I AM 80 YEARS OLD AND HAVE BEEN ON CELEBREX FOR YEARS. CAN'T REMEMBER WHEN I STARTED TAKING IT. BUT I DO KNOW ONE THING I HAVE TO TAKE CELEBREX LOW DOSE YES BUT I HAVE R/A BAD. I DO TAKE A PAIN MEDICATION BUT I FEEL THAT CELEBREX IS SAFE MEDICATION. WHY DID THIS COMPANY PUT OUT BAD NEWS ABOUT CELEBREX KILLING PEOPLE WHO KNOWS I DON'T BUT I CONTINUED TAKEN THIS MEDICATION. I HAVE A PACE MAKER NOT BECAUSE OF CELEBREX .

I KNOW THAT CELEBREX IS NOT THE CAUSE OF ANYONE DYING. I'M NOT A DOCTOR BUT I JUST DON'T THINK PEOPLE SHOULD TAKE ASPRIN OR DRINK GRAPEFRUIT JUICE WITH CELEBREX.

WHY DO I SAY THIS BECAUSE I THINK I READ IN A ARTICLE ABOUT GRAPEFRUIT JUICE DON'T SOMETHING TO OFF SET THE CELEBREX SO I DON'T.

I FELT LIKE I CAN'T DO WITHOUT MY CELEBREX IT HELPS ME. THANKS FOR READING THIS.

OH BY THE WAY I FEEL GREAT.

I have had ups and downs with Celebrex, but the short answer is , it's there when I need it.  I had been given so much ibuprofen for various bouts of tendinitis before the RA, that I can't take any of it now - destroyed my stomach.  I took Celebrex mostly 100 mg (200 made me feel sick, now I know my liver enzymes go up and down for some reason) before the diagnosis.  Now I take Enbrel for RA (RA dx in 2004, tried Remicade-didn't like it-itching. Started Enbrel in March 2005, have been taking it most of the time since.  But I still needed some Celebrex.  Funny thing is, sometimes it seems to increase my pain.  Only explanation I finally landed on is, i have FM as well as RA, and when the RA is under control, sometimes too much Celebrex makes pain worse.  On the other hand, I was off Enbrel for 8 weeks (4 wks before and after ankle surgery), and couldn't have done without Celebrex, was up to 300mg/day and contemplating a 4th!   But since then, I've really had to dial back.  Tried to stop Celebrex totally recently, but now I have to up it a little.  Everything is affected by everything else I take & do.  Today, it's been a godsend, after not taking any for a week, I came apart at the seams last night.  Not good.  Before they were banned, I took a lot of Bextra (worked fantastic, but eventually gave me serious heartburn/pain), Mobic (worked well, but then heartburn, cut dose in half, worked for a while, then heartburn again - burned out!).   GI doctor said, he still thought the safest thing was Celebrex, so - that's what I do when the Enbrel is not enough, or when it's wearing off and I have to function.

I know people that were devastated when Bextra and Vioxx were banned!

It's good to keep the options open for people who may need that particular item.

Ellen