Ibuprofen and water retention/weight gain

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  • frustrated51
    frustrated51 Posts: 1
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    Thank you for your post. Yes I most definitely experience weight gain when i take IB. As you state it will come off a few days after you stop taking the medication. I journal ALL of my food intake and I exercise 3 -4 times per week. If it were not for my tracking all of this through my fitness pal it would have been vry discouraging.
  • Swiftdogs
    Swiftdogs Posts: 328 Member
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    I'm glad this post was bumped back up! I was extremely discouraged after the scale went the wrong direction after a ton of exercise last weekend. But I was taking ibuprofen for a badly bruised wrist/forearm! I stopped yesterday, so I'll see where the numbers go.
  • Swiftdogs
    Swiftdogs Posts: 328 Member
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    Bingo! With 48 hours off ibuprofen, the scale thinks I've lost 2.6 pounds this week. Most of that is water, but it's sure nice to see a good number.
  • ashandstuff
    ashandstuff Posts: 442 Member
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    Whoa I never realized this, that's something to keep in mind the next time I weigh in! :] You learn something everyday
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Weird. I have a lot of Ibuprofen around ovulation and my period, and I gain water weight, but I always kinda assumed it was linked to my period and not the ibuprofen.
  • bjshields
    bjshields Posts: 677 Member
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    Don't know if it's related, but my blood pressure always goes sky high when I take ibuprofen the day of a doctor's visit. Interesting.
  • charlottey11
    charlottey11 Posts: 1
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    I'm so glad I found this! I had dental surgery on Monday and have been taking 200 mg doses of ibuprofen every 3 hours for pain. I weighed myself at my gym on Sunday and just this morning weighed myself again - i've gained 3.5 pounds in 3 days! I nearly cried! Nothing has changed as far as my diet and physical activity, in fact i haven't been able to eat what I normally eat until dinner last night. I'm relieved that Advil could be the culprit and hope I can button the nice pants that I would like to wear to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow night!:smile:
  • maasha81
    maasha81 Posts: 733 Member
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    Wow, this was so informative. I as well took a couple pills to alleviate some knee pain and I couldn't understand why I was so bloated. Ppl actually commented on my weight gain ...well guess I'll look at other options.
  • sassyjae21
    sassyjae21 Posts: 1,217 Member
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    I agree, this was good to hear. i have been popping them like crazy because of back pain, neck pain, life pain. When i got on the scale yesterday, i had put on a few pounds and I actually did cry. Plus my TOM is next week so I'm sure that didn't help. I feel so much better. I will not give up.
  • xkarinadollface
    xkarinadollface Posts: 4 Member
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    wow this is insane, i had no idea!... i get bad migraines and take advil a lot and i just got a breast augmentation and once i got off the prescribed painkillers, i started taking both tylenol and advil cause my surgeon said its better than the prescribed ones since they are pretty strong.. I came into surgery with lean abs.. i came home after looking pregnant and the bloating still hasn't gone away.. I heard this is normal and shall pass, i eat very clean too..
  • Rose6300
    Rose6300 Posts: 232 Member
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    I wonder if this is my issue. I have to take it about 2 hours before I work out because of osteoarthritis in my knees. But I've been doing this all along, and my weight loss stall is recent, so I'm not sure. Regardless, I have to take it. Hopefully it'll just be a flat 2 pounds of water weight and won't increase. Thanks for the info.
  • thesimsisters
    thesimsisters Posts: 73 Member
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    Wow, this is good to know. I did not know that ibuprofen and aleve make you retain water like that. I have severe endometriosis and so when my period is getting ready to start my gyno surgeon advised I load up on ibuprofen to get ahead of the pain and help reduce the severity and inflammation. I also have high prescription naproxen that I take if it gets very bad, which is basically what I call fancy aleve lol! So this is good to know as along with my period week weight gain, it sometimes takes a while for me to drop the extra even when my period is ending. Now it makes sense as I'm still taking the medicine at that time! Then I see this huge drop the next weekly weigh in. I figured it was just all period related, but now I think it's a combination.

    Although I cannot avoid the NSAIDs since tylenol will not help with my endo, I can certainly avoid them the rest of the month to test this out!
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    Thanks so much for your input everyone! I'm starting to feel a bit better. Maybe I'll try something else. Tylenol doesn't seem to touch my pain but maybe the doctor (going in two weeks) will have an alternative or maybe I'll just deal with it if I know it's only water weight. At least I know I'm not alone! :smile:

    You are 11 pounds from goal, and you are worried about water weight from a medication you need? You know it is not real pounds. Stop weighing yourself so much.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    I agree, this was good to hear. i have been popping them like crazy because of back pain, neck pain, life pain. When i got on the scale yesterday, i had put on a few pounds and I actually did cry. Plus my TOM is next week so I'm sure that didn't help. I feel so much better. I will not give up.

    6 pounds from goal weight, you need a new goal that is not dependent on a number on the scale. As a woman, you should expect to fluctuate +/- AT LEAST 5 pounds. It is just the way it is.
  • LRoslin
    LRoslin Posts: 128
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    Oh my gosh, I am so glad this thread got bumped. I just started an ibuprofen regimen for tendonitis, and my weight went up a pound and has been stuck there...now I know! Hrmph. Midol sounds like a good alternative.
  • sistrsprkl
    sistrsprkl Posts: 1,013 Member
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    I rarely take ib but I have this week since I've been sick. I've gone up like 5 lbs but I've been eating pretty well. Hopefully, I'll feel better soon so I can work out and stop taking ib...
  • Aeramis13
    Aeramis13 Posts: 135 Member
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    I don't take standard ibuprofen, so I don't track things with weight gain, but I do take a generic nsaid at least twice a day to handle the arthitis pain i have - the doc can't figure out what kind of arthritis i have, so he gave me the nsaid i have (generic = flurbiprofen, i think) that i take with lunch and with dinner.

    that being said, my husband was recently prescribed some celebrex for his awful heel pain that surgery didn't fix and it is something he can't take and still work (makes him loopy, so it's not an option).

    I googled it and learned that it might help with my arthritis...anyone know if i can take it without making my body go crazy? i'm cool with extra gain as long as it helps with the pain and doesn't provide any other negatives....
  • mrsslls
    mrsslls Posts: 41 Member
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    Wow, I had no idea. Thanks for posting.
  • annaswaggirl
    annaswaggirl Posts: 1
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    I too have fibromyalgia, take Tylenol and Ibuprofen daily actually, and after 6 weeks on My Fitness Pal have noticed I have not been dropping weight like others who are on it! Thanks for posting this info, I think that's my problem! I am trying to find other pain relievers other than Tylenol and Ibuprofen because it's frustrating when you don't see the scale moving (or the fit of the clothes!!) and you work so hard at it :(
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    I don't take standard ibuprofen, so I don't track things with weight gain, but I do take a generic nsaid at least twice a day to handle the arthitis pain i have - the doc can't figure out what kind of arthritis i have, so he gave me the nsaid i have (generic = flurbiprofen, i think) that i take with lunch and with dinner.

    that being said, my husband was recently prescribed some celebrex for his awful heel pain that surgery didn't fix and it is something he can't take and still work (makes him loopy, so it's not an option).

    I googled it and learned that it might help with my arthritis...anyone know if i can take it without making my body go crazy? i'm cool with extra gain as long as it helps with the pain and doesn't provide any other negatives....

    Celebrex is a prescription drug, isn't it? You should always consult a doctor for prescription medication. People on the internet cannot know your health history and any possible complications or risks for you personally.

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