The Troubling Story of Vioxx

Taken from JRE #1756 w/John Abramson:

[TheJoker]

I once knew a woman that went to a hospice facility to die on over a dozen different medications. They took her off all the medications thinking the end was near, Instead of dying she got well and strong enough to leave that facility and live several more independent good years before dying.

[Blake_.Dryden]

My grandmother was the most important person in my life, she raised me. She had been taking Vioxx for a yr or two, and had a stroke that debilitated her. She was told to stop taking it then, but I guess the damage was done at that point. She had another stroke shortly after getting out of the hospital and that one ultimately took her life. She didn't qualify for inclusion in the lawsuit because she had one or two unrelated health problems, non life-threatening. Can you guess how I feel about a health care system built to financially profit from the most vulnerable moments of our lives?

[happyhammer]

Vioxx and how they marketed Oxycontin are prime examples of why you should never blindly trust companies when there is a profit motive.

[ELCAPATAZ]

I was prescribed Vioxx for back pain when it first hit the market around '99 or 2000. An old, wise friend pulled me to the side and in a very stern and worried tone told me to stop taking the medication because "people will be dropping like flies very soon" I never questioned his advice and discarded the medication immediately even after my doctor assured me it was safe for use. Fast forward a few years later and Vioxx was taken off the market because you guessed it people were dropping like flies from heart attacks. Thank you Vicenzo for serving this country and for all the knowledge you shared with me.

[Recovering_Californian]

And folks wonder why some people are skeptical about vaccines, the FDA, the media, etc.

[f.baccari]

I dated one of the Vioxx engineers daughters, he still got an award after the fact and it’s hanging up in his home office in Texas…. These people believe they’re in a class of their own.

[lmn]

I love that Joe is having more than one controversial guest about the drug companies. They really don't want these conversations to happen.

[MonicaLovesDogs]

My dad got blood clots in his feet from this, but recovered. A year later my doc wanted to prescribe for a kidney stone. I said I didn’t want it, but she insisted, put some samples in my hand, which I then threw in the garbage as I exited the facility! Big red flag that she wanted to give me even though I told her my dads story. Got a new doctor shortly thereafter!

[VonBluesman]

I am a victim of a motor vehicle accident knocked over 1/10 of a mile from the point of impact. Dr prescribed Vioxx and it made me sick, bad stomach ache, I stopped use. A friend from water therapy had a terrible reaction and it hurt her stomach so bad she was bent over with stomach cramps and in pain, crying during therapy and had to leave. I told her to quit taking it, she said she was following doctors orders. When you are disabled and drawing worker’s compensation, a lot of doctors force you to take medication and say if you don’t take your meds they will not fill out your Workers Compensation medical forms knowing you will lose your disability payments. Pharma pays docs for prescribing their meds, it is a big racket with crooks in a lot of the medical field, using patients as pawns.

[billmilligan]

I was working at a pharma software company when myself and a former nurse figured out how the Vioxx crime was perpetrated. We raised the issue and tried to make sure the new software we were building for another pharma giant to prevent this from ever happening there. They balked. They fought back. Ultimately they ended our contract. They wanted to keep the ability to fudge the data in ways that the FDA did not know about.

[BirdGuio]

Thank you Joe and John very informative. As a cancer survivor and fighter continuous leave for the last 10 years I truly appreciate you continuing to bring light to the surface of the pharmaceutical companies.

[tb]

Merck’s lead attorney throughout the entire litigation process was Kenneth Frazier. After he successfully beat back the many lawsuits in which Merck’s liability was initially estimated to be between $20-50 billion, he was eventually rewarded for his efforts by being named CEO, a job he held for over a decade. His cumulative salary + stock payments were well over $100 million during his tenure as CEO….

[avantgardexxx]

When my dad died from complications from diabetes (possible Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam) we emptied 2 cabinet shelves stocked with prescribed medications. It was a staggering amount of pills and I know he never asked doctors questions. They prescribed it, he took it. RIP dad.

[OldMovieRob]

This is so depressing that drug companies are able to get away with things like this.

[wmrphotography]

I watched my father for the last 20 years of his life go thru the medicine circus. He used to have an overnight bag for his medicine. He trusted his doctors implicitly, until the end of his life where after getting diagnosed with cancer and they basically wrote him off. It was sad, but it motivated me to start taking better care of myself.

[joemcmillan]

After being prescribed statins for cholesterol and other dangerous drugs for gout, I began doing my own research to find out how I could live without an MD and or Big Pharma. That was over 10 years ago. I'm now 72, doing very well with good blood pressure readings, ideal weight and no reason for alarm or medical treatment. Eating habits have changed drastically. Now on a Highfat/lowcarb diet and loving it. My doctor still asks about me and tells my wife that I should go in for a checkup. No Thanks Doc...

[erso]

It's a good thing these companies would never do something like that for an experimental vaccine. That would be very troubling.

[realgsdontdie]

I broke my leg and was prescribed Norco. After 10 long years of addiction I'm finally clean and sober. Haven't taken an opiate in over 2 years. It was the hardest battle I ever had to endure. Fuck painkillers!

[corylawson]

The medicine that killed my grandmother. Sued but she was old and an autopsy wasn't done. Ended up getting nothing from the settlement.

[JessHull]

I was on Vioxx for several years, I didn't have any issues while on the drug but several years later I had a Heart attack....at age 26. I always wonder how big a factor that played.