Ibuprofen?

[Toobusyforthis]

Hi all ...I’m on 7.5mg of Pred can I take ibuprofen for headache? Please? X

[jinasc]

NSAIDS are really a 'no no' with pred.

Try this:

If your scalp hurts, run your fingers upwards through your hair two or three times and gently tug.

Each individual hair has a muscle attached to it, think how sometimes the hairs on your arm stand up.

As PMR is muscular, the hair muscles can ache. The simple action of running your fingers upwards gently tug can relieve some scalp pain.

This tip also works for headaches.

[Toobusyforthis in reply to jinasc]

Thankyou I thought the answer was No but previously ibuprofen was the only answer for my headaches ..I’ll try your hair tugging tip straight away , thanks again xx

[mgrogers99 in reply to Toobusyforthis]

I was told I could take ibuprofen occasionally but not routinely.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Paracetamol or cocodamol are recommended - but the odd single dose of ibuprofen is probably OK if you take it with food. It has the risk of irritating the lining of the stomach, as does pred, and together the risk increases, hence so does the risk of a gastric bleed. I use ibuprofen very occasionally for back pain, it needs the antiinflammatory effect that is lacking with the other two. The pharmacist tut-tuts, the rheumy says OK with care.

[Toobusyforthis in reply to PMRpro]

Thankyou very much for your reply , I will take your advice kind regards lisa x

[hurryupharry in reply to PMRpro]

What do you think about soluable aspirin ? I don’t know why but I started taking it for a constant pain that was not related to pmr. It was effective and I found it quite comforting as it reminded me of my childhood! I had to have an operation the pre op requested I stop taking it because is it’s blood thinning effect. They then put me on a blood thinner after the op! The anaesthetist did say that most healthcare professionals have become used to thinking of low dose aspirin as a treatment for heart issues and so discount it as a painkiller.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to hurryupharry]

Haven't used it in years - I know HeronNS uses it because it works and she has no problem. It was recommended for GCA, used as the cardiac low dose until the most recent recommendations came out where it was concluded the risk of bleeding was far higher than any putative benefits. However - the low dose used as an anti-platelet measure is much lower than the painkiller dose. I suspect it is also available in an enteric coated formulation which does protect the stomach to some extent. Really not sure if being soluble improves the irritant effect - but it does increase bleeding effects, especially together with pred.