sweetpea602and ended up with black tarry stools and constant stomach pain!! She now wants to take tylenol, but I think it's just as bad. Of course, her gastro doc told her to stop taking aleve, but didn't suggest anything for her pain. I think she needs a mild pain med. (darvocet is off the market) and she is allergic to codeine! Sorry folks, this a tall order, but it's my mom and I can;t stand to see her in pain anymore. I know one of you incredibly intelligent people will come up with something! God Bless, Sweetpea
What is the safest arthritis medicine for my 82 yr old mother to take? She was taking 2 aleve a day?
- Posted:
- 20 Apr 2011 by sweetpea602
- Topics:
- aleve, tylenol, rheumatoid arthritis, pain, medicine
Details:
Responses (4)
Mary63200920 Apr 2011
Since she is having stomache problems most nasids are out of the questuion. I would suggest you take her to a Rheumaologist to see if she could take some of the newer meds for RA that are our out there. That would be my best suggestion. Other than that tylenol would be only OTC that may help, & if she really is in pain she needs to be seen by a doctor... .
LaurieShay20 Apr 2011
Hey sweetpea,
She really needs her general doctor to evaluate the report from the gastroenterologist and decide the best approach. If she has had a bleeding episode then NSAIDs maybe out of the question. There are NSAIDs that are less harmful to the digestive system such as the cox 2 inhibitors but again that needs to be determined by her doctor. I take Celebrex, a cox 2 inhibitor, for arthritis but don't know if that would be appropriate for her given her history.
Best to seek the advice of her regular doc,
Laurie
sweetpea602
21 Apr 2011
I think you hit on a good one with the celebrex! The problem is she needs a NEW doctor, he let her suffer with the stomach pain giving her different antacid meds! I'm the one that took her to the emergency room and made them set an appt. for a gastroenterologist. It is difficult to convince a very self sufficent 82 yr old women to change her doctor after 45 years! LOL Thanks, Sweetpea
Mary632009
21 Apr 2011
Sweetpea when I commented about losing my mom at 67, it was from her doctor prescribuing Motrin that ate a hole in her stomach, & she had lost over 1/2 the blood in her body before calling me. Nasids are nasty things for some people. Please do not let another doctor put her on them since she has already had gastric bleeding. She's at an age that surgery to fix something like that could be disaterous. Don't want to needless scare you, but that is exactly how I lost my Mom. % weeks in intensive care after surgery . First her lungs gave out because she had smoked for so many years. After that is was one thing after another shutting down. I finally had to make the decisionh to take her off life support. It was so horrible That's been23 years ago, I'm stikk not over it. There are so mant meds that they give IV for RA now it's unbelievable. There is Remicade, Cimzia, Rituxan are just a few. Nsiad are causing heart problems according to a new British study.
10 May 2011
Well sweetpea602,
your 82 y/o mother had black stools because she had an Upper G.I. bleed.
Let me tell you the story of aspirin and NSAIDs (Alleve).
At least 30 years ago the only medication to treat arthritis was Aspirin; there were a few others but they were removed from the marketplace because of side effects.
Then along came the NSAIDs and the drug companies promised that there wouldn't be any G.I. problems with these. Now here we are 30 years later and guess what the leading cause of G.I. bleeds in the elderly are? You guessed it, NSAIDs!!
If your mother can take Darvocet it is still available
Marco
sweetpea602
11 May 2011
Seriously? I just talked to my today and she told me her dr. said " I wish Darvocet was still on the market" is this dr. crazy or what? Should she just bring it up to him? Thanks for the info!! Sweetpea
marcou
11 May 2011
No doctor in the US will write a prescription for Darvocet because of the liabilit involved; the FDA has removed it from the market in this country.
It is readily available in generic form other countries.
sweetpea602
11 May 2011
Dear ,
Thanks for asking! I called her yesterday and she told me her GP recommends tramadol. She is allergic to codeine. Her dr. told her "It's too bad they took darvocet off the market!!" Well Duh! So she has some Darvocet left from an older script. Yes, I checked on the date and it's still safe. Sweetpea
Mary632009
11 May 2011
Good to her. Hope she is doing better. Mary
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Thank-you Mary, I will pass that on! So you think Tylenol is ok for awhile?
I would think so, but if that bothers her at all stop & get her to a doctor,preperably a Rheumatolgist. You can go to www.ArthritisToday.org for lots of info on RA. I subscribe to their magazine & it's loaded with info. Or you can call 404-965-7665 & ask editors or medical advisory board experts a question. E-mail: atmail@arthritis.org, or write: Arthritis Today, 1330 W. Peachtree St. N. W. Suite 100, Atalta, Ga 30309. Hope you get some helpful information. Good luck to you & your mom, bless her heart & cherish your moments. My mom died needlessly at the age of 67, & I miss her terribly...
tylenol is harmful to your liver (hers) if taken in large quanties.So its usually a safer drug as its not as bad for people with stomach problems,having said that its also not so good for arthritis,the anti inflamatory drugs is what helps the most,and they;re hard on the stomach as well as people with circulation and heart problems may have serious side effects. stronger pain meds help but for the elderly they may increase the risk of falls,confusion etc. I have severe osteoarthritis and am learning that pain will be a part of my life from now on,, good luck though... your doc may know of a new drug that will help