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I am interested to know if anyone on Celebrex has experienced any of the side-effects that I have that almost killed me.

I am 60 years old.  When I was 40 I was found to have a degenerative condition in my joints and was informed that I would be in a wheelchair permanently within a couple of years.  Today I am still able to walk, but have a great deal of pain and have lost a good deal of mobility.

I was unable to take aspirin or Indicid because of stomach bleeds.  In 1994 I had my right hip replaced as I was unable to stand or walk.  In 2000 I was placed on Celebrex because my orthopedic surgeon said it would not affect my stomach.  The dose was 50 mg whenever I needed it.  I  2001, I had my right hip replaced for a second time.

By this time I was beginning to feel acute tiredness and lethargy.  My joints and muscles ached continuously and certain spots on my body became ultrasensitive to touch.  I began to exhibit a yellowing of my skin and my wife thought I was getting hepatitis.  I was unable to get out of bed on some days and always felt tired.  I began to believe that I was suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome.  I went to my local doctor (GP) to discuss this.  To cope with the increased pain in joints and muscles, he increased my dose of Celebrex to one per day, indicating that I would be on this dosage for the rest of my life.

During this period I had presented to my GP with a varicose vein in my leg that was troubling me with pain.  He indicated that we would fix the other problems first and then address the vein.

My general condition deteriorated and my GP ordered blood tests.  Over a period of some months I had 130 different tests.  The tests showed elevated liver enzymes (3 times normal) and a number of other abnormalities.  My GP's response to this was that I had to treat my 'drinking problem'.  I am a very light social drinker, which I assured him, however, he insisted that I must have been drinking a lot because my liver was ruined.  He suggested that my having one drink was to me what a slab of beer would be to others.  On my insistence, to eliminate alcohol from the equation, we arranged for me to have no alcohol at all during January of 2004 and reran the tests.  The results were virtually the same.  More tests were carried out as my condition continued to worsen, now including tinnitus in the list of symptoms.  My GP decided to send me to a liver specialist but recommended a biopsy first. 

The ringing in my ears had become such a problem that I searched the web for information on tinnitus.  To my surprise I discovered that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) can cause tinnitus, ear damage and deafness.  Celebrex is a NSAID.

I looked up Celebrex and downloaded over 20 pages of contraindications and side effects, many of which I had been exhibiting for some time.  I confronted my doctor with my findings, stating that I believed that we were experiencing side effects from the Celebrex.  The GP looked up the drug on his PC.  (I had been his computing teacher, so I looked over his shoulder.)  To his horror, he discovered for the first time that all of my symptoms were directly attributable to Celebrex.  He directed me to stop taking the drug.  I informed him that I had taken that decision as soon as I has consulted the website.  My GP said lamely that the literature was showing that 6 paracetamol a day were giving much the same relief as Celebrex.  I can imagine how good that would be for your kidneys!

I was due to have more blood tests before having a liver biopsy, but before either of these could be arranged I was admitted to hospital on an unrelated matter.  While I was there, blood samples were taken.  These tests revealed that since I had stopped taking Celebrex my liver enzymes were returning to normal. 

At no time did either my orthopod or my GP tell me anything about contraindications or side effects of the drug.  As a patient, I relied on both of them to be the source of information and to know the side effects and contraindications.  If I knew all of these I wouldn't need expensive medical advice.  The doctors have a responsibility to know and to inform.  It is obvious that they had not consulted the literature, resulting in their prescribing a drug that was contraindicated and then failing to recognize symptoms that needed monitoring and that could have resulted in more serious injury and even death.  Had I not searched for the information, I could be seriously ill or dead.

The company's literature clearly indicates that:
1.  the drug is contraindicated in cases of stomach bleeding with aspirin. 
2.  it is contraindicated in cases of varicose veins.
3.  the drug may cause ringing in the ears, ear damage and deafness.  Doctors are warned to monitor any such indications carefully and to stop the drug if they persist.
4.  liver enzyme levels may be increased, which must be carefully monitored as it could cause liver damage, necrosis and death.
5.  tiredness, lethargy, soreness in joints and muscles are all possible side-effects that require monitoring.

Despite my yellow color and the presence of all of the above symptoms, I was never at any time told about any of these side-effects.  My GP was obviously unaware of them until I pressed him to look at the literature.

When he said I would be on the drug for the rest of my life  he was unaware of how short that could have been.

Since being off the drug I have regained my color, am much more energetic and have much less joint and muscular pain.  My liver is recovering, although I am unable to drink alcohol at all for fear that it may damage my liver more that normal.

I am stuck with the ringing in my ears, which my GP says is just age.  As if I would trust him now!