If you don't stop doing that, you'll go blind!

[Q.]

US FDA orders Viagra maker to update warning label
www.chinaview.cn 2005-07-09 09:31:14
SOURCE

LOS ANGELES, July 8 (Xinhuanet)-- The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Friday ordered warnings onto the labels of Viagra and two other drugs that some users have developed a form of blindness.

While cautioning that it's impossible to know if the pills are to blame for non arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), a condition where blood flow is blocked to the optic nerve, the FDA said patients should stop taking Viagra, Cialis or Levitra when they feel vision loss.

"FDA advises patients to stop taking these medicines, and call a doctor or healthcare provider right away if they experience sudden or decreased vision loss in one or both eyes," the FDA saidin a statement.

"Further, patients taking or considering taking these products should inform their health care professionals if they have ever had severe loss of vision, which might reflect a prior episode of NAION. Such patients are at an increased risk of developing NAION again," the statement said.

This move comes as the agency is under intense pressure to investigate more aggressively and warn the public about drug side effects. NAION is considered one of the most common causes of sudden vision loss in older people, with anywhere from 1,000 to 6,000 cases a year.

Moreover, risk factors include diabetes and heart disease, two of the leading causes of impotence.

The FDA has 43 reports of NAION among the impotence drug users,38 for Viagra, four for Cialis and one for Levitra. They include varying degrees of vision loss, including blindness.

Those are rare numbers, given that Viagra alone has been used by 23 million men worldwide since its approval in 1998, according to drug maker Pfizer Inc.

"At this time, it is not possible to determine whether these oral medicines for erectile dysfunction were the cause of the lossof eyesight, or whether the problem is related to other factors such as high blood pressure or diabetes, or to a combination of these problems," the FDA's statement noted.

Cialis is marketed by Eli Lilly & Co. and ICOS Corp. Levitra is sold by GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Schering-Plough Corp. in the United States, and by Bayer AG elsewhere. Enditem

[UpNorth]

Someone funnier than me will come up with some wisecrack relating this to the myth that you can go blind by masterbating... at least I hope so [img]smile.gif[/img]

On a different note: I can't imagine that someone who took Viagra or Cialis and proceeded to lose vision would continue!

[TrainingGirl]

I had heard about these side effects a month or two ago...scary.

UpNorth...I had a friend that went blind from masturbating...it's no myth!...LOL...Just Kidding

[Q.]

Originally posted by UpNorth:
Someone funnier than me will come up with some wisecrack relating this to the myth that you can go blind by masterbating... at least I hope so [img]smile.gif[/img]

Hmmmm, perhaps in the title of the post....?????

Too much innuendo???

[UpNorth]

Sorry Q... I missed that [img]smile.gif[/img] I guess it was too much innuendo for my little brain.

[ODBSGIRL]

FDA Updates Labeling for Viagra, Cialis and Levitra for Rare Post-Marketing Reports of Eye Problems

The Food and Drug Administration today approved updated labeling for Cialis, Levitra and Viagra to reflect a small number of post-marketing reports of sudden vision loss, attributed to NAION (non arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy), a condition where blood flow is blocked to the optic nerve.

FDA advises patients to stop taking these medicines, and call a doctor or healthcare provider right away if they experience sudden or decreased vision loss in one or both eyes. Further, patients taking or considering taking these products should inform their health care professionals if they have ever had severe loss of vision, which might reflect a prior episode of NAION. Such patients are at an increased risk of developing NAION again.

At this time, it is not possible to determine whether these oral medicines for erectile dysfunction were the cause of the loss of eyesight or whether the problem is related to other factors such as high blood pressure or diabetes, or to a combination of these problems. The new labeling information is available along with additional information for healthcare providers and consumers online at:
viagra
levitra
cialis

[ZachL]

Originally Posted by TrainingGirl

I had a friend that went blind from masturbating...it's no myth!

female?! now that'd be a story!

[Deserve]

How much is to much masterbation? Answer, one more than you do.