Baby aspirin & ulcers

How common is it to take 1 baby aspirin a day and develop an ulcer? I suspect that's what's going on with me but would like others to weigh in. Do they switch you to a different drug? I've had 1 blood clot and some aFib.

7 Comments

Aspirin

by Grateful Heart - 2014-08-24 03:08:04


I was on an "adult" aspirin for over 4 years and I often wondered about the stomach side effects but tolerated them ok.

I graduated to a baby aspirin so I was happy about that.

I take the baby aspirin at bed time so I don't eat food with it. We'll see.....I hope you feel better soon Niecey.

Grateful Heart

aspirin may not help

by Elleninminn - 2014-08-24 05:08:27

My electrophysiologist says aspirin will not prevent blood clots if you have afib. Perhaps you need to consider taking warfarin or one of the new anticoagulants like Pradaxa or Xarelto. Unfortunately, like aspirin, they can exacerbate any bleeding from a stomach ulcer. Pepcid or Prilosec could help heal the ulcer, but you need to see a doctor about this. I've had the same dilemma.

Aspirin a day

by Lurch - 2014-08-24 11:08:13

Been taking an aspirin a day since 1998 (originally I was taking 325mg per day, about five years ago they dropped it to 81mg) and never had a problem.

Some people get ulcers, some don't. I think my stomach is so big the aspirin never settles in the same spot twice!!

Hi NiceNiecey

by IAN MC - 2014-08-24 11:08:53

Around 1 in 10 people taking daily aspirin will get ulcers in the stomach .Many of these don't cause symptoms but there is always the danger that they may perforate and bleed so it is best to avoid getting an ulcer if you can.

There is much debate going on as to whether, or not, the risks of taking aspirin outweigh the benefits but with your medical history you probably need a blood thinner of some sort.

Your Dr may well prescribe a drug, known as a proton pump inhibitor, for you to take with the aspirin . These PPI drugs reduce the acid in the stomach and make it less likely for you to develop ulcers ( examples are omeprazole and lanzoprazole ) or he may try another drug, instead of aspirin, but they all have potential risks of causing bleeds.

Best of luck

Ian

enteric coated baby aspirin

by cabbie - 2014-08-25 02:08:00

Hi. You can try taking enteric-coated baby aspirin, it's gentler on the stomach. And take itv with food.

Aspirin is an antiplatelet medication, for primary prevention of a blood clot. However, if you've had a thrombus or embolus already, the doctor might give a blood thinner like coumadin or one of the newer formulations in its class.

Enteric coating , maybe not !

by IAN MC - 2014-08-25 03:08:49

Hi cabbie ; "gentler on the stomach" sounds like a line from the advertising agencies !

Enteric coated aspirin is more of a marketing ploy by the pharmaceutical industry than a real improvement in aspirin safety.

What a great idea ! Coat the aspirin so that it sails through the stomach and doesn't dissolve till it reaches the small intestine so it won't damage the stomach lining. A pity it's not true !

The only trouble is that once aspirin gets into the bloodstream it blocks protective stomach-lining enzymes so the lining is still damaged .

Studies have shown that enteric coated aspirin is no "safer" for the stomach than the plain and it is just as likely to cause stomach bleeding.

One study even showed that coated aspirin is in fact less likely to inhibit blood-clotting than the plain version.

Having spent over 30 yrs in the pharmaceutical industry I cannot help my occasional cynicism towards the industry's attempts to increase revenue by making pseudo improvements to existing drugs.

Ian

Pharmacists

by IAN MC - 2014-08-25 05:08:21

My experience has been different to your's Sparrow !

I have found that most pharmacists are not up to date on the drugs they dispense . Most have forgotten everything they learned on their pharmacy courses and they use the same internet sources as the rest of us if they need info.

Pharmacists in hospitals may be more clued up but retail pharmacists are too busy making profit from all the non-pharmaceutical stuff to keep up-to-date on drugs. There are exceptions of course but these are rare in my experience.

In the hospital environment , Clinical Pharmacologists are the most knowledgeable people when it comes to the effects that prescribed drugs have on human beings.

Ian

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