You might want to cut back on Vitamin I

NYTs articles on the use of Ibuprofen concludes with:

"There is no scientifically valid reason to use ibuprofen before exercise and many reasons to avoid it."

Full Article.

The full text of the actual scientific journal article is available (as of this writing) at "Aggravation of Exercise Induced Intestinal Injury by Ibuprofen in Athletes".

I liked this phrase "the men rested languorously" and found it an interesting article in addition to that.

sardog1 said:

The full text of the actual scientific journal article is available (as of this writing) at "Aggravation of Exercise Induced Intestinal Injury by Ibuprofen in Athletes".

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I found this interesting because we hikers tend to go out and exercise for long periods of time, but not as vigorously as the study subjects. So, does this mean a prolonged period of exercise may have negative consequences? I'd be interested to see any studies of what hiking long distances can do to help (or hinder) our health.

Well, vigorous exercise (70% of max in this study, probably similar to what many weekend warriors put in) diverts blood flow- nutrition and oxygen and ability to self-repair- away from your gut to feed your muscles, and ibuprofen isn't the best for your gut, so your gut suffers a little damage as a result. How dangerous is this? The article doesn't say. How long does it take to heal? Doesn't say that either. Is the damage cumulative? Who knows.

Do people adapt over time? Probably, as evidenced by increased ability to eat and digest stuff (in the case of thru-hikers, a LOT of stuff) while hiking, once you've been on the trail a while.

Take home message for me? Don't take vitamin I for the heck of it. If you do, be good to your gut (rest enough and hydrate).

Off to rest languorously. Have to alert my wife.

I've found Ibuprofen more effective before inflammation and pain set in but don't take it very often (probably a few times a year) and have learned to sense when I may be needing it. I usually accompany it with Tums and reasonable hydration.

Stan said:

I've found Ibuprofen more effective before inflammation and pain set in but don't take it very often (probably a few times a year) and have learned to sense when I may be needing it. I usually accompany it with Tums and reasonable hydration.

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Take is on a full stomach, Stan. It is very irritating. I take it's cousin Naprosyn because without it I would not walk. I eat, take the med, and the tums. I also take Omeprazole 20m daily for reflux. Thus far no problems and has been using it long term.

Caution -NYT artice: Ibuprofen before exertion and exercise

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/05/for-athletes-risks-from-ibuprofen-use/?ref=todayspaper

Given the morbidity and mortality figures for anti-inflammatory drugs (easy to Google if interested) Ibuprofen (Vitamine I) should never have been given OTC status. I used to but now I never take it.

Why hide the symptoms that tell you something you should know? Additionally, inflammation is the body's first step in healing itself. Why tinker with a mechanism that took millions of years to evolve?

thanks for sharing this info- quite interesting. I Haven't used it myself this way but have thought about it. I have decided taking Ibuprophen before exercise is now out of the question for me.

I have to take non-steroids. and use Naprosyn (Aleve). They are all risky. I buy the yellow enteric coated caplets.
My arthritis is serious enough that if a go 36 hrs without it, I am very lame and in pain.
I use over the counter 200 mg and the RX dose is 500mg. I take two on a full stomach followed my Tums 1500mg. I had mentioned that I also take Omeprezol 20mg for reflux. My insurance would reimburse part of the RX strength dose but it's 100mg more than what I need so why tempt fate.I would never drink alcohol after taking this. It would just increase the insult and I doubt my stomach would take the joke.

Non steroids can be a blessing it they are not abused. They are not meant to prevent pain but rather to relieve ongoing inflammation.
If you have a new injury, the doc sometimes has you take RX strength for 2-4 weeks and wants you to continue taking it for the time prescribed even if it feels better because it will just exacerbate when you stop. The goal with acute injury is reduce inflammation and it will heal.

Chronic pain and inflammation require a different more long term approach because it ain't ever gonna get better. You live with it and do what it takes to stay upwardly mobile!

Maddy said:

I have to take non-steroids. and use Naprosyn (Aleve). They are all risky. I buy the yellow enteric coated caplets.
My arthritis is serious enough that if a go 36 hrs without it, I am very lame and in pain.


Chronic pain and inflammation require a different more long term approach because it ain't ever gonna get better. You live with it and do what it takes to stay upwardly mobile!

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This is very unfortunate yet provides quite a different set of circumstances than those under study in the research article linked and to me suggest why NSAIDs are better being prescription meds- so your doctor can monitor you closely.
However, if Ibu lost it's OTC status people would just switch to ASA or other, uncontrolled chemicals such as are found in "herbal remedies" such as Boswellia.

My doc is older and had bleeding ulcers. She takes ASA and hates having to do it but she would not be moving about well enough to work if she didn't.
I like the Glucosamine/ Chondroiton very much and take a healthy dose. Will have to look into Bosewellia. Would love to get rid of the Naprosyn.

Maddy said:

Take is on a full stomach, Stan. It is very irritating. I take it's cousin Naprosyn because without it I would not walk. I eat, take the med, and the tums. I also take Omeprazole 20m daily for reflux. Thus far no problems and has been using it long term.

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Yes, that's right on the full stomach and the earlier during a hike or other strenuous activity the fuller my stomach is apt to be. I, too, take Omeprazol but, through experimentation, have gotten down to 20 mg every other day ... my biggest regret is when I eat late at night. Those of us with reflux feel the effects if Ibuprofen that others without reflux may be experiencing but not feeling. BTW, I suggest a baseline on bone density as a frequent effect of Omeprazole is reduction in calcium and magnesium thereby weakening the bones (osteoperosis) over the long term. I take supplements with the hope that I'm adequately countering that potential problem ... we'll see what future tests indicate. The Tums provide an additional measure of calcium.

Moderator Note
I combined two threads on the same NYT article and study.

Stan said:

I've found Ibuprofen more effective before inflammation and pain set in but don't take it very often (probably a few times a year) and have learned to sense when I may be needing it. I usually accompany it with Tums and reasonable hydration.

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Yes, Ibuprofen is more effective for reducing inflammation if it is started a day or two before the the activity. Larger doses than those required for pain reduction are more effective for maximum inflammation reduction.

And yes, both of the above increase the chance and/or severity of side-effects.

Doug

My orthopedist put me on 1600mg/day (2x800mg) for 3 weeks when I had my knee problems. His explanation was you need to build it up and keep it up for an extended period to have maximum inflammation reduction.

FWIW. YMMV. etc.

Tim

bikehikeskifish said:

My orthopedist put me on 1600mg/day (2x800mg) for 3 weeks when I had my knee problems. His explanation was you need to build it up and keep it up for an extended period to have maximum inflammation reduction.

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Not surprising.

According to the bottle label, the daily limit is 1200 mg/day. (The standard OTC tablet is 200mg.) However, higher amounts can be given under a doctor's direction. Been there, done that...

Doug