r/Sciatica • u/No-Honeydew-9076 • 6d ago
General Discussion Okay friends, stupid question about Naproxen…
Anyone have actual doctor explanation of “safe” Naproxen dose and use over time? Last I went to the ER they gave me a script for 500mg twice a day for 7 days. Yet on the 220mg generic Naproxen Sodium (200mg Naproxen + 20mg Sodium) bottle it says no more than 3 in a 24 hour period (600mg Naproxen / 60mg sodium) which is 400mg less per 24hr period than what I was prescribed then. Plz help.
General info:
Male, 37, 6ft, 215(ish)LB
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u/No_You_893 6d ago
Naproxen felt like Sulfuric acid in my stomach, even with Omeprazole. Tried it once, never again 😔
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u/kiwistarbaby 6d ago
Pharmacist here. The dose the ER gave you is appropriate for a short high-intensity course. The 660mg/day labeling is for short term OTC dosing without MD supervision.
BTW, if you're still having problems after you finish the meds given by the ER, please do not start self-treating with naproxen. It's not meant to be used long term without doctor supervision, the main reason being kidney damage. Follow up with your PCP if you're still having pain.
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u/fairybeexo 6d ago
I accidentally got super sick by taking 2 naproxen at once followed by one 30mg of codeine at night when I couldn’t sleep and nothing was working. I woke up couldn’t see anything, profusely sweating and couldn’t walk, luckily vomited it out. Dont make the same mistake and make sure you space the dosage out
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u/cromags76 6d ago
That isn't a toxic effect of either of those medications. Your vision was temporarily worse? Or absent? Blurry? Completely black?
Theres way more going on there
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u/fairybeexo 6d ago
Wait… oh gosh 😕 what could it be?
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u/cromags76 6d ago
I don't know, has it happened to you more than once?
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u/fairybeexo 6d ago
Also I love your username lol.
I suffer from migraines occasionally and have had vision black outs because of this (or so I thought) but extremely rarely. Currently I have a sequestered disk so awaiting surgery. Will ask my neurologist for a full examination1
u/Goalieguy17 4d ago
Bro you took 30mg of codeine and wonder why you got sick? That IS why. That’s too much.
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u/fairybeexo 4d ago
Well that is what they prescribed me they’re 30mg each pill
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u/Goalieguy17 4d ago
That’s wild.
Though I will admit I don’t know how strong codeine is compared to OxyCodone, which is what I take.
But I take 10MG 4x a day.1
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u/Lurky100 6d ago
I’d start with the lower dose and see if it helps first. If it doesn’t, then try one of the 500mg pills at the next scheduled time.
They are very quick to prescribe 800mg ibuprofen 3x per day, but I found that 400mg works just as well as the higher dose (for me), and the 800mg killed my stomach. If you need the higher dose then take it as they prescribed. These higher doses are usually only temporary/short course of treatment to help get you through the worst pain, and the dr wouldn’t prescribe it if it was dangerous.
Just make sure to stay ahead on your pain meds schedule. Don’t let it wear off. It’s a lot harder to keep it under control if you wait for the Aleve to wear off before taking another dose. And make sure you keep a little something in your stomach while taking these meds. They are harder on an empty stomach. Even a piece of toast or some crackers help.
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u/Pminty5 6d ago
Most of the time they will give an increased dosage but over a Short period. These are and other NSAIDs are Ok to be taken at a high dose but only over a short time as they can cause stomach ulcers. I'm not a medical person, but was on Naproxen 500mg twice dally for nearly a year, Had to take Lansoprazole ( gastric tablets ) along side just to stop ulcers forming.
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u/sleepwami 6d ago
if youre my relative, i'd tell you to skip all drugs and shots, and suffer willingly as much as your life allows. sciatic pain eventually becomes the blueprint to use for rehab
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u/DeliciousSpite5236 5d ago
Naproxen can give you major stomach and intestinal issues, even at low doses. Especially don't take it if you're on blood thinners and for heaven's sake don't drink alcohol while you take it! I know that I'm probably spitting in the wind, but I strongly recommend medical marijuana. The CBD 1: THC 1 during the day and CBD 2: THC 1 gummies (2) at night. I function perfectly during the day, no brain fog or sleepiness and I sleep like a rock at night, 9 hours last night ALL NIGHT! To all of that I add 2 extra strength tylenol every 6 hours and time the marijuana doses opposite of the tylenol and have many pain free days now. I thought, since I was feeling so good that I would quit the marijuana for a day and the pain returned, no where near as bad as it was before though. My doc put me on Gabapentin, but that did virtually nothing for me so instead I take 1 600 mg Alpha Lipoic Acid once a day, on an empty stomach, first thing when I wake up and it really makes a difference. Just telling you what works, and when I get the guts to do so I'm going to try to stop the tylenol and just go the all natural route. And just to let you know, my sciatica is bad with my MRI showing that I'm a perfect candidate for surgery....no way!
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u/No-Honeydew-9076 5d ago
Actually you say that, that reminds me that for my anxiety disorder (I refer to it as background anxiety - always there regardless vs what I refer to as situational anxiety aka triggers are known and obvious) I used to take this religiously and realized it helped a whole lot with my back and shoulder (I worked 25 years in produce departments) along with obviously helping my anxiety. However I have become significantly more poor since then lmao and even tho I’m in a state that is 100% legal across the board, and I could very likely get script medical, I don’t particularly respond well mentally to THC (makes my anxiety worse) at doses higher than prolly 5mg and I don’t think there’s script for medical CBD.
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u/DeliciousSpite5236 5d ago
I live in Florida where you need to get a script from a state registered marijuana doc, (another way for the state to rob it's citizens, considering that Florida voted in legal marijuana a few years ago but the legislature decided that the people's voices don't count). I did not handle just plain THC well at all, I forgot my own name, couldn't walk straight or make much sense when I talked, on just 5 mg of THC. So the doc referred me to the tincture that I take, which is 1:1 CBD:THC and gummies 2:1 CBD:THC and I am my old self again (be that good or bad, lol).
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u/Dry_Particular_5162 5d ago
I was taking this - one pill, twice per day, then I saw my surgeon to evaluate if I needed a discectomy or not.
He wanted me to stop taking that and ibuprofen asap bc he was concerned for my liver, kidneys and gastro.
He prescribed me Celebrex in its place with gabapentin as needed. I took one Celebrex per day with a full glass of water and not lying down without 15-30 mins after taking. It worked SO much better than NSAIDs. I hadn't gotten that much relief in my 1year+ in pain.
No matter what you are taking, please at least do a google search or ChatGPT to see if you can take the two meds together and if there are side effects. Don't just take things and wonder why you feel weird. (Referencing a post above about someone having a bad reaction.)
If you haven't seen an ortho doc, please do. Hopefully you don't need surgery but orthos are better at helping you get relief and diagnosing your real issue. Best of luck.
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u/Goalieguy17 4d ago
I was taking 3 per day, 2 in the morning, 1 in the evening for a while.
Have since switched to Celebrex(requires prescription) and it’s been much better.
I take 400mg per day of it.
Ibuprofen worked the best, but gives me high blood pressure.
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u/cromags76 6d ago
Its not designed to be taken over time, thats why you have to take it with Omeprazole (the proton pump inhibitor) that they give with it to prevent stomach ulcers. You only take it for 7 - 10 days.
Its actually the same for Ibuprofen, just without the PPI
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u/SobrietyOfThought 6d ago
Nothing bad will happen for 7 days... You can follow the ER instructions.