Stopping NSAIDs

I've been in the emergency room twice in the past two months with horrible pain behind my sternum.

It wasn't my heart, as the EKGs and heart injury blood tests showed.

We're now thinking it's something called "Nutcracker Esophagus", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutcracker_esophagus , since I've had stomach issues and reflux (GERD). I have also been on daily NSAIDs for a long time, mainly because of a bad back (jokingly referred to in the family as the "Jorgensen Back" -- my mother's maiden name -- since it seems to be from her side of the family).

Since NSAIDs are notorious for causing stomach problems, my doctor suggested I cut back on my dosage.

Never being one to do things by half-measure, I decided to cut them out entirely, endure the pains, and let my stomach/esophagus heal up the best it could.

It was interesting to find out just what pains the NSAIDs were masking. My right knee? I expected that since I know I have chipped cartilage in there. My back? No surprise at all. And I knew I had arthritis (I'm 61 years old), but what surprised me was my left thumb, and the entire palm of my right hand just hurts (for no good reason!).

And the point of this posting: What about my feet?

They feel fine. Nothing hurts down there, not even the arthritic toe I saw a podiatrist about a few years ago.
 
NSAIDs relieve inflammation, but if you take them for too long (years), they will cause inflammation. I found this out the hard way. They can also cause kidney and liver damage after many years of use. Now, I rarely take them and choose acetaminophen instead, not as strong for me, but they help.