So I’ve been reading about how much advil and tylenol folks take while paddling and learned some new things. This year I learned about folks who take 3 advil and two tylenol with each meal on long paddling trips. I’ve read about others who take two advil every two hours during their longer tours. I’m not recommending anyone take any medicine at all but I’m wondering what others do and how it works for them.
I’ve also read that advil and tylenol can hurt your performance and that they should not be taken until after the day is done. However I’ve met many who say they need them just to get out of bed and get into the boat.
Since I’ve started doing the almost daily Tai Chi warm up exercises I’ve needed a lot less of any pain relievers.
What do you think? What works for you?
I use Aleve (naproxen) which has
somewhat fewer interactions and problems than Advil (ibuprofen).
I find that if I take a single Aleve prior to paddling, I will feel less pain afterward, even compared to taking the Aleve only afterward when the pain occurs. The main risk of having Aleve or any NSAID in your system while paddling hard is that, if you have an internal bleed or one due to injury, you may bleed longer.
Tylenol is hard on the liver, and every physician I have challenged on the subject has admitted that Tylenol is a mediocre pain reliever. It does not combat inflammation at all, while all the NSAIDs are effective against inflammation, as well as pain.
I personally get no discernible benefit from two Tylenol, and I no longer use it. My other medications depend on my liver for proper metabolism, and I can’t risk messing my liver up with Tylenol.
Yep, Aleve
One Aleve before paddling, and one at bed (especially if camping!!). Works wonders.
And for anyone who is on low-dose
aspirin for cardiovascular reasons, using an occasional Aleve reportedly does not disrupt the regimen or risk bad consequences. Ibuprofen, however, does not “blend” well at all with low-dose aspirin therapy.
Based on some preliminary research, I use a single Aleve at 12 hour intervals as a substitute for low-dose aspirin therapy. The research indicates that Aleve used consistently also reduces platelet clumping, like aspirin, and at my age, I have enough aches and pains that taking Aleve regularly is helpful.
One should check with one’s doctor, and one should stay on the low side of dosages. I don’t know what to make of the label warning about not taking Aleve for more than 14 days, and my doctor doesn’t seem to know, either. Must be that the company lawyers are concerned.
When it hurts
it only hurts because I haven’t been using it or used it wrong. After a few stretches and getting back into whatever activity I was doing for about 20 minutes, it’s all good.
Most paddlers I know, self included, are not athletes. As much as my job frequently causes me aches and pains, I’m not about to complain about taxing the body on the weekend, that’s the time I live and work for.
Short of a headache, I rarely take anything scrip or otc
It’s called AGE Frank : )
I just take…
…one enteric coated aspirin before paddling and it seems to help the inflammation and pain associated with my right rotator cuff.
I need to have a Subcromial? decompression done on the right sholder as I had done to the left, and maybe a little repair on the rotater cuff itself, then I should be good to go with NO pain meds!
You might want to consider Move Free,
which is in a whole other category, but it may help best of all . . .
The demographics on the paddling population, believe it or not, are that the majority of us are baby boomers. I don’t know about you guys, but I get all kinds of aches and pains in my joints when I do any kind of exercise.
I have found that the supplements with joint function precurser compounds, like glocasamine and chondroiton(sp?}, etc., that are claimed to help replenish joint function components - like synovial fluid - really work for me. If I forget to buy more and run out, I can really feel it!
I use the Move Free brand, and I can really tell a dramatic difference, and I use it at only half the recommended dose. I understand, as we get older, we have less ability to replenish those compounds within ourselves, so the outside precursers are taken up by the body and used to replace what is being depleted. I also understand these supplements result in decreased wear and tear on the joints.
I rarely take pain medication . . . and Tylenol does work for me.
Vitamin I (Ibuprofen)
It got to the point that I was taking a lot more than I felt comfortable with. My usual problems were my offside shoulder and my knees. I got better about stretching, and started doing some light weights, and I have a lot fewer problems now. Hopefully it will stay that way.
Plain old paddling and more paddling
works wonders for this over the hill paddler.
It is the same with any sport. If you are in shape and stay in shape you shouldn’t need any pain meds wile you are doing it
The only time I’ll take any ibuprofen is following a intense training paddle on the way home.
If it is a hot day, I’l use watered down gator aid to replace the electrolights I loose sweating, so I won’t end up cramping in the middle of the night.
And if it is a long paddle (all day) naturally I’ll take some nurishment during it
Cheers,
JackL
Percocet
I keep them in a pez dispenser and eat like candy. Sometimes I’m not even sure if I’m paddling or at work.
Mustard for cramps too
I may take a banana when paddling, but heard that yellow mustard was a better source of potassium to ward off leg cramps. So after paddling (I rarely eat anything substantial when paddling) I usually have a big dose of mustard on whatever … hamburger, hot dog, double cheesburger, ham sandwich. It does seem to help cramps and works fast. I’ve started carrying packets of it along with Aleve and crystal ginger in my first aid box.
Aleve - long term
My father in law began to experience shaking in his hands (he could not pour coffee into a cup without spilling) and dizziness to the extent that he didn’t feel safe walking to the store. His doctor was shocked to learn that he had been taking Aleve every day for more than a year for pain related to gout. The symptoms slowly disappeared when he stopped the Aleve. Age does impact ones response to medication, so I don’t know how much that had to do with his reaction to long term use of Aleve. The happy news is a 92 year old who doesn’t take any pills and who can now resume his daily walks to the grocery store and library. If he would only agree get a hearing aid, things would be grand!
What did you say sonny ?
Speak up, I can't hear you!
would you like something stuck in your ear all day long?
I wouldn't and that is why he and I refuse to get one.
The way I look at it is, if you want me to hear something, you can speak louder, or I won't bother paying any attention to what you are saying.
Now if I could only figure how to make that obnoxious rock music quiet when I am dining out, I could be a happy old grouch.
Cheers,
JackL
You’re probably also…
…not sure if those are yours or Jerry Lewis’s argyle socks you’ve got on inside a pair of cast-off, blood-stained Bruno Maglies. And, why are you in Hillary’s lacey scarlet garter belts?
(Welcome back, Mr. T!)
Ibuprofen
I often take it after a paddle and I typically take two. Three is the prescription dosage. It seems to reduce soreness. On a really strenuous paddle I take it before and after, usually two. I am also an old geezer.
good God
I’d like to see some of those livers.
I’m a bit like you Frank. I try to rely on stretching, deep breathing and biting on a bullet or almost anything else before resorting to painkillers. I used to take them quite a bit but suffered increasing side effects. I’m not sure if it’s just an increased tolerance or decreased dependency but I found that the less I took them, the less I felt like I needed them.
Having said that, as a part of my first aid kit I have naproxen and aspirin. Sometimes I take some aspirin at night or in the morning with a meal but otherwise I tend to do without.
w/vodka chaser!
Really?
Are these the same people that overload on diet drinks?
football Rx
I once knew an ex professional football player. I asked him what he used to take after games. His answer: “pitcher of beer and a Percocet”.
New findings on NSAIDs
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/phys-ed-does-ibuprofen-help-or-hurt-during-exercise/?em
There is an association between NSAID use and increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Aleve is farther away from the COX-2 pathway and is probably safer than Ibuprofen.
Lyn