Vioxx, & NSAIDS and depression/long thread

[sushiroll]

First, ALWAYS speak with your physician before you make any decisions about your medication. With that said...I would be curious if anyone else has experienced the problem below.

Another side effect of Vioxx as well as other NSAIDS that I don't think gets enough attention is depression. If you read the fine print on some of the drug info sheets on these arthritis meds you will find that mental illness is one of the side effects.

Several years ago I was treated for tennis elbow. I had two surgeries and dealt with this for over three years. I noticed each time they gave me a new med....Vioxx, Anaprox, Advil, and others I would take them for three days become progressively depressed each day. By day 3 I would be so depressed that I would cry all day. It was just a fluke we figured it out. The drugs weren't helping the elbow. I would stop taking them, and each time I noticed the depression would be totally gone within 24 hours. It took about four rounds of this before we put the peices together. My husband agreed with me. I thought maybe I could at least take over the counter Alieve or Advil....but the same thing happened.

I had struggled with depression for years....I had taken advil for years regularly for various aches and pains. I have been off these drugs for at least three or four years now and I am happy as a clam.

As a mental health therapist, I wonder how many others being treated for depression may actually be having the same side effect and don't know it. I would not ever advise anyone stopping their medications. But it is something to consider and talk to your physician about.

[muriel3002]

Very interesting. Is Advil different enough from Tylenol? I've noted that Advil has been more effective for my pain than Tylenol, so I favor that. However, I have not had to take Advil for long periods of time, so I'm unaware of the depression side effects. (We are talking about OTC Advil, right?)

[Kathy B]

Advil IS different from Tylenol.

Advil is a NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) which can be used to treat fever, pain and inflammation.

Tylenol can be used to treat fever and pain, but NOT inflammation.

That is why you usually use Advil (otherwise known as ibuprofen) for injuries instead of Tylenol (otherwise known as acetaminophen). Advil will help with swelling or inflammation, Tylenol will not.

[Grace]

I love Advil and have taken it for years. And I usually take 600 mg (three 200mg tablets, which is the prescription dosage). I have depression and anxiety problems associated with my monthly hormonal fluctuations, and Advil actually HELPS me with that. I take my Advil and feel great. Advil works to block progesterone as well as working as an anti-inflammatory. So I love the stuff. I always joke that if I were going to be stranded on a deserted island and could have only one thing, it would HAVE to be Advil. And the liqui-gels are the best. They work in 15 minutes instead of an hour.

So I think that any drug can cause any person problems - it's very individual. I was just on a drug called Donnatal for my spastic colon that had phenobarbital in it. I absolutely couldn't tolerate it, and THAT drug made me extremely depressed (crying and telling my husband my life was stupid and purposeless :confused: I normally never feel like that) and anxious (chest pains, etc.). I had to stop taking it immediately. I know many other people tolerate it very well and don't have that kind of reaction at all. So again, I really think that most drugs effect people very individually.

[ClaraB]

Interesting... We routinely use NSAIDs in our postop patients, and I wasn't aware of depression as a side effect. I looked up Vioxx, Celebrex and Advil (Motrin, ibuprofen) in my nursing drug reference and found depression listed as a common side effect for both Celebrex and Vioxx. It is listed as a side effect for Advil, but not as a common one (drug companies will list pretty much every side effect that comes up in a clinical trial, even the very rare ones, and there's no guarantee that the drug and side effect are related - the occurence may be coincidental). It's a tough call - Vioxx and Celebrex may cause depression, but they are also very effective at treating chronic pain, which can also cause depression.