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NSAIDs for Gout – Diclofenac VS Ibuprofen


There are so many medications available to relieve gout pain. Some are very effective, others are worthless. Some gives a long lasting relief, while others give short but quality relief. Hence, people usually seek comparisons online. Unfortunately, there are very few comparisons and reviews available out there, and most of them are biased.
This article aims to review which is better for gout. Diclofenac or ibuprofen?
Diclofenac and Ibuprofen. . . What is the difference?
Diclofenac and ibuprofen are two medications falling under the classification NSAID or Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs. They are anti-inflammatory which means that they relieve both pain and inflammation.
There is no difference between the two except for the fact that diclofenac has to be prescribed and ibuprofen can be bought over the counter (more on that later)
Mechanism of NSAIDS
NSAIDs share the same mechanism. To understand this, we have to first understand the way our body feels pain.
Why We Feel Pain
Scattered throughout our body is an “alarm system”, as series of specialized receptors that are meant for pain signals. The nociceptors have a so-called pain threshold. When the degree of pain breaches the threshold, you will begin to feel the pain. The more the threshold is breached, the more pain will kick in.
There are two ways to reach the pain threshold. One is to make the degree of pain high enough, and the other is to lower the pain threshold so the quality of pain signals can easily breach it. Your body has mechanisms that helps the latter way, a mechanism which diclofenac and ibuprofen mess with.
The pain you feel is part of your defense mechanism. The more painful it is, the more you will desire to remove whatever is causing the pain. Hence, when your body is under attack (such as when uric acid crystal is present in the joints) your body lowers the pain threshold, signaling that your body is fighting something down there and gives you the desire to remove the uric acid crystal even if you can not do anything about it.
When cells die, (such as when white blood cells attack the uric acid crystal or when you are wounded) they release arachidonic acid which is then converted into a variety of substances which does a variety of things including lowering of pain threshold, inflammation and increase of body temperature. In order for arachidonic acid to be converted, it has to bond with cyclooxygenase enzymes, namely cox-1 and cox-2. This is where ibuprofen and diclofenac enters the scene.
How Diclofenac and Ibuprofen Removes Pain and Inflammation
NSAIDs bond with cox1 and cox2 to so that it can not convert arachidonic acid into various signals. Hence, the pain threshold can not be lowered and the inflammation is minimized.
The primary difference between diclofenac and ibuprofen is the fact that diclofenac prefers blocking cox2 (though it can still block both cyclooxygenase). On the other hand, ibuprofen is not selective. Since cox1 maintains the gastrointestinal lining, diclofenac can inflict less gastrointestinal damage.
Diclofenac and ibuprofen also differs in potency, the former being more effective. Unfortunately it also means the degree of side effects of diclofenac is higher. For instance, diclofenac can impose cardiovascular risk but is more effective.
Diclofenac or Ibuprofen? Or maybe CALKALINE!?

Diclofenac is more effective but imposes more severe side effects. Furthermore, ibuprofen requires a large dose to affect the inflammation. Unfortunately, both of them fails to address the problem that causes gout. They are temporary masks for your body to pretend that gout is no longer there. If you want an approach that focuses on the problem, open your mind and uproot gout!
The question now is, what is the problem?
Acidosis
Supposed to be, the body can flush all those uric acid out, but how does it come that uric acid accumulates? This is because the liver and kidney is busy with other acids! Your excretion rate decreases hence uric acid accumulates. More acids means less uric acid flushed out, and less uric acid flushed out means more uric acid in the serum! This means that as long as acidosis, the condition of having too much uric acid in the body, exists, the uric acid crystal will not stop growing.
If you want to know how to eliminate that very root, check out this article about Calkaline and Gout at www.understandyourgout.com


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