Can I have Advil/Ibuprophen????

Hi All, I am 2 yrs. out and was wondering if I can take ibuprophen now. It seems that Advil is the only thing that helps my shoulder pain. What do you think? Thanks, Dancin'D 7//7/04 rny/lap -200lbs.

*I* think that you need to speak with your surgeon and PCP, weigh the pros and cons and come up with a solution which works best for YOU, Hon. (((Hugs))) ~~Sherry

Hi D ... the best response I've seen to this is posted on Tek's profile (and hoping he won't mind, I shamelessly stole and am posting it here) NSAIDS & TYLENOL & NARCOTICS, OH MY NSAIDS (Non-Steroidal Anti Inflamitory Drugs) are forbidden by many surgeons, while being allowed by others. Often on the message board, you will read NSAIDS are bad and TYLENOL is safe. Amazingly, you will often see NSAIDs villified, then encouragement toward nice, safe NARCOTICS. EVERY medication carries risks. Yes, even nice safe NARCOTICS. Yes, even Tylenol. We need to be educated consumers and patients and research what the risks are, and if those risks are worth the benefits. After all, each and every one of us took a great risk simply having WLS, risking complications at a rate greater than those with NSAIDS, greater than the risks of Narcotics. We felt the risks were worth the benefits. We need to make the same analysis with Medications... are the risks worth the benefits. Again, NO DRUG IS SAFE. Every drug has possible benefits and negative effects. Obviously, these vary from drug to drug and person to person. Do your own research. Talk to your medical team. There are times when NSAIDS are indicated, and times when they are not. There are times when TYLENOL is indicated, and times when it is not. There are times when NARCOTICS are called for. OH is one of the only places in the world where you will be chastised for taking NSAIDs and encouraged to take nice, safe Narcotics. Talk with your surgeon, talk with your medical team, do your own research. If you choose to take a drug, know the possible side effects, and mitigate the ones you can, and monitor for the ones you can't. NSAIDs There is no study that shows or indicates that NSAIDS are any more or less dangerous for WLS post-ops than for Non-Ops. For everyone, NSAIDS can cause ulcers and decrease in prostaglandin production resulting from the inhibition of cyclooxygenase. Gastric ulcers affect about .92% of the population (just less than 1 in 100 people). NSAIDS are believed to be responsible for about 25% of these. So NSAIDs induced ulcers AFFECT less than 1 in 400 people. 1 in 10,000 people actually die from ulcers. The greatest risk of developing an ulcer occurs during the first 3 months of NSAID use; thereafter, the risk decreases but continues to be present. Proton pump inhibitors, such as Prilosec, Prevacid, Aciphex, and possibly other agents offer protection against the damage done by NSAIDs. Tylenol TYLENOL can be very hard on the liver. In combination with other factors, TYLENOL is not nearly as 'safe' as many are told. If you have liver disease, TYLENOL can be very dangerous. It is easy to Overdose on Tylenol without realizing it: 1) Tylenol is in several OTC medications; 2) The 'overdose threshold' is much lower when the patient is eating very little. Especially early post-op, WLS patients are eating extremely small amounts of foods; 3) It is not uncommon to take more than the recommended dosage to get pain relief, since it is considered 'safe'; 4) Rapid weight loss is very hard on the liver. Again, especially early post-op, WLS patients are losing weight very quickly; 5) Severely Morbidly Obese patients often have undiagnosed liver disease. Narcotics Narcotics have a slew of nasty common side effects including: 1) Addiction. As few as 5% and as many as 25% of patients that use Narcotics for Chronic Pain relief become addicted. 2% of young adults report 'non-medical' use of Narcotics. The Death Rate (overdose and murder included) increases 2% per year, so someone using these drugs for 10 years has a 20% chance of dying as a result. 2) Constipation. Not good for Bariatric Patients early post op. 3) Ulcers. Yep, with Narcotics too, but do you hear about it on OH? Why not? Many other FREQUENT and WELL-DOCUMENTED SERIOUS side effects are associated with Narcotic Use. AGAIN, do your own research. If you choose to take ANY drug, know the possible side effects, do what you can to mitigate them, monitor for them, and make sure that the ones you do encounter are not worse than the original problem. to see the rest of his inspiring profile and plethora of knowledge, go to: http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/members/profile.php?N=N1047594352` (don't know why the link won't work, just paste the entire URL into your browser's address, that should pull it up) Karyn