Vioxx Side Effects : Are You Suffering?

Have you ever taken the drug Vioxx or celebrex? In September 2004 the drug manufacturer Merck decided to recall the product after long term data suggested a serious potential side effect.

This drug and others like it such as as 'Celebrex', 'Bextra' and 'Arcoxia' are part of a family of drugs known as "COX2 drugs" or "COX2 inhibitors"

They have been developed with, ironically, patient safety in mind.They are typically used in treatment of arthritis, though high dose vioxx was promoted for short term relief of acute muscular/skeletal pains.They were anti-inflammatory drugs.

The serious side effects were in connection with the heart suggesting risk of heart disease or heart attack.In medical circles it was referred to as "..adverse cardiovascular effects."

There are other drugs used to treat inflammation that have been around for many years.YOu may have heard of products such as Advil or Nurofen which contain the ingredient Ibuprofen.Other older anti-inflammatory drugs include such brands as Voltarol or Naprosyn.

What's the difference between these older drugs and the recent treatments know as "COX2 drugs"?

The newer drugs such as Arcoxia,Celebrex and Vioxx were designed to be much more specific in their mode action than old drugs like Ibuprofen.The idea was to limit the associated problems in long term treatment.

When we get older we all seem to get more sensitive to side effects of drugs.Often this is complicated even more by the fact that we may suffer from more than one problem or disease at the same time.

At this point we take more medication in the last five to ten years of our lives than in all the other years put together! Is it any wonder we might feel under the weather, a little off colour even?

You could have asthma and high blood pressure. Anxiety and lack of sleep every night. Panic attacks and depression.

If you take an anti-inflammatory drug for a given length of time, your doctor/physician will no doubt tell you about one major problem.

Ulceration of the stomach or intestines.....

It was hoped that the newer COX2 drugs would not cause this problem at all.Therefore it would avoid the risk of someone suffering internal bleeding which could become fatal.

The older you become the greater the risk of this occuring. It could be a slow blood loss or a sudden episode of an ulcer bleeding more profusely.

So when people got the signs of ulcers, they got treatment for an ulcer. Some would stop taking medication and others would take a maintenance dose to prevent ulcers coming back while continuing to take the old ibuprofen drugs for their arthritis.

It was hoped drugs like vioxx would stop this, but ulceration still remains a possibility. Doctors routinely consider offering anti ulcer drugs to reduce the probability of this happening.

So what is the all the recent fuss about ? Where did it all suddenly seem to unravel after all that hope and expectation ? A new long term study seemed to indicate some degree of risk to the heart some 18 months or so after starting treatment.

So if you took vioxx for a week or a couple of months, this potential problem did not appear.It has only been spotted after taking the medication for a longer period such as 18 months.

What can you do? Are there ways to reduce risks? This is something you need advice on as only your doctor will have your medical history.There is much to consider and such a problem can in some circumstances be minimised.

Of course if you smoke you increase the risk of stomach or intestinal ulceration if you also take anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen.Why not quit instead?

If you take other medication for depression or anxiety then these drugs can increase the risk of bleeding with any anti-inflammatory drug being taken at the same time.

For more related information visit

http://www.AnxietyAttacksCure.com - a site that offers advice for avoiding, coping with anxiety and panic attacks. Get professional knowledge on dealing with symptoms, drug side effects and improving your life!

---

7 Tips to Keep Your Fluid Down on Dialysis

As any dialysis patient will tell you, keeping your fluid gain between dialysis sessions in check is not only important to your long term health, it is a major factor in your immediate... Read More

Online Pharmacies Are Becoming Increasingly Popular Due To Their Convenience And Discreetness

Leading online pharmacy companies are providing consumer with a secure, safe, convenient, and discreet way to acquire prescriptions.People in need of prescriptions are turning to the internet for an alternative to the corner... Read More

The Highway to Health - Bumped Heads

I recently had a reader send me this comment:"As a full-time dad I have to deal with just about every minor illness my two children pickup, everything from a bump on the head... Read More

How to Remove the Psychological Addiction to Smoking - and Start to ENJOY Giving Up Smoking!

Consider this:Already since 1972, over 60 million people in the USA alone have successfully quit smoking!At one stage over 60% of the adult population was addicted to this drug. Today it is 28%... Read More

Medical Collections

Although you make a patient feel better, there isn't usually anything tangible to be a reminder of your service. When it comes time for the patient to pay their bills, yours is often... Read More

Online Pharmacies and the FDA

The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is responsible for overseeing the testing, manufacturing, and distribution of prescription drugs in the United States.Drug companies in the United States operate in a free market and... Read More

Warning! Flu Shots Can Be Dangerous To Your Health

Every year about this time doctors around the world are recommending that people go in and get their annual flu shot. What most people don't know or understand is just how dangerous this... Read More

Understanding Tumescent Liposuction

Tumescent liposuction is done using a local aesthetic. A large volume of saline solution containing the aesthetic and a drug called "Epinephrine" is injected directly into the areas where there are excessive fatty... Read More

Increasing Patient Care and Reducing Liability in Seven Simple Steps

When an unconscious patient arrives in the ED, every hospital agrees that timely next of kin notification is vital. Not only is it important to have a family member present to comfort the... Read More

What is Bextra? (FDA Recalled Drug)

Bextra, also known as valdecoxib, is a prescribed medication used to alleviate the problems associated with arthritis and other inflammation-related conditions. The drug helps reduce the pain of swelling and fever without causing... Read More

Medical Testing: Health By The Numbers Doesnt Work

Perhaps one of the most insidious dangers in modern technology is medical testing. Although it would be nice to be able to visit our doctor and get all hooked up with electrodes, inflatable... Read More

Molluscum Contagiosum Virus (MCV) Treatment Information - But First, What Is Molluscum?

Molluscum contagiosum treatment is certainly possible with the correct treatment information.Many people are told that molluscum contagiosum must be left to run its course (even by dermatologists). This can take years.I have written... Read More

Are Drug Companies Destroying The U.S. Health Care System?

The U.S. government's annual bill for healthcare spending ? $3,925 per person ? significantly exceeds that of all other nations. Despite this, our current health care system is increasingly failing both patients and... Read More

Marketing Authorisation - Medicinal Products

Marketing Authorisation: Medicinal Products The case of R (on the application of Merck Sharp and Dohme Ltd) v Licensing Authority [2005], concerned the application for marketing authorisation for a generic product which was... Read More

New Surgical Treatment Options for Hernias

Hernia repair is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures worldwide. In fact, there are over 600,000 hernia repair surgeries performed each year in the U.S. alone. A hernia is a weakness... Read More

How Distressing is Social Phobia?

I remember a friend in college who would blush, sweat, and tremble when required by a teacher to speak in class. A few weeks before the presentation, he'd be anxious, agitated, and couldn't... Read More

Kids and Medication Part I

We have all talked a lot about the problems in our educational system, about latchkey kids, about teacher turnover (50 percent of teachers quitted within the first five years on the job), psychologists... Read More

Living Migraine Free

Don't treat your migraines, prevent them. A life without migraines is obtainable, I know. I was a migraine sufferer for 12 years and have been treating... preventing them for my patients for 15... Read More

Cholesterol Treatments Options: Statins

Satins are pharmacuetical drugs that work by restricting the enzyme HMG CoA reductase. This is an enzyme which regulates how fast a rate cholesterol is produced in the body. By slowing down production... Read More

The Medical Community Changes Its Mind

How many of us have taken aspirin or a similar popular product found at the drug store when we had some type of discomfort? Of course, many of us have and why shouldn't... Read More

Cold-Eeze Side Effects Lawyer: Zinc Destroys Sense of Smell!

Cold-Eeze is a homeopathic solution to the common cold. It is a zinc-based solution that can be taken as a tablet or a nasal spray. Limited studies have found that the nasal spray... Read More

Chinese Medicine

Chinese Medicine, over 2000 years old, is an ancient form of medicine. Consisting of acupuncture, moxibustion (moxibustion - using material made up of "moxa-wool," in a form of a cone or stick; moxibustion... Read More

Cholesterol Prescription Medications Can Kill You

While there are numerous options for people to lower cholesterol naturally, thousands and thousands of people are taking prescription medication to lower cholesterol ? risking some very dangerous side effects.These side effects can... Read More

Strong Pain Relief - Powerful & Effective Natural Pain Management Alternative

The recent removal of several high profile and popular prescription pain medications of the same pharmaceutical family, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, from the buyer's market has left many people searching for a safer alternative for... Read More

Medication Compliance Kit ... A Life Saver

Pill Proof LLC introduces the first, easy to use medication compliance kit for consumers and medical professionals. Owner, Jane Langdon, has a sister in law with Parkinson's Disease. While visiting her sister in... Read More

10 Benefits of an Electronic Medical Record

Electronic Medical RecordAn Electronic Medical Record is a secured electronic file of patient history, medical transcription notes, billing information, and all other information necessary to have a complete patient profile. It is true... Read More

Back Pain & Muscle Pain - Effective & Natural Pain Treatment Alternatives

Pain and Stress. They seem almost to go hand in hand - not only in their negative connotation, but also in their biological causes and triggers. Back pain and muscle pain is typically... Read More

Your Kidney Function Really Matters: A Lighter Look at What You Need to Know to Prevent Adverse Dru

When you (or loved ones) are taking prescription or over the counter medications...there is a lot you should be worried about, and a lot that your pharmacist may not be telling you.Most people... Read More

22 Inside Tips on How You Can Make Your Arthritis Medicines Work Twice as Effectively in Half the..

This report will give you 22 important tips to make sure that you're getting the very best out of your arthritis treatment program.1. Make absolutely sure that the nurse or doctor knows what... Read More