I know they all have different active ingredients and some are for different purposes than other. What is the best to take occasionally for joint pain? I am by no means trying to rely on it or use it as a crutch, but sometimes it would be nice to take the edge off of sore knees. Any recommendations?
Tylenol is Acetomenophen. Advantages - It can be taken on an empty stomach and should not cause gastro-intestinal (GI) irritation if taken in reccomended doses. Only works on pain, does not help with inflamation at the source of the pain.
Advil is Ibuprophen. Needs to be taken with food. Otherwise can lead to GI irritation and possible bleeding. Advantages works on pain and inflammation at the site of pain. Also thins blood slightly. Very similar in many respect to good old Aspirin.
Fleck
Tylenol, acetaminophen, is strictly an analgesic. Use it only for pain relief. Ibuprofen comes as Motrin, Advil, etc and is a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) with both analgesic and antiinflammatory properties. It is dosed 3-4 times daily when used as an antiinflammatory medication. Aleve, naproxen, is also an NSAID that is an antiinflammatory and pain killer. It can be dosed daily or twice daily for the antiinflammatory properties.
Really, it depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If it’s just kill the pain or reduce the fever, all will work. If it’s reduce the swelling and inflammation, the NSAIDs under the care of a physician is the way to go.
for joint pain, I use glucosamine everyday
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I use glucosamine as well and swear by it. Sometimes, and it’s rare, my knees are just sore and something to take the edge off is nice.
So what’s the difference between ibuprofen and paroxen and why should someone choose one over the other?
paroxen? Do you mean paroxetine? QUITE different 
one is an SSRI anti-depressant
I’m assuming naproxen (alleve et al). Nothing - same class and mechanism of action except a longer half-live (about 12 hours vs. 6), although most Naproxen drugs have a higher sodium load (which may be good for us
I prefer Advil for the candy coating. Plus, the caplets fit perfectly into a Pez dispenser.
I would recommend advil for aches and pain in the knees. it is a basic anti-inflammatory and has very few side effect for how effective it is. I do not personally like aleve, make me feel all jacked up and it is a stronger medication than advil. aleve also NSIAD inhibition and it a longer effective time for a single dose.
any will get the job done overall, just try each for a few runs and see which one you like and which has the least side effects for you.
Yes, I did mean naproxen, haha. Dyslexic maybe?
Naproxen/Alleve is NOT a COX-II selective inhibitor. It is a standard (i.e. non selective cyclo-oxygenase and arachadonic acid inhibitor) that has been around a long time. It is not “stronger” than any other. Actually, newer, recent studies are showing the only CoxII inhibitor left (Celebrex) to be safer against controlled trials vs. ibuprofen and naproxen (Cleveland Clinic study - who originally blew the whistle re: Vioxx as well).
How a particular medication blocks the anti-inflammatory pathway has no effect on its length of action as plenty of non-selective, older NSAIDs last 24 hours plus (i.e. Feldene).
How a particular medication blocks the anti-inflammatory pathway has no effect on its length of action as plenty of non-selective, older NSAIDs last 24 hours plus (i.e. Feldene).
I have no idea about any of the science you are talking discussing and I know you weren’t replying to me. But I will say when you cited the older NSAIDs (i.e. Feldene) I thought it said “Federline” as in that garbage can that Britney Spears is married to…haha.
I mis-spoke I did not mean to say that aleve was a coxII, it is a NSAID, just the same as Advil and tylenol. they both have the same overall effect on inflammation reduction and are safe for use.
all I was stating towards was taking 1 pill of advil vs 1 pill of aleve and if you look at the kinetic profile comparing the drugs; if i remember correctly aleve stays in the system longer and is not metabolized as quickly.
i typically see more people take a smaller doses of advil than aleve simply because the bottles specifically advises against taking more than one pill per 24 hours. You can space the advil doses out over the day to keep the effective dose at a higher concentration in the blood. ie: more bioavailable drug = reduction in inflammation.
did not want to get overly scientific with this but I do think people should pay attention to how the drug makes them feel and try to keep the doses as low as possible to gain the desired relief. in the end the person needs to make the decision.