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Arthritis In Feet,stomach Ulcer,voltaren Stopped,any Alternative Medicine
Posted on
Fri, 6 May 2011
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Fri, 6 May 2011
Answered on
Sun, 20 May 2012
Last reviewed on
Question : I have trouble with arthritis in my feet , I used to use Voltaren but developed stomach ulcer so unable to take this now, how can I get releif and walk properly again. as they are very painfuland sometimes cannot walk at all.
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query. I can understand the pain and agony that you are going through. It is true that non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs like Voltaren are the first line of treatment for pain in arthritis and are used to reduce pain as well as inflammation in the joints. But they have plenty of side effects especially on the GI system and may cause stomach upset, cramping diarrhea, ulcers, and even bleeding.
In such cases, we prefer to give pain killers like acetaminophen. It has been proven by studies that it can be equally as effective as prescription anti-inflammatory medications in relieving pain in arthritis. It also has few side effects than Volteran. I suggest you to discuss about this drug with your treating doctor and get it prescribed.
For local pain relief you can use topical pain relieving drugs like capsaicin, salycin, methyl salicylate, and menthol after getting a prescription from your doctor. Recently it has been found that newer cox-2 inhibitors have been designed that have less toxicity to the stomach and bowels and hence you can talk about these drugs to your treating physician. It is good that you are taking chondroitin and glucosamine but since you are taking aspirin, you should take it with caution as it can increase the blood-thinning effect and cause excessive bleeding.
If the pain is severe then you can take oral steroids to reduce inflammation or steroid injections as well.
Hope this answers your query. If you have additional questions or follow up queries then please do not hesitate in writing to us. I will be happy to answer your queries.
Wishing you good health.
Thanks for posting your query. I can understand the pain and agony that you are going through. It is true that non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs like Voltaren are the first line of treatment for pain in arthritis and are used to reduce pain as well as inflammation in the joints. But they have plenty of side effects especially on the GI system and may cause stomach upset, cramping diarrhea, ulcers, and even bleeding.
In such cases, we prefer to give pain killers like acetaminophen. It has been proven by studies that it can be equally as effective as prescription anti-inflammatory medications in relieving pain in arthritis. It also has few side effects than Volteran. I suggest you to discuss about this drug with your treating doctor and get it prescribed.
For local pain relief you can use topical pain relieving drugs like capsaicin, salycin, methyl salicylate, and menthol after getting a prescription from your doctor. Recently it has been found that newer cox-2 inhibitors have been designed that have less toxicity to the stomach and bowels and hence you can talk about these drugs to your treating physician. It is good that you are taking chondroitin and glucosamine but since you are taking aspirin, you should take it with caution as it can increase the blood-thinning effect and cause excessive bleeding.
If the pain is severe then you can take oral steroids to reduce inflammation or steroid injections as well.
Hope this answers your query. If you have additional questions or follow up queries then please do not hesitate in writing to us. I will be happy to answer your queries.
Wishing you good health.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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