[TC Rider]

My Dad, now 80, had a similar 'bleeding' problem about 8 years ago. In his case, too much 'roughage' had torn a polyp. He passed out while walking, and of course had LOTS of blood in his stool.

The ER figured it out immediately, gave him whole blood and kept him a few days under observation, including a colonoscopy.

They told him to eliminate all roughage from his diet, no peanuts, etc. They told him that at his age he needs no roughage, that his large intestine is worn thin from years of use.

Your doctor dropped the ball.

FWIW, my wife suffered from gallbladder discease for nearly a year. The doc kept saying she had acid reflux and kept prescribing Prilosec, (purple pill).

When she had an attack, Vicadan (hydracodone) was about all that would relieve the pain.

She finally demanded and got a ultrasound. The tech whistled and said it was the nastiest gallbladder she had ever seen. Got it yanked. Got a new doctor.

I mostly blamed the doctor and partly the drug company who makes Prilosec. They had huge promotions going on at the time. It was like the story of the man whose only tool was a hammer and everything looks like a nail.

We didn't sue, she was well, we wanted to move on.

(I'm certain I've misspelled most of the drugs and conditions)

[pantaya]

FYI--Prilosec is not the "purple pill" so you're insecurities and suggestions with regards to it were misguided. Nexium in the "purple pill" which you were looking to point blame on, but beings it isn't the prescribed medication your wife was taking, you have misguided your anger. Do your research before you cause an uproar amongst people who really desire to find the true casue of their medical problems.

Oh...and I don't recall peanuts being a part of the "roughage" category. I would recommend keeping him away from lettuce instead.

[The Phantom FReeper]

While I do empathize with your wife's predicament, I can't see how you would blame the manufacturers of Prilosec for what happened to her. Blame the doctor, yes, for not accurately pursuing all possible etiologies of epigastric discomfort on the differential diagnosis...but it's well known by physicians that proton-pump inhibitors may mask symptoms of conditions that are not GERD, which comprises a further reason that your wife's doctor should have taken a more skeptical eye toward her symptoms. But it's not the fault of the manufacturer that their drug was poorly utilized by the physician.

Prilosec (and it's younger and more over-achieving brother, Nexium) are very good drugs for patients that do indeed have GERD (by preventing esophagitis and possible metaplasia of the esophagus which may eventually lead to cancer). But while the drug is heavily promoted, it is not promoted for treatment of gallbladder disease since it is of course not indicated for such. Again, the manufacturer is not to blame for poor judgement on the part of the physician.