Mefenamic Acid

[WhiteSarah]

I have been suspected to have endometriosis since I was 12 years old (I am 19 now). Over the years it has done nothing but get worse. Over the years my treatments so far have been:

2 kinds of dual hormone birth control pill, 2 kinds of single hormone birth control pill, 2 different iud coils, mefenamic acid, naproxen, codeine phosphate and tranexamic acid.

As you can probably tell from my post, none of these have eased my pain and I still find myself in agony, passing out and throwing up both during my period and during ovulation.

When I suggested it could be endometriosis last year when I was 18 they said that a laparoscopy would be too invasive at my age and lead to more issues in the long run and basically scared me out of exploratory surgeries.

My doctor most recently recommended taking mefenamic acid (after not taking it since I was 14) in conjunction with my codeine phosphate (which makes me very drowsy and unable to function but takes the edge off the pain). She said that it targets the specific thing that causes the pain and will definitely work due to this but I feel like it is just her dismissing me. Any experience of similar things and have you found mefenamic acid to help?

[asoullessstatic]

I’m on Mefemanic acid and its one of the only things that have helped me. Meemanic acid is a type of medication called an NSAID (non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs), there’s a really big misconception, these are not painkillers, they are anti-inflammatory drugs, and by treating the inflammation that underlies the condition, then helps the pain.

Mefemanic acid targets an enzymes called COX-1 and COX-2. These ezymes produce chemicals called prostaglandins, and these prostaglandins cause inflammation, they also cause cramps by causing smooth muscle (like those on your uterus, and intestines and bowls) to contract – in fact you get huge amounts released during labour and a period to cause contraction of the womb.

If you are already in pain, then it’s kinda too late to use these, they really should be taken continually for them to target the molecules that cause inflammation and to keep them down. I didn’t get immediate relief from the mefemanic acid, but after two or three days of taking it I started to feel a lot better, the pain wasn’t entirely gone but it had taken the edge off, and I wasn’t getting the back and bowl spams I had been having before. I can tell if I’ve missed a dose because I can feel my bowls starting to twitch.

The idea in pain management is now to “stay ahead of the pain’ and you block the molecules that cause the pain before they can really cause the pain. Most commonly Mefemanic acid is given as 500mg 3x a day (every 8 hours), my only word of warning would be to take it with food, or sometimes it can make your stomach feel a bit funny, but I have found it really useful, but only when I take it constantly, for me it never worked when I was taking it when I was just sore. The plus side is, the drug is in the same family as ibuprofen so you shouldn't have any kinda of drowsy feeling side effects and it is not addictive. The biggest risk with it is stomach problems, so like I said take it with food to avoid that.

[Moonglo]

I was on mefenamic acid for years to manage the pain, and for it to be effective it had to be timed right; too late from the onset of pain and I’d be like a zombie.

It was also getting to the stage where the maximum dose wasn’t enough, and I started to wonder whether I should tackle the source of the pain, rather than putting a plaster on it.

Endometriosis can only be diagnosed through a laparoscopy and it doesn’t care how young you are.

I suggest asking your GP for a referral to a bsge clinic - they should have an idea on how you can go forward. I found this fact sheet on the endo UK site: endometriosis-uk.org/sites/...

The endo site is a great source of info if you want to do some research. Best of luck!

[asoullessstatic in reply to Moonglo]

Agreed and I should have put this in my answer above (but I wrote it at like1am), Endo doesn't care about your age. I'm almost 30 now and my endo is certainly worse than it was 15 years ago when I first started getting symptoms. It was ignored for 15 years and passed off as everythign from IBS, to being fat, to being too skinny after losing weight, to being fat again, to me doing too much at the gym, to it being in my head. If they suspect endometriosis then you are well within your right to demand a referal to your nearest BSGE center, and if your GP doesn't want to do it, go find another doctor who will.

When used properly Mefemanic acid is great drug in the treatment of endo, but it will not deal with it, it will not address the tissue damage that goes on and early diagnosis and surgical treatment really should be the gold standard in care. Know that you are right, you are entitled to the best care, even if it means causing a fuss and fighting for it because I wish I had done that so much sooner.