My Story: Instead of Meloxicam's Adverse Results & Complications

The last thing you want to do on holiday is get hurt. Worse still when you do it to yourself, but that's where my Meloxicam story starts.

Of all things, it was the simple act of lifting two heavy bags of groceries up onto the kitchen bench where we were staying. I wasn't aware of doing any damage at the time but something about that jerky lift caught my wife's attention. I don't recall her words but it was a reminder not to overdo it.

"After all, you're 69!"

Or words to that effect.

Well, it turns out that I had injured my right shoulder. The rotator cuff, to be precise.

I'm right handed so that was going to make things worse.

Soon I was in pain. Over the next few days, the pain increased and became excruciating. Getting out of my shirt was agony. Moving my arm away from my body became nearly impossible. All I could do was move it away by 15-20 degrees. Even that small amount of movement was always accompanied by stabbing pain!

For a few miserable days and wretched nights, I survived on whatever painkillers we had at the time. It was getting worse. I couldn't change my clothes without help. I couldn't sleep on my shoulder. I couldn't use it to turn over in bed. Cleaning my teeth was even a painful affair.

The whole experience was nasty and it was wearing me down.

Finally I could take it no longer. I made an appointment with the doctor in the country town where we were staying.

Lovely gentle man. He gave me prescriptions for more paracetamol-codeine and for Meloxicam. You might know it by its brand name, Mobic. The doctor thought it was a rotator cuff injury but sent me off for an ultrasound and an x-ray to be sure.

By the time the results came through, I was back home. My local doctor informed me it was a rotator cuff injury, with extensive calcification and "an insertional tear". Great!

And it was going to take 6 months to heal.

Six months. Now there's something to look forward to!

On a happier note, the Meloxicam had done wonders within the first 2-3 days. The pain was remarkably reduced.

Meloxicam is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) which has analgesic [pain-killing] and anti-inflammatory properties and it's also an antipyretic [taking the fire out of the injured area].

Clearly it was doing its work.

For a month or so, I was a good patient. I took my 15 mg Meloxicam tablet every evening with dinner.

But an issue was rumbling around in my head. "How long am I supposed to be on this?"

So I did what most of us do. Asked "Dr. Google".

The discoveries were unsettling, to say the least.

From drugs.com, I learned that "Meloxicam can increase your risk of fatal heart attack or stroke, especially if you use it long term or take high doses, or if you have heart disease."

And there was this, too: "Avoid taking aspirin while you are taking meloxicam."

As I later found out, it's wise to avoid taking aspirin any time. And it's not just aspirin. There are a lot of drugs it doesn't play well with.

When you read the long list of Meloxicam side effects, it's disturbing. How long is the list? I didn't count them but the list for the consumer fills 7 screens here on my laptop. Plus there are 6 more screens for the doctor's list of adverse side effects.

On healthline.com you can read this worrying statement:

"FDA Warnings: Potentially Fatal Heart Risk And Stomach Problems
This drug has a Black Box Warning. This is the most serious warning from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A black box warning alerts doctors and patients to potentially dangerous effects.
This drug may increase your risk of developing a blood clot, heart attack, or stroke, which can be fatal. Your risk may be higher if you're taking it long term, at high doses, or if you already have heart problems or risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure." [source]

It became crystal clear to me. I didn't want to be on this medication long term.

Natural remedy for my rotator cuff injury

So why have I written this?

In the hope that my story will help some of the estimated 5.6 million people (according to PeoplesPharmacy) who use Meloxicam, because my story has a HAPPY ENDING.

So let's get back to the story...

Several weeks later: I had weaned myself off Meloxicam. (By the way, I should add the usual cautionary note: Don't stop any medicine without checking with the prescriber.)

My shoulder was no longer so painful and it didn't throb very often. But turning over in bed was still awkward and I was still treating it with a great deal of carefulness. I was still lifting those bags of groceries with my left hand, protecting my slowly-improving right arm.

But we'd planned a short stay at a charming place well off the beaten track, so off we went.

On arrival, I met the friendly lady who co-owns the place with her husband. Later that afternoon, I met her husband.

You know how some men shake hands quite strenuously when they meet?

Well, I was still nursing my shoulder so when he stuck out his hand, I hesitated. Now that always looks like you're not a friendly person or you really don't want to meet the person, so I'd got into the habit of putting my hand out then half-withdrawing it and saying "Gently... I've got a bit of arthritis".

This time I added, "And a bit of rotator cuff".

Well, that started up quite a conversation.

Turned out his father-in-law had badly injured his shoulder during a fall several years ago. The conventional medical treatments hadn't helped him, so he'd gone hunting in Google and come up with a natural remedy which did wonders for him. These days his father-in-law, who is in his 80's or thereabouts, is back to doing vigorous martial arts training routines. You know, the exercises with plenty of fast jerky thrusts. His shoulder is as good as gold.

And the co-owner husband had his own rotator cuff story, too. He'd taken a bad tumble off his motorbike and landed on his shoulder. Same result! The natural remedy worked its natural healing for him too.

I was hooked. "Tell me more!"

The magical ingredient was gelatine.

Gelatine?

That's right. The stuff you use to make jelly. It comes from the collagen of animals when they boil down their bones and tissues. The lady of the house offered me some and I started taking it right away. She also put me onto the rural business she buys it from.

It's a food item. Not a drug. So you can't overdose on it. And you don't need a prescription!

This isn't the sugar-added product you buy in a box from the supermarket. They use and recommend A-grade gelatine powder, made from grass-fed beef. And now I take a heaped teaspoon of it in my morning coffee. That way, I hardly notice the taste. It dissolves if you keep stirring for a while. And the same again with my after-dinner coffee.

Result?

Within days I was starting to feel improvement in the shoulder, while taking no other drugs or healing preparations. So I put the entire improvement down to the gelatine. Shoulder movement is back to nearly normal. Pain is gone, just a little ache left at times. I still try to be careful with the shoulder and there's some minor discomfort when I sleep on that side, but not enough to wake me or stop me from going to sleep.

Update several months later: No more aching, no more minor discomfort. I even went surfing the other day with no shoulder issues and no regrets.

I can't speak too highly of this natural food ingredient that healed my shoulder. I see no reason why it wouldn't help you. It's also helped me be even more passionate about using foods and nutrition to help the body heal itself.

WANT TO READ MORE?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25241723
https://www.nomadichustle.com/5-impressive-benefits-of-gelatin/
http://blogs.ucdavis.edu/egghead/2016/12/19/gelatin-supplements-good-joints/
https://www.leaf.tv/articles/natural-cures-for-a-torn-rotator-cuff/
http://www.mysportscience.com/single-post/2017/03/15/Using-gelatin-to-improve-performance-prevent-injury-and-accelerate-return-to-play