1. All About Voltaren
Voltaren is an anti-inflammatory drug that's used to relieve pain, swelling, joint stiffness and inflammation caused by chronic inflammatory conditions. It belongs to a family of drugs called non-steriodal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. NSAIDs relieve inflammation in the muscles caused by chronic conditions like arthritis, tendonitis, and bursitis.
2. Protecting Your Stomach
Voltaren tablets have an enteric coating on their brand name form and their generic equivalent tablets. This enteric coating makes the tablet easier to swallow and helps prevent the medication from irritating your stomach or causing indigestion. It's important to swallow your Voltaren whole and to not cut, crush or chew the tablet. This will destroy the enteric coating on the tablet and could increase the side effects on your stomach.
3. Voltaren's Effect On Your Body
There are some serious side effects of Voltaren and other NSAIDs. Voltaren can cause stomach or intestinal bleeding. You can reduce your risk by limiting alcohol and tobacco intake and swallowing your Voltaren tablet whole to keep the enteric coating intact. There is also a slight but serious possibility of liver disease, so tell your doctor right away if you experience persistent nausea, severe abdominal pain, or darkening of your urine. When you first start taking Voltaren you could experience nausea, heartburn, diarrhea, constipation, or drowsiness. These side effects should go away, but you should tell your doctor doctor if they don't. Voltaren can also make you sensitive to the sun, so make sure you wear sunscreen and skip the tanning bed while you're taking it.
4. Pregnancy and Voltaren
Taking Voltaren while pregnant is not recommended unless your doctor feels it's absolutely necessary, especially during the last 3 months of pregnancy. Voltaren can harm the fetus and interfere with your labor and delivery. It can also pass to a nursing baby through breast milk, so talk to your doctor before taking Voltaren if you're pregnant or nursing.
5. Voltaren and Other Medications
There are some possible drug interactions between Voltaren and other prescription medications. Check with your doctor before taking Voltaren if you take blood thinners, platelet thinners, steriods, antidepressants or diuretics on a daily basis because Voltaren can alter or lower the effectiveness of some of these medications. If you take aspirin every day to prevent heart attacks, ask your doctor if you should continue to take it while you take your Voltaren.
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