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Do Antacids Cause Allergies?

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DO ULCER DRUGS CONTRIBUTE TO ALLERGIES?

I’ve always had major issues with drugs that bring digestion to a screeching halt.  Now, if someone has a bleeding ulcer this class of drugs can save a life.  Short of that, stopping digestion is horrendously bad for your health.  I can tick off at least 10 processes that will be interrupted.  Any patient that’s been put on this class of drugs I suggest they go back and ask the prescribing doctor to give them at least 5 things that this drug will interfere with.  It is only proper that the doctor should KNOW what they are interfering with, right??  This animal study finds that giving acid blockers increases allergic response.  Why?  Because our GI tract, which is where 2/3 of our immune system is centered around, reacts primarily to proteins.  More proteins = more stuff to react to.  So what happens in a properly functioning stomach?  Most proteins are digested down to their constituent amino acids.  Not so with acid suppressive drugs.  Instead proteins are left to react to our immune system, and worse–left to go RANCID in the warm recesses of the intestinal tract!

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Eleven Deaths Among UK Vioxx Users – (10-16-00)

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Eleven Deaths Among UK Vioxx Users

The new selective COX-2 inhibitors Vioxx and Celebrex have been touted as a new panacea for arthritic disorders. Although the incidence of ulcers does appear reduced, we still cannot view these drugs as completely safe.

(article) Eleven deaths and more than 1,000 reports of suspected adverse reactions to Merck’s new osteoarthritis drug Vioxx (rofecoxib) have been reported in the UK since its launch in June last year, British regulators said on Thursday. Five patients died following gastrointestinal reactions, three following cardiac failure and three following myocardial infarction, the agencies reported in their newsletter “Current Problems.” An estimated 557,100 prescriptions for Merck’s COX-2 inhibitor have been dispensed in the UK up to the end of May 2000, the agencies said. The rate of reported adverse reactions is therefore approximately one per 500 prescriptions. The newsletter reminded prescribers that rofecoxib is contraindicated in patients with active peptic ulceration, GI bleeding, and severe congestive heart failure. It also noted that “caution should be exercised in patients with a history of cardiac failure, left ventricular dysfunction, or hypertension and in patients with pre-existing oedema for any other reason”. In conclusion, the agencies said, “As with all new drugs, the safety of rofecoxib remains under close review.” They pointed out that another COX-2 inhibitor, Pharmacia’s celecoxib (Celebrex), had been launched recently and promised to report on its safety profile in a forthcoming bulletin. Merck officials were not immediately available for comment.

Pondering Vioxx: Easier on Stomach, Harder on Heart? – (06-25-01)

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Pondering Vioxx: Easier on Stomach, Harder on Heart?

Remember one thing in medicine–there is no miracle cure and anything that is advertised as the best thing since slice whole grain bread-you can bet there’s some major side effects. So, when it comes to joint pain relievers, you can take one of the new COX-2 inhibitors and maybe have less chance of death from bleeding ulcers, but you may die of a fatal MI instead. Some choice, huh? How about exercise, chiropractic care, glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM instead?

Joint Letter 7(4):37,44-46, 2001 Pharmaceutical giants Pharmacia and Merck recently petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to relax gastrointestinal (GI) safety warnings on the labels of their respective COX-2 inhibitors. Last month, we reported on Pharmacia’s submission for celecoxib (Celebrex). This month, we examine Merck’s request for rofecoxib (Vioxx). As of press time, the FDA had not issued a final decision.Vioxx is easier on the stomach than generic naproxen. But it may be harder on the heart, according to recent briefings presented to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Arthritis Advisory Committee.On February 8, representatives from Merck presented data to the advisory committee from Merck’s huge randomized VIGOR trial, which compared Vioxx to the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) naproxen in 8076 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The advisory committee also heard from the FDA’s own in-house analysts, who offered interpretations of the VIGOR data that sometimes conflicted with Merck’s. After factoring in all the safety data on GI benefits and cardiovascular risks, the FDA’s medical officers concluded that the highly touted COX-2 inhibitor was no safer than naproxen. They recommended the Vioxx label be modified to include more cautions, rather than fewer. “To a patient it, doesn’t matter whether you end up in an intensive care unit with a big GI bleed or whether you end up in an intensive care unit with a myocardial infarction,” noted advisory committee member Steven Nissen, MD, reflecting this concern. “They are both pretty bad things to have happen.”

Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs and Hypertension – (12-14-00)

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Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs and Hypertension

It seems that we can now add elevation of BP to the list of side effects of NSAIDs use. This list also contains gastric erosions/ulcers, disruption of intestinal permeability, kidney damage and liver damage. I could accept the harm vs benefit logic for NSAIDs if there were not tens if not hundreds of natural options to curb inflammation without these side effects. Remember…NSAIDs do not fix whatever caused the underlying inflammation.

J Clin Hypertens 2(5):319-323, 2000 Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are among the most widely prescribed medications. Their effect on blood pressure has been monitored, and many small studies have determined a potential relationship between their use and elevation of blood pressure. These drugs may affect blood pressure by inhibiting prostaglandin synthesis, which may affect arteriolar smooth muscle tone and natriuresis. Since many patients with conditions such as osteoarthritis require treatment and also have hypertension, even modest elevations in blood pressure or inhibition of antihypertensive medication efficacy resulting from non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can be of significant clinical and public health importance. This review finds that certain drugs (e.g., indomethicin, piroxicam, and naproxen) may cause clinically relevant elevations in blood pressure in hypertensive patients. Aspirin and sulindac do not appear to elevate blood pressure significantly, even in hypertensive patients. Ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs appear to have an intermediate blood pressure effect. Cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitors such as refecoxib and celecoxib have been shown to cause mild elevations in blood pressure, but further studies are needed to evaluate the full magnitude and population distribution of this effect.

NITRITE IN SALIVA LEADS TO GASTRIC PROBLEMS, MUCUS THICKNESS – (1-14-04)

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Nitrite in saliva increases gastric mucosal blood flow and mucus thickness

It’s always great to come across items in the medical literature that support stuff you’ve been saying and doing for years. Mainstream medicines’ approach to ulcers and reflux is to shut down acid production. However, much research supports the idea that, as we get older, hypochlorhydria is much, much more common (too little stomach acid). So, if most people don’t make enough stomach acid already, how could suppression be good? Well, many of us in natural medicine actually add stomach acid and digestive enzymes in patients with ulcers and GERD.

This study finds that, in an ACIDIC stomach, nitrates in the diet are converted to NO which is protective to the GI mucosa. JCI — Abstracts: Björne et al. 113 (1): 106 –

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