celebrex and NSAIDS?

[Sunglow21]

My mother is worried that it could be harmful to combine celebrex with NSAIDS in my case naproxen. (aleve). Does anyone know anything about this? I thought it was just aspirin that you couldn't mix with the celebrex. It is the first combo that I have found in quite some time that seems to help me any. Thanks for any and all advice and suggestions.
ali

[RDean]

Believe Celebrex is an NSAID

[rhop]

Hi, Ali - You mom has good reason to be concerned because both Celebrex and Aleve (naproxyn) are NSAIDS. There are many NSAIDS, and sometimes people have to try many of them to find the one that works, and sometimes they fade out and quit working over time, and you have to try something else. Celebrex, and its cousin Vioxx, are the "new generation" NSAIDS called COX-2 Inhibitors. All NSAIDS can cause GI trouble, specifically GI bleeding, or ulcers, and you ALWAYS must take them with food to lessen the chance of this, but they can appear out of nowhere, as well, so you always have to be aware of the potential side effects (aspirin can do the same thing.) These new Cox-2 inhibitors are supposed to lessen or avoid that side effect; however, I have read that this is not always the case, and the little fine print paper that comes with these newer drugs still mentions the possibility. So, what you are doing is doubling up on your NSAIDS, one new one, and one tried and true one. I suggest that you talk to your doctor about this - you really need to be seeing a rheumatologist, as soon as possible, because of the severity of your disease.

I take naproxyn (Aleve) myself, but instead of one pill every 12 hrs., I take 2 pills every 8 hrs. (440mg), on the advice of my rheumy. I also take one or two Darvocet N-100's per day when I'm in a lot of pain, but many docs won't use this med because it has the potential for addiction. I also am on VERY high dose of methotrexate (35mg/wk) and take folic acid (1mg twice a day) to counter act the side effects of that. I won't bore you with the rest of my medicine cabinet.

I think the most important thing is that you don't try to go it alone when using these meds, because the rheumy knows the maximum doses and the alternatives which are avl. to you and will guide you through this. If they aren't listening carefully enough to your conditions and pain, you may want to try a different one, but since Celebrex is a prescription drug, you have to work with a doc anyway. Hope this clarifies things. Good luck, and good for you for taking the bull by the horns and trying to find what works for you. Just do it with the professional guidance of a rheumy and don't risk adding other medical problems to the pot. Good luck, and keep us informed. Rosemary

[lett]

Hi the only thing my doc told me I could take with Celebrex is Tylenol. I would ask your pharmacist when mixing any kind of drug.