Anti Inflamatory Medications...may damage your stomach lining!

Chest and lungs
1

For decades now I have refused anti inflammatory medications as they damage your stomach lining. I was offered them on countless occasions as a weapon against sarcoid.

Recently a GP new to me who has a relative with sarcoid said "I understand you concern, why not take a medication to settle and protect your stomach whilst taking anti inflammatory medications"

I did this for two months and noted some success, not a cure but an improvement. My ferrintin levels have reduced slightly for the first time ever.

I have gone back to her and increased the dose. Too early to report to you at this stage if there have been any more improvements.

I found this interesting and perhaps may help other sufferers.

2

I have taken anti-inflamatory medication (prednisone - 16mg/day) for 2 years in the past and since 4 months now. I've never had any issues with my stomach. My doc told me that as long as I take the medication after I eat and then drink a lot of fluids during the day, I should be fine. As far as I know, the problems usually start when patients take the medication on empty stomach...

All the best, Tangles

3

Took Prednisolone for 7yrs. To protect the stomach lining I was put on Omeprazole at the same time and had no problems.

4

Tazchurch

Omeprazole

Yes that is what I am using now.

Damage to stomach lining happens with long term exposure to anti-inflamatory. This damage happens very slowly and is not apparent till it is in an advanced state.

I spent several years on them when first diagnosed back in the 80's.

Once I realised I was being damaged I stopped taking that medication. Only took the prednisolone after that.

I was on Inderal as well at that time and it was doing damage.

Regards to all

Tangles

5

I'm now on Ibuprofen and my epilepsy medication, which been on over 25yrs, can also damage the stomach lining as can something else I have to take for asthma, so I am on Omeprazole permanently to try and prevent damage.

Checks have now been suggested including a colonoscopy and probably an endoscopy as well.

6

Tazchurch

Those tests are great

They are precise in there results.

You will know exactly what is going on instead of guessing.

Best of all  both test can be done on the same day so you only need the proceedure once.

Strongly recommend 

Regards

Tangles

7

Read they are agony so terrified

8

Tazchurch

you are under during the procedure and remember nothing of the event. So where is the terror part?

I will admit that the cleansing required in the days leading up to having the procedure is not pleasant.

Or at least annoying. 

There is no pain at all in the procedure.

I have had them several times for Diverticulitis.

I now treat it as another day in my life.

Biggest pain here is you cannot drive yourself home so I have to organize somebody to drive you home for safety reasons.

Regards

​Tangles.

9

not done under General Anaesthetic here.

Hospital not forthcoming and sending letter with date and hopefully information. As a result had to check NHS choices as a result and people's comments on there are that sedation does not work making it agonising.

What do you mean about days leading up to it not being pleasant? Sounds like more pain.😪

10

I have had the procedure four or five times.

Sedation has been fine for me and everyone I have spoken to who have had similar procedures also no pain. No pain at all. No recollection of the procedure.

Days leading up to procedure I think about three days from memory you have to follow diet instructions. On the day before, you have to take a medication to clear your bowels. This includes some time spent on the toilet. Again no pain involved but some inconvienience.

I can only talk about my own experiences and these included sedation working fine and no pain on each and every time I have had the procedure. I have a review procedure every five years.

If you go ahead I strongly suggest you get both done at the same time.

Hope it all works out for you OK

Tangles

11

Hi Tangles, can you be specific about the anti inflammatory you are discussing. I ask as I am only taking ibuprofen as anti inflam. I have refused steroids for 3 years, but often go for months during summer especially with almost no symptoms, I also seriously think I have allergies that are my triggers for a flare up.

I have only been offered steroids, which I did take for 5 days 2 years ago when I was very poorly.I am scarred to take them, not only was i ravenous all the time, but I nursed my mother in law for years who had lived on steroids for years and her skin just tore and bled all the time, it was terrible. She had been a heavy smoker for many years and I have never smoked. I just feel I need to explore gentle treatments as much as possible.

Hope you are much better

Now I take antihistamine in the morning, with a decongestant before bed, and ibuprofen throughout the day. And a salamol easy breath inhaler 4 times a day is I need it.

I hope you are feeling better.

12

Hi Earthia

I love your message, some great questions and an incredible statement.

Statement first: “I also seriously think I have allergies that are my triggers for a flare up”

The medical profession do not know what triggers sarcoid. If you can identify what allergies trigger your flare up then you would do all of us a hugh favor!

Let us know your thoughs on these triggers.

 

Steroids have both good points and also bad points. I am no doctor but here are some thoughts from my long term experience with Sarcoid. Now in excess of thirty years.

Good:

1.    Builds muscle tissue, essential for someone who has been sick for a long time and may well not realize that muscle wasting has been going on.

2.    Reduces joint inflammation making movement more comfortable and improving the range of joint movement.

3.    Reduces scar tissue in the lungs.

Bad:

1.    Major increase in appetite, meaning you eat a lot more and yes you add alarming to your waist line and the weight scales become your enemy because they must be lying.

2.    Bone density decreases if you have long term exposure to anti inflammatory.

3.    Stomach lining is adversely affected again with long term exposure.

 

The decision or not to take the medication will be different for every person. If you are seriously ill with Sarcoid then you will take the medication willingly and not bother yourself with side effects.

In my case I was dying so the choice factor was easy. It took the medication and received both the benefits and the side effects.

I was on 60mg of steroid which is a huge dose. For a prolonged period of time as there were no improvements till around the two year mark. The doctors here in Australia at that time knew very little if in fact anything at all about Sarcoid. They relied of info they were getting from their American counter parts.

I then took a further two years to take me off them gradually as I was on such a high dose level.

So four year exposure at very high exposure. At the same time they had me on Ibrafan??? Long time ago may have the name wrong. It is an anti-inflammatory; I stopped taking these when I heard of their side effects to the stomach. I had been on them for that same four years.

Thirty years later…my joint pain is such that I have had to take action to improving my mobility.

One doctor suggested on start again on anti inflammatory with the addition of a stomach protector. Taking both at the same time. I am feeling some benefits without any stomach problems. So I have gone back and increased the strength with her in consultation.

Down to the facts;

Inzac tabs 500mg twice a day

Omparzole 20mg once a day.

 

Tzchurch said in a post above. “So I am on Omeprazole permanently to try and prevent damage”.

I can only assume that they are working for Tzchurch.

Also a good post from Magdafloasiou “My doc told me that as long as I take the medication after I eat and then drink a lot of fluids during the day, I should be fine. As far as I know, the problems usually start when patients take the medication on empty stomach...”

They are two great posts.

All in all a long answer to some great questions…thanks for them Earthia

13

Oh Tangles, you have been sooo ll. It sounds as though you have good control now though, what a relief .Yes you are right , when faced with the worst scenario we will accept any life line regardless of the possible side effects.l.  Mine happened 3 years ago when I displaced my appendix  which ended up gangreneous,

But its the coughing that is so debilitating. I have had joint and bone and muscle pains to a greater or lesser degree all my life .Various vague diagnosis -rhuematisism, arthritus often they had no suggestion. I had a serious virus when I was 2 or 3 years old, not sure as no one can decipher the handwriting on my notes, anyway nearly 60 years ago they had so little understanding. My instinct is that that was what weakened me. but we will never know. I did discover about 10 years ago that dairy was not my friend and have since seena nutritional therapist who said to remove all meat dairy, soya, wheat flour, refined sugar and  take flax seed every day along with good foodsAll seeds and nuts must be soaked overnight to enable your body to extract as much goodness as easliy as possible.I eat almost no meat, do drink fresh vegatable juice almost daily The effect has been huge, not instant but i can play a short (5 minutes) game of badmington with the granchildren., wonderful. apart from my breathing being bad sometimes, and the cough the same  I have never been better, I have also moved house  into a damp woodland area as I am always better outside in the damp air, I often garden in the rain, hubby thinks I am crackers but it works for me. I have a hopsital appt on Thursday so will be interesting to see my breathing tests now.

Hope we all find our path back to health and happiness, every day is an experiment . I dont go to crowded places so I dont pick up too many germs, always wear a mask when I vacuum or change beds, wash my vacuum filter every day, but dont live in a sterile area, just try to minimise effects. Hope there may be something helpful in this long letter. thanks so much for your positive reply.

14

Omeprazole 20mg dose,  is working at the moment though unlike you I have to take it twice a day.

15

Thanks and will ask for both to be done at the same time

16

Hi Earthia

we have a great cough suppressant here in Australia. It tastes like drinking tar but does a great job. I have often use to it over the years. I had a lot of lung issues when I was young and this always helped. Hope you can buy it where you live.

Waterbury's Compound oral liquid

500ml General Tonic.

Changing topics;

are you able to identify any of the triggers you believe trigger your sarcoid?

Regards Tangles

 

17

Thanks for that , waterburys available online, but I see it contains creosote ? isnt that what we used to put on fence panels and is banned as its carcenogenic?  So many questions.

Anyway about the allergy triggers, I know guinea pigs and stargazer lillies, ha ha, perfumes, airfreshners to name a few.I seem to be very sensitive to aromas however a bonfire of wood/leaves etc doesnt make me cough, but car fumes either diesel or petrol do irritate me. When driving I have the air on recirculate, try to avoid towns/ cities because of the exhaust fumes.

I do use a variety of essential oils such as lavender, eucalyptus, bergamot, teatree to help my breathing, and I have a salt pipe which i feel helps when my chest is very congested.

What have you found that triggers your  symptoms?

18

Hi Earthia

I cannot find any triggers that is why I was interested to find out what you had to say. Thanks for your response really interesting.

I live close to three coal fired power plants and feel that they played a part in my sarcoid. Emitting all sorts of gases that humans were never intended to inhale.

"Waterbury’s available online, but I see it contains creosote? isn’t that what we used to put on fence panels and is banned as its carcenogenic"?

Really good question wish I had an equally good answer to go with it. I did not know it had cresote in it. It has been a great cure for me when all else fails to fix a health issue. I then remember the Waterbury’s from my childhood. It works every time for me. No wonder it tastes like tar!!!

For my limited exposure when I have chest of throat issues I will continue to use it knowing that any problem components will give me only small traces. I only take about twice a year for a week or two.

Regards

Tangles

19

As you say, taking it occasionally is not as bad as the effect of the  coughing you need to stop.  Shame about the power stations. I suppose that moving is out of the question or you would have done it. Do you work ? what about that environment?  carpets, furniture etc all emit chemicals when they are new though much less with new legislation.

Our local fields grow linseed and oil seed rape, when they are in full bloom that literally takes my breath away, cough cough cough.

Do you have aches and pains, and swollen glands, I do, but can relieve the aches and pains with Trigger point therapy, basically you find trigger points which are already decided upon by doctors, then gently feel them and around then with the tips not the pads of your fingers and where there is pain you VERY gently massage in all directions for about a minute. You might feellots of little lumps. When I first discovered this every square inch of my legs and chest were painful, dozens and dozens of pain points, now only have a few and regularly massage all the area and amazingly the swelling around my knees disappeared, and relieves pain.

Oh another "offender". I tried to read some of my childhood books to my grandchildren but the "smell" of the paper makes me cough, very interesting. I am a 60 year old grandmother and have worked in the health service, education and industry over the years. Perhaps that has played a part in it. Perhaps I will never know.

Hope todays  a good day for you.

Off to the hospital for a check up today, they dont like the fact that I wont take steroids, The G,P I see asks me what I need but I want to think of him as the expert as all the things I take I have decided to take, then I tell the G.P and he says ok.  I have had no treatment offered except steroids. Its a difficult disease isnt it, as individual as each person who suffers from it I gather. Anyway on a happier note, my neighbours came round unexpectedly last night and sang christmas carols in my living room. Delightful - it was good medicine ha ha.

20

Hi Earthia

You are correct, to move would be a major disruption to the family with them well established in our neighborhood. However it is not fully out of the question.

Interesting comments you have made. We have only recently started with a masseur. She will be working on my legs and ankles next week. I will mention it to her.

Steroids seems to be their only weapon. Don't rule out anti-inflammatory but long term use has it problems. This was the point of raising article in the first place.

​Great to hear you have such great neighbors with joyous Christmas carols in your living room.