If you’re diabetic, you’ve probably acquired a new vocabulary since you’re diagnosis. You’ve learned words like; glucose, Metformin, Actos, blood sugar, insulin, and lactic acidosis. You more than likely spend your days seeking the perfect balance with your diet, exercise and medications. It can feel like a full-time job just to take care of yourself. But you do it, you take the medications, you monitor your diet, you check your blood sugar, you go for a walk- every day- because your life depends on it. You know what will happen to your body if your blood sugar gets too high. You will become very sick, possibly fall into a coma, maybe die.
What you may not know about having diabetes is that one of the drugs that is still being prescribed to millions of diabetics in the U.S., Actos, has been been found to cause an increased risk of developing bladder cancer. And if you haven’t heard that, you probably don’t know that thousands of people have filed a lawsuit against Actos drug maker Takeda for not informing them of the risk of developing the fatal disease. Last year, Takeda settled the lawsuits by agreeing to distribute 2.37 billion dollars to claimants. It is one of the largest drug company payouts in history. Despite the payout, Takeda U.S.A, refused to take the dangerous drug off of the market, even though the drug was banned in Germany and France years ago after a study released in 2012 found that the drug caused an 83% percent increased risk of the patient developing bladder cancer. In spite of this, Takeda U.S.A. says it stands by the drug, obviously because it is still profitable.
If you have taken Actos and are experiencing any of the following symptoms of bladder cancer, see your doctor immediately.
- Bloody Urine
- Pain when urinating
- Unusual back pain
- Increased frequency of urination
The really terrifying thing is- is that the problems with Actos don’t end with bladder cancer. Actos has also been linked to the following potentially fatal conditions:
- Congestive heart failure (rapid weight
gain, fluid retention and puffiness,
difficulty breathing) - Kidney disease (risk of kidney failure
leading to transplant or dialysis) - Lactic Acidosis
- Bone Fractures (most often reported in women; with fractures in hands, feet, and ankles
A generic form of Actos was released in 2012. According to an article that appeared Consumer Reports on August 21, 2012, the FDA advises against using the generic form, Pioglitazone, or the brand name Actos because of the risks discussed in this blog.
If you or a loved one has been taking Actos and has been diagnosed with bladder cancer, kidney failure, bone fractures, or lactic acidosis, call The Thomson Law Firm for a free consultation today at (540) 777-4900.
