The Shambles, York, UK © P.J. Croft 2008, 2013

Here’s another shambles. An item on ABC News last night said that a class action is being started (in the USA of course) against the makers of the diabetes drug Actos due to its links to bladder cancer.

"But even before the drug was released to the market, studies showed 
that Actos was linked to serious complications, including heart 
failure, bladder cancer, blindness and bone fractures. However, 
patients were not made readily aware of this. They were simply told 
that this once-a-day pill was the best solution to offset the 
dangers of diabetes." 
http://www.actosbladdercancer.as/actos-information.php

I’ve been on this drug for nearly five years! The doctor didn’t tell me anything about these possible side effects. In fact, he’d switched me from a similar version, Avandia (rosiglitazone) due to that drug’s links to heart attacks. Avandia has been withdrawn from the market, but I was on it for about three years.

As of this morning, I have stopped taking Actos. Bloody hell. As if I haven’t got enough problems already.

In the USA, “… Actos carries a black-box warning, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s stiffest caution, regarding its link to heart failure. The drug can cause an increased heart failure risk in patients both with and without pre-existing heart problems, the warning states.” [same source as above]

I’m a bit upset about this. It’s still approved and sold in Australia, but at least a doctor should have told me of these potential effects.

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