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Chantix and the Damage Done

October 27th, 2009. By janem

I’ve interviewed many people who’ve taken Chantix to help quit smoking. They talk about the damage it caused, not only to themselves, but their family and friends. All their stories are upsetting but just now I talked with Tim and his account is heart-wrenching.

Tim’s wife died from cancer a few months ago, but his grief is compounded by the fact that he was never able to apologize to her. “Soon after I took Chantix I was so short-tempered; I would get mad at my wife, Judy, for any little thing,” says Tim, his voice breaking. “Now that Judy is dead, I can’t say sorry for being so mean.”

“Judy and I were long-distance truck drivers, we were a team,” Tim explains. “When I got on the Chantix, we argued constantly on the truck. I just thought it was from nicotine withdrawal, but even our friends asked Judy what was wrong with me. Before Chantix, I was happy-go-lucky…

Judy could just move a pop can and I would get irate.  And I was mad at myself because I was making her so upset but I had no idea why. Sometimes I’d be driving and forget where I was. I’m talking about driving a semi. It was dangerous. It got so bad that I thought of wrecking the truck more than once, then we would both die. I just kept hurting her…

I saw an ad on TV a few weeks ago that explained how Chantix causes mood swings, suicidal thoughts and aggression. I didn’t read the Chantix warning label because my doctor said, ‘Just go ahead and try Chantix; it’s a new drug and pretty much reliable’. I guess that’s the problem with new drugs-you don’t know the side effects until it’s too late.

If I knew of the Chantix side effects, or if my doctor explained them to me, I wouldn’t have tried it. And I won’t be beating myself up now. And I’m smoking again. I’m really irate at the drug company and I’m so upset just thinking about it, knowing how much I hurt my wife.”

Tags: Chantix, chantix side effects, chantix suicide
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 5 Comments »

Hospital Infections: Take Matters into Your Own Hands

October 20th, 2009. By janem

Hospital infections are on the rise, for numerous reasons. It’s a no-brainer that hospital cleanliness and low infection rates are selected most often (by 74 percent of patients) as an important factor when choosing a hospital. And you’ll likely want to get out and recover at home sooner than later.

According to healthcare experts in the UK, a second wave of swine flu pandemic could increase hospital admissions, which could lead to a rise in hospital infections, particularly MRSA. The Department of Health advises early discharge of patients from hospital to try and prevent a rise in the killer superbug: research has shown that when a hospital’s bed occupancy rate exceeds 90 per cent, MRSA rates can be as much as 40 per cent above average.

In the US, researchers have found more MRSA infections associated with H1N1 flu.

Two fatal infections occurred recently in Buffalo, NY: the victims, a 9-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, arrived at ER several days after being seen for mild flu symptoms. Both children died of necrotizing pneumonia, one 11 days after being hospitalized and one after 3 days.

Another recent study has shown that hospital workers who see many patients in the course of a day, such as radiologists or physical therapists, may play a disproportionate role in spreading dangerous hospital-acquired infections.

As a patient, you can take some measures, such as safe hand-washing procedures, into your own hands.

“Hospitalized patients shouldn’t be shy about asking the health-care workers who come in contact with them to follow infection control guidelines,” said Dr. Zachary Rubin, an epidemiologist at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital in Santa Monica. Some hospitals are more stringent than others: they have signs posted in patient rooms asking “Did your health-care worker wash his hands?” to make patients more aware of the importance of hand washing.

“If a patient is concerned [about lack of hygiene from a health-care worker], he can always talk to the head nurse or charge nurse,” Rubin said, as well as the hospital’s patient advocate or his own physician.

If your concerns aren’t addressed immediately, you might also want to seek legal help.

Hospital Infection Statistics

* According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at any point in time, 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from infections acquired in hospitals.
* A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report published in March-April 2007 estimated the number of U.S. deaths from healthcare asociated infections in 2002 at 98,987.
* Hospital-acquired infection (HRI) often leads to lengthening hospitalization, increasing the likelihood of readmission, and adding sizably to the cost of care per patient.
* Financially, hospital infections represent an estimated annual impact of $6.7 billion to healthcare facilities, but the human cost is even higher.

And last but definitely not least:

* According to Dr. Mark Chassin, who leads the Joint Commission, the lack of hand-washing contributes to infections linked to hospital care that kill almost 100,000 Americans a year. (In September, The Joint Commission launched the Center for Transforming Healthcare, whose first initiative is tackling hand washing failures that contribute to health care-associated infections.)

Posted in Emerging Issues | No Comments »

Yasmin and Yaz Investors File Lawsuit

October 13th, 2009. By janem

Not only is Bayer likely going to shell out millions of dollars in lawsuits filed by Yasmin and Yaz victims, now its investors are bailing.

It’s bad enough that anyone could suffer serious side effects from Yasmin or Yaz, a drug they thought was harmless, a drug used by thousands and thousands of women to prevent pregnancy. Imagine how furious you would be, knowing that so many women have suffered from this birth control pill, and that you bought into it?

On October 13, yet another lawsuit was filed against Bayer, the maker of Yasmin and Yaz, claiming the company concealed Yasmin and Yaz side effects to boost sales. Bayer has been accused of misleading investors-in this case, two pension funds for firefighters and city employees in Pennsylvania–about the value of the company by concealing the drug’s increased risks of blood clots, strokes, heart attacks, gallbladder disease, pulmonary embolisms and deep vein thrombosis (DVT).  By hiding the risks of side effects, the company allegedly defrauded investors by falsely estimating the value of the pharmaceutical company and its birth control products.

According to a report by Bloomberg News, there are currently at least 300 Yaz lawsuits or Yasmin lawsuits pending in state or federal courts throughout the US; at least 200 lawsuits over Yaz or Yasmin are consolidated in a federal MDL that is centralized in the Southern District of Illinois; and another 50 cases are consolidated in Pennsylvania state court in Philadelphia.

Tags: Yasmin, Yasmin lawsuit, Yaz
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 2 Comments »

Drug Firms Continue to Practice Unethical Marketing

October 6th, 2009. By janem

What’s it going to take to make unscrupulous drug companies come clean? Now we have another drug scandal—this time it’s Seroquel. In 1997 Seroquel was approved by the FDA and at the same time, Study 15 showed that weight gain and diabetes were seen in study patients. But in its infinite wisdom, the FDA said it does not have the authority to place such studies in the public domain; instead the agency deemed the drug “safe and effective”. It’s mind-boggling how a drug company can manipulate a government agency and control publicly available research about their products.

Pharmaceutical companies are supposed to announce publicly when a clinical trial is underway and its goals, but according to a study by the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, many tests are conducted without this disclosure and selective results—hiding the results of negative trials and only publishing studies that show their products in a positive light—is widespread. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Big Pharma, Drug Companies
Posted in Drugs/Medical | No Comments »

Yasmin/Yaz Recall Way Overdue

September 22nd, 2009. By janem

What comes first: will Bayer issue a recall of Yasmin/Yaz or will the drug company simply stop making its wildly popular and extremely dangerous birth control pill? For Bayer, the decision likely boils down to cost: can more claims be settled by taking the drug off the market? Poor Bayer has plenty to worry about these days. Not only are Yasmin/Yaz lawsuits related to life-threatening side effects stacking up, it was also served a warning letter from the FDA regarding quality control problems.

If and when Yasmin is taken off the market it will surely affect Bayer’s bottom line: In 2008 Yaz brought in $616 million for the company and Yasmin sales brought in $382. And sales increased from the previous year, mainly due to aggressive marketing campaigns that have since been called “deceptive” and “misleading” by the FDA. Advertising is a powerful tool: according to numerous Yasmin users I have spoken with, they had no knowledge of these side effects nor did they hear of any warnings: after all, if you knew Yasmin was life-threatening, you certainly wouldn’t be taking it!

So what’s taking the FDA so long to issue a recall? The agency must act on the countless reports of thrombosis, heart attack and stroke and even gallbladder disease associated with Yasmin and Yaz.

It wasn’t long ago that several fatalities were directly linked to the Ortho Evra birth control patch and it never did get recalled, even though last May the Public Citizen Health Research Group filed a petition on behalf of 80,000 consumers urging the FDA to recall Ortho Evra within six months. I wonder how many deaths it  will take to remove Yasmin and Yaz from the market…

Tags: Yasmin, Yaz
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 12 Comments »