Read years ago that having an aspirin a day is good for you - and since then, many reports have shown it to be good for the heart and for lowering the risk of certain types of cancer. Every doctor I have ever spoken with agrees it is a good thing to be doing.
I have been taking one aspirin a day for about 12 years now.
Anyone else doing this?
This is news to me. [tinfoil hat]Would the doctors benefit in some way by reccomending this?[/tinfoil hat]
I’ve started taking one melatonin (2mg) tablet a day. (at night actually)
IIRC, Asprin is supposed to be good for you because it thins the blood, putting less strain on the heart. It’s supposed to be a good idea to take an asprin before embarking on a long distance flight, to reduce the risk of deep-vein thrombosis.
No, I don’t take one a day for medical reasons, but I average close to that anyway due to the number of headaches I get (non alchohol-related).
More like every other day, but fairly regularly.
Most days I do. At leat, when I remember to. My Dr. was very insistent that this was a great idea and I have read enough articles that agree that I have been doing so for about 3 years.
Yes, I have take an aspirin every day for about 8 years now. A physician recommended it, and I’m sure to bring it up in any encounter with a health professional. It’s important to let anyone poking a hole into you know that you’re on an anti-coagulant. No physician has questionned my taking the drug, nor have they recommended otherwise.
I am a likely candidate for hand surgery fairly soon (carpal tunnel) and will probably be advised to go off the ASA for at least a week beforehand.
Eff…
What I meant was:
Yes, I take an aspirin every day, and have for 8 years now.
I take one Aspirin (low dose, 75mg) a day on my doctor’s recommendation.
I took them for a couple of years before I found out they should be dissolved in water first. :eek:
They can affect the stomach lining apparently.
IIRC, all you need for heart health is the baby aspirin (81 mg), which is nice if you have stomach or liver problems. I work at a pharmacy, and most heart patients are on that rather than the full strength.
I have heard that vioxx and perhaps other medications can negate the benefits of daily aspirin. Now that I’m on another NSAID, I wonder if it does the same. I’m not taking the aspirin by the way.
Yes, on the suggestion of my doctor. A little tiny flavored children’s aspirin. Its like starting my day with a piece of candy.
Have done for about three years. No medical advice, but I’m a smoker and I’m aware of thrombosis and heart problems being alleviated a little by aspirin.
One baby asprin a day. My doctor recommended it based on family history of circulatory problems.
I do, but not for heart health.
When I was pregnant, because of a history of miscarriages, my doctor prescribed one low-dose aspirin per day. My understanding is that it thins the blood enough to allow for proper flow into a fetus. Apparently, my body has a problem doing this otherwise. It worked and I eventually delivered a healthy baby boy.
The day after delivery, when my doctor was checking me, he told me to just continue with the aspirin every day. That way, next time I got pregnant, I would be on it from the beginning of the pregnancy.
So, every day I’ve been popping an aspirin and a daily vitamin that contains 400 mcg of folic acid. 15 months after my son’s birth, my husband and I are attempting to create another one! Since my husband is planning to get the snip after one more child, I guess I’ll be able to stop taking the aspirin.
A daily low dose of aspirin should be considered for all adults who are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease and for whom aspirin is not contra-indicated. There is excellent evidence that this reduces the risk of heart attacks. This is a recommendation of the US Preventive Service task force:
Some physicians think it might be helpful in preventing thrombotic (clot-type) stroke in at-risk people also, but I’m unaware of how good the evidence is there. It’s not yet a recommendation.
Ask your doc if aspirin is right for you. It’s not for all people; those with history of hemorrhagic strokes, bleeding disorders, peptic ulcer disease may not be good candidates.
Aspirin dissolved in water can still cause gastric irritation. Same for enteric-coated aspirin, aspirin taken with food, etc. That is because it is not just the effect of the pill sitting in the stomach that causes the irritation (though there is some effect from that), but it is due mainly to aspirin inhibiting prostaglandins once it’s absorbed in the blood. This inhibition increases the chances of stomach irritation.
QtM, MD
Thanks, Doc, for clearing up the stomach thing. I always forget to ask my regular doc about that.
You are a treasure for the SDMB. 
Peace,
mangeorge
While I don’t take it myself (as a 20-something female in good health), I definitely try to remind my mother to take an aspirin every day (with her doctor’s approval of course).
However, it is definitely important to remember that aspirin isn’t a panacea. Another issue to keep in mind is that, while aspirin cuts the risk of some cancers like breast and colon cancer, there is concern that aspirin may slightly raise the risk of pancreatic cancer, which is unfortunately one of the most fatal cancers:
Doesn’t mean that taking aspirin is a bad idea, of course. It just goes to show that it’s important to weigh the risks with the guidance of a doctor.
I was taking one regular aspirin a day, and apparently it did cause irritation, because during one annual physical, my Dr found blood in the stool. After they did all the unpleasant tests to ensure that it was, in fact, not something other than aspirin, she yelled at me and told me to take the low strength (81 mg) aspirin, and I do.
Mr. Snugs and I started taking the 81 mg coated aspirin about six months ago. Guess it’s working - no heart attacks yet.
I took a full-strength (325 mg) plain aspirin for 15 years but cut back now I’m on Flomax, which can “cause dizziness”. I was having ready-to-fall- down dizziness in a.m, upon arising, and had to sit down on the bed before I would fall down.
After all the standard heart/circulation tests found no problems in that department, I stopped, on my own, the aspirin and the dizziness stopped. I now take it only sporadically and have downsized to the 81 mg enteric-coated type.
Dr. QtM’s mention that the enteric-coated type can also lead to upset stomach is the only time I’ve heard that. If so, then what is the purpose of the enteric coating? I always heard/thought it was because it delayed dissolution until after the stomach. I used to work near a pharmaceutical facility where they received plain aspirin tablets from manufacturers, applied the enteric coatings, and repackaged them in generic/house brand packages and shipped them to stores.
Also, some pinchpenny tips:
The heavily-advertised major aspirin brand(s) have the exact same active ingredient content (acetylsalicylic acid) as the generic/house ones but can cost several hundred percent more. The major reason why brand “A” or “B” cures more ills than any other brand is because so many people fall for the massive advertising campaign and pay more money to buy that brand.
The “extra-strength” ones may have 1.5 or 2 times the normal dose (bigger tablet) but can cost 3 or 4 times the price of the regular (325 mg) ones.
You can buy the cheapest 325 mg generic ones and cut them into 4 pieces with a pill cutter, and take one piece per day, much more cheaply than the bought 81 mg ones.