Benicar Sprue-Like Enteropathy More Than Just “Unpleasant”

Washington, DCFor the majority of Americans, diarrhea and dehydration are temporary annoyances that bring discomfort and inconvenience, but clear up once the gastrointestinal cause of these symptoms abates. However, for patients suffering Benicar side effects, such symptoms can be long lasting and can land many a Benicar patient in the hospital for an undetermined period of time.

This can have a devastating effect on a job or career, on a family, and ultimately on one’s own life. It has been alleged that Benicar Illness and Weight Loss lay at the foundation of several deaths.

Benicar (olmesartan) is commonly prescribed to rein in high blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension. Elevated blood pressure levels that are left unchecked can have dire health consequences. However, for many patients prescribed Benicar, olmesartan can bring equally unpleasant Benicar side effects.

Among those adverse reactions is sprue-like enteropathy. The latter is a rare but serious combination of chronic diarrhea and dehydration - as well as other symptoms - that can take years to develop. Once symptoms have emerged, sprue-like enteropathy can land a Benicar patient in the hospital with potentially dire consequences.

Remember that for most, diarrhea, dehydration and nausea are a temporary unpleasantness that passes with the arrest of gastrointestinal symptoms that cause it. In the case of Benicar, however, these symptoms can be chronic and can affect an individual’s survivability going forward.

For the elderly, or those with pre-existing health issues that leave them with little strength with which to combat such a chronic situation, the results can be dire.

Many Benicar lawsuits allege that plaintiffs - or the surviving members of those who have died and are litigating on behalf of a deceased family member or an estate - assert that they were not made aware of the risks associated with the potential for Benicar illness and Weight Loss.

A study undertaken by the prestigious Mayo Clinic in 2012 that found a potential link between olmesartan and sprue-like enteropathy caught the attention of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which in turn looked into its own Adverse Events Reporting System (AERS) in 2013 and found “clear evidence of an association between olmesartan and sprue-like enteropathy.” A directive to have olmesartan labels updated to reflect this new concern was accompanied by a statement that the FDA would be continuing to evaluate olmesartan.

Plaintiffs driving Benicar lawsuits wonder where the risk for sprue-like enteropathy resided, if at all, in clinical trials prior to the approval of Benicar, and just what the manufacturer may have known about the potential for Benicar defective products, if at all, in the early stages of product development.