Jul 23 2009
Diclofenac Sodium and Osteoarthritis Pain
I was at the orthopedist’s the other day after months of dealing with an impossible left knee. I put away my softball glove for the summer and stopped daily walks through the neighborhood because of the swelling and pain.
Yes, I’m going to whine here, so my “un-fans” it’s time to leave or at best, not leave a comment that I will delete anyway, but I digress.
I get told by one doctor, torn ACL, surgery, immobilizer, crutches, the works. One handy MRI later and my ACL is beautiful, healthy. In fact, my whole knee is great looking in the MRI. So, what is causing me ridiculous pain when I walk?
Early arthritis. Fine. Fine. I can deal with it. Yes, I’m 36 and WAY too young in my book, but losing a few pounds wouldn’t hurt either and this gives me more incentive. I ask the doctor for some 600 Ibuprofen to deal with it in the short term and he agrees it will help.
I fill my called in prescription, only to realize later I’ve been prescribed diclofenac sodium 75 mg. Ok, so it’s an anti-inflammatory somewhat like ibuprofen, but as a pill skeptic, I always check side effects to see if they are worth the risk.
The COMMON side effects listed on the sheet given to me by the pharmacy are: (Now, these are listed as common remember) nausea; indigestion; rapid heart rate; high blood pressure; swelling usually of face or lips; blurred vision; CNS depression; drowsiness; congestive heart failure; nervousness; numbness or tingling in hands and feet; shortness of breath; jerkings of face, trunk or extremities; irregular heartbeat; chest pain; dizziness; intestinal ulcers; ringing in ears; vomitting.
It further reads: If symptoms are mild but do not go away or are bothersome, check with your doctor. If they are severe, call your doctor immediately.
SO, to recap, in order to treat an arthritic, sore knee, I MIGHT experience a little blurred vision or an irregular heartbeat? Maybe some facial jerking? Nausea or indigestion, yeah, I could live with, but congestive heart failure?
Seriously, I know that the majority of people who take arthritis drugs are older and therefore more likely to experience these symptoms anyway, without taking the drug at all, but really, why in the world would a medication with such severe COMMON side effects be prescribed?
Why do we, as a whole, put our faith in prescribers and prescription drugs? Yes, I am forever grateful to drug companies for coming up with medications that save people from debilitating disease, but do we need medications that might relieve some pain to be so full of side effects?
I might have lost a ten dollar co-pay, but it was worth it. I threw the damn bottle away, took some over the counter ibuprofen and I am fine. No need to risk congestive heart failure for me.
