5 ms·

> Currently I take NSAIDs, especially newer medicines like Vimovo https://www.vimovo.com/ https://www.vimovo.com/ helps a lot, but is not something you should t

by koolba 8y ago

> Currently I take NSAIDs, especially newer medicines like Vimovo https://www.vimovo.com/ https://www.vimovo.com/ helps a lot, but is not something you should take every day. If you want to save some money then skip the Vimovo and take generics of the two active ingredients: Aleve (Naproxen) and Nexium (Omeprazole) http://thehealthcareblog.com/blog/2015/11/04/dont-fall-for-this-otc-pain-reliever-insurance-scam-make-it-yourself-and-save-99/ http://thehealthcareblog.com/blog/2015/11/04/dont-fall-for-t... Only reason I can see to take Vimovo is if your doctor gives you a few samples at the office.

dragonwriter 8y ago
Aleve is naproxen sodium immediate release designed as a fast-acting analgesic, Vimovo uses slower-acting base naproxen in an enteric-coated delayed release tablet as the core around which the immediate release esopremazole magnesium is wrapped. The esopremazole magnesium —as well as he enteric-coating for the naproxen—is a technique to manage the potentially serious side effects of long-term use of naproxen. If you can get your doctor to write you a prescription for separate enteric-coated delayed release naproxen and immediate release esomeprazole magnesium, that may be a suitable substitute. Using the non-generic OTC medicines you (and the blog you cite) name, which would reverse which component has delayed released and use a faster-acting NSAID formulation is definitely not a suitable substitute. (Also, the non-physician writing the blog gets dosages wrong, suggesting 440mg of OTC Aleve—which he claims is naproxen, when it is in fact naproxen sodium—is a substitute for 500mg of base naproxen; if Aleve was naproxen you'd obviously need 500mg, not 440mg, but with naproxen sodium, the equivalent to 500mg of naproxen is 550mg of naproxen sodium, so in addition to magnifying the side effects the drug combo seeks to manage, his recommendation would seem to be underdosing for the intended therapeutic effect.) And this is why you shouldn't take medical advice from someone whose qualifications for giving such advice seem to be that he is a health economist and former hospital accountant.
- koolba 8y ago
  I write my comments assuming that anyone that gets legal or medical advice from anonymous commentators on the internet knows the usual "Ask your ________" prior to any of this and so skip the standard disclaimers. That aside, great point and thanks for the great explanation!
  - dragonwriter 8y ago
    The problem I have (more with the blogger) is that the stuff he overlooks (except the naproxen/naproxen sodium distinction, which I knew from looking it up previously in relation to a relatives prescription) is all stuff I found in less than a half hour of online research on the drugs in question; if you are a policy expert writing about substitutability of goods within the domain of your expertise, especially if in addition to underlying a polciy argument it's something that there is a risk people will act on in a personal health context, it's simply inexcusable to get all that wrong.

by koolba 8y ago

dragonwriter 8y ago

Aleve is naproxen sodium immediate release designed as a fast-acting analgesic, Vimovo uses slower-acting base naproxen in an enteric-coated delayed release tablet as the core around which the immediate release esopremazole magnesium is wrapped. The esopremazole magnesium —as well as he enteric-coating for the naproxen—is a technique to manage the potentially serious side effects of long-term use of naproxen. If you can get your doctor to write you a prescription for separate enteric-coated delayed release naproxen and immediate release esomeprazole magnesium, that may be a suitable substitute. Using the non-generic OTC medicines you (and the blog you cite) name, which would reverse which component has delayed released and use a faster-acting NSAID formulation is definitely not a suitable substitute. (Also, the non-physician writing the blog gets dosages wrong, suggesting 440mg of OTC Aleve—which he claims is naproxen, when it is in fact naproxen sodium—is a substitute for 500mg of base naproxen; if Aleve was naproxen you'd obviously need 500mg, not 440mg, but with naproxen sodium, the equivalent to 500mg of naproxen is 550mg of naproxen sodium, so in addition to magnifying the side effects the drug combo seeks to manage, his recommendation would seem to be underdosing for the intended therapeutic effect.) And this is why you shouldn't take medical advice from someone whose qualifications for giving such advice seem to be that he is a health economist and former hospital accountant.

koolba 8y ago
I write my comments assuming that anyone that gets legal or medical advice from anonymous commentators on the internet knows the usual "Ask your ________" prior to any of this and so skip the standard disclaimers. That aside, great point and thanks for the great explanation!
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  The problem I have (more with the blogger) is that the stuff he overlooks (except the naproxen/naproxen sodium distinction, which I knew from looking it up previously in relation to a relatives prescription) is all stuff I found in less than a half hour of online research on the drugs in question; if you are a policy expert writing about substitutability of goods within the domain of your expertise, especially if in addition to underlying a polciy argument it's something that there is a risk people will act on in a personal health context, it's simply inexcusable to get all that wrong.