Hi. I posted on discussion site but got no replies- does anyone take a baby aspirin a day- and does it affect your pouch? I usually take tylenol for aches and pains, but I have been thinking of taking a baby aspirin a day for heart health and stroke prevention. I am 59 years old now. Had my surgery and takedown in 04- never took aspirin before because of the bleeding it could cause with my UC.

Thanks for your replies.

Linda

I take advil for my aches and pains and I haven't noticed any problems with my pouch. And on all the things I've read from doctors, there was not a restriction for asprin. Hopefully, Jan will answer and give you a more technical response.

Mark

Linda,
Have you asked your GI about this? I've heard that those with internal pouches shouldn't take NSAIDs (like aspirin) because they can affect your GI system. I have read posts by pouchers who have taken NSAIDS, some say they tolerate them well while others say they have problems. Since you'd be taking the aspirin everyday I think a medical opinion would be useful. Have you tried doing a search?

Hi. No, I haven't asked my GI- I really don't think he is as up to date on pouchs as I would like. But I could ask my surgeon- and I will do a search. Thanks for the idea.

Linda

I took a baby aspirin a day because my neurologist thought I had evidence of mini-strokes. A few months later I developed bleeding stomach and doudenal ulcers. The ulcers were biopsied and the results showed that aspirin was the cause. I also had a flare of my pouch at the same time, but I don't know if the aspirin triggered that. My GI doc thought it looked like Crohn's of the pouch. I hope it's not the same for you, but I cannot take any NSAIDs anymore due to the high risk of ulcers.
Well wishes,
Mav+

Dear Linda,

I've been taking a baby aspirin every day for about 3 years, both before and after the pouch, with no problems.

Thank you for your replies- I will talk to my doctors, but more importantly, I will listen to my body to see if I can tell any difference in my pouch or body while I try baby aspirin. I also read some of the previous topics on this subject. I think everyone is different on how this affects them.

When I was a teenager and in my 20's and 30's, I did take a lot of aspirin for headaches etc. I am wondering if I did damage to myself all those years- I guess I'll never know? Right before my diagosis of UC in 1995, my stomach area was hurting and I kept taking aspirin to help with the pain- I guess I was shooting myself in the foot!

Again, thanks for your replies.

Linda

This should be a case by case type approach based on risk vs. benefit. About 30% of IBD patients have flares associated with NSAIDs. Low dose aspirin may or may not cause you problems, since most side effects are dose related. Discuss this with your primary doctor and your gastroenterologist and make an informed decision. But, understand that if you have GI side effects, all you have to do is stop the drug and you will return to normal.

I like to say never say never or always, because there are usually exceptions. I take the NSAID Mobic on a daily basis for my arthritis without problems, but developed pouchitis type symptoms after a few years on Motrin. You can have problems with one drug and not another.

Another thing many people do not know is if you are taking ibuprofen, it counteracts the anticoagulant effect of aspirin, which is counterintuitive to what you would think (that they would add up to an increased effect, since they each are anticoagulant).

Jan