Fifty Plus (50+) - Alleve has big impact on HR.

I have discovered that Alleve (I take it for knee and hip pain) has a big impact on MY Heart Rate while riding. After not taking it for awhile, I took two tablets before a charity 22 miler this morning. My heart rate was at least 10 beats higher than it has been recently for a similar effort.

It was so much higher that I really did not know how much effort I was exerting - so I just rode by feel and did OK. Averaged about 17 mph.

YMMV

Jim
67

Interesting...I wonder does asprin do the same thing? I would like to see further study on this. thanks; 17mph is really good.

I haven't been using my HRM. If I get ambitous, I will test your idea. We always carry a few Alleve, and use it often near the end of a
long ride. If this is true, perhaps aspirin or ibuprofen would be a better idea.

That is interesting, I wonder what the effects of using it for that purpose would be.

asprin thins the blood, while the chance of crashing and sustaining a serious enough injury is low, asprin increases the chance of bleeding out. fwiw.

My wife has a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. She says no. Maybe affects BP, but not HR. Also, this issue is easliy googled:

SIDE EFFECTS: The most common side effects from naproxen are rash, ringing in the ears, headaches, dizziness, drowsiness, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, heartburn, fluid retention and shortness of breath. Naproxen also may cause stomach and intestinal bleeding and ulcers. Sometimes, stomach ulceration and intestinal bleeding can occur without any abdominal pain. Black tarry stools, weakness, and dizziness upon standing may be the only signs of the bleeding. People who are allergic to other NSAIDs should not use naproxen.

I have discovered that Alleve (I take it for knee and hip pain) has a big impact on MY Heart Rate while riding. After not taking it for awhile, I took two tablets before a charity 22 miler this morning. My heart rate was at least 10 beats higher than it has been recently for a similar effort.

It was so much higher that I really did not know how much effort I was exerting - so I just rode by feel . ..

Are your sure it wasn't heat, over-excitement, exertion, humidity, lack of water, lack of sleep, plain tiredness, over-training or even talking to yourself (as well as possibly many other things)?

I really hate to disagree with a DOCTOR OF PHARMACY, but, I just related my experience with MY heart rate. I'm convinced the effect is real for me.

I've been recovering from Knee Replacement surgery in January and riding to get my knee to bend. I ride by "heart rate" depending on my plan for the day. On one day a week, I ride by myself on a 17 mile (down and back) with HR at 130 down and 140 back - I kind of know what that exertion feels like and check my average speed. After three days rest and after replacing a thorn resistant tube with a preslimed tube (losing a few ounces per wheel) and NO Alleve (I forgot to take it) I rode and increased my speed (its been steadily increasing) substantially from the previous week. Of course, I was interested in the big increase (lots of factors) and started to reconstruct what had happened. I immediately thought about the Alleve and discontinued taking the single pill prior to my rides. 130/140 was very doable for long stretches. I tried to remeasure my max heart rate and could only get to about 157. I was surprised because I measured 163 last summer after taking my usual one Alleve.

For my charity ride yesterday, I wanted to keep up and my hip had been bothering me so (not thinking about the heart rate thing) I took 2 Alleve tablets about 1 1/2 hours prior to my ride. I was following (I followed most of the way - only solo for short time) at a fairly sedate pace through some construction at the beginning of the ride and noted that my HR was over 130 when I expected about 115 - 120. Later while riding much faster, my heart rate was 147 - 148 and I did not feel as if I was exerting myself that much. I rode the ride not really paying attention to my HR after that just assuming that I was seeing the effects of the Alleve. Hour and 20 minutes - no big deal.

On todays solo ride - no Alleve - my HR averaged 114 again as per my usual slower ride.

Let's say I was a racer and I discovered that my heart beat faster after the Alleve. Should I take the Alleve before the big race?????? Anyone have any thoughts?

This is only MY experience and observation - YMMV.

Jim

The effect you are getting from Aleve is in your head, not your heart. It does not affect your heart rate!

sheila b

Here's something else to consider with Ibuprophenuse:

Non steriodals like Ibuprophen should not be used prior to exercise as they can mask injury and allow more severe damage. Also, Advil and the like have been linked to serious kidney ailments when used during exertion and in states of relative dehydration. That would describe hard training and racing situations. This could be the source of your cramping.


My advice is to use these drugs only after exercise to treat existing discomfort and to help prevent DOMS the next day(s). (delayed onset muscle soreness).


I've seen plenty of pill popping towards the end of both marathon and triathlons for those last, few painful miles. I think tylenol may be ok there but the others are not worth the risks.

sheila b

I am not biologically trained, but I do have scientific approach to problems.

Since a known side effect of Aleve (as listed above) can be shortness of breath, how can the reponse be so positive that heart rate would not be impacted?

Wouldn't a slight shortness of breath during exertion lead to a change in heart rate?

I don't recall exactly why the prescription NSAIDs were getting pulled (Vioxx, Bextra, etc) but wasn't that heart-related? I do remember reading at the time that one should not take Aleve habitually because it could have the same effects... It's an occasional-use-only painkiller.

I received a prescription dosage of Naproxen (about 2.5X over the counter dosage) when I went to the emergency room with severe ankle pain (turns out it is arthritis) and it cleared me up real well. After that, I have been using Aleve for any joint pain with great success.

I would have to see a problem associated with occasional usage of Aleve before I would remove it from my medicine chest. I had tried aspirin and ibuprofen with minimal improvement before resorting to the doctor on that recent issue.

In the past I would take aspirin pre-emptively before exercise (before I lost some of the weight I still need to lose) because of the potential for issues with Aleve, I will abstain from that sort of practice, but when I do get those joint aches I will pop an Aleve, and the achiness goes away.

dgregory57 wrote: "Since a known side effect of Aleve (as listed above) can be shortness of breath, how can the reponse be so positive that heart rate would not be impacted? Wouldn't a slight shortness of breath during exertion lead to a change in heart rate?"

Well, yeh, but the shortness of breath they're referring to is that symptom associated with congestive heart failure, or some other long-term effect resulting in fluid retention - which is a potential result of long term NSAID use. Big difference between chronic (long term) and acute (short term) effects of drugs. Sorry the bit I copied did not differentiate.

Anyone can sign up for a service like Medscape to research these issues, and better yet, consult a physician or other health care professional qualified in the subject area.

sheila b provided useful advice re timing of ingestion.

Yes since a heart attack I have had shortness of breath. It happens cos the heart is struggling to keep up due to damage caused in the attack. They said if I exercise my heart it will disappear, and they were right. Since I increased the bike mileage the breathlessness has reduced.

My suggestion, if you are not qualified in the area don't pay too much attention to lists of drug side effects. The important question is, is it doing the job that it is intended to do? If it is then it may be worth some discomfort. Put it another way: would you rather be dead or alive with a side effect?

I received a prescription dosage of Naproxen (about 2.5X over the counter dosage) when I went to the emergency room with severe ankle pain (turns out it is arthritis) and it cleared me up real well. . . .

Do you realize that Naproxen and Alleve are not quite the same chemical? Naproxen is naproxen (commercially called Naprosyn, I think) and Alleve is naproxen sodium.

I too have some prescription naproxen, but it makes me somewhat drowsy, so I don't take it unless it is before bedtime.