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munruben
5th February 2011, 08:24 PM
I was reading the thread put up by rsser and someone mentioned that Aspirin could be replaced by a better product; which set me off wondering, dangerous I know.:)
I take 1 Aspirin every day, on doctors advice but have read on the internet that some believe it does more harm than good.
Does anyone have an opinion on this or some advice or experience or know of something that is a preferable substitute with little or no harmful side effects.
Would be interesting to know how many of you take Aspirin on a daily basis.

I take several medications for Hypertension but I don't think the Aspirin is purely for the purpose of helping with my high blood pressure.

Barry_White
5th February 2011, 09:34 PM
Hi John

Aspirin doesn't reduce blood pressure. It is used for thinning the blood and preventing clots. But the recommendation is 100ml of Aspirin but it is better to take either Astrix or Cartia because they are only 100ml dose and have a coating on them so that it doesn't dissolve until it gets into the intestine and irritate the stomach.

Aspirin is 300ml dose and even if you break them in half you're still gettin too big a dose.

munruben
5th February 2011, 09:42 PM
Thanks Barry, I take the Astrix brand and same as you say its 100mg and supposed to be for thinning the blood but I've heard conflicting opinions on its side effects.

Big Shed
5th February 2011, 09:45 PM
Barry, I think you may have your measures a bit mixed up.

For blood thinning, the standard recommended dose of Aspirin is 100mg (as in milligram, or 1/1000 of a gram, a measure of weight). 100ml is millitres, or 1/1000 of a litre, a measure of volume.

100mg Aspirin is available over the counter as DBL Aspirin 100mg, in boxes of 112 tablets.

Scott
5th February 2011, 09:46 PM
I take several medications for Hypertension but I don't think the Aspirin is purely for the purpose of helping with my high blood pressure.

munruben is absolutely spot on.

Asprin prevents your platelets in your blood from clumping together therefore preventing clots accumulating which can cause strokes and heart attacks. As a Intensive Care Nurse of 15 years I think not taking Asprin is not a wise choice. Ultimately the best person to talk about this is your Doctor. The absolute last place to get advice on your health is the internet.

Barry_White
5th February 2011, 09:46 PM
John I've been taking it for over 30 years and have had no side effects and I think the benefits far outweigh the side effects.

Barry_White
5th February 2011, 09:50 PM
Too true Fred I was having a brain fade when I wrote that.

rrobor
5th February 2011, 10:11 PM
It was I who talked about asprin. Not for the reason you take it but as a pain killer. I mentioned it as being taken in large doses, not in the quantity you use. Yes as an anti clotting agent taken at the correct dose its fine. In meggadoses for long periods of time it is not. I have to take drugs that irritate the stomach and got Helicobacter an unpleasant little beast. My uncle almost died taking huge doses for hip joint pain. He burned a hole through to an artery in his gut.

Batpig
5th February 2011, 10:18 PM
Dear John,

I take several medications for Hypertension but I don't think the Aspirin is purely for the purpose of helping with my high blood pressure.
It's very useful in a couple of ways when it comes to high blood pressure, because it not only thins the blood - which enables the blood to be pumped around with less pressure and therefore less load on your heart - but it also acts as an "anti-coagulant" that makes it less likely for "clots" to develop in your bloodstream. The elimination of such clots can be crucial in the prevention of Ischaemic Attacks (ie. Strokes :p), which are quite often the result of such blood-clots lodging somewhere in an artery or vessel supplying blood to the brain. No blood means no oxygen, which can quite quickly result in permanent damage to unsupplied brain-cells. And since a great many Strokes are also caused by the dislodging of solid cholesterol buildup that re-lodges in a blocking manner somewhere further downstream in the artery, the "thinning" effect of the aspirin causes less hydraulic drag to act on the artery-wall cholesterol - thus rendering it less likely to dislodge in the first place.

It does have the disadvantage, however, of making it a little more likely that you might alternatively suffer from an Aneurism (ie. a Brain-Haemmorage :p), because your blood has become thinner, and is more able to force it's way through small ruptures in your arteries and vessels, but the decreased-blood-pressure "part of the deal" usually negates this tendency (as is evidenced by the fact that Aneurisms are quite uncommon compared to clot-type Strokes). Another potential disadvantage is a theoretically-increased likelihood of Stomach Ulcers - once again because the thinner blood is more able to percolate through the walls of even small blood-vessels. But you'd probably detect blood in your stool sooner or later if that was happening anyway.

In the event that you start having Transient Ischaemic Attacks (ie. TIA's - aka Ministrokes) in spite of being on a weak form of daily Aspirin like Cardiprin, your system could proably benefit from a higher dose, but the only real way I know of threading the abovementioned delicate needle of Aspirin's advantages v's disadvantages is to take a medication called "Asasantin SR", which is a "slow-release" capsule-form that provides a more constant presence of the medication throughout the whole course of the day, but still at a gentle level that decreases the accompanying risk of haemorrhage and/or ulcer.

I wouldn't fret too much, because the "once-a-day"-type Aspirin (eg. Cardiprin) that the doctor has probably got you on now, is substantially weaker tablet-for-tablet than the pain-killing variety (eg. Aspro Clear) - even though the instructions on the side of a box of the latter say that you can have up to 2 or 3 every 4hrs, towards a maximum of 12 in a 24hr period, for up to 1 week (that's a lot more Aspirin in your system than what one Cardiprin a day will amount to...)

As far as pain-killing goes, I'll take a couple of Aspro-Clear in a glass of water when I've got a splitting headache (luckily only once or twice a year :-), and I generally find the stuff to be fast-acting and generally unbeatable. As for alternatives, you've got to watch-out for Codeine-type products, because some people can get constipated by them. Regarding Paracetamol, I wouldn't know how good it is because I don't think I've ever taken it.

Best Wishes,
Batpig.

marker
5th February 2011, 10:41 PM
On the ABC's Health Report last year there was an interview with the author of a study on taking Aspirin. You may wish to read a transcript of the interview.
The aspirin controversy - Health Report - 31 May 2010 (http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/stories/2010/2911077.htm)
Mark

Master Splinter
5th February 2011, 10:44 PM
I heard an interview on ABC radio a few weeks ago with a researcher who had been studying the long term effects of asprin, and his bottom line was that the positive benefits so outweighed the negatives that he had started taking it himself. Of course, now I can't find a link to that particular study!

Rifleman1776
6th February 2011, 04:37 AM
I use the daily asprin therapy to help prevent strokes, T IAs and other heart related problems. Not a guarantee but proven to reduce chances of these problems. I have read extensively on the recommended doses. The 'expert' advice is all over the board from very low dose to several aspirin daily. From my reading, I concluded that one half of an adult aspirin daily was good and not excessive. I have been doing this for about ten years with no ill side effects. At age 72 I have not had a stroke, TIA or heart attack. Not proof but good enough for me to continue. BTW, I take a generic no-name brand to save money. My son and daughter-in-law are both doctors, my wife a pharmacist and all agree that what I am doing is a good practice. My personal doctor agrees.

Drillit
6th February 2011, 10:17 AM
Hi Munruben,
Just to let you know that there is a prescription medication that is a substitute for aspirin - it is called Plavic and does not have the side effects of aspirin. I suggest that you research it and discuss with your GP. Hope this helps, John M.

munruben
6th February 2011, 02:49 PM
It was I who talked about asprin. Not for the reason you take it but as a pain killer. I mentioned it as being taken in large doses, not in the quantity you use. Yes as an anti clotting agent taken at the correct dose its fine. In meggadoses for long periods of time it is not. I have to take drugs that irritate the stomach and got Helicobacter an unpleasant little beast. My uncle almost died taking huge doses for hip joint pain. He burned a hole through to an artery in his gut.This is very interesting. Thanks rrobor for qualifiying your post in the other thread. I was going to track the post down to quote you but I couldn't seem to find the paragraph that contained the bit I was referring to.:2tsup:

munruben
6th February 2011, 02:53 PM
On the ABC's Health Report last year there was an interview with the author of a study on taking Aspirin. You may wish to read a transcript of the interview.
The aspirin controversy - Health Report - 31 May 2010 (http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/stories/2010/2911077.htm)
MarkThanks I will check that out.:2tsup:


I heard an interview on ABC radio a few weeks ago with a researcher who had been studying the long term effects of asprin, and his bottom line was that the positive benefits so outweighed the negatives that he had started taking it himself. Of course, now I can't find a link to that particular study!Probably the one that Marker has given above.


Hi Munruben,
Just to let you know that there is a prescription medication that is a substitute for aspirin - it is called Plavic and does not have the side effects of aspirin. I suggest that you research it and discuss with your GP. Hope this helps, John M.I will certainly do some research on this, thanks:2tsup:

munruben
6th February 2011, 02:57 PM
Hi Munruben,
Just to let you know that there is a prescription medication that is a substitute for aspirin - it is called Plavic and does not have the side effects of aspirin. I suggest that you research it and discuss with your GP. Hope this helps, John M.Researching this product as you suggest but I understand it is Plavix and not Plavic. Hope I got it right. :)

munruben
6th February 2011, 03:18 PM
On the ABC's Health Report last year there was an interview with the author of a study on taking Aspirin. You may wish to read a transcript of the interview.
The aspirin controversy - Health Report - 31 May 2010 (http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/stories/2010/2911077.htm)
MarkHaving read the transcript I must confess, these are some of the things I have heard which prompted me to start this thread.

rrobor
6th February 2011, 05:12 PM
Looking at this thread, I was unsure as to posting again or not.
Life is about choices.
My cousin, a surgeon stayed with me several years back and we shared a bottle of the best Scotland can produce (Glen Livet). On visiting my specialist a week or so later he looked at my liver results and said, not good. I explained why and who. His reply was, perhaps we have but one life, perhaps your cousin understands that.
Sadly that will not happen again, but these are the choices. Glass boxes are not things to live in, so please look at what you want. Do you want to hang on as a vacant lot, or a question mark. Or do you want to fly for as long your wings hold out then crash.
We each make those choices, but please whilst you can control the direction. please think, is this what I want.
Make your cloices but count the cost. Nothing is free.

Chesand
6th February 2011, 07:01 PM
What has not been mentioned up to date is that for certain people Aspirin in larger doses can cause stomach irritation.
The daily 100mg dose is OK in the large majority of people. Some gastro-enterologists are now recommending 200 mg per day as protection against bowel cancer.

Aspirin is Acetylsalicylic Acid which, in the stomach, is broken down to Acetic Acid (as in vinegar) and Salicylic Acid (used in wart paints) which causes the irritation. This is the reason that it should be taken after food or to take the enteric coated versions such as Cartia or Cardiprin.

Plavix, Iscover and their equivalents are available on prescription for people who have a history of intolerance or irritation from aspirin.

As always, doctor's advice should be sought and followed. Self diagnosis and treatment is frought with danger.

rrobor
6th February 2011, 07:28 PM
If you dont want bowel cancer, dont drink beer.
If you want to be a miserable sod, dont drink beer.
Cancer is the killer of the old on average, if you want to avoid it, die young.
Doctors get paid more than most and kill more than most. A famous Scottish Psychiatrist who was as nutty as a fruit cake said " Never trust anybody who says believe me".

Big Mac
6th February 2011, 07:53 PM
I have chronic angina and have been a user of aspirin for 15 yrs. Was using DBL which is a coated form of aspirin.(100mg) Three months ago my cardiologist put me onto Co-PLAVIX which has 100mg of aspirin added to plavix.Is cheaper as you only need 1drug instead of two.
I have had no side effects (that i know about)using aspirin in anyform that was of 100mg.

Neil

Ricardito
6th February 2011, 11:22 PM
I do not really know but my wife heard of the new aspirin research news among other things can prevent cancer reoccurring as she almost all other forms of cancer treatment if it strikes again so she ask the doctor if she could take few here and there the good doc said Definitely NOT.He is a very conservative GP anyway.
Personally I do not take aspirin I think do not need it although my parents both died young Mum 54 Dad 73 of a heart related diseases so I say this things with certain reservations.

rsser
7th February 2011, 08:31 AM
rrobor, you wouldn't have got helicobacter p. from aspirin I'd say. It's a bacterium, the one that causes peptic ulcers.

Drillit
7th February 2011, 09:17 AM
Hi Munruben,
Slight correction to my earlier note...the aspirin substitute is called Plavix (not Plavic). Typo eh. Regards, John M.

rrobor
7th February 2011, 09:38 AM
Correct as to aspirin, which I do not take, but I take other drugs that irritate the gut lining. Helicobacter is bacteria yes. I also take immune suppressants, and have a great deal of trouble with athletes foot and brown patches under arm pits etc which is yeast. If you provide a fertile field with little protection something is liable to grow. So my argument is simply that you should avoid, if you can, supplying fertile areas for nasties to grow.

munruben
7th February 2011, 08:02 PM
Hi Munruben,
Slight correction to my earlier note...the aspirin substitute is called Plavix (not Plavic). Typo eh. Regards, John M.Thanks John, we did actually pick up on that little error.:):2tsup: