Vioxx Side Effects : Are You Suffering?

Have you ever taken the drug Vioxx or celebrex?In September 2004 the drug manufacturer Merck decidedto recall the product after long term data suggesteda serious potential side effect.

This drug and others like it such as as 'Celebrex','Bextra' and 'Arcoxia' are part of a family of drugsknown as "COX2 drugs" or "COX2 inhibitors"

They have been developed with, ironically, patient safetyin mind.They are typically used in treatment of arthritis,though high dose vioxx was promoted for short term reliefof acute muscular/skeletal pains.They were anti-inflammatorydrugs.

The serious side effects were in connection with the heartsuggesting risk of heart disease or heart attack.In medicalcircles it was referred to as "..adverse cardiovascular effects."

There are other drugs used to treat inflammation that have beenaround for many years.YOu may have heard of products such asAdvil or Nurofen which contain the ingredient Ibuprofen.Otherolder anti-inflammatory drugs include such brands as Voltarolor Naprosyn.

What's the difference between these older drugs and the recenttreatments know as "COX2 drugs"?

The newer drugs such as Arcoxia,Celebrex and Vioxx were designedto be much more specific in their mode action than old drugs like Ibuprofen.The idea was to limit the associated problemsin long term treatment.

When we get older we all seem to get more sensitive to sideeffects of drugs.Often this is complicated even more by thefact that we may suffer from more than one problem or diseaseat the same time.

At this point we take more medication in the last five to tenyears of our lives than in all the other years put together!Is it any wonder we might feel under the weather, a little offcolour even?

You could have asthma and high blood pressure.Anxiety and lack of sleep every night.Panic attacks and depression.

If you take an anti-inflammatory drug for a given length of time, your doctor/physician will no doubt tell you aboutone major problem.

Ulceration of the stomach or intestines.....

It was hoped that the newer COX2 drugs would not cause this problem at all.Therefore it would avoid the risk of someonesuffering internal bleeding which could become fatal.

The older you become the greater the risk of this occuring.It could be a slow blood loss or a sudden episode of an ulcerbleeding more profusely.

So when people got the signs of ulcers, they got treatmentfor an ulcer. Some would stop taking medication and otherswould take a maintenance dose to prevent ulcers coming backwhile continuing to take the old ibuprofen drugs for theirarthritis.

It was hoped drugs like vioxx would stop this, but ulcerationstill remains a possibility. Doctors routinely consider offeringanti ulcer drugs to reduce the probability of this happening.

So what is the all the recent fuss about ? Where did it allsuddenly seem to unravel after all that hope and expectation ?A new long term study seemed to indicate some degree of riskto the heart some 18 months or so after starting treatment.

So if you took vioxx for a week or a couple of months, thispotential problem did not appear.It has only been spottedafter taking the medication for a longer period such as 18 months.

What can you do? Are there ways to reduce risks?This is something you need advice on as only your doctor willhave your medical history.There is much to consider and such a problem can in some circumstances be minimised.

Of course if you smoke you increase the risk of stomachor intestinal ulceration if you also take anti-inflammatorydrugs such as Ibuprofen.Why not quit instead?

If you take other medication for depression or anxiety thenthese drugs can increase the risk of bleeding with anyanti-inflammatory drug being taken at the same time.

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