FDA Wants All Ranitidine Products Off the Market

[pbmus]

WASHINGTON -- All ranitidine products should be pulled from shelves immediately, the FDA said Wednesday, including brand-name Zantac as well as generic versions of the prescription and over-the-counter antacid.

Notably, this was not because of direct evidence of N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a probable human carcinogen, being present in particularly high concentrations in the drug itself.

"We didn't observe unacceptable levels of NDMA in many of the samples that we tested. However, since we don't know how or for how long the product might have been stored, we decided that it should not be available to consumers and patients unless its quality can be assured," Janet Woodcock, MD, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/gastroenterology/generalgastroenterology/85740?xid=NL_breakingnewsalert_2020-04-01&eun=g313860d0r&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ZantacAlert_040120&utm_term=NL_Daily_Breaking_News_Active

[dewsgirl]

1. This should have been done last year when we first learned

about the risk.

[SheltieLover]

2. K&R

[localroger]

3. Already switched to famotidine (Pepcid)

My pharmacy (CVS) stopped carrying all forms of ranitidine, even prescription when only OTC were formally banned. I was taking 2 300mg ranitidine tablets a day, about double the highest OTC dose. Pepcid is the next closest thing also being a H2 inhibitor. Proton pump inhibitors like Prilosec seem to have a lot more potential side effects and also Prilosec has to build up in your bloodstream before becoming effective and hangs around after you stop taking it. Most seriously AFAIK, if you are taking Plavix (I'm not any more, but I have a stent and did take it for several years) Prilosec interferes with the Plavix and makes it ineffective.

I'm not sure how dangerous the contaminant in the ranitidine really is, but I am very sure nobody gave serious thought to the problems this would create for people who were depending on the drug and might have trouble getting to the doctor to get a new prescription.