problems at the time. When I told her I wasn't and believe that I was put on it as a matter of routine, she said it's best I stop taking it as omeprazole can cause problems of its own. She didn't say what though.

I heard on the radio the other day that a recent survey, in Germany I think, linked omeprazole type drugs (can't recall the proper name for that family of drugs) to dementia. Something like 40% more chance of getting it if I heard correctly?

nomoreheels

in reply to wishbone

There are about 10 of the 'prazoles', 6 are more commonly prescribed but are of the same family, ppi's or proton pump inhibitors. As you would expect each works slightly differently & can come with side effects or deficiency-causing problems.

Prescribing of ppi's is a balancing act which should be looked at individually as some need NSAIDs as part of their treatment to keep control of inflammation but that can bring with it tum issues, such as GERD or peptic ulcers, this is when a ppi is usually prescribed either to prevent or control.

I'm not sure about the 40% mentioned but there have been talks about ppi's & dementia for a couple of years. I thought the percentage was quite a lot lower though & the risk tended to be related to increase in age, that it could be influenced by the possibility with the older we become that there's possibly natural age-related progression involvement.

My h has trouble with ppi's, he's tried both omeprazole & lansoprazole daily at different times but they stop him absorbing magnesium & potassium sufficiently enough causing him to be deficient but needs something to keep tum troubles at bay. What he was changed to was an H2 blocker (ranitidine) & an alginate (Gaviscon) but they didn't contol his symptoms well enough. Last time he saw his Endocrinologist he had just done a paper on ppi's & hypomagnesia & hypokalemia so decided, with his OK, he was a good candidate to try his theory, quite simply to continue on ranitidine & Gaviscon but also to take pantoprazole every third day to allow his body to absorb magnesium & potassium. So this is why I've a smattering of knowledge about it.

Hope you're ok wishy?

H has a lot more trouble with his stomach than I have with mine that's for sure. Hope the new treatment improves things for him.

I've been having a bit of a flare this past couple of days, could hardly blinking move when I got up this morning. So think a naproxen is on the cards straight after lunch, which I'm not too happy about as I had one just a few days ago

Stomach has noticeably improved since I stared taking gastro-resistant asprin a week or so ago. I'm still scratching my head as to why my GP has only now seen fit to prescribe them when I've been complaining about my stomach on and off for about a year?!

On the whole I'm ok, and though I do get frequent flares am mighty thankful that they are not on the same scale as when I came out of hospital a couple of years back following the septic arthritis in my hip....enuff said about that little episode!!

Yet another long winded reply by yours truly...to think that I used to be such a shy little fella! The kind hearts on this forum are to blame for that....

Thanks for asking and take care,

Sorry you're not at your best. Get that naproxen down you & rest up, let it do it's good work.

I don't get why your GP knowing you have tum trouble doesn't automatically select enteric coated tablets when prescribing. H has low dose aspirin & has always been given EC. Maybe next time you need to add to your meds remind him & then you don't risk suffering for the sake of a few pennies more out of his prescribing budget! Actually my GP always prescribes me ET tablets, fortunately I don't have tum troubles but she is a preventative prescriber. She gave me 4 boxes of Macrogol when she first prescribed my pain relief, convinced I'd be constipated... they're still there in the cupboard, unopened.

Yes I remember about your septic arthritis, not a good time & you don't want to go there again.

I hope you feel better soon. Take care. 😊

They did try me on clopidogrel, which I had to ask for, a while back but it didn't seem to help any. I had a routine appointment for a tablet review when I told the GP, who I had never seen before, that I'd stopped taking both clopidigrel and ordinary aspirin due to persistent acid reflux. It was then that he prescribed coated aspirin. He was younger than either of the two GPs I usually see, and when he asked me to take my jacket off before I'd sat down, I started to wonder just what the heck was going to happen? He then duly went about taking my temp, pulse and blood pressure, which came as a great shock to my system as I can't remember the last time I was given the once over by any of the other GPs, and with all the trouble I've had!...not a very good show is it! Think I'll do my best to just see that particular GP from now on...........

edit...I took took the naproxen after and feel much better now. Hope my stomach holds out.