Having a chronic illness makes one look at doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and the FDA differently.
They are not infallible and none of them have my best interests in mind as much as I do.
That's not a jaded opinion, it's a fact, proven by the treatments or lack thereof that I have received in my journey with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and depression.
I took one anti-inflammatory for quite a while for my pain, and really had no idea that it was among the drugs in the midst of lawsuits for heart problems.
Then I had my first of two chest pain incidents that sent me to the emergency room.
(My chest pains turned out to be spasms of my veins and arteries, something I didn't discover until after the second emergency room visit, a heart catheterization and a scheduled, but not completed, angioplasty.
) After the first chest pains, emergency room visit, overnight stay and subsequent arguments between the emergency room doctor, cardiologist on staff and my personal physician about whether my problems were related to my heart or my gall bladder, I started researching all of the drugs I was taking.
That's when I discovered that Vioxx had been recalled and Celebrex was under investigation for having caused strokes and heart attacks.
When I asked my knee specialist about these investigations, his response was, "Oh, all drugs end up in lawsuits.
As soon as they hit the market, some lawyers drum up a few people who had problems and start a class action suit.
"Huh? He didn't want to change my medications, not because I would benefit by taking the one he prescribed over any other anti-inflammatory, but because it was better for him.
What???Yes, that's what he explained.
He said that if I had to have further knee surgery, because I was taking this particular drug, , I would not "bleed like a stuck pig.
"He said that the drug helped thicken my blood.
Okay, now I'm not a medical professional, but it seemed reasonable to me that if the drug was causing my blood to thicken, then it could certainly have been responsible for people having blood clots, strokes and heart attacks.
It certainly explained why, when I bumped my hand (with the permanently thinned skin due to having had steroid and cortisone injections for my back), that the blood did not flow from the wound, but merely pooled around it.
I insisted on having another anti-inflammatory.
Since then, I have learned that many of the NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are thought to cause heart problems.
They certainly do affect my digestive system, and today, unless I have a new injury (like when I fell and hurt my wrist), I don't take them regularly.
Yes, I have learned to research any drugs I am prescribed.
I am quite perturbed at the regular news media for not stepping forward to warn us when drugs come under question.
I was amazed that one of the morning shows spent time commenting about the commercial about a prescription medication, but did not bother to give any information about what side affects that drug might have.
I also know not to take any one media source seriously, even when it is one singing out about the horrors of medicine and politics.
Still, if you have never read any of Devvy Kidd's writings, you might be interested in what she has to say today about deaths and serious problems with one new drug that has seen a lot of commercial and news time.
Here is her article:http://www.
newswithviews.
com/Devvy/kidd311.
htm Kidd talks about many drugs.
She mentions drugs for diabetes, pain, Parkinson's, and stomach problems, and others.
And even more importantly, here is the link to the FDA's recall list, which includes foods and drugs.
This might be one link you want to bookmark for future reference.
http://www.
fda.
gov/opacom/7alerts.
html
They are not infallible and none of them have my best interests in mind as much as I do.
That's not a jaded opinion, it's a fact, proven by the treatments or lack thereof that I have received in my journey with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and depression.
I took one anti-inflammatory for quite a while for my pain, and really had no idea that it was among the drugs in the midst of lawsuits for heart problems.
Then I had my first of two chest pain incidents that sent me to the emergency room.
(My chest pains turned out to be spasms of my veins and arteries, something I didn't discover until after the second emergency room visit, a heart catheterization and a scheduled, but not completed, angioplasty.
) After the first chest pains, emergency room visit, overnight stay and subsequent arguments between the emergency room doctor, cardiologist on staff and my personal physician about whether my problems were related to my heart or my gall bladder, I started researching all of the drugs I was taking.
That's when I discovered that Vioxx had been recalled and Celebrex was under investigation for having caused strokes and heart attacks.
When I asked my knee specialist about these investigations, his response was, "Oh, all drugs end up in lawsuits.
As soon as they hit the market, some lawyers drum up a few people who had problems and start a class action suit.
"Huh? He didn't want to change my medications, not because I would benefit by taking the one he prescribed over any other anti-inflammatory, but because it was better for him.
What???Yes, that's what he explained.
He said that if I had to have further knee surgery, because I was taking this particular drug, , I would not "bleed like a stuck pig.
"He said that the drug helped thicken my blood.
Okay, now I'm not a medical professional, but it seemed reasonable to me that if the drug was causing my blood to thicken, then it could certainly have been responsible for people having blood clots, strokes and heart attacks.
It certainly explained why, when I bumped my hand (with the permanently thinned skin due to having had steroid and cortisone injections for my back), that the blood did not flow from the wound, but merely pooled around it.
I insisted on having another anti-inflammatory.
Since then, I have learned that many of the NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are thought to cause heart problems.
They certainly do affect my digestive system, and today, unless I have a new injury (like when I fell and hurt my wrist), I don't take them regularly.
Yes, I have learned to research any drugs I am prescribed.
I am quite perturbed at the regular news media for not stepping forward to warn us when drugs come under question.
I was amazed that one of the morning shows spent time commenting about the commercial about a prescription medication, but did not bother to give any information about what side affects that drug might have.
I also know not to take any one media source seriously, even when it is one singing out about the horrors of medicine and politics.
Still, if you have never read any of Devvy Kidd's writings, you might be interested in what she has to say today about deaths and serious problems with one new drug that has seen a lot of commercial and news time.
Here is her article:http://www.
newswithviews.
com/Devvy/kidd311.
htm Kidd talks about many drugs.
She mentions drugs for diabetes, pain, Parkinson's, and stomach problems, and others.
And even more importantly, here is the link to the FDA's recall list, which includes foods and drugs.
This might be one link you want to bookmark for future reference.
http://www.
fda.
gov/opacom/7alerts.
html
Source...