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Zelnorm cannot be advertised for men, as the FDA has not approved this use. But, doctors can prescribe drugs for "off-label" uses, which means that it's perfectly legal for a doc to prescribe Zelnorm to a man. If the drug is indirectly marketed to men, and a man with IBS gets the idea that it might be something to ask his doctor about, his doc can then prescribe the drug to him. The doctor should NOT be doing this, since it's not a safe or effective drug for men, but it is still happening. And the commercials that feature men are a backhanded way of accomplishing this.
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Oh man, I'll say it again, but YIKES! I can't believe how scary the pharmaceutical industry is! They have so much corporate control over our HEALTH! 
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when they showed men in the commercial that they had finally tested it on men. From what I understand it wasn't approved for men simply because they had not tested it for them (also why it was only approved for women for a few weeks, as further tests had not been done). So I thought it was reasonable that they had now done tests on men. I would think they eventually would. But if it still isn't approved for men then a drug company should be smarter than to market it to them.
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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I went in for hip pain and saw a new doctor. He did x-rays and said my hip was normal but I was constipated (seems like I always show up that way on x-rays without having problems). He recommended Zelnorm and told me to just look it up online (didn't ask if I was online). He couldn't even write out his own prescriptions. I told him I did have IBS.
So I went home excited thinking my IBS might get better if I was chronically backed up then my symptoms could improve on this Zelnorm. I did not look it up online. I started taking the recommended dose, but as I am A and not C I got D pretty bad. I dropped the dose like an intelligent, sentient being would, but the D continued. I got into a full-blown terrible attack and then went off the Zelnorm. I ended up in one of the worst episodes ever. That was when I finally came online and researched IBS. I found this site and ibs.org and learned a lot. I started the diet last April (2004) and finally am better, without the Zelnorm.
It flabbergasted me to have had that "doctor" prescribe Zelnorm without asking me any questions or giving me any instructions. I can see why there have been deaths related to Zelnorm.
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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Zelnorm and Men
#206164 - 08/17/05 10:09 AM
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Sand
Reged: 12/13/04
Posts: 4490
Loc: West Orange, NJ (IBS-D)
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Zelnorm is now approved by the FDA for men and women with "chronic idiopathic constipation", but still not for men with IBS with constipation.
From the FAQ pages at Zelnorm FAQ:
Quote:
Zelnorm was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on July 24, 2002 for the short-term treatment of IBS with constipation. Zelnorm is a medicine for the short-term treatment of women who have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) with constipation as their main bowel problem. Zelnorm doesn't work for all women and has not been shown to work in men with IBS with constipation.
Zelnorm was approved on August 20, 2004 for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation in men and women under 65. Zelnorm is indicated for the treatment of patients (men and women) less than 65 years of age with chronic idiopathic constipation. Zelnorm has not been shown to work in men and women with chronic idiopathic constipation who are 65 years of age or older.
(Red emphasis mine.) The whole Website is pretty interesting.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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I can tell you there are many doctors out there who are supposedly the best at what they do and everyone swears by them because of the reputation. When I was a kid I was told by one doctor I wouldn't walk again, another said I would walk but would be in a back brace for the rest of my life, the next said that I would be wheelchaired bound by the time I was thirty (which I doubt unless something happens in the next few days) another by fifty (which could be possible).
Currently my "best" is actually doing well in being right on about what is going on with my back and that I would never be able to bend over and touch my toes unless I get a hinge in my back. 
I also have known people who the best of whatever tells them they will never get pregnant. Really interesting since two of them have more than three kids and the other is pregnant with her second. All without any in vitro or fertility drugs.
This is why it never hurts to get a second or third opinion. Even it if comes from all us before you get the official second.
Michelle
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That is a really sucky way to mislead consumers let alone people who are suffering from C. Any idea if the new commerical guidelines are going to change things for the better? I get tired of hearing all these commercials and since the side effects always sound worse than condition to begin with, why endure?
Michelle
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Thanks you guys... and believe you me...when I see my Dr next... I will make sure he is aware of this...just in case he has many male patients with IBS... But I'm pretty close with my Dr so I don't think he would get offended if I mentioned it to him. I mean... I AM the one who told him about Heather's books!!
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