Motrin
a rare form of blindness
I’m not sure which argument to start with here…
The screaming match between my doctors that I wasn’t supposed to walk in on…
or the patient who eye-rolled me when I tried to relay some information about Motrin… Well, she and I didn’t exactly argue, but you get the idea.
Half an hour after she left my place, while I was working on my next massage client, she was ringing my phone OFF THE WALL!!
I apologized to my client for taking the call, but it was clear that the incessant caller was not going to leave a message or stop the frantic dialing. I chose the lesser of two evils and picked up the phone.
On the other end of the line, all I could make out was “Turn channel so-and-so on NOW!!! HURRY!! STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING!!! YOU HAVE TO HEAR THIS!!!…“ There was more non-stop upset as she ranted on.
On the evening news, there was a young, distraught mother holding her toddler. Her child was wearing something like a spacesuit…helmet and all.
She was being interviewed because her child had just gone blind.
However, not just blind, but light-sensitive, as well. A life-long injury.
Her daughter would never be able to venture outside without being completely shielded from the sun!
The unexpected cause?
An age-appropriate dose of Children’s Liquid Motrin.
MOTRIN!!
The med I had just tried to warn this woman about!
All based on an experience I had with it decades before when it first came out.
The remarks that got me eye-rolled by the woman that had just left.
That woman…otherwise fairly intelligent, but completely incredulous and opposed to my views on that day.
“I’ll call you back when I’m done tonight. I promise!”
Then back to my poor client whose session had been so rudely interrupted.
I was more than a little pre-occupied, however hard I tried to focus on the rest of the day’s work.
When the last person left, I scanned all the TV and print news for the story. It was already becoming back page news a few hours later. The reporter who interviewed the mother on live TV had consulted with the drug maker for comment. The drug-maker saw no possible correlation.
I was incensed!! They’ve known for decades! How could they deny it?!
I tromped around my room begging for some smart, tenacious investigator to take up this story. This story was going away unless someone made an effort!
A few days later, there actually was a follow-up segment along with a demand for an in-person representative from the drug-maker to answer questions. One was produced. He actually went so far as to admit that there was the tiniest incidence of blindness associated with Motrin, but he insisted that it was virtually non-existent. The info was buried somewhere in the fine print.
There was more lying and slanting things in the drug-makers favor. Other possible factors were alluded to, so as to obscure their culpability.
I was furious!
But somehow, it was enough to get people talking and sharing their experiences. Lawsuits were filed…and won…with all the usual chicanery and appeals we’ve come to expect. A number of other successful suits followed on the heels of this one.
Meanwhile, labeling has improved, but the various forms of Motrin are still sold as if nothing had ever gone wrong and the public is as heedless as ever. The omnipresent advertising has won them over once again.
We have an almost iron-clad assumption that anything and everything sold over the counter is safe. That is the first challenge to overcome. We might more safely assume the opposite.
1970s Canada…
I was diagnosed with arthritis at the age of 22. Leading up to the illness was a several year period of extreme stress, a radical change of climate and lifestyle coupled with calcium supplements which were being urged on everyone, but active young women, in particular.
The doctors all agreed that they didn’t know what caused arthritis and they didn’t know how to cure it. It was hereditary, they declared. Those were statements that I would learn to challenge with the passage of time and experience. In my youthful ignorance, I (sort of) accepted them.
In 2024, they are still making the same claims!!!
The good doctors applied every regular option and treatment, but I was declining at a rapid rate. Over the next 3 yrs, I went from riding a bicycle 20 miles a day, hiking, camping, working long hours, etc. to dragging myself through my days in non-stop pain. Eventually, I was diagnosed with 4 kinds of arthritis and was written up in the Canadian Journal of Medicine as having the most rapid, violent onset of arthritis they had ever seen.
The doctors were running out of options… They began to try various new and experimental drugs. My experience of the new drugs was that they were increasingly harsh and toxic and they did almost nothing to improve things.
I wondered where all this might lead… I was afraid.
Then came the day that I walked into the office to find 3 doctors in the back having a furious argument. The look on their faces and their sudden silence told me that I was the subject of that confrontation.
Everyone quickly assumed their professional demeanor and I had a typical follow-up appointment. I tried to inquire, but lips were sealed. It would be 2 more years before one of the doctors finally confided the events of that day to me.
A new drug was being introduced for the management of arthritis. It was called Motrin. The only problem was that it would slowly cause blindness over time.
On a risk/benefit analysis, it was only given to patients over the age of 65. They felt that there was more potential pain relief benefit to the patient since blindness would progress slowly and they were already in some degree of visual decline.
It was NEVER given to anyone younger than 65 at that time. I was 26 and already had somewhat poor vision. It was unthinkable to risk what vision I had given their understanding of Motrin’s long-term effects.
It was partly in desperation on the doctor’s part along with a desire to try this popular new treatment that led to their heated dispute. Thankfully, the idea was rejected.
Had I taken it, I would have been blind by the time I was 50.
Quite a price to pay…
Four yrs into this saga, I parted ways with the doctors. I was seeing more and more of the patient/doctor scams played out by both parties, I was frustrated with the guesswork, the increasingly toxic meds and the lack of concern about side effects.
My last visit to the office was memorable…
That painful morning, it took 2 1/2 hrs to stand up from the rocking chair I now ‘slept’ in. I hobbled into the office and paperwork was set before me. “Sign these, please.”
The 1st one was an order for a wheelchair and the 2nd one was an authorization for fairly generous Canadian disability…for life.
I was stunned. I hadn’t seen that coming!
Looking up at my doctor, I said “But Doc! I’m only 26!! Is this the end of the road for me?!”
“No dear,” he assured me with a weary smile. “We’ll continue to treat you as new drugs become available, but for now, you need the support. Just sign…it will be alright.”
It was like a punch in the gut. They put a pen in my gnarled hand and stood by waiting for my signature. I watched myself reach toward the documents and then hesitate…a little tug of war on the inside.
In that moment of hesitation, I heard a Voice inside say “This is not the best choice for you.” The implication was that I had what it took. I needed to figure this out. “The doctors are not curious about how you got this way.”
I was so shocked that I put the pen down. Next…how to explain myself?
“You know, Doc….this is a big decision. I need to go home and think about this for a week or two if that’s alright with you.”
He smiled understandingly. “All right dear….We’ll see you in 2 weeks.”
I never went back.
It was up to me to figure it out.
Through trial and error, and with the help of an out-of-print book written by a doctor who was in a wheelchair with arthritis at the age of 50, I was able to make a full recovery over the course of 1 1/2 yrs.
In my next post: “These Hands” I’ll share what I learned in the beginning…
What works…what doesn’t…what popular remedies actually make things worse.
How to get well…and stay well. Above all, how to think independently and find your own answers.
* * * *
Think twice before you reach for that OTC medicine…
* * * *
https://yandex.com/search/?text=%27motrin%27+lawsuits&lr=103297&search_source=yacom_desktop_common
NSAIDs, including Motrin IB, can lead to new onset of hypertension or worsening of pre-existing hypertension. https://pillintrip.com/medicine/motrin-ib
People who have cardiovascular disease, particularly those who recently had a heart attack or cardiac bypass surgery, are at the greatest risk. https://thehill.com/regulation/247492-fda-strengthens-warning-for-motrin-advil-and-aleve/