Ok, you may have seen this latest vague commercial. It comes on to the strains of the Three Dog Night hit “Celebrate! Celebrate! Followed by picures of people doing tye chee or whatever in the hell that chinese excerise is called. Then a soothing voice follows saying " Ask your doctor if Celebrex is right for you.”
Ok I might just do that dicklicks, except for one little item,
I DON"T HAVE A CLUE WHAT THE FUCK CELEBREX IS!
And neither does any other viewer unless they work for the friggin FDA.
I can’t believe that network time is so cheap that pharmaceutical companies will just buy 50 commercials an afternoon that do not state what the hell their product is for!
Let’s see on my next doctor’s visit I will just say, " Hey doc, is Celebrex right for me?"
To which he could reply, “Why do you have wheeping impetigo open sores on your scrotum?”
Celebrex (celecoxib) is a COX-2 inhibitor. Essentially, it’s an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; think Advil, Motrin, etc.) that doesn’t cause the stomach problems that most others do. (Vioxx is the other COX-2 inhibitor.)
It is most commonly used for people with arthritis, so I guess they’re trying to say that Celebrex will allow arthritis sufferers to do “tye chee”. But you’re right; they don’t exactly make that clear.
It might do some good for weeping impetigo open sores on the scrotum, in conjunction with some Keflex. I don’t think the FDA has approved that indication, however.
I take Celebrex for a bad knee and it works pretty well. It’s fairly expensive (according to Walgreens, it’s $140.99 for 60 caps) and my insurance company pitched a flier and required proof that I actually needed it. (I have a positive MRI and have failed multiple trials of less-expensive NSAIDS.) They’re happy with the paperwork my doctor had to do, and it’s working like a charm. (I don’t do Tai Chi, however.)
And I’ll keep this in mind if I ever get impetigo on my scrotum
I wondered the same thing about Allegra. I read that the FDA prohibits drug companies from including the name of a drug, what it does, and some other piece of information that I forgot, in the same advertisement.
…well, I can’t take Celebrex because of it’s contraindications for those with sulfa drug allergies - 'tis not pretty when I ingest sulfa drugs: itching, hives, sneezing, shortness of breath, the works. Anyway…
…currently on Daypro for a bad knee…works so far, with ice packs 3 times a day… oh, to be without my patello-femoral syndrome!
…there’s another commercial that annoys me, although I can’t think of the name of the drug…some cor… I think… anyway, the old man jumps in the truck which his daughter is driving and says “My doctor says that [drug name] may be right for me!” - smiles all around, woohoo - then a voice over “Ask your doctor if [drug name] may be right for you!” OK, great, but what the fck does it do???
aha, Celebrex is a favorite friend of mine. I’ve got a bad back, and before Celebrex, I was taking other strong NSAIDS, notably Sulendac. Sulendac rips up your stomach something aweful, and Celebrex doesn’t.
Lipitor’s ads do the same thing. aha, I’ve pondered that same question, “Should I call my doctor right now and ask if it’s right for me?” It could be an impotence treatment for all the ad tells you (thought I think it’s another cholesterol drug; IIRC, one or two of my coworkers take it).
They could at least throw in a couple conditions like: if you’re over 45, eat 3 or more servings of red meat per day and/or the fat and chicken skin off other people’s plates, and if the sound of your arteries hardening is keeping your significant other awake at night, Lipitor may be right for you.
Allegra (along with Claritin and Zyrtec) are antihistamines. (H1 blockers, to be specific.) They do essentially the same thing as Benadryl, except that they don’t usually cause drowsiness. (They knock some people out cold.) It might be right for you if you have allergies, although inhaled steroids (Flonase, etc.) usually work better.
Prilosec (along with Prevacid and Aciphex) are proton-pump inhibitors. They reduce the amount of acid that the stomach produces. It might be right for you if you have an ulcer or acid reflux and the H2 blockers (Tagamet, Zantac, etc.), which are much cheaper, are not doing the job.
Lipitor and Zocor, along with Pravachol, are “statins”, or HMG Co-A reductase inhibitors. (This will be on the test.) They dramatically reduce your total cholesterol and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. They might be right for you if you have high cholesterol (and not especially high triglycerides) or have any personal or family history of heart or other vascular trouble. (These are wonder drugs, IMO.)
dropzone said re: Celebrex–
Patients who have stomach trouble with traditional NSAIDS love it, and if the patients love it, I love it. You’re right, though–patients usually have to jump through serious hoops to get it paid for.
I must say that no one has ever just come out during an office visit and said, “Is [drug] right for me?”
But you get a really great dog that paws and romps while you’re at it.
But it doesn’t look like as much fun as Prylosec (sp? too tired to look it up). Lots of Salvidor Dali dweebs in purple silk, Saville Row suits and melting clocks. Much better hallucinogenics.
Hey, doc, don’t know what it helps but I want onna those!
Veb
I can honestly say that I walked into my doctors office, and with a straight face said “Doc, is Celebrex right for me?” (I was honestly asking, as I take assloads of medicine for my back pain and was thinking of switching.) He laughed his ass off, then we talked about it some. I just loved the opportunity to sound just like that ad, and he has a great sense of humor and picked right up on it.
Of course, this is the same Doc that wrote a prescription for me to give my husband stating that from now on HE had to wash the dishes (for no other reason then I asked him to on one visit). He’s a great doctor.
That’s hilarious, Zette. He sounds like one helluva nice, funny doc.
FWIW, my doc once wrote me a prescription for a 2-month vacation in Tahiti. I was way stressed, blood pressure soaring, insomnia, the whole enchilada. Too bad there wasn’t anyone who could fill it for me, but hey, the thought was stellar.
