LesBrass
Likes Walking
- Time of past OR future Camino
- yes...
The analgesic and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) ibuprofen is sold under a wide variety of brand names across the world; the most common being its first registered trademark name of Brufen, along with Advil, Motrin, and Nurofen. I was once told that this drug was called the pilgrims friend and it was fine to take one every morning.
About a week ago I fell and hurt my coccyx when visiting Samos... with still a week to go on my camino I took an ibuprofen each morning... sometimes before bed too if it was painful. I got home on Tuesday and after a long train journey took another.
Yesterday I was rushed to hospital with severe abdominal pain and vomiting. The diagnosis... inflammation and erosion of the duodenum and stomach lining. I have had this before, following my cancer treatment but that was a few years ago... the hospital concludes that it was probably due to the ibuprofen.
I never realised the dangers of taking these over the counter drugs... you can buy them in large doses in Spain which I think compounds the problem. I've got a month of medication to help heal my stomach and then follow-up tests and another stomach biopsy.
So... the moral of this story is... proceed with caution!
About a week ago I fell and hurt my coccyx when visiting Samos... with still a week to go on my camino I took an ibuprofen each morning... sometimes before bed too if it was painful. I got home on Tuesday and after a long train journey took another.
Yesterday I was rushed to hospital with severe abdominal pain and vomiting. The diagnosis... inflammation and erosion of the duodenum and stomach lining. I have had this before, following my cancer treatment but that was a few years ago... the hospital concludes that it was probably due to the ibuprofen.
I never realised the dangers of taking these over the counter drugs... you can buy them in large doses in Spain which I think compounds the problem. I've got a month of medication to help heal my stomach and then follow-up tests and another stomach biopsy.
So... the moral of this story is... proceed with caution!