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Home > Archive > Multiple sclerosis support > March 2005 > Abbott pulls Cylert...
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Abbott pulls Cylert...
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| Abbot has pulled Cylert, a drug that many of us take or have taken for
M.S.-related fatigue. at this time, the generic, pemoline, is still
available, but the FDA is being petitioned by Public Citizen to
withdraw pemoline as well.
i remember having taken cylert for almost 2 years without having the
neuro schedule any tests; i also remember it was recommended that liver
enzyme testing be done, as they've ALWAYS known there are effect tha
need to be watched out for. (when i brought it up to the neuro, he said
'we can schedule a test if you're worried,' kind of off-handedly.)
cylert was my fave of all the various anti-fatigues prescribed for me
in the past -- now that i'm retired, it's coffee and naps, PRN. i
wonder if the problems this group is protesting may have arisen because
other folks' doctors also ignored the 'make sure everyone is tested
regularly' advice. the pharma-co is pulling it willingly, they say,
because it's just not a money-maker anymore.
note they refer to it as an 'ADD Drug' -- i guess its recent approval
for that was what made cylert a money-maker for so long -- but the
stuff they talk about applies to those of us with M.S. as well.
the article also mentions that britain and canada have already pulled
the drug due to safety reasons...i'd had no idea.
here's the article:
------------------
Abbott Says Withdrawing Attention Deficit Drug
Thu Mar 24, 6:53 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories Inc. said Thursday it was
halting sales of a 30-year-old attention deficit drug that a consumer
group complained was too dangerous to stay on the market.
Abbott decided to discontinue the drug, Cylert, because of declining
sales, Abbott spokeswoman Melissa Brotz said. The drug's sales this
year will be less than $1 million, she said.
Brotz declined to comment on charges made earlier Thursday from
consumer group Public Citizen that the drug had caused 21 cases of
liver failure, including 13 that were fatal or required transplants.
"We're in the process of discontinuing it ... but that's because of
declining usage and sales and because there are generics available,"
Brotz said.
Generic companies sell copycat versions of the drug under the name
pemoline.
Public Citizen asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (news - web
sites) on Thursday to ban Cylert and its generic competitors
immediately. Generic companies can still sell their versions even after
Abbott pulls the medicine, unless the FDA (news - web sites) determines
the drug was withdrawn for safety reasons.
A petition from Public Citizen said Britain and Canada already had
pulled the drug off the market, while the FDA opted to strengthen
warnings twice and allow sales to continue.
The warnings failed to increase doctors' monitoring of liver function
in patients treated with pemoline, which offers no benefit over other
therapies, the group said.
"In light of this evidence of unique liver toxicity without evidence of
unique therapeutic benefit, we contend that the only responsible course
of action is to remove this dangerous drug from the market," Public
Citizen said.
Cylert is a stimulant that was approved to treat attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, in 1975. Last year, about 117,000
prescriptions for the drug were filled in the United States, according
to Public Citizen.
FDA spokeswoman Susan Cruzan said the agency would carefully review the
petition, which also was signed by Dr. Fredric Solomon, a psychiatrist
and ADHD specialist at the George Washington university School of
Medicine.
Public Citizen has filed several petitions with the FDA seeking to have
various drugs withdrawn.
Earlier this month, the FDA denied a petition from Public Citizen
asking for a ban on AstraZeneca Plc's cholesterol treatment Crestor.
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| Joyce 2005-03-26, 10:14 am |
| I take provigal for fatigue, I take it twice a day but after 6 years it
isn't working real good for me, my neuro tried me on ritalin for 2 months
but that was horrible as it did nothing at all for me, even made me more
tired.
Joyce
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| GT Tick 2005-03-26, 10:14 am |
| My neuro at the VA Hospital MS clinic took me off Cylert 4 or 5 years
ago. I distinctly remember him only half jokingly comment that I could
stay on it if they could test my liver every two weeks.
Tick
--
--
Group: alt.support.mult-sclerosis Date: Fri, Mar 25, 2005, 8:03am
(CST-2) From: rosedawn_scott@yahoo.com (rose)
Abbot has pulled Cylert, a drug that many of us take or have taken for
M.S.-related fatigue. at this time, the generic, pemoline, is still
available, but the FDA is being petitioned by Public Citizen to withdraw
pemoline as well.
<clipped>
*****Don't Cry Because It's Over...Smile Because It Happened.*****
Visit Me At Tick's Place...
http://community-2.webtv.net/OLTICK/TICKSPLACE/
| |
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| GT Tick wrote:
> My neuro at the VA Hospital MS clinic took me off Cylert 4 or 5 years
> ago. I distinctly remember him only half jokingly comment that I
could
> stay on it if they could test my liver every two weeks.
hi tick,
my neuro seemed so unconcerned -- i do wonder if the attitude is
widespread, and that's why the serious problems resulted. when i asked
him about the testing, because i'd heard that it ws recommended, he was
very off-hand about it.
i ended up making the decision to stop taking cylert on my own -- after
disability retirement, i gave up all the anti-fatigue meds.
i think before that time i may have taken them ALL, LOL! slight
exaggeration, but there was amantadine first, then phentermine (I think
-- the one in the fen/phen combo that was for energy, rather than
appetite reduction), cylert, ritalin, and provigil (free samples). also
prozac after it had first come out -- one month only, the price
astonished me! and the very last thing was -- oh heck, i'm having a
brain-freeze, the 'SSNDRI' anti-depressant that they use for people
quitting smoking and trying to lose weight, because it reduces cravings
-- also supposed to be one of the 'speedy' ones, which is why the neuro
suggested it for fatigue (again, free samples).
i think, for me, cylert actually worked the best of them all, but since
i don't HAVE to be up, on, and aware all the time, i came to the
decision to drink coffee and take naps instead, thus avoiding side FX
and possible severe liver damage.
don't know what i'd do if i was still employed! take something, i
imagine.
but if anyone is taking cylert/pemoline, and his/her neuro has not
scheduled them for the regular testing, i'd strongly suggest they
insist on the tests.
XO,
RD
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| Rob Duncan 2005-03-29, 7:15 pm |
| Cylert is more than just a legal form of speed, it IS speed. Not only
should it have been pulled, it should never have been allowed on the market.
Its speed. Speed freaks love it.
Rob
"rose" <rosedawn_scott@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1111851816.601651.160210@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> GT Tick wrote:
> could
>
> hi tick,
>
> my neuro seemed so unconcerned -- i do wonder if the attitude is
> widespread, and that's why the serious problems resulted. when i asked
> him about the testing, because i'd heard that it ws recommended, he was
> very off-hand about it.
>
> i ended up making the decision to stop taking cylert on my own -- after
> disability retirement, i gave up all the anti-fatigue meds.
>
> i think before that time i may have taken them ALL, LOL! slight
> exaggeration, but there was amantadine first, then phentermine (I think
> -- the one in the fen/phen combo that was for energy, rather than
> appetite reduction), cylert, ritalin, and provigil (free samples). also
> prozac after it had first come out -- one month only, the price
> astonished me! and the very last thing was -- oh heck, i'm having a
> brain-freeze, the 'SSNDRI' anti-depressant that they use for people
> quitting smoking and trying to lose weight, because it reduces cravings
> -- also supposed to be one of the 'speedy' ones, which is why the neuro
> suggested it for fatigue (again, free samples).
>
> i think, for me, cylert actually worked the best of them all, but since
> i don't HAVE to be up, on, and aware all the time, i came to the
> decision to drink coffee and take naps instead, thus avoiding side FX
> and possible severe liver damage.
>
> don't know what i'd do if i was still employed! take something, i
> imagine.
>
> but if anyone is taking cylert/pemoline, and his/her neuro has not
> scheduled them for the regular testing, i'd strongly suggest they
> insist on the tests.
>
> XO,
> RD
>
| |
| Michael 2005-03-29, 7:15 pm |
| Rob Duncan wrote:
> Cylert is more than just a legal form of speed, it IS speed. Not only
> should it have been pulled, it should never have been allowed on the
> market.
LOL!!!!!
Just like napalm eventually gave us charcoal starter cubes, speed gave us
Cylert, Rob.
Pemoline was created in the 1940s, for use by the US Navy and Air Force as a
less mentally-destructive replacement for the (effective but rapidly
psychotogenic,) amphetamine pills they'd already been handing out to pilots
and crews... in quantity... for years.
[vbcol=seagreen]
>Its speed. Speed freaks love it.
>
>
> Rob
>
> "rose" <rosedawn_scott@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1111851816.601651.160210@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
| |
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| rose wrote:
> astonished me! and the very last thing was -- oh heck, i'm having a
> brain-freeze, the 'SSNDRI' anti-depressant that they use for people
> quitting smoking and trying to lose weight, because it reduces
cravings
> -- also supposed to be one of the 'speedy' ones, which is why the
neuro
> suggested it for fatigue (again, free samples).
partial brain-thaw...wellbutrin was the name i couldn't remember at
first!
rose ;->
| |
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| Rob Duncan wrote:
> Cylert is more than just a legal form of speed, it IS speed.
other than symmetrel/amantadine, aren't ALL the M.S. anti-fatigue meds
speed? cylert, ritalin, phentermine, even provigil?
before retirement, what i noticed about every single anti-fatigue
prescription was that, either i got that jangly, pop-eyed,
tooth-grinding speedy feel, OR, the effect was approximately the same
as a cup of strong coffee.
after retirement, i decided on my own the old bod didn't really need to
have a bunch of drugs with side FX I didn't want and the possibility of
damage to my system, so these days coffee IS my one and only
'anti-fatigue medicine.'
if i was still working though, i imagine i'd want/need something o get
me through the day. although it was financially difficult to disability
retire, in many ways it's been a really good thing -- when my brain
shuts down, i can veg till it kicks in again, if i get sleepy, i can
take a nap, and if i want a little pick-me-up, coffee is effective AND
more satisfying than a prescription pill.
most of the anti-fatigue drugs made me 'not sleepy,' but NOT 'not
tired,' if you see what i mean by the distinction...i'd be wide awake,
but still physically and mentally exhausted.
and for a special treat, there's jamaican blue mountain, fresh-ground
beans...yum, yum, YUM!!! :->
rose, coffee lover
| |
| Rob Duncan 2005-03-29, 7:15 pm |
|
"Michael" <muirhead@haidagwaii.net> wrote in message
news:JJudnYwWDp5l69vfRVn-tg@qcislands.net...
> Rob Duncan wrote:
>
>
> LOL!!!!!
>
> Just like napalm eventually gave us charcoal starter cubes, speed gave us
> Cylert, Rob.
>
> Pemoline was created in the 1940s, for use by the US Navy and Air Force as
> a less mentally-destructive replacement for the (effective but rapidly
> psychotogenic,) amphetamine pills they'd already been handing out to
> pilots and crews... in quantity... for years.
Right. Its speed. Speed works. Thats why fighter pilots take it and carry
it with them on long flights. Its no secret speed works to decrease
reaction time and increase intelligence. Heck, kids who drink coffee before
an IQ test even score higher. Uppers work.
Rob
>
>
>
>
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| Rob Duncan 2005-03-29, 7:15 pm |
|
"rose" <rosedawn_scott@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1111944717.150750.247220@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Rob Duncan wrote:
>
> other than symmetrel/amantadine, aren't ALL the M.S. anti-fatigue meds
> speed? cylert, ritalin, phentermine, even provigil?
Provigil is an odd one. Its a non-amphetamine stimulant. Lacking some of
the more delaterious (sp?) side-effects.
> before retirement, what i noticed about every single anti-fatigue
> prescription was that, either i got that jangly, pop-eyed,
> tooth-grinding speedy feel, OR, the effect was approximately the same
> as a cup of strong coffee.
>
> after retirement, i decided on my own the old bod didn't really need to
> have a bunch of drugs with side FX I didn't want and the possibility of
> damage to my system, so these days coffee IS my one and only
> 'anti-fatigue medicine.'
>
> if i was still working though, i imagine i'd want/need something o get
> me through the day. although it was financially difficult to disability
> retire, in many ways it's been a really good thing -- when my brain
> shuts down, i can veg till it kicks in again, if i get sleepy, i can
> take a nap, and if i want a little pick-me-up, coffee is effective AND
> more satisfying than a prescription pill.
>
> most of the anti-fatigue drugs made me 'not sleepy,' but NOT 'not
> tired,' if you see what i mean by the distinction...i'd be wide awake,
> but still physically and mentally exhausted.
>
> and for a special treat, there's jamaican blue mountain, fresh-ground
> beans...yum, yum, YUM!!! :->
>
> rose, coffee lover
Provigil certainly wakes my mind up. Does nothing for physical fatigue
though. So I dont take it. Makes me buzz. Coffe makes me pee like a race
horse. My kidneys treat it like a poison. But it DOES affect my physical
fatigue. Gives me just enough energy to race to the bathroom. lol.
Rob
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