Lupron #4

[Guest guest]

LIVING HELL

Women Speak Out About Lupron

 

By Nicholas Regush

 

January 26, 2002 - Last week, we published a preview of a few of the

issues that we are examining in our investigation of Lupron. This

drug, made by TAP Pharmaceuticals Inc, a joint venture of Abbott

Laboratories and Takeda Chemical Industries of Japan, is used

commonly in the treatment of endometriosis (among numerous other

purposes), a condition in which pieces of the lining of the uterus

are found in other parts of the body, especially in the pelvic

cavity. These pieces of endometriuim respond to the menstrual cycle

and bleed. Because the blood cannot escape, it builds up and causes

the development of small or large painful cysts. Lupron, a synthetic

hormone-like substance, acts on this process by suppressing the

ovaries and is supposed to temporarily interrupt estrogen output.

Hence a drug-induced menopause. The goal of treatment is to shrink

any lesions produced via endometriosis.

 

In this edition of redflagsweekly.com, we present the stories of

several women diagnosed with endometriosis who say they have suffered

severely since taking Lupron. They have complicated medical

histories. Here is the essence of what they have experienced since

their Lupron injections. Later in our series, we shall deal with some

of these and other case examples in greater depth as they pertain to

key issues surrounding Lupron, particularly its safety.

 

Paulette Wilson, Age 41

 

Paulette was diagnosed with endometriosis in 1996. Her doctor

prescribed two monthly injections of Lupron.

 

" I was okay after the first month, but after the second shot I woke

up with chest pain and needed to go to the emergency room. "

 

She was told she had " reflux disease, " a gastrointestinal

disorder. " I never had any problem like that before, " she said. " I

was given a wide variety of medications but had no relief at all. "

 

In just one month, she lost forty pounds. " Tests showed that I had

acid burns from my esophagus to my rectum. " "

 

Her pain and discomfort was accompanied by suicidal feelings. " My

doctor told me that I was depressed. "

 

And there has been no shortage of prescriptions for antidepressants.

 

Paulette now lives with severe pain, which sometimes affects her

entire body. " I've seen forty doctors and only one has suggested that

Lupron might have done something to me. "

 

Her current diagnosis is fibromyalgia, which is essentially a chronic

and systemic pain condition.

 

Lisa Plante, Age 45

 

Lisa was diagnosed with endometriosis in the mid-1990s and given

several monthly injections of Lupron.

 

" I had been dealing with abdominal pain for ten years and was told

constantly that it was due to irritable bowel syndrome, " she

said. " But I finally found a doctor who concluded - wrongly I learned

later - that it was likely endometriosis. "

 

Lisa was told that any side-effects associated with Lupron would

likely go away after her injections ended. " He said it would be no

big deal. "

 

A few hours after the first injection of lupron, she developed

unbearable bone pain.

 

Her doctor gave her some hormone treatment, which helped a little,

and she carried on with her program of injections.

 

But after the third shot, she could not handle the pain any longer

and had surgery to remove an ovary.

 

Now six years after receiving Lupron shots, she still suffers

symptoms, such as bone and joint pain, extreme fatigue, vision loss

and confusion.

 

" I sometimes get lost in my housework. I have to try to remember what

I'm doing. And when I'm in the car at a street light, I sometimes

have trouble thinking about what a particular color means. "

 

Lisa has been told by doctors that she is stressed or is suffering

from fibromyalgia.

 

" Doctors tell me that I'm an aging woman and that I'm having hormone

problems, but no one wants to explore the possibility that Lupron did

something to me. "

 

Irene Rybicki, Age 40

 

Irene had been living with endometriosis for years. " It was painful,

but it was manageable, " she said.

 

But when she finally decided to undergo surgery and have an ovary

removed, she was prescribed Lupron injections. No other options were

discussed.

 

" I was told that it just dries you up. "

 

Irene had a " horrendous reaction " to the injections.

 

" I couldn't sleep well, I was anxious, had hot flashes and had been

put into a semi-menopausal state. I was told it would be temporary. "

 

Irene had previously been ill with a thyroid condition. " After

Lupron, my thyroid problems got much worse. I became extremely hyper,

sleepless, couldn't eat - and in my entire life eating had never been

a problem. "

 

She asked her doctor whether the symptoms were Lupron-related. " She

told me they weren't due to Lupron. My system would get back to

normal. She told me that nothing really had gone wrong. "

 

But her condition deteriorated so much that she eventually had to

quit her job as an occupational therapist.

 

" I was experiencing joint pain, severe memory loss, which was close

to amnesia because I sometimes would have no recall of what people

told me. I had mood swings. I got depressed. I cried, even though on

the job where I dealt with people in distress, I usually could keep

my emotions under control. "

 

Her entire life came apart. A relationship ended. Friends became

invisible. She would lie in her bed day after day.

 

Finally, she read a book that focused on hormonal issues, which led

her to a doctor willing to treat her. She is now able to better

manage some of her symptoms and has returned to part-time work.

 

But she still has bad headaches and becomes exhausted very quickly.

 

Melody Hampton, Age 43

 

Here are some of the symptoms that Melody has suffered after being

treated for endometriosis with Lupron. Some continue to the present

day.

 

Tremendous headaches.

Rash.

Joint pain.

Nausea.

Heart palpitations.

High white cell count.

Low iron count.

Bone loss in two vertebrae

High blood pressure.

Blood in urine.

Atrophy of muscles.

Leg swelling.

 

This all began shortly after Melody had the first of her six Lupron

injections in 1995.

 

" After my first injection, I had a tremendous headache and rash, but

my obgyn said it wasn't Lupron. But when it kept happening after each

injection, my family doctor thought it might be Lyme Disease or

Lupus, but he ruled those out. "

 

Instead, her doctor classified Melody's condition as " unidentified

autoimmune disease. "

 

He too said it didn't have anything to do with Lupron because Lupron

didn't cause those kinds of things.

 

Melody now sees a rheumatologist who dismisses the idea that Lupron

may have triggered a damaging process in her body.

 

More than six years after receiving Lupron injections, Melody says

that, " at 43, I often feel like 93. "