I always knew it would happen....

I always knew I was at risk for developing an NSAID ulcer. But when I got that awful stomach ache, spent a sleepless night, and got the diagnosis ("You must stop taking Aleve until this has healed."), I wondered....did it have to happen like this?

For the record, symptoms of a developing NSAID ulcer, which I did not experience, are...

Stomach pain, which one site describes this way:

• feels like a dull ache
• comes and goes for a few days or weeks
• starts 2 to 3 hours after a meal
• comes in the middle of the night when your stomach is empty
• usually goes away after you eat

Other symptoms are:

• losing weight
• not feeling like eating
• having pain while eating
• feeling sick to your stomach
• vomiting

I didn't have any of these symptoms. I did have a sore throat (which I chalked up to allergies), occasional illnesses which seemed like a very mild cold or flu, and of course an Aleve habit that I should have monitored more closely.

The symptoms I did experience were more like this: the sensation that my stomach had swelled to twice its normal size. A sudden sore throat more intense - I had a serious aversion to swallowing - than either mono or strep, both of which I recall as quite painful. Chills and night sweats. Discomfort that prevented me from sleeping at night, followed by lengthy daytime naps. (Which of course gave me a headache, which I had to treat without Aleve or caffiene!)