ARIZONA, USA — After two years of taking the supplement "Artri Ajo King," Jose Barajas Ochoa thought he was going to die. The 69-year-old was feeling sick, and hospitalized multiple times, and doctors couldn’t figure out why.
“I was very bad,” Ochoa told 12News on Thursday. “I couldn't even eat, and I gained a lot of weight.”
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: ‘No sabe lo que realmente le están vendiendo’: Hombre advierte sobre suplementos después de que se enfermara seriamente
Ochoa’s health began to decline more than two years ago after he started taking the supplement. He was told and read on the bottle that the supplement had “natural” ingredients.
He had been suffering from pain in his back and neck from prior surgeries and recalls feeling better almost immediately after he began to take the pills in August 2021.
“They do help with the pain, but the bad thing is the consequences that come later because at the end I got very sick,” Ochoa said. “That was swelling me up inside and out.”
Ochoa’s family first noticed his face, neck, and stomach had inflammation. That’s when they began questioning if something was wrong and took him to the hospital multiple times, but doctors could not diagnose him.
Ochoa had difficulty breathing, the inflammation spread throughout his body, his sugar levels would fluctuate, and he had severe nausea, and blood pleasure issues.
“We thought he wasn’t going to make it,” Ochoa's daughter Patty Reyes said, and added her father also had mood swings.
“Even his mood changed. He was very snappy. Like you’d try to ask him something and he was just very irritated and angry at the same time and almost as if he was depressed,” Reyes said.
Ochoa’s family took him to dozens of doctors for months. He was ultimately diagnosed with Cushing's disease, which occurs when the body makes too much cortisol.
The diagnosis was only clear after the doctor Ochoa saw had treated several Latino patients with similar symptoms at a local clinic in Bakersfield, California called Clinica Mi Pueblo.
Ochoa said the doctor at this clinic was the only one who asked him if he was taking over-the-counter supplements. A question that, according to a study published in the National Library of Medicine, only 17% of doctors asked their Latino patients, out of the 80% who reported using herbal supplements, in 2006.
“None of us actually knew that my dad was taking this medication until this doctor asked him certain questions,” Reyes said.
Ochoa said a chiropractor in Mexico recommended the supplement to him.
“Artri Ajo King” is advertised as a ‘natural’ pill, but since 2012, the FDA has put out warnings against the product.
Through lab analyses, the FDA confirmed “Artri Ajo King,” contains diclofenac, which is not listed on the product label. Diclofenac is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, commonly known as NSAIDs. NSAIDs may cause an increased risk of cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke, the agency said.
The hidden ingredients may also cause serious gastrointestinal damage, including bleeding, ulceration, and fatal perforation of the stomach and intestines, the FDA said. The supplement can also interact with other medications and significantly increase the risk of adverse events, like liver toxicity and even death.
The FDA said the supplement has been rebranded a dozen times, other names include “AK Forte,” “Reumo Flex,” Reumofan Plus,” “Ortiga Ajo Rey,” and “KUKA Flex Forte.”
In support of public safety, and because some of these products may still be available on the market, the FDA issued warning letters to Amazon, Walmart, and Latin Foods Market for distributing various “Atri” and “Ortiga” unapproved and misbranded drug products, the agency said.
Walmart and Latin Foods Markets issued voluntary recalls for the supplements. But many can still be found in local stores. 12News found some at a local herbalist shop in Phoenix for $30.
The father said even after his diagnosis and a treatment plan, his condition worsened.
“That medicine also caused me diabetes and thyroid problems,” Ochoa said. “I was taking medicine for those two things for a long time, and now I don't have a thyroid problem or diabetes either.”
Ochoa believed he was going to die but has since fully recovered and is advising people to not ingest the supplements.
“You don’t know what they are actually selling you or what it contains,” he said. “If a doctor does not prescribe it, it’s better not to take anything. Who makes them? Nobody knows. Where are they made? Nobody knows either. They change the name and it’s the same formula.”