Well, after the Vioxx/Bextra debacle hit, there was a flurry of activity for Mobic.

Being new it was still untainted. BUT.....

Mobic is not really cox-2 specific, so there is no real advantage to it...i.e.
to protect the stomach. It is related to piroxicam which has a shady past (quite toxic).

Mobic does not offer any improvements for cardiovascular side effects.

There are options available to you. For example I have a friend/colleague, who has severe Rheumatoid arthritis and always, salsalate works best for her.
Brand name Disalcid. This is related to aspirin which for me has always worked. I used to use it enteric coated.

I have found a very surprising form of Aleve (naproxen) OTC. It is Liquigel form, very fast acting and one lasts me all day. I've been on various NSAIDs for years, for my arthritis. I'd suggest you get the Aleve OTC and try it and see for yourself. Naproxen has shown the lowest cardiovascular effects of all the NSAIDs. I am astounded about this product because the regular tablets don't work for me, so I switched to Ibuprofen. Now I am using the Aleve and not even every day anymore!

Of course I am the SAMe woman... that in the long run is highly effective and protective. We have a SAMe thread in Vitamin Forum. But it requires committment and $$.

But the bottom line is that for 3 weeks, you may not see horrible side effects.
That is really a short time, drug wise. (unless you are one of the uncommon ones allergic to piroxicam(Feldene).

Another thing I do is use high gauss magnets for pain. Brian on PN does too. ( sort of got him going on that years ago at OBT)
There are several threads there on that too. Only very high gauss ones however work.
example:
http://cgi.ebay.com/20-Neodymium-Str...QQcmdZViewItem

Prices for neodymium ones can be very high on the net. I've used them for years, and they really work for pain. This Ebay entry is one of the more reasonable ones I found. I can instruct you personally on how to use them.
You can contact me via PM.

There are studies out there comparing SAMe to Naproxen over a six week period. SAMe does not give fast results, but it gives improvement over time.
Long term use of NSAIDs is thought to decrease healing potential by blocking Cox-2 which has other functions besides inflammation...Cox-2 cytokines signal repair. So some studies show LONG TERM use is counter productive to healing.

There is also our friend---fish oil. The OmegaBrite product is very high in the EPA portion and has the most anti-inflammatory bang for the buck.

I am going to send you an email..watch for it...

BTW I am doing 1/hr-20min treatments on my old cat each night...for HER pain...and she loves IT..the magnet!