Kinda achey. The thing is, I did try to bring up my aches and pains and subsequent ibuprofen usage with my GP during a physical last month, but he seemed to just tune me out. I think he sees a lot of older people and probably the achey joint griping just becomes background noise for him. Maybe if he had heard how much ibuprofen I was taking he might have cautioned me at that time. As it was, since I didn’t experience much in the way of stomach upset ahead of time, it didn’t occur to me that I was doing any damage until the ER night.
It’s funny - we think of those meds as so safe and innocuous until SURPRISE!!
I was on OTC-strength ibuprofen reasonably constantly for several months over the fall (due to shoulder and knee pain). Not excessive - 4-6 tablets a day. But when my gallbladder flared and I had to have blood drawn I got a nasty bruise around the needle. Clearly it was affecting my ability to clot. It wasn’t affecting my gut (but then I was already on acid reducers).
Oooh - just noticed: you said ibuprofen and Aleve. Were you taking the two at once???
In addition to adding a stomach protector such as misoprostol, maybe use of acid reducers (antacids or proton-pump inhibitors such as Prilosec) would allow you to get NSAID-like benefits? Definitely something to discuss with your doctor!!