According to internal company memos unsealed in a whistle-blower case, top executives at Warner-Lambert, a drug company that has since been acquired by Pfizer, approved a detailed plan to market Neurontin, an epilepsy medicine, for unapproved uses. At issue in the case is tens of millions of dollars that taxpayers paid for Neurontin when doctors prescribe it for Medicaid patients for unapproved uses.
The memos, dated in 1995 and 1996, say that Warner-Lambert executives agreed that the company should not conduct the large clinical trials need to gain the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the use of Neurontin for migraines, social phobia and other conditions. Instead, the company planned to promote Neurontin for those unapproved uses by performing small studies and having the results published in medical journals, according to the memos.
The whistle-blower who filed the original suit, Dr. David P. Franklin, worked for Warner-Lambert in 1996.
(via New York Times)
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Hello all, I ran across this site while doing anatomy research for school; it has only been four years since my entire world fell apart. I too was prescribed Neuron tin among other drugs. I was in a three car accident as a passenger without health insurance. I suffered severe neck and low back injuries, but, was only treated with pain meds for close to two years. The accident was in 1998 but, was severely addicted by 1999. I lost my three boys in July of 1999, became homeless, was later beat up and lived in someone’s garage, most of my two year struggle with addiction I cannot remember, I call it drug induced amnesia.
I hope no one minds me sharing my story; sometimes it is the only thing that helps keep the tears from drowning me thinking about my three sons. Anyhow, dr after dr, pain clinic, pain injections, more medication, up, up and up the dose until I forgot my family, and toward the end I forgot my own name, I wondered around with only a roll along suitcase full of prescription drugs and a planner with dates circled to indicate when to refill them. I only know some of these things by hospital, pharmacy, and other such records which I retrieved after getting off all the medication that could be addictive. It only took one year from being script free before obtaining a GED, entering a four year university and being able to contact my family (all except for my children, which children services had them adopted.
I did not know that neurotic could be so devastating, I was also on Klonipin, Furinal and others on and off. I am getting ready to see a neurosurgeon for five protrusive disc in my cervical spine along with the removal of old fractured pieces floating within my back, I take Aleve, exercise, flexirl, bengay, chiropractic, ta chie, and I pray a lot, sure beats all those drugs and I have my mind back, one day I will see my children again and I will be holding my head up high in pride that I overcome one of the hardest things in life, ADDICTION. If you are reading this and you think you are addicted, go to a drug-Alco ct before your fam dr, they seem to always want to write more scripts, and they took my children away from me by doing so.
Neuron tin is one of many drugs out there that should be placed on some shelf that says
” warning you may loose everything if you take this drug”
It is time the consumers fight back the medical society in their scrupulous ways about how they treat their patients by way of “drugging them up, sending them home and jumping into their BMW”S without a care in the world” this goes for drug companies as well, a life is worth more than$
Take care all good luck with all your endevours, and if you are getting off any med, just know that it will hurt like youve never felt in your life but, you can do it, you can get a life back even if it is not the one you had before.
KC:)
Hello everybody. There are some very heart felt stories that I have read and you all are in my prayers. God bless you all.
My story is about a youngster that had his first Migraine Headache at the age of 14. First the vision goes, and then the big headache. Now I’m 56 years old and still have this problem. I have the headaches so frequently that I take a narcotic everyday for the pain. The narcotic is Oxycodone. I take one pill at 10:00 in the morning, and another one at 3:00p in the afternoon. I have only been taking the narcotic for 2 months and have my concerns about it since a person can become addicted. If I take one two or even three a day a 4 hours intervals, can I get addicted? When I don’t take them, I seem to get sweats, and fill a little jittery but am not for sure I’m feeling my first sense of addiction. Can you share your insights with me????? Thanks again.
Wendy Bird, I was reading through all the entries when I came across yours. I was shocked! It was as if I had written about myself. In fact I read your entry to my mom and she thought I had written it. I pray that you might find this and get in touch with me. I took neurontin for 5 days and I have the exact same side effects as you mention you had. Plus headaches, muscle pain in my legs,dental problems I lost most of my fillings and problems swallowing. I can’t find a doctor that will agree that neurontin has caused all the problems I try to live with everyday. Even though I was told to get off neurontin, as soon as the doctor that prescribed it to me, heard me explan what I was going through. He had gave me 3 other medicines, but immediately told me to get off neurontin. Neurontin has forever changed my life,I can’t seem to manage doing the simple things, that I once took for grant. If by chance you read this please contact me. You are the only person that I have found that is dealing with the same problems. I took neurontin Nov. 2003. And I still struggle to get through each day. I will look forward to hear from you. Thank You,
Judy L.
Wendy I see it did not add my e-mail address,it’s judyjl828@hotmail.com Thanks,Judy L.
TIMOTHY S. IRELAND is a scam artist, please becareful. Sent him over $600 money for a product for my disabled child, and he never sent the product. I have track down several others, at least 7 others, that have been scamed by this guy. Please becareful and do not trust what he says or does. Anybody who would steal from disabled families is a really horrible person.
Mark
Hi all…
I took neurontin for almost two years after being diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease. After about maybe a month I started getting really depressed an it never got better. It has mutilated my life. Now I don’t take the medication anymore but the depression is still severe and memory loss is also a huge problem. Plese help. Cannot live this way anymore I want to FIGHT BACK!!!!!
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