safe for all?
Allopurinol. Allopurinol (Lupurin, Zyloprim) is very effective in
reducing high levels of uric acid and may be helpful for patients
with uric acid stones. It should be noted that allopurinol will not
prevent calcium stones from forming. There is also a slight risk for
xanthine stones with this drug.
The drug's side effects, experienced by 3% to 5% of patients, include
diarrhea, headache, and fever. More severe complications include
blood disorders that may produce fatigue, bleeding, or bruising.
About 2% of patients experience an allergic reaction to allopurinol
that causes a rash. In rare cases, the rash can become severe and
widespread enough to be life threatening. Allergic individuals who
had experienced only a mild rash may be able to build up their
tolerance for the drug by undergoing a desensitization process. The
drug may also increase the risk for cataracts.
Some patients experience an allergic reaction to allopurinol, which
can be fatal. Because allopurinol reduces uric acid levels rapidly,
it may trigger an attack of gout in susceptible people. To prevent
this, patients should take a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID)
for two or three months. One study recommended indomethacin, although
many NSAIDs are available. (Aspirin, which is also an NSAID, should
not be taken, since it increases uric acid levels.) Patients should
discuss the appropriate drug with their physician.
Good post - thanks for the info mr planetx.
This is exactly the kind of information I have been looking for.
I have read many times on UK sites how prescription of allupurinol
is not without risk and it should be balanced against the frequency
of the gout attacks and its associated affect on quality of life.
This must also be balanced against long term hypertension (will kill
you over time...) and diclofenac (not good for kidneys I think?)
3 to 5% ?? (I had heard it was 3%, but not 5)
and if you are unlucky enought to get a specific side effect (eg
fever) is it intermittent or is the fever constant so you have to
come off allopurinol...?
questions questions...!
I had this very conversation with my GP last week ('tell me all
about the side effects, Im considering going on
allopurinol...especially the remote chance of death!!')
he said if you look at all the evidence of risk for any medecine,
even something as commonly taken as ibuprofen, then there is very
very slight chance of a very nasty reaction, something akin to
aphalectic shock (sorry not sure of spelling) abit like a peanut
allergy thing - so all drugs have this very small associated risk.
(I am still trying to come to terms with the fact that I need to go
on a drug for the rest of my life with potentially, however
improbable, life-threatening side effects, by the way)
can I ask an open question to the group?
how many of you have been on allopurinol over 10 years with no
problems.
I bet I get zero replies to that one - this could well be because,
you take the pill, the gout goes away, its no longer an issue, and
you leave the group...
does anyone know of anyone who has been on allopurinol over 10 years
with no problems....
thanks for reading
Tim
My mother has been on it for 15 years, my uncle has been on it for
12 years, there is a person who posts on here who has been on it for
15 years. He posted within the last two weeks.
Hi Tim,
Thank you for the first civil reply I have received. This post was
only the beginning and I will tell all where to do more research in a
moment but I want to set something straight with those out there who
think I'm trying to usurp Arnold's power because I'm NOT!
Allopurinol is a safe and effective drug for many people and I give
kudos to those who found the easy path but it is reckless to promote
one drug in all situations for all people. This drug can cause
serious problems, even death and I think people here need to know the
other side. The general premise of a newsgroup is that many people
from all over post their experiences and learn from each other with
out being berated for suggesting caution and told how stupid you are.
I want to make it perfectly clear that I am NOT a doctor and do not
give medical advice. After a bad experience with my first doctor and
mistakes he made which will cause me problems for the rest of my
life, I learned to be proactive in my health care. Your goal should
be to have as much knowledge, if not more than you doctor's, about
your conditions and the medicines you take. If you don't understand
something you read, print it out and take it to your doc. I am
worried a newbie will take Arnold's advice and ask their doc for
allopurinol and get it when it's not appropriate.You need to talk
with your doc and determine if it is safe for you to take and
remember that many docs don't keep up on everything out there because
they just don't have time and many are quite inept in their knowledge
about drug interactions. My present doc is okay but everytime he
gives me a new prescription, I make him go check the Physician's Desk
Reference for contraindications with the meds I'm taking and more
than once he has returned sheepishly and asked for the prescription
back because I can't take it. If you read my first post, I said I was
on a blood thinner and THAT precludes me from taking allopurinol
because it tends to increase the possibility of internal bleeding
which would probably be fatal or worse in my case (a stroke could be
worse!). Arnold told me NO without knowledge. There are also some
issues with the ACE inhibitor I'm on for high blood pressure. If I
had not been aware of my problems, taking Arnold's advice could have
been a serious situation for me. After reading his past posts/rants,
I'm surprised he hasn't faced any legal problems yet.
Moving on, I joined this group to learn from your experiences and
would especially like to hear from anyone who has taken Coumadin and
allopurinol at the same time or diet or alternative methods or ???
Don't fear if you have been afraid to post because of recent problems.
Now for those of you who want to do your own research on allopurinol
or any other drug or condition, a really good source to begin with is
The National Library Of Medicine @ http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov and
there are many other medical library sites run by universities that
you can look for. Some don't allow outsiders access but keep looking
and you will find some. If you live in a big city with a major
university close by or a large hospital, many times they will allow
the public to access at least some of their collection. And for
those of you familiar with academic research online, you know of
specific search engines that do specialized searches and can find
stuff that even google can't but that's not necessary for most. Also,
don't jsut enter "allopurinol" into the search engine or you will be
reading for days. Enter "allopurinol + dangers (or whatever you want
to find out about)".
I hate to break it to Arnold and his followers but there are
published reports (which must go thrugh a medical revue process
before they get published, unlike postings) that show several
problems including renal failure 3 weeks after starting allopurinol,
liver problems, interactions with some drugs and my biggest fear,
increased potential for internal bleeding. Some of these may be very
rare but to a person trying to decide whether to take the chance of
taking this drug or not, it can be valuable info especially if a
problem occured in someone with a situation similar to their's.
Arnold said I was a waste of his and the group's time but I feel the
same way about him now. He has good advice for some, if offered in
the proper way. Just chill for awhile Arnold and think about what
I've said before getting yourself into trouble, okay?
People, educate yourselve about your most prescious resource;
YOURSELF! And have a good evening.
Dennis