A Warning to Those Taking Medication

This morning I got a call from Jordan. He wasn't feeling well and wanted to know if I would come and stay with him because his mother had to work. I did and though he was well behaved and helped me out, I'm tired tonight. The stairs at Michelle's play havoc with my arthritic knees.

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I said that the woman doctor who was taking my GP's place while he was on holidays gave me Pennsaid. Well, I've been using that and taking my Celebrex, which has helped. However, the pain is still quite evident even using these, so I have been taking ibuprofen.

Last night I was surfing the net and found that when you are using Pennsaid, you should not be taking ibuprofen. Apparently both are very hard on the stomach and when used together can cause internal bleeding. So today I called my pharmacist to confirm whether this was fact or fiction.

Now my pharmacist is on holidays so there was a lady taking his place. She told me I should not be using Pennsaid and taking iboprofen. Furthermore, I should not be taking Celebrex and iboprofen or using Pennsaid and Celebrex together. The lady doctor is the one that prescribed Celebrex, so she was definitely aware I was taking it when she prescribed the Pennsaid and then I was told if I was still in pain to take ibuprofen. GRRR!!!

I am tired and am not sure if this is as clear as mud, so I will break it down.

* Do not take ibuprofen if you are taking Celebrex.

* Do not take ibuprofen is you are using Pennsaid.

* Do not use Pennsaid if you are taking Celebrex.

A word of advise. Do not trust any health professional without looking into matters yourself. They do not follow the guidelines. The do not have your best interests at heart. They do not take the time to make sure that their patients are safe.

Always be sure to check with your pharmacist when new medication is prescribed. I've been taking all of these and am lucky that I wasn't admitted to hospital with internal bleeding, according to the pharmacist. I've been using ibuprofen and Celebrex together for months. I've been using all three for the last two or three weeks. So now I'm back to square one. Of course my doctor's office was closed today, as it is every Friday. No information was forthcoming from there. I'm not sure whether to take the Celebrex and quit the ibuprofen and Pennsaid or whether to use the Pennsaid and stop the Celebrex and ibuprofen. Maybe I should just quit using everything.

Trust your own judgement. Check and double check. Everything that is online is not true, but at least it can give you a heads-up and you can check it out to make sure the meds you are taking are not going to kill you. And believe me, if you get the wrong mixture they can interact and yes, they can kill. Use extreme caution.

On a happier note, our weather was gorgeous today. We only needed jackets, the sun was shining and there was only a slight breeze. Enjoy the nice weather. ~Blessings, Mary~