Bad Medicine – Some Arthritis Sufferers Say Added Risks of Vioxx, Celebrex Are Better Than the Pain

PEORIA – The possibility of having a heart attack from taking arthritis medicine doesn’t worry former Vioxx user Sharon Richmond – she’s had three before.

“I’ve had three heart attacks in the past, before I ever even heard of Vioxx,” Richmond, a former nurse, said of the arthritis drug that was recently pulled from the market by its maker because of heart-related health concerns.

“I’m not worried about it. It’s been 15 years since I’ve had a heart attack,” she said.

“Vioxx was a good medicine. My doctor evidently felt that it was a small risk, and he kept tabs on my heart.”

Richmond, 65, suffers from osteoarthritis in her right shoulder and left hip. She took Vioxx for two years, but when the drug was pulled from the market, she had to find an alternative for her pain relief.

“I was really more upset I had to go back to the pain,” she said.

Now, the safety of over-the-counter pain reliever Aleve has come into question after a study of Alzheimer’s patients showed a possibility of increased heart problems connected with the drug.

The Arthritis Foundation’s national office in Atlanta released a statement Tuesday that suggests the findings in the Aleve study are not as troubling as they appear.

“The Arthritis Foundation regards this information as very preliminary and would express caution in over-interpreting these findings. The Arthritis Foundation does not believe that these findings should have any immediate impact on the clinical use of this class of drugs,” the statement said of Aleve, also known as naproxen.

Richmond, like many arthritis sufferers, has switched to different arthritis medicines but said they don’t work as well as Vioxx did.

She said her arthritis pain wasn’t as intense with Vioxx and that her new medication, Mobic, isn’t as effective.

“It’s not helping. It’s no good,” she said of Mobic, which she has taken since September. “It hurts to the point it wakes me up.”

While shopping, Richmond has to lean on a cart to ease her pain. And on a recent vacation, she had to sit down frequently after walking short distances.

“I’m not as free to move around as I could before,” she said.

Richmond saw drug trends and warnings come and go during her 40 years as a nurse. Now, she works part-time as an information specialist for the Arthritis Foundation in Peoria.

“The arthritis medicines are potent. They all can cause problems” if used incorrectly, she said. “I think people jumped to conclusions. People overreacted.”

Recently, Pfizer Inc., maker of the arthritis drug Celebrex, announced it found an increased risk of heart problems associated with their drug.

Bob Antonacci, owner and pharmacist of The Medicine Shoppe on Knoxville Avenue, has been dealing with arthritis sufferers who are frustrated with the recent changes.

“I would estimate 20 percent of my time has been spent answering questions about (arthritis medicine),” he said. “There’s almost this attitude of ‘Well, I guess everything will kill ya.’ It’s just about to that level of frustration.”

Antonacci said he has seen doctors prescribing more Tylenol, which he said isn’t very effective for treating arthritis.

“Most of these people have osteoarthritis. Tylenol is just not enough to help,” he said. Other arthritis medicines are available and can cost anywhere from $30 to $80 a month.

“There are a lot of people who have been switched over to Relafan,” which comes in a generic form and costs about $50 a month, he said. “These people have got to have something. Some of them are in pretty bad shape.”