More reason to lay off the NSAIDs except in the case of serious pain. I take Arthrexin (indomethacin) and have often been quite casual about popping them, only recently realising how potent they are (and how they may well be working against my blood pressure tablets, something my GP apparently hasn’t noticed):

COMMON painkillers used by millions of people increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes by a third, an authoritative analysis indicates.
Arthritis patients taking high doses of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, need to know that they are running a slightly higher risk of dying of heart disease, researchers say.

The risks are similar to those posed by Vioxx, a painkiller withdrawn from sale in 2004 over concerns about its risks to the heart.

Read more: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/nsaid-painkillers-increase-heart-attack-risk-if-taken-in-high-doses/story-fnb64oi6-1226653598208

Well, high doses of just about anything is bad.

Too much vitamin A will send you blind, and cause your skin to come off in sheets, amongst other things.

captain_spalding said:

Well, high doses of just about anything is bad.

Too much vitamin A will send you blind, and cause your skin to come off in sheets, amongst other things.

Including death, in at least one recorded instance.

Bubblecar said:

The risks are similar to those posed by Vioxx, a painkiller withdrawn from sale in 2004 over concerns about its risks to the heart.

Bollocks.

But there is a risk of heart attack which varies between each NSAID, some worse than others.

Just remember: they’re not lollies.

Bubblecar said:

Just remember: they’re not lollies.

could always fill the box with lollies and close your eyes when getting one out.

Won’t make any difference if the pain is that chronic.

What about things like Nurofen for babies?

Divine Angel said:

What about things like Nurofen for babies?

The risk is somewhat related to long term use, depending.

Not as bad as chemo drugs anyway…

One such drug is diclofenac aka Voltaren. A potential direction for such drugs is to utilise them as nanoscale particles. This can reduce the dosage. I did some chemical equilibrium and process design work for a company that was hoping to produce nanoscale diclofenac. That was about 5 or 6 years ago. I don’t think it made it to market. It is difficult to get such things through the pH changes in the digestive system.

That’s very interesting, morrie.

morrie said:

One such drug is diclofenac aka Voltaren. A potential direction for such drugs is to utilise them as nanoscale particles. This can reduce the dosage. I did some chemical equilibrium and process design work for a company that was hoping to produce nanoscale diclofenac. That was about 5 or 6 years ago. I don’t think it made it to market. It is difficult to get such things through the pH changes in the digestive system.

Yep. Most drugs are absorbed in the intestine etc. and the gut does a good job at roughing them up before hand.

poikilotherm said:

morrie said:

One such drug is diclofenac aka Voltaren. A potential direction for such drugs is to utilise them as nanoscale particles. This can reduce the dosage. I did some chemical equilibrium and process design work for a company that was hoping to produce nanoscale diclofenac. That was about 5 or 6 years ago. I don’t think it made it to market. It is difficult to get such things through the pH changes in the digestive system.

Yep. Most drugs are absorbed in the intestine etc. and the gut does a good job at roughing them up before hand.

There does seem to have been a bit of work on nanoscale delivery systems. Here is a report on one for ocular application. That avoids the gut problems.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22732776

Buffy might even be interested in that one if she hasn’t heard of it.

> High doses of NSAID painkillers …

My doctor really really doesn’t like NSAIDs of any description, because of the higher rate of side effects. I’m very angry at him because I discovered topical diclofenac without his help. I need it for temporary relief from arthritis pain in my hands. He should have insisted that I use it two years before I discovered it myself, when I first complained that the arthritis pain in my hands had spiralled out of control. He still doesn’t like it.