About Celebrex

If you’ve used Celebrex, please help others by adding your feedback. What would you tell your best friend about this product? Please remember that we do not give medical advice. That is for your local health care provider, who is familiar with your medical history. You can use the form below to add your comments, feedback or Celebrex review.

Subj: Severe tendonitis
Date: 5/7/2007
I have been taking celebrex for a year for knee pain. The last month I have developed severe tendonitis in both shoulders – first one and then the other. I am trying to eliminate drugs that I take regularly as a source. There has been no traumatic injury to cause the pain.

Ralph

Subj: Celebrex alternative?
Date: 5/7/2007
I have been taking Celebrex since Vioxx was taken off the market. This past two weeks have not been taking it due to sinus surgery planned. There is an enormous increase in discomfort, okay, pain. I also have fibromyalgia and take Lyrica for this malady but it seems the Celebrex is definitely needed to keep me moving freely. (Yes, I have experienced some weight gain but did not attribute it to Celebrex and it is minimal — thought it was Lyrica. And, I have had serious sinsusitis for several years … don’t attribute it to Celebrex as it was pre-Celebrex. The part I find most difficult is the increase in pain, stiffness … knowing I can not take Celebrex for another two weeks (scheduling problems). I wonder if there is a substitute medication, short term, without sleepiness? Thanks.

Karen

AskDocWeb: For that you would have to consult with your doctor. Your medical history and current condition would dictate which medication would work best for you.

Subj: Diverticulosis
Date: 5/7/2007
I have just been diagnosed with “Diverticulosis” I thought my Bladder surgery was coming undone and my Urologist sent me in for a CT Scan. This was their findings. Diviticular disease. I have been on celebrex for 3 years, for severe joint pain. Could this medicine have causes my colon problems?

Cookie

AskDocWeb: Colonic diverticula are herniations in the muscle wall of the colon. Diverticulosis is the presence of multiple diverticula. Typically, Celebrex reduces the number of colorectal polyps but a small percentage of patients (less than 1%) using Celebrex have reported diverticulitis.

Subj: Feel depressed and sad
Date: 5/20/2007
I have been using celebrex for about 6 months now, along with it I use Dyazide 37.5/25CPMYL, which was given by the Doctor for reducing blood pressure. But always feel depressed and sad. Is this because of this medication?

Zeenath

AskDocWeb: Probably not the Dyazide but depression has been reported with Celebrex uasage, less than 2% of users.

Subj: Weight loss?
Date: 5/20/2007
I was on Celebrex for approximately 9 months. I lost over 40lbs (w/o dieting or exercising). There are numerous comments re: weight gain, is weight loss a known side effect?

Sharon

AskDocWeb: Weight loss is not listed as a side effect. Please report this to your doctor.

Subj: 82-year-old
Date: 5/21/2007
My 82-year-old husband takes 200mg celebrex daily. He has gained weight–gone up a size in clothing. He sleeps most of the day and night. He goes to sleep in the middle of a sentence–he cannot keep his eyes open. He has dementia. Could the sleepiness and the weight gain be caused by celebrex? How could the effects of celebrex be determined?

Mary

AskDocWeb: Determining the cause of a symptom is sometimes very hard. The weight gain could be from the celebrex, but the sleepiness you describe may be something else. You might check to find out if you have a senior health care specialist in your area. They may be able to help.

Subj: Celebrex fever?
Date: 5/28/2007
I started taking celebrex in July 2006 right after a car accident. I also have fibromyalgia, so it turned out that the recovery from the car accident was a lot harder for me because the fibromyalgia flared up. The celebrex was a life-saver: it enabled me to continue working, although at reduced hours. Eventually, I ramped back up to full time, and tried coming down from the 200mg of celebrex to 100mg, and then eventually to 0mg. Unfortunately, I came off too quickly, and flared up this past January. At that point, I saw a rheumatologist, who has helped me come off the drugs again. In combination with cortisone shots to the muscles, physiotherapy, and massage therapy, I am now at the point where I am off the celebrex again. Yay! Certainly each time I reduce the celebrex, the pain has returned, at least to some degree. Then I take the next few months to stabilize on that dosage, and reduce again. It seems this slow method of coming off the celebrex is much easier to handle. One question, though. Of all the times I’ve come off the celebrex, I have never experienced a fever until now. I have medium muscle pain, but no other symptoms (e.g. no flu or cold symptoms). Has it ever been reported that coming off celebrex has caused a fever? If so, for how long?

Jennifer

AskDocWeb: Patients who experience “flu-like” symptoms should seek immediate medical attention because this is a sign of hepatotoxicity or liver damage.

Subj: Celebrex and dreams
Date: 5/30/2007
Celebrex has given me relief from intense hip pain in a very short time. I am taking the low dose (100 mg). I am wondering however if sleep is impaired. Not only sleep but very bad dreams? I didn’t read that in any side effects that I looked at. I never had an issue with that.

Jackie

AskDocWeb: Celebrex hasn’t been reported to cause bad dreams but that’s not to say it can’t happen. The pharmaceutical people don’t publish everything, we’re kept in the dark about a lot of things.

Subj: Weight gain is out of control
Date: 6/16/2007
I am 47 and have been on Premarin for the past 20 years (long story). 10 years ago injured my back, neck and shoulder and have been in pain every day since. I have always been thin, but had trouble keeping weight off when put on Premarin. I’ve been on Celebrex for past two years and my weight gain is out of control. I have gained 26 pounds and it keeps climbing. I count calories, carbs exercise and nothing works. Help! Can I just stop taking it? I just moved and haven’t found a doctor yet.

Karen

AskDocWeb: Those who just stop taking them are often surprised at how much pain the drug was blocking. It is safer to wait until you can get to a doctor to get an alternative pain medication.

Subj: Mini-strokes and thickening of the skin
Date: 6/17/2007
I have been taking Celebrex a number of years now. I caught an ad on TV for Celebrex just recently and I believe it said something about mini-strokes and thickening of the skin in patient having taken Celebrex. Can you address these issues please?

Sharon

AskDocWeb: We didn’t find anything on the thickening of the skin. It has been recently found that Celebrex, like the other COX-2 inhibitors Vioxx and Bextra increases the risk of heart attacks by 2.5 times, as well as strokes and blood clots. Some of the researchers that have found these issues with Celebrex are

• Dr. Garret FitzGerald, a cardiologist and pharmacologist at the University of Pennsylvania and his team of researchers who have indicated that the COX-2 inhibitor painkillers may act by starting the process of hardening the arteries;
• The National Cancer Institute, which was conducting a long-term cancer study for Pfizer, and prematurely stopped it after finding that patients taking 400mg to 800mg of Celebrex daily had a 2.5 times greater risk of major heart problems than those who were taking placebos (look-alike pills with no active ingredients); and
• A study conducted by the Cleveland Clinic that appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which indicated that the annual rates of heart attack in the Celebrex (celecoxib) studies were increased compared to a review of studies containing a total of more than 48,000 patients.

Some consumer groups are pressuring Pfizer and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to recall Celebrex but so far no results.

Subj: Chronic pain
Date: 6/18/2007
Am a 66 year old Passenger/survivor of head-on collision; suffered broken neck (C-1 vertebrae), not severed; right femur pulled from hip socket plus numerous other injuries, six years ago. Am currently suffering from Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis along with degenerative vertebrae of the spine in the neck area. Started on 200mg Celebrex approximately four months ago and have suffered only minimal side effects, such as some itching and slight dizziness occasionally. Celebrex is a wonder drug in my opinion, since I have an extremely high tolerance for pain and have found it difficult to manage my pain, for some time. Currently only take Percocet 325mg, once a day, as necessary. While on vacation recently, did not have Celebrex for three days, and the Pain returned almost to an extreme level. My main concern is long-term usage and cost, since my insurance coverage is decreasing. Is anyone working on a Generic version? Alternatively, is there anything out there comparable? Thank you for a most enlightening web site.

Barbara Massachusetts, USA

AskDocWeb: It sounds like you are a prime candidate for a multidisciplinary approach available at a pain clinic. They will be able to provide you with a list of options specific to your situation. The generic name for Celebrex is Celecoxib.

Subj: Celebrex Causes Many Symptoms
Date: 6/23/2007
I have been on this for over a year taking 200mg pill morning and night due to RA. To make a long story short, I have a chemical sensitivity to most drugs so I was on celebrex since it worked. Celebrex ended up causing asthmatic problems, horribly swollen feet and calves in which I couldn’t walk without crutches, walker or cane, caused swollen chest bones, shoulders etc. I loved this pill for the pain it cut etc. But find that I cannot no longer use this medication. If you do use it, be sure to keep a diary of symptoms that you may have as swelling is very serious.

Shannan

Subj: Want to have a baby
Date: 7/11/2007
I have stopped taking Celebrex a week ago. My husband and I want to have a baby. How long should we wait for Celebrex to get out of my system before we begin trying? We want to make sure it is safe.

Tanya

AskDocWeb: According to the Physician’s Desk Reference, Celebrex should be avoided in late pregnancy so you should be quite safe.

Subj: The answer is obvious
Date: 7/18/2007
I have taken Celebrex only for 6 days, 100mg a day and gained 3 pounds (with the stable weight of +/- 1 pound for about 20 years before it. The answer is obvious, especially after reading all the comments – Celebrex is not for me and I would NOT recommend it to anyone – I am really upset with my “doctor” and will never visit him again. Thank you all for saving me from this drug. I cannot believe how much trouble it caused from what I have read.

Marat

AskDocWeb: Remember, Celebrex does have an appropriate use, just like your doctor.

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