Beyond Side Effects

If you suffered an injury from a drug or medical device, you are not alone. Share your story and join the many others who have opened up about their experiences to raise awareness of dangerous medical products. Sharing your story could help others with similar experiences, and it may even save a life.

Were you negatively affected by a drug or medical device?

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Latest Story

Woman Suffers Synvisc-One Knee Injection Side Effect: ‘I’ll Never Be the Same’

Julia* had always lived an active life. The Massachusetts grandmother is a nurse, a lawyer… Read More
Terry Turner
Terry Turner

More Personal Stories

Hernia Mesh tools
Survivor Stories

One Hernia Mesh, Multiple Surgeries

Story by D.H.

My husband had hernia surgery with mesh. He was not making progress and a few weeks later, he was rushed to emergency surgery. He was in ICU on a ventilator for about a week and in the hospital for over three weeks. He had several surgeries and went home with a wound vac for about a month. Then, several months later, he was admitted to the hospital again with a bowel blockage.

Xarelto Pills
Survivor Stories

A Xarelto Brain Bleed Took My Sister's Life

Story by C.R.

My sister was put in the hospital because she had no platelets. They took her off Coumadin and put her on Xarelto. Six months later she grabbed her head, fell on the floor and said, “What is happening to me?” Then, she started talking gibberish. She went to the hospital where a CT scan found a large brain bleed. We buried her soon after. She didn’t have head problems, and she bled from that blasted medicine! I know that money or nothing else can bring her back, but our loved one died as an experiment that [the drug company] knew was dangerous!

IVC Filter
Survivor Stories

IVC Filter Ticking Time Bomb

Story by D.M.

I had an IVC filter placed a few years ago. It was supposed to be removable. Well, a few months later they went to retrieve it, and it had grown into my vena cava. I even consulted a neurosurgeon after seeing all the deaths the IVC filter was causing. Well, that was a no go. They said, I would “bleed out” if they tried to remove it. So I am feeling like a ticking time bomb. I am a single mom raising 3 boys on my own. My youngest is only 8 and is disabled.

Prilosec OTC Packaging
Survivor Stories

Prilosec Ruined My Mom's Kidneys

Story by C.C.

My mother was on Prilosec for many years. She is otherwise very healthy. She is 83 and until recently, walked a mile every day, read the newspaper, did all the shopping and cooking for her and my father. No one was keeping track of her bloodwork, but I recently made graphs of how it has been changing. She was in an emergency room after falling and losing consciousness, and they said her blood work indicated “kidney injury.” The [bloodwork shows] the steady decline in kidney function. This does not run in her family.

Assorted Pills
Survivor Stories

Fluoroquinolones Gave Me an Aneurysm

Story by S.K.

I took fluoroquinolones. The doctors found the thoracic aneurysm when I was 34. Before the aneurysm I was taking the Cipro medication for bronchitis and pneumonia. A few months after the doctors were treating the pneumonia and they checked my lungs again with a CT and found the thoracic aortic aneurysm.

Metal Hip Replacement
Survivor Stories

Husband's Pain and Mental Decline from Metal Hip Implant

Story by C.H.

Over the last 5 years I have watched my husband’s cognitive decline, this decline began when he was only 54 years old. He has no family history of Alzheimer’s or Dementia. So we have researched every avenue to understand why and last week we think we could have an answer. He has had 2 hip replacements. They used the DePuy Pinnacle cup with a metal liner and stem in his left hip. Over the last several months he has been unable to walk due to the pain in his left hip. Currently the pain is so great he is only able to sit in a chair all day. We went to the doctor and the X-ray reflected a loose stem. They scheduled him for revision surgery. The orthopedic doctor did discuss with us potential cognitive issues connected with metal on metal implants. So now we are asking the question, did this hip create my husband’s cognitive disease and the rapid decline at his young age? Thanks for allowing us to share our story.

Assorted Pills
Survivor Stories

Invokana Put Me in the Hospital

Story by J.K.

My doctor prescribed Invokana to help keep my sugar levels down. I am a Type 1 diabetic. I ended up in the hospital for two nights with ketoacidosis. I never experienced any of the regular symptoms for ketoacidosis while on Invokana. The hospital had a difficult time diagnosing me because my blood sugar was not very high.

Assorted Pills
Survivor Stories

Crestor Almost Killed Me

Story by Gary E. Gullicksen

After a heart attack, I was prescribed Crestor. Later I had another heart attack and then a third. While I was recovering, my doctor told me never to take Crestor again. Three months after leaving the hospital I had to have a blood clot removed. Crestor not only almost killed me, but it made my blood clots worse. It did not prevent build up in my arteries as the company claimed. This is false advertising. I hope my experience with Crestor gets somebody’s attention.

Have a Story to Share?

Every member of Drugwatch understands the courage and trust it takes for you to share your story and the importance of being heard.

When you share your story with Drugwatch, it is sent directly to Senior Content Writer Michelle Llamas. To protect your privacy, your story will be kept confidential unless a Drugwatch team member contacts you and gets your permission to publish it. We will never publish a story without permission.

We take pride in this responsibility and give each story the attention it deserves. This means we may call or email you to ask questions about your experience. If you decide to share your story publicly, you will join many others who we feature in articles and podcasts.

If you have any questions about our policies, you can email Michelle Llamas directly at [email protected]. Contact information for all our team members is available on our team page.

Things to know about sharing your story:

Who Am I Calling?

Calling this number connects you with Drugwatch Managing Editor Kevin Connolly.

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