Recall of common high blood pressure meds

a reply to: anonentity

I love milk but im a little sensitive to it and only drink it on my coffee, but i still eat plenty of cheese. My bp sits around 130/86 currently which i find acceptable as it used to bounce between 140 to 160 over 90 to 112. I didnt drink enough water. Didnt exercise. Drank like a fish. Now i drink about 2 liters of water per day. Quit drinking and exercise 4 days a week. Surprisingly i found my high bp was also triggered by stress of never being able to get ahead of my work which was fixed with adderall. Also i dont need to take antacids daily since all these changes and i dont feel dehydrated and lethargic (even without the adderall, but ut does help).

More of the pills in this recall are made in China.
None of this class of drugs made in the US were contaminated.

Drug are made by reacting a number of chemicals together.
If one of the chemicals is contaminated, the drug will be contaminated.
if the reacting process is changed to make it cheaper the drug can be contaminated.

This was what happened with agent orange.
The US made a batch of Agent Orange for testing, and it did not contain dioxin.
They then contracted Monsanto chemical company to make it in large amounts, and Monsanto changed the process it was made by to save money. Without telling the government.

a reply to: tamusan

Thanks for the heads-up, but it leaves me even more confused than usual.

My Pharmacist™ just told me today that my regular BP med ' Losartan™ ' was recalled, and therefore was giving me this replacement sitting next to me : ' Sivem Irbesartan™ ' ?

Seems like the advisory was made back in May.
Surely they didn't want to empty their supply chains with bothersome recalls, and didn't just let the citizens finish-off all of the old batches...

Original Advisory (May 30, 2021): Multiple lots of irbesartan, losartan and valsartan drugs recalled due to azido impurity

Health Canada is informing Canadians that several companies are recalling multiple lots of irbesartan, losartan and valsartan drug products after tests found an azido impurity above the acceptable limit (see list of affected products below).

Irbesartan, losartan and valsartan are all prescription angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) drugs, which are also known as "sartans." Sartans are a class of drugs used to treat patients with high blood pressure to help prevent heart attacks and stroke. They are also used in patients with heart failure or those who have had a recent heart attack.

The azido impurity, 5-(4'-(azidomethyl)-[1,1'-biphenyl]-2yl)-1H-tetrazole, is considered a mutagen. A mutagen is a chemical substance that can cause a change in the DNA of a cell. These mutations may increase the risk of cancer but the specific risk for this azido impurity to cause cancer in humans is unknown.

There are established international guidelines that recommend that mutagenic impurities be kept at or below a specific level because exposure to a mutagen over the long term at a level above what is considered to be safe, has the potential to increase the risk of cancer. A person taking a drug daily for 70 years that contains this azido impurity at or below the acceptable level is not expected to have an increased risk of cancer.

Not all lots of irbesartan, losartan and valsartan from these companies are affected by this issue; however, it is possible that the recalls may affect the supply of some products. Patients should speak with their doctor or pharmacist to discuss alternatives should their regular prescribed drug not be available.

The Department expects manufacturers to take any necessary actions to reduce or eliminate the azido impurity. Impacted companies have been directed to implement control measures to ensure that the level of the impurity in their products are at or below the acceptable level. Health Canada is monitoring the effectiveness of the recalls. Should additional recalls be deemed necessary, Health Canada will inform Canadians.

Linky

a reply to: Nothin

It is only specific lots that are subject to the recall. I would hope that your pharmacist knows which lots were recalled and gave you Sivem Irbesartan that was not under the recall. It looks like Sivem is a Canadian pharmaceutical company. I can't find a recall hotline for them, but this number may be able to point you in the right direction: 1 855 757-4836. It's their customer support number. I hope you can get some clear answers.

Unfortunately, this has been an ongoing issue with several blood pressure meds going back to 2017. These pharmaceutical companies make enough money that they should be able to prevent these quality issues from happening so much.

a reply to: tamusan

Thanks for the reply.
Yes : that number was listed in the article linky.

It seems to me like the excess impurity was found by governmental agency testing.

Big-Pharma™ don't really seem to have a whole lot of quality-control, or pre-shipment testing protocols.
Cutting costs and increasing profits !!

But the Jibber-Jabbers™ are Safe-and-Effective™ !!

a reply to: Nothin
I think theirs a lot of skulduggery going on. The missus was on Hydrchloquine for arthritis, but for no apparent reason the Doc changed her script, it is used for Lupus as well, I wonder how many of those suffers have had the medication changed as well.

a reply to: anonentity

Now you've got me wondering about what REALLY was in those recalled BP meds... LoL !!

We are quick to criticize folks for taking the Jibber-Jabbers™, without knowing what's in them.

Yet how much do we really know about what's in any other Big-Pharma™ products ?

Am feeling a tad hypocritical now, but it will probably be forgotten by tomorrow... LoL !!