Four years ago I had a mole taken off my back that was Melanoma. The mole was small with a 3% to 5% chance of spreading. I get checks every 6 months and so far all is good. To learn more about Melanoma I joined a group on Facebook. The great thing about this group they keep up with new information on Melanoma. Well, last year someone mentioned a study in which Hydrochlorothiazide had been linked to skin cancer. A study was done in which many people who used this water pill also had skin cancer. I have been on Hydrochlorothiazide for about 10 years. So, last year I asked my doctor about it. He said he would check on it. Fast forward to one year later and at my yearly appointment he said we should work on going off my blood pressure medicine because it had Hydorchlorothiazide in it and I needed to get off of it. I also had an appointment with my skin doctor the same month. She said it would be wise to go off of it. Sadly, It was decided by the FDA to not take the drug off the market but to add a warning to the list of side effects. Because I am having surgery next week we are waiting to switch blood pressure medicine. I re-oredered my medicine and sure enough on the list of warnings it said "if you have any mole that changes colors or notice a cyst near a mole or any swollen lymp nodes contact your doctor immediately". Those are all the signs of Squamous Cell skin cancer and Melanoma.
I realized it had been a while since I checked the warnings on my meds.. The meds seem to help so what is the harm? Well, new warnings get added and the FDA does not announce it. I would not have known about Hydorchlorthiazide without my group on Facebook. I wonder if my doctor would have known if I had not told him. We should be able to trust the FDA. Yet, they did not pull the drug. It makes me wonder how many money making drugs they have not pulled. The United States is 5th in the rate of cancer around the world.
WARNING! Read your info sheets that come with your prescriptions. I want to trust the FDA but many times money speaks where synthetic drugs are concerned. You are your biggest health advocate. Stay aware of what perscriptions you have and what is in them.Do not be afraid to discuss this with your doctor. They are there to keep you healthy. WARNING!
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