Gastrointestinal Bleeding and Kidney Injury: The Twin Threats You Can’t Ignore Among all potential complications, the most feared side effects of meloxicam involve the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the kidneys. As a prescription nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), meloxicam reduces inflammatory pain by inhibiting cyclooxygenase enzymes. Yet this same mechanism diminishes protective prostaglandins that safeguard the…