I'm on the keyboard all day, and sometimes I'm fine and sometimes it hurts, especially when the weather's changing. Poor Hubby, at home in a narcotic haze and he still hurts. I suppose it's time to check for actual arthritis.

Yeah, Advil and Motrin will cut down the inflammation, at least temporarily. They're NSAIDs, which is the same class of drugs as the ones usually prescribed for arthritis.

Yes, that article makes Obama seem even better and Bush seem even more of an ass. (Who knew that was possible?) Also, Barack the Elephant is terribly cute - and who doesn't feel "tramply" sometimes?

Wait, so now Barack is an elephant and Bush is a jackass? I swear, I will never understand American politics.

The guy who does Hubby's joint surgeries--as opposed to his back surgeries, the man has a whole entourage of surgeons--recommended ibuprofen to help with the problems with my knees. So I guess it's just my stern ancestry telling me to just suffer silently and not be a big girl about it. Though I am a big girl. Hmmm.

My mom nearly died from a reaction to a prescription NSAID (Clinoril), which I always tell a doctor when they ask about potential allergies. I haven't had any issues with drugs, but I've never been on an NSAID, so who knows? I'd rather not find out I'm allergic the way Mom did.

The only things I'm allergic to are latex in bandaids and llamas. The things one learns at the State Fair.

Connie, there's no virtue in suffering silently -- pain is bad for you.

(And Kathy, NSAIDs include things like aspirin, ibuprofen, Aleve... I dearly hope you don't find out the hard way that you're allergic to something, but if you've taken the OTC stuff without incident, you may not be as sensitive to the whole class of drugs as you fear. Still, best to tell the docs all rather than withhold any potential risk.)

I had to share this article from today's monitor [link]

Should be appreciated by more than a few here.

I usually take aspirin when I need pain relief, and I know Mom takes Tylenol but steers clear of Motrin and Aleve due to the whole NSAID thing.

Still, best to tell the docs all rather than withhold any potential risk.

Definitely. Mom got Stevens Johnson Syndrome and was in the hospital for two months. I remember the time I went to see her in Chicago when she was at her worst (106 temp for five days, lying on a bed filled with ice, lost most of her hair and a good portion of her skin [whitefonted for ick factor]). It wasn't until a few years later when I was in high school that I realized they had me see her then because they didn't think she'd live past that week. My dad and older sibs shielded me from just how bad it was.

She was actually lucky--eleven other people had come down with SJS after taking Clinoril before she did and they had all died. Her case was the reason SJS was added as a potential side effect.

I have lived on ibuprofen for years, and I've found that if I keep a steady dose of two to four OTC pills a day, it keeps me from having to knock back handfuls when the arthritis kicks into full gear. The anti-inflammatory effect can actually prevent damage, particularly if you've done something like a sprain. I operate under one simple rule: Pain is bad.