Feds admits NSAID painkillers deadly

Feds finally come clean: Deadly painkillers hiding in millions of medicine cabinets

If you suffer from frequent headaches… or arthritis… or other nagging aches and pains, I need you to do something right now that could save your life.

Check your medicine cabinet for ibuprofen (like Motrin or Advil), naproxen (sold as Aleve), or any of the other over-the-counter or prescription drugs on this list. And throw them right in the trash.

Because every dose you take of these meds, known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), is sending your risk of a heart attack or stroke through the roof.

I’ve been warning my own patients about the dangers of NSAIDs for years — and, after years of denials, even our government is starting to get on board.

The FDA just completed a new review of the science behind NSAIDs and is admitting the drugs are far more dangerous than we were ever told. The review found that these meds increase your chances of a heart attack or stroke — even if you’ve only been taking them for a few days and even if you have no history of heart disease.

In fact, the FDA says it will now require OTC and prescription NSAIDs to carry a new label warning the millions of patients who take these drugs every day.

Now that all sounds like progress. But the fact is, the FDA is the Rip Van Winkle of the federal government — it wakes up every 20 years or so and does something.

The agency is holding press conferences and patting itself on the back over the decision to add warnings to NSAIDs like ibuprofen. And that’s an insult to doctors like me… and millions of NSAID victims… who watched the FDA bury its head in the sand on this issue for years.

Multiple studies have proven that NSAIDs dramatically increase your chances of strokes and potentially fatal heart conditions like atrial fibrillation. And two years ago, researchers from Oxford University reviewed 639 studies involving 353,000 people and proved that NSAIDs increase your risk of a heart attack.

Researchers say there will be eight extra heart attacks or strokes for every 1,000 patients on these drugs — and when you consider how many people take them, the death toll is likely astronomical.

In other words, the science has been settled for years, and our government allowed millions of people to continue thinking these products were safe.

And, of course, the drug companies are still bending over backwards to defend NSAIDs and they’re not going to just accept these new labeling requirements without a fight. They’re arguing that if the drugs were so dangerous, millions of people wouldn’t be taking them.

How’s that for circular logic?

The fact is, millions of people take these pills precisely because they don’t know how dangerous they are. And when these same patients eventually suffer a heart attack or stroke, it never occurs to them — or their doctors — that a daily dose of Motrin or Advil may have been the culprit.

If you’re looking for natural pain relief, try anti-inflammatories like fish oil, herbal remedies like feverfew, or time-tested therapies like acupuncture. They all offer fast and lasting relief — without asking you to risk your life.

Sources:

FDA adds heart attack and stroke warning to some painkillers

(cnn.com)