alternative to NSAIDs

  I am being treated for a mysterious upper abdominal pain which I have discussed in other posts.  My question is this - in some of my research it indicates that NSAIDs could possibly cause or aggrevate symptoms like mine.  I have been taking ibuprofen for almost 20 years and it seems to be the only thing that stops my pain.  I usually start with 400 mg for mild pain but have been known to take 1200mg at a time for extreme migraines.  The worst I have ever done is 2200mg in a 5 hour span but that was only once and it was about 6 years ago.  
  What else could I try as a pain killer?  I don't need them often, maybe a couple of times a month.  I have started using homeopathic stuff for the migraines but it only works if I catch it early.  Tylenol has almost no effect, asprin burns my stomach and makes the back of my eyes burn (weird but it only happens with asprin), even the buffered kind.  Eleve (sp?) kills my other pain but gives me a constant low grade headache and fever.  
  Basically ibuprofen is the only thing I can trust to kill the pain but not give me noticeable side effects but if it is causing some of my symptoms later.......
  Any suggestions?  
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dear Amie, If ibuprofen is the only pain killer that works, then you should continue it.  I suggest that you take a second medication to protect your gastrointestinal tract from ulceration.  A prostaglandin compound e.g. Cytotec or a drug such as Prilosec should protect the lining.
This information is presented for educational purposes.  Always consult your personal physician for specific medical questions.
HFHSM.D.-rf
*keywords; NSAID, prostaglandin, gastritis
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