Can I take tiny infrequent doses of Ibuprofen
I am 70, in excellent health, and stage 3A kidney disease. I have been stable ever since I had a one time drop in function following high dose antibiotic treatment for a late diagnosed post knee surgery infection 3 years ago. My kidney doc left the practice and I cant see another one until March.
I had asked him if I could infrequently take just one dose of ibuprofen when I needed to. His answer was unclear (he was not a good communicator in general) but he was saying some infrequent small doses would be ok but no guarantees they wouldn’t lower the kidney performance. It was unclear exactly how much and how often. A doctor before him made a graph for me of where I am and how incredibly far away I am from dialysis. They always say the numbers are sort of estimates too?
Since then I have broken my back falling off my bike – all healed, but I have some now not bad hip pain from that – PT is helping but pain still builds if I have a busy day by the end of the day. I also have had my second gout attack and getting that in control. Hint – forget the nasty drugs and use lemon and cherry juices.
So for severe gout pain acetaminophen doesn’t help much and I would like to know if I can use ibuprofen – one dose only - if it happens. My wife and are hoping to ski – mostly X country – in Austria before my next meeting with a doctor and would like to know if I have this option. Or for a bad gout attack. It may hard to keep to my strict low uric acid diet while on vacation.
My eGFR is 42 and this is another question – my kidney tests don’t report uACR? Shouldn’t they? because I know that’s another key measure.
I think it would be safe to take one dose of ibuprofen if I continue my healthy habits and am not doing things – besides aging – that would hurt the kidneys.
Opinions? If you search this online the answer is always use acetaminophen and don’t take ibuprofen. Thanks
, thanks for sharing some of your journey with us. This would be a question for your doctor. I know for myself I wouldn't take it unless my doctor advised me to. Let us know what you decide or what the doctor tells you to do. How are you feeling these days? We would like to hear from you. Diane (Team Member) Well I cant see my new kidney doctor until March - I do know though that the former doctor did write that some kind of infrequent dose would be ok. The details though were confusing. In general people should avoid the drugs, but also people vary so much in their health and I think he looked at me and said small doses are not a big risk. I plan on only taking a single dose like if the gout comes screaming back. And being in otherwise good health and doing things to help the kidney is good. thanks for your interest
If your physician previously cleared it just make sure you start slow and small - I'd even try a half if you think a full one will be too much. Anything that can sett off a flare is going to result in a lot of discomfort and may not be worth it. For me, for a while, I was taking the liquid ibuprofen children's stuff which seemed to be easier on my stomach, although, admittedly I have a different chronic illness that only shares some symptoms with CKD. Gout, though, I share a lot of the same symptoms and that is a painful flare! Let us know how it turns out. DPM 
hello! Sorry you’ve had the misfortune of falling and hurting yourself. I hope you are all healed by the time you head out for skiing. What a great adventure! As far as the ibuprofen that’s something your doc should tell you and it appears he has, somewhat??? I had gout very bad and at one time was crawling across the floor because I couldn’t stand! I tried everything. Keeping my PRAL in the right range, drinking not from concentrate tart cherry juice daily, using lemon water, eating yogurt, I tried everything and I still would have break outs in my feet. It was horrible having to take prednisone and that’s not good for you either. So I gave in to Allopurinol and I haven’t had an attack since. I haven’t had any side effects either. It’s worth it for me. You may want to consider it at least while on your trip. Good luck Cindy (Team Member)
Sorry this is happening to you. I did respond to you regarding your gout. I hope you can get a handle on your pain. Enjoy Thanksgiving 🦃 Cindy (TM)
