Post by catatonic on Jan 10, 2004 21:41:48 GMT -5
This has absolutely nothing to do with ADHD, but it does give me an opportunity to post the FDA's MedWatch internet site for reporting and medicine side effects.
Here's the nutshell summary...because of a degenerative back condition, I was put on prescription strength ibuprofen and sent to physical therapy for months. Time went by and I began having constant headaches that never went away despite the ibuprofen. My vision became blurry. My monthly cycle became a twice-monthly cycle. My hair was falling out by the fistful. I went through numerous lab tests -- thyroid hormones, ovarian hormones, CBC, comprehensive metabolic panel, MRI. You name it, I had it. This was in October and November.
Well, instead of relying on my doctor any further (like he'd done any good so far with thousands of dollars of tests that all came back normal) I did my own research. And guess what I found? Manufacturer's information on ibuprofen side effects that included EVERY SINGLE ONE of the problems I was having. Hair loss, constant headache, blurred vision, etc.
I took myself off ibuprofen entirely two weeks ago. The headache that never quit vanished on the third day. Hair loss is back to normal amount, everything else has returned to normal.
All this from a medicine that's available over-the-counter and I NEVER exceeded recommended dosage!
So...if you ever believe you or someone you know has experienced a reaction to medication, whether prescription or over-the-counter, or even a supplement, make sure to report it. Estimates are that only 1 in 20 drug reactions are ever reported. In fact, out of the 2,216,000 adverse drug effects that result in HOSPITAL ADMISSION each year, 106,000 of these people will DIE. That is 300 deaths each day due to reactions to medication. A mere fraction of these cases are ever reported to the FDA -- Jama estimes 5%. In fact, the numbers above were not compiled by the FDA, but by the Journal of the American Medical Association via a stringent review of hospital admission records. This is wrong, and puts every consumer potentially in danger!
To report medication reactions, you can print a form (complete with postage paid envelope) or you can submit the form online (although the online reporting seems to suffer from glitches with fairly high frequency). Here's the FDA's MedWatch site:
www.drugintel.com/public/medwatch/index.htm
If you want to report vaccine reactions, there's a different place for that, the Vaccine Adverse Event Report System at www.fda.gov/cber/vaers/vaers.htm
Here's the nutshell summary...because of a degenerative back condition, I was put on prescription strength ibuprofen and sent to physical therapy for months. Time went by and I began having constant headaches that never went away despite the ibuprofen. My vision became blurry. My monthly cycle became a twice-monthly cycle. My hair was falling out by the fistful. I went through numerous lab tests -- thyroid hormones, ovarian hormones, CBC, comprehensive metabolic panel, MRI. You name it, I had it. This was in October and November.
Well, instead of relying on my doctor any further (like he'd done any good so far with thousands of dollars of tests that all came back normal) I did my own research. And guess what I found? Manufacturer's information on ibuprofen side effects that included EVERY SINGLE ONE of the problems I was having. Hair loss, constant headache, blurred vision, etc.
I took myself off ibuprofen entirely two weeks ago. The headache that never quit vanished on the third day. Hair loss is back to normal amount, everything else has returned to normal.
All this from a medicine that's available over-the-counter and I NEVER exceeded recommended dosage!
So...if you ever believe you or someone you know has experienced a reaction to medication, whether prescription or over-the-counter, or even a supplement, make sure to report it. Estimates are that only 1 in 20 drug reactions are ever reported. In fact, out of the 2,216,000 adverse drug effects that result in HOSPITAL ADMISSION each year, 106,000 of these people will DIE. That is 300 deaths each day due to reactions to medication. A mere fraction of these cases are ever reported to the FDA -- Jama estimes 5%. In fact, the numbers above were not compiled by the FDA, but by the Journal of the American Medical Association via a stringent review of hospital admission records. This is wrong, and puts every consumer potentially in danger!
To report medication reactions, you can print a form (complete with postage paid envelope) or you can submit the form online (although the online reporting seems to suffer from glitches with fairly high frequency). Here's the FDA's MedWatch site:
www.drugintel.com/public/medwatch/index.htm
If you want to report vaccine reactions, there's a different place for that, the Vaccine Adverse Event Report System at www.fda.gov/cber/vaers/vaers.htm
