Celebrex User Feedback

Celebrex User Feedback

The following information comes from an actual Celebrex user: I have ballooned since taking Celebrex, over the past year.  I've developed gastrointestinal problems and light sensitivity.  Worst of all was the fact that once my skin started peeling and changing to a yellow hue, my doctor kept saying, "Oh, just take omeprozole, but make sure you take the Celebrex."  Now my energy levels are down to zero and I feel like crap all the time.    

Celebrex Competition

Celebrex Competition

The biggest challenger to Celebrex in the COX-2 inhibitor wars was Vioxx, as recent as a few years ago.  Unfortunately for Merck & Company, Vioxx sales were torpedoed in 2004, when the results of studies linked the drug to an increase in cardiovascular disease. The drug was later voluntarily removed from the market by Merck. While being sued by many consumers over the controversy, the company has been back pedaling ever since.  In the meanwhile, Celebrex has become th! e drug of choice, in the race for top COX-2 Inhibitor.  However, just last month, the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis released some important news.  Their COX-2 inhibitor Prexige is testing well and may soon be available in the United States (the drug is already available in 55 other countries).  

How Celebrex Should Be Taken When Prescribed

How Celebrex Should Be Taken When Prescribed

Celebrex should be taken exactly as it's prescribed by your physician. Users should avoid taking the medication in larger amounts; or taking it for longer than recommended by your doctor.  Follow the directions on your prescription label.  It is recommended that Celebrex not be taken on an empty stomach, in order to avoid nausea. The extended release capsule should not be crushed, chewed, broken or otherwise tampered with.  As such, the pill sh! ould be swallowed whole. That's because the time-release capsule is specially made to release medicine slowly into the body.  Breaking or opening the pill would thereby cause too much of the drug to be released into your system at one time. When taking the oral suspension liquid version of the drug, it should be shaken well (just before you measure a dose). To be sure you get the correct dosage, measure the liquid with a marked measuring spoon, as opposed to a regular table spoon. If you do not have a dosage-measuring device, ask your pharmacist for one. If you take Celebrex for a long period of time, your doctor may want to check you on a regular basis, for any potential harmful effects.

  

The Future of Celebrex

The Future of Celebrex

            Most people who take Celebrex are probably unaware that COX-2 inhibitors lived a double life, as both painkillers and potential cancer therapies. After Vioxx was pulled from the market in September of 2004, the future of Celebrex (at least as a cancer prevention therapy), now appears to be in question. This was after Pfizer announced in 2005 that it was cancelling all cancer trials related to Celebrex. No one is for sure whether or not Celebrex will fade from the spotlight or continue t! o become successful, as a cancer-fighting drug.  That's because cancer prevention and treatment trials using Celebrex were underway or about to begin, at the time Pfizer issued its announcement. Nationwide, cancer researchers are now studying the results of the two colon cancer trials that were already underway, involving the use of Celebrex, at the time of Pfizer's announcement. At this time, researchers are waiting for additional analyses to take place, before they make any decisions about which COX-2 inhibitor cancer studies should continue.

  

Legal Actions Resulting from the Use of Celebrex

Legal Actions Resulting from the Use of Celebrex

            Although the FDA believed that Celebrex was associated with an increase in heart disease, as early as 2002, unlike its cousin Bextra, Pfizer still kept the drug on the market.  That's because researchers were still unable to draw a clear cut empirical link between Celebrex and the onset of heart disease.  Despite this, from the years 2004 through 2005, many consumers grew increasingly wary about the use of Celebrex.  Because of this, consumers filed th! ousands of documents with the FDA.  Even though I couldn't find a class-action lawsuit pending against Pfizer over Celebrex, unscrupulous attorneys are apparently ready for action.  They are currently in the process of soliciting possible victims of the drug, via the Internet.

            Still, individuals who have used Celebrex are bringing their own lawsuits against Pfizer.  One recent example of this is a lawsuit that was filed by a man named Ken Kaye from Connecticut.  Lawyers for Kaye did not bother going through the FDA.  They filed the lawsuit directly against Pfizer, in 2007(which has yet to go to trial).  Attorneys for Kaye are alleging that Celebrex caused Kaye to suffer three strokes; in a three-week ! period, six years ago.  Kaye is 54.  According to his attorneys, Kaye doesn't smoke, does not have diabetes or a history of heart problems.  As a result of these attacks, which they believe were precipitated by Kaye's use of Celebrex, Kaye has lost 20 percent of his vision.  According to his counsel, Kaye's life has been irreparably disrupted.  As such, he can no longer engage in many activities that he had previously enjoyed.  Also, they assert that Kaye is now forced to regularly take a blood thinner.

  

Health Issues Associated with Celebrex

Health Issues Associated with the Use of Celebrex

            In 2002, the FDA issued a health warning about Celebrex.  This was after the drug had been linked to an increase in the likelihood of its users developing cardiovascular disease.  In 2004, the National Institutes of Health announced that it had suspended the use of Celebrex for all participants, in its colorectal cancer prevention clinical trial (which was conducted by the National Cancer Institute).  Despite the growing controversy surrounding the use of the drug (and after Pfizer pulled it's cousin COX-2 inhibitor dr! ug Bextra from the market altogether); in 2006, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Celebrex, for the relief of signs and symptoms related to Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis; in patients two years of age and older.

   

The Side Effects of Celebrex

The Side Effects of Celebrex

            For the most part, anti-inflammatory drugs cause more than 16,000 deaths (including 100,000 hospitalizations annually).  According to the Physicians' Desk Reference "serious gastrointestinal toxicity such as bleeding, ulceration, and perforation, can occur at any time.  This can happen with or without warning symptoms, in patients treated chronically with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs."  More specifically, the most common side effects of C! elebrex are nausea, diarrhea and heartburn (in addition to upset stomach and stomach pain).  In rare cases, Celebrex can also cause stomach ulcers or stomach bleeding.  However, patients who use the lowest effective dose—for only as long as they are experiencing pain—may lower their risk of these side effects.