Not everybody suffers indomethacin side effects. The most common problem is stomach upset, but more serious stomach problems can occur. As with all treatments, you must decide what is best for you in your particular circumstances.

You must discuss side effects fully with your doctor before you start to take any drug and whenever you experience any adverse effects. Also, you should be aware of general gout medication side effects.

The following list may not be complete – if you experience any other problem that you think may be related to taking the drug, then you must consult your doctor.
Minor side effects that may go away
You only need consult your doctor if these become severe or prolonged
  • Constipation
  • Depression
  • Diarrhea
  • Dizziness
  • Drowsiness
  • Fatigue
  • Headache
  • Stomach pain
  • Unusual hair loss
  • Nausea, unless with skin rash – this is serious – see below
  • Vomiting
Serious side effects
You must stop taking Indomethacin and consult your doctor if you have any of the following
  • Aching or painful muscles
  • Blood in stools or black, tarry stools
  • Blood in vomit
  • Breathing troubled or short
  • Bruising or bleeding without obvious cause
  • Chest tight or wheezing
  • Eyes yellow
  • Hands or feet numb, tingling, painful or weak
  • Hearing diminished or ringing in ears
  • Hives
  • Itching
  • Lethargy (tiredness or weakness without obvious cause)
  • Mouth ulcers
  • Rash, especially with vomiting or nausea
  • Skin yellow
  • Swelling of hands, feet, lower legs or ankles
  • Tarry, black stools
  • Urine suddenly decreases in amount

If you are concerned about side effects of indomethacin, or any other medication, you must seek qualified medical help as soon as you can. Pharmacists are a good source of information about gout medicines. I’m pleased when people discuss their gout treatment experiences on the gout cures forum, but we cannot give individual advice or recommendations about specific side effects.

Health warnings

Indomethacin is a member of the NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) group of drugs. All these drugs can have severe, even fatal, effects on the stomach. It is appropriate for short term use, at the lowest dose possible, to treat pain from gout flares, but never for more than a few days.

Vision problems are associated with this drug.

Indomethacin Dosage for Gout chart
Indomethacin Dosage for Gout chart compares Indocin with other gouty arthritis medications. It is from the ACP Guideline. See the correct indomethacin dosage for gout. Then compare it with ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, cox-2 inhibitors, prednisolone, methylprednisolone, corticotropin, generic colchicine, Colcrys, probenecid, generic allopurinol, Zyloprim, generic febuxostat, and Uloric.

Indomethacin Spellings

Like many medicines, indomethacin is often misspelled. Though spelling is often overrated, it pays to take extra care with medicines, as a misunderstanding might cause treatment problems in the unlikely event of a similar sounding drug being taken mistakenly.

Also, be careful with brand names such as Indocin. When buying medicine, it is usually best to use the generic name rather than a brand name, unless additional active ingredients make indomethacin side effects less troublesome to you.

Endomethacin

Indo replaced by Endo.

Idomethacin

Indo replaced by Ido – missing n.

Indo

A common abbreviation, but not recommended, as abbreviations can often cause confusion.

Indomecine

thacin replaced by cine. This appears most frequently in Chinese articles.

Indomenthacin

meth replaced by menth.

Indomethacine

e added at end – French spelling. Also occurs as indometacine.

Indomethacyn

cin replaced by cyn – possibly Indonesian or other language.

indomethasin

thacin replaced by thasin – s instead of c.

Indomethcin

missing a near end.

Indomethecin

a replaced by e.

Indomethicin

a replaced by i. Also gets written as endomethicin.

Indomethocin

a replaced by o.

Everything that I have said about indomethacin side effects also applies to all the alternatives listed here.

If you are aware of other common spellings or brand names, please share them on the gout forum.

Leave the Indomethacin Side Effects page to browse other indomethacin information. Or read How to Avoid Gout Medication Side Effects.


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