Januvia and Pancreatitis: Double Shock

Oklahoma City, OKLester is hopeful that his case will soon be added to the growing number of Januvia lawsuits against the makers of incretin mimetics, including Januvia. As of February 2014, more than 262 product liability lawsuits are underway in the federal multidistrict litigation in the Southern District of California.

Januvia attorneys are accepting claims from individuals who have developed Januvia pancreatitis, Januvia thyroid cancer or Januvia pancreatic cancer. Lester took Januvia for about a year before he was diagnosed with pancreatitis.

“It started with abdominal pains and it got so bad that I could barely drive to the closest emergency room,” says Lester. “I’ve never experienced pain like that before and I consider myself a tough guy - I spent many years in the military.” I took Metformin for some time but you had to take it a few times per day, and with my schedule, I missed some doses due to my erratic work schedule. My doctor suggested Januvia because it was more convenient. How wrong that turned out to be! I think these drug companies all too often sell doctors on convenience and not safety.”

Last August Lester spent five days in the hospital hooked up to an IV with pain meds to treat pancreatitis. “At the time I had no idea what was going in, apparently because I had such an acute case,” he adds. “When I did get around to thinking about it, I was shocked. How could I have pancreatitis - before this pain started I was feeling fine; my diabetes was in check and I had no worries.

“About a month after I was released from hospital, I saw a commercial on TV linking Januvia to pancreatitis and cancer. I was shocked again! No one had told me that Januvia came with such serious and life-threatening side effects; how could my doctor prescribe this drug without telling me? Come to think of it, maybe my doctor didn’t know, but surely the Januvia manufacturer knows...”

Lester was sent home from the hospital with instructions to follow up with his primary doctor. “I asked him about Januvia but he more or less shrugged it off - time to find a new GP,” says Lester. “I don’t blame my doctor but he should at the very least be aware of Januvia side effects so he can warn other patients of pancreatitis and even cancer. Meanwhile, I kept the Januvia insert label and read about pancreatitis side effects, but from my research people who took Januvia and similar drugs like Byetta and Victoza may be entitled to compensation if they developed pancreatic cancer, pancreatitits or thyroid cancer.”