A Florida woman has filed a lawsuit against the makers of her hypertension drug claiming that her symptoms included chronic diarrhea caused by Benicar.

Plaintiff Tonya H. is claiming that when she began taking prescription Benicar manufactured by Daiichi Sankyo, her side effects included chronic diarrhea caused by Benicar. She claims that she suffered injury to herself, economic loss and loss of services.

According to her short form complaint, Tonya experienced serious gastrointestinal injuries that include villous atrophy, sprue-like enteropathy, colitis, kidney failure, malabsorption, malnutrition, dehydration, atrophy, chronic diarrhea caused by Benicar, vomiting, nausea and abdominal pain.

She is holding the drug makers responsible on many counts including design defect, failure to warn, gross negligence, negligence, fraudulent concealment, constructive fraud, fraud, breaches of express and implied warranties, unjust enrichment and violation of the consumer protection law of the State of Florida, among others.

What is Benicar?

Benicar, generically known as olmesartan, is a widely used hypertension medication is manufactured and sold by Japanese pharmaceutical company, Daichii Sankyo. It was approved for U.S. use in 1995 to treat high blood pressure.

Even with the success of Benicar, there have been a lot of unexpected side effects associated with the drug, including significant gastrointestinal symptoms such as chronic diarrhea caused by Benicar.

Chronic Diarrhea Caused by Benicar

Often, the gastrointestinal side effects mimic celiac disease and many Benicar users have been misdiagnosed. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder in which the body reacts negatively to gluten. The enzymes in the small intestines cause an inflammatory reaction in the patient.

Symptoms of celiac disease and the gastrointestinal symptoms of Benicar use are very similar. Benicar side effects include nausea, chronic diarrhea caused by Benicar, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, and electrolyte abnormalities.

Other Benicar side gastrointestinal side effects include sprue-like enteropathy and villous atrophy.

Sometimes, when a Benicar patient experiences significant gastrointestinal symptoms, they are prescribed a gluten-free diet to combat the effects of celiac disease. This does not help because the individual does not have celiac disease. Although, it has been found that when the patient stops Benicar use, the gastrointestinal symptoms stop as well. Although, long-term intestinal damage may remain in these patients.

The Mayo Clinic discovered the link between Benicar and gastrointestinal side effects. In fact, they published a Benicar study reporting that 22 patients from 17 states exhibited celiac symptoms even though the patients showed no genetic predisposition to celiac disease.

In July 2013 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, issued a safety warning about Benicar and gastrointestinal problems. Benicar users and the doctors who prescribe it were warned that use of the drug may induce sprue-like enteropathy. These conditions have been known to cause severe gastrointestinal problems in patients including chronic diarrhea caused by Benicar.

This Benicar Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-cv-04673-RBK-JS in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, Camden Vicinage.