JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG
Using the Freedom Of Information Act, the following data was recently obtained by the EDNC from the U.S. FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION concerning the "REPORTED ADVERSE REACTIONS TO DEPO-MEDROL" from 1998-2002.
Please keep in mind that various studies have concluded that adverse reactions are GROSSLY UNDERREPORTED IN THIS COUNTRY by as much as 100:1, that for every hundred reactions, only one gets reported! (A Harvard Study has it at 1.5%)
What's interesting is that Adhesive Arachnoiditis accounts for less than 1% of all reported reactions to Depo Medrol made to the FDA. Yet this is the one reaction that's getting most of the attention by those doctors who have decided to speak up about the dangers of ESI's. As noble as this may appear, the overall majority of reported reactions still falls under the title of "Sensory Disturbances", (Sensory Nervous System Disruption). This severe and sometimes chronic reactive condition almost always ends up being blamed on something other than ESI's by the medical establishment. These doctors know that their patients cannot easily substantiate their symptoms using existing diagnostic methods, so it gives them a sense of security. How convenient for them, isn't it?
And since Adhesive Arachnoiditis is the only condition caused by Depo-Medrol ESI's that can be clinically linked to it using MRI studies, it allows opportunists disguised as caring doctors to legally and medically cash-in when it happens to some unfortunate soul. It's a brilliantly designed market. They have it covered at both ends! And when a severe reaction to ESI's does occur, these doctors immediately suggest surgery claiming your original problem must have worsend, like that's really going to help someone having a toxic reaction!
These released documents make it perfectly clear that there is a vast middle ground filled with Depo Medrol ESI sufferers that have not been dx'd with Adhesive Arachnoiditis, who are being left to rot by a medical community unable or unwilling to do anything for them because of the lack of medical research. This is the true reason why the majority of ESI sufferers who complain to their doctors about their chronic sensory nerve disruption and pain following their ESI treatment, remain deliberately misdiagnosed and tagged with other ailments. The medical establishment appears to be suffering from chronic denial. They will never admit to a definitive adverse link to ESI's, even if their patients are screaming in pain from them! It's a total medical disaster that will eventually crash and burn!
F.D.A. SUMMARY ON ADVERSE EVENT REPORTS FOR INJECTABLE METHYLPREDISOLONE ACETATE, (DEPO-MEDROL) FROM 1998-2002
Total Adverse Events Reported: 15,578
Differing Types Of Adverse Events Reported: 2,067
Number Of Deaths Attributed to Depo-Medrol: 354
________________________________________________________
The Following List Represents Only A Few of The Severe Medical Events Attributed To Depo-Medrol & Reported To The FDA By Doctors and Patients During This Period.
PYREXIA
DYSPNOEA
RESPIRATORY FAILURE
CHRONIC COMA
CARDIAC ARREST
HEPATITIS
PARAESTHESIA
TOXIC EPIDERMAL NECROLYSIS
PARAPARESIS
RENAL FAILURE
SEVERE PSYCHOTIC DISORDER
BONE MARROW DEPRESSION
CHRONIC MUSCLE WASTING
ANAPHYLACTIC SHOCK
ARACHNOIDITIS
CARDIAC FAILURE
NEUROLOGICAL DAMAGE
TOXIC CHEMICAL MENINGITIS
MENINGITIS
PARALYSIS
FIBROMYALGIA
HEMORRHAGIC STROKE
PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY
NERVE ROOT DEMYELINATION
NON-INFECTIOUS NERVE ROOT INFLAMMATION
TOXIC NEPHROPATHY
SENSORY NERVE DISRUPTION
PERIPHERAL BURNING SENSATION SYNDROME
CHRONIC PAIN SYNDROME
BLINDNESS
SUICIDAL IDEATION
SCIATICA
VERTEBRAE LIGAMENT FAILURE
SEVERE WEIGHT LOSS
SPINAL FIBROSIS
INJECTION SITE ATROPHY
SEVERE NEUROTOXICITY
CHRONIC RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
SEVERE CHRONIC BONE PAIN
PERIPHERAL COLDNESS
BRAIN ABSCESS
STROKE
CAUDA EQUINA SYNDROME
KERATITIS
CHRONIC INJECTION SITE PAIN
SUDDEN DEATH
Yup! That's how it reads!
AND MANY MORE!
