#nsaids

* some of them, at least

Note: this resource is written by a NZ-based organization and is primarily aimed at people in Aotearoa NZ (where the ozone layer home makes the risk of sun damage much higher) but this is still crucial information for anyone on medications for arthritis and inflammatory conditions.

"The interaction of inflammatory arthritis (such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and other forms of spondyloarthritis), medications to control arthritis and sun sensitivity is not always clear, and the reactions between medications and sun vary; • NSAIDs, such as Naproxen and diclofenac, can make you more sun sensitive as can Sulfasalazine/ Salazopyrin. Hydroxychloroquine can increase light sensitivity and vision changes. • COX-2 inhibitors like Celecoxib can cause irritation, with a breakout in rashes... • There is an increased risk of non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) for people being treated with DMARDs such as methotrexate and some biologic therapies. These medications also increase the risk of NMSC recurrence. • Methotrexate can irritate the skin where sunburn has occurred previously... • Long-term corticosteroids thins the skin, making it more likely to burn, and more susceptible to wrinkling and thinning of the skin (skin atrophy)."

Yesterday I took 50mg of Atomoxetine (Strattera) out of sheer frustration instead of my prescribed 30mg which was doing nothing.

And then...I was like "get up" and I would get up. "Go find the electricity bill" and went and found the electricity bill. "Sort through all the mail and organise it" and just. Fucking. Did it. No getting stuck for half an hour and spiralling in anxiety because my executive commands weren't going through.

I went to the hospital and begged those fuckers to increase my dosage and spent half an hour trying to convince them that this is clearly my ADHD symptoms being exacerbated by anxiety that's fucking me up. They refused, said "Oh, but anyone would find it difficult to function in your situation", and increased my Venlafaxine (Effexor) instead, although that fuckin plateaus any further than the dosage I already take. My primary doc knows this, but I have better luck catching Bigfoot than her at NHSL anymore so I keep having to tussle with the junior dipshits.

Granted I seem to have overshot a bit, because I spent a while vibrating into the fifth dimension. Felt like I'd had six cups of coffee and needed to do three things at once. Perhaps I should have attempted 40mg first. But 50mg very much did catapult me out of this neverending rut.

WEEKS OF BEING TRAPPED BY THE STATIC IN MY BRAIN LIKE A ROOMBA ON A RUG. I couldn't get out of bed, eat on time, shower, make my bed, do my laundry, go to bed. The simplest fucking tasks like pushing a boulder uphill with a stick. Sitting on the bed doomscrolling and tearing the soles of my feet into strips so bloody that it hurt to walk. I don't pick at my feet anymore! Didn't even realize I hadn't until the end of yesterday. This is the first time I've stopped in months. I stock up on band-aids and keep them next to my bed because I usually bleed in about three places within a day. And I pick the scabs off the still-healing wounds. All stopped by 20mg more of Strattera!!!

In other medication fuckery, I stopped the anti-inflammatory meds I was taking for my back because 1) the total cost of my meds was getting insane and 2) I haven't been in pain the last two months. I looked up whether there were side effects for long-term use of NSAIDs and found that using any of them with Venlafaxine increases the chance of gastrointestinal bleeding?? The way I've been having all this time?? Was my rheumatologist ever gonna tell me?? I'm just so used to flares, so fogged in my head and so relatively pain-free that I didn't especially note it. Turns out– the only reason I haven't been in pain is because I was taking the fucking anti-inflammatories. Imagine that! So I can either take Venlafaxine (which I cherish like a child regardless of the wrath-of-God withdrawal any time I miss a single dose) or I can take NSAIDs??

*googles anti-inflammatory meds other than NSAIDs*

Internet: "eat pineapple idk. have you tried tumeric?"

As it turns out, I had probably outgrown my current dose, so taking a second was likely not an overdose. However, I think ever since, there is a part of me that is scared of pain relievers. I'll take them. But almost never a full dose and only as a last resort.

That being said, I probably suffer more than necessary with pain. And I sometimes think of alternative delivery methods of pain relievers besides oral medications.

——————————-

Sure!

So diclofenac is an NSAID, which is in the same category of drugs as ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin, and meloxicam, ketorolac, and many others.

They all work by blocking a chemical called cyclooxygenase (COX).

Since they all work the same way, taking more than one at a time is like taking a lot of one at a time, and can lead to overdose.

Well now you are