Warning that the diabetes medication Avandia increases patients’ risk of heart problems and strokes, the Food and Drug Administration threw a set of cuffs on the drug. It will still be available, but only as a last resort for those who go through several other methods of battling the disease.
On its website, the FDA said it’s developing a restricted access program for the drug, allowing access only to patients who can’t get their glucose levels under control with other drugs and can’t take Actos, an Avandia alternative. The FDA said the restriction will “limit use of Avandia significantly.”
Our scientific homies over at Consumer Reports have been warning readers to stay away from Avandia for more than three years.
FDA significantly restricts access to the diabetes drug Avandia [FDA]
Previously: Avandia Stays On The Market
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The link is borked. You have an extra http in there.
The European Medicines Agency has done the same (along with two others):
http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/index.jsp?curl=pages/news_and_events/news/2010/09/news_detail_001119.jsp
As a diabetic as well as suffering a few other issues, I would have dropped this drug when the rumors first started. Then again, I do pay attention to that kind of the stuff. I’m on Actos myself, although I’m looking at other potential drugs to get me off Actos, since I’m managed to gain 40 lbs. since taking that drug. And that’s not helping my health either.
Byetta LXR (whenever it gets OK’ed) and Victoza are the two I’m looking at.
I was on Actos and the doctor took me off of it because of edema problems. I gained about 20 lbs while on it and that came off fairly easily once I stopped taking the drug. Rumor is Actos will be taken off the market OR highly regulated soon as well.
Take the regular Byetta, it works if you limit carbs, too.
Actos sucks just as bad. The way it lowers blood sugar is to take the osteoblasts, that would normally turn into bone cells, and turn then into fat cells and fill them with fat. It weakens your bones.