Deadly Weight Loss Drugs: Don't take these!

The FDA has now issued a warning and a list: 72 over the counter weight loss drugs have now been identified as containing undeclared pharmaceutical ingredients - often in dosages that are considered unsafe.

Four of these drugs have not been approved for sale in the U.S. - one because it is suspected of causing cancer. One is a potent diuretic, while one is an anti-seizure medication.

All of these products pose a serious health risk because the pharmaceutical ingredients can cause problems such as high blood pressure, seizures, tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), palpitations, heart attack, and stroke. The higher the dosage, the bigger the risk.

This is not a trivial warning: taking too much of any of these products could result in death or permanent disability.

Because these weight loss products have been marketed as dietary supplements, they did not come under the scrutiny of the FDA. Had the manufacturers declared the pharmaceutical drugs contained in them, they would have been regulated and at least 4 would have been prohibited from sale in the U.S.

The FDA is now asking for a recall of these products. If it is not forthcoming, they have the authority to seize goods and initiate criminal charges.

To see the list of 72 tainted weight loss products, and learn more about the drugs they contain, go to http://www.fda.gov/cder/consumerinfo/weight_loss_products.htm

These products have been sold over the internet, in hair salons, and at other retail establishments. The FDA warns that more and more products tainted with prescription drugs, including drugs for erectile dysfunction, diabetes, and obesity, are finding their way into the U.S. marketplace.

Most of these products are being imported from other countries such as China, Brazil, Malaysia, and Peru.

If you wish to take weight loss products, be very careful to buy from a trusted source and do a search on the product name before you buy.

Meanwhile, if you are taking any weight loss products, go to the FDA website and check to see if its name is on the list of 72 deadly weight loss drugs.

That link is: http://www.fda.gov/cder/consumerinfo/weight_loss_products.htm

Will Chantrix make you violent?

Chantrix is a stop smoking drug, so as much as I don't trust pharmaceuticals, I have to wonder if it is the drug that causes violent behavior - or the nicotine withdrawal.

If you've ever tried to quit smoking - or have quit - you probably remember feeling just a bit hostile.

Nevertheless, our newspaper doctor said this week that Chantrix is known to make people violent - even with people they dearly love - and that particular side effect can be accelerated by using alcohol while taking it. So, if you're trying to quit and taking Chantrix, be aware of mood swings. If you start screaming at people you love or punching holes in the wall, go back to your doctor and ask for something different.

Too Many Pills!

In another Q&A, a woman wrote to ask if her Mother's prescriptions might be causing her forgetfulness and dizziness. Then she listed 12 prescriptions the poor woman was taking every day. The doctor's reaction was that some of those drugs weren't even appropriate for an elderly person, and that several of them could cause her symptoms - most especially when taken with the others.

That letter made me think of my Grandmother and what she went through before she changed doctors. I don't know if she was taking a dozen pills - it might have been 20. But she was becoming progressively sicker during my teen years. She even had monthly blood transfusions, and had pretty much withdrawn from everyone. She told me later that she had quit talking because she figured she was dying and so why get interested in anything.

Then, her doctor couldn't think of any more pills to push (this was 40+ years ago, remember), so referred her to a blood specialist.

He took her off everything and began trying just one remedy at a time until he found what worked. And... I got my Grandmother back. We enjoyed her company, and her involvement in our lives for almost another 30 years.

My wish for everyone is to find a doctor like him - dedicated to helping patients be well.

The FDA fails again

Here we go again - learning that the FDA didn't really check the facts before they said yes to big pharm. This time it's Vytorin in the news.

The news post (link below) and the comments that follow it are pretty interesting, and also pretty scary. Just think how many people are on cholesterol lowering drugs - and then think about the natural health practitioners who say that no one should be taking those drugs - at all. The better solution is a healthy diet.

Are Americans so brainwashed by big pharm that they'll just pop any pill that promises health while eating junk food and never moving from the couch? That mindset scares me almost more than the FDA failing to do its job.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/03/30/cholesterol.drug.ap/index.html

In case you missed it, The Readers Digest recently ran a very informative article about the corruption in the FDA - how researchers were told to "shut up" about negative and even deadly findings when the big guys wanted to approve a drug. (Gee, I wonder why?)

Anyway, if you're taking Vytorin, you might want to read the article and consider your options. After I heard about it this morning I tried the newspaper and found not a word (?) but a friend sent me this link to the CNN site.

Wishing you health - pharm-free health, if possible!

Marte