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Avatar universal

OTC drugs vs prescription intervention

I know we have had many many discussions about OTC meds, which are better, etc.  What I would like opinions on is the balance between OTC and the "right" prescription interventions..

I am going to talk to Dr. about ADs or pain meds, but not sure what to tell him I want.  After 7 months of tx (shot 34 down, 26 to go) he pretty much just does what I want him too, (OK, maybe being a pushy broad has it advantages..) Not sure what is the correct approach, I don't think I am depressed, I just get "wired" feeling, hyped up like, and irritable...ok, maybe more than a little.  I just called a fly a b@st@rd and told him he had to die.  And again, I ache so much I can't sleep, so the question  (((oooooohhhhh, swatting him on the back of my hand was both painful and gross....but the b****** is dead, and I'm lookin for his momma!!!)...is the balance between prescription drugs and OTC meds.  I can't imagine one or two pills specifically targeting symptoms can be worse than 9-14 ibuprofen a day??????  Will an AD help with the hyper feeling?  If I don't feel that way all the time, do I want to medicate?  It seems like I am like an ADD child, I am fine, but get hyped up at the drop of a hat...So do I need a sleep aid, or a pain medication?  Somehow, I know I am not the only one with these symptoms...

BTW waiting on procrit approval, HBG down to 10.6 from 11.6 two weeks ago..
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Avatar universal
vicoprophen is processed by your kidneys, not your liver. It also has only 200mg of ibuprophen in each pill so even at ma dose you are only consuming 800mg a day. My doctors all said tylenol was OK up to 2000 mg a day but they all prefer vicoprophen over other pain meds for HCV patients.
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Avatar universal
When I first started treatment, I was on a bunch of different meds in addition to the pegasys and NM283.  They really messed me up and I had to stop taking most of them.  I am like minded with Jim on this issue.

My doctor recommends Tylenol for pain but he said if that wasn't sufficient, to alternate the tylenol with ibuprofen.  That usually does the trick.
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Avatar universal
No offense, indeed your post was timely as I had second thoughts anyway about how well (or not well) I got across some points in my original point. I guess all I was trying to say is that these drugs we so frequently talk about aren't candy, and even though they can sometimes be lifesavers, we shouldn't take them lightly.

Kudos to your smart husband for throwing out the Ambien and moving you to a more holistic approach. He probably knows you well enough to have understood you could do better without them in the long term.

-- Jim
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Avatar universal
oooops...lol...I replied to the message you left in the Tired place on here too...so have you left for the E.R. yet??? ah hem?
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92903 tn?1309904711
If you're having trouble sleeping, it's a no-brainer to me that you should go after that. I'm a fan of the ambian. Others prefer lunesta. AS for raceyness, well maybe ya want to ge a fuller coverage bikini and consider something more supportinve when you do the morning jumping jacks. Har-dee-har. Actually, we're it me, rather than a blanket AD, I'd try low dose ativan or vallium for the specific events. And sure, go for a pain med to. I had Ultram prescribed... but never ended up taking it.

As an aside, didn't you mention you had a girlfriend who had to take ADs for an obsessive habit of a self gratifying nature? Sounds like the ADs replaced what we she was gettin' from the diddling, if you ask me. Not too much of a stretch, if you'll forgive the pun, that a daily visit to the man in the boat might burn off that nervous energy that's got you a twitchin'.
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Avatar universal
Goofers.... my sweetie is 58, and works long hours....most times he is just not "up" for another chore.....I'm going to put together a list, the pain med, I have not heard of it, whats that about??

Mekeela...I posted to you on tired site too...his momma is a red n black spot on my monitor now...they are going nuts out here!!!

Bobby-the HBG is both bad news and good news... i posted several months ago (fishdocs consult in archives) where I failed to meet the 2 log drop, went to a ribavarin expert and he upped me to 8 a day....with the lack of HBG drop cluing him in that I metabolize drugs too well...my HBG was still at like 13.5 after 3 months...I think he still thought my HBG would plummet after upping the riba..but it hasn't.  I am 10 weeks past undect at 24 weeks...
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Avatar universal
I think the last time my doctor asked me if I'd like to go on ADs was around the 24th week of treatment when I got into a shouting match with one of his admistrative assistants in his office hallway.

In any event, when he finally did see me 1.5 late (part of the reason for the "shouting" :) )I explained I didn't think I was "depressed", but his response was that ADs often help prevent you from "kicking the dog".  So, in this sense -- at least from his point of view, and from anecdotal stories here  -- ADs might help the hyper feeling you're talking about.

On the other hand, you mention you "don't feel that way all the time" and expressed a concern about more medication -- which is more or less my treatment experience. In my case I never ended up taking ADs, but I live and work alone. If I had to interact more with others during treatment, I probably would have gone on them to keep the peace.

Regarding sleep aids, I've always viewed them as a slippery slope and therefore never took them. plus I just didn't want any more drugs in my system. It seems that once folks start, it becomes a lifelong habit. Still, if you really need them to get through treatment, you got to take what you got to take. But just go into it lightly, knowing that you may end up with an eventual withdrawal issue if your plan is to stop some day.

You mentioned "ibuprofen". I know there's been a back and forth on this here --  but from my doctor, most of what I've read, and from what they do in some trials I'm familiar with -- the only pain killer allowed is Tylenol. You might want to discuss with your doctor or do more independent research on that.

As an aside, we talk so much about "meds" here that one can become desensitized to the fact the toxicity of what we're putting in our body. It becomes easy to pile on the drugs when we read that everyone else seems to be taking them. Without many of these helper drugs. many of us have made it through treatment, but I still think a lot of folks are taking too much medication on treatment -- pain, sleep, etc, etc. Just an observation.

Prior to treatment I took no drugs, besides a one-a-day vitamin when I remembered, and that's my regimen now that I'm finished treatment.

Hope this helps and you start feeling better soon.

-- Jim



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Avatar universal
Hi Fishdoc.........Iwas up to 4T3's in am and 4 in pm (that's 240 mg. of codiene, never mind the tylenol) I was really hurtin. My doc put me on 30 mg. codien contin taken am and pm and it worked like a charm. Some am's still needed a tylenol but most were doable. He also gave me Remeron which is an AD but puts you to sleep too. I slept well at night and helped to cut back the anxiety during the day. After treatment it was too much seratonin (I was also using prozac) but it was easy to just cut it out. Sleep is more restless but that's been the same my whole life. On really bad nights (maybe once or twice a month) I'll use a travel sickness pill (gravol) and it works just fine with no hangover. I'm down to no pain meds and .5 of Lexapro so things are working out. Getting through is the thing and for heaven's sake, dont play with heart pain!! I had some of that too and just had a whole patched and anyurism fixed a couple years ago so my doc freaked. It was fine , but get it checked!!! Take good care.......Diane
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Avatar universal
Part of the hesitation about the sleep aids is I sleep fine, unless I am in pain (hard body aches).....so will the sleep aids overcome that?  Otherwise, a pain pill and a benadryl... JMJM, totally understand where your coming from...so far, I just take OTC stuff, but when does 12-15 ibuprofen (Dr. recommends ibuprofen only) become harder on your body than one or two pain pills...that is something not often discussed..
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Avatar universal
I agree about asking your doc about Ativan.I was told it's better on your liver then Valium.It worked well for me,I took it near the end of tx. Vicoden is a great pain reliever. However since it contains Tylonol I decided to switch to Oxycodone. However my pain is chronic and I'm still taking pain relievers post tx.I did'nt want to keep taking tylonol in the Vicoden. Many people have a difficult time at your stage of tx so if you feel like you need helper meds don't feel bad. One of my doctors said to me "I hope your not taking Ibuprofin", others didn't seem to be bothered by it.I don't like it because it's not effective for me and shreds my stomach.I hope you feel well and keep up the good fight.
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Avatar universal
It was about at the 24 week Mile marker that I had to up my dosage on ADs for the same reasons.... just irritable, & hyped up.... & I knew when I wanted to make road kill out of the DOT Worker (little traffic Flag dude) that it was clearly time to do something! That's when they put me on Xanex too!

It's okay to take helper drugs, I mean hats off to the folks that don't need ADs.... but unfortunately I was one that required them, & probably would have never made it thru TX without em.... & we don't have to take them forever...the day I took my last Riba, I took my last AD... I didn't even bother to cut the dosage in half or ween myself... the day I stopped TX I stopped every other helper drug all at once... so it's not like we get addicted to them!

So remaining on TX as comfortably as possible is all you need to keep in mind... & mean WHY suffer thru it, if you don't have too... that's what the helper drugs are there for!

Just MHO of-course!
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Avatar universal
If you get a chance, you might want to check out a recent thread over at Janis  http://janis7hepc.com/ on NSAIDs (like Ibuprofen) versus Tylenol on treatment.

For some reason I can't link the thread but you can find it under "Questions and Concerns" on the address bar all the way to the left. The title of the thread is "Tylenol or the NSAID's...which is better" and will be on a list after you click on "30,XXX Msgs" at the top of the "Questions and Concerns" Bar.

Maybe I read your last post incorrectly but you ask if 12-15 ibuprofen are worse than 1-2 pain pills. Ibuprophen are pain pills so maybe you meant something else, but in any event often hard to compare one group of drugs to another, especially in terms of quantity. Look at what one little shot of Peg does :)

-- Jim
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Avatar universal
I'm glad you were able to stop both the ADs and Xanax at the completion of treatment.

Hopefully, I didn't give the impression I was against helper drugs, just thought I'd throw out some personal thoughts/observations where the shoe fit. In your case, you obviously took the right course.

Unlike ADs, I've always heard that both Xanax and many sleep meds are addictive, but apparently you didn't have any problems stopping. I happen to be fairly sensitive to drugs and the one day I took Xanax I became very groggy and kept bumping into walls.

Like anything else, one size doesn't fit all here, and we have to calculate the risks versus rewards of what we pop in our mouth, or for that matter inject in our stomach.

BTW nice pics of yourself, below in the old rosacea thread. Good looking lady for those that might have missed although bikini shots are always preferred :)

-- Jim
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Avatar universal
Fish,,,I so remember those achy days and feeling like you had been wound up tight!  My dr also told me to take ibuprofen but I didn't take near that many in one given day.  And yes,,,that many vs a couple of pain pills,,,,I would say pain pills would be better if you had to choose.  I would try to take 2 ibuprofen in morning and that would help relieve some of that achy feeling but wouldn't take anymore until later at night and only if it was a bad day.  Those days that you are feeling very tense and agitated,,,,Ask your dr to give you Xanax,,,,that will help you relax and not feel like you are ready to strangle someone or lol chase a fly down all day!  And I only took one of those ever so often!  Hope this helps some and you get something to help you!
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Avatar universal
I guess I should have qualified it: 12-15 OTC pain meds vs 2 or 3 prescription pain meds... there has to be a point that it becomes better to go prescription than to keep on taking that much OTC stuff.........
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Avatar universal
Ahh. Haven't eaten yet, so low glucose levels are my excuse. Never looked into rx pain meds, but I was so foggy/weak  most of the time on tx that I was hesitant to take anything that made things worse. What I didn't take in pain meds, I more than made up for with antibiotics and PPIs like Nexium.

-- Jim
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131817 tn?1209529311
I sure would think that taking pain meds would be preferable than taking that many advils etc. I take codiene/fiornal for headaches and aches etc. I may take 4-6 a day and need them. Pain is the pits and for me OTC drugs don't usually work. QOL is important and if the rx pain meds help, you should consider taking them.

I take ambien sometimes for sleep. I get hyped up too, probably the Riba, sometimes the pain. One dr. told me taking Ambien 3-4 days a week is how it should be done. They help.

I have tried Xanax for anxiety and it didn't work. I hear ativan is good, but a different type of drug. It puts me out for hours. If I am so shakey and haven't slept that would be a good idea. I may get some for those occaisons.

I take Prozac for depression, but it does nothing for any other sx, like riba rage, sleep, etc.

It is amazing how my drawer of pills grew once on tx. I was wondering what everyone was talking about when I started. I know that besides the pain meds, everything else I don't need to take  regularly and therefore will not be dependent on it afterwards.
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Avatar universal
LoL....I deleted them at that midnight deadline... Haaa, Haa & I'll have you know that with all the atrophy I developed on tx that 5 months post TX I am NOWHERE NEAR getting into a bikini, someone might mistake the blubber & call green peace on me if I even attempted to slide on on.... Tee Hee.....I'm convienced that the bikini days  are forever gone... But Thanks!

BTW... I hadn't even read your post yet when I posted... I had only read Fish's... & then AFTERWARDS I looked & though "Oh Shoot" I hope Jim Didn't take that wrong too... soo nooo nooo.... I should have read first & worded that differently,,,, it is "I" whom hoped you didn't take offence...

I have to be honest & tell ya, I was worried about coming of the Xanax for sure... because I (for lack of a better way of putting it) probably abused those...  It was easy to do because my insuranse would only pay for 17 ambian a month... but I could get 30 dang Xanex (Go Figure)

I mean I built up a tolerance & could eat those things like Candy... I mean I didn't have a job to hold down, pretty much became a recluse...didn't "HAVE" to go anywhere, pretty much quit driving... even had my grocery shopping done for me... so what the heck... I'd just pop XanAx & attempt to sleep my way thru TX & Household stress.. So That's why I quit everything cold turkey...(Now If ONLY I could do that with my Cigarettes) & I didn't have a problem doing that as far as the drugs where concerned because it felt sooo dang good getting all that out of my system... & I wanted to see how quickly I could bounce back, but I literally soaked my bed sheets with night sweats for weeks (probably because I was soo saturated)& was sweating the drugs out of my system.

Also I developed my menses problems AFTER TX, & I am still not all that convienced that I was going menpausal (as I am too young)& that problem seems to be gradually leveling out... so that might of been due to just stopping everything at once... being as I got dismissed as a patient during my PANIC Mode when my Insurance gave out & TX abruptly stopped... I had no Doc to ask these things & just winged it all...

But I had a brief relapse toward my ambien....I did, & still do have MAJOR sleep problems & have broke down & got the ambien script filled, but out of pocket they were sooo dang expensive, that I horded em & saved as an emergency back-up & wouldn't take one until I wind up going like 36 hours with no sleep! But My Better half whom dispises drugs all together FOUND My Stash & Threw them out...LoL...Now No Doc & No Left-over script... That's part of why I am working on this new diet & exercise regime! Hope it works! Haa, Haa!

IF I Had them easily assesable I would probably still prefer my beloved ambien, but as SF mentioned (It was amazing how my drawer of pills grew on tx) Heck my dosages wouldn't even fit in that little ol pill container they give us... Ha... & that container is the FIRST DANG THING I got rid of out too!

Also when I stressed out over my kid once I QUICKLY jumped on that opportunity to call my general practitioner & get a weeks worth of valium... but discoverd I can't take those after 1 dose, call me stupid & I know better, but I had a glass & 1/2 of wine & that pill kicked in & rocked my world, & needless to say I never took another one, & the very thought of one makes me want to toss my cookies... so that's always a good & a hard way to make you never want to take another pill...LoL

Live & Learn... so to be 100% honest, maybe really I did have a few difficulties along the way after-all ehh!!!! I'm not super woman afterall.... Ha!
;)
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Avatar universal
ANGEL FISHIE DOC!!!!! GET YOUR BOOTIE UP TO THAT E.R.!!!!!! I can't believe you aren't there yet!! Any chest pain is an emergency!!! (Even a tingly finger gets in before a broken arm! Let alone chest pain!! Thats some serious sh*t my dear!)

I agree with the comparison between 9-14 ibuprofen and a simple pain med...gee whiz. I'm surprised you haven't got some already.

DIDJA GET HIMS MAMA YET?????? (hee hee hee) Don't hurt yurself this time tho!!!
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Avatar universal
Okay this is a really elementary question but I don't know the anwser.  I read that you should only take 500mg of Tylenol (my doctor prefers tylenol over Ibuprofen).  That hardly cut anything.  I took a coupld during the day at different times just to ease those flue like symptoms.  Not sure but I am hoping it was okay to take them yesterday as well instead of just during the onslot of the sides.
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Avatar universal
I pretty sure  I've read you can take up to 2000 mg of Tylenol a day on treatment, which would be 4 Xtra Strength in a 24-hour period. Keep in mind that other OTC products may contain Tylenol's active ingredient (Acetaminophen) so that also has to be taken into consideration when computing the 2000 mgs. Of course, check with other sources and perhaps your doctor has a reason for only recommending 500mg based on your medical history.

-- Jim
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Avatar universal
Thanks for so many suggestions...

SFbaygirl, its a fine dance we do along the edge of the precipe,  and I guess I need to try and fine tune it... I think 9-12 ibuprofen a day is too many also..

pdilly- tylenol does not do squat for me... might as well be eating skittles...I cant even tell I took them!!

Hopefully this thread will give folks a reason to ponder the point where otc in quantity are more harmful than prescriptions... I am waiting on a call from my son, I'm going to get his advice, and I will post what he says (PA).
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Avatar universal
Yup, your statement is sooo very true.... I really like your train of thought!
;)
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131817 tn?1209529311
If your ibuprofen is 200 mg, then you are taking up to 3 800 mg. pills a day. This is what dr's say to take with acute pain. Not sure what the max is for us. They help me as much as skiddles (good one!) so I take the codiene. Fine tuning is exactly what needs to be done with these drugs. Figuring out what works, what doesn't etc. takes time too. You have about the same amt. of time left as I do and I know I couldn't go 6 more months with the pain you describe.

Sometimes I do take ambien for mild pain to sleep. It wouldn't work with major pain though. Pain can cause anxiety, so it does sound like you need some RX pain meds. Some here have talked about vicophrofen. Supposedly this goes through the kidneys, not the liver. Perhaps you can ask your dr. about trying it.
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