Are ANY painkillers not a risk anymore??? - Menopause Message Board

pammar · 12-26-2004, 02:59 PM

Ok, now Alieve is bad for your heart. I have lotsa aches and pains, although I'm in pretty good shape overall. I take a lot of Ibuprofen, but Alieve is better and lasts longer. Can we take Advil or does THAT cause something too? I also heard that asprin is now linked to more strokes. HELP! I can't even take Black Cohosh Root for how sweaty I get because anyone prone to breast cancer in the family or in the history COULD be at risk, although they aren't sure. And, of course, vitamin E, which is good for hot flashes, is now a risk for heart disease over 200 mgs. ****! What are we supposed to take for the symptoms? Estrogen is out for me, and I wouldn't take it even if I could because of all THOSE warnings (which sound serious to me). I'm 51 and at the age when I do have to worry about heart disease, although it's not very strong in my family and I never smoked. Still......what do you gals do when you get bad cramps or leg pains or sweats? I need to hear from those not on hormones. Thanks for any feedback.

molly123 · 12-26-2004, 04:30 PM

Hi Pammar,
I heard something about Aleve too. I thought it was bad only if you take too much. The bottle said not not exceed 3 pills/day. How many are you taking where it's working for you? Do you end up being pretty pain free?

I know that if you take a lot of Acetaminophen it affects your liver; a lot of aspirin can make your stomach bleed and they say to take it b/c it's good for the heart but yet it causes strokes too (which happened to a friend of mine).

My dr. recommended that I can take Advil (Ibuprofen 200mg) up to 3X a day (3 pills each time max, if needed) when I had these weird headaches (which weren't headaches but fuzzy brain or something). He also said Ibuprofen is stronger than Acetaminophen. Did a quick search on Advil, and it says it can relieve some symptoms caused by arthritis (rheumatism), such as inflammation, swelling, stiffness, and joint pain. It doesn't cure arthritis and will help you only as long as you continue to take it - so maybe that's the secret to Ibuprofen. And...maybe that's my problem - with my achy joints, I keep taking this and that, switching from one pain killer to another - maybe I should stick to one and see what happens. Are yours aches chronic? Think mine are - it really seems to act up if I do a lot of physical work....and if I sit too long. What's a gal to do?

As with hot flashes, I noticed I started getting them again after several months of not having any. They last only about 5 mins. but I get them about 10X a day sometimes. I am taking Vit E already, and Evening Primose which is suppose to help with a lot of the menopause symptoms. I have been lacking off on taking Soy (160mg/day) which is suppose to help and maybe that's what was helping me before. I guess I'm not being too helpful here...I'm in a similar boat as you are too...

molly

1awesomegranny · 01-01-2005, 01:53 PM

Hi Pammar...
My doc also told me to take Advil, I use the liquid filled gel caps and they don't seem to upset my stomach like the hard pills do, maybe because the capsule disolves quicker and it goes right to liquid...but I did notice on the bottle it says take only one, and shoot when I was taking the hard pills I was taking 2 or 3 at a time!!! And they both say 200 mg...who knows why the diff dosage. One seems to do the trick, unless I'm in major pain and then I take two. Hope this helps!!! Ain't it fun being a girl? lol
Happy New Year All!!!
Conni