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Naproxen (Aleve)

Analgesicoral · predicted

Long-acting NSAID for pain and inflammation. Its 12-17 hour half-life allows twice-daily dosing.

Projected serum levels — 250 mg, once daily

Naproxen (Aleve)
Naproxen (Aleve) modeled serum levels, 250 mg once daily over 15 days Population-based pharmacokinetic estimate. Steady state reached after approximately 2 days. 0 125 250 375 500 Day 0 Day 4 Day 8 Day 11 Day 15 Time on a regular schedule ≈ steady state · day 2
Naproxen (Aleve) modeled serum levels with a loading dose of 420 mg, then 250 mg once daily The first dose is larger so levels approach steady state faster. 0 125 250 375 500 Day 0 Day 4 Day 8 Day 11 Day 15 Time on a regular schedule

Maintenance schedule: 250 mg once daily (oral).

Loading schedule: 420 mg on day 1, then 250 mg once daily — reaching therapeutic levels sooner.

Modeled steady state after ~2 days: peak ≈ 364 mg, trough ≈ 167 mg body load. Population-based estimate over 15 days for a 250 mg dose at a 70 kg reference body mass — the interactive app scales curves to your doses, timing, and body mass.

Key facts

Category
Analgesic
Route modeled
Oral
Model confidence
predicted
Half-life
14 h
Common dose
250 mg
Suggested maximum
1.5k mg/day
Reference dose range
110–1.5k mg (single dose)
Suggested cadence
once daily
Validated against
500 mg oral — Cmax 74 mg/L at 2.5 h

Documented interactions

  • danger
    Aspirin (Acetylsalicylic Acid) + Naproxen (Aleve) Stacked effects

    Aspirin (Acetylsalicylic Acid) and Naproxen (Aleve) both push the cox1, cox1 platelet, and cox2 in the same direction.

  • danger
    Levothyroxine (Synthroid) + Naproxen (Aleve) Protein binding

    Naproxen (Aleve) may displace Levothyroxine (Synthroid) from plasma protein binding sites, transiently raising free drug concentration. This drug has a narrow therapeutic index; free concentration…

  • danger
    Rifampin + Naproxen (Aleve) CYP induction

    Rifampin inducer of CYP2C9 predicted to change Naproxen (Aleve) AUC by ~0.47x

  • warning
    Apigenin + Naproxen (Aleve) Protein binding

    Apigenin may displace Naproxen (Aleve) from plasma protein binding sites, transiently raising free drug concentration.

  • warning
    Aripiprazole (Abilify) + Naproxen (Aleve) Protein binding

    Aripiprazole (Abilify) may displace Naproxen (Aleve) from plasma protein binding sites, transiently raising free drug concentration.

  • warning
    Armour Thyroid (Desiccated Thyroid Extract) + Naproxen (Aleve) Protein binding

    Naproxen (Aleve) may displace Armour Thyroid (Desiccated Thyroid Extract) from plasma protein binding sites, transiently raising free drug concentration.

Serum checks 185 modeled interaction pairings for naproxen (aleve) across your whole stack — absorption conflicts, enzyme inhibition, and nutrient depletion included.

Research behind this entry

  1. Cardiovascular safety of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: network meta-analysis Trelle S et al. · BMJ, 2011 DOI

    Network meta-analysis of 31 trials found naproxen had the most favorable cardiovascular safety profile among NSAIDs, with the lowest risk of cardiovascular events.

  2. Single dose oral naproxen and naproxen sodium for acute postoperative pain in adults Derry C et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2009 DOI

    Cochrane review found naproxen 500/550 mg provided at least 50% pain relief in about half of patients with moderate to severe postoperative pain.

2 published studies referenced in the app, each with a plain-language summary.