Study: Heart drug Tredaptive is ineffective

(CBS News) The drug maker Merck said Thursday that a drug that was supposed to prevent heart attacks has serious problems. It is now warning doctors overseas to stop prescribing it.

The study looked at a drug, called Tredaptive, currently used in 40 countries. Its main ingredient is a vitamin called niacin, which raises so-called "good cholesterol" or HDL. Tredaptive also contains a drug to reduce side effects.

While Tredaptive is not available in the U.S., over six million prescriptions are written a year for niacin alone to raise HDL. It was hoped doing so would reduce heart attacks and strokes. The study showed that it did not prevent those problems.

Cardiologist Dr. Steve Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic has prescribed niacin for years. "It raised the good cholesterol, it lowered the bad cholesterol," he said. "It didn't improve clinical outcome. That is a stunning finding."

More than 25,000 patients at high risk for heart problems took part in the study. Besides being ineffective at preventing heart attacks, Tredaptive caused significant side effects

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Merck, the maker of Tredaptive, would not specify what those side effects were. They recommended that no new patients start taking the drug, but stopped short of saying current patients should come off it.

"It's an agonizingly difficult question that physicians around the country and around the world are going to have to deal with their patients over the next few days and next few weeks," said Nissen.

I spoke to the chief medical officer for Merck and he would not tell me what those side effects were. He said they were still analyzing the data and had given all of the information to the FDA. It might not be until March that people get the full report. What that does is leave doctors with trying to figure out what exactly are those side effects that they are supposed to be looking for in the patients who are still taking niacin.

[mr_moodly]

Here are my notes that I prepared for my meeting with my doctor after taking Niacin for three months. It is an insidious drug that works at breaking down your body. I spoke to a funeral home to start planning for my death because of this drug. I have never recovered from this problem. I then switched onto the generic Crestor and all the symptoms returned. Here are my notes:Extreme full body weakness - cannot walk 60 feet without being breathless
Huge muscle pain in right arm, leg and under arm pit chest muscle
Having back pains
Cannot lift things
Excruciating right arm pain under fast movement led to partial paralysis due to pain
Random muscle pains in legs and arms.
High blood sugars
Increased insulin from 85 to 120 twice a day and sugars read 7.5 to 12.5
Went to low of 2.6 and 14.5
Eliminated salt
Eliminated sugar
Fat in my body has increased dramatically around stumach and upper arms
Body composition changing
Could not lift my arms
Hard to put on socks
Could not sleep 3 nights due to flushing and associated nervousness
Weird short headaches
Pains in stomach

[PharmasaurusRx]

Crestor has no generic...


And based on your list of side effects i think its safe to say that if your doctor/pharmacist was monitoring you properly, the drug should have been discontinued long before it came to this.