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Digestive Health

How alarmed should I be about developing gastrointestinal problems if I take an NSAID?

Summary & Participants

How alarmed should I be about developing gastrointestinal problems if I take an NSAID?

Medically Reviewed On: August 20, 2008

Webcast Transcript

Q: How alarmed should I be about developing gastrointestinal problems if I take an NSAID?

STUART SPECHLER, MD: Now, I think it’s important to be clear. When we say high risk, that doesn’t mean that you are going to certainly develop an ulceration. All we say is that you increase your risk for developing one of these complications if you have any of the risk factors like age over 60, taking a steroid, taking a blood thinner along with your NSAID, or taking multiple different NSAIDs, especially at higher doses. That puts you in a high-risk category. But again, everything is relative here. That doesn’t mean that you certainly are going to develop an ulcer. It just means you’ve increased your risk for developing an ulcer.