need a non-NSAID anti-inflamatory

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TrmTab
TrmTab Member Posts: 832
edited August 2017 in Breast Reconstruction

My exchange is in 12 days so am in the 2 week med restriction period...and I dislocated my shoulder this morning

need to take an anti-inflammatory....all NSAIDs off the table with upcoming surgery.

Have been told only Tylenol for pain, but it isn't an anti-inflammatory...besides ice, any suggestions?

Comments

  • proudtospin
    proudtospin Member Posts: 5,972
    edited August 2017

    i am alèrgic to nsaids, tylonel is really the only non nsaid that i know of , best to talk to your docs

  • Artista928
    Artista928 Member Posts: 2,753
    edited August 2017

    Tylenol is not an anti-inflammatory. Ask your doctor for suggestions.

    www.healthline.com/health/pain-relief/is-tylenol-anti-inflammatory#overview

  • Outfield
    Outfield Member Posts: 1,109
    edited August 2017

    There's no anti-inflammatory medication on the market for injury besides NSAID's. Steroids quell inflammation, but it wouldn't be great to be on them before surgery either and they're not used for injuries.

    Honestly, I'd try asking in the complementary medicine section.

  • Artista928
    Artista928 Member Posts: 2,753
    edited August 2017

    Tumeric is a great source of anti-inflammatory.

  • ChiSandy
    ChiSandy Member Posts: 12,133
    edited August 2017

    Ice and avoiding foods that cause inflammation: alcohol, fried foods, sugar, seed oils (other than flax), trans fats, refined starch, and anything to which you are allergic, sensitive or intolerant. (Check out turmeric as well as probiotics, which help combat the release of inflammatory cytokines). But there are topical NSAIDs (Voltaren gel, Flector patches) applied to the skin that aren't systemically absorbed and therefore don’t cause bleeding if used sparingly*. Lidocaine patches, roll-ons and sprays—while not anti-inflammatories but rather analgesics--are now OTC, and studies have shown that when applied before or after topical menthol (Bio-Freeze, Max-Freeze, Icy Hot) gels or roll-ons they are absorbed efficiently to the pain site just as effectively as the pricy prescription stuff. Arnica gel (Boiron, Traumeel) helps too.

    But stress itself causes those pesky cytokines to be released—so stress reduction/distraction via breathing, relaxation and mindfulness meditation exercises are important.

    * you might need to discontinue them 24 hrs. pre-op.

  • Lula73
    Lula73 Member Posts: 1,824
    edited August 2017

    Celebrex- it's an nsaid but it works in the COX2 pathway and should not interfere with blood coagulation. Your dr will need to prescribe it

  • ChiSandy
    ChiSandy Member Posts: 12,133
    edited August 2017

    My doc took me off Celebrex pending first my EGD and now my colonoscopy—even a COX-2 inhibitor can have some of the same effects as other drugs in the NSAID class, only much milder. You do need a scrip for it…except in some EU countries where it’s available over the counter (brand name Celebrex, not merely generic celecoxib) far more cheaply than Stateside. (My favorite souvenirs from France, Germany, Italy & Spain are Ventolin asthma inhalers, Voltaren gel, Celebrex and Flector patches—all Rx-only and cost me a mint over here). I hear it’s OTC in Mexico, too (though not as cheap as in Europe). Start asking friends & relatives if they plan to travel abroad soon...

  • Lula73
    Lula73 Member Posts: 1,824
    edited August 2017

    How about just a steroid shot or a prednisone pack?Steroid are anti-inflammatories.

  • TrmTab
    TrmTab Member Posts: 832
    edited August 2017

    Thanks everyone. Just back from PS, having a pre-op refill as TE has started to leak...PS said Ice and bear it! Never really thought about an non-nsaid anti-inflamatory...and I guess there really isn't a good answer. The steriod shot was taking off as well as they don't want you on steriods prior to surgery either.

    So Ice, and rest...

    Thanks for all the brainstorming.

    TT

  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited August 2017

    trmtab - as chisandy said in her post you could try a lidocaine skin patch - which I can now get OTC here in FL at CVS and the grocery store, maybe with some BioFreeze ,which weirdly is available at my local Bed, Bath & Beyond.

  • TrmTab
    TrmTab Member Posts: 832
    edited August 2017

    Thanks again Special K and ChiSandy! I'll look after work today...Went in this morning at 8am to refill my leaky TE. When we did this last week, it leaked from the needle site for 5-10 minutes but then quit...today, 4 hrs later still a drip, drip,,,,my shirt is soaked! Gratefully have a multicolored flowered shirt on today to hide it...

  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited August 2017

    trmtab - panty liners or a sanitary napkin work great for that - kind of weird, but effective. BTW, I have to ask - how did you dislocate your shoulder? I am asking because I am the world's biggest klutz, and misery loves company, lol!

  • TrmTab
    TrmTab Member Posts: 832
    edited August 2017

    one more item to add to my list for CVS! Thanks, TT

  • ChiSandy
    ChiSandy Member Posts: 12,133
    edited August 2017

    Cortisone can depress the immune system (though a shot into a joint is unlikely to migrate systemically). And it can weaken the tendons & ligaments. That’s why, when my first L trigger thumb injection from Jan. 2005 wore off in late Dec. 2009 (I checked my old calendars, hence the revised years), tendon-release surgery was recommended. Unfortunately, I was due to go on tour in early Feb. and unlikely to have recovered sufficiently to be able to play guitar. So my surgeon gave me a second shot, and we scheduled the surgery for the day after returning from the tour. During the surgery, he flushed the remaining cortisone from the joint. Had I just gone with the second shot and no surgery, I might have suffered permanent thinning of the tendon & ligaments. (All that was years before breast cancer).

    Last year, I developed a R trigger thumb and had the shot. When there was no relief after 8 weeks (the surgeon—a different one, as my original one retired—had said “give it at least 6 weeks”), we scheduled the surgery for a month later. My LE doc assured me I wouldn’t need to be wrapped. Three days before the surgery date I woke up and—no pain, no triggering, no nodule. I didn’t cancel, because I had no idea if that was purely temporary. When we got to the hospital and they wanted to start my I.V. for sedation, I asked them to hold off until I could speak to the surgeon. He came in, held my thumb as I flexed it, and said there was no longer any need for a “lifestyle surgery." (He was also happy, as he was running way late). If it recurs, I can always rethink it.

    And for the last couple of months my R index finger has been acting up—usually worst in the morning but lately flaring up at various times. But because I’ve learned recovery can be spontaneous (shot or no shot), I’ll just tough it out for now.

  • TrmTab
    TrmTab Member Posts: 832
    edited August 2017

    my shoulders are a weak spot for me...I was a competitive swimmer into my 30's and now have rotator cuff issues that I keep a bay through exercise (and the occassional cortisone shot) but have avoided surgery...

    the dislocation was from sleeping on my R side so as to not put any pressure on my L side with the "refilled " TE, hoping to keep as much in it as possible...so trying to help one part hurt another...my own form of clutzy!

    So woke up on Sunday all sore shouldered from sleeping wrong, and after showering reached up for the hook on the back of the door for my towel and it just popped out and then in and then I though I would pass out or throw up from the pain.

    Have been very careful the past two days and it is getting better. Was really upset as with the exchange next Friday and then 6 weeks of limited duty for exercise, had really hoped to get a couple of weeks of good exercise in before the surgery...but now I have started my post surgery walking plan a bit early.

  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited August 2017

    trmtab - glad it is feeling better, and sorry one problem compounded another! My son swam competitively for 10 straight years, I will have to warn him to keep his shoulders strong - he is a fireman/paramedic now so he usually stays in pretty good shape. I hear you on the sleeping in weird positions - I did it with BMX and all of the subsequent surgeries, but also had issues trying to find a good way to sleep after three wide excision removals (one of them a MOHS because of a recurrence) for skin cancer on my upper back, each done two weeks apart. They were essentially lumpectomies, as at least a cubic inch was removed each time and I swear I didn't sleep for about two months, lol! Probably best to commence with the walking, your exchange is right around the corner, and you can move forward soon!

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