Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Question about NSAID's

I have started taking Naproxen 500mg. The bottle says to take 1 two times daily. My question is do I take it every day for it to work. Or do I just take it when I have pain?
Today I woke up without any stiffness or pain so wasn't going to take it, but I took one last night before bed so that could have kept the pain away this morning.
It days like this that I question if it really is AS since I feel much better.

Hi

In my opinion and many others here, you should take it daily. I would give it a month or so and if you want you could try decreasing it. That said , only if your stomach can tolerate the drug. All NSAIDS cause GI upset at sometime.
When I was taking NSAIDS I took them daily for 25 years. I would try occasionally to decrease and the pain would increase. There is evidence now that long-term use of NSAIDS slows down the progression of the disease. It certainly did with me. I have very little fusing and am now 52. started when I was 24. I am glad your feeling better, be careful with your stomach and coffee consumption and other stomach irritants.

Janet

Thank you for replying. After saying I feel better the pain has come back, so it must have been the Naproxen that is keeping it away. I really hate taking medication but I guess if I want to keep the pain away I will need to keep taking it.
Obviously my Dr meant every day otherwise it would've said on the bottle when needed.
Is that a good sign if it is working? My Dr said something about it being a good test if I do have AS before I see a rheumatologist. If it wasn't inflammation then It most likely wouldn't work would it?

Twice daily, 500mg morning and 500mg at night, and make sure you are taking PPI like prilosec to protect your stomach.

I use when I cannot stand the pain. I think it takes 1 week to 2 weeks of everyday use at the anti-inflammatory dose to get that effect.

They do work in the right setting. In AS esp. with bowel disease or the propensity for sure you will increase their effectiveness by uninflaming that area cause they cause inflammation there which will inflame your back in turn.

I could never sustain nsaids and a lot of people typically have to switch. I'm not sure on their roll nowadays. There are studies they slow the fusing process but I know they cause inflammation the same. They might work if administered properly but especially in this case I have no trust for them.

Yes, to really knock inflammation you usually do need to take it at full doses, and regularly. Yes, if it does have a significant positive effect (even if it doesn't knock it completely) then it will add to the evidence for it being inflammatory (response to NSAIDs is part of criteria for inflammatory back pain). Also the fact that pain returns when you stop taking NSAIDs is also useful for the rheumatologist to know.

Thanks, can it start working straight away when taking it? I have only been taking it for 5 days but can notice a difference already. Even after taking the first dose I didn't have as much pain. Is it even possible to work immediately like that or do you need to be taking NSAID for a few weeks for them to fully work? Should I try for a month and then stop and see if the pain comes back

I did not know that about nsaids. Great information, thank you!

NSAIDs can work very quickly - some criteria for inflammatory back pain state that you should have a positive result within 24-48 hours, though I do know that some folk can take a couple of weeks to get full benefit from them. I definitely used to see good results within 48 hours, and would get pain returning within 24-48 hours of stopping them.

That's really good to know, thanks. I will see what happens over the next few days and if the pain comes back