Acetaminophen: Whatever Happened to Personal Responsibility?

July 1st, 2009. By AbiK

I’m feeling a bit like news anchor Howard Beale in the movie Network—when he’s mad as you-know-what and not going to take it anymore. Yesterday’s report on the FDA panel that voted to eliminate Vicodin and Percocet is one thing—they’re controlled substances and many times when you’re given or prescribed them you’re in no condition to care about potential risks. You just want a glass of water and pill-in-hand, thank you. So I’ve got no issue with big brother keeping a watchful eye here if risks are outweighing benefits.

But, when the FDA panel starts going off on OTC acetaminophen to the extent where it is recommending dosage limits (i.e., reducing the amount of active ingredient per pill) and suggesting that the current OTC dose—1,000 mg (2 pills at 500 mg each)—be available only by prescription, it’s time to raise an eyebrow.

Here’s the thing. As msnbc.com reported the FDA panel vote yesterday it said, “The FDA convened the two-day meeting to ask experts to discuss and vote on a slew of proposals to reduce overdoses with acetaminophen.” 

Keyword: OVERDOSES. Read the rest of this entry »

Ill Fitting Dentures Could Cause Big Health Problems

July 1st, 2009. By LucyC

If you are one of the several million denture wearers in North America, and find yourself using more than the standard amount of denture cream adhesive to keep your dentures in place, you may be putting yourself at risk for serious neurological disease.

Cases of Zinc Poisoning from Denture Cream Reported

A recent article in the medical journal Neurology, reported on documented cases of patients who had suffered zinc poisoning, believed to be associated with the use of zinc-containing denture creams. (Note: To date, products linked to the denture cream poisoning include PoliGrip, Super PoliGrip and Fixodent denture adhesive.) Read the rest of this entry »

Number of Cipro Tendon Rupture Victims—Anyone’s Guess?

June 30th, 2009. By janem

It is estimated that one in every ten people will take a fluoroquinolone antibiotic during the course of their lifetime, and chances are it would either be Cipro or Levaquin, the two big blockbuster drugs. Take this statistic, add the fact that the FDA says less than 10 percent of all drug side effects ever get reported to their agency, and throw in the equation that many US troops were given Cipro, chances are countless people have suffered tendon tears and ruptures from these drugs. And according to Cipro patients writing online, Cipro’s adverse events are not as rare as the drug manufacturer—Bayer—would have the public believe.

 

And let’s not forget the Anthrax scare in 2001—if you recall, the antidote to have on hand and the drug that became the media darling during that scare was none other than Cipro. Read the rest of this entry »

Supremes Say Strip Search of Student Uncalled For

June 30th, 2009. By Evelyn Pringle

The constitutional rights of 13-year-old Savana Redding were violated when school officials in Arizona conducted a strip-search based on a suspicion that she might be hiding drugs in her underwear, the Supreme Court ruled on June 25, 2009, in an 8 to 1 decision.

The suspect drugs that led to the search in this case were “prescription-strength ibuprofen and over-the-counter naproxen, common pain relievers equivalent to two Advil, or one Aleve,” the court noted in the opinion.

The search failed to uncover any pills.

“The issue here is whether a 13-year-old student’s Fourth Amendment right was violated when she was subjected to a search of her bra and underpants by school officials acting on reasonable suspicion that she had brought forbidden prescription and over-the-counter drugs to school,” the opinion states.

“Because there were no reasons to suspect the drugs presented a danger or were concealed in her underwear, we hold that the search did violate the Constitution,” the court wrote. Read the rest of this entry »

Is Avelox the next Levaquin?

June 29th, 2009. By janem

Attorney Mike Stratton points out that Bayer’s patent on Cipro will expire soon and Ortho-McNeil’s blockbuster Levaquin has been targeted for the majority of lawsuits against the flouroquinolones family, so it is likely that Bayer may soon push sales of its more quiet cousin Avelox—described by Stratton as “the elephant in the room”.

Flouroquinolone antibiotics are the most commonly prescribed class of antibiotics, yet many of them have been removed from the market due to their severe toxicity (e.g., Trovan, Tequin, Zagam, and Omniflox). Is it just a matter of time until Avelox is taken off the market or does Bayer have more control over its drugs than the FDA? (According to one website, the FDA gets about half of its funding for the review of drugs directly from the pharmaceutical industry in what is called prescription drug user fees.)

Although Avelox was slapped with a black box warning regarding tendon tears and ruptures, Bayer says that Avelox (and its close relative Cipro) are “effective and well tolerated” but try telling that to the many victims who have registered complaints on medical websites and their own personal blogs.  This from one Avelox victim: “…yes, the potential for a ruptured tendon was mentioned in the [Avelox] box insert. But it was printed, like everything else was, in teeny tiny type. And of course, we never think WE are the people who will have the problems, do we?)”

Like that woman who suffered ankle tears, not everyone prescribed Avelox and suffering from tendon ruptures will make the connection between the drug and adverse events right away. After all, drug side effects actually reported to the FDA typically only involve about 1 percent to 10 percent of all problems experienced by users.  However, there will likely be many Avelox lawsuits soon–just take a look at Levaquin.