Aspirin Warning

I've posted on here before that I had a severe reaction to taking a single baby aspirin back in June.

I wasn't sure how it was that such at thing could even be possible. I took the aspirin fully confident that it would relieve some of the pain from my headache and had absolutely no anxiety or fear associated with taking aspirin. After all, I've taken it a million times before. I took it right before sleeping and woke up 2-3 hours later having an extreme reaction that ended in the ambulance rushing me to the ER because I couldn't stand up, walk, or even hold a functional conversation.

I just found this study

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18078964

which shed some light on the reason behind my reaction.

Salicylate is the major metabolite and active component of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), which is widely used in clinical medicine for treating inflammation, pain syndromes and cardiovascular disorders. The well-known mechanism underlying salicylate's action mainly involves the inhibition of cyclooxygenase and subsequent decrease in prostaglandin production. Recent evidence suggests that salicylate also affects neuronal function through interaction with specific membrane channels/receptors. However, the effect of salicylate on synaptic and neural network function remains largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the effect of sodium salicylate on the synaptic transmission and neuronal excitation in the hippocampal CA1 area of rats, a key structure for many complex brain functions. With electrophysiological recordings in hippocampal slices, we found that sodium salicylate significantly enhanced neuronal excitation through reducing inhibitory GABAergic transmission without affecting the basal excitatory synaptic transmission. Salicylate significantly inhibited the amplitudes of both evoked and miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents, and directly reduced gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA(A)) receptor-mediated responses in cultured rat hippocampal neurons. Together, our results suggest that the widely used aspirin might impair hippocampal synaptic and neural network functions through its actions on GABAergic neurotransmission. Given the capability of aspirin to penetrate the blood-brain barrier, the present data imply that aspirin intake may cause network hyperactivity and be potentially harmful in susceptible subpopulations.

Many ppl. take it for sleep?  Why is that?  It helps me sleep.

If you have experience with using aspirin during withdrawal and it helps you out, by all means, continue using it and doing what you think is best.

In my case, I just happened to have a very severe reaction to just a baby dose of aspirin, and want to warn others about the possibility.

It only goes to show that NO drug is totally safe. Aspirin is safe for most people, but you aren't one of them. Personally, I avoid Tylenol like the Black Plague. Too many years of nursing young people who accidentally OD'd on acetaminophen preperations....liver failure...and death. I happen to like my liver functioning, and Tylenol never relieved my pain anyway. I use ibuprofen (sparingly, because sometimes it upsets my stomach-). Thanks for posting this article!

east