Study: Aspirin beats provigil for M.S. fatigue
Question:
jils wrote: > interesting info rose. > methinks it’s an american thing.
maybe so. i only started paying real attention to the ingredients and warnings on OTC products afer my M.S. diagnosis. my days of traveling outside north america were previous to dx — it sounds bad to admit, but i never paid attention in those days — if it was OTC, then it was fine to take, wherever it came from. living so close to the mexican border also gave me a new perspective on the safety and efficacy of over the counter drugs! ;-> > i don’t think australian aspirin products have ever had caffeine. > certainly "aspirin" is just that and always has been!
i remember ‘headache powder’ in london. do you have powdered aspirin in australia? (one of my nephews is in the process of becoming a citizen of oz-land. y’all have tough immigration policies down there! his wife — an australian citizen — had emergency surgery recently, and he had to jump through hoops to get permission to stay in the country while she recovered. she says it’s due to the number of marriages of convenience, we’d call them green card marriages here.) well, that had nothing to do with M.S., provigil, aspirin OR fatigue. sorry about that! i’ve got too many relatives living too many places, combine it with a rambly mind and all kinds of weird things come out. =:o rose
Response:
many/most do aside from those night time pills which I do not think there is aspirin one. But the percentage varies, I think Anacin has one of the highest. — Quaecomque sunt vera —- "jils" <j…@spambegone.com> wrote in message
news:426ac5b6$0$4655$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> aspirin contains caffeine? > are you sure about that? > i’ve never heard that. i dispute it!! > rose wrote: >> ok, this was a weird one. provigil did nothing for me, but i certainly >> don’t disbelieve the many folks i’ve seen who said it helped them >> IMMENSELY. >> aspirin contains caffeine — i’d bet that’s what helped with the >> fatigue. but, i’m no scientist!
Response:
interesting info rose. methinks it’s an american thing. i don’t think australian aspirin products have ever had caffeine. certainly "aspirin" is just that and always has been! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -rose wrote: > jils wrote: >>exactly. and if it were added, they’d have to say so! >>just buying plain old aspirin wouldn’t give you a hit of caffeine! > check the ‘inactive ingredients’ section on the outer box the aspirin > is contained in if you want to make sure. > apparently fewer companies are including caffeine in aspirin today — > and heart patients on aspirin therapy are on low-dose aspirin therapy, > often bayer ‘therapeutic dose’ or st. joe’s children’s aspirin. > here is a list from the cleveland clinic (they do heart stress tests > there a lot) of OTC products containing caffeine, with the amount of > caffeine included: > http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/0100/0186.asp?… > Common Over-The-Counter Drugs Containing Caffeine > Drug > Name Caffeine > Content > Anacin Maximum > Strength 65.4 mg > Anacin Tablets and > Caplets 32 mg > Aspirin-Free Excedrin > Caplets 32 mg > Bayer Select Maximum Strength Headache Pain Relief 65 mg > Excedrin Caplets > (Canada) 65 mg > Excedrin Caplets Extra Strength > (Canada) 65 mg > Excedrin Extra Strength Caplets and > Tablets 65 mg > Goody’s Extra Strength > Tablets 65 mg > Goody’s Headache > Powder 16.24 mg > Midol Menstrual Maximum Strength Caplets 32.5 > mg > Midol for Cramps Maximum Strength Caplets 60 mg > i didn’t realize they were leaving it out more often these days…back > in the early 90s i worked for a (secular) firm, where all the senior > partners happened to be mormons. the office client supply/medicine > cabinet had caffeine-containing substances and the other products we > should get instead — including herbal tea (rather than coffee or > regular tea), tylenol (rather than aspirin), and carob (rather than > chocolate). > caffeine itself has been recognized as a headache treatment for a long > time; it looks like it’s mainly the Xtra strength stuff that contains > it these days, but in the 80s and 90s it was in MOST of the aspirin, > including the store brand generic cheapo stuff. the caffeine helps with > the headache, which is why it was added. > the amounts are small, so people avoiding caffeine for health purposes > would prob be unconcerned about it, but those avoiding it for religious > reasons (at least serious ‘word of wisdom’ guys like the partners at my > former job) avoid even tiny amounts, as often as possible. > it would be tought to give up chocolate for religious reasons! > rose
Response:
jils wrote: > exactly. and if it were added, they’d have to say so! > just buying plain old aspirin wouldn’t give you a hit of caffeine!
check the ‘inactive ingredients’ section on the outer box the aspirin is contained in if you want to make sure. apparently fewer companies are including caffeine in aspirin today — and heart patients on aspirin therapy are on low-dose aspirin therapy, often bayer ‘therapeutic dose’ or st. joe’s children’s aspirin. here is a list from the cleveland clinic (they do heart stress tests there a lot) of OTC products containing caffeine, with the amount of caffeine included: http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/0100/0186.asp?… Common Over-The-Counter Drugs Containing Caffeine Drug Name Caffeine Content Anacin Maximum Strength 65.4 mg Anacin Tablets and Caplets 32 mg Aspirin-Free Excedrin Caplets 32 mg Bayer Select Maximum Strength Headache Pain Relief 65 mg Excedrin Caplets (Canada) 65 mg Excedrin Caplets Extra Strength (Canada) 65 mg Excedrin Extra Strength Caplets and Tablets 65 mg Goody’s Extra Strength Tablets 65 mg Goody’s Headache Powder 16.24 mg Midol Menstrual Maximum Strength Caplets 32.5 mg Midol for Cramps Maximum Strength Caplets 60 mg i didn’t realize they were leaving it out more often these days…back in the early 90s i worked for a (secular) firm, where all the senior partners happened to be mormons. the office client supply/medicine cabinet had caffeine-containing substances and the other products we should get instead — including herbal tea (rather than coffee or regular tea), tylenol (rather than aspirin), and carob (rather than chocolate). caffeine itself has been recognized as a headache treatment for a long time; it looks like it’s mainly the Xtra strength stuff that contains it these days, but in the 80s and 90s it was in MOST of the aspirin, including the store brand generic cheapo stuff. the caffeine helps with the headache, which is why it was added. the amounts are small, so people avoiding caffeine for health purposes would prob be unconcerned about it, but those avoiding it for religious reasons (at least serious ‘word of wisdom’ guys like the partners at my former job) avoid even tiny amounts, as often as possible. it would be tought to give up chocolate for religious reasons! rose
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i belive it is anaicin that has the caffine.. i don’t think they would use aspirin to ward of heart attacks if it had caffine in it….. but i’m not familar with either one and haven’t did my home work…. still interesting….. dory ……." There is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us that its rather hard to discern which of us ought to reform the rest of us"……….. ………Alain Fournier………
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exactly. and if it were added, they’d have to say so! just buying plain old aspirin wouldn’t give you a hit of caffeine! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Chuck wrote: >>aspirin contains caffeine? >>are you sure about that? >>i’ve never heard that. i dispute it!! > It is rarely added to aspirin products.
Response:
aspirin contains caffeine? are you sure about that? i’ve never heard that. i dispute it!! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -rose wrote: > ok, this was a weird one. provigil did nothing for me, but i certainly > don’t disbelieve the many folks i’ve seen who said it helped them > IMMENSELY. > aspirin contains caffeine — i’d bet that’s what helped with the > fatigue. but, i’m no scientist!
Response:
>aspirin contains caffeine? >are you sure about that? >i’ve never heard that. i dispute it!!
It is rarely added to aspirin products.
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well i did decieded to take an afternoon dose of ultram, with a couple of aspirin…. i will take asprin every four hr’s tomorrow with ultram and let you know the results…. but then again won’t be sure if it is a placebo affect…effect?….. dory ……." There is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us that its rather hard to discern which of us ought to reform the rest of us"……….. ………Alain Fournier………
Response:
very interesting. i have been on provigil was of no help and stopped using it….. a few months later i was given ultram, for pain… it didn’t reduce the pain by much but the fatigue was lessoned to the point that it gave me life again…… some of my mser friends ask their doc for some and liked it for the same results as i did. others couldn’t handle it…. before that i used aspirin which was of help…… in fact i will take aspirin this afternoon:-) i have been using ultram the past four years but just in the mornings. i take four 50 mg’s in the am….. i will try aspirin this afternoon…. as i rarely have the energy to bother eating by early afternoon….. good info as i’ve long forgot about the aspirin… about "ultram" dang even with my readers i can’t see the bottle for the right spelling for ulttram. none the less it sounds right when said…… dory ……." There is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us that its rather hard to discern which of us ought to reform the rest of us"……….. ………Alain Fournier………
Response:
Dunno Rose, I’m not sure how they came up with these results. I don’t doubt them I just wonder. I know my body, it communicates with me very well, I know when something is out of tune, and I know that I can have times when the fatigue is so intense my arms and legs don’t want to move. Kinda like the feeling you get after extreme, prolonged physical sport or work. And my brain feels sorta like what people with narcolepsy must go through. So mentally tired my eyes won’t stay open and I could fall asleep at the drop of a hat. This usually hits sometime mid-morning. Caffeine has absolutely no effect on this. One 400mg Provigil takes about an hour to kick in but then I’m up and at ‘em again. One tab lasts about 4 or 5 hours. Tick — — Group: alt.support.mult-sclerosis Date: Sat, Apr 23, 2005, 7:20am (CDT-2) From: rosedawn_sc…@yahoo.com (rose) ok, this was a weird one. provigil did nothing for me, but i certainly don’t disbelieve the many folks i’ve seen who said it helped them IMMENSELY. <clip> *****Don’t Cry Because It’s Over…Smile Because It Happened.***** Visit Me At Tick’s Place… http://community-2.webtv.net/OLTICK/TICKSPLACE/
Response:
ok, this was a weird one. provigil did nothing for me, but i certainly don’t disbelieve the many folks i’ve seen who said it helped them IMMENSELY. aspirin contains caffeine — i’d bet that’s what helped with the fatigue. but, i’m no scientist! my worry is that, since folks in the U.S. taking provigil for M.S. related fatigue ARE all taking it ‘off lable’ — it’s only FDA-approved to treat narcolepsy — this kind of ’study’ might be more likely to give insurance companies an excuse NOT to cover the provigil. i thought it was kind of a goofy study, but here it is! ————– Provigil Doesn’t Help MS Fatigue But Aspirin Might Fri Apr 22, 5:35 PM ET NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Provigil, a drug used to treat the sudden-sleep disorder narcolepsy, does not affect fatigue experienced by people with multiple sclerosis (MS), results of a trial suggest. However, a separate study found that aspirin may be of some benefit. Both studies appeared in the medical journal Neurology. Two small pilot studies recently showed a positive impact of Provigil, technically known as modafinil, on MS-related fatigue, note Dr. Bruno Stankoff, at Hopital de la Salpetriere in Paris and members of the French Modafinil Study Group, in the first study. To further investigate, the group randomly assigned 56 patients scoring 45 points or more on a fatigue scale to modafinil, and 59 to an inactive placebo. Both groups experienced decreased fatigue during the 35-day trial, but change in fatigue scores did not differ significantly between the two groups. In the second study, Dr. Dean M. Wingerchuk and colleagues point out that some MS patients using aspirin for other purposes report reduced fatigue. In crossover trial, 30 patients with MS-related fatigue took either aspirin twice daily or placebo for 6 weeks in random order, separated by a 2-week "washout" period. Average scores on one fatigue scale were lower during aspirin treatment (38.1 versus 42.5), but responses did not differ significantly on two other scales. Commenting in a related editorial, Drs. Steven R. Schwid of the University of Rochester, New York, and T. Jock Murray of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, observe that "until we make progress in distinguishing fatigue from other MS symptoms, in identifying its mechanisms and in measuring it accurately, we will not make substantial progress in treating this disabling symptom." SOURCE: Neurology, April 12, 2005. ————–
