Acne out, reflux in?
July 25, 2010 5:13 PM   Subscribe

I took Accutane for acne in high school, and in college I was diagnosed with GERD and will probably have to take Nexium for the rest of my life. I never associated the two, but this evening I noticed one of those sleazy "sue prescription drug companies!" ads that said that Accutane has been linked to GI disorders. Is this worth pursuing, and if so, how should I go about it?

Searching the web, it looks like there are numerous law offices eager to sue the makers of Accutane on my behalf, but they all look pretty sketchy. I don't really care about "sticking it to the drug companies", and don't feel like I'm "owed" anything, but if there's a simple, straightforward method of submitting a claim and getting a "yeah, sorry about the unexpected damage to your organs" check in return that would be nice.
posted by luvcraft to Law & Government (12 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Call a tort lawyer that specializes in medical malpractice. If you are in the United States, watch some day time TV, and you will see an ad for one in your area.

It will take 15 minutes to find out if you have a case.
posted by Flood at 6:12 PM on July 25, 2010


Since this is a known side effect of the drug, amongst many many other known serious side effects, how would development of said known side effects constitute "unexpected damage"? Wouldn't it be "expected damage"?
posted by treehorn+bunny at 6:35 PM on July 25, 2010 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Call a tort lawyer that specializes in medical malpractice. If you are in the United States, watch some day time TV, and you will see an ad for one in your area.

daytime TV?? No settlement is worth that!! (By which I mean, "thanks! I'll call up a local medical malpractice lawyer and ask".) :)

Since this is a known side effect of the drug, amongst many many other known serious side effects, how would development of said known side effects constitute "unexpected damage"? Wouldn't it be "expected damage"?

Maybe so? My understanding is that side effects are typically supposed to go away after you stop taking the medication. But I don't really know, which is part of why I'm asking about this here.
posted by luvcraft at 6:46 PM on July 25, 2010


I took Accutane in college, but I had GI issues before that. Severe, debilitating acne and the anxiety it causes could be interrelated with GI issues.

The biggest side effects I was told about at the time was DEFORMED! BABBY! NO PRAGNAT! I had to take a pregnancy test every month to keep getting my prescription. I don't recall anything about GI effects. I did experience the headaches and vision issues.

I do have drier skin now, and I attribute that to the Accutane. I had my gallbladder yanked last year, but I had "stomach" problems long before I went to the dermatologist.

Anyway, there's this guy, who recently settled out of court.

This same site has a link where you can be evaluated by an attorney for no cost. The only reason I link it is because the site as a whole is not all about Accutane, though it is featured heavily.
posted by lysdexic at 7:17 PM on July 25, 2010


Since this is a known side effect of the drug, amongst many many other known serious side effects, how would development of said known side effects constitute "unexpected damage"? Wouldn't it be "expected damage"?

I don't think they started warning about the side effect until fairly recently.
posted by amro at 7:39 PM on July 25, 2010


My understanding is that side effects are typically supposed to go away after you stop taking the medication.

That only makes sense if you also expect your acne to come back after you stop taking the drug. Anyway, the guy in the article lysdexic linked to had to have his colon removed. It seems like having to take Nexium isn't an inconvenience worth suing over.
posted by halogen at 8:34 PM on July 25, 2010


It might give you even worse GERD to get tied up in a lawsuit for something that may not turn out in your favor anyhow.
posted by thorny at 9:22 PM on July 25, 2010


GERD is gastro-esophageal reflux disease, right? I googled this out of curiosity recently, and it seems to me that the people promulgating these lawsuits want to deal mostly with IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) sufferers because it's a treatable but incurable condition, and a painful, embarrassing thing to live with. It can even be fatal or require drastic surgeries. I'm not a lawyer, but my uninformed opinion is that any monies you might desire will be rather modest and take at least several years to arrive. GERD is uncomfortable and inconvenient, but if that's the extent of your injury you're not doing so badly, right?
posted by clockzero at 10:59 PM on July 25, 2010


Best answer: What you're hearing about has nothing to do with GERD. Moreover, GERD is incredibly common. Having developed GERD after discontinuing Accutane makes it all the more unrealistic to think the two are causally linked in any way. Don't waste your time and energy on this.
posted by drpynchon at 7:35 AM on July 26, 2010


The lawyers advertising on daytime TV are usually giant tools. You will have better luck getting real information about the possibility of a suit from a more reputable attorney that you find by contacting the referral service available through your city, county, or state bar association. Also, be prepared for the possibility that your return may be disappointing -- not a check, but something useless like a discount for other products offered by the manufacturer of Accutane. Meaningful monetary compensation rarely involves a simple claims process where you fill out a form and get a check back. (If you want examples of this, check out the diet drug litigation.)

Just because some attorney thinks there is a link between Accutane and GERD, that doesn't mean there is one -- the threshold for filing a lawsuit is pretty low. If you want medical information, it might be worth a call to whoever diagnosed you with GERD to ask or to the doctor who prescribed the Accutane if there's a connection between the medication and your condition.
posted by *s at 8:24 AM on July 26, 2010


Are you 100% sure you have GERD? GERD is often mis-diagnosed and may be a side effect of another condition. It wouldn't hurt to investigate this, I don't think.

(from another former Accutane user who has mysterious stomach problems)
posted by getawaysticks at 7:18 AM on July 27, 2010


Response by poster: Are you 100% sure you have GERD? GERD is often mis-diagnosed and may be a side effect of another condition. It wouldn't hurt to investigate this, I don't think.

Yeah. 100% sure. Multiple second opinions, barium swallow, and several upper GI endoscopies when it started turning into Barrett's esophagus (which, fortunately, the Nexium has curtailed).
posted by luvcraft at 9:28 AM on July 27, 2010


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