Ibuprofen and water retention/weight gain

2

Replies

  • Rose6300
    Rose6300 Posts: 232 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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: 1,010 Member
    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
    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
    Wow, I had no idea. Thanks for posting.
  • annaswaggirl
    annaswaggirl Posts: 1
    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
    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.
  • amflautist
    amflautist Posts: 902 Member
    When I take ibuprofen, my legs swell up horribly. However, aspirin works wonders! No swelling at all!!!
  • amflautist
    amflautist Posts: 902 Member
    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....

    Smtatertot, do not take that Celebrex! It should be recalled, just as Vioxx was, because it increases your risk of heart attack by 2.5 times. http://www.drugrecalls.com/celebrex.html
  • Blokeypoo
    Blokeypoo Posts: 274 Member
    Non steroidal anti inflammatories (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen/voltarol etc can also affect kidney function. I work in a dialysis and transplant unit and we avoid their use. The kidneys regulate fluids of course but also blood pressure.

    http://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/painMeds_Analgesics.cfm

    That said, all drugs have effects - wanted and unwanted - if you are prescribed meds and are medically monitored it should be fine but I def wouldn't self medicate with NSAIDs long term. I do use them for occ use though.
  • BeckyMBisMe
    BeckyMBisMe Posts: 215 Member
    always happens to me too. every time! I've switched to good old aspirin for the occasional aches and pains and so far no edema.
  • Synamin
    Synamin Posts: 80 Member
    I have to take ibuprofen every once in awhile for aches and pains from fibromyalgia and IC and endo. When I do it seems my weight immediately goes up about three to five pounds. I have monitored what I am eating and I never have anything out of the ordinary and am right at my calorie level for MFP (set at 1200 right now). After I stop taking it my weight goes down after about a day or two. What gives??? Has anyone else seen this happen with their weight and ibuprofen? Just wondering if I'm a weird anomaly or if this happens to alot of people. :huh:

    Fluid retention is a recognized side effect of ibuprofen.
  • crazyincolorado84
    crazyincolorado84 Posts: 26 Member
    WOW. I take it just about every single day, which I know isn't great. I have bee doing everything right but have a very slow weight loss (like .5 lbs every other week) and huge weight fluctuations even after cutting out almost all salt and other things known to cause this. I'll cut out the pain meds and see what happens!
  • debbylee22
    debbylee22 Posts: 456 Member
    Glad to see this being discussed. I "forgot" & took ibuprofen for my back (it went out)... gained 4 lbs. Stopped taking it the next day, but the extra wt. is still with me. I'm concerned.
    Any ideas to help flush it out?
    Thanks.:smile:
  • xDawnsgrace
    xDawnsgrace Posts: 436
    it's strange that this would happen.
    i was taking water pills for water retention, and my doctor told me to stop taking them and start taking ibuprofen for water retention.

    hmm.
  • pukekolive
    pukekolive Posts: 237 Member
    I did 2 offroad 10km walks back to back last weekend and was really really tired afterwards. Before the weekend I had taken ibuprofen for a sore back on about Wednesday then at weekend got my head whacked by partner shutting lid of trunk (boot) of car on my head plus when I finished on Sunday got a bit of a twinge in my knee.

    I had expected after all the effort at the weekend that I might put a bit of weight on while recovering but then lose it, instead I was 2lbs heavier than before the weekend, then only 1 lb heavier but no sign of dropping it!
  • freemystery
    freemystery Posts: 184 Member
    Good to hear! In the last two weeks I have managed to gain incomprehensibly... like I know I've eaten below maintenance, I walk 4 miles a day to work and back. Somehow I have gained 9lb... 9!


    So some may be sore muscles in leg hanging on to water as I went for a long walk at weekend, about 9 miles.
    Some will be the fact it's my "chubby" time of the month
    And some will be the ibuprofen I took... for the cramps relating to the above!

    I can tell myself that it's just water and it's all going to be ok but it's hard to see the numbers go up like that. And in February you had 20lbs to lose and you suddenly find yourself 30lbs adrift of target. You just want to have a tantrum like a toddler in the supermarket and wail IT'S NOT FAIR!!
  • yayamom3
    yayamom3 Posts: 939 Member
    Bump
  • mogz36
    mogz36 Posts: 38 Member
    This happened to me over the weekend. I took some Advil yesterday for a headache... BOOM, hello 2 pounds of water weight.
  • HyacinthBucketFan
    HyacinthBucketFan Posts: 5 Member
    I've taken ibuprofen for the last few days and I've gained six pounds, which I knew wasn't right because I'm burning 2900 calories and taking in 1400 a day. I kept cutting back the carbs, thinking my macro nutrient ratio needed to be adjusted, but I looked back at all my meals and compared them to weeks when I was losing weight (I log everything including pills) and realized the only thing different in my diet was the ibuprofen. I don't need it that badly, so I'll go without and hopefully the retention will clear. I actually just typed in "ibuprofen water retention" on Google and a whole bunch of articles came up.
  • badwolf4
    badwolf4 Posts: 49 Member
    Wow, so this has been a roller coaster for me. As a recovering anorexic seeing the scale jump 5-6lbs this week (and it is NOT that time of the month lol) I nearly lost it. My doctor tried to calm me down by telling me it's the pain meds I've been chugging for my neck injury (cervical sprain c7 & t1) since Saturday. But to be quite honest I didn't really believe her. I've been taking Norco to sleep at night, 5mg Flexeril at least once during the day as a muscle relaxer, and then just tons of ibuprophen. When I was googling the Norco and the Flexeril I actually wasn't coming up with much in the way of water weight gain results, and all those voices were coming in "you've been sedentary for THREE DAYS" sedentary and 2000 cals a day = 6lb weight gain apparently :s I really hope not! So on a whim I tried Googling ibuprophen and water weight gain. BAM! Tons of results.

    Sadly next weigh in is next Tuesday and that WILL be my time of the month.
  • cbelc2
    cbelc2 Posts: 762 Member
    Ok. That's scary. I knew it could cause kidney damage and increase the risk of cardiovascular events. I woke up with a headache today that disappeared after I drank a big mug of hot black coffee. If it didn't work, plan B was ibuprofen. Glad I didn't do that!
  • wickedmaineah
    wickedmaineah Posts: 50 Member
    I take it everu day. Morning vitamin and 800 mgs of ibuprofen. If not I can not move due to spinal and knee injuries. Now I wonder if it is slowing down my weight loss. Going to have to try a couple of days over the long weekend and see what happens.
  • freespirit427
    freespirit427 Posts: 65 Member
    Love that this was brought up! Never thought about it. I have literally a 5 lb wt gain from heat and Ibuprofen use. Thanks for posting on this topic
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
    edited May 2016
    No, it doesn't for me. A couple of months ago I got the flu and took some ibprofins for a few days and actually lost water weight. I figured I must have had some muscle inflamation from excersize I was just starting out on and so the anti inflammatory properties took down the swelling? idk for sure.

    It wasn't stomach flu, just the cold, cough type flu and I was eating at maintenance the whole two weeks.
  • pammorrison48
    pammorrison48 Posts: 1 Member
    mogz36 wrote: »
    This happened to me over the weekend. I took some Advil yesterday for a headache... BOOM, hello 2 pounds of water weight.[/quo

    Glad to hear this as well. was taking ibuprofen for back pain this week and got on scale 3 lbs up. I felt bloated so googled it and glad to find this out. No more for me. My fingers were swollen so I couldnt bend them and eyes all puffy too.
  • jmp463
    jmp463 Posts: 266 Member
    Good to know - thanks
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