Lilly Warns Doctors About Strattera Liver Vulnerability

Because modern physicians, State Medical Boards and lawyer politicians are controlled by drug companies, the idea of using liver protection nutrients is never considered in routine medical practice. We need liver protectants to help remove the daily junk we breathe, eat or touch. The "junk" includes synthetic medicines, "natural" herbal medicines, petroleum toxins and thousands of synthetic complex chemicals that were not in existence 100 years ago.

Indeed, claiming that essential nutrients used by the liver to help the liver is possibly a violation of some FDA statute. You cannot claim nutrients really do anything in particular except waste your money. We do not want to look at the tens of thousands of studies showing common deficiencies, sub-optimal nutrient body levels, and the benefits of nutraceuticals--that would be a crime in the free libertarian USA.

I rarely have patients with elevated enzymes, which are a sign of liver cell damage. And if I do I quickly reverse it with the substances the liver uses to handle the junk it has to remove. Yes, I am a rocket scientist on the side.

Elsewhere, I likely commit a violation of the first amendment and discuss which nutrients many help prevent the fairly common problem of a stressed liver.

See related Liver Detox Articles:
    Detoxification, The Liver and General Health: An Ignored Major Medical Issue
    Healing, Protecting and Improving Liver Detoxification Function: An Ignored Goal in Medicine

If you do not have the natural chemicals to remove junk it merely floats around till you can remove the junk!

Below is an example of an old story I see over and over again. A medication is found to increase liver enzymes. Likely nothing of any use was given to help support the liver and it is no surprise the youth became even sicker. If you punch someone's arm and then punch it again an hour later you do even more damage. Restore a drug that raises liver enzymes without supporting liver detoxification function, and why would anyone be surprised at liver trouble. Trust me, this happens every day.

Strattera Reported to Increase Liver Enzymes & Cause Jaundice on a Repeated Trial

Drug maker Eli Lilly & Co. warned that Strattera, its new drug taken by children and adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, causes serious liver side effects in a small number of patients.

Lilly has put a warning in bold print on the drug's label and will also send a letter to doctors informing them of the side effect.

Strattera was launched in January 2003, and has the potential to be a blockbuster for Lilly.

The company received reports about two patients who developed the liver problems. Both reports were submitted to the Food and Drug Administration as required by law. After examining the two cases, Lilly and the FDA agreed to add the label warning.

The first case involved a 14 year-old boy who developed persistent symptoms of the flu after being on the appropriate dose of Strattera for about four months. Blood tests done by the boy's physician showed that his liver wasn't functioning properly.

He immediately stopped taking the drug, and recovered in several weeks without major liver damage. But the boy went back on Strattera in April because it seemed to alleviate his ADHD better than other drugs he had tried. A month later, he had to be hospitalized because he developed jaundice, another serious liver problem. His condition improved after he was taken off the drug.

My thanks to:
LEILA ABBOUD
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
December 17, 2004

She educated me on this specific illustration.

To Your Health!

Dr. J