Re: Ibuprofen.  I take 400mg/day of ibuprofen for arthritis of my hip.
 this dosage is very effective.  My question is:  How long can I take
this dosage (days, months, years?) and is there safety information?
Any studies done on this? I am female, 57 years of age?

Hi there,

There is quite a lot of information online regarding the side effects
of ibuprofen. While I saw a daily dosage of 400mg mentioned a few
times as a starting-point, the typical lowest daily dose is 1200mg,
with people optionally increasing the dose until they get the required
pain relief, and it is these higher doses that are usually used in
studies. Long-term studies are also rather uncommon.

Too Little Is Known About the Long-Term Effects of the Most Popular
Drugs
http://www.heall.com/healingnews/nov/medication.html

My first stop was RxList, which gives a very thorough overview of
medications, including adverse reactions. Use the tabs at the top of
the page to access other information on ibuprofen.

RxList - ibuprofen:
http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/ibup_ad.htm

The standout side effect of ibuprofen and other NSAIDs [nonsteroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs] is GI [gastrointestinal]. Although I was
unable to find any study that specifies your particular dose, I
believe you should take heed of the general information I have found,
even though it would make sense to expect your low dose to present a
smaller chance of problems. With your current dose being "very
effective", have you considered reducing the dose and seeing if less
is still just as effective?

Harmful effects of medicines on the adult digestive system
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH?d=dmtContent&c=188585&p=~br,IHW|~st,8124|~r,WSIHW000|~b,*|

People most at risk of GI side effects are:

-age 75 years or more 
-history of peptic ulcer 
-history of gastrointestinal bleeding 
-history of heart disease
-females more than males

taken from "Risk of NSAIDS and GI Bleeding"
http://www.theberries.ns.ca/BOTW_archives/nsaids.html

Below are some extracts from web pages concerning the side effects of
ibuprofen. Some information that stood out:

-These GI side effects often show no obvious signs or symptoms and go
undiagnosed until patients are admitted to the hospital emergency
room.
-76,000 Americans are hospitalized each year with gastrointestinal
bleeding from NSAID use
-...the greatest source of serious adverse drug reactions reported to
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

"Taken daily, on a long-term basis, all NSAIDs, including aspirin and
ibuprofen, can lead to serious gastrointestinal bleeding, ulcers, and
even death in a small percentage of users. Because so many people now
take aspirin and other NSAIDS regularly for heart attack prevention or
arthritis pain, that "small percentage" could add up to large numbers,
but at present no one really knows how many people develop
gastrointestinal bleeding from NSAIDS. According to an estimate by Dr.
James Fries of the Stanford University School of Medicine, about
76,000 Americans are hospitalized each year with gastrointestinal
bleeding from NSAID use, and about 10% of these people die. Dr.
Fries's figures were based on high-risk patients, such as those with
rheumatoid arthritis taking very high doses over very long periods,
and people with other risk factors for gastrointestinal bleeding."
http://www.berkeleywellness.com/html/fw/fwLon15Aspirin.html

"Many of the estimated 43 million Americans with OA and RA
[osteoarthritis & rheumatoid arthritis] use NSAIDs, which can lead to
stomach ulcers and other serious complications, and are the greatest
source of serious adverse drug reactions reported to the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration. These GI side effects often show no obvious signs
or symptoms and go undiagnosed until patients are admitted to the
hospital emergency room. Typically 60 to 80 percent of GI
complications resulting from NSAIDs occur without previous symptoms."
http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/1cd18a.htm

"Researchers estimate that up to 30 percent of patients taking
traditional NSAIDs develop persistent GI symptoms, and more than 10
percent of all patients discontinue treatment."
http://www.pharmacia.ca/en/news/newfindings.asp

"Ibuprofen, like other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs),
has several potential side effects. The two most frequently affected
organ systems are the renal (kidneys) and gastrointestinal (GI)
systems. In the case of the former, kidney damage, usually reversible,
can result from chronic ingestion of NSAIDs."
http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/nsaid.html

"All NSAIDs (including aspirin, of course) can increase the risk for
ulcers and bleeding in the gastro-intestinal system, though some newer
ones available by prescription (such as Celebrex and Vioxx) are less
likely to do so. However, for most people, the much lower cost of
older NSAIDs like aspirin, Motrin, Advil and Aleve will make them the
drugs of choice."
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/DailyNews/drjohnson_NSAIDs_020124.html


Google keywords used:

ibuprofen "long-term"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=ibuprofen+%22long-term%22


I hope this answers your question. Feel free to ask for any
clarifications you may require.

Best wishes,
robertskelton-ga

It was helpful to know that this drug could give me trouble years
later with chronic use.  Thank you