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Thursday, June 17th, 2010 08:29 am
The FDA is reviewing 2 studies showing increased heart-related death rates from the use of the bl;ood pressure drug Benicar, which I have been using for a few years after the ones I was using before caused coughing.

The timing of this bothers me. Why? Because I know that Benicar is about to go generic. I know this because my insurance company has been trying to blackmail me into going back to the drugs that make me cough. They offer me six months free on the old drug and fifteen dollars a month after that, versus the fifty-five dollars I have to pay for Benicar. My doctor told me I should sit tight because the drug is going to go generic in about a year.

So I wonder. Was Benicar always dangerous and nobody happened to discover it until it was about to stop being a proprietary cash cow? or is Benicar even dangerous at all? Or am I too cynical about all this?

Edit: there's a new shiny angiotensin receptor blocker in the works: I wonder if that has anything to do with it?
Thursday, June 17th, 2010 03:42 pm (UTC)
I've had no problem with Benicar; I was also switched to it several years ago after a previous drug made me cough.