Nabumetone and Ibuprofen: am I at risk if I take both at the same time?

November 11, 2006 7:46 AM

Would overlapping my prescriptions of 600mg of Ibuprofen and 500mg of Nabumetone put me at higher risk of developing stomach ulcers, or is the risk minimal that the two will interact and cause such a problem?

My old doctor prescribed me a bottle of 600mg tablets of Ibuprofen about a month ago for some joint pain that I've been having. I've still got plenty of the tablets left to take, though. My new doctor just prescribed me a bottle of 500mg tablets of Nabumetone for the same problem. I forgot to inquire with my new doctor about whether or not the two should be taken at the same time or not.

According to what I've looked up online, both medications, when taken in high doses, can potentially cause stomach ulcers and, frankly, I'd gladly take joint pain over ulcers any day.

So, Nabumetone and Ibuprofen: am I at risk if I take both at the same time?

posted by myodometer to health & fitness (6 comments total)

It seems like the reasonable thing to do is finish the prescription for one and then start the the other, if you need to.

Or even more reasonable, call your doctor's office and ask.
posted by smallerdemon at 8:07 AM on November 11, 2006

i hate to be a kill-joy in your thread here, but this really is not the place to get serious medical advice, surely?
posted by Frasermoo at 8:22 AM on November 11, 2006

Call your doctor; he or she knows your GI, cardiac, and arthritis history--we don't.

Nabumetone appears to have a lower risk of GI/ulcer complications, but throwing on another NSAID like ibuprofen, especially on a long, chronic run, will likely increase your risk of ulcers. (This is why your doctor's advice is truly best--depending on your other history, it could increase your risk from 0.001% to 0.1%, or from 1% to 10%.)

There appears to be good evidence that adding on a PPI (proton pump inhibitor, Prilosec OTC has good evidence) or possibly an H2 blocker (Tagamet, for example) might help prevent ulcers from forming (but these drugs have their own risks and side effects).

You can never escape risk-benefit in medicine!
posted by gramcracker at 8:22 AM on November 11, 2006

nthing the "call your doctor" advice.

But in case she/he's not available, your pharmacist is trained to spot drug interactions of this sort. He/she might not have all your medical history, and is in this case may not be as reliable a source as your doc, but the pharmacists that I have worked with are all incredibly up-to-date and knowledgable about drug interactions.
posted by flipper at 8:30 AM on November 11, 2006

You should never mix NSAID's without monitoring by your doc. The reason is that they both work the same way, and /will/ be both inhibiting COX-1 which reduces production of prostaglandin. Prostaglandin is what protects your stomach lining in lots of ways. So it would be a double wammy on your stomach if you took them both at the same time. Read more about NSAID-Induced Ulcers.
posted by bigmusic at 10:45 AM on November 11, 2006

However, you can probably take acetaminophen (Tylenol) with either NSAID without problems.
posted by kindall at 11:12 AM on November 11, 2006