Does anyone take their anti-inflammatories (like Aleve or Advil) at night before bedtime? I have benn waking up every morning extremely stiff and in pain and wondered if taking one at night would help for the morning?
Thank you.
Liz D.
Unless it's a long-acting formulation, it probably won't help with the morning....most NSAIDs wear off in 4-6 hours, I believe.
Also be careful about drug interactions with other stuff you are taking. NSAIDs interact badly with a lot of meds - and even when they don't, they can be hard on your stomach and/or liver with long-term use (over a month), so be careful.
Some people get decent joint pain relief from a good turmeric supplement or one like Zyflammend - although too much of even those can be a strain on your liver.
It's always a balancing act :-(
If you are really stiff and achy every morning, also remember to make sure your mattress is not old and/or lumpy, your pillow is the right thickness, and maybe try elevating your legs a little at night and/or sleeping with a pillow between your knees if you sleep on your side...all those things have helped me quite a bit, too.
Sorry you're having trouble, and I hope you find some good solutions!
I take an ibuprofen at bedtime and again at around 2 a.m.. I am so dry that I wake up in the middle of the night to spray my mouth so it's not hard to take an ibuprofen too. Most of my pain occurs during the night and keeps me from sleeping on many nights. The NSAID does help alot. BTW, I do have a new mattress! I am thinking of switching to Aleve because it lasts longer.
I would think it would be very hard on your stomach to take it at night. I do, however, get up and take a curcumin in the middle of the night if I'm in pain. I eat a few rice cakes or something and go back to sleep.
I have taken Aleve at night with a glass of milk and it most definitely helps me to wake in less pain. It also makes me feel more drowsy and I sleep better.
Anna
Hi Liz
I take ibuprofen twice a day - with food. As previously mentioned, you do need to be careful not to take it at the same time as certain meds.
For example (I conferred with my pharmacist on this part), ibuprofen and plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine) should not be taken at the same time. When they hit the liver at the same time its a toxicity issue. At least an hour apart. I take 2 hours apart just to be on the safe side.
If you take a pain med already containing tylenol (acetominophen) - same principle applies with both ibuprofen and plaquenil. None of the three should be taken at the same time
I also take turmeric
Amanda
I think taking them at night is the big thing....they seem to work overnight, helping reduce the pain and inflammation. If you wait until morning, its too late. I take some motrin after dinner, then again in the morning.
Gursie
I tood RX Celecoxib (Celebrex) for many years (before starting Prednisone/Plaquenil/ MTX) It was ordered twice a day, and recommended 12 hours apart, taken with food. I had never had any gastric problems from it taking it with breakfast and a snack. (working 12 hour nights, the breakfast may have been at the PM dose with the snack before bed in the morning, but such is the life of a shift worker LOL)
Aleve lasts for 12 hours. i used to take it at night, and may go back to it.
I stopped when I was having a acid reflux, to see if it would help.
Stopping the Aleve at night didn't help...what helped was elevating the head of the bed and changing the time of taking my Omeprazole.
I do take Aleve every morning and will probably go back to taking it at night.
Aleve is, I think, the only OTC medication that lasts 12 hours.
I take generic Naproxen Sodium.
Good luck.
Hugs, Elaine
Thank you all for your replies. I have tried taking Aleve the last few nights and do definitely see a difference in the morning and I did sleep better too. That being said, I will take precautions in regards to gastric problems.
Thanks again!
Liz D.
Yes, Liz D., i started Omeprazole at exactly the same time I began taking Aleve regularly.
I had tried all the Celebrex and things like it that have been subsequently taken off the market due to cardiac problems.
They didn't work as well for me as Aleve, and the only reason my Rheumatologist didn't like Aleve was gastric distress.
So I said, let's solve that side effect and MOVE ON to solving PAIN.
Hugs, Elaine
QuoteI had tried all the Celebrex and things like it that have been subsequently taken off the market due to cardiac problems.
I was tried on Celebrex supposedly for my knees (well he thought it would help). One week on it and it felt like my knee was being scraped raw from the inside out. Needless to say orthopedist pulled me off of it. Never again.
Quote from: litliwlowa on January 16, 2015, 01:15:29 AM
Hi Liz
For example (I conferred with my pharmacist on this part), ibuprofen and plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine) should not be taken at the same time. When they hit the liver at the same time its a toxicity issue. At least an hour apart. I take 2 hours apart just to be on the safe side.
Amanda
Oh, dear. I have taken ibuprophen with my plaquenil at night many times. Not every night, but as often as 3x a week... like this week. Guess I better take the plaquenil immediately after dinner.
Aleve does not work for me. At all. Zero. Even Rx doses of naproxen have no effect on pain. I guess I don't have the proper receptors.
Always take with food. (well, if you value your stomach)
Oh, you're so right, Meow, and Amanda, we are all so different!
We seek the experiences of others, hoping that will tell us something. And it can be useful, and yet.........
I take Aleve and it is my wonder drug (now below Medrol, Cymbalta and Gabapentin, but still there). For my husband it may work, but it raises his blood pressure.
I take Cymbalta, and can't live without it. For my husband it totally removed his pain, AND gave him explosive diarrhea.
So we must forge ahead, though the process of finding doctors, medications, treatments, and over the counter products that do for us what we need.
We are surely not 'one size fits all'. And we do well to learn that about all people and all circumstances in life. The "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you", doesn't always work. You must do unto them as they need. We must leave our own perceptions to see what the other person needs.
It is extremely difficult to do, and we must try to find doctors and medical practitioners who 'get it'.
Hugs, Elaine
I have been taking a Tramadol at dinner time because I have so much pain at night I can't sleep (then neither can my husband because of me tossing and turning). I tried not taking one on a night when I felt good before going to bed and woke up with excruciating nerve pain in my left arm and shoulder.
I tried acetaminophen but it doesn't last long enough and really bothers my stomach. I plan to see my GP this week to discuss the pain which has become increasingly worse over the past few months. I worry about becoming hooked on Tramadol and/or whether it's really the right drug to deal with what's happening.
I also continue to be on a quest to get to the bottom of the cause - C-spine, Sjogrens, something else, no one seems to know. Sigh.
Tramadol keeps me awake. My rheumy said I am just one of those lucky few that it acts as a mild stimulant. I can take it in the day, but not at night.
Not being able to take NSAIDs because they trigger my asthma, I have been taking Celebrex for around 8 years. It is still on the market in the UK, and has been a Godsend to me.
I also take Hydoxychloroquine and paracetamol, amongst many other drugs. The only two I have been told not to take together are Omeprazole and the Hydroxychloroquine.
Kathyx