Description of Event or Problem · 1
I AM A PT ON AN IV FOR Q-FEVER, A FORM OF LYME DISEASE. I WAS DIAGNOSED IN 2008 AND PLACED ON THE IV INJECTABLE SOLUTION DOXYCYCLINE, 100 MG INJECTION, TWICE DAILY. I WAS REQUIRED TO COMPLETE EACH INFUSION WITH ONE HEPARIN IV FLUSH SOLUTION, 100 UNITS/ML, 5 ML FILL IN 12 ML SYRINGE. AT ABOUT APPROXIMATELY 6 WEEKS LATER AFTER DIAGNOSIS, I RECEIVED THE CONTAMINATED HEPARIN, MEDEFIL LOT #H107305. AFTER USING WHAT I HAD LEFT FROM MY PREVIOUS SUPPLY, I USED MY FIRST CONTAMINATED HEPARIN SYRINGE ABOUT FOUR DAYS AFTER RECEIPT, AFTER I COMPLETED MY MORNING INFUSION. AS I STOOD UP, THE ROOM SEEMED TO SWIRL AROUND AND I FELT A STRONG POUNDING IN MY CHEST AND HEAD. MY SKIN BEGAN TO TINGLE AND I BECAME VERY SICK TO MY STOMACH. I FELL BACK ON THE BED. THE NEXT THING I REMEMBER IS "AWAKENING" ALMOST THREE HOURS LATER, APPROX 1 PM, AND FEELING SICK ALL OVER. ALTHOUGH I DID NOT PASS OUT AGAIN AFTER THE FIRST INJECTION, I BEGAN EXPERIENCING LIGHTHEADEDNESS AND DIZZINESS AFTER INFUSIONS AND BETWEEN INFUSIONS. THIS KEPT HAPPENING FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS DURING WHICH I THOUGHT THAT I WAS FIGHTING A FLU OR COLD VIRUS THAT DID NOT GET BETTER AND YET, DID NOT FULLY DEVELOP. I HAD A FEELING ALL OVER OF EXTREME WEAKNESS, MY HANDS WERE SHAKING, I WAS SO SICK TO MY STOMACH THAT I COULD NO LONGER RIDE IN A CAR WITHOUT BECOMING SICK. MY HEAD ACHED AND I LOST EIGHT POUNDS IN TWO WEEKS, -A SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE OF MY TOTAL BODY WEIGHT. I ALSO BECAME DISORIENTED. AFTER ABOUT A WEEK AND A HALF, MY KIDNEYS ALSO BEGAN HURTING ME AND I FELT SHORT OF BREATH. ADDITIONALLY, DURING THIS TWO WEEKS I DEVELOPED AN OVERWHELMING FEELING OF DREAD THAT I COULD NOT ATTRIBUTE TO ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR. I HAD A PROFOUND SENSE OF DOOM. PSYCHOLOGICALLY, I BEGAN FEELING STRONGLY THAT MY LIFE HAD NO WORTH. I FELT THAT I WAS COMPLETELY DETACHED FROM EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING AROUND ME. I COULD NOT EXPLAIN WHY, BUT ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS I EXPERIENCED WHAT I CAN ONLY CALL AN UNWARRANTED, OVERWHELMING "COMPULSION" TO DIE, TO TAKE MY OWN LIFE. IT WAS UNLIKE ANYTHING I HAD EVER EXPERIENCED IN MY LIFE AND IT WAS FRIGHTENING. IT WAS AN URGE SO STRONG, THAT JUST CAME FROM NOWHERE, AND I HAD TO CONSCIOUSLY SHAKE MY HEAD AND ASK MYSELF WHAT I WAS THINKING OF... HAVING SUCH THOUGHTS. -MY DOCTOR LATER EXPLAINED THIS TO ME AS PART OF ANAPHYLAXIS SHOCK-. I FIND IT DEEPLY DISTURBING, THOUGH, TO THIS DAY, BECAUSE I HAVE TO ASK MYSELF, "WHAT IF I HAD FOLLOWED THROUGH ON THAT COMPULSION?" THE THOUGHT IS HORRIFYING. I ALSO WONDER IF ANYONE ELSE HAD SUCH A REACTION. AT APPROXIMATELY ABOUT TWO WEEKS I USED THE SYRINGE, I WAS CONTACTED BY MY PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY TO CHECK THE LOT NUMBER ON MY HEPARIN SYRINGES. I HAD A CONTAMINATED BATCH AND DISCONTINUED USE. HOWEVER, MY DOCTOR WAS REQUIRED TO PLACE ME ON REPEATED IV FLUSHES DUE TO THE KIDNEY PAIN AND SIDE EFFECTS FROM THE HEPARIN. DURING THIS TIME I HAD TO SUSPEND MY ANTIBIOTIC, WHICH I FELT WAS A SET BACK IN MY TREATMENT. ALTHOUGH MOST OF THE SIDE EFFECTS OF THE HEPARIN ARE CLEARED UP, I STILL HAVE PAIN IN BOTH MY KIDNEYS, HAVE TREMORS IN MY HANDS AND ONGOING THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS OF DOOM THAT JUST COME OVER ME SUDDENLY. I AM STILL SICK TO MY STOMACH, STRUGGLING TO KEEP MY WEIGHT UP AND WORRY THAT LONG TERM EFFECTS ALL THIS WILL HAVE ON MY BODY, MIND AND ON OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN THROUGH THIS SAME EXPERIENCE. I CONTINUE TO HAVE EPISODES OF LIGHTHEADEDNESS AND FEELING AS THOUGH I AM GOING TO PASS OUT UPON STANDING AND ONSET AT TIMES WHEN I AM ALREADY STANDING. DO I ATTRIBUTE THESE ONGOING SYMPTOMS TO THE HEPARIN? DOES, OR WILL, ANYONE EVER KNOW IF THERE ARE LONG TERM EFFECTS? WERE THERE ANY CASES OF SUICIDE BY SOMEONE WHO HAD RECEIVED THE BAD HEPARIN? IS THERE SOMEWHERE TO GO TO FIND MORE INFO? AM I THE ONLY PERSON WHO GOT SICK ON MEDEFIL'S HEPARIN AND IS THAT WHY I CANNOT FIND MUCH DATA ON THEIR RECALL? DOSE OR AMOUNT: 100 UNITS/ML, 5ML. FREQUENCY: TWICE DAILY. ROUTE: IV. DATES OF USE: 2008. DIAGNOSIS OR REASON FOR USE: Q-FEVER. EVENT ABATED AFTER USE STOPPED OR DOSE REDUCED? NO.