Serum sickness symptoms and conditions

Hello all,
I'm in the same boat but near the end.... I was given Bactrim for a UTI. I woke up after 2 days with horrible aches in my joints and muscles. I was immediately taken off the Bactrim and put on Doxycycline. I was then put on Prednisone for the aches (which helped). I developed blisters and a rash after a few days. My aches went away after about two weeks but now I have itchy, sore and peeling feet, buttocks, mouth, and genitals. Stomach upset as well. I have been tested for everything (STDs, Lyme Disease, West Nile, etc, etc) and everything has come back negative. I was diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome from the allergic reaction I had to the Bactrim. It has been 3 weeks since the first dose and I am finally starting to feel better (except for the insane itching). Good luck to everyone. Never again!

The arthritis/crohn’s disease drug Remicade, manufactured by Centocor is a deadly drug and should be taken off the market. The drug has caused death and permanent damage to patients across the world. The drug company makes billions of dollars and downplays the side effects including the increased risk of lymphoma and blood problems. The company downplays infusion-related reactions saying that those reactions usually occur within 1-2 hours post infusion. Here’s the truth:

*Centocor has been reprimanded by the FDA for publishing false claims in its marketing literature given to physicians. See FDA website for official document.

*The literature lists syncope (drop in blood pressure), bradycardia (slowed heartrate), pancytopenia (dangerous drop in blood cells..platelets, whit blood cells, red blood cells etc, increased risk of lymphoma, serum sickness. The literature says to call MD if you are “pale”.

*Here is a case of what happened to a woman in her 30’s with rheumatoid arthritis after only the 2nd infusion. She was not on methotrexate at all so this is all Remicade’s fault. Approximately 2-3 days after the 2nd infusion the patient began to feel tired and sore but still worked an 8 hour shift that day. By 12 midnight the patient’s entire body flared up…every joint was literally swollen and she was vomiting violently.. She could barely get to a phone to call for help. Her blood pressure dropped to 50/40 and all of her blood counts plummeted. Her Sedimentation Rate (which measures inflammation had always been below 2 and it spiked to 29!!!) Remicade caused the opposite of what it was supposed to do. It also increased greatly her C-Reactive Protein which is also a measurement of inflammation and can cause cardiac inflammatory processes as well increasing the risk of cardiac damage. The nurse in the triage area told the patient that if she had not called for help SHE WOULD HAVE DIED !!! She ended up in the hospital for 5 days in an isolation room. She was in excruciating pain and had to be given Oxycontin every 12 hours and Dilaudid IV every 2 hours to control the pain. For the first 2-3 days she could not even walk or go to the bathroom without assistance. She was given high doses of prednisone to decrease the inflammatory process and get her pain under control. A hematologist performed a bone marrow biopsy which revealed an abnormal population of plasma cells that can develop into myeloma or lymphoma. The hematologist said that the patient would have to be monitored lifelong to watch the pre-cancerous cells. The patient was out of work for 3 months and was forced to change jobs because of her fatigue level and short term memory problems. She also suffered post-traumatic stress due to her near-death experience and total upheaval in her life. She is a healthcare professional. Even 4 years after the reaction her blood counts are still abnormal and she has still had short term memory problems and vision problems.

I was prescribed doxycycline 2xday for seven days. On the third day I started to feel very sick. However, it was not until the 5th/6th day that I began to suspect I was having a reaction to the antibiotic. I have never had a negative reaction to any medication ever. My symptoms started with severe nausea that lasted all day, and extreme tiredness. The symptoms continued to get worse....muscle aches, joint pains, elevated blood pressure, back & neck pains, unfocused vision, confusion, dizziness, loss of appetite, muscle tremors that woke me from sleep, depression, and anxiety. When I discussed with my doctor that I suspected it might be the medication I was dismissed and told I was developing a virus. They had prescribed this medication often with no problems. I decided to try to stick with it for two more days. That was the biggest mistake ever. I can't really describe what it did to my head, but all I could think about was that I was dying. I guess severe anxiety and paranoia. So, I finally stopped taking it.

It took three full days with no medication for my nausea and mental confusion to begin to subside. It took a few more days for most of the muscle and back pain to go away. It also took about seven days for the depression and most of the anxiety to quiet down. It is now 11 days with no medication and I still have diarrhea, and minor joint pain. I have also stopped drinking coffee because I an still a bit anxious. I have not really gotten back to my routine yet, and will probably hold off going to the gym until next week.

The most frustrating thing of all is that this medication was given to me as a preventative before a small surgery. All the symptoms I was supposed to be watching for I was having. I am sure this contributed to the anxiety.

At least most of the symptoms have gotten better, and I am hopeful that they will continue to improve. I have researched serum sickness and it says it can take 1-2 weeks for symptoms to subside, and up to several months in some cases.

Good luck to everyone.

I was put on Levaquin for 21 days to treat chronic sinusitis and I am only 17 years old. After about the 3rd day I was having great pain in my hips and knees and we called the doctors office to say we were having some of the side effects you're supposed to notify your doctor for, and they told me to keep taking it because all medicines have side effects and not to freak out. By the fifth day I had to be rushed to the ER because of serum sickness and i finally stopped it. Now, 2 and half months later, I still walk like a 95 year old and have to use a wheelchair to get around. I've also developed hypersensitivity to cold and touch and my limbs go numb randomly.

I got serum sickness from Clindamycin. I had enormous hives everywhere, along with angioedema, fever, joint pain, and intense itching/burning. I had to take Prednisone for 10 days and, just to add insult to injury, later developed both thrush and a yeast infection.

I was prescribed Levaquin 500, because of bronquitis for one week, in that time I experienced:

diarrhea
nausea
numbness in arms, hands, fingers
extreme swelling in joints
insomnia
difficulty to stand up, walk
bruses in eyes and arms
no strength
tingly or electric sensation in hands

I went to many doctors, but none of them knew what was happening, until one of them told me this was called Serum Sickness, which is an extreme reaction to the drug. TWO MONTHS HAVE PASSED AND I STILL HAVE THE SYMPTOMS. It is affecting my life, because I depend of others to do certain things for me, because of the extreme pain, and weakness.

Serum sickness.