Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!yale!bunker!wtm
From: era@ncar.ucar.edu (Ed Arnold)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: Feldene
Message-ID: <10444@bunker.UUCP>
Date: 28 Feb 90 06:00:37 GMT
References: <10401@bunker.UUCP>
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Reply-To: era@ncar.ucar.edu (Ed Arnold)
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Organization: Scientific Computing Division/NCAR, Boulder, CO
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Approved: wtm@bunker.UUCP

Index Number: 6999

In article <10401@bunker.UUCP> Orville.Bullitt@f36.n135.z1.fidonet.org writes:
>Index Number: 6960
>
> Does anyone on this echo have any experience with Fledene (c) by 
>Pfizer pharmaceuticals? I have an L5-S1 spondololisthesis that was 
>agrivated in an accident about 19 months ago. I've been on 20 mg of 
>Feldene per day for about 10 days and it seems to be relieving the 
>pain.

Not personal experience, but my father has been taking it for years
to help pain due to injuries to several discs.  A couple comments:

1) In *many* users, it damages the stomach lining and digestive
   tract after being used for a long (years) period of time.
   This is what has happened to my father.  His doc has tried to
   get him off of it for intermittent periods to let the stomach
   heal.  It can cause ulceration and digestive tract bleeding.
2) I asked a D.O. what he thought of the medication, esp in the
   case of someone like my father, who is over 65.  His response
   was that he would consider it *malpractice* for any doctor to
   prescribe Feldene without also requiring periodic
   liver and renal function tests, as it can be damaging to both
   liver and kidneys.  He feels the testing should be done for
   individuals in any age group, but more frequently for older persons.

Still, Feldene is, for some people, the MOST effective pain reliever
they can find.  My father has tried a number of pain relievers, but
it seems like he always comes back to Feldene because that's what works.
--
Ed Arnold * NCAR * POB 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3000 * 303-497-1253(w)
era@ncar.ucar.edu [128.117.64.4] * era@ncario.bitnet * era@ncar.uucp
"See, the human mind is kind of like ... a pinata.  When it breaks open,
there's a lot of surprises inside."	--Jane Wagner/Lily Tomlin