Posts Tagged ‘ Effexor ’

What’s Making You Fat? 2 Popular Drugs could be Packing on Pounds (or Worse)

July 29th, 2012. By AbiK

You’re wondering what’s going on, right? It’s not like you’re doing a solo flight with a pint of Häagen-Daz every night before bed or blowing through the Taco Bell drive-thru each day rattling off an order for a couple dozen 99¢ Beefy Nacho Burritos (in a large shopping bag, thanks). But something’s making you gain weight or keep it on…

Indeed, obesity has become what some would call an epidemic. Heck, all you need to do is turn to the media to find words like “diabesity” being used to realize how much obesity—or discussion about it—has infiltrated our lives. But could there must be something else going on?—something other than a big food orgy that most of us didn’t even know we were attending?

Perhaps. That something could be a vicious cycle you’re in—where, by treating a condition that’s potentially related to weight gain, the treatment you’re on can actually lead to more pounds. Unfortunately for some, the treatment can also lead to harmful drug side effects—which in turn can lead to a drug-related personal injury lawsuit. A vicious cycle, indeed. The following two conditions and treatments are examples of vicious cycles that could be causing weight gain and putting you at risk for some unwanted side effects:

1. Antidepressants are Making You Gain Weight

Somehow it’s easy to link depression to weight gain—it’s that “emotional eating” theory. But treating depression with antidepressants can also lead to weight gain. That’s right—the very drug you might be taking to help you avoid emotional eating might also be causing your weight gain. Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft each have possible weight gain as a side effect (in addition to other serious potential side effects like SSRI birth defects or suicidal thoughts). And it’s estimated that about 25% of those taking an antidepressant will experience some weight gain.

Additionally, atypical antipsychotic medications Zyprexa, Abilify, Risperdal and Seroquel have been linked to rapid (and dangerous) weight gain in children.

2.  Diabetes Medication is Making You Gain Weight

Remember that 70’s Billy Preston song, “Will It Go Round In Circles”? Well, diabetes and treating diabetes have that ‘going around in circles’ thing going on. Unfortunately, being overweight or obese can be a precursor to type 2 diabetes. Once diagnosed, some diabetes patients are put on a thiazolidinedione drug such as Actos. One of the more common side effects of Actos can be weight gain—the very thing that may have contributed to onset of type 2 diabetes in the first place (see it coming full circle?) The Actos labelling info also includes “rapid weight gain” as a possible serious side effect which requires immediate medical attention.

Weight gain may be the least of the worries for Actos side effects, though. Actos has also been associated with bladder cancer, heart failure and liver problems.

As always, before stopping any medication, or when noticing any concerning side effects, talk to your doctor.

Tags: Abilify, Actos, Antidepressant, Diabetes drug, Drug Side Effects, Effexor, Obesity, paxil, Prozac, Zoloft, Zyprexa
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues, lawsuits | 4 Comments »

Top 10 Drugs with Heart Side Effects on LawyersandSettlements.com

January 31st, 2012. By AbiK

In recognition of American Heart Month, which kicks off tomorrow (Feb. 1st), and National Wear Red Day (Feb. 3rd), LawyersandSettlements.com takes a look at our most-viewed drug lawsuit topics for 2011 in which heart attack or heart side effects were the alleged primary injuries.

Unfortunately, while a lot of focus this month will be on the positive measures we all can take to improve heart health—and that’s certainly important—it can be easy to overlook the negative heart side effects some drugs can have—and attention should be given to those as well.

As the chart at left depicts, Actos, Paxil and Zoloft accounted for the majority of 2011 traffic related to heart side effects, with Actos receiving the most at 25 percent. The Type 2 diabetes drug was released as an alternative to Avandia, which as you’ll recall came off pharmacy shelves as a result of the new FDA REMS program that became effective in November, 2011. Still, Avandia came in as the fourth most popular heart lawsuit topic. 

Paxil, the popular antidepressant, has been linked to heart birth defects in infants and the drug drove in 18 percent of traffic last year. Ditto Zoloft, which accounted for 10 percent of the pageviews among readers concerned over the potential for heart birth defects. 

The ten prescription drugs on the list fall into four distinct classes: Actos and Avandia are prescribed for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes; Vytorin helps to control cholesterol, which has a direct impact on heart health; Trasylol is used during surgery to mitigate blood loss; the remaining drugs address depression and anxiety. 

Reader interest in Prozac, Lexapro, Effexor, Celexa, Zoloft and Paxil shows continued concern surrounding pregnant women using selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) drugs and potential heart birth defects.

Here’s the full list: 

Top 10 Drug Lawsuit Topics for Heart Side Effects in 2011 

1. Actos (Pioglitazone HCl)
2. Paxil (Paroxetine)*
3. Zoloft (Sertraline)*
4. Avandia (Rosiglitazone)
5. Celexa (Citalopram)*
6. Effexor (Venlafaxine)*
7. Lexapro (Escitalopram)*
8. Prozac (Fluoxetine)
9. Trasylol (Aprotinin)
10. Vytorin (Ezetimibe/Simvastatin)

*SNRI (serotonin-norephinephrine reuptake inhibitor) or SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) drugs associated with heart birth defects when taken during pregnancy

Tags: Actos, American Heart Month, Avandia, birth defects, Celexa, Drug Lawsuit, Effexor, Heart Adverse Events, heart attack, Heart Side Effects, Lexapro, paxil, Prozac, SNRI, SSRI, Trasylol, Vytorin, Zoloft
Posted in Class Action, Drugs/Medical, lawsuits, Personal Injury | 5 Comments »

From Medical Misdiagnosis to Sexual Assault of a Minor – the Story of Michelle Francoeur

February 8th, 2011. By LucyC

Have you heard of Michelle Francoeur? A teacher in small-town Canada recently found not criminally responsible for sexual assault of a minor due to mental illness—mental illness that was misdiagnosed and mistreated, as it turned out. Francoeur’s story may not have been front and center in main stream media—but it reads like a best-seller.

In 2008, the then 37-year old teacher of kindergarten through grade nine and mother of two young children began experiencing health problems. So she went to her doctor, and was subsequently diagnosed with depression. She was prescribed an antidepressant medication known as Effexor or venlafaxine. And this is when her problems began.

During the next few months Francoeur’s behaviour underwent a ‘radical change’. For example, she began drinking alcohol excessively, spent money carelessly, went days without sleeping, failed to eat regularly, and consequently suffered significant weight loss, and talked excessively. Worse, the jury that recently heard her case was told by Francoeur’s defense lawyer, she began taking shortcuts in caring for her two daughters aged five and seven.

And at some point over the next few months she began a series of sexual encounters with a 15-year old ex-student. This marked lack in judgement resulted in her being charged with sexual assault. And presumably, the loss of her job, and income.

As it turned out, the boy initiated the relationship with Francoeur—if you can call it that—by sending her a ‘flirtatious’ text message. That led to several ‘sexual encounters,’ between them before the boy’s parents cottoned on.

During this period, Francoeur’s family members had become very concerned about her behavior, and contacted Francoeur’s doctor, by letter. Somewhere, somehow, this must have led to a revisitation of the original diagnosis, because Michelle was re-assessed and subsequently diagnosed with bipolar disorder. And this is key, because the medication she was prescribed—Effexor—is known to escalate the “manic” phase experienced by people with bipolar disorder. The manic phase is characterized by extreme feelings of elation, euphoria, racing thoughts, inability to sleep and difficulty appreciating consequences.

Francoeur’s lawyer, Aaron Fox, summed up the situation pretty well, when he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation “It was a “very tragic circumstance…It was a lady who has an underlying condition which was misdiagnosed and received medication that really had a catastrophic effect on her.”

Problem is, even though Francoeur’s been acquitted, damage has been done, to her reputation, her self esteem, and very possibly her career as a teacher. Certainly, going back to teaching in the town of Shell Lake, Saskatchewan, with a reported population of less than 200, could pose some problems.

All this from a misdiagnosis which led to a disastrous choice of medication in her circumstance.

Needless to say, Francoeur’s story raises a number of concerns, such as how many others may have been misdiagnosed like Michelle, and suffering as a consequence? Was Francoeur warned of the possible adverse effects of the drug?

And what about the physician—does his misdiagnosis constitute medical malpractice? Just how much responsibility does he or she bear in all this? After all, this entire situation may have been avoided had she not been prescribed an incorrect medication.

Answers may be forthcoming—or not. It all depends on what, if anything, Francoeur decides to do. For now, she must be quite relieved to have her name cleared, to be out of the spotlight—and most importantly—know she has been correctly diagnosed and appropriately treated, so she can get on with her life and redefining ‘normal’.

Tags: Antidepressant, Effexor, effexor-heart-birth-defects, medical malpractice
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 7 Comments »

Mom Alert: Would you want a 68% Higher Risk of Miscarriage?

June 2nd, 2010. By LucyC

A new study out yesterday—June 1, 2010—has revealed a higher rate of miscarriages in women who were taking antidepressants during pregnancy. How much higher? Sixty-eight percent—yes —that’s 68%—higher. Frankly, that is nothing short of shocking.

Published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the study was done in Canada through the University of Montreal. FYI—This was no small study either—the investigators used data from 5,124 women who are part of a large, population-based study of pregnant women who had clinically verified miscarriages, and a large sample of women from the same registry who did not have a miscarriage. Among the women who miscarried, 284 or 5.5 percent, had taken antidepressants during their pregnancy.

In fact the findings are so robust that the physicians who did the study are suggesting that this is a class effect—in other words the effect could be attributed to all selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors—or SSRIs. Here’s what’s being reported in the press:

“These results, which suggest an overall class effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, are highly robust given the large number of users studied,” the study’s senior author, Dr. Anick Berard, said in a statement. (UPI.com)

The antidepressants that showed a particular association with miscarriage in the study were paroxetine (trade names: Seroxat and Paxil) and venlafaxine (trade names: Effexor, Efexor, Alventa, Argofan, Trevilor). The investigators also found that the risk of miscarriage doubled with a combination of different antidepressants.

Just for the record, the antidepressants “investigated” in the University of Montreal study are serotonin reuptake inhibitors (citalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxa-mine, paroxetine and sertraline); tricyclic antidepressants (ami-triptyline, clomipramine, desipramine, doxepin, imipramine, nortriptyline, trimipramine), Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Celexa, Cymbalta, Effexor, Lexapro, paxil, paxil-heart-defects-newborn, Prozac, SNRI, SSRI, Zoloft
Posted in Drugs/Medical | No Comments »

Antidepressant Guide: the Brands, the Generics & Who Makes Them

May 6th, 2010. By Kristine B

These days, there are many drugs to keep track of. It’s not just the brand name drug anymore; patients could be taking a generic equivalent. So, this week, Pleading Ignorance looks at the SSRIs and SNRIs to give you the brand name, manufacturer, generic version and the generic’s manufacturer. Consider it your one-stop cheat sheet on some of the more commonly prescribed antidepressants.

Brand name	Ingredient	Made By	Generic	Made By
Celexa (SSRI)	citalopram hydrobromide	Forest Laboratories	citalopram	Eon Labs, Inc., Aurobindo Pharma Limited, Purepac Pharmaceutical Co., Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited, Corepharma LLC
Lexapro (SSRI)	escitalopram oxalate	Forest Laboratories	escitalopram	Alphrapharm
Paxil/Seroxat    (SSRI)	paroxetine hydrochloride	GlaxoSmithKline	paroxetine	Apotex, Alphapharm, Teva, Aurobindo Pharma, Zydus Pharms USA, Caraco
Prozac (SSRI)	fluoxetine hydrochloride	Eli Lilly and Company	fluoxetine	ESI Lederle (tentative approval)
Symbyax (SSRI)	olanzapine and fluoxetine hydrochloride	Eli Lilly and Company	olanzapine/ fluoxetine	Teva Pharms (tentative approval, July 17, 2007)
Zoloft (SSRI)	sertraline hydrochloride	Pfizer Pharmaceuticals	sertraline	Dr Reddy’s Labs Ltd, Teva, Genpharm, Aurobindo Pharma, Sandoz and many others
Zyprexa (atypical antipsychotic)	olanzapine	Eli Lilly and Company	olanzapine	All tentative approval: Dr. Reddy’s Labs Inc, Teva Pharms, Mylan PHarma, Sandoz, Barr Pharms, Roxane
Cymbalta (SNRI)	duloxetine hydrochloride	Eli Lilly and Company	duloxetine	No generic so far as I can tell
Effexor (SNRI)	venlafaxine	Wyeth	venlafaxine hydrochloride	Aurobindo, Mylan, Teva, Dr Reddy’s Labs Ltd, Caraco and others

The information in the chart above was found at either drugs@fda, or on the individual drug manufacturer’s website. As far as I can tell, this information is correct as of the date it was written—and it is not intended to replace the information you might receive from your doctor or medical practitioner (hey, have to say it, we’re a legal site). Talk to your doctor or pharmicist for medical advice.

Tags: Antidepressants, Celexa, Cymbalta, Effexor, Lexapro, paxil, paxil-heart-defects-newborn, Pleading Ignorance, Prozac, SSRI, Symbyax, Zoloft, Zyprexa
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues | 1 Comment »