Interesting stuff, isn't it I remember being told no aspirin when I started the MTX too. Not even aspercreme topical I was told. Also no Advil. All I can take is Extra Strength Tylenol which doesn't do anything for me....The abstract doesn't mention the dose - perhaps it's the 81-mg baby-aspirin that heart patients take for its cardioprotective effects? There's a huge difference between 81mg once/day and 1000mg 4x/day.
I raised this very question with the docs when they prescribed taking 100mg a day because of the heart attack.
The answere was that at 100 mg I would be ok as it was not 300mg as per regular dosage.
[QUOTE=Bodak]I raised this very question with the docs when they prescribed taking 100mg a day because of the heart attack.
The answere was that at 100 mg I would be ok as it was not 300mg as per regular dosage.
[/QUOTE]
Ditto here - when my husband had his heart attack, he was told to take a low-dose aspirin every day. Well, of course most of his new cardiac meds warned about interactions with NSAIDs and/or aspirin. The cardiologist explained that the small dose used as heart attack preventative was tolerable, but that he should not use aspirin or NSAIDs for pain/fever treatment.
are you all sure that the NO Aspirin dictated by the RD wasn't due to the NSAID and the fact that our blood is thin enough due to that? I wasn't told no aspirin because of MTX.. I was told no aspirin due to the NSAID... which is a similar med.... andmore than the dose given would have consequences..I'm not on any NSAIDSdo you take ibuprophen for the pain? or what for the pain, wantto?I wasn't prescribed an NSAID. Both my RD and pharmalogical chemist friend were clear about no aspirin with MTX (although they both said a little alcohol was okay, so I don't think they were the extra cautious types)Babs, I also was told no NSAID and Aspirin mix. Either one or the other; it didn't have anything to do with MTX. I'm hoping soon to come off Celebrex. Was off and now back on due to PsA pain but now even that is better with or without Celebrex. I'll come off Celebrex when I get back from the shopping marathon. Am down to one per day. By Saturday should be none - yippee. I'll then start one 81 mg. Aspirin for my heart. RD and primary both said nix to the mix (sorry, couldn't help it.
New research shows that many patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are not taking advantage of aspirin therapy, despite the fact that these patients are more likely to develop heart disease. Low-dose aspirin therapy has been proven to reduce the risk of heart attacks, yet researchers have found that only 18% of RA patients are actually on aspirin therapy. Patients with other forms of arthritis, however, are more likely to take daily aspirin—25% of them do so, according to the results of a 3-year study that involved 18,123 arthritis patients (14,114 of whom had RA).
Patients with RA are twice as likely to develop heart disease as patients with other types of arthritis, but the reasons for this statistic have yet to be made clear. Some theories suggest that the inflammation triggered by RA contributes to cholesterol buildup and artery blockages.
Although the reasons are not clear, researchers speculate that RA patients might be missing out on aspirin's benefits because rheumatologists and primary care physicians fail to consider a patient's overall health. According to Eric Ruderman, MD, an associate professor of medicine at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, "Maybe we're not looking at the rest of the picture as much as we should."
http://www.pharmacytimes.com/issues/articles/2006-02_3108.asp I wonder what the difference is in schools of thought on aspirin vs. fish oil for heart health? Hubby's GP told him to take fish oil, not aspirin. A lot of people do both, right?
I wonder if rheums are more inclined to go with fish oil and not have the worry about drug interactions? (It is confusing to me, reading all the different things everybody has been told.)
Babs- I take Extra Strength Tylenol for pain or headache. Like I said- it doesn't do the trick. Sometimes I'll sneak a couple of Advil for my headaches. I try to use topicals for pain and if it's too bad I might take leftover onset prescription pain meds.I can't stand it! Do these doctors not agree on anything!? I've been prescribed an NSAID (ETODOLAC) which I take 1-2 times a week. Argh!! And I've never been told anything about aspirin...TheLa.. You only take your NSAID once or twice a week? I take two daily.
I can only take tylenol in addition to the NSAID for pain or headaches or any of that.... and I'm really light on that when needed cause Tylenol goes right to your liver....
I hope one of us has got this right! *sigh*
Since I inject MXT I bypass the stomach. I think that's the greatest area of concern with oral MXT and NSAIDs. If you Google MXT injections and Aspirin it says that 81 mg. A is ok and that's what my RD said to take but since I started Celebrex I stopped Aspirin....too much of a good thing. You're right Babs, one of us has to be doing it right and who knows which one it is - our doctors don't seem to agree. I think we only have one another to point us in the right direction or to stimulate us enough to ask our RDs questions. Lindy
Yes... we can learn to ask more things.... to help ourselves.. someone has to find the answers
oh..and I need injectible.............. definitely.
babs102009-01-27 20:17:54Fact: Tylenol or any generic brand of Tylenol is a key player in causing liver damage. Of course, there are other drugs which can cause liver damage but this is the most commonly used OTC causing liver damage.
That's what cracks me up when my RD says the only thing I can use with MTX is Tylenol. They are always telling you how toxic that is to your liver and don't drink so you don't further tax your liver... At one point he told me I could take 8 a day.
[QUOTE=Suzanne]I wonder what the difference is in schools of thought on aspirin vs. fish oil for heart health? Hubby's GP told him to take fish oil, not aspirin. A lot of people do both, right?
I wonder if rheums are more inclined to go with fish oil and not have the worry about drug interactions? (It is confusing to me, reading all the different things everybody has been told.)
[/QUOTE]
High-dose omega-3 supplementation is not without risk or drug interactions.
jasmine, do you have any idea what those interactions might be? I tell all my health practitioners that I take massive amounts of fish oil and none of them seem at all concerned. And BF's doctor just told him today to start taking a gram of Omega 3s a day for migraines which is 4000gr of the brand I take. I don't doubt there are interactions, i just don't know with what.
[QUOTE=Gimpy-a-gogo]jasmine, do you have any idea what those interactions might be? I tell all my health practitioners that I take massive amounts of fish oil and none of them seem at all concerned. And BF's doctor just told him today to start taking a gram of Omega 3s a day for migraines which is 4000gr of the brand I take. I don't doubt there are interactions, i just don't know with what.[/QUOTE]
Increased bleeding time - this can be problematic when combined with other anticoagulants. it can also affect blood sugar levels, and render anti-diabetic meds less effective. It can also affect the cytochrome P450 enzyme system in the liver (metabolic pathway for most drugs) and increase liver enzymes, but that's not very common. All in all, it's pretty safe, compared to lots of other stuff we take.Thanks Jasmine. I knew about the blood clotting issue but none of the other stuff, so that's really helpful.Oh, and increased susceptibility to infection, due to the immune-dampening.
[QUOTE=JasmineRain]
[QUOTE=Suzanne]I wonder what the difference is in schools of thought on aspirin vs. fish oil for heart health? Hubby's GP told him to take fish oil, not aspirin. A lot of people do both, right?
I wonder if rheums are more inclined to go with fish oil and not have the worry about drug interactions? (It is confusing to me, reading all the different things everybody has been told.)
[/QUOTE]
High-dose omega-3 supplementation is not without risk or drug interactions.
[/QUOTE]
I was referring to the various drug interactions on this thread - everybody's rheum had a different thing about aspirin/NSAIDs w/mtx, for example. I've never seen fish oil contraindicated with RA meds before, have you? So it made sense that rheums might consider fish oil over aspirin for heart health in their patients to me, not that they are 'overlooking' aspirin.
here
http://www.myomancy.com/2007/03/fish_oil_side_e you go for side effects
I called the manufacturers of the fish oil I use, and since it's made from the body rather than the liver of the fish, and does not have additives, it contains no Vitamins A, D, or E.
People seem to think "high doses of fish oil" equals vats of it or something. One person on another forum even suggested that using high doses of fish oil could make you "smell fishy" (I almost fell off my chair at that one). But even taking 10 to 15 one gram pills a day is only the equivalent to eating 8 ounces of salmon or 2 cans of sardines. Yeah, that would be a lot of fish but nothing anyone would fret about.
Buying your fish oil at an outlet with a high turnover will ensure that it is fresh and odorless, so it won't taste or smell "fishy" and neither will you!
[QUOTE=mabus]here
http://www.myomancy.com/2007/03/fish_oil_side_e you go for side effects
[QUOTE=Gimpy-a-gogo]
Buying your fish oil at an outlet with a high turnover will ensure that it is fresh and odorless, so it won't taste or smell "fishy" and neither will you![/QUOTE]
My daughter was (briefly) on a fish oil that had no smell and no taste, but after a couple doses she smelled like raw oysters. It was terrible. I almost threw away some of her pajamas. They stayed on the back porch for days. I soaked them in vinegar, baking soda, Febreze, and finally put them outside in a bucket of bleach. Vinegar got it out of her cotton clothes, but these pj's were fleece.
Hubby takes pills with no problems. She couldn't handle it somehow.
asprin has a known make up and dosage. fish oil is probably not suited as a comparable blood thinner as it can vary in dosage from brand to brand and even between different lots in the same brand. You buy a bottle of asprin you know you are getting what the label says you don't know that with supplements
Well you could always buy the GSK prescription fish oil ("Lovaza") - .60 per softgel, usual dosage 4/day (FDA approved for treating high triglycerides)
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