October 22th
2009
4:11 PM
After you read a representative sampling of this website's testimonials, you certainly ask yourself inter alia: Can this be true? Did thousands of people inject an antibiotic from the fluoroquinolone family, which crippled them for longer or for shorter? Most of us, I suspect, never really get beyond the initial litmus test: Did this medicine poison me or save me? (The answer depends, of course, upon the age, gender, medical condition, and most importantly, the DNA make-up of the individual patient. For hundreds of thousands of patients this antibiotic is a boon. For thousands of other misfortunes this antibiotic is a disaster.) But there is another important question here.
Who gains from self-revelation? To be sure individual sufferers gain certain emotional catharsis from posting their adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to levaquin. E-postings are one-way anonymous tracks that form ruts on a well-traveled trail of tears. Unless these postings are hoaxes written by mischievious gnomes, then they consitute prima facie evidence for a causal link between levaquin injection and sundry crippling ADRs.
Curiously, this e-forum cannot be used as a tool for organizing thousands of potential litigants who might coalesce under a class action lawsuit. Yes, we can analyze each other's anonymous revelations to see if they muster our respective sense of the "ring-of-truth" re: levaquin toxicity, and we may contact each other one-on-one, but no-one can harness this intoxicating communication's technology to reach simultaneously all respondents en masse as a bloc.
So, who wins? The emotionally unburdened e-poster who learns belatedly that s/he is not alone and that prescription medicine likely caused more pain than the underlying malady for which s/he is being treated? Or big pharma that continues to manufacture and market a medication that poses downside risk to many consumers who unwittingly incur more damage than therapeutic value?
Indeed, who wins in a forum where consumers anonymously reveal their symptoms and unconfirmed suspicions? The answer is big pharma wins. Pharmaceutical companies data-mine our postings to estimate the frequency and bredth of ADRs about which consumers complain. House statisticians estimate the ratio of active complainants : silent complainants, i.e., the ratio of complaints who show up on this website to the far heftier percentage of complainants who never post on this website because either they are technology-challenged or they are incurious. House actuarians proceed to estimate how much operating profits their employers must set aside to cover losses in out-of-court settlements or in awards made to plaintiffs in class action lawsuits.
I think this is how the game is played in a behavioral sink where billions are made in a deregulated marketplace that allows predators and prey to interact anonymously. Sorry to be such a downer, but I fathom only the desperate plight of tens of thousands of levaquin consumers for whom no monetary award ever will compensate them adequately for their suffering, and the hundreds of millions of dollars at stake in court awards if consumers ever brought to bear their aggregate numbers and draw a bead on their big pharma tormenters.
I think it a true horror and shame that pharmaceutical companies have not devised a test which determines in advance which patient safely may consume levaquin and which patient's DNA places him or her at risk. I suspect the genome technology is available, but would dig too deeply into big pharm's bottom line. The economics of "parachutes-for-everyone" is infeasible. We are all guinea pigs in a B-grade movie featuring Russian roulette, billion-dollar pay-offs, and an FDA that pretends not to know.
-- By elgel | Reply | (4) replies | Private Message me
May 27th
2009
5:12 PM
I have been on prednisone since I was two years old (I am now sixteen) because I have Autoimmune Hepatitis IIa. I would like to point out that there is still a life worth living being on prednisone, maybe I say this because I do not know life without it, but at least we're alive! Last year I had a flare up of the AIH and had to 6x my dose of prednisone. It sent me into a spiraling depression of constant sleep, crying, hopelessness etc....but I made it through. Just PLEASE keep hope that things would get better, because I know what it's like being on the dreaded drug better than most.
-- By xxanonymousxx | Reply | (13) replies | Private Message me
August 13th
2008
3:02 PM
53 year old female who has taken "F" for almost 2 years - the past two months was the generic version. Have noticed a gradual onset of joint pain and heart palpitations, but am not one to see a doc unless I feel like I'm dying... So I wrote it off to aging. (-:
A friend recently mentioned that she had heard that Fosamax causes bones to be brittle, which caused me to wake up, look around and see what people are saying and what new articles or research are out there. Yeah, sure - there are lawsuits. Not a surprise in our litigious society. More importantly, however, are the comments from real people. Thanks to you who've posted your experiences!
I stopped the drug several weeks ago and seem to have an increase in joint paint. But I'm not going back to Fosamax! Also interesting to me is that around the same time I stopped the drug, I experienced an uncharacteristic downward shift in my mood/mental state. Not sure if there's a correlation to the drug or not...
It is reassuring to see some comments from people who indicate they feel better after weeks/months of being Fosamax free. I am a "gym rat" and very fit/weight appropriate. Weight training and nutrition will be my treatment of choose for osteopenia for now. With time, I am confident that the symptoms I'm experiencing will subside. And any future ailments for which I am prescribed a drug will be very carefully researched by me beforehand.
Be careful out there and stay informed!
June 22th
2008
1:09 AM
It is so funny to read all of the negativity but nothing positive! I came here looking for side effects and get a bashing about how horrid Yasmin/Yaz is! Let me first start off by listing my side effects that I wanted to know about:
breast tenderness
change in appetite
tiredness
red spot in eye
Next, let me tell you that I researched BEFORE taking this medicine because 1. I have MS 2. I suffer from migraines and seizures and 3. I take a whole boat load of medications! My doc recommended Yasmin for PMDD coupled with Sarafem to help my mood right before and during my time of the month. I must say that I have only been on it for about 10 days so I do not know anything of how it works with my period.
I am APPALLED at the fact that there are few, if any, positive comments about this pill! I know for a FACT that it works because I know 7 people personally that are on it that have NO PROBLEMS! So, I ask you all that have negative comments, what is wrong with you, other than you HATE the pill? What OTHER meds were you on while taking it? I read a few comments about stopping for a month and then starting again and then wondering why they felt like crap?? Well HELLO?! You are effing with your body's hormones! And there is a difference between Yaz and Yasmin hormones. If you had a bad experience with Yaz, make sure you are not confusing it with Yasmin! Yaz is a 24 day hormone pill where Yasmin is only 21 days.
I am not a doctor, but like I said, I have done my research. I have suffered with adult acne and PMDD for years. It sucks. If Yasmin helps, I want to know. I don't want to read a bunch of bull about people who mess up their cycles by taking the pill and smoking or taking the pill with meds they shouldn't be taking them with. I know what I can and cannot take. Most of what I take is natural and what is not, well, it CAN be taken with Yasmin. Like the website for Yasmin says and like most of the informational, non-biased websites say, Yasmin and Yaz is not for everyone. Some people cannot handle this type of hormone.
I can guarantee you that some doctor or pharm company can tell you that whatever symptom you are having is from something completely unrelated to the BC you are taking. Warnings are clearly marked...read them and obey!
-- By alwayshappy | Reply | (6) replies | Private Message me
March 30th
2008
2:50 PM
I like to live my life with facts, not speculation and drama. My child is on Singulair and doing fantastic. I remember the trips to the ER when I did not know if my child would live or die. Of course when I saw this report, it caused me some concern so I did some research on my own. Did you know that suicide is the leading cause of violent death in New York State, the United States and the world? In 2002 in New York State there were 1,292 suicides which exceeded homicides by 32%. The statistics show that 1 in 10 teenagers plans to commit suicide. The National Center for Health reports a 10% suicide rate in kids 15-24 years of age and 4 male suicides for every female suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among those 15-24 years old.
So now we have 1 child in New York that has committed suicide that just happened to be on Singulair, and it is Singulairs fault? Show me the proof. All I see is one distraught mom who is trying to find blame for her son’s tragic death. Is there only half the story being told, a trend I have noticed in journalism these days. Let’s face it, life happens. I am NOT on Singulair and I have had melt downs, thrown things across the room, been depressed over things, cried, and even for the past week have been having some crazy dreams. I remember as a child putting notes on my room door telling my parents how much I hated them. I remember as a teenager thinking my life would be better if I were dead. I remember my child being cranky and fussy before she was on Singulair, gee maybe she was teething. The term “terrible twos” has been around a lot longer that Singulair. Let’s face it, we have turned into a society of people who always want something to blame. I think it is time people start taking responsibility for themselves and accept the fact that sometimes life just happens. Take accountability for your own lives, and stop trying to blame everything and anything.
I also live my life by reading internet blogs with a grain of salt. These blogs are public forums and places where anyone and everyone can post. How do you know that all these posts are real? Remember the day when kids made prank phone calls for fun? Now they have the internet and can post pranks on these blogs. How do you know that a competitor to Singulair is not posting in order to fuel the feeding frenzy? How about a registered sex offender or a felon in prison? There are a lot of “sick” people in the world and yes, they have access to the internet too. If you are hanging on every single one of these posts as being true and real then I feel sorry for you. The internet provides anonymity and it is easy to create a fictitious identity and a fictitious story. That is probably why if you do a search for “internet safety” you get 15,700,000 hits.
Until I see proof, I am not going to take my child off Singulair. The CDC reports that in 2002 there were 1.9 million visits to the ER for asthma and 4,261 asthma deaths. If I did stop my child’s Singulair, and she died in the ER from as asthma attack, whose head does that fall on? The media?
-- By chris555 | Reply | (15) replies | Private Message me
January 26th
2008
6:53 PM
I was given 20 mg of Prednisone for 10 days for a rash and joint pain.
The pain went away and I felt great the rash got a little better. Two days ago I took my last pill. I woke up that night and my knees gave out. By morning I was great! Next night I woke with knee problem again had to slide down the stairs to the living room. I got to wondering if the knee thing could be associated with the Prednisone. I got on line and read all this terrible stuff. I am so Horrified! Today I am in pain like my body is bruised and my face is swollen a little. I have acid reflux as well. Non of this is typical for me. My knee thing is ok again, but I am just appalled! I have no MED insurance. I hope this isn't the beginning of worse things I am not taking that drug now. The Dr. didn't say I needed to taper...
I hope I have not damaged myself by taking this drug! My heart goes out to all of you! My question is - Why are the Dr.'s prescribing this terrible drug?
-- By harvesterbornagain | Reply | (24) replies | Private Message me
January 17th
2008
6:39 PM
just started taking Adderall, though i am not prescribed. I went to my doctor and asked for it but she said no. I explained that I am often overwhelmed at work, I am a case manager and keeping on task with all of the work is hard. My doctor said when she was in med school, med students used to take it for that purpose.So anyway i bought 5 pills from a coworker. I seem to have super human energy, get all types of work done and stay focused all day. On the down side, in 5 days I have lost 3lbs., I want to lose weight, but not that fast. I have what I consider to be Adderall hangovers the next day, where I am extremely tired. I also have noticed severe headaches, every day that I have taken it, I crash by the end of the day at work and cant wait to get home, because I am so tired. My neck aches, and I had to change to a firmer chair at work, because all of a sudden my back is killing me, I also get insomnia and have to counteract the Aderall with Tylenol pm just to get to sleep. These side effects freak me out, and I don't know if I want to again ask my doctor for a script, but I get so much done at work, and I am heading back for grad school, I just don't know what to do? oh yeah, the pills that I bought were Adderall XR 30 mg.
-- By lilrosey | Reply | (12) replies | Private Message me
January 7th
2008
10:38 AM
This is more to provide more information on the Singulair advertising .The new ads in magazines like February family circle state more side effects like suicidal thoughts and actions, this information has not even made it to the pharmacy's yet.We were told that the drug should be black box labeled if they are listing the severe side effects such as this.It just proves that our 15 year old son who took it for no more 17 days could never have been put on it had we known it could cause depression another newly listed possible side effect.Losing your child to suicide after giving him a drug for allergies was so mind boggling but its starting to seem more criminal that the drug companies are withholding reported side effects as serious as depression,anxiety,aggressive behavior and suicidal thoughts and actions.I have recently provided you with the FDA website but now I am asking you to go the website and call your local branch to file a complaint against this very dangerous and unpredictable drug so it sees the proper label changes and make the public aware of the change via MEDIA OR NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES also most importantly our doctor has not been informed only by us of the major changes in side effects reported and listed.How are we to know if the physicians and pharmacist don't even have the knowledge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!The drug company MERCK is notorious for trying to fly under the radar and get away with pharmaceutical murder and this time I can only hope people are sick of it!This medicine is heavily prescribed to children and the most severe side effects do happen to real people like us and my sweet boy paid with his life!
-- By kate2 | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me
February 2th
2007
10:09 PM
It's the 8th day our 3 year old child has been using Omnicef (after a 10-day amoxicilin that didn't work), and it's been only getting worse and worse. No you're not crazy, she is complaining about leg pain. She is constantly crying and she usually never cries or even whines. So this must be definitely a side-effect of this drug. We will cut this drug off today (will not complete 10 days) and will tell our doctor about all this. However, they usually don't take complaints seriously when we mention we read it on the Internet. On the contrary, we're getting real complaints from real people with real pain.
-- By ykara | Reply | Private Message me
February 17th
2006
7:47 AM
It has been over two years that I have been taking Yasmin. I would say about 6 months after being on it I noticed that I was "moody" every month for either 1 or 2 weeks before I got my period. I have been with my boyfriend since I've been on it and I always took things out on him and became very angry at him or would cry my eyes out. I figured it was PMS. However, as each month went by things got worse. I started to get to the point where I never knew what kind of mood I was going to wake up in. I started questioning whether I had a chemical imbalance or not. Also, my vision is a little blurry and I'm always tired now. I don't cry anymore, but instead I "flip out" on people, especially my boyfriend. I am a teacher and work with kids and I've been yelling a lot too. I am going to go off it for good after reading the side effects from real people. Any suggestions?
-- By valgasparino11 | Reply | Private Message me
August 18th
2005
11:42 AM
To jules777
You post alot of high and mighty attitude instead of what us REAL people are going through. All your "knowledge" just shows us that you have NOT been through what the rest of have.
May 5th
2004
8:20 PM
My life was ruined by Effexor and Wyeth should be held responsible. I need people who are as mad as I am. I went through hell. I'm spending my own time and money on my website to get what will be justice in the end. I am just getting started. Please visit my site dougtyler.com click on the Effexor link at the bottom. It's no joke folks........I need people, I need to show a Judge real E-mails from real people. I have a print and send letter to the CEO of Wyeth. Thank you and take care of yourselves. You CAN beat this drug!
-- By doug288 | Reply | Private Message me
PredniSONE (3) Singulair (2) Yasmin (2) Levaquin (1) Fosamax (1) Omnicef (1) Mirena (1) Effexor (1) Adderall XR (1)
November 2th
2009
10:39 PM
Im 25 years old. After my daughter was born in November 2008, I decided on the Mirena because Im terrible at remembering to take pills. So, Ive had it for about 9 months, maybe 10. I just recently started getting acne excessively bad. I thought I was pregnant again and I had to get back on my Pro-Active. I also started getting this really dry, gross spots on my head and they itched SO bad. I went to the dermatologist and she diagnosed me with Psoriasis. But, after reading all the side-effects, it makes me wonder if its caused from this birth control. I have spoken to my husband and he told me to have it taken out. Did I mention that I can't lose ANY weight. Which makes me feel like crap! But thats another paragraph. Anyways, Im really glad this website is on here because it really give me the insight on real people who are going through the same side effects as me!
-- By amcklemurry | Reply | Private Message me