• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Some South Bay Arthritis Sufferers See Hope in Vioxx Case

Posted on: Monday, 14 March 2005, 12:00 CST

For many people with arthritis and similar aches who had found relief in a new generation of anti-inflammatories, the last six months have been difficult.

First, the drug Vioxx was pulled from the market at the end of September amid concerns about its link to heart disease. Two similar drugs, Celebrex and Bextra, came under scrutiny for the same reason. By December, a major study of Celebrex was halted by the National Institutes of Health out of heart-safety concerns.

While sometimes criticized as overpriced, overadvertised and overprescribed, many people with arthritis swear by the drugs, which were created to give relief from joint pain without upsetting the stomach, as other drugs can sometimes do.

After it was taken off the market, those who relied on Vioxx were casting about for alternatives, and those who used the other two were worrying if the risks of heart disease were worth the pain relief.

An advisory panel of the Food and Drug Administration lent a bit of relief to the picture in mid-February, with a decision that Vioxx should come back on the market, and the other two should not be taken off.

The decision is one the FDA is expected to follow. There must be more strongly worded warnings on the drugs, and there will be additional study, but for now, there is still access to Celebrex and Bextra.

Drug maker Merck has not yet put Vioxx back on the market but may consider doing so.

Much of the testimony at the FDA hearings in February was from patients who used one of the drugs and said they were worth the risk.

South Bay doctors said patients who relied on one of the drugs to cope with chronic pain had a tough time before the FDA panel's decision last month.

"I have had many patients who had to give (Vioxx) up reluctantly," said Dr. Karen Black, a Torrance internist. "After the Vioxx was stopped by Merck, everyone was a little bit nervous about the rest. Most of my patients kind of stopped those as well."

Doctors say they do not turn to the "Cox-2 inhibitors" first. When a patient has chronic arthritic pain, the first option is Tylenol, or something similar. But when they have to take so much of it that they can not tolerate it or there are concerns about liver damage, eventually doctors may prescribe one of the Vioxx-type drugs.

In the days right after the FDA panel's vote in favor of keeping the drugs on the market, Torrance physician Tom LaGrelius said patients were pleased to get some word on drug safety.

"I've already seen people come in since that decision and indicate they were less concerned about the use of their medicines," LaGrelius said. In the recent months, he's seen the gamut of reactions -- some patients who easily switched from Vioxx to Celebrex or Bextra, and those for whom the alternatives did not work, as well as those who were not willing to take drugs such as Celebrex, even if it was the only thing that seemed to work.

Drug discount card available

More than 2 million people in Los Angeles County could be eligible for a free new card that would grant them large discounts on pharmaceutical drugs.

Available at no cost, the Together Rx Access card provides 25 to 40 percent off the price of at least 275 drugs.

To qualify for the card, you must be an adult younger than 65 and ineligible for Medicare, and can have no private or public prescription drug coverage.

You must also meet certain income guidelines.

About 36 million people in the United States would qualify, and it's estimated that 2 million of those live in this county.

To be eligible, for example, an individual must make no more than $30,000 annually, while a family of four's household income must be no more than $60,000.

The program, created by a consortium of drug companies, is based on a similar one for seniors that will sunset in 2006 when new prescription drug benefits for seniors kick in.

The Together Rx seniors program has enrolled more than 1.5 million people and saved them $700 million since it started in 2002, says Roba Whiteley, executive director of Together Rx Access.

The plan is to spread the new card for the nonelderly as far and as wide as possible, Whiteley said.

"It's free to get and free to use, the savings are real and it makes sense to use," Whiteley said. She said it's hoped that people who qualify will get the card whether they think they are going to save much with it or not, just to have it handy.

In April, brochures will be available in many drugstores, as the program ratchets up the awareness campaign.

People interested in getting a card can go to www.TogetherRxAccess.com or call 800-444-4106.

Baby's enlarged heart leadsto need for transplant

It was in January, just days after Christian Ellertson turned 4- months-old, that his parents noticed a big change in the baby who had been so healthy up to that point. He was cold and clammy, and eventually was rushed to County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

Doctors found that his heart was dangerously enlarged, possibly the result of an infection. The diagnosis was cardiomyopathy. The heart was so weak and damaged that it was beyond saving. Christian is in UCLA Medical Center, nearly 6-months-old now, awaiting a new heart.

His parents, Jeremy and Viviana Ellertson of Downey, can only wait. It's still not certain how Christian became sick.

"It slammed us like a ton of bricks," said Jeremy Ellertson, a tooling fabricator at Boeing in El Segundo.

The boy is in intensive care and has to be kept sedated so that he does not stress his heart.

And it's painful for Christian's family to consider the course of events that would lead to Christian getting the heart of another small child.

"You can't pray for another child to pass away to save your own child," said Mari Casey, Christian's grandmother.

"I don't wish this on another parent," said Ellertson, who is a graduate of West High in Torrance.

All they hope for, they said, is that if a tragedy involving a child befalls another family, that they might consider donating the heart, so that someone such as Christian might live.

Ellertson said that Christian has been baptized in the hospital just in case the worst happens.

It's still hard for the 25-year-old father to imagine the worst for his baby, who just months before was happily bopping to reggae music, and who still looks healthy.

To help with medical bills and expenses, friends and family have opened a bank account for Christian. Donations can be made to the account at Washington Mutual Bank, 27319 Hawthorne Blvd., Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274. The account is in the name of Christian Ellertson, and the account number is 0984869035.

Send comments to lee.peterson@dailybreeze.com or to Medical Notebook, Daily Breeze, 5215 Torrance Blvd., Torrance, CA 90503- 4077.MIND & BODY

Source: Daily Breeze

More News in this Category