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At least one Vioxx patient would be alive if the doctor had used some common sense. The man was about 50 lbs. overweight and complaining about back aching. The doctor, his son in law, prescribed 30 Vioxx, WITHOUT examining the man. Just called in the RX. The man died of a heart attack.

Vioxx is (was) not an exceptionally strong pain medicine, but it is (was) effective for moderate pain from things like muscle strains and sprains. I had the luxury of using it for a couple of months. I'd say that it's about as effective as Aleve. And, apparently, not as safe. The heart condition issue hadn't been considered when I had my short stint with the medicine. And you're right about Vioxx - they did give that out rather easily. It is NOT a narcotic.

There were other avenues to be explored before using a powerful drug for pain.

Merck won that case but others will cost Merck big time.

I'm not sure where the blame lies with Vioxx. It seems to me that it may have been misprescribed in your friend's case. Or maybe the FDA was premature or incorrect in approving it. At any rate, I'm sorry to see that your friend passed on regardless of the situation.

Glad your back is better. My guess is that there is no worse pain.

Thanks! It's the worst pain I've encountered in life. Thankfully, I did get the medicine I needed for that issue. I hope to never need such a strong pain reliever again.

Sorry if I wasn't clear. Not a friend, but a case here in NJ. Merck is here in the next town so there was a lot of publicity about this particular case.

The person sued ought to have been the son in law doctor.

Presribing meds for family members is quite common I am sure, but very dangerous without an exam.