Fort Myers, FLAlthough Claudeth’s father was diabetic, she believes that Januvia killed him. “It wasn’t until after he died that we heard about its link to pancreatitis and Januvia pancreatic cancer. My dad was only 60 years old,” says Claudeth.
“Dad was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in the early ’90s but he had it under control with the meds he was taking,” says Claudeth. “But in 2011, the doctor switched his diabetes drug to Januvia and not long after he complained of stomach aches and bowel problems.”
The doctor found an ulcer and chalked that up to the pain, which was getting more intense as time went on. But like most men, especially of that generation, Claudeth’s father didn’t think it was important enough to warrant further tests.
“The pain was so intense that we took Dad to the hospital a few times, but they never checked his pancreas,” Claudeth explains. “They just checked his blood and sent him home, but this last visit they found pancreatitis and said he had it for a while. All his other organs had stopped working and the pain was so intense that Dad went into shock.”
One doctor explained to Claudeth that diabetes patients have a much higher pain threshold due to lack of oxygen to the blood that reduces your pain level. So if you feel a “level 10” pain, her dad might feel that same pain at “level 5.” This would somewhat explain why her dad kept thinking he just had an ulcer: he just popped a few Advils.
“The last time we took Dad to the hospital he was outside working on the car and got such a severe stomach pain he doubled over. The ER doctor said, ‘You look good from the outside but inside not so good.’ They put him in ICU right away and gave him lots of medications; it looked like he was getting better. He died that afternoon.
“My dad was too young to die. If his medication had been changed when the Januvia alert was made public, he might be alive today. I am also going to ask his doctor if he knew about Januvia side effects that can kill you. Dad took care of himself, didn’t drink or smoke. He was eating right and going to physiotherapy.
“Januvia was never mentioned and we didn’t make the Januvia pancreatitis link until my Mom’s friend told us she was taken off the drug because it causes pancreatitis. You should look into it, she told us. Sure enough, I read up on it and I know Januvia killed my Dad. I am going to get his medical records this month from his GP and the hospital. And we filed a Januvia claim.”
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