I was looking for stocks this morning and noticed Merck was hammered. I looked for any stories and came across this one. It's huge: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/drugs/2004-09-30-vioxx-withdrawn_x.htm Apparently Vioxx has been linked to heart attacks and strokes. I took this as an anti-inflammatory for a herniated disc last year for about 2 or 3 months. If you or anyone you know has arthritis or has taken anti-inflammatory meds for anything (not just arthritis), you may want to pass this on. This was a very popular drug and generated billions for Merck.
thanks for the heads up DoD! I go to my doc on Monday. So now I need to bring up massages and Vioxx. According to this article, I've been "at higher risk" for a couple years now...... Every medication I've ever taken for my arthirits has had horrible side effects, and those drugs are still on the market... The evidence for these side effects must have been HUGE. Oh well, it looks like I'll have to swith medications for the 14,000th time. What else is new?
YIKES. I was taking this for a while for my knee pain (Dr. said it was an inflammation) before I underwent Arthroscopic to repair the meniscus, but not any more.
I tried it for about a week, quite awhile back, and it made me feel bad. Now, if something you're taking for pain makes you feel bad, you stop. That's what I did, and it turns out to be a good thing, apparently. Man, that company is going to get sued out the kazoo. Watch for some major contributions to the political party that runs against "the EVIL trial lawyers." And I wish that was a joke. Keep D&D Civil!!
just saw Jim "The Hammer" Adler with a commercial for users of Vioxx to call his office. He works fast. Or maybe he has similar commercials for all the drugs already made in advance.
LOL! I knew he'd be all over this. "If you have breathed air, contact me. I can help you get what is rightfully yours"
didn't the reports say that "showed a higher risk of heart attacks and stroke only after 18 months of use" It apparently promotes blood clotting, so if you've stopped taking it you should have nothing to worry about in a day or two What gets me is the all of the Doctors on TV saying there were no significant advantages over ibuprofen what say you, those that have/are taking Vioxx?
My dad took Vioxx, I believe, for a long time for various back problems and arthritis. Of course, he did end up with the heart problems, though there were other risk factors. I never thought about the Vioxx contributing. Still, what can you do? It seemed to do its job. You don't want to live your life in pain. Hopefully there is something else that will work for the many people who will be affected.
On the press release site i looked at yesterday, there was one release from Merck.... ...and three separate lawyers looking for class action participants!! (on a side note....i just received notice that i'm eligible for a $6.40 recovery on my Laidlaw shares!!!! I fees so vindicated!) ---- i shouldn't joke....the findings must be pretty bad for Merck to accept a $2.5 billion dollar revenue cut.
I think my dad said he used it for a little while a few years ago. I think he had surgery on his hand and took someting, forgot what, but he had a allergic reaction to it so they gave him this, IIRC. I don't think he used it very long though, just to basically get him through the post-surgery kind of thing.
It is my understanding that Vioxx and Celebrex, both COX-2 inhibitors, do not relieve pain better than over-the-counter medications. However, long term use of over-the-counter medications could cause ulcers. I would also be cautious about holding Pfizer stock at this point since Celebrex may also suffer the same fate as Vioxx. Merck is in a far worse situation since their other big money maker, Zocor, will go off patent in 2006.
It has been my understanding for as long as I've been taking it that Vioxx is an anti-inflammatory medicine, not a pain killer. Although, it does help in the pain department, it's main function is to prevent swelling and inflammation. On another note: My mom just told me she saw an ad in the Chronicle today saying that Merck would buy back any leftover pills of Vioxx.... Has anyone seen this? Can anyone give me details? I've still got half a month's worth of pills left...
That was one of the key advantages to using COX-2 inhibitors - the old NSAIDs used to inhibit COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes. Inhibiting COX-1 caused stomach ulcers.
meggo, Call local pharmacies and ask them. Maybe they can help. I looked at Merck's website and they make no reference to it. That doesn't mean your mom wasn't right, though.
