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I Was Told By My Pain Dr To Take Vicodin As Prescribed For Severe Neck Pain And Headaches Due To Herniated Discs. I Have Been Taking High Dose Aspirin But Affecting My Stomach And He Is Afraid I Will Have A Bleed I Have Already Had A Hemotoma In Breast And Wrist. Does This Sound Right And Safe If Done As Prescribed?
Question: I was told by my pain dr to take Vicodin as prescribed for severe neck pain and headaches due to herniated discs. I have been taking high dose aspirin but affecting my stomach and he is afraid I will have a bleed I have already had a hemotoma in breast and wrist. Does this sound right and safe if done as prescribed.
Brief Answer:
In principle I agree, but an aspirin alternative might be tried first.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
I agree that since you are having bleeding phenomena and a history of stomach high dose Aspirin is not safe to be continued, some alternative must be tried.
My first step would have been to try another non steroid anti-inflammatory (NSAID) pain-killer such as Naproxen or Ibuprofen. There still is a risk of bleeding phenomena with those as well but slightly lower than with Aspirin. Furthermore there are NSAIDs like Celecoxib which have a selective effect, not acting on the stomach, thus having a lower risk of bleeding from the stomach. Mind you they share all other side effects of Aspirin and other NSAIDs.
If such medication does not work or the bleeding phenomena persist then I am afraid Vicodin is the next step if you are in intense pain. As you may have heard it carries potential for dependence but it is preferable to acute complications like life threatening bleeding so it would sound like the right choice. It is not a perfect risk free choice, but it is a question of long term use risk, not acute one and given the severe pain it is necessary.
Thnanks
In principle I agree, but an aspirin alternative might be tried first.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
I agree that since you are having bleeding phenomena and a history of stomach high dose Aspirin is not safe to be continued, some alternative must be tried.
My first step would have been to try another non steroid anti-inflammatory (NSAID) pain-killer such as Naproxen or Ibuprofen. There still is a risk of bleeding phenomena with those as well but slightly lower than with Aspirin. Furthermore there are NSAIDs like Celecoxib which have a selective effect, not acting on the stomach, thus having a lower risk of bleeding from the stomach. Mind you they share all other side effects of Aspirin and other NSAIDs.
If such medication does not work or the bleeding phenomena persist then I am afraid Vicodin is the next step if you are in intense pain. As you may have heard it carries potential for dependence but it is preferable to acute complications like life threatening bleeding so it would sound like the right choice. It is not a perfect risk free choice, but it is a question of long term use risk, not acute one and given the severe pain it is necessary.
Thnanks
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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