Letter I received today

Dear XXXX,
According to our prescription records, you have recently received a prescription for Bextra. As such, we have important information for you.
At the request of the FDA, Pfizer, Inc. has elected to voluntarily suspend sales of Bextra. This action has been taken because the FDA has determined that the overall risk versus benefit of Bextra is unfavorable.
ad nauseum



It just finishes with how to send back unused ones. etc.
Here I have to wonder if it had anything to do with the people who voted on leaving it on the market as having interests that weren't pure,lol. Nowhere in the letter does it mention the reasons for taking it off the market.
Last summer while taking this drug, I got some type of skin infection that was head to toe. Even my eyes were swollen shut.
I had to have mass doses of steroids, antibiotics, and antihistamines. I even had to postpone an elective medical procedure because it was so bad.
It lasted for several weeks.
The Doctor said she thought it was something like poison oak or ivy or something, even though I couldn't remember being in contact with it...but in any case, said it was the worst case she had ever seen in an adult.
I still have scars from it.
Of course, I had no idea at the time that this might be from the Bextra.:shrug:

It is like Vioxx-it's a non-narcotic pain pill basically for arthritis type/musculoskeletal symptoms.

Oh how noble of them. What a crock. Their legal team weighed out the cost of lawsuits vs. the drug profits and decided it wasn't worth it. It they could have still made a big profit, they would have kept it on the market.

Sorry to hear about your reaction. I was on Vioxx for three years and I know where you're coming from. I have always had a history of chest pains but like you, I took the drug all that time without knowing there was a problem with it. Once the problems with Vioxx came out, I seriously considered dropping it but unfortunately it was about the only thing I could use for chronic inflammation. My HMO switched me to Celebrex and a couple of months later my chest pains started getting worse so I quit taking it. The next day my chest pains were gone and they haven't returned. My shoulder is still chronically inflamed but I haven't been back to the doc because I'm not sure there's much else on the market that can help me. And even if there is, do you really expect me to trust the word of the drug companies or the FDA that the drug is safe? (Actually, the drug companies and the FDA are one and the same so I guess that's a bit redundant.) No, I decided I liked my heart beating just the way it is, thank you, so I'll just have to suffer for now and hope that something else comes along at some point. Great fun.

My Mom has suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for years and been on many different medications. She's never had a problem with aspirin and still takes it (a coated version). It's one drug that has survived. Many people have stomach problems taking it, unfortunately.

I am really sorry to hear that you had a reaction to Bextra. And I'm glad that you are doing better. My husband takes Bextra and for him it worked wonders, permitting him to keep active and relatively pain-free from his arthritis. He had fortunately just refilled his prescription the day before it was taken off the market. None of the other arthritis drugs worked as well for him as Bextra and believe me he tried most of them. We are really concerned for what the future will bring - he stays home with our 2 year old daughter and Bextra was one reason he is able to keep up with her (proud parent moment - she had her first gymnastics class today and was able to do things that the kids who had been there for longer could not in terms of balance and ability). I'm hoping that we'll find something else that works as well for him.

were reported for the same reason.
However, the skin thing really worried me because what I had was horrible--I had to keep bandages on my arms and legs because they just oozed. There wasn't a part of my body that was spared from this. I looked like a freak. That's why I quit taking it.

Congrats on that proud parent moment! There are never enough of those.

I hope he finds something that works.
I did find something. A friend of mine is from Canada and she brought me some over-the-counter medicine from there that really helped.
However, I can't get it here so when I am out, I am just out.
It's called Exxact. It has acetaminophen and methocarbomol (muscle relaxer) in the right doses and is great when I can get it.
I contacted the Canadian drug manufacturer of the drug and they said they couldn't send it to the states.:(