NSAIDS and hypertension drugs

Sorry to hear that. How long have you been taking them in combination? 

Very interesting Matron about your potassium levels.  My partner takes takes BP meds and Naproxen and following treatment for two lots of cancer was told he needed to keep his potassium levels up and among other things eat bananas etc.  I really will insist he double checks with his GP on this matter as he hasn't been offered any blood test other than the six monthly one at his oncology check.

It affects atenolol and amlodipine as well and the effect is listed as significant.

naproxen oral decreases effects of atenolol oral by opposing drug effects. Associated with long term NSAID use (longer than 1 week). Blood pressure reducing effects may be reduced.

amlodipine-valsartan oral , naproxen oral . Either increases toxicity of the other by Other mechanism. Combination may reduce kidney function, particularly in elderly or volume depleted individuals.

I take a PPI as well.

As they never found the reason for the inflamation did they did not put the blame on ibuprofen?

The doctors use BNF to check on drugs but it does not go into enough detail unless they check for more information on Stockley's Interactions Checker. One of the pharmcists in the pharmacy I go to is very good at looking to see what other drugs I am taking  and issue any warning. The others there don't.

When I used to use Boots I twice went back and questioned drug combinations that they had not warned me about. The Boots system evidently has records of all prescriptions ever issued to you at any branch.  Once a pharmacist handed me my prescription and said 'You used to live in Edinburgh' I assumed that he had worked in a branch there but he said it came up on your records. I said that it could have been another person with the same name but he said it was the same date of birth. We have no privacy now!

I do take a live yoghurt.  

Look out for the sugars in MOST yogurts....sugar only keeps the inflammation alive and thriving....chronic inflammation is in every area of our bodies, some more than others....

Keeping the body more alkaline vs too acidic is important....carbs also keep inflammation thriving....too much meats....I am a meat eater but watch my portions.....fish and fish oils are good for inflammation and the heart.    The beat goes on and there is much we need to do to help reduce inflammation....it takes work....

I'm just starting on a new systemic enzyme...I already take digestive enzymes, there is so much to learn on this subject...inflammation = pain.  

Derek, the reason for the inflammation eventually turned out to be an auto-immune illness attacking the large muscles, arteries and blood vessels, now in remission after some years on steroids.  You probably don't take the Daily Mail, but they're publishing an article on it next Tuesday.

No definitely no privacy these days - Big Brother is watching!

I have been lucky to have two wonderful pharmacists in the area - unfortunately one has retired and the other was so good he was promoted to a bigger branch!

Joy, the yoghurts to avoid are mainly those with added fruit.  The sugar in the one I eat is only naturally occuring sugar in the lactose.  No additives whatever and fat-free. 

I've been reading the Daily Mail all my life! What other paper agrees with my views?? My father bought it and the Daily Worker.

I qouted this on the statin conversation this morning.

Quote from an article in today's Daily Mail

"I think its a crusade, and if you are a believer you want everything to prove it right and you throw out anyone who disagrees with you"

He was actually referring to too little salt in peoples diet but it applies to most other research.

 

I found a yogurt in Holland and Barretts with virtually no sugar. They never got much in and were often sold out. I tried to go on a Tuesday and buy three. Then the company stopped making it. The story of my life, if it's good they stop making it.

derek, did  you have a statin conversation here?  I didn't see it...but I received an email on statins and your heart....I didn't read it as I wouldn't touch a statin, but statins are real troublemaker drugs....

And there is a whole school of research out there that cholesterol is our friend and we need it and the drug industry makes all these drugs and then puts fear into everyone about the cholesterol issue....I do have a cholesterol post on the Alternative Board...it's all about money for the drug makers....sad but this is true...

My doc tests my homocysteine levels as I've gotten older as there is more research that higher homo levels are the heart's culprit.   J

Joy, Derek and I and several others have indeed posted quite comprehensively on the subject of statins and cholesterol.  Derek's info has been invaluable.  It's a very emotive subject and there are two distinct 'camps' now - the doctors on one side, who are either bullied by NICE or grant funded to give out statins like sweets, and us the unsuspecting average patient.  Luckily more people like Derek who take time to investigate and inform the rest have come forward and made everyone aware just how poisonous and toxic these drugs are and the hidden story behind why they are prescribed in such a profligate manner.

I just hope our warnings are not responsible for someones future heart attack.

I'm glad you posted that Derek.

I have felt quite concerned reading the scary posts about statins by Joy and Loxie.  There could be vulnerable people reading these comments for whom statins are essential and it is quite possible that it could worry them so much that they might stop taking them.

I'm thinking of those people who have had heart attacks and strokes where statin treatment is protecting them from repeat events.  Our son is one.  

These forums are designed for people to help others from their experiences, not simply to scare others. 

So we should all bear in mind that everyone is different

I posted elsewhere that a neighbour who comes from a family with a high death rate from heart disease is on statins and warfarin. He puts up with the side effects as he says the possible outcome of not taking them is worse.

Dear MrsO.  I do sincerely hope that my 'scary' posts make people question whether they should be taking statins or not.  I have never ever stated that 'nobody' should take them. I have however commented and stand by my comments, that they are over prescribed, this is fact and is openly apparent from the many legitimate articles etc., by qualified knowledgeable research.  Secondly, in all my reading up on the subject following my own severe issues, I have not yet discovered anywhere legitimate research that shows that high cholesterol alone causes heart attacks, nor even strokes, unless there are other contributory health factors.  We are all vulnerable, we are vulnerable to the financial clout of the pharmaceutical industry who's sole interest is profits.  I may have become very cynical about this matter but I now feel very strongly on this matter.  The weight of opinion against statins is huge, can we all be so wrong? 

While I agree with you, remember the furore on the 5-in-1 child vaccine, also known as the DTaP/IPV/Hib vaccine that divided opinion but is now accepted.

Very true Derek.  'scares' about one vaccine or another caused a lot of unnecessary avoidance of the benefits.  I am however minded to think of things like thalidomide - a 'wonder drug' for morning sickness.  Statins are no doubt wonderful at reducing cholesterol but at what cost, and, does cholesterol really need lowering in all persons?  Jury's out.  I am at high risk of a stroke I know but I could not live with the damage they were doing to me, so I took the decision for my own personal circumstances to stop taking them.  I'm sure there are those for whom they are most certainly a life saver.  I just abhor the blanket approach to such a dangerous drug, for reasons which have underlying hidden agendas quite separate from individual health needs.

I'm asked if I want to have a stroke from stopping warfarin. It is the consultants standard question to those who stop it.

ioxie  I think you must ask whether vaccine is a live one or not! I cannot take live vaccines and had to have antedote after diptheria jab as a child. My mother fortunately told me about this event so I know I cannot take live vaccines. I would never take the flu vaccine. Instead I take Broncho Vaxom which will vaccinate me naturally with tiny pills over a period of 3 months and leave me out of danger from flu and bronchial problems for six months. I don't see the point in injecting an infection into a healthy person.  That seems, to me, to be using me as a guinea pig. I might be wrong!

derek dead right. If its good and it does the trick you can bet your bottom euro it will disappear from the market pronto!  Same as Dettol Ointment which was sold in a little jar and was a yellow cream and got rid of cold sores on the lip almost overnight. It worked! Can't find it since many years. What Dettol make now is nothing near as effective. Herpes cure just gone off the market. FAR too cheap perhaps?  Money is everything these days!

MrsO  My father once told me: Go to a pharmacist if you want to know something....  Mine has prevented me from mixing incompatible drugs which had been prescribed by a doctor on two occasions. I don't knock doctors as realize pharmacists are often in on the research right at the start of new drugs before hitting the open market and therefore are most informed.

Funny you should say that mayday.  My mum was heavily criticised for not letting me have vaccinations when I was  younger.  She was of the same belief, that why would we allow ourselves to be injected with an infection if we're healthy.  I always thought that she was a tad wacko to be honest but your comments above do give some logic to her reasoning.  She wouldnt have known the difference between live or not vaccines, maybe she just had sixth sense who knows.

We used to use an ointment called Valderma. Good for spots, cuts, grazes etc. My wife used to smother her arms in it after picking raspberries. Now it is long gone.

Vim and Ajax disappeared a few years ago from supermarkets but was still available in some small shops. It made a return to supermarkets but has gone again. When we ask they go and search and come back with a bottle of CIF and say that has replaced it.

The powder version of Flash as advertised by Molly Weir was great for washing paintwork and floors though deadly to my skin is now but a memory.

Oh, you've really brought back memories re the Flash commercial, wasn't Molly the housekeeper in Dr Finlay?

Yes, Flash cuts Spring cleaning time in half. Once my wife was away for a weekend and I decided to wash down all the paintwork with Flash and did not wear gloves. It destroyed my skin and gave me problems for years after.

Barbara Mullen was Janet the housekeeper in the original Doctor Findlay series. Annete Crosbie took over the role in the much later series. There is a B&B near us called Arden House, we always do Janet's phone voice as we pass it.

Did you ever read Cronin's other book on doctors The Citadel? The story of a Scottish doctor in a Welsh mining village who graduates and initially succumbs to the charlatans of Harley Street before returning to his roots. 

"The Citadel is a novel by A. J. Cronin, first published in 1937, which was groundbreaking with its treatment of the contentious theme of medical ethics. It has been credited with laying the foundation in Great Britain for the introduction of the NHS a decade later"