Hello to All, I hope everyone is doing well this evening. As you all know by now, my husband John had the modified radical neck dissection 2/6/03. This procedure went well, and he had the stitches (staples) and drainage tubes taken out 2 weeks later. Upon John's last visit with his Surgeon, the doctor has stressed to John that it is very important to excercise his arm/shoulder, since he is experiencing numbness and stiffness in his shoulder, and consequently, cannot lift his arm up that high. The doc sent him to get some Physical Therapy done, which my husband has attended 2 sessions so far. However, Johnny is dissatisfied with the exercises they are having him do. He said he could do better and have better results doing his "aquatherapy" since it is not as painful as the therapy they have him do at the center, so he has canceled all further sessions. He called the doc's office yesterday to find out if there is any anti-inflammatory meds he can take to ease the swelling, etc. the nurse for the doctor called back today and said that after a procedure like this (the modified neck dissection)....most people do not have significant swelling but she said "everyone is different". For her to say that most people do not experience significant swelling seems to contradict what most people have mentioned here in this forum. Anyways, she said Advil was recommended for the inflammation. Has anyone used Advil for this purpose and if so - did it seem to help bring down the swelling? Thanks.

The most common anti-inflamatory drugs are NSAID's (non-steroidal anti-inflamatory drugs) The most commmon of these is Naproxin Sulfide. It used to be Rx only but is now available over the counter under different names, most notably Alleve. NASID's cause stomach upset and should be taken with food. PLEASE ask your doctor before taking anything new. The inflamation may be related to something that we here on the board are not aware of, and you need to be sure that a drug mentioned here does not have a contraindication in relationship to your husband's biology or other medications. After a helicopter crash years ago I have lived on these things to get by daily. Long term use has numerous negative implications, and for most people they should only be taken short term.