I was talking with some relatives who have stomach problems and one thing I noticed is that a lot of them are on NSAIDs- ibuprofen and aspirin, for example. Over the years I have been on and off the paleo diet, but never gotten back to the point I was before in terms of stomach problems, except once, when I was on a trip to Central Europe and I got strep and had to take tons of ibuprofen to make it through the trip. My stomach was back to square one and it took a long time to get back to normal. My mother recently had a similar experience- all the sudden after being good on a paleo-ish diet, her stomach became inflamed. Turns out she was taking NSAIDs for some back pain. Looking at my SNPs, one variation stands out and that is the GS191 genoset related to poor NSAID metabolism and tied to GI bleeding from that. The GI bleeding must just be the tip of the iceberg, there much be other damage occurring before it comes to that. I was super unlucky and have multiple of the three problematic SNP variations, one from mom and one from dad, which perhaps explains some of the stomach problems in this family. Are you GS191? Have you had stomach problems from NSAIDs?
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Big time. The nail in the coffin for me was 12 years ago when I broke my ankle and was given some NSAID's. That was the end of a normal digestive system. I cannot take most painkillers now without pain and internal bleeding. Paleo has somewhat (mostly Kefir) helped with my stomach problems but I have spent years in and out of hospitals, endoscopy, investigations, trying to figure out what the hell is wrong and is all started with Diclofenac. |
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I used to take a ton of Advil around my period to deal with cramps--I'm talking 3 times the label dosage multiple times a day. I ruined my stomach that way and couldn't take NSAIDs for about 10 years without debilitating stomach pain. I can take it now if I really really need it, but don't ever take more than two, and never more than that in a 24-hour period. Don't know about GS191. |
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I injured my shoulder a couple years ago and was on Motrin 800 every four hours for about a month. After a few weeks, I had breathing issues and developed a rash around my mouth. Turns out, I'm allergic to NSAID's. I was put on prednisone to help knock it out of my system. Between the high dosage of NSAID's and the prednisone, I developed ulcers and acid reflux. They never truly went away until I was on the paleo diet for a month or so. Whenever I go off track with paleo, my acid reflux and slight stomach pain come right back. I think NSAID intolerance is far more prevalent than people may think. |
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This is a very interesting question and I hope you get additional responses. I will not touch NASIDS with a 10 foot pole! I am a recovering addict and took Ibuprofen (rather than a narcotic) for an umbilical hernia repair and practically destroyed my stomach...ie.nausea, reflux, ulcers etc. Consequently, I wound up taking massive PPI'S to deal with these symptoms, likely causing further digesive complications. I have had lingering suspicions that my subsequent stomach issues were related to the damage caused by the NSAID's For future pain management/legitimate pain relief, I will inform my physician of my chemical dependency, happily accept my narcotic pain reliever and have a family member administer the medication to minimize a potential relapse. |
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You wrote:
Actually, GI bleeds are probably the initial and biggest side effect of NSAIDs. It happens very quickly, it can even start with the first dose. Nobody is quite sure what the mechanism is, but one of the leading working theories is that the inhibition of prostaglandins leads to localized attenuation of gastric mucus secretion, such that the stomach lining is directly exposed to stomach acid. This is a topical effect, so things get started right quick. I did a trial of low-dose daily aspirin last year to see if it would help what I and my doctor thought were migraines. I got stomach aches from day one. Spacing the doses made no difference, and it took a couple of weeks to recover after I stopped (this makes sense, since what I was really doing was punching holes in my stomach). My feeling today: they're best avoided, unless you've got a life-threatening fever. Sadly, acetaminophen is not any better, even if it's for different reasons. |
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Melissa, I don't know anything about GS191, but I have listened to a podcast of my herbal doctor - he claims there is research out there that NSAIDs cause more damage than many other drugs in all people, not just in some people. He actually provided some gruesome examples - they do something horrible to your whole body, not just your GI tract. I am sorry I cannot be more specific. It will take me a long time to look up this podcast because I have listened to it over a month ago. I do not have any experience myself because I have never taken any NSAIDs in my life on a regular basis. Probably, one pill per year/ two years or even three years. Hard to tell. I actually don't have them in the house. That's all I know. Not sure if it helps. EDITED: here is the podcast. It is called: Little Things that Ruin Your Health |
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If memory serves me right my pharmacology professor told us in class that NSAIDs are nasty, extremely overused and would most likely not pass regulation if they were to be registered as a new drug today. They destroy the lining of the stomach. This happens to almost anyone who uses them for long enough...which is not very long. |
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