Do not stop taking any medications that you have been prescribed without first talking to your doctor.

Serious problems such as liver damage have occurred in people treated with NSAIDs. Some of the warning signs of liver damage can be nausea, vomiting, fatigue, loss of appetite, itching, yellow coloring of skin or eyes, “flu-like” symptoms and dark urine. If you experience any of these symptoms, call your health care provider right away.

Vioxx can cause your body to retain fluid and swell. Your health care provider will decide if Vioxx is right for you, if you:

retain fluids
have high blood pressure
have heart failure

If you have asthma, you may have aspirin-sensitive asthma. If an aspirin-sensitive asthmatic takes aspirin it can cause severe narrowing of the airway (bronchospasm), and even death. Since this type of reaction to aspirin and other NSAIDs have occurred in aspirin-sensitive patients, Vioxx should not be given to aspirin-sensitive patients.

The safety and effectiveness of Vioxx in patients below the age of 18 years has not been determined.