What’s It Like to Take Meloxicam for Arthritis?
Key takeaways:
Meloxicam is a prescription medicine commonly used to treat arthritis.
Some people who take meloxicam say it relieves pain without many side effects.
A few people told GoodRx that meloxicam is key to helping them stay active.
GoodRx talked to three people living with arthritis who find relief with meloxicam (Mobic), a prescription pain reliever. All echoed a common refrain: They can’t articulate exactly what taking meloxicam feels like, but they can definitely tell you life without it is painful. One even called it a “miracle drug.”
A carpenter’s pain
Steve Fornell spent 35 years working in construction as a carpenter.
“You’re up and down, and you’re on your knees and up and down ladders and such,” he says. “It’s a tough trade, and your body goes through a lot of abuse. The aches and pains, they catch up with you after a while.”
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One pain, in his hip, was too much to bear. The 67-year-old, who lives in Tucson, Arizona, would walk around the block with his wife, Rae Ann, and experience excruciating pain. He also couldn’t sleep at night, tossing and turning to “find just the right spot.”
His doctor spotted arthritis and told him he’d eventually need a hip replacement. Steve first tried physical therapy, but it led to even more pain.
“I did it for about two and a half months, and it just about killed me because the inflammation was so bad,” he says.
Then Steve talked to an orthopedic surgeon who recommended a different path. Steve told the doctor he’d been taking a lot of ibuprofen, and his body tolerated it well but it had little effect. The surgeon prescribed meloxicam and a cortisone shot.
“Within two days of taking meloxicam, I could feel a difference,” Steve says. “The inflammation was going down. And then, about 2 or 3 weeks after that, I had a shot of cortisone in my hip joint. And, together, the meloxicam and the injection really made a difference.”
For the past 4 months, he’s taken 7.5 mg of meloxicam daily, with food. The treatment has allowed him to put off having hip surgery.
“I would just say, if anybody has gone through any of that kind of pain for any kind of inflammation in the joints, I think it's kind of a miracle drug,” he says.
Helping her stay active
While Steve has had a relatively short experience with meloxicam, Kay Hardy, a retiree from Canton, Ohio, has been taking the medication to treat her arthritis “forever” and can’t remember exactly when she started.
“I was on something else before, but I can't remember what it was,” she says. “I ended up on meloxicam, 15 mg a day. It really helped me a lot.”
She discovered how much the medication was helping when she had to have an ablation, a procedure that’s used to treat abnormal heart rhythm. Kay ended up on blood thinners and could not take meloxicam for a time.
She tried extra-strength and arthritis-strength Tylenol (acetaminophen), but it did not give her the same level of relief that she had gotten with meloxicam.
After her ablation, Kay was able to get off the blood thinners and back on meloxicam when she opted to get a WATCHMAN, a device designed to improve blood flow to the heart and reduce the risk of stroke in patients living with atrial fibrillation.
Kay, 68, is active and is building a new home with her husband, Bill. She even asked her doctor to increase her meloxicam dosage to make sure pain wouldn’t hold her back.
“He said no because it could be bad for my kidneys. I didn’t know that,” she says. She doesn’t worry about taking her prescribed amount, though. “So, I drink a lot of water. I will take that risk because I gotta be able to walk. I’ve got stuff to do and I gotta get around.”
Safe with other medications
Chris Blaylock, a 52-year-old stay-at-home mom from Bolivar, Ohio, started taking meloxicam 4 years ago for pain from muscle spasms, osteoarthritis (worn joints), and fibromyalgia (chronic pain).
Before that, she was taking a lot of Tylenol. When her doctor found out how much she was taking, she told Chris that too much Tylenol can be harmful and suggested meloxicam as an alternative.
“It is a non-narcotic and non-addictive, so it would not cause me any issues as far as health-related,” she says.
“We talked about the fact that it doesn’t interact with any of my medications I was taking, which was a huge bonus,” says Chris, who takes medications for anxiety, ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder), and other issues. “Because when you take something you’re always worrying if it’s going to cause any issues as far as interactions happening. There is quite a lot you can take with it and it doesn’t interact.”
After 2 months of taking meloxicam, Chris wasn’t sure it was working.
“So I, like many people, stopped taking it for like 2 or 3 days, and then I was like, ‘Yeah, it is working,’ ”she says.
“I have muscle spasms like you would not believe,” she adds. “It takes that edge off.”
Chris started out on 5 mg and her doctor gradually increased her dose to 15 mg.
“It doesn’t take all the pain away, but it makes it more manageable,” Chris says. “And that’s OK, because Tylenol didn’t take it away either.”
Chris says she has not experienced any side effects with meloxicam and it helps with her active life. She’s a mother of four, with an 8-year-old daughter still at home. She and her husband, Steve, often go boating with the family.
“I can do a lot more before I start hurting,” she says. “It helps me stay active, so I don’t become sedentary."
What does a pharmacist say?
Christina Aungst, PharmD
Pharmacy Editor
Meloxicam belongs to a group of medications called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). It works in a similar way to the popular over-the-counter (OTC) pain reliever ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin). It’s FDA-approved to treat conditions that cause pain and inflammation, including rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
One benefit of meloxicam is that it lasts in the body much longer than OTC pain relievers. It’s typically taken once a day and works all day. This can make it easier to stay on track with your dosages, which is key because meloxicam works best if you take it at about the same time every day.
Meloxicam is generally well-tolerated and isn’t as hard on the stomach as other NSAIDs, but some people do experience side effects such as diarrhea or nausea. Taking meloxicam with food can help lessen or prevent these issues. If you do experience side effects, they should be mild, so let your healthcare provider know if you seem to be having a more severe reaction.
Meloxicam can start working within a few days, but it might take about 2 weeks for you to feel its full benefits. If you’re not feeling any improvement after a few weeks, check in with your healthcare provider. They might suggest raising your dose.
The dosage will depend on your symptoms and how you respond to meloxicam. It may take some trial and error to find the right dose for you. Having an open conversation with your healthcare provider about how you’re feeling will help them determine if meloxicam is the best choice for managing your pain.
Want to tell your patient story? Email us at patientstories@goodrx.com.
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