Stomach cramps after using naproxen and cocodamol.

[CoffeeandChocolateplease]

I had a muscle strain in my leg last week which made walking very difficult. Doctor prescribed naproxen twice a day and cocodamol 8/500 to take if needed.

I took the two doses of naproxen as prescribed on Saturday, with meals, and two doses of the cocodamol. By Sunday morning my leg was much better so I took another dose of the naproxen with breakfast but no more cocodamol.

However, during Sunday I became very tired with not much appetite. Felt a bit better by the evening and ate tea as normal. I woke up about 4 this morning with mild stomach cramps, lasting about 2-3 seconds in the centre of my stomach above the belly button.

I wondered if it was constipation due to the cocodamol but I've been to the toilet and i'm still getting them. It's intermittent, I can go for half an hour with nothing and then have a couple. Not really painful but a bit worrying.

Has anyone had similar with these medicines or could it be something else? I know naproxen can lead to indigestion but the last one I took was yesterday breakfast so not sure if it would still be affecting me.

I took naproxen for 6 weeks for pain from an arthritic knee. Was totally happy with them till I started getting the odd pain in my stomach. After a few more days I had vicious indigestion, so bad it felt like a heart attack at times. When I went back to a different doc he gave me Lanzoprazole which is designed to protect the stomach when taking anti inflamatories as they are well known to irritate the stomach lining. This was never explained to me when I was first put on Naproxen which still annoys me as these side effects are so common. I'd go back to your doc to discuss it.

Naproxen is notorious for this. Get yourself some ranitidine, supermarkets often sell it as 'indigestion relief tablets' today. It works in a similar way to omemprazole and lanzoprazole mentioned ^^ not quite as effective, but with the advantage that you can get some today.
Then back to gp for a better solution.
Lots of dried apricots/prunes to counteract the cocodamol.

You should have a 2 hour gap between whatever you take for your stomach and the naproxen so it doesn't affect the coating.

Cocodamol does give me mild stomach cramps though.

Thanks for your messages, they are much appreciated. I will get the indigestion relief tablets and phone the doctor in the morning. I stopped taking the Naproxen yesterday so I hope it will improve soon.

That's interesting about the cocodamol Living they are definitely mild cramps. Wonder if that's it? I don't take medicine very often and never these two before.

Codine causes constipation!

Naproxen is a nightmare for causing stomach problems. I had cramps, indigestion, heartburn and eventually arrhythmia which pretty much took them off the table. You should have been given Omeprazole or something similar with them to protect your stomach lining. Make sure you eat properly with them and I found a glass of milk helped with the heartburn.

I was given naproxen for a shoulder problem and all they did was give me awful headaches! I found plain old ibuprofen much more effective.

I'm not able to take any anti inflammatories because of the gastric problems they give me. I had 2 prolapsed discs but the pain from the anti inflammatories was as bad as the back pain so I was switched to codeine and tramadol. Now I use the gel stuff which helps a bit.

I'm really careful with my naproxen, but I've been taking it for 14 years with no problems. Don't think it suits everyone though. I have 30/500 cocodamol that I try not to take.