donheff

I hit 70 later this summer and have developed a case of arthritis in the hips. I have noticed some morning pain and stiffness for a while and then a severe flare in one hip sent me to the doctor. Xrays show that the cartilage is still in pretty good shape, just some detritus and flaky stuff causing the inflammation. Thus I am a candidate for symptom relief via NSAIDS. The flare was knocked out by a cortisone shot and the doc prescribed a small amount of diclofenac. After a month the arthritis pain is back. It is severe enough to effect my walking and bending, although I have seen no return of the acute flare so far. A single Aleve (naproxen) tamps the pain down pretty well for 12 hours as does the diclofenac. I go back to the sports medicine and pain specialist who gave me the cortisone shot in a few weeks and will seek his advice about long term management. In the meantime, I have read about the potential side effects of long term NSAID use but people I know get various opinions from varying docs and I am curious about experiences among the pills and ills readers. I am not looking for legitimate medical advice from us lay folks, I am more curious about the medical advice (from professionals) that people have gotten.

Is a single OTC Aleve twice a day likely to be safe long term or is that sufficient to cause ulcers and other problems in a significant number of users? Is two twice a day safe (as one of my friends' doctor asserts) or is that just throwing the dice? To the extent that prescription NSAIDs like the diclofenac or indomethecin work better are they more dangerous than Aleve? If you really shouldn't take NSAIDs long term, how long a break do you need between courses?