Over The Counter meds for Arthritis

[Babs39]

I have arthritis in my thumb joints. I also have high Blood Pressure. I am now taking Naproxin.  
Does anyone know of an over the counter medication which helps arthritis but does not raise
Blood Pressure?  

[geminigirl1963]

I, too, use "hot packs" for my pain sometimes - I know they usually say ice for inflammation, which of course, is part of what arthritis is, but i've also got fibromyalgia and I find that cold definitely intensifies my pain from that, so I try to stick to the heat instead.  I'm guessing part of what the heat is doing is helping to relax the muscles around the joints so hopefully helping the pain for a while.

You can defnitely do what your sister does for the heat packs.  I also just recently received as a gift a heat/cold pack device that I have absolutely fallen in love with - it actually almost looks like the back part of a neck brace with "arms" that rest over teh tops of your shoulders.  You can either heat it in the microwave if you want to use it for heat or stick it in the freezer if you want the cold.  Then you simply rest this on your back/neck/shoulder region and sit back and relax.  You definitely can use it for other areas of your body as well - it drapes quite well over a knee or ankle without contstantly sliding around like other ice/heat packs tend to do - probably because of these "arms" that give it some 'staying still power"!   This "collar" works quite well for me, as one of my many painful areas is my right shoulder - I've already had a shoulder replacement in it and am going to need further surgery on it very soon, so it gets quite painful quite often.  I know they do also sell these type of heat/cold packs in smaller sizes - usually rectangular shaped - I had one of these smaller ones for years before I found this other one and my mom got it for me for Christmas.

whatever mode you use, please remember to be VERY careful - both with heat and ice - you must watch that whatever you are using is not TOO hot or TOO cold or else you could end up with a nasty burn or even frostbite.  The heat thing is especially true with these heat packs that you put in the microwave - as you know things that come out of a microwave can be extremely hot!  I usually take a towel, fold it a time or two and place that on the area I'm going to be using the heat or ice on and THEN put the heat/ice pack on - this will protect your skin more than just put the heat/ice device directly on your skin.  As the heat or cold dissipate a little, you can then remove that towel to get longer life out of one heat/ice therapy session.

Best of luck with both your pain relief and controlling your blood pressure.  Please keep usposted on how you're doing and if I can answer any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

[Babs39]

Thank all of you for your suggestions and comments.  
That's what I like about this website is people helping people.
The dose of my prescription naproxin is 500 mg. twice a day.  Aleve is 220 mg twice a day.  I just might try taking the Aleve dose instead of the prescription dose and see how I feel. From what ladies have said, taking a prescription for arthritis can cause problems all by itself. I have taken prescription blood pressure meds in the past but I do not tolerate them very well so right now I am only taking a diuretic.
I will also try your suggestion about taking my blood pressure before the Naproxin and then one hour after.    
My sister does what she calls hot packs for the pain in her shoulders and upper chest. She soaks bathtowels in very hot water then wrings most of the water out of them in the spin cycle of the washing machine.  She drapes the towel on her shoulders and across her chest.  She leaves it on until it starts to cool and then repeats one or two times more.  
She feels so much better a good amount of time.  

[carolanivey]

I've had RA since age 5 and never had a problem with blood pressure until I was prescribed Vioxx, the non-sulpha cousin of Celebrex. My BP popped up and has never gone down by itself even though I went off the Vioxx. I take a daily BP med and my NSAID, which is meloxicam (Mobic) doesn't affect my BP too badly.

What you also have to be careful of is OTC cold and allergy medications. The only one I can safely take is Mucinex, Coricidin, or prescription guaifenisen (sp?). Just about anything else, included Sudafed, is a no-no.

[geminigirl1963]

I agree controlling your blood pressure is very important, but something to think about also is that pain itself can cause an increase in blood pressure, so there needs to be a happy medium I think.  I know that when my pain levels increase, my blood pressure also goes up some (not as high as when on the celebrex though!)

My case is a bit complicated - I have several other chronic pain issues as well as my severe arthritis.  I've already had one shoulder replaced due to the arthritis and in the next several months I'll be needing to have both of my knees done - and I'm only 46!!  For over the counter relief I use tylenol and sometimes those muscle rub coated patches that you can stick on.  I also have prescription pain medication and a muscle relaxer to use when the over the counter stuff doesn't work.  Sometimes heat packs also help - at least for a little while.

I don't know what the strength of the naproxen is that your doctor prescribed, but I know that the over the counter medication Aleve also contains naproxen - again I don't know at what strength though.  It's possible that maybe if the dose of naproxen your doctor gave you is a bit strong for you with your blood pressure, using the otc Aleve might help that and still give you some pain control.  OF COURSE, DO NOT CHANGE ANY MEDICATIONS WITHOUT FIRST TALKING TO YOUR DOCTOR.

Have you mentioned to your doctor that you feel the naproxen is raising your blood pressure?  Do you track your pressures at home?  If so, try keeping track of what your BP is before you take the meds and then say like an hour or so after you take it - if you can document changes in your BP after taking them meds, your doctor may be more apt to "listen to you" and make some changes.

Again, I can't stress enough about not making any changes in any medications without first talking to your doctor.

Also, if you feel that you are not receiving adequate care from this doctor or that he is not taking your pain seriously, you may want to consider either changing to another doctor in the same type of practice (if he's a general practitioner) or perhaps even going to see a rheumatologist, pain management doctor or even an orthopedic surgeon.

Best of luck and please keep us posted on how you're doing.  If you have any other questions for me, please dont hesitate to ask.

[Babs39]

My doctor is the one who prescribed the Naproxin.  He is aware of course, that I have high blood pressure.  He said controlling the blood pressure is more important than my hands feeling better.  He said if I have a stroke, I won't care if my hands hurt.  
But I think the Naproxin   is raising my blood pressure.
So if you are staying away from all anti-infammatory medications, what are you doing for your arthritis pain???

[geminigirl1963]

I've been told that any of the anti-inflammatories, while good for arthritis, are not good for high blood pressure - they all can affect it.  I, unfortunately, found this out the hard way when I was prescribed Celebrex - it was working pretty well for the arthritis, but it DRASTICALLY increased my blood pressure to a dangerous level (165/105) so was told to stop it immediately and to stay away from ALL anti-inflammatory medications, over the counter OR prescription.

[kay2486]

are you medication for blood pressure, your doctor or pharmacist is best person talk to, ive been told stay away from ibuprofen its no good for heart and kidneys