Colon problem from long term Ibuprofen use- anyone else???

[Greysowhat]

I seem to be haunting this Health section at the moment!

I had a sudden onset pain in lower left abdomen a few months ago. I had pelvic scan to rule out uterus and ovaries. Then a positive FIT test so off for a colonoscopy on Monday. Yippee!

The pain went away for a few weeks weeks but it's back now and I think it just might be related to my use of Ibuprofen. For the last 20 months I've had a tooth pain problem since a filling and dentists can't seem to figure it out despite 2 root canal treatments. But anyway, Ibuprofen is the 1 thing that greatly helps the tooth pain so I've been taking a lot of it for a long time. I think I've noticed a pattern with my taking ibuprofen and the pain starting to niggle again so I'm wondering if I might have some sort of ulceration in the descending colon. I believe it is unusual enough but just wondering if anyone here might have had something similar.

Ibuprofen is pretty tough on your guts. Paracetamol/codeine are much gentler so I'd try cocodomal for a few days and see if that helps.

Thanks, yes I'm off the ibuprofen as from today. I had 2 yesterday morning and the abdominal niggle has been a bit worse since. I'll miss them though at they really work for the tooth pain. I'll have to get it extracted. 😒

Are you taking anything to protect your guts with all the ibuprofen?

Mind you, I was given Omeprazole which comes with its own side effects long-term. Sigh.

Yes, I know someone who ended up in A&E with a bleeding stomach ulcer as a result of continuous ibuprofen use.

She is a lot better now though.

If you decide to take codeine be careful with it especially if you think you have a problem with your colon. It causes constipation and long term use can cause serous issues.

No although I do have some here. I spend a few months of almost constant Ibuprofen so I wonder if that did some damage to the colon. My symptoms don't seem to match polyps or cancer. Or diverticulitis either so it just hit me this morning I could have some sort of ulcer going on.

Does omeprazole protect the colon as well as the stomach??

.....editing to say no, Google says it does not protect the colon. Oh well

I got told not to take Ibroprofen long term. But if you take it you must take it just before or just after food. Have you been doing that.

Yes always. I had a stomach ulcer years ago so always careful about how I take it.

I'd suggest you take daily omeprazole with your ibuprofen anyway to protect your stomach.

Our ability to tell where pain is coming from in our abdomen is often pretty poor so while omeprazole doesn't work on the colon, you might find it works anyway.

If you’ve had a stomach ulcer, maybe it’s not a good idea to take ibuprofen? I don’t take it anymore because any PPI I take to protect my stomach immediately gives me Colitis. The doctor said it’s quite common so I have to take Famotidine now for the odd indigestion etc-which is a pain as it’s a prescription drug. So I avoid NSAIDS. Have you had dental x rays? Or seen another dentist? It!s better to sort out the problem rather than long term use of Ibuprofen.

My MIL had a perforated stomach ulcer years ago which was related to her long term use of ibuprofen. We had to have her blue-lighted to hospital with significant internal bleeding.

You really shouldn't take ibuprofen or many other NSAIDs long term because they can irritate and inflame your gut. When you do need to take them it should be with or just immediately after food, as that provides some protective cushioning for it and makes problems less likely.

I hear what you say though about it being the only painkiller to have any noticeable effect on dental pain. This can be the case for me too and the last time I had an infection/abscess in my teeth I had to take it without food just so that it could take effect (bring the pain and swelling down) and enable me to actually eat food anyway. Fortunately it was very short term and no issues. I'm don't recommend that course of action, just saying that I understand it.

I guess you should speak to your GP and dentist about alternative painkillers and tell them why. I am no expert, but my guess is that ibuprofen will be contraindicated for you now. It was for my MIL. She never took it again.

Yes I know it's better to sort out the dental problem. I've had 2 root canal treatments already! I'm going back to the dentist about it as soon as I get a colonoscopy out of the way. And will know more about what's causing abdominal pain soon. I'm just theorising that it could be some sort of ulceration from the ibuprofen.

I'm on naproxen daily which is a more powerful version of ibuprofen, and I take it with food, and have omeprazole, and haven't had any problems. I've been on it since 2016.