Naproxen for pain relief?

[Bride2be]

Has anyone else been given Naproxen for pelvic pain? Docs just prescribed me some and said to take with paracetamol. Side effects look horrible but willing to give it a go as nothing else has helped? Eeek?

K x

[jojo777]

Hi

Naproxen is in the same family with ibuprofen, it works for some women, not for me when it comes to pelvic pain. Make sure you take it with food, or straight after a meal to avoid stomach issues.

If you have sensitive stomach you need to protect it with Omeprazole. Ask your doctor to prescribe you these to avoid additional pain!

Good luck x

[Bride2be]

Thanks jojo. I was concerned about it being from the same family as Ibuprofen as this didn't touch the pain, nor did Mefenamic Acid which is in this group too. The doc did mention the stomach issues so I'll keep an eye on that. What pain relief worked for your pelvic pain in the end?

K x

[jojo777]

Nothing! lol I dont react ok in opium based tablets and the addictive ones, so tramadol, codeine etc are out of question. I even tried the medication for neurological pain (since endo is affecting nerves and giving pain signals) but again no good results.

Good diet and heat pads did the trick for me. I know there are many women that have a daily cocktail pattern of painkillers, but I cant live like that, hence the decision to step back, follow the endo diet and take it from there. I had some really stressful days, i have to admit that, (from pain), but I preferred it than going around like a zombie from tablets! lol

Jo x

[hayls]

Hi

I was prescribed naproxen early on, with Omeprazole to prevent sickness, it seems to work for some people but did nothing for me, literally nothing, couldn't even notice that I'd taken it, was about as good (or not!) as plain ibuprofen - needless to say I only took it for a very short time, but fingers crossed you get some relief from it, definitely worth a try as it may work and then you won't end up needing to try stronger painkillers that completely knock you out amongst other wonders! x

[crystal_willow]

Hi, I use this and it works wonders for me at this stage.

Just remember start taking the Naproxen AS SOON AS YOU FEEL ANY PAIN!!

and if you only get pain when you are on your period and you can predict when it will start then start taking the naproxen a few hours before

This is the best way to take Prostaglandin pain relievers like Naproxen as they stop your body releasing any more prostaglandins. Because of this Naproxen is less effective if you wait until your pain has been there a while as it cannot get rid of prostaglandins that have already been released.

Paracetamol can be taken whenever you feel pain or feel you would feel pain.

I have a particular way of taking these two meds:

day 1 of period:

Start taking Naproxen as soon as I see blood (I have to start by taking 2 Naproxen according to the packet)

Follow up 2 hours later with Paracetamol (or immediately if pain is present straight away)

Then I take 1 naproxen later on in the day according to the instructions followed by as much paracetamol as I feel I need always sticking to the dose instructions (my packet says i can only take 3 Naproxen per day so I always note the time so I kow when I can start using them again tomorrow..)

day 2:

Take 1 naproxen as soon as I am allowed

take 2 paracetamol

follow this pattern until I have used my dose allowance for both Naproxen and Paracetamol

day 3:

Take 1 naproxen as soon as I am allowed

Take paracetamol if I need it as day three is less painful

follow this pattern until I have used my dose allowance

Also if I can I will wait until 30 mins before bed to take my final daily dose of pain relief to help me avoid waking up with pain

This method seems to work well for me for the moment

[Bride2be in reply to crystal_willow]

Hi crystal_willow,

Thank you so much for the reply, it's really good to hear that it helps. The only problem with predicting the pain is that unfortunately I am not having any periods at the moment and havnt had for over a year now- an extra worry ontop of the pain. I definitely think that taking it at bedtime will help as the pain is always worse at night. I guess it will just be trial and error to take it with paracetamol until there is no more pain,

Thanks again,

K x

[crystal_willow in reply to Bride2be]

Thats OK, since the pain is not around your period you need to get some clear guidance (from your GP or pain specialist) on how much Naproxen you can take per 24 hour period and how much you need to limit yourself to per month.

This will reduce the chance of side effects and give you peace of mind and something to form a structure around x

[little-m]

Hi I take naproxen and it works for me too as long as I take it a the first sign of pain. I take it with cocodamol and have had no problems so far. I was prescribed it along with omeprazole as had problems with mefenamic acid but have never really needed to take omeprazole with naproxen. I keep it just in case. For me it has been the best nsaid that i have been prescribed so far, as i had no reaction for ibuprofen adn mefenamic just made me sick. Everyone is different, but don't be scared to try it. All the best! xx

[hlaunce]

I used to use codeine but got addicted. I made a decision to come off it cold turkey even though it did wonders for my endo. I asked my doctor to put me on something non-addictive so she chose naproxen with omeprazole. I tried diclofenac before which is in the same class as naproxen and had really bad adverse reactions (explosive diarrhoea and stomach cramps that felt like I was dying). So naturally I was terrified of trying the naproxen but I've taken it with the omeprazole and I have been fine! Although it hasn't helped much with pain relief for endometriosis. Hope this helps. It's definitely worth a try before you go down the opiate route. Withdrawal is horrendous!

[BROOKE2003]

I have been put on naproxen with amitriptyline & for the first time in a year I have good pain relief . I also take omeprazole which protects your stomach ! Think u can only stay on naxopren for up to 6 months. I experience occasional nauseau but no other side effects & nauseau could b linked with my endometriosis.