Celebrex May Cause Breast Reaction

Q. I need a past article from you about Celebrex. Someone had complained that it made her nipples hard or something like that. I had a similar problem so I cut my dose from 200 to 100 and my nipples have not felt hard since.
Recently my orthopedic doctor wondered why I was still in pain. He asked me what dosage I was taking and wanted to know why it wasn’t 200 mg. I told him the story and he laughed his head off, brought his nurses in and we all had a good laugh.
That’s why I need the article–to prove I do not make up stories. My husband remembers me reading it out loud, but that’s not good enough for my doctor.
A. The original question was slightly different, but not so much that your doctor should have made fun of you:
“About two months ago I started taking Celebrex. It really helped, but while I was on it, my breasts and especially my nipples started to hurt so badly that I couldn’t touch them or even put on a bra.
“I didn’t connect this problem to Celebrex at the time. When the prescription ran out, I didn’t renew it right away. I wanted to find out if the pills were working.
“The pain in my hips returned, but the tenderness in my breasts lessened tremendously. Three days ago, I went back on the Celebrex and my breasts are once again screaming. What’s the connection?”
We responded that breast pain has been reported as a side effect of Celebrex. Benign breast lumps have also been noted.
Q. I have high mineral content in my well water. My kitchen sink gets chalky build-up. I was told that without proper filtering, my arteries would suffer this same build-up. Is this true?
A. “Hard” water containing minerals does lead to chalky deposits in showers, teakettles and pipes. But contrary to what you have been told, your arteries may actually benefit. Many studies have shown that hard water is associated with a lower risk of heart disease.
Q. My cousin takes Norvasc and Lopressor for high blood pressure, Celebrex for arthritis, Glucotrol, Glucophage and Actos for diabetes, along with Lopid, gemfibrozil, Ascriptin and Coumadin. The Coumadin is for some kind of heart problem, but he is not clear about what the others are for.
I had no idea he was taking so many drugs and I wonder if they are all compatible. He says it is hard to get enough time with his doctors to ask about that.
A. Lopid and gemfibrozil are two names for the same cholesterol-lowering drug. If he is taking both, he could be getting an overdose.
The combination of either aspirin (Ascriptin) or gemfibrozil with Coumadin (warfarin) might be just as worrisome. Unless your cousin has close medical supervision and monitoring, these drugs could interact to cause dangerous bleeding.
We are sending you our Guides to Aspirin, Cholesterol & Heart Health and Coumadin Interactions so that he will have more information on these important medications. Anyone who would like copies, please send $3 in check or money order with a long (no. 10) stamped (60 cents), self-addressed envelope: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. ACD-138, P. O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027.
Your cousin should not stop any of these medications on his own, but he should ask his pharmacist to review all of them. He should also ask his heart doctor about the Lopid, gemfibrozil, Ascriptin and Coumadin.