Digestive problems? These meds may be the cause

If you happen to land on the webpage for the top-selling blood pressure meds in the U.S. (all made by Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo), you’ll see a big photo of a happy man surfing at a beautiful tropical locale splashed across the top.

But that could be a rather cruel joke, as anyone who takes those drugs run the risk of being confined to the bathroom with chronic diarrhea and vomiting or curled up in a fetal position in bed with horrible abdominal pain.

It’s one of the best-kept secrets in Pharma Land — how hypertension meds that contain the drug olmesartan (which go under brand names such as Benicar, Benicar HCT, Azor, and Tribenzor) can cause a life-threatening condition called “sprue-like enteropathy,” which is remarkably similar to the pain and suffering of celiac disease.

The FDA has known about it for years… yet it refuses to ruffle Big Pharma’s feathers by doing its job to keep patients safe.

Now, a consumer group is making a bold move — petitioning the FDA to enact a total ban on olmesartan, saying that it’s the only way to “prevent avoidable serious harm” to patients.

And if you’re one of them, this is a warning you need to hear right now — before it’s too late.

Celiac disease that isn’t
We first warned eAlert readers about the disastrous side effects of olmesartan over three years ago. We told you how the gut-wrenching symptoms mentioned above, as well as severe weight loss, were remarkably similar to those of celiac disease (a.k.a. sprue).

And if you didn’t realize the potential connection with these drugs, you might just assume you have a painful digestive disorder.

But trying to remedy the situation by eliminating gluten or making any other dietary changes won’t help at all if what you’re really suffering are adverse reactions to these drugs.

The FDA has known about these horrific side effects since at least 2012, when a group of researchers from the Mayo Clinic carefully documented what they had discovered about the link. But it took another full year for the FDA to limp into action, requesting a “weak warning” way down on the drug’s lengthy label.

And that was it!

While there are several hundred well-documented cases of patients who have taken these drugs and then developed this condition (most having suffered severe complications, such as malnutrition and damage to their kidneys), if you look at the sheer number of the prescriptions given out, it’s clear that could be just a tiny drop in the misery bucket where these meds are concerned.

For example: Two years ago, prescriptions for the two top-sellers, Benicar and Benicar HCT, were filled over 7 million times! There were also over 2.5 million new prescriptions given out for those two drugs.

It’s as if doctors can’t write them fast enough!

On top of that, last year the FDA OK’d the first generic version of olmesartan. So now, the sky’s the limit in the numbers of patients who may be taking it.

That certainly begs the question of how many could be in agony… and going to great lengths to eliminate gluten and other foods from their diets… for no good reason at all.

And don’t think you’re in the clear if you’ve been taking one of these meds for a while, either. Even the drugmaker admits this life-threatening response can happen “months to years” after you start up.

So, last month, consumer group Public Citizen finally said enough is enough. It filed an official petition with the FDA requesting that the agency put on its big-boy pants and “axe” all drugs containing olmesartan, the brand names as well as the generic versions.

Continuing to keep them on the market, the group says, will be risking “lives for corporate profits.”

Of course, you don’t have to wait one more day for the FDA to take action.

If you’ve been prescribed Benicar — or anything else that contains olmesartan — you need to make an appointment with your doctor ASAP to change meds.

Or, better yet, find out if you can give all your blood pressure drugs the axe!

“FDA should ax sale of medication linked to severe intestinal disorder” Public Citizen, November 15, 2017, citizen.org