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" What is it used for?  Rheumatoid arthritis. A form of arthritis affecting the joints of the spine (ankylosing spondylitis). Osteoarthritis (short-term use).   How does it work? Meloxicam is a type of medicine called a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). NSAIDs are used to relieve pain and inflammation. Meloxicam works by blocking the action of a substance in the body called cyclo-oxygenase (COX). Cyclo-oxygenase is involved in the production of various chemicals in the body, some of which are known as prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are produced by the body in response to injury and certain diseases and conditions, and cause pain, swelling and inflammation. Meloxicam blocks the production of these prostaglandins and is therefore effective at reducing inflammation and pain.  Meloxicam is used to relieve inflammation and pain in the joints in various arthritic conditions.   How do I take it?  Meloxicam tablets should be taken once a day. Try to take this medicine at the same time each day as this will help you remember to take it. The dose prescribed by your doctor depends on the condition being treated and your kidney function. Do not exceed the prescribed dose. Meloxicam tablets should be taken with or after food. If you forget to take a dose at your usual time just take it as soon as you remember that day. If you forget to take your dose for the whole day just leave out the missed dose and take your next dose as usual the following day. Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed dose.   Warning!  This medicine may cause dizziness, sleepiness or visual disturbances and so may affect your ability to drive or operate machinery safely. Do not drive or operate machinery until you know how this medicine affects you and you are sure it won&amp;#039;t affect your performance.  This medicine may mask the signs and symptoms of infection, such as fever and inflammation. This may make you think mistakenly that an infection is getting better when it isn&amp;#039;t, or that an infection is less serious than it is. For this reason you should tell your doctor if you get an infection while you are taking this medicine.  Your doctor will prescribe you the lowest effective dose of this medicine for the shortest possible time necessary to relieve your symptoms. This is to minimise the chances of any side effects, particularly those mentioned below. It is important not to exceed the prescribed dose. NSAIDs can occasionally cause serious side effects on the gut, such as ulceration, bleeding or perforation of the stomach or intestinal lining. This type of side effect is more likely to occur in elderly people and in people taking high doses of the medicine. The risk can also be increased by taking certain other medicines (see end of factsheet). It is important that these people, as well as people with a history of disorders affecting the stomach or intestines, are closely monitored by a doctor while taking this medicine. If your doctor thinks you are at high risk of side effects on the gut you may be prescribed an additional medicine to help protect your gut. All people having treatment with this medicine should stop taking it and consult their doctor immediately if they experience any sign of bleeding from the stomach or intestine, for example vomiting blood and/or passing black/tarry/bloodstained stools.  Studies have suggested that use of some NSAIDs may be associated with a small increase in the risk of heart attacks and stroke (particularly if used in high doses or for long periods of time). If you have risk factors for heart disease or stroke, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or smoking, your doctor will need to assess the overall benefits and risks before deciding if this medicine is suitable for you. You should tell your doctor if you experience shortness of breath, chest pains or ankle swelling while taking the medicine. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for further information.  Very rarely, NSAIDS may cause serious blistering or peeling skin reactions (eg Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, exfoliative dermatitis). For this reason, you should stop taking this medicine and consult your doctor if you get a skin rash or sores inside your mouth while taking this medicine. This side effect is very rare, but if it occurs, is most likely to happen in the first month of treatment. If you have liver or kidney disease, heart failure, you are on a low sodium diet, you are taking diuretic medicines, or you are recovering from major surgery, your kidney function should be assessed before starting and regularly throughout treatment with this medicine. During long-term treatment with this medicine you should have regular check-ups with your doctor so that you can be monitored for possible side effects of the medicine. This might include routine blood tests to monitor your kidney function, liver function and levels of blood components, particularly if you are elderly.    Use with caution in  Elderly people. People with a history of disorders affecting the stomach or intestines. Inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn&amp;#039;s disease or ulcerative colitis. Kidney disease. Liver disease. Heart failure. Heart disease caused by inadequate blood flow to the heart (ischaemic heart disease), eg angina or history of heart attack. Disease of the blood vessels in and around the brain (cerebrovascular disease), eg history of stroke or mini-stroke (TIA).  People with poor circulation in the arteries of the legs or feet (peripheral arterial disease). People with a history of high blood pressure (hypertension).  People with raised levels of fats such as cholesterol in the blood (hyperlipidaemia). Diabetes. Smokers. People with a history of asthma. People with a history of allergies. People with blood clotting problems or taking anticoagulant medicines. Diseases affecting connective tissue, eg systemic lupus erythematosus.   Not to be used in  People in whom aspirin or other NSAIDs, eg ibuprofen, cause allergic reactions such as asthma attacks, itchy rash (urticaria), nasal inflammation (rhinitis) or swelling of the lips, tongue and throat (angioedema).  People with an active peptic ulcer or bleeding in the gut. People who have had recurrent peptic ulcers or bleeding in the gut (two or more episodes). People who have experienced bleeding or perforation of the gut as a result of previous treatment with an NSAID. People with active bleeding in the stomach, intestine or brain, or other bleeding disorders. Severe heart failure. Severe kidney failure. Severely decreased liver function. Pregnancy. Breastfeeding. This medicine is not licensed for use in children under 16 years of age. However, it may sometimes be used (on an unlicensed basis) by specialists for children aged 12 to 16 years with juvenile arthritis who can&amp;#039;t take other NSAIDs.  This medicine should not be used if you are allergic to one or any of its ingredients. Please inform your doctor or pharmacist if you have previously experienced such an allergy. If you feel you have experienced an allergic reaction, stop using this medicine and inform your doctor or pharmacist immediately.   Pregnancy and breastfeeding Certain medicines should not be used during pregnancy or breastfeeding. However, other medicines may be safely used in pregnancy or breastfeeding providing the benefits to the mother outweigh the risks to the unborn baby. Always inform your doctor if you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, before using any medicine.  This medicine should not be used in pregnancy, particularly in the third trimester, as it may delay labour, increase the length of labour and cause complications in the newborn baby. Some evidence suggests that NSAIDs should also be avoided by women attempting to conceive, as they may temporarily reduce female fertility during treatment and may also increase the risk of miscarriage or malformations. Seek further medical advice from your doctor. This medicine may pass into breast milk. It should not be used by mothers who are breastfeeding. Seek further medical advice from your doctor.    Side effects Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways. The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Just because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.  Very common (affect more than 1 in 10 people)  Disturbances of the gut such as indigestion, diarrhoea, constipation, feeling sick, vomiting, gas (wind) or abdominal pain.     Common (affect between 1 in 10 and 1 in 100 people)  Headache.    Uncommon (affect between 1 in 100 and 1 in 1000 people)  Sleepiness. Dizziness. Spinning sensation (vertigo). Increase in blood pressure. Flushing. Anaemia. Inflammation of the stomach (gastritis). Bleeding in the stomach or intestines. Problems with liver function. Allergic reactions such as skin rashes, swelling of the lips, tongue and throat (angioedema) or narrowing of the airways (bronchospasm). Skin reactions such as rash or itching. Retention of water in the body tissues (fluid retention), resulting in swelling (oedema). Raised level of potassium in the blood (hyperkalaemia). Problems with kidney function.   Rare (affect between 1 in 1000 and 1 in 10,000 people)  Blurred vision. Decrease in the normal numbers of white blood cells or platelets in the blood. Mood changes. Nightmares. Sensation of ringing or other noise in the ears (tinnitus). Awareness of your heartbeat (palpitations). Inflammation of the foodpipe (oesophagitis). Ulceration in the stomach or intestines.   Very rare (affect less than 1 in 10,000 people)  Perforation of the gut (development of a hole in the wall of the gut). Inflammation of the liver (hepatitis). Severe allergic skin reactions. Kidney failure.   Frequency unknown  Confusion. Feeling disorientated. Increased sensitivity of the skin to sunlight.  The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the medicine&amp;#039;s manufacturer. For more information about any other possible risks associated with this medicine, please read the information provided with the medicine or consult your doctor or pharmacist.   How can this medicine affect other medicines? It is important to tell your doctor or pharmacist what medicines you are already taking, including those bought without a prescription and herbal medicines, before taking this medicine. Similarly, check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any new medicines while taking this one, to make sure that the combination is safe.  Meloxicam should not be used in combination with painkilling doses of aspirin or any other NSAID taken by mouth, eg ibuprofen, diclofenac, naproxen, as this increases the risk of side effects on the stomach and intestines. Selective inhibitors of COX-2 such as celecoxib or etoricoxib should also be avoided for the same reason. There may be an increased risk of ulceration or bleeding from the gut if meloxicam is used with corticosteroids such as prednisolone.  There may also be an increased risk of bleeding, particularly from the gut, if meloxicam is taken with the following medicines:  anti-blood-clotting (anticoagulant) medicines such as warfarin, dabigatran or heparin anti-platelet medicines to reduce the risk of blood clots or &amp;#039;thin the blood&amp;#039;, eg low-dose aspirin, clopidogrel, dipyridamole, prasugrel duloxetine erlotinib iloprost SSRI antidepressants, eg fluoxetine, paroxetine, citalopram venlafaxine.  Meloxicam may enhance the effect of blood-thinning or anti-clotting medicines (anticoagulants) such as warfarin. As this may increase the risk of bleeding, people taking meloxicam with an anticoagulant should be closely monitored by their doctor. Your blood-clotting time (INR) may need to be checked more frequently.  There may be an increased risk of side effects on the kidneys if meloxicam is used with any of the following medicines:   ACE inhibitors, eg enalapril  angiotensin II receptor antagonists, eg losartan ciclosporin diuretics, eg furosemide tacrolimus.   Meloxicam may oppose the blood pressure lowering effects of certain medicines used to treat high blood pressure (antihypertensives), for example the following:   ACE inhibitors such as captopril  angiotensin II receptor antagonists, eg losartan beta-blockers such as propranolol calcium-channel blockers such as amlodipine diuretics, eg furosemide.  Meloxicam may reduce the removal of the following medicines from the body and so may increase the blood levels and risk of side effects of these medicines. People using meloxicam with any of these should be closely monitored by their doctor:   lithium  methotrexate.   Colestyramine increases the removal of meloxicam from the body and so may make it less effective. Your doctor may need to increase your dose of meloxicam if you are also taking colestyramine.   Other medicines containing the same active ingredient Meloxicam tablets used to be marketed under the brand name Mobic, however this brand has now been discontinued. Meloxicam tablets are currently only available without a brand name, ie as the generic medicine.  Last updated 07.03.2013 "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/aches-and-pains/a7135/meloxicam/>