Okay, I have a scrip for Celebrex, but as it isn’t covered on my insurance company’s formulary, it’s costing me a small fortune to buy. I talked to one of the ER docs at the hospital where I work, and he told me the above: Taking 2 Tylenol a day for a month (I assume to get it into one’s system) and then a maintenance dose daily (he didn’t say what the maintenance dose would be, but I assume one) and I can effectively control the pain in my arthritic fingers.
I did a Google search, but only turned up a “testimonial” that included the above plus one ounce of Noni juice a day.
So I’m hoping one of our medical Dopers can shed some light on this to see if the claim has any validity. Maybe it’s in a medical journal and hasn’t found its way into a search engine yet, or it’s a medical urban myth?
I had the same problem.
Just ask your physician for another script for a generic substitute.
Most insurance companies have a list of the names of meds they will pay for.
I’m currently taking tylenol ,I may be developing a allergy to my regular arthritis med, and 6 a day sometimes isn’t enough.
Lots of new arthritis meds to choose from.
Call your insurance company and ask which COX-2 inhibitor they do have on their formulary. Your choices are Celebrex (obviously not), Bextra, or Vioxx. They likely have one of the three. Then ask your MD to change your 'script to that one.
Tylenol is a pain reliever/fever reducer, but it has no anti-inflammatory properties like aspirin, ibuprofen and other NSAIDs or COX-2 inhibitors. It is a good pain reliever however, and you could certainly give it a try for your pain.
IANAD, yet…use only as directed, YMMV, call your MD
What USCdiver said. But basically, the anti-inflammatory effect of the NSAIDS is most helpful in Rheumatoid Arthritis, and most of the relief one gets in osteoarthritis is from the analgesic effect of the NSAID. And frankly, for analgesia, NSAIDS are pretty much the same as tylenol.
To get anti-inflammatory effects from an NSAID, one must take it regularly for 2 to 3 weeks. For Ibuprofen that means 600 mg 4 x a day, for indocin 25 mpg 3 x a day, for naproxen 375-500 2 times a day, for piroxicam 20 1 x a day. Regularly!.
So try tylenol. If ones liver is normal, one can handle regular doses of tylenol chronically.
Just wanted to stick my head into say that I LOOOOOOVE Vioxx for my arthritic ankle. If I’m out of it or have left it at home, ibuprofen works most of the time.
Clinerol is the drug prescribed and sulindac its generic name.
Naproxen is available in non prescription now. Its infamous for stomach problems though.
When I was first diagnosed with arth. I was given 4 samples with instructions to try each
for 2 weeks and see which worked best. I could see no difference. I also reported that tylenol worked just fine.
The new arthritis drugs are easier on the stomach.
I got very good results with Celebrex, which is a COX-2 inhibitor anit-inflammatory. Tylenol never did anything for a headache, so for me it would have had exactly zero pain relief use, and as previously stated, it lacks the anti-inflammatory properties. My MD and orthopedist both told me that the anti-inflammatories can help with osteoarthritis as well, since that is made worse by inflammation. Of course, nothing cures it.
Tylenol (acetamiophen) provides similar pain relief, but less anti-inflammatory actions than NSAIDs (such as aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac etc.)
Most people with normal livers can easily tolerate up to three grams of Tylenol a day.
Tylenol causes less gastrointestinal bleeding than NSAIDs. This is a concern in patients over fifty, particularly with a history of peptic ulcer or black stools.
Thus, many arthritis societies would recommend acetaminophen as a first line agent, to the maximum dose of 3 grams/day. For those with mild arthritis, this may be enough.
If there is still pain, it would be worth adding an NSAID. While different ones work well for different people, ibuprofen is a reasonable first choice, balancing lower cost with high efficacy.
People with a history of GI bleeds, and elderly people at risk for bleeds are often prescribed Celebrex, Vioxx (or partial COX-2 inhibitors like Mobicox). In practice, the reduction in GI bleeding is not as good as originally thought. Many doctors would add an additional medicine to reduce this risk (such as a PPI like Losec, ending in “prazole”; or instruct these medicines be taken with food).
In answer to your question, Tylenol, up to 3 grams a day, is a very reasonable first thing to try. You want the lowest maintenance dose that controls your symptoms most of the time. No pain medicine relieves pain 100% of the time.