Missouri Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Prempro / Hormone Replacement Therapy

Women undergoing menopause are often prescribed hormone replacement therapy to ease symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats. However, the benefits associated with hormone replacement therapies do not necessarily outweigh the serious risks and side effects these drugs may cause.

For example, Prempro is a commonly prescribed hormone replacement therapy. Prempro side effects include an increase the risk of cancer, strokes, heart attacks and blood clots in women. Other hormone replacement therapies that combine estrogen and progestin like Prempro include Femhrt, Ortho-Prefest and Premphase.

According to a study by the Women’s Health Initiative, all of these drugs can cause severe side effects that can be deadly for women. Despite these findings, millions of women are prescribed these medications every year. Studies show that when 6 million women were prescribed Prempro in 2002, these women experienced a 26% increase in breast cancer, a 29% increase in heart attacks and a 41% increase in strokes.

In sum, many women have been adversely affected by the hormone replacement therapies they were prescribed to ease a life change. Instead of aiding the transition, these drugs often created new life-threatening medical conditions for patients.

For information about the legal options you have after suffering injuries from Prempro or other combination hormone replacement therapies, call the Missouri product defect attorneys at Page Law for a free consultation. You can reach John Page at 314.322.8515 or toll free at 1.800.500.INJURY (4658). You can also email him at john@pagecagle.com or visit www.injuredclient.com for more information.

A few years ago, smokers across the nation were excited about a new drug that promised to help them quit smoking. The drug allegedly eased nicotine cravings with few side effects. However, after the drug Chantix was approved in May 2006, many people experienced extreme side effects ranging from memory loss and unusual behavior, to psychological problems that caused suicides and suicidal thoughts.

Pfizer, the maker of Chantix, never warned consumers about these possible Chantix psychiatric side effects and the harms that could be suffered by users. Instead, the company released information about how the drug blocked nicotine receptor sites in the brain and allowed smokers an easy way to quit without uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms.

Most users did agree that they no longer cared about smoking, but many also felt overall feelings of ambivalence towards most things in life. Many people experienced moody tendencies and behavioral problems after using the drug. Some even suffered severe self-inflicted injuries and death as a result of suicide after taking Chantix.

In 2008 the FDA announced that warnings about these psychological side effects and the possible risk of suicide would be added to labels on the drug. However, many users had already suffered injury because of taking the drug and some users even reported that symptoms continued after they stopped taking Chantix. This has led to numerous Chantix pharmaceutical defect lawsuits because the makers of pharmaceuticals and all products have a duty to warn consumers about possible harms associated with using their products. The failure to do so can result in the company being liable for harms suffered by consumers of such products.

If you or a loved one has suffered harmful side effects from taking Chantix or any other medication, call the personal injury lawyers at Page || Cagle for a free consultation at 314.322.8515 or toll free at 1.800.500.INJURY (4658). You can also email me at john@pagecagle.com or visit www.injuredclient.com for more information.