By Joanna Szabo  |  August 10, 2015

Category: Legal News

benicar-diarrhea-definiitionBenicar (olmesartan medoxomil), a drug used to treat hypertension, has recently been associated with several cases of what is called sprue-like enteropathy, which causes such complications as chronic diarrhea, weight gain, and other serious gastrointestinal problems.

Plaintiffs allege that manufacturers of Benicar failed to properly or effectively warn about their medication’s risks on the packaging or advertising for customers, as well as to the medical community as a whole. The symptoms, which have led plaintiffs to file Benicar lawsuits, include chronic diarrhea so severe it resulted in hospitalization, sprue-like enteropathy, celiac disease misdiagnosis, chronic malnourishment, dehydration, and stomach problems.

What is Benicar?

Benicar is one of several of medications belonging to a drug type called angiotensin II receptor blockers, or ARBs. These drugs have been developed by Daiich Sankyo, and include such products as Benicar HCT, Azor, and Tribenzor.

These drugs have been extremely popular, as well as widely distributed since their approval. About 10.6 million prescriptions for Benicar products were given to consumers in 2012, making it the third most popular ARB blood pressure medication available on the market.

Benicar Side Effects

Recent studies suggest a link between Benicar side effects and chronic diarrhea, which if true has gone undiagnosed in patients for years. It is possible that, because chronic diarrhea was not a known side effect of Benicar, these kinds of stomach problems were consistently misdiagnosed as Celiac disease, and were therefore improperly and ineffectively treated.

After some time without any warning of these other side effects, sprue-like enteropathy was announced as a potential side effect of Benicar by the Food and Drug Administration in July 2013. The FDA issued a drug safety warning as a result. The effects of sprue-like enteropathy are chronic diarrhea, weight loss, and other gastrointestinal problems.

The FDA found that dozens of cases of Benicar diarrhea have been identified from adverse event reports submitted by Benicar users. The FDA discovered that for these Benicar users, once they stopped taking the medication, their symptoms improved or disappeared. In almost half of these cases, these symptoms returned as soon as the patient began taking the medication again.

This study has indicated that this is considered “clear evidence” of some kind of association between Benicar and enteropathy.

Users of Benicar have reported chronic diarrhea lasting extended periods of time, from 3 to 35 months. Others have reported small to extreme weight loss of up to 110 pounds, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, bloating, and fatigue. Plaintiffs claim that these potentially dangerous and harmful symptoms, which at the very least affect their daily lives, were not adequately called to their attention in warnings for users or the medical community.

The FDA’s warning came too late for some injured parties, and for others it was still not enough to properly or effectively warn them of the potential Benicar side effects.

If you or someone you know has experienced adverse effects after taking Benicar, you may be able to file a lawsuit.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual lawsuit or Benicar class action lawsuit is best for you. [In general, Benicar lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.] Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

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Join a Free Benicar Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you or a loved one used Benicar for at least four months and were hospitalized for severe gastrointestinal problems, you may have a legal claim. Submit your information now for a free case evaluation.

An attorney will contact you if you qualify to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you.

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