~ DRUGS ~

[Jeanway 0]

I heard it costs a Drug company one billion dollars to get FDA {Federal Drug Administration} Approval.

 

I also just heard "Vioxx" is being recalled. It was tracked for 18 months and was found to contribute to heart attack and stroke. So what does THAT say about FDA Approval???? HMMM??? :P

 

How many times have you heard this about a drug YOU are currently taking? Or a drug you HAVE taken in the past???

 

This is why my philosophy of the fewer drugs you put into your body, the better off you are.

 

 

This happens all the time. :) A doctors words to you DON"T effect what happens to you once you take it. Long term afffects aren't studied.

 

I know most of you know I am a purist. I do try to stay away from any kind of drugs. I do take natural supplements, when I have symptoms of things I know are going wrong. Defiencies and such. And I do take Tylenol. So I'm not 100% a purist. But I lean in that direction. I have been duped in the past to take drugs by a doctor but after a short time the side effects told me to stop.

 

I listen to my body more than I listen to doctors.

Edited September 30, 2004 by Jeanway

[Airies 0]

You need to tell the drug story to "Magic Bus" he looks higher than a hippie at woodstock! :P

[Odo 0]

I Work In The Medical field. Have Seen What Random Perscribed Drugs Do To People. In Certain Instances The Effect Is Asstounding .

[Klingonmike 0]

My favorite drugs are still illegal dammitt!!!!!

[Jeanway 0]

~~ OH, BOOHOO!!! B) :) ~~{ THAT'S FROM ME, NOT PART OF THE STORY}

 

 

Merck withdraws arthritis drug Vioxx

From wire reports

Trenton, N.J. — Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. (MRK) is pulling its blockbuster arthritis drug Vioxx from the market worldwide because data from a clinical trial found an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

 

Merck CEO Raymond Gilmartin at Thursday's news conference.

Kathy Willens, AP

 

"Patients who are currently taking Vioxx should contact their health care providers to discuss discontinuing use of Vioxx and possible alternative treatments," Merck said.

 

Vioxx is used by two million people around the world. The drug is sold in some countries as Ceoxx.

 

The company's stock plunged after Merck's announcement. Merck said Thursday that data from the trial showed the increased risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular complications began 18 months after patients started taking Vioxx.

 

{SHOULD HAVE DONE THE STUDY BEFORE PUTTING IT ON THE MARKET!!! :) }

 

 

The data comes from a three-year study aimed at showing that Vioxx at a 25 milligram dose prevents recurrence of polyps in the colon and rectum. Such polyps sometimes become cancerous. The trial was stopped after Merck discovered the higher heart risk compared with patients taking dummy pills.

 

Vioxx was used in the colon cancer trial because some researchers theorize that inflammation, present in arthritis, may be linked to colon cancer.

 

"It's a disaster for Merck, coming at the worst time," { BOOHOO, AGAIN!} said independent health care analyst Hemant Shah of HKS & Co. in Warren, N.J.

 

Vioxx is one of Merck's most important drugs, with $2.5 billion in sales in 2003. But sales dipped 18% in the second quarter of this year to $653 million, partly due to increasing concerns about the drug's safety. {BUNCH OF CRY BABIES :) }

 

"We're taking this action because we believe it best serves the interest of patients," { YEA, RIGHT! :P } Ray V. Gilmartin, Merck's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement.

 

"Although we believe it would have been possible to continue to market Vioxx with labeling that would incorporate these new data, given the availability of alternative therapies and the questions raised by the data, we concluded that a voluntary withdrawal is the responsible course to take," he said.

 

Merck, the world's third-biggest drugmaker, announced the news before the stock market opened Thursday. It then held an early morning news conference in New York.

 

Merck is already gearing up for lawsuits over Vioxx.{ YEA!!! :( HOPE YOU GET CLOBBERED} "We have substantial defenses in these cases and will defend them vigorously," { I BET YOU WILL} said Kenneth Frazier, Merck's general counsel.

 

Merck Chairman Gilmartin said he had no intention of resigning.

 

Shah said the withdrawal of Vioxx comes "at a time when they really need to get ready for expiration" of its patent for Zocor, an anti-cholesterol drug, which is Merck's top seller. Zocor loses patent protection early in 2006 and sales are expected to plunge when generic competition begins.

 

In an effort to replace that revenue, Merck recently launched a drug, { LAST DITCH EFFORT FOLKS TO KEEP THE PROFITS UP!!} Vytorin, with partner Schering-Plough (SGP) that combines Zocor and Schering-Plough's Zetia to attack cholesterol levels in two complementary ways.

 

The Vioxx withdrawal "makes it almost inevitable for the company to find a merger partner for them to continue to grow," { AT ANY COST} Shah said.

 

Sena Lund, an analyst at Cathay Financial, says Vioxx "was one of their five key drivers for future growth."

 

Merck had expected Vioxx to help restore the company's earnings growth when the drug was launched in 1999, but its sales have been hurt by clinical trial data showing it increased the incidence of blood clots tied to strokes and heart attacks.

 

Meanwhile, sales of rival Pfizer's (PFE) similar drugs, Celebrex and Bextra, have steadily grown as doctors turned to those drugs, which have not been linked to heart attack and stroke. { NOT YET THEY HAVEN'T :) }

 

Vioxx and the two Pfizer drugs are designed to block inflammation and pain as effectively as standard nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen, while causing far fewer ulcers and gastrointestinal problems than the older treatments.

 

The newer medicines block a protein called Cox-2 that has been linked to inflammation.

 

Merck said it would continue to market Arcoxia, its newer Cox-2 treatment that is sold in 47 countries. Approval of Arcoxia in the United States has been delayed by concerns among U.S. regulators about whether it poses the same risk of heart attack and stroke as Vioxx.

 

Merck is scheduled to release financial results for the third quarter, which ends today, on Oct. 21.

 

The company said it remains comfortable with its earnings forecast for full-year 2004 of $3.11 to $3.17 per share.

 

It expects the recall to drag down earnings by 50 cents to 60 cents a share because of lost sales and costs of the recall, but is uncertain when those costs will be recorded. { FINAL BOOHOO, YOU MONEY HUNGRY B*STARDS!! :( :( HOPE YOU GO BANKRUPT!!}

[Airies 0]

Ya know it's not a good thing, because I was on vioxx for a time for back pain. I have Degenerative Disk Disease, Scoliosis and 2 herniatied disks so you can imagine I take something for pain. Jeanway I have tried alternative treatments they just never worked for me. I have been on Celebrex for a couple of years now and it helps considerably. I guess it's just your point of view. But I'll probalby have a heart attack now! (Thanks vioxx) If it doesn't cause one I'm gonna have one worring about it now! :fear:

[fenriz275 0]

At this point someone will have to shoot me in the butt with an elephant tranquilizer and drag me to the doctor unconscious if anyone ever expect's me to go to the sawbones again. It almost makes me long for the days when they just slapped a couple of leeches on you and told you wear some smelly concoction around your neck. Da**it Bones! Where are you when we need you! :P

[Jeanway 0]

Airies. Have you actually SEEN your xrays? I have seen xrays of my own spine. And been told I had problems in a couple spots too. But the symptoms of mine have gone away. I just rested alot and things got better. I think they tell you you have terrible problems with your spine and most people fall for it. Muscle spasms and resulting nerve pain , are excrutiating. If you continue to do the same activities that caused the pain the pain will continue. I have found that if I just think about what I'm doing and change my activities accordingly, things do get better. I believe a person in physical pain is a sitting duck for everything the medical community can throw at them. We do anything to relieve pain. People are designed, by God, to retreat from pain and gravitate towards ecstacy. If you think about that you'll understand what I'm saying. This is just MY philosophy and My Opinion. You abuse your body and it tells you to Stop It. If you don't stop it, it continues to complain, with pain. Very simple Airies.

Edited October 6, 2004 by Jeanway

[Kyra_Ashleigh 0]

I also avoid medications unless they're absolutely necessary!

 

My mom ended up hooked on pain killers because at the time she wasorginally prescribed them, the doc thought it would help with anxiety attacks. Prescription medications have caused a lot of heartbreak in our family over the years.

 

I remember being in my teens and having my wisdom teeth surgically removed. They prescribed my tylenol 3 for the pain and while was still out from the surgery, some family member went and got it filled.

 

Come time for me to take my pills and I took the antibiotic but refused the pain meds. My mother pushed and pushed with those damn pills, but I insisted I didn't need anything stronger than an Ibuprofein, so the pills went away.

 

My mom aparently took them herself. We could never have pain pills in my house!

 

My grandfather recently went through a scary time after he got hooked on prescription sleeping pills. He's off them now, but we had a hard time seeing the man who used to ration my mom's pills go through the same thing.

 

Has anyone else heard about the new skin infection that doesn't heal? I can't remember exactly what it is, but it's a form of Staph. Guess the Staph bacteria has become resistant from over-use of antibiotics!

 

I think back on all those years I was prescribed antibiotics for viruses (which has no effect)... no wonder that when I get a ear infection nowadays, I have to put out over $100 for strong meds to make it go away!

[A l t e r E g o 9]

I only ever take aspirin (<regularly) or at the most Ibuprofen for pain. If I have a serious infection I'll agree to some Penicillin but that's it.

 

Anything else will need to be approved by my family when I am unconscious on my deathbed

[BakulaBabe 2]

I was VERY unhappy when they recalled Vioxx, but the alternative (Mobic) is almost as good, so it'll have to do. The upside is that I no longer have mild nausea that I sometimes got with Vioxx.

 

I don't like taking any drugs (even over-the-counter drugs) unless it's absolutely neccessary.

[Gotabite 0]

I know a lot of horror stories about prescribed medications.......about as many as I know about illicit drugs......I have very serious allergies, but I am very careful about what I take to treat them. I try to take as little medication as possible, and treat my immune system with vegetables and vitamins.

[Jeanway 0]

Has anyone else heard about the new skin infection that doesn't heal? I can't remember exactly what it is, but it's a form of Staph. Guess the Staph bacteria has become resistant from over-use of antibiotics!

 

KA, try the sun. Sit in the sun. The sun has amazing healing power where those nasty bacteria are concerned. I'm NOT kidding. The UV light kills everything, in time. It's something I've known for a long time and it's worked for me when the doctors told me to put anti-biotic creams on and keep it covered. It just got worse. So I went in the sunlight everyday and within 2 weeks, after months of doing it THEIR way, it was gone. If it's cold out just find a South facing window and put the glass up and get the sun right on your skin for at least an hour a day, longer if you can. My God-Father had terrible psoriasis and he sat in the sun for it and it cleared it up. Then they gave him some experimental drugs for it and he died from them. Unnecessarily. The drugs destroyed his liver.

Edited October 6, 2004 by Jeanway

[scaleman 0]

Jeanway, i agree with you 100% on this!! I have listened to Coast to Coast AM and i wouldn't be all too surprised if we could cure many things just by using sound therapy.

 

Right now i've been using and am still using advair, but i really hate to use it and when i told my parents i thought i'd do better just going on oxygen therapy instead of using advair they looked at me like i was a kook, but i SWEAR i really believe i'll do better on oxygen therapy then this advair (besides, i'm sick of hearing about the side effects of this cr@p ).

 

I think there's some homeopathic medicinal concepts that could do a lot of good, but only when the drug companies are brought off of their pedastal .

[WEAREBORG4102 0]

Think about how easy it is to approve drugs in other countries. It's much easier in canada than USA. Lower standards.

[Jeanway 0]

One thing that especially P's me off is when they take the "ShotGun" Approach to drug use. Polluting your whole body with drugs, not really knowing the effects they will have on people. :blink: They say "Well, if it works then we must be doing something right, but damned if we know what it is." Like with Cancer treatment. They fill an already sick and dying person with poisons and expect them to get well. Destroying their own natural ability to fight the disease. Instead of reinforcing the immune system with supportive and healthy alternatives. Another

Edited October 9, 2004 by Jeanway