I got the pill form of Voltaren from my orthopedic neck doctor yesterday for my messed up neck. (Diclofenac Sodium, 75mg, 2/day) They sell the cream or gel over the counter, but he said this will work better. I've never heard of this script pill, but I'll give it a shot.
Question is has anyone taken this or heard of it? Since I'm on meds for my back he had to give me a non-narcotic script. The pain caused me to take more pain pills than I should have, 4-5/day instead of 3, so I ran out early twice. I'm hoping this works. It's like a kidney stone in my neck. MRI showed nothing to operate on.

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I went to the doctor for the pain in my hands. He recommended Voltaren cream form and it worked great. His side comment was "I could give you Voltaren pills but you would not like them" I think he ment side effects but did not expla;n.

I used Diclofenac for years for back pain. Worked very well for anything that involves an inflammation. Also used Voltaren over the years. The pill form was available long before the Voltaren cream was.

Stu

I took Diclofenac for 25 years for an inury to my back . Thr darn stuff worked well enough that I could function alright. Docs took me off of it last winter. It was no longer working very well and it is a medication that is called an ansaid. Hard on Kidneys. I have kidney disease due to diabetes. I was able to acquire Voltaren gel many years ago before it could be sold here by. Hope the stuff helps your neck pain. understand it is not a miracle...or wasn't for me but it helped It did quit working for me though

I used diclofenac in the pill form for a couple of years for rheumatoid arthritis. It helped somewhat but then I developed an apparent allergic reaction that caused unbelievable sudden onset full body itching. I mean jumping out of bed in the middle of the night itching and straight into the shower, which only helped a little. It would generally subside after a few hours, but miserable in the meantime. The reaction went away completely after stopping the drug.

A friend was taking it for osteoarthritis and developed the same reaction. I have found other drugs for the RA that are miraculous. So, it might work fine for you, or it might not. If any symptoms of the sort described show up, I recommend stopping immediately and calling your doctor.

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Diclofenac is an old drug, been around for years. The topical gel is a relatively new product.
The literature on the gel says it is not effective for a malady like yours, but rather for remote joints like hands or knees.
I took the tablets for years on a daily maintenance basis for osteoarthritis in my hands, and it was very effective for suppressing inflammation and pain relief.
The downsides are that it is an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) and long term use can damage your kidneys and cause gastric ulcers.
I had a bleeding ulcer, and my kidney function lost about 40% of what it should be, and now I'm off NSAIDs forever.

1. Always take the med with food, never on an empty stomach. Tell your doc if you use any other NSAID like aspirin or naproxen sodium for healthy heart or pain relief.
2. If you stay on it long term, be sure your doc checks your kidney function (serum creatinine and eGFR), especially if you are diabetic.

Best of luck to you; I hope you find relief in a few weeks.

Thanks guys. I looked it up and saw some side effects. Actually quite a few, but drugs have never been a problem for me but this is a new one. I’ll give it a chance to do its thing at least a couple weeks then judge it from there.

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