FDA withdraws all Ranitidine

[Stuart24]

The FDA annouced yesterday that all prescription and OTC ranitidine should be withdrawn because of potential NMDA contamination as a degradation product. Don't think about keeping the older stock you have because it reportedly gets worse with age. Ranitidine is the active compound in Zantac.

[FRreedman]

Weegmac, this is for you.

[Nothingimpossible]

Hi Stuart24, my GP took me off ranitidine in November 2019 because there were talks about this. I had been on them for many years. Now on lansaprazole. Makes me wonder what is safe to take. Thanks for sharing your information with everyone. Keep safe and well.

[Stuart24 in reply to Nothingimpossible]

The problem is that Health Authorities take an isolated no risk approach to genotoxic impurities, which is not proportionate to other drug side effects or other genotoxic things in life, or the risk of not having a drug available. The criteria they apply is for a lifetime of 70 years at maximum dose per day which would give a chance of 1 in 100, 000 of developing a cancer. Although we don't know how far in excess of this was the NMDA in rantidine, that's pretty remote criteria, by anyone's reckoning. Rantidine is a good drug and it is shame it has come to this. Banning the use of nitrites in hotdogs would be a much more effective measure.

[Nothingimpossible in reply to Stuart24]

Thanks for that information Stuart, and it makes sense with what you are saying.

[Kaspinallsgr8]

This is no good. Now I will not have a remedy that I desperately need. I had to switch to ranitidine last year due to having life altering results from using PPIs. I was having liver and digestive problems from the PPIs with serious symptoms. I also was having issues that those caused my mental degradation.

I had some trepidation about about the switch to ranitidine but the reports about its health related problems weren’t conclusive to all people so I was changed over to using it. My feeling about ranitidine at this point is it shouldn’t be banned as it’s the only possible drug available for people in my situation. I also can’t use simple otc drugs like Tums due to its calcium content. If I use nothing I will have serious risk to my life. I have oesophageal scaring due to GERD / GORD caused by stomach acid and this could risk cancer. I had reflux into the air tubes that had to be cleared to breathe and could have caused pneumonia.

I had conferred with my GP, Cardiologist, and Specialist for the elderly and they were all ok with my remaining on ranitidine due to my inability to use the PPIs.

I’m hoping the NHS will be able to source a vendor for this outside the FDA guideline. Otherwise I don’t know what I will do.

[Stuart24 in reply to Kaspinallsgr8]

Considering your situation you are obviously at greater risk if you lose the drug. There should be enough around that you can get a stash. Note that this is the FDA at the moment and not the MHRA for the UK - they may not react in the same way but there is a risk that they will. I think you should get on to your doctors next week and see what they can do for you.

[Kaspinallsgr8]

Hi I’m hoping that our local regulating people will keep NHS access to ranitidine. They need to provide meds for people who can’t use PPIs for whatever reasons. I have several and certain ones conflict with some of my other meds. I had been on PPIs for over 20 years without any follow up or regulatory tests like was supposed to be done.

From the 12th year on I started having random negative symptoms including the liver issue and dementia like symptoms. I had started with them when living in CALIF. and continued on them after moving to the UK. It was only last year after doing my own internet research into why I was having problems that I concluded I should get off them.

Having switched to ranitidine and been off PPIs for almost a year now I’ve noticed some brain improvement but not all better. But the liver is much happier on ranitidine. I know your post information is about ranitidine but I have included a link as to my concerns with leaving only PPIs as the med for acidic stomachs/ GERD/ GORD/ and other related digestive issues. There’s loads out there. Good luck with your follow ups.

Here’s the link regarding the dementia issues and PPIs.

health.harvard.edu/blog/can...