Do I have a case? Accutane or Lexapro? Help.

[ray34iyf]

Hey all,

I am at the point where filing a lawsuit and keeping up with the demands and stresses of the whole ordeal is plausible, as my mental faculties are coming back up to speed. I'll give you an entire history of my drug use, and I would LOVE opinions on if I have some kind of case against either the makers of accutane, my gp, or anyone else who could be held responsible for this torturous last 4 years.

Arrived at UW-Madison for my freshman year of college in the fall of 2006. Was very excited, made a tight group of friends, and really started to enjoy myself and break out into the person I wished I could be all throughout high school, at least socially. All was well, and then I started to develop pretty severe acne on my back and face/neck region. Went to see the GP, and the first means of attack was to prescribe Accutane for the problem. Doctor warned me of many of the risks and the fact that there would be monthly blood work, and we went ahead, with the assurance from him that none of this would affect me and this stuff occurs in the very very small minority of people. Started out at a low dose and was eventually ramped up over 120 mg into summer of 2007, where I was working a labor intensive job surveying for a local company in 90 degree weather. From the time I started accutane, I slowly became severely depressed, severely paranoid, had severe joint pain, became delusional, and began to suffer from severe anxiety and body dysmorphia. Keep in mind, I had NO prior history of any of this, and was doing very well until starting the accutane.

During that summer of 2007, I also became severely suicidal, hopeless, and wouldn't leave my room except for work, where I suffered every minute from panic, dysmorphic symptoms (checked mirrors hundreds of times per day to access facial features and appearance), and depression. Needless to say, things were in crisis mode. Since this time, I have developed cataracts in both of my eyes, and have had visions issues to this day.

Saw GP in July to access the situation, and in his words, he said, "I'm sorry, but it appears that this medicine I gave you has 'fu**ed you up' ".

He recommended a few psychiatrists and I bounced around until I settled into one with whom I was comfortable. Started me on 10mg of Lexapro, and soon after, I noticed that I felt 'better', yet still suffered the dysmorphia. That August, felt absolutely terrible, suicidal and the like, it seems that the Lexapro ramped this up initially, and then went into school for my 2nd year feeling "euphoric" as I remember it. This began to wear off later that year and I suffered some of the most severe anxiety, tremors, derealization that you could ever suffer.. along with the other symptoms you all are too familiar with.

Missed the next fall semester from these side effects, which at the time I thought I had developed CFS or was suffering from long term mono, or something similar.

The next year I was instructed to taper off over a 4 week period from 10mg of Lexapro from another psych doctor, who had been in the field for 40+ years. I suffered all of the cold turkey hell you all know and then reinstated 10mg.. suffered terribly and was non functional for another half a year, and then a few months later, I'm here on the Celexa 20mg... being told I have some kind of problem in my brain as opposed to the bevy of drugs and poisons I've been given over the last 4 years.

All in all, this whole ordeal has caused me severe suffering, emotionally, psychologically, and physically, and has caused me grades in school, the ability to work full time, and the ability to function as a normal human period throughout any of this time. 90% of these 4 years has consisted of my huddled up in a fetal position, praying that God take this pain away from me.

I feel like somebody needs to be held responsible for this.. and I would love to get some kind of justice here... it's in no way about the money.. although that would help cover all of the missed work and medical bills that have accumulated because of this crap.

Anyways, if somebody could steer me in the right direction, I'd be very grateful. Thanks for you time.

[LCrawford67]

Unfortunately, because there are warning labels on all of these medications, you don't have a case against the manufacturer. Pharma has covered their rear ends when they put all the warnings and black box warnings on the drugs, long before 2006 and the lawsuits prior to that are over.

Also, through your own admission, you were verbally warned by your doctor, when he prescribed you Accutane.

Another thing against you, in a court of law, is your psychiatric history. If you've been to several psychiatrists, that shows a history and you'd be hard pressed to prove what you're experiencing is solely from w/d.

We would all love justice, but the sad fact is, that shipped sailed a long time ago, in regards to lawsuits. The only lawsuits still viable, are the Paxli birth defect lawsuits. Now that Paxil is a Class D drug and is listed as such on their inserts, those too will soon be over.

[ray34iyf]

A travesty in the highest sense.

Thanks for the response LC.

[Zoloft25]

This is pathetic, got a little acne and a doctor practically destroys you! This drug culture we have created is destroying our country and the whole western world!

[ray34iyf]

Yep. That's the gist of it... and I'm sure that I'm just one out of many similar cases. Something's got to change here. Where's the common sense? Seriously.