NSAIDs

Personally, I’m a big fan of anti-inflammatories, and have used them long-term with no problems so far.  What I really like about them is that they actually DO something!  NSAIDs reduce inflammation in the body, thus reducing the level of arthritic pain, and for me this is extremely important – OK, so the level of pain isn’t massively reduced, but it’s something, it’s physical, it’s real, and it’s progress of sorts.  The main reason for this little outburst is that there are so many drugs which DON’T actually do anything for your body – for example, painkillers.  Painkillers lie.  They lie to your brain, telling you that you have no pain which, to a point, is good because it takes the pain away if only temporarily, but only (and this is important) because you believe it to be so.  In the meantime, there is absolutely no progress or healing going on, and in some cases further physical damage is taking place but is unrecognised.

Anti-inflammatories are not a perfect drug, and there are certain issues with their use, especially if it is long-term, as in the case of arthritis.  NSAIDs can impact detrimentally on your stomach, causing damage to the stomach lining and are thought to be responsible for the development of stomach ulcers.  Therefore, monitoring their use is important and I now am required by my GP to have regular blood tests to check that all is well.  However, there are now NSAIDs being manufactured which have a type of ‘coating’ which is said to protect the stomach lining from damage.

Something else worth noting is the impact of NSAIDs on your blood’s consistency and ability to clot.  Last year I was taking anti-coagulents after surgery and was not allowed to take NSAIDs alongside these because, as I understood it, my blood would become too thin.  Here is an article which reiterates this, arguing that anti-inflammatories should not be taken alongside blood-thinners, and how NSAIDs appear to impact on blood platelets.

I see NSAIDs as the unsung heroes of arthritic pain.  They tick over quietly in the background and most of the time you could be forgiven for thinking that they’re not doing anything, but believe me, they are.  They certainly don’t wallop the pain in the heroic manner that painkillers do, but I think it is only when you stop taking anti-inflammatories that you realise how much they actually do for you.  Following an enforced break from them for 8 weeks last year, I really noticed an immediate difference when I was finally allowed to use them again, and if I ever had to make a choice over using NSAIDs or painkillers, NSAIDs would win every time.