Celebrex! Celebrex! Dance to the music-- long term use of NSAIDs may cut CA risk

[Black Landlord]

A little ammo for the next time your doc balks at prescribing a cox-2 inhibitor.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081226/hl_n...l_cancer_1

[AlphaDog]

That's probably because we have a tendency to die of a heart attack or stroke before the cancer sets in.

[OWC Jamie]

How about those of us who lost parent(s) or a s/o to Vioxx ?

nsaids aren't going to be on the top of our "wanna try" list.

[samintx]

Vioxx really helped me but I have learned to live without those pills and really don't trust meds....Tylenol is OK and grin and bear it for me.

[Black Landlord]

billb wrote:
How about those of us who lost parent(s) or a s/o to Vioxx ?

nsaids aren't going to be on the top of our "wanna try" list.

If that's you I'm truly sorry.
Is there anything conclusive that Vioxx caused those deaths?

[AlphaDog]

Black Landlord wrote:
[quote=billb]
How about those of us who lost parent(s) or a s/o to Vioxx ?

nsaids aren't going to be on the top of our "wanna try" list.

If that's you I'm truly sorry.
Is there anything conclusive that Vioxx caused those deaths?
I was doing a little bit of research on that this morning, although I didn't find anything that gave a neat, tidy answer your question. From what I could tell, the difference in Vioxx was the fact it did not have the same risk of gastrointestinal bleeding and renal failure that comes with other NSAIDs, so that was its big selling point. However, it apparently did increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, but that hadn't been clearly spelled out as a possible side effect.

Some of us can only pick our poison and hope for the best, and doing without NSAIDs sure isn't an option for me. Right now, again, those pills are the only thing keeping me going. The other drugs they put me on have apparently caused my blood counts (red and white) and platelet counts to drop well below acceptable. I don't think the doctors have figured out yet what to try next. My new year won't be getting off to a good start, though.

[rgG]

Black Landlord wrote:
[quote=billb]
How about those of us who lost parent(s) or a s/o to Vioxx ?

nsaids aren't going to be on the top of our "wanna try" list.

If that's you I'm truly sorry.
Is there anything conclusive that Vioxx caused those deaths?
My husband has a client, he is not a lawyer BTW, who was recently awarded damages in the Vioxx settlement because it caused her husband's death from a heart attack.

[Black Landlord]

Thanks. I still don't think there was anything conslusive about any of the studies on Vioxx.
The whole point of the cox-s inhibitors is that they're supposed to be easier on the digestive tract than ibuprofen, no? Haven't heard about the bleeding.

[AlphaDog]

The insert that comes with my Naproxen has warnings of

a) may increase the chance of a heart attack or stroke that can lead to death

b) can cause ulcers and bleeding in the stomach and intestines at any time during treatment, which can happen without warning symptoms and which may cause death.

Although it's true I didn't suffer the trauma of losing a relative or close friend who had taken Vioxx, it was made very clear to me from the first day I began taking Naproxen that there were a number of possible side effects, some fatal. I would have anticipated the same warnings would have been given for Vioxx had people been paying attention. Clearly, these aren't drugs a person would take who had a choice. Vioxx supposedly was the one that did not increase the risk of bleeding.

Actually, this particular insert doesn't include the warning about renal failure, but I saw that in a generic explanation about NSAIDs.

[ka jowct]

Merck would have probably been able to keep Vioxx on the market if they had handled the side-effects issue properly (hadn't tried to obfuscate). Celebrex is still available, fortunately.

I have heard theb term "NSAID" in TV ads lately. I wonder how many people watching those ads have any idea what the acronym NSAID stands for? I had only seen the term in materials aimed at MDs until recently. (NSAID: Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug)

How about those of us who lost parent(s) or a s/o to Vioxx ?

While an increased risk of certain adverse outcomes can be shown statistically, determining that any given individual died because he or she took Vioxx is probably impossible.