Report NSAID Use to Your Doctor, Please!

Twenty-two percent of patients of a private medical practice at East Virginia Medical School surveyed did not believe their taking of NSAIDs was important enough to mention to their doctor. The American College of Gastroenterology - ACG - diagrees with these patients. According to press materials from the ACG, NSAIDs are linked to serious health problems such as ulcers and gi tract bleeding. The organization estimates that each year, over 100,000 Americans go to the hospital for complications related to taking NSAIDs, and that there are between 15,000 and 20,000 deaths related to this problem annually.

The ACG says the problems that come with taking NSAIDs are of particular concern for people with arthritis. Arthritis is the #1 cause of disability in the US, with approximately 42 million people afflicted. The ACG projects that 60% of arthritis patients taking NSAIDs will experience the damaging side effects to their gi tract.

The new guidelines for treating back pain suggest that NSAIDs be among the first class of drug to be tried when in the management of chronic pain by medication.

You can download a 24 page brochure from the American College of Gasteroenterology that explains the risk to your gi track that taking NSAIDS poses.

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_{Sources:
Lewis, Carol. Arthritis: Timely Treatmens for an Ageless Disease FDA Consumer Magazine May-June 2000.
Patient Brochure Understanding Ulcers, NSAIDs and GI Bleeding. American College of Gastroenterology.
Press Release. American College Gastroenertology October 10, 2007}