Hi,
Just heard that Bextra is being withdrawn from the market!!!!!!! The maker of Celebrex was told to put "the strongest warning possible" on their labels. Here is the link to the advisory from the FDA:
http://http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/advisory/COX2.htm
We sure don't have much left, do we. I'm guessing that Vioxx probably won't return. I doubt they will take a chance with it.
Lu
I am wondering how long it will be before they remove Celebrex....
Delenaj
Hi Lu, Hi Delena
I am taking Celebrex and since it is the only drug that really helps my spine pain, my dr and I have decided that I'm going to keep taking it and see what happens with the FDA. I have had much more serious problems from Enbrel. I think anyone taking Celebrex should talk it over with their dr and decide if the risk is worth it or if some other drug might work almost as well for them.
Barb
Hi dyna,
I agree with you, some people are limited on what they can take in the way of meds. Sometimes it's just a quality of life issue.
Lu
The side effects must have been pretty serious. Bextra represented billions of future sales to Pfizer.
For the FDA in the face of all that lobbying clout to have taken it off the market anyway, there must be a strong case for the decision.
Jack
Jack,
Do you have RA??? Or are you just selling products?
Lu
Hi Lu,
To answer your question, I personally don't have RA, but my mother-in-law who lives with us does and I'm familliar with the ravages of this disease firsthand.
What I do have personally is a lifelong aversion and hostility to drugs and the pharmaceutical industry.
I think what they have wrought on the American public is unconscionable. The drug industry is worse than the tobacco industry, in my opinion.
I believe there are hundreds of other Bextra's and Vioxx's still out there waiting to be uncovered.
Maybe I'm old-fashioned , but to hawk Viagra and Cialis on TV just goes against my grain.
To further answer your question: YES, I believe that diet and natural substances can go a long way toward alleviating the pain of arthritis and do it even more effectively than drugs. Furthermore, they can accomplish this pain relief with safety and no side-effects.
Jack
Jack,
I STRONGLY AGREE!
Rana
Yes, but remember folks not everyone can be cured by diet and natrual substances, I have been on bextra myself and am going off it because of what is going on. I agree with Jack about hawking Viagra and the other male drugs on tv are ridicoulus, but I also think the ads for Tylenol Athritis and Aleve are very deceptive too. Some of the drugs that are on the market shouldn't be there but there are alot of wonderful drugs that have saved many a life. I wonder what will be next to be pulled by the FDA. memeI agree that not everyone can be cured by diet and natural substances.
I further agree that there are drugs out there that are highly beneficial to the people taking them. However, in far, far, too many cases there are drugs being heavily advertised and promoted by the pharmaceutical industry that shouldn't be.
For example, why did Merck and Pfizer take so long to take Vioxx and Bextra off the market? I assume that they had access to the same data regarding potentially fatal side effects that the FDA had. Why is Celebrex still on the market (in my opinion, not for much longer)?
I'll answer my own question. According to an article in the Boston Globe on April 9, 2005 titled "Doctors Rethink Painkiller Use"
"In 2003 Celebrex, Vioxx, and Bextra together were the seventh most popular class of drugs in the nation accounting for .3 Billion in prescriptions"
In short, there are huge dollars and profits at stake.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/04/09/doctors_r ethink_painkiller_use
Regarding diet and natural products, common sense would indicate that someone should try that course of action first, mainly because of safety concerns.
In my opinion, drugs with their potentially fatal side effects should be a last resort.
I know of many cases where people have had better results than either Vioxx and Bextra using a natural substance called Hyaluronic Acid or HA.
HA was featured in a Connie Chung ABC News Special called the "Fountain of Youth"
The "Fountain of Youth" ABC News Special was about a village in Japan where the villagers typically live to 90 and 100 years old. Moreover they did so without the aches and pains that normally accompany old age.
Scientists investigating the phenomenon attributed it to the high level of Hyaluronic Acid in the root vegetables and other components of their diet.
By the way there was a typo in my previous signature. The correct phone # is 1-888-433-6073.
Nice to hear from you, meme.
Jack
I agree with meme completely. Each of us with arthritis has to decide with our Drs on the course of treatment that is right for us as an individual. Each one of us can react differently to the same drug or treatment.
I'm wondering why Jack is a member of this forum in the first place. He doesn't have arthritis and he does not know what it feels like to have arthritis. It offends me to see his "advertisement" running across the bottom of his messages. I have had arthritis for 24 yrs and I have had to put up with thousands of well meaning people with their sure cures if I would just do or take whatever they espouse. They always have examples of people who were cured or improved so much that they could do everything they used to do before arthritis. If I had money for all of those I would be rich today. Some people don't seem to know that arthritis can wax and wane and stop for awhile and come back again years later. And what works for one person won't necessarily work for someone else.
My arthritis has been unrelenting for 24 years, I have lost my job that I loved and am on permanent disability. I have lost a lot because of arthritis and my tolerance for people with messages like Jack is very low.
If Jacks mother-in-law would like to join our group that would be great. But I think Jack needs to find a group for people who are family and caregivers of people with arthritis. If one doesn't exist maybe he could start one. AA has Alanon.
Now I get down off my soapbox.
Barbara
I think we can all agree to disagree. First, Jack, I know you mean well, and only want to offer helpful suggestions, but you cannot possibly know "firsthand" what it's like to have RA. Your mother-in-law does, but you don't. I do agree though, with some of your points about the drug industry. It's all about the money. However, the drugs do help some people. I was diagnosed in 1999 with RA and Fibro. After only two years of Enbrel and Mtx injections, the RA went into remission. I started to "get back into shape." I changed my eating habits, eating healthier than ever before in my past. I was exercising, working out, and doing all of the right things, and eating all of the right foods, in an attempt to keep the RA at bay. But it came back. It came back HARD!! I'm slowly deteriorating. I cannot afford the meds at this time, so I'm trying the "diet" routine in earnest, the vitamins, all of the "try this," and "try that" offered by well-meaning friends. It's not working. Nothing at all is working. I'm finding more and more things that I'm unable to do any longer. I'm tired all the time, and can't sleep because of the pain. I think at this point I would give about anything to be able to go back on the meds and risk the side-effects. I'm a single mother of twin girls. I work full-time, and am extremely worried about how long I'll be able to keep working. And if I lose my job, how will I support my daughters? How will I provide for them?
Yes, certain foods, and certain types of foods, work for some, but not for all. Everyone responds differently to different treatments, including diet. I agree there are some things we should all avoid, but doing so won't change the course of the disease. It's simply that eating or drinking certain things aggrivates the symptoms. But avoiding them doesn't necessarily change what's happening with our bodies.
Sorry for going off on a tangent, everyone. I've just had a bad day and needed to vent.
Cris
Hi Meme, Barb and Cris,
First of all, let me say that I totally agree that no one who has not personally experienced arthritis can possibly understand what each of you has gone through.
Further I’ll agree to get off this board if that is the consensus. No problem!
First though let me ask you to consider this:
Let’s suppose for the moment that I’m right.
Let’s suppose for the moment that hyaluronic acid could, in fact, help many who suffer from arthritis!
Let’s suppose for the moment that some of those arthritis sufferers who found out about hyaluronic acid found out about it on this very board because of my posts.
Let’s suppose for the moment that hyaluronic acid did, in fact, dramatically improve the quality of those people’s life!
Finally, let’s suppose for the moment, that because hyaluronic acid is a safe and natural substance that the benefits were accomplished without the dangerous side effects of drugs.
Then ask those people if THEY are glad that I came on this board.
Before you jump to conclusions I suggest you watch the Connie Chung ABC Special video
“The Fountain of Youth” and see what you think.
You can see it here:
Get the facts first, and then, decide for yourself.
Someone from this board (who shall remain anonymous) has already contacted me and I’ve already sent out to this person a free sample 10-day supply of the hyaluronic acid product.
Let’s wait for the results from this person, who is one of your fellow board members.
Results typically take from 3 to 10 days to manifest themselves.
This person has agreed to share with the board their actual experience with the product.
After you watch the video and after actual results from one of your fellow board members then whatever everyone decides at that point that’s what I’ll do. Fair enough?
By the way, anyone else who would like to experience first hand the benefits of hyaluronic acid, just call 1-888-433-6073, listen to what it says, and then, only if you are interested, leave a message and mention Code #47.
I’ll be happy to send you out a free sample as well.
Jack
Cris;
Have you contacted the makers of enbrel? they do have programs for people who can not afford their meds. Also, check with your health dept. they might be able to direct you to a program that will help you get the meds you need. the makers of enbrel do have programs and they want to help people who can't get enbrel otherwise. I don't know about mtx has same program. meme
Jack; I do not appreciate you using this message board for free advertisement. If you want to learn more about ra to understand what your mother in law is going through fine and dandy, but please stop hawking your merchandise. Thank you. meme
meme,
Thanks for the advice. I'll check into it. I also need to find a way to get to the doctor to see where I'm at with this monster.
Jack,
I didn't say I wanted you to leave the board. If you can gain some information to help your mother-in-law from them, that's great. Is she on the HA? How is it working for her.
Here's my dilema. I have health insurance through work. They pay for most medications. However, it's the copays and deductibles for meds and doctors that I can't afford, plus the fact that the insurance only pays so much a year. How much does your product cost? I could be wrong, but aren't most "natural" remedies more expensive than meds? (Not to mention the fact that I'm not sure I'd want to live to be 90 or 100.) Also, how does it work? How does it get the immune system to function the way it's supposed to? Does it work for all types of arthritis?
We are all aware that the meds used for RA can be dangerous. I appreciate you coming here to offer an alternative. I really do. But you can't presume that if it works for one, it will work for all. Offering a suggestion once or twice is fine. Every one of your posts has been a push for your product. Instead of just trying to sell us your product, perhaps some helpful coping tips that you've learned from your mother-in-law would be appreciated as well.
Jack, I don't want you to leave the board, just lighten up on the sales pitches. How 'bout some other helpful hints, like how do I possibly change my flat tire when I can't hardly hold the wrench?
Cris
Hi all,
I have posted a new thread that is an offshoot of the difficulty we have been experiencing here.
Barb
I’m posting this on both the “No more Bextra” and the “Should Jack007 advertise" threads.
Hi Barbara,
A quick question:
What is the difference between strongly recommending Birkenstocks (which you yourself did on the “foot and ankle pain” thread) and strongly recommending hyaluronic acid?
You probably don’t own stock in the Birkenstock company but how can we know for sure?
To be consistent shouldn’t you have had to pay a fee and put your advice regarding Birkenstocks in the advertising section of the board?
Another question:
If you are aware of something that is truly revolutionary, that truly works, and that could alleviate the pain of many arthritis sufferers, aren’t you bound morally and ethically to share that knowledge and not keep it to yourself?
If you did keep it to yourself wouldn’t you be guilty of a dereliction of duty and be responsible for a lot of needless pain?
For example, here is an excerpt from one of the many emails I’ve received:
“all natural supplement that has been having a positive impact on thousands of people who had resigned themselves to the fact they had to live with pain. My Dad had bad arthritis for 15 yrs and after only 3 days on it...his pain was gone! It's called Essential Renewal Joint Solutions with HA.”
Once again, I’ll direct you to the ABC News Special about hyaluronic acid with Connie Chung.
You can view it here: www.naturalpainfree.com
Finally, let me suggest that you don’t knock something until you have tried it.
Meanwhile my feelings are hurt and I’m going to take a sabbatical from this board.
As General Douglass MacArthur once said,
“Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.”
So I’m fading away.
Jack
Jack,
Just go away!! I have listened to sooooo many people "who know" more about RA than I do who actually don't have a clue. I don't want to hear your "what If I'm right". Until you have walked in our shoes you are one of the clueless ones. People have hawked their "snake oil" cures for hundreds of years. They didn't work then and they don't work now. You said your dad had arthritis which is OA NOT RA, there is a huge difference in how they work. There are things on the market that "work" for minor OA that doesn't even touch RA. Our body attacks our joints, they are not "worn" out. It is an autoimmune disease. Somehow I don't think that you understand the difference and I don't think you care, money is your priority, not helping people. Your posts are ads not advise.
Lu
More worries about bextra.first of all hi again everybody, I am back.
2nd Jack please stop advertising. I think you should not advertise things like that. There are alot of people here that will grab to anything they can, and realy the stuff has never been tested properly. I know I am no doctor but I am not stupid either.
Just to prevent bad words, I would change your sig.