How Long Does Meloxicam Stay In The System?

Determining how long a drug stays in the body system is a key factor in deciding how often that drug should be taken. This is because if a drug stays longer in the body and is then given frequently, it could accumulate and cause toxicity or side effects. 

If it is also given too far apart, the concentration in the blood can fall too low to produce the desired effect. In this article, the pharmacist will let you know how long meloxicam stays in the body before it is eliminated completely. 

How To Determine How Long Meloxicam Stays In The Body.

The key parameter in determining how long a drug remains in the body after a dose is given is the elimination or terminal half-life of the drug. 

The half-life of a drug is defined as the time it takes for half of the administered dose of that drug to be removed from the blood. The elimination half-life of meloxicam is approximately 20 hours. 

This means that if you take the standard dose of 7.5 mg, after 20 hours, you’ll only have 3.75 mg of the drug left. After 40 hours, this amount goes down to 1.88 mg.

This halving of concentration will keep going until nothing significant is left in the body. To get a clearer picture of this, you can check our elimination half-life calculator.

How Long Does Meloxicam Stay In The System?

Meloxicam stays in the body for at least 100 hours (4 days) before it is completely eliminated. This is because it is estimated that it takes at least 5 half-lives for a drug to be significantly reduced in the blood such that whatever is left is no longer considered clinically significant.

These 5 half-lives translate to 97% of the administered dose of meloxicam, leaving just 3% which is physiologically insignificant. The half-life of meloxicam is approximately hours.

5 half-lives of meloxicam will be equivalent to 100 hours. So if the standard 7.5 mg dose is taken, after 100 hours, you’ll have just 0.23 mg left in your system.

This concentration is too low to produce any therapeutic or physiological effect in the body. Hence, after 100 hours or 4 days, you shouldn’t have much meloxicam in your system to worry about.

What Does This Mean To Your Treatment?

Since meloxicam has a longer half-life compared to other NSAIDs, it allows for a single daily dosing. To maintain an adequate level of the drug in the blood, it is important that you do not skip doses or take it more than once in a day (unless advised otherwise.

Skipping doses of meloxicam will allow its effective concentration in the blood to fall to a level that is no longer within the range required to produce a therapeutic effect.

To bump the level back up, you will need to take the drug for a couple more days. The effect this has on your treatment is that it delays the relief you’d have gotten if taken correctly.

Also, you should not take more than one dose in a day unless advised otherwise. Taking more than one standard dose will allow the concentration in the blood to spike.

This can increase your chances of suffering side effects like gastrointestinal irritation and bleeding, or abdominal pain. To get the best from this drug, make sure you take it as prescribed by your doctor.

Taking the drug with food or milk helps in reducing the side effects it causes. Also, you are advised not to lie down for at least 10 minutes after taking Meloxicam.

Final Thoughts

Meloxicam stays in the system for about 100 hours (4 days) before complete elimination from the body. To get optimal results from meloxicam treatment and prevent delayed pain relief, it is important you take the doses as prescribed without skipping or taking more than directed. Also, take meloxicam doses alongside food to reduce the chances of gastrointestinal side effects like stomach irritation. Discuss any questions on meloxicam’s duration in your body with your doctor or pharmacist.

References

• Türck D, Roth W, Busch U. A review of the clinical pharmacokinetics of meloxicam. Br J Rheumatol. 1996 Apr;35 Suppl 1:13-6. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/35.suppl_1.13. PMID: 8630630.
• Türck D, Busch U, Heinzel G, Narjes H. Clinical pharmacokinetics of meloxicam. Arzneimittelforschung. 1997 Mar;47(3):253-8. PMID: 9105543.
• Bekker A, Kloepping C, Collingwood S. Meloxicam in the management of post-operative pain: Narrative review. J Anaesthesiol Clin Pharmacol. 2018 Oct-Dec;34(4):450-457. doi: 10.4103/joacp.JOACP_133_18. PMID: 30774225; PMCID: PMC6360894.