As many people are well-aware, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration monitors the drugs, medications, and medical devices that are made available to physicians, consumers, and surgeons throughout the nation. While the approval process is designed to weed out the least effective drugs or the drugs that cannot compete with current medications available on the market, it is not uncommon for a drug to slip through the approval process before the long term side effects are made known to the public. Additionally, some pharmaceutical companies will begin advertising and pushing their drug into the hands of medical professionals long before an approval has been awarded by the FDA.
Some of the more dangerous drugs that are used to treat Type 2 diabetes in patients include Avandia, Actos, Byetta, and Januvia. The following describes the function of each drug and the potential side effects it has been linked to by the FDA and other researchers:
Avandia is a Type 2 diabetes drug that is used as an oral medication to help control the level of blood sugars. It is recommended not to be used in coordination with insulin and has been since known to have many side effects. This drug began to decline in popularity when people found that the side effects included an increased risk of serious heart problems, such as a heart attack or a stroke, and when a newer drug was introduced onto the market, Actos. Once introduced onto the market, many people abandoned Avandia and began using Actos to treat Type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately, this medication also yielded unwarranted side effects – side effects that are believed to be even more severe than those from Avandia. Actos was then linked to medical conditions of lower back pain, painful urination, UTI, headaches and sinus infections, blood in urine, weight gain, and the most well-known side effect, bladder cancer.
Other drugs that have been introduced onto the market include Januvia and Byetta, both of which were developed to help Type 2 diabetics maintain and control their levels of blood sugar. Januvia, or Sitagliptin, was introduced as an oral medication to treat Type 2 diabetes along with diet and exercise. It is used to lower blood sugar levels, but has been linked to increasing a user's risk for pancreatitis. Other minor side effects that have been reported by drug users include stuffy or runny nose, sore throat, diarrhea, headache, ongoing pain in the abdominal region, nausea, vomiting and the loss of appetite. Another type of treatment used in patients with Type 2 diabetes includes Byetta, an injectable drug for the purpose of helping individuals improve their blood sugars. Since being approved for use in 2005, it has been linked to side effects such as pancreatitis and kidney failure, in addition to two deaths.
If you have been prescribed one of these medications to treat your Type 2 diabetes, you are advised to talk to your doctor about the potential side effects and any risks you may have when taking a medication. While medicine was developed for the purpose of treating our illnesses, medications often come along that possess more harmful qualities than positive ones. It is primarily your doctor's responsibility to understand the dangers in taking certain medications, but it is also helpful to ask questions yourself. By asking if there are any safer drugs available or if you have any other options, you may prevent yourself from facing the severe side effects of these dangerous medications. If you have already taken one of these medications and have suffered as a result, you may be able to file a medical malpractice claim against a doctor who negligently prescribed the medication or the pharmaceutical company for failing to acknowledge the dangerous effects of their product.
Your local medical malpractice attorney will be able to review your case and determine who will be held responsible for the injury, illness, or loss of a family member you have endured. While there are many products on the market today that provide positive results for nearly all users, these dangerous medications are being pulled from shelves or closely watched by the FDA due to the adverse side effects they may possess. It is your right to know what type of medication you are taking and the effects it will have on your life, and your doctor should provide you with this information. Don't be shy in asking as many questions as you can think of; you may present a question that could ultimately save your life. To learn more about the dangers of certain pharmaceuticals, you can contact your local medical malpractice lawyer today!