Dr. Sabrina Segal

Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, dry mouth, and in rare cases paralysis, and even death.

In the middle of a commercial the announcer runs down a list of side effects for the drug being marketed. The dry mouth is not as bothersome to me as death. Am I supposed to roll the dice and hope that I am not that fraction of the population who will be confined to a wheelchair or become deceased after taking my prescription?

Yes, that’s exactly what they’re saying. And yet these drugs are FDA approved?

The people look happy and carefree on those Valtrex commercials. After all the side effects are relatively minor and include sore throat and dizziness. I guess that is better than the condition it is allegedly supposed to treat.

We hear news stories of prescription drugs being pulled from the shelves, and later the lawyers’ calls for class action lawsuits. There is a drug, Aprotinin, used during heart surgery that may significantly raise the risk of kidney failure and stroke. The scary part is: the patients may not have known they were given this drug while undergoing the procedure. Just as drugs Bextra and Vioxx were both pulled from the shelves, so should Aprotinin…don’t you think and not on a temporary basis?

I remember the cool ads for Zelnorm with pictures drawn on attractive young women’s bellies. It was silly. The drug is used to treat constipation resulting from IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). I guess you need to have fun with the concept on TV, since they are talking about promoting the evacuation of your bowels (not so pretty).

But enter recent FDA warnings about rectal bleeding when taking Zelnorm. Those lovely, giggling ladies may not be laughing anymore.

Another snappy commercial is for Detrol with its catchy jingle “Gotta go gotta go gotta go right now.” The overactive bladder medication states it is “generally well tolerated” and its side effects include headache, constipation, and abdominal pain. Wow, so few side effects. Maybe there is hope.

How do you feel about prescription drug ads on TV and the lists of side effects that follow?
On a scale of one to ten, what is your faith in the U.S. Food & Drug Administration?

Photograph Credit:
Sabrina Segal