May 23th
2009
11:53 AM
In late May of 2008 I had a pretty severe bipolar II crash. I was prescribed Lamictal but can not recall how much; it seemed like my doctor had a healthy fear of Stephens Johnson syndrome, Subsequently my dosage was slowly increased until, one day, I began to notice a rash. I went to the ER as directed and before I knew what hit me I was in bad shape. The good news: it wasn't Stephens Johnson, Bad news: It was something even more rare and almost fatal. Fortunately, I recovered in about 7-10 days. This ordeal seemed to throw my bipolar II for a loop, and I struggled with depression/anxiety for many months. Ever since I " came to" after the Lamictal event, I have had pain in both shoulders of all things. Imaging turned up nothing unusual
-- By georgeiii | Reply | Private Message me
August 15th
2009
5:46 PM
I had taken Bactrim in the past without a problem. My daughter, however, has a history of rashes associated with Sulfa drug use. I didn't say anything to the doctor that gave it to me for a sinus infection. With in 5 days of taking it, I came down first with some pain in my neck. We were on vacation and sleeping in a new bed, so I dismissed it. By the end of the week, I had a fever going up to 103. The following day, my neck pain was so bad, that I had ice on my lymph nodes. The day after that I had broken out in a rash so bad that it looked like I had a terrible sunburn. My skin was even hot to the touch. By this time, I had realized it was from the medicine, and stopped taking it. The rash isn't as red, but it did spread out to my arms, legs, and torso. I called my doctor when I got home, and he just said to take an over the counter antihistamine, but I was not referred anywhere else. After doing research on the internet and carefully reviewing the warnings from CVS (where I picked up the medicine) I believe that I have Stephens-Johnson Syndrome caused by Bactrim. This is actually listed on the warnings, but not what the symptoms are of this illness. It has been more than a week, and I still have the rash, although not as bad as it was last week.
-- By pattyk | Reply | Private Message me