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Take with or after food. Take your forgotten dose as soon as you remember, unless it's nearly time for your next dose. You could also ask your pharmacist for advice on other ways to help you remember to take your medicine. If you take too many naproxen tablets, you're more likely to get some of the common side effects. Contact your doctor straight away. It's OK to take naproxen with paracetamol or co-codamol that you buy over the counter, but this should just be for short periods of time.
If you often need to take extra painkillers with naproxen or for more than a few days, you should talk to your doctor or pharmacist.
Sometimes taking different painkillers together is a good way to relieve pain, but there may be other treatments you can try. It's OK to take other painkillers with naproxen for longer if your doctor has given them to you on prescription and told you to take them together. Like all medicines, naproxen can cause side effects, although not everyone gets them. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if these side effects bother you or do not go away.
In rare cases, it's possible to have a serious allergic reaction to naproxen. Naproxen is not usually recommended in pregnancy — especially if you're 30 or more weeks — unless it's prescribed by a doctor. This is because there might be a link between taking naproxen in pregnancy and some birth defects, in particular damage to the baby's heart and blood vessels.
There may also be a link between taking naproxen in early pregnancy and miscarriage. Talk to your doctor about the benefits and possible harms of taking naproxen. It'll depend on how many weeks pregnant you are and the reason you need to take the medicine.
There may be other treatments that are safer for you. Paracetamol is usually recommended as the first choice of painkiller for pregnant women. Naproxen is not usually recommended during breastfeeding. Other anti-inflammatory medicines, such as ibuprofen , are safer. But if your baby is premature, had a low birth weight, or has an underlying medical condition, talk to your doctor before taking any painkillers.
For more information about how naproxen can affect you and your baby during pregnancy, read this leaflet on the Best Use of Medicines in Pregnancy BUMPs website.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, including herbal medicines, vitamins or supplements. It works by reducing hormones that cause inflammation and pain in the body. Paracetamol is usually the best treatment for most types of pain, but naproxen is better for some types, such as period pain or back pain. But it might take up to 3 days for naproxen to work properly if you take it regularly twice a day. Depending on why you're taking naproxen, you may only need to take it for a short time.
For example, if you have a sore back or period pain, you may only need to take naproxen for 1 or 2 days. You may need to take it for longer if you have a long-term condition, such as rheumatoid arthritis. If you need to take naproxen for a long time, your doctor may prescribe a medicine to protect your stomach from side effects.
It's best to take the lowest dose of naproxen for the shortest time to control your symptoms. Talk to your doctor if you're unsure how long you need to take naproxen for. Naproxen can cause an ulcer in your stomach or gut if you take it for a long time or in big doses. There's also a small risk that people taking very big doses for a long time may get heart failure or kidney failure. It's best to take the lowest dose that works for the shortest possible time. If you need to take naproxen very often or you're taking a big dose, talk to your doctor about your pain.
No, naproxen is not addictive, but it's important to always take it as prescribed. The type of painkiller that's best depends on what type of pain you have and the cause of your pain. If naproxen does not get rid of your pain, you can try painkillers that you can buy from shops and pharmacies, such as paracetamol or co-codamol paracetamol combined with low-dose codeine. If the medicine you buy is not controlling your pain, your doctor may recommend another type of treatment to help your pain, such as exercise or physiotherapy.
Your doctor may also be able to prescribe a stronger painkiller, such as higher dose co-codamol or codeine. Your doctor will have to prescribe a different medicine if your pain is related to your nerves. Naproxen can cause an ulcer in your stomach or gut if you take it for a long time or in big doses, or if you're elderly or in poor general health. Your doctor may tell you not to take naproxen if you have a stomach ulcer or you have had one in the past.
If you need to take naproxen but you're at risk of getting a stomach ulcer, your doctor may prescribe another medicine for you to take alongside naproxen to protect your stomach. The most common symptom of a stomach ulcer is a burning or gnawing pain in the centre of the stomach. But stomach ulcers are not always painful and some people may have other symptoms, such as indigestion, heartburn and feeling sick.
If you're prone to stomach ulcers or have had one before, take paracetamol instead of naproxen as it's gentler on your stomach. If you think you may have symptoms of a stomach ulcer, stop taking naproxen and contact your doctor. It's been said that taking anti-inflammatory medicines increases the chances of getting heart failure. If you find you need to take naproxen very often or you're taking doses higher than recommended, talk to your doctor about your pain.
Some anti-inflammatory medicines are less risky than others. Your doctor will be able to help you decide which is the best one for you. If you have problems with your kidney function, talk to your doctor about the best anti-inflammatory to take. NSAIDs may cause an increased risk of sudden kidney failure and even progressive kidney damage.
It's thought some anti-inflammatory medicines, including naproxen, can increase the chance of you getting an irregular heartbeat such as atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter. But the chances of getting an irregular heartbeat is small and not enough to recommend people stop taking these medicines.
If you're prescribed naproxen for a long-term condition, keep taking it and talk to your doctor if you're worried. If you buy naproxen from a shop, occasional doses or short courses 2 or 3 days are safe. It's been reported that women taking some anti-inflammatory medicines, including naproxen, twice a week for more than a year have a higher chance of losing their hearing.
But there's no proof that naproxen and similar anti-inflammatory medicines cause hearing loss. Hearing loss is common as people get older. There are ways to protect your hearing, for example, limiting your exposure to loud noise, wearing hearing protection in noisy places, and keeping the volume down on personal headphones.
If you find you have to take naproxen several days a week, talk to your doctor about what's causing your pain and whether there are better ways to manage it. Taking anti-inflammatory medicines, like naproxen, in large doses or for a long time can affect ovulation in women. This may make it more difficult to get pregnant. Do not take naproxen if you're trying to get pregnant or you're having tests for infertility. Paracetamol is a better painkiller in these situations.
There's no firm evidence to suggest that taking naproxen will reduce fertility in men. Naproxen does not affect any type of contraception, including the combined pill or emergency contraception.
Yes, you can drink alcohol while taking naproxen. But drinking too much alcohol may irritate your stomach. Page last reviewed: 6 December Next review due: 6 December About naproxen Naproxen is a medicine that reduces inflammation and pain in joints and muscles.
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