Celebrex--superficial blood clots

[Guest guest]

I am my revision surgery on Nov 27th. I developed a superficial blood

clot shortly after surgery. A few days on Ibuprofen and I thought my

stomach had a hole in it...

that clot went away and then a few days later another one started hurting.

They told me to eleveate my legs and soon that one went away.

Now, at more than a month out, I have developed a superficial one in my

calf. A different doctor this time and he said Celebrex once a day, put my

feet up twice a day, and cefelexon....and compression stockings.

Did this happen to anyone else? Will the Celebrex rot out my stomach? Any

suggestions?

in Nebraska

[Guest guest]

At 8:33 PM -0600 12/30/02, wrote:

> Will the Celebrex rot out my stomach?

Probably, if you take them long enough. --Steve

Original at:

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/347/26/2104

Article describing it at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38339-2002Dec25.html

washingtonpost.com

FINDINGS

Thursday, December 26, 2002; Page A04

Celebrex Doubted For Halting Ulcers

The arthritis drug Celebrex does not protect the stomach from

dangerous bleeding ulcers as well as was thought, a study suggests.

Celebrex and two similar new anti-inflammatory drugs -- Vioxx and

Bextra -- are advertised as being safer for arthritis patients, based

on research that found they caused fewer ulcers and other

gastrointestinal complications than older anti-inflammatory

medicines. Together, the three drugs have annual sales exceeding $6

billion.

But their safety has been called into question. The new study, which

focused on arthritis patients at high risk of recurrent ulcers,

escalates the controversy involving Celebrex, showing nearly 10

percent each year would develop another bleeding ulcer.

The study found the same thing for an older anti-inflammatory drug

combined with ulcer medicine Prilosec, which doctors often give

arthritis patients to protect their stomachs. Neither treatment

protected as many patients from kidney complications as past studies

showed, the researchers said.

The Hong Kong researchers and other experts said the results, while

showing the treatments work the same, indicate more study is needed

on preventing bleeding stomach ulcers in people who treat joint pain

with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs.

The study, reported in today's New England Journal of Medicine,

included 287 patients with a bleeding ulcer and so were at high risk

of developing another, potentially life-threatening, ulcer.

Half took the anti-inflammatory diclofenac together with Prilosec;

half received Celebrex. Of the study patients receiving Celebrex,

about 5 percent had recurrent bleeding during the six months of

research, compared with about 6.5 percent for those getting

diclofenac and Prilosec.

That equates to annual rates of about 9 percent and 11 percent,

respectively, Y. Graham of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center

in Houston wrote in an accompanying editorial. " The results were

unexpected: Neither regimen provided a good or even acceptable level

of protection from recurrent bleeding, " Graham wrote.