Tips for diclofenac?

rachelj

Hi Guys,

I saw my GP on Friday as I have been having troubles with my stomach and asthma since being put on Ibuprofen constantly. I stopped taking it for a few days, stomach and breathing improved, but my hands worse worse. He has moved me on to diclofenac and omeprazole, I thought i would better off with the gastro protetant but my symptoms are worse, I am fine through the day but it gets to around 5pm and then the pains start, I can only liken it to being kicked in the stomach. This is beyond the magic of peppermint tea :-( My only solution so far is pack my self off to bed with some diazepam.

I am hoping things will settle down once I get used to them but wondered if anyone had anything similar. i have had diclofenac before but it was 20mg not 50mg. It's early days but at the moment I am questioning the point of taking them.

Rach

coco67

hiya rach,

sorry to hear your having trouble with the diclofenic. im on it and had a bit of bother in the begining but it settled down, im also asthmatic. i try and make sure i have a piece of toast in the morning when i take them and also again around 4 pm so i dont end up with an empty stomach, it stops the sicky feeling i sometimes got as well. i hope it all settles down for you soon, if not then go back to your gp and see if you can try something else.
best wishes

coco xxx

dorcas

Hi rach

your stomach symptoms sound so severe :shock: perhaps you need to phone nhs 24 for advice about continuing on the Diclofenac until you see your doc?

there are other NSAIDs around that might suit you better ...so please ask your doc when you see him/ her.

I was just reading in the Autumn 'Arthritis Care' Magazine that there are some new anti inflammatory drugs being developed that combine NSAIDs with a PPI (proton pump inhibitor) that protects the stomach lining,which is good news... but they're not available...yet!

meanwhile rach, please don't suffer ...speak to someone today. :!:

iris xx

dippydoodah

i was on diclofenac too but found they didn't work too well for me, was still in pain and they barely took the edge of it so my gp changed me to naproxen which i find work better and i take cocodamol which combined ease it some, doesn't make the pain disappear but bareable.

im also on omaprazole too and they seem to be working ok. not had any problems that i can recall, maybe once your body gets used to them ?

if you have any doubts though, always refer back to your gp. thats what they're there for

hope you manage to get some comfort x

cebeem

Hi Rach
I have been taking Diclofenac for years and complained about it irritating me...ended up with surgery (not related to the diclofenac) and they put me straight onto Lanzaprozole ...
I think they panicked because they had quite flippantly dismissed my symptoms for years saying that anti inflams do irritate a bit, whereas I had an underlying condition!

Been fine since that surgery so it was obviously the other problem causing the symptoms.

I have the lanzaprozole by my bed and take it as soon as I wake...at least 30mins before a decent amount for breakfast and the diclofenac.

I take 75mg slow release ones 2 x per day think the slow release are a more expensive option so you may need to push for those.
You can also take paracetamol at the same time as diclofenac or inbetween doses to help keep pain at bay.

Hope thats useful....and that it helps the sickness etc.
*CB*

rachelj

Thanks for the advise, maybe its the empty stomach thing as I don't tend to eat in the evening until about 7. I have no appetite at all today, so forced some toast down so I could take them this morning and about to do the same for lunch.

My friend who has IBS has given me some colpermin to try, they are just perpermint oil in a capsule, to see if they help. If nothing else I will have minty fresh breath :-)

I will battle on for a few more days then give the doctor a bell, I am staying well away from co-codamol at the moment, not sure I could deal with those side effects on top of these. Although has to be said it does distract my mind from the pains in my hands!

Rach

cebeem

Hi Rach
Colpermin are brilliant!
Sometimes I just take the odd one but when times were bad I had them 3x per day for a couple of weeks and they worked like magic!
Be careful not to take them close to the Lanzaprasole!

Also you really do need more than a piece of toast in the morning after your stomach has been empty all night and acid is plentiful...have some cereal too!!

As far as I know the Lanzaprasole is a proton pump inhibitor that how it protects.

Good Luck *CB*

speedalong

Hi, if the diclofenic is not suiting you, don't stick it out - go back to the GP and get a different anti inflam. There are lots of others and some are more easily tolerated than others. I swear by arcoxia and have taken it for years.

Speedy

frogmorton

Hi Rach

they about killed me too I took am after big meals in the middle of big meals etc etc - nothing worked

Got a stomach protector in the end, but had to change to a cox-2 inhibitor instead. Arcoxia. Very hard for you as you have braething issues too and a lot of nasaids affect your breathing

You ahve to go back to the docs I think if all methods fail

dachshund

Hi Rach.
i take diclofenic and co-codamol i dont have any trouble from them but they dont stop my pain.
i'm going to physio for the first time on tuesday.
i hope you get some help soon.
joan xx

barbara12

Hi
Sorry to say I agree that you should go back to your GP, I have just been taken off them, the pain was awful, but I gave them a try, I hope my gp will relace them with somthing else very soon.
Barbara xx

sharmaine

Hi Rachel

I've been taking diclofenac for 4 years. I used to take 3 a day but I've got it down to 2 a day because it does play havoc with your stomach. My GP told me that if you start getting stomach ache you really shouldn't take them. I always ensure that I take them after I've had something to eat otherwise I feel terrible. Somedays I just don't bother with them at all - it depends on how I feel. I have a hiatus hernia so I have to be careful. I take something much stronger than Omeprezol and as long as I take this I can cope with diclofenac. It takes a while for your GP to get the balance of your medication just right to suit you. I know take a combo of tramadol, paracetamol. I also take amytriptline at night.

Speak to your GP about your concerns.

Sharmaine

dreamdaisy

I take my meds according to hospital rules. I used to be so good, omeprazole first, 30 mins then brekky (which I never want) and then the rest. In hospital you are given all your meds in one small cup at sparrowf**t and therefore two hours before the brekky trolley appears. So I do that now, have breakfast (which I still don't want) then down them all in one go. I have had no problems whatsoever. No gut ache, no nausea, nothing. DD

skezier

Hi Rach

I also been diclo's a long time... 25 or so years. I have had 4 ulcers though, but since I have crohn's and it could just as easily been that that gave me them.....

With the side effects you got really you should stop taking them till you have spoken to your gp. Its one the sets f side effects they warn you about and if the stomach protection isn’t helping then you really nee talk to your gp before you take any more.

I also take the 2 slow realise 75's once a day and it was the small 50's 3or 4 x ( I can't remembered which) that I was on for 3 of the ulcers.... Talk to your gp flower before you take anymore. Cris x

hileena111

Hi
Thats 2 posts i've read that are on the slow release 75 x 2 a day.
I couldnt sleep after my THR..kept getting wakened up with pain about 4 times a night, tried loads of things and was eventually put on 1 75 tab at about 9pm at night.
Rach sorry I hi jacked your post.....basically I'm on them, 1 slow release one 75m and I always make sure i've had something to eat and up to now it hasnt bothered me.....
Love

Hileena

salamander

Hi, I couldn't tolerate it either. I don't take any anti-inflammatories after getting a very large blood clot in my throat one morning :shock: Not one dr has ever heard of that happening but the hospital pharmacist said I probably had a small bleed in my stomach which collected in my throat over night. Also, am asthmatic and they help that either!

joanneredshaw

rachelj wrote:

Hi Guys,

I saw my GP on Friday as I have been having troubles with my stomach and asthma since being put on Ibuprofen constantly. I stopped taking it for a few days, stomach and breathing improved, but my hands worse worse. He has moved me on to diclofenac and omeprazole, I thought i would better off with the gastro protetant but my symptoms are worse, I am fine through the day but it gets to around 5pm and then the pains start, I can only liken it to being kicked in the stomach. This is beyond the magic of peppermint tea :-( My only solution so far is pack my self off to bed with some diazepam.

I am hoping things will settle down once I get used to them but wondered if anyone had anything similar. i have had diclofenac before but it was 20mg not 50mg. It's early days but at the moment I am questioning the point of taking them.

Rach

Hi Rach

I am new to the forum, but I thought I would tell you about using Diclofenac suppositories. They come in a 100 mg doses and of course you put them up your bottom. This is a better way of using the medication as it doesn't cause you the pain of taking it orally. You don't need omeprazole as well then. They dissolve in about 20 mins and are absorbed quicker into the blood stream.
I have used them recently for arthritis pain and because I suffered with kidney stones.
I don't have stomach pains from taking it orally, but if I take 3 a day, I get diarrohea. I have both forms of diclofenac, I think the suppositories are better.

Hope this helps. Good luck

Jo

rachelj

I spoke to my GP on Monday, he thinks its just the diflonec adding to the aggravation already done by the ibuprofen so I am off all medication for a few days to give my digestive system a chance to re balance itself. I am also on a "simple diet" so white bread, rice, cereal, veg and fish only, nothing spicy, oily, salty etc. I can live with all that apart from the no caffeine and chocolate, the days are mighty long with no pain relief and a decent cup of tea!


Rach

hileena111

Oh Rach that must be so hard
No coffee....No chocolate and No pain killers
Ev en the no coffee would upset me LOL

How long will this last do you know?

Love
Hileena

rachelj

Yes, the coffee thing is miserable, especially when you need a quick pick me up mid afternoon. The doctor said a week or two, depends how bad things were to start with, although the stabbing type pains have already subdued so hopefully back on something by the end of the week.

Now I know how you guys feel when you have to skip your meds like the meth. Got to think positive though, my liver is probably loving it!

Rach