Starting naproxen

[HelloMist]

I would like a handhold if possible. About to start naproxen 500 alongside cocodamol that I was trying for a sciatica flare up in the last few days. Nervous about the side effects and damage it can do to kidneys/stomach. (No omeprazole prescribed but maybe it will be the "gastro resistant" one?) Already on Laxido and going to increase it to counter the constipation!

I'm under the physio but can't do the exercises while the pain is this bad. For months it's been that if I sit too long I get pain. Standing, walking would ease it. Now standing and sitting are agony. Cocodamol or ibruprofen are only helping slightly but I think the idea will be to target any inflammation as well as help with pain.

I took Naproxen for ages last year for a frozen shoulder. My GP advised that I HAD to take it with Omeprazole to protect the stomach - so honestly I'd go back to GP to check on that (or ask pharmacist) I'm not sure what Laxido is though so maybe that's an alternative??

I hope it helps you - dont know anything about Sciatica but honestly for Frozen shoulder it really only took a bit of the edge off the pain. I only continued it because there wasn't really an alternative.
With the omeprazole i didn't notice any side effects. Good Luck

Thank you, @Thisisme23. That's useful. Will ask pharmacist and check.

Laxido is meant to add water to soften up bowel movements. I have IBS and was getting constipation which then caused me other issues. Codeine in cocodamol (and maybe other painkillers) commonly cause constipation as well.

If you don't have omeprazole then taking naproxen after a meal will help protect your stomach.

DH has just started on naproxen and he has omeprazole so would check again

I was told that I had to take it with omeprazole too so double check.

Plenty of water and milled linseed every day to help with any constipation. I didn't have any issue with my bowels while on naproxen but possible because the only comfortable place to sit for me was on the loo!

You can buy omeprazole OTT.
It's unusual to be prescribed NSAIDs without stomach protection.

I have taken naproxen for a bad flare of RA and it was quite helpful.

I was prescribed naproxen a while ago for sciatica, then I started reading on the interest about taking omeprazole because of the stomach and it really put me off taking it. I took it for a few days and stopped but I have health anxiety.

I took naproxen and it was prescribed with omeprazole by the GP.

I've now been told by the chronic pain clinic not to take either because it's not safe long term. They've given me tramadol - which isn't much better! I also take amitrytiline.

I was prescribed naproxen years ago with a shoulder issues and was also prescribed omeprazole, it didn’t do much then for that pain (although my period pain disappeared!) and this summer i had a flare up on the other shoulder and it didn’t touch it, but acupuncture was miraculous - my mum had used it in the past for sciatica … maybe give it a try?

I took naproxen recently for a shoulder problem. The gp didn't prescribe any omeprazole along side it. It gave me a really bad stomach after a week ( even though I took it with food ) so I would go back to the gp and ask for some.

I took naproxen for torticollis and was given omeprazole too. Definitely ask GP because I don't think foods enough to protect your stomach on its own

Thank you for the replies! I appreciate them.

I think you should be on a PPI too. But either way, be absolutely certain to only take it on a full stomach. So not a snack - after a big meal.

I can never take it again after it permanently bollocksed my stomach up so be really careful with it.

Agreed with PP, go back to GP or at least buy yourself a Proton Pump Inhibitor medicine over the counter with guidance from a pharmacist eg. Esompreazole or whatever is available easily over the counter these days. And take the tablets with meals.

I took it for a few weeks ago for multiple joint pain and it took a few days to really kick in the cumulative effect but it did really help. But I had to come off it as my already prone to gastritis/reflux stomach got worse and more problematic. And that was with taking omeprazole already too.

I also took it with omeprazole. No stomach issues. As a warning though, it did make my hair fall out quite a bit. I found it quite unnerving when I washed my hair... I didn't end up with bald patches but did have lots of baby hair regrowth for a long time after.

Definitely going to ring GP in morning and/or buy a PPI myself. Feeling a bit worried now (have taken 1) but better than taking it and doing damage without knowing! Not much improvement on pain tonight but I'll give it time.

I can see the hair loss would be unnerving, @ItWillBeDone !

If you’ve already been taking ibuprofen I don’t think it should be a problem to take naproxen instead. They are both NSAID type medications. Naproxen is actually thought to have slightly less side effects than ibuprofen. If your kidney function blood tests are usually fine I don’t think you have to worry too much about that side of it on the short term. If you are usually well and are only taking it for a short time it’s ok to use it without omeprazole or similar, but if you may need to be on it for over a month then yes it’s worth having omeprazole cover too.

I think you are over anxious about the side affects. I have RA and was on naproxen for years without omeprazole. I always took it after a decent meal.
I am fine.

I've been taking naproxen for years and although I am prescribed the stomach medication I never take it. I am fine.

I never had an issues with it
Took paracetamol, naproxen, dihydrocodeine and oral morphine. Oh and diazepam. For about 3 months before they operated! (Sciatica)

One thing I can recommend are thermacare lower back and hip wraps. They're cheap so not much waste if they don't work for you
They took me from threatening to cut my own leg off to about 8/10 pain which actually made a big difference

I have taken naproxen nightly for about 6 months for hip pain with no side effects. It is a smaller dose as I am in the US, we buy it over the counter and people take it like paracetamol or neurofen here. I was told not to mix it with neurofen though, only paracetamol.

Do you know at which point your sciatic nerve is pinched? Spine or hip? Mine gets pinched at the spine and I have some great exercises that release it, and i sleep on a memory foam lumbar support pillow with a memory foam mattress topper. It makes all the difference. If you can find a PT who is a spine specialist, they may be able to help you with specific stretches

I find naproxen much more effective than co-codamol 30/500s for back pain. Just ask the Dr for some omeprazole. I also recommend heat wraps as per a pp.

I find that once the naproxen kicks in, the co-codamol can be ceased. Co-codamol makes me sluggish and constipated and when I stop it, I have diarrhoea for days.

During flare-ups Amitryptilline at night is particularly good for sciatica. Ask your Dr about it..

Taking medication on a full stomach doesn’t mean after a great big meal. If op is taking it every 6-8 hours she’ll be the size of a house.

You can line your stomach with a glass of milk and a slice of toast or similar.

Your tablets may well be gastro resistant- no omeprazole required-check this when you collect prescription.

I thought that I was ok but I still ended up getting a stomach ulcer, which actually put me in hospital about to die from malnutrition. So if I could ever take it, I'd not be happy with just toast.