Posts Tagged ‘ Accutane ’

Prescription Hell: When Curing Your Ill Causes More Ills

August 4th, 2011. By AbiK

True Story: I saw a comment from a reader here at LawyersandSettlements.com who had gone to the doctor to get some help for his acne. While there, the doctor noticed that this guy’s hair was starting to thin. Long story short, the guy walked out of the doctor’s office with a prescription for Propecia. He now claims he suffers sexual side effects (like erectile dysfunction and impotence). Oh, and btw, he still had his acne.

It got me thinking…

I’m not a glass-half-empty type, but it’s easy to see how, with prescription drugs, one can envision a worst-case-scenario downward spiral of things—especially given the potential side effects with some drugs that are on the market.

So then I started thinking, what if…

What if a guy goes to the doctor for acne. What could happen based on which drugs he’s been prescribed and what the side effects of those drugs could be? The graphic above depicts “The Snake Pit” (classic movie if you haven’t seen it) version of taking prescription upon prescription. A modern day Dante’s “Inferno”. Only in this little vignette, no one emerges from hell in their attempt to mitigate (via new prescriptions) the snowball effect of increasingly negative side effects.

Here’s how this plays out.

(Note, yes, it’s hypothetical, assumes various doctors/specialists involved, and yes, assumes worst case and/or rare scenarios…but still, it could happen. And before you get on me for Accutane being off the market, the drug isotretinoin is still alive and kicking…)

A guy goes to the doctor for acne. He’s given Accutane (isotretinoin). A possible side effect of Accutane is Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). To treat the IBD, he’s given Cipro (antibiotic) and Prednisone (corticosteroid). Cipro has been linked to tendon rupture. Reported, though rare, side effects of Prednisone can include high blood pressure and osteoporosis. Assuming his luck is nil, he experiences these side effects and is given Lisinopril (ACE inhibitor) to combat the high blood pressure, and Fosamax to help combat the osteoporosis.

As we know, Lisinopril has been linked to liver damage (or worse, liver failure). And Fosamax has been under fire for femur fractures. Which, outside of pain meds—which have their own set of side effects—requires another form of medical intervention (surgery). So we come to a “STOP” on that path.

But between the Accutane and the Lisinopril, he begins to experience some hair loss as well—a rare side effect of both drugs, and he’s Mr. Unlucky. So next up, Propecia. Propecia side effects include sexual dyfunction. And he finds himself having some “issues” on the love-making front. Well, there’s a drug for that—Viagra! But let’s face it, between hair loss, sexual dysfunction, a broken thigh bone, a ruptured tendon, high blood pressure and some bowel problems, is it any wonder this guy’s now depressed? So, it’s time for some SSRI’s—like Prozac. And Prozac’s been linked to suicidal behavior.

And, with that, I guess it’s another “STOP”.

Tags: Accutane, Cipro, Depression, femur fracture, Fosamax, Hair Loss, IBD, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Isotretinoin, Lisinopril, Osteoporosis, Prednisone, Propecia, Prozac, Sexual Dysfunction, SSRI, Tendon Rupture, Viagra
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 82721 Comment »2011-08-04+16%3A19%3A39AbiK

Checking the Social Pulse on Accutane Problems

April 7th, 2011. By AbiK

Tags: Accutane, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Ulcerative Colitis
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 7537No Comments »2011-04-07+20%3A49%3A35AbiK

Research Links Tetracycline to IBD – and to Lawsuits, too?

February 24th, 2011. By Hunter West

A recent study on UK patients conducted by the researchers at the University of Pennsylvania* could have an impact on Accutane lawsuits. As most know, class actions as well as individual lawsuits have attempted to hold the manufacturer of Accutane, Hoffman-LaRoche, accountable. The Vitamin-A drug has been linked to inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD.

But wait a minute—so too are tetracycline drugs, say the U of P researchers.

So how does that impact an Accutane lawsuit?

Accutane (isotretinoin) has always been considered a last resort for problematic acne, which is the scourge of adolescents and, if left untreated, could scar the face for life.

Dermatologists will almost always start with more natural ways in which to control acne, such as diet and hygiene—or perhaps an OTC benzoyl peroxide or salicyclic acid solution.

If that doesn’t work, then they turn to tetracycline, which is an antibiotic and thought to carry minimal risk. How can you go wrong with an antibiotic, a microbial? Are they not the magic bullets of our society?

Antibiotic resistance notwithstanding, there’s now a fly in the ointment, if you will. That’s because Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Accutane, Accutane Lawsuits, accutane-inflammatory-bowel-disease-ibd, acne, Tetracycline
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 69865 Comments »2011-02-24+19%3A23%3A05Hunter+West

Criminal Medicine: Best Defense, Sadly, is a Good Offense

October 6th, 2010. By LucyC

If finding the right medication feels a bit like a minefield lately, it’s no wonder.

It’s not been a banner time for Pharma—these past few years. So many drugs and medical products in general seem to be linked with serious, if not life-threatening adverse events. You may recognize some of the names on the hit parade: drugs such as Accutane and a possible link with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); proton pump inhibitors (antacid drugs) and increased risk for hip fractures; Reglan and its link with Tardive Dyskinesia; Byetta—a diabetes medication linked with kidney failure…

And of course no list would be complete without Avandia—another diabetes medication—and its infamous association with serious, sometimes fatal cardiovascular events.

Oh—there’s also allegations surrounding the class of antidepressants known as SSRIs and links with newborn heart defects. In fact the list is exhaustive.

And to be clear, it’s not just drugs. Products such as the DePuy metal hip replacement are also in trouble. DePuy is currently facing a class action lawsuit over failure rates seen with its ASR acetabular cup. DePuy, which is owned by Johnson & Johnson, has also had global product recalls.

Gadolinium is another one. It’s a clear, non-radioactive chemical compound used with patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). In 1988 the FDA approved gadolinium as a contrast agent to provide a clearer picture of organs and tissues. Since that time, more than 200 cases of Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF) or Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NFD) have been linked to the product.

This week, news out on Bloomberg indicates that the powers that be at Pfizer Inc, ‘failed to properly warn doctors and consumers that its Prempro menopause drug could cause Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Accutane, Avandia, Byetta, DePuy, DePuy Orthopaedics Metal Hip Replacement, Drugs, Gadolinium, Medical, Norian SRS, Prempro, Proton Pump Inhibitors, Reglan, SSRI
Posted in DePuy ASR Hip Recall, Drugs/Medical | 5153No Comments »2010-10-06+14%3A37%3A25LucyC

Week Adjourned: 4.2.10

April 2nd, 2010. By LucyC

Good thing as you won’t be getting overtime. (Shirt available at CafePress.com)

Top Class Actions

Underwriters Underpaid. JP Morgan Chase got hit with an unpaid overtime class action lawsuit earlier this week. Seems to be a pretty common practice these days.

The allegations? Chase had a “common practice” of misclassifying their loan underwriters as exempt and failed to pay them for all overtime hours worked in violation of federal overtime pay laws. In other words, they saved themselves the overtime payments by reclassifying their employees as exempt.

But it’s not like Chase can’t afford the overtime—especially when you consider that their loan underwriters are pivotal in bringing in the big bucks. Chase is one of the country’s largest commercial banks, and “performs a significant amount of real estate loan origination and underwriting.” In order to do that business, Chase employs roughly 500-1,000 underwriters nationwide, many of whom allege they worked nights and weekends to get the job done.