Vioxx, a prescription NSAID was just taken off the market. Celebrex could be next, followed by Bextra.
It's disturbing. Not just from a side effect standpoint of WHY they were pulled off the market, but because where does that leave the folks who take them?
The article said to use Advil as an alternative therapy. The thing is, these three NSAIDs caused much much less stomach irritation and upset than Advil. Where does that leave people who can't take Advil? Tylenol doesn't reduce inflammation like NSAIDs do.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Yes, what a pain! When all these NSAIDs are taken away, people are going to be hurting! This could be quite a sore spot for those who rely on these drugs to alleve-iate their suffering.
Posted by Dead_Horse (Member # 3027) on :
And is there any reason why Advil (ibuprofen) wouldn't be next on the list?
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Well, mostly because there is no evidence that ibuprofen has the heart-harming effects that the cox-2 inhibitors do.
As someone with (quite mild, at this point) arthritis, who could be prescribed similar drugs in the future, I think the FDA is doing the right thing. Considering taking these drugs off the market if they do make the patient more likely to suffer a heart attack seems like a good thing to me. Yes, there are side effects from all the alternatives. But not of them are as bad as causing heart attacks -- right?
We want the FDA to protect us from drugs that have an unreasonable risk, but then we scream and yell when they do. And when they refuse to approve drugs that have an unreasonably high risk/benefit ratio, we complain and make snide comments.
I have great sympathy for anyone currently on a cox-2 inhibitor. But if it were me, I'd sure be glad the FDA was trying to protect my health.
[ December 18, 2004, 09:37 PM: Message edited by: rivka ]
Posted by BelladonnaOrchid (Member # 188) on :
Hmmm....well, yes. This would have been nice to know before medicines like these killed my grandmother. I've been told that she was on so many medications for her arthritis that her heart was like jello when she finally collapsed.
That's a fate that everyone wants, right?
However, I will say that my husband's mother suffers from bone spurs in her neck, and Celebrex is pretty much the only thing that works for her. She's beyond the point of having surgery for the most part, I believe she's been told that if they were going to try corrective surgery, the only thing that they would be able to do is to fuse the bones of her spine together. She's on a lot of medication for that, though, and to be quite frank it worries me a little. Again, though, this may turn out for the better for her, as having her bones fused together will probably feel better to her than the agony she goes through now, and Celebrex being taken off of the market may convince her to go to those Saudi doctors that she's been avoiding.
Also:
quote:This could be quite a sore spot for those who rely on these drugs to alleve-iate their suffering.
Bad, bad pun. Even if it was unintentional.
Posted by CalvinMaker (Member # 2032) on :
Though I agree that there are limits, I can see the bad side of Celebrex.
It's sister drug has been known to cause heart attacks.
Also, I have some friends who occasionally get their hands on Celebrex, grind it up, and put it on top of a bowl of weed, in order to use it as a downer. But that's a whole 'nother story.
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