Indomethacin: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Indomethacin is a medicine sold in the U.S. under 4 brand and generic names. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Available as
- Capsule · Capsule, extended release · Suppository
- Sold as
- 4 products — Indomethacin, Indocin and Indocin SR, and others
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Yes
- Half-life
- about 4.5 hours
- What the pharmacy pays
- about $4 for a 30-count supply — not your price
Every indomethacin product we track (4)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
| # | Drug | Rating | Type | Form | Generic? | Pharmacy pays | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 72/100 | Prescription | Capsule | Generic | $4 | View → | |
| 2 | 70/100 | Prescription | Suppository | Generic | $4 | View → | |
| 3 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Capsule | Generic | $4 | View → | |
| 4 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Capsule | Generic | $4 | View → |
What indomethacin pills look like
Imprint codes, colour and shape from the FDA’s labelling data. Match the imprint on your pill — or search any imprint.
Indomethacin recalls
From the FDA Enforcement database. A recall covers specific lots — not the drug as a whole.
Indomethacin Extended-Release Capsules
cGMP deviations
Amerisource Health Services LLC · May 15, 2025
Indomethacin Extended-Release Capsules USP
cGMP deviations
KVK Tech, Inc. · May 9, 2025
Indomethacin Extended-Release Capsules
CGMP Deviations
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA · Mar 13, 2025
Indomethacin Extended-Release Capsules
Failed Dissolution Specifications: below specification results
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA · Jul 31, 2024
How long indomethacin keeps
No indomethacin label we read sets a separate limit for after opening, but they do specify how it must be stored — and the stability behind any date assumes those conditions.
Indomethacin and breastfeeding
From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.
Full LactMed record for indomethacin: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider insteadBecause of the low levels of indomethacin in breastmilk and therapeutic administration directly to infants, it is acceptable to use in nursing mothers. However, other agents with more published information on use during lactation may be preferable, especially while nursing a newborn or preterm infant.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised September 15, 2024. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.
What people report to the FDA about indomethacin
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 12,888 reports naming indomethacin, and the FDA flagged 80% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:
- fatigue1,245 reports
- headache1,076 reports
- arthralgia1,072 reports
- diarrhoea987 reports
- dizziness949 reports
- nausea948 reports
- vomiting803 reports
- dyspnoea746 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean indomethacin caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved August 25, 2026.
How long indomethacin stays in your system
The elimination half-life of indomethacin is about 4.5 hours. This is the parent drug's mean elimination half-life; at ~4.5 hours most of a dose clears from the blood in roughly a day (about 5 half-lives). Indomethacin undergoes appreciable enterohepatic circulation (it is reabsorbed from the gut), which can prolong how long it lingers. It is broken down to desmethyl, desbenzoyl, and desmethyldesbenzoyl metabolites; the label does not describe these as active or longer-lasting than the parent. The label reports no half-life data in kidney or liver impairment because indomethacin's pharmacokinetics were not studied in those patients, though clearance may be slower when organ function is reduced.
INDOMETHACIN capsule — FDA label (DailyMed), Clinical Pharmacology: Pharmacokinetics ↗Half-life is how long the body takes to clear half a dose. It is not the same as how long a drug test can detect it, and it varies with age, kidney and liver function.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
How long does indomethacin stay in your system?
The elimination half-life of indomethacin is about 4.5 hours — that is how long the body takes to clear half of a dose. This is the parent drug's mean elimination half-life; at ~4.5 hours most of a dose clears from the blood in roughly a day (about 5 half-lives). Indomethacin undergoes appreciable enterohepatic circulation (it is reabsorbed from the gut), which can prolong how long it lingers. It is broken down to desmethyl, desbenzoyl, and desmethyldesbenzoyl metabolites; the label does not describe these as active or longer-lasting than the parent. The label reports no half-life data in kidney or liver impairment because indomethacin's pharmacokinetics were not studied in those patients, though clearance may be slower when organ function is reduced. Half-life is not the same as how long a drug test can detect the drug, and it varies with age, kidney and liver function.
Can you take indomethacin with other medicines?
It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run indomethacin against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What brand names is indomethacin sold under?
We track 4 indomethacin-containing products in the U.S.: Indomethacin, Indocin, Indocin SR and Tivorbex. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.
What forms does indomethacin come in?
Across the brands we track, indomethacin is currently marketed as capsule, capsule, extended release and suppository, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.
Is there a generic indomethacin?
Yes. Our catalog lists 1 generic indomethacin product alongside the brand versions. A generic has the same active ingredient and must meet the FDA's bioequivalence standard; it usually costs less. Ask your pharmacist which one your plan covers.
Has indomethacin been recalled?
The FDA's Enforcement database lists 4 recall records whose product description mentions indomethacin. The most recent: Indomethacin Extended-Release Capsules (May 15, 2025). A recall applies to specific lots, not to the drug as a whole — check the record for the affected lot numbers.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Indomethacin: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/indomethacin
- MLA
- “Indomethacin: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/indomethacin.
We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.
Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.
Read the full FDA label for indomethacin on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.