Now comes word that in response to this intense level of scrutiny brought about by the public at large, Meridia side effects lawyers and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), changes to the labels of packages of Meridia have been approved that contain clear warning language regarding the specific risks of Meridia side effects.

Meridia Side Effects Warnings on Labels:

According to the FDA’s Web site, the label now states the following:

CONTRAINDICATIONS

• with a history of coronary artery disease (e.g., angina, history of myocardial infarction), congestive heart failure, tachycardia, peripheral arterial occlusive disease, arrhythmia or cerebrovascular disease (stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA))
• with inadequately controlled hypertension > 145/90 mm Hg
• over 65 years of age

WARNINGS

Concomitant Cardiovascular Disease

• Due to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke in patients with cardiovascular disease, Meridia…

PRECAUTIONS

Geriatric Use section

• Clinical studies of sibutramine did not include sufficient numbers of patients over 65 years of age. Sibutramine is contraindicated in this group of patients

If you or someone you love has been harmed by Meridia side effects, you need to contact the Meridia side effects lawyers at the Phillips National Injury Group today to schedule a free initial consultation.  The firm has decades of collective experience in holding manufacturers of defective drugs accountable for the harm they have caused, so contact the firm today to get the process of protecting and enforcing your legal rights started.

Yaz enjoyed a large share of the market after it was introduced to consumers in the United States in 2001 after being approved by the FDA.  It was made available via prescription, and it was also used for certain off-label uses that included treatment of the symptoms of acne and the symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD.  These symptoms included anxiety, lack of sleep, irritability and dizziness.

Unfortunately, Yaz eventually began to be linked to the development of serious side effects in many women who were using it, and some of these Yaz side effects included:

• Heart attacks
• Kidney damage
• Pulmonary embolisms
• Strokes
• Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)

Of those side effects listed above, DVT generated a high level of concern given the difficulty in diagnosing the problem.  DVT is basically a blood clot that forms deep inside the leg, and in some rare cases the arm, but they do not always present outward symptoms that are easy for a doctor to spot.  However, when symptoms do present themselves, they can include:

• Swelling of the leg
• Pain in the affected leg
• Redness in the affected area
• Hot spots on the skin

If DVT is not treated, it can become extremely dangerous and even be fatal in some cases.  Enough of these reports were generated that the FDA ultimately required the manufacturer to place a “Black Box Warning” on all packages of Yaz that clearly warned users of the dangers involved with using it.

Many of those harmed as a result of using this medication also moved forward with Yaz lawsuits against the manufacturer.  If you have suffered as a result of using this medication, you too may have legal rights and options that need to be explored.  You’ll need to contact a defective drugs attorney to schedule an initial consultation, and during that consultation your attorney will look at the information you have regarding the situation and provide you with a recommendation.  Contact an attorney today.

In response to this need, companies began to introduce medications that were meant to help control this bleeding, and Bayer, A.G. introduced a drug that was approved in 1993 that soon penetrated the market with a high degree of depth.  The medication was known as Trasylol, and experts have estimated that millions of patients had this drug injected into their systems prior to surgery.

For several years, Trasylol appeared to work quite well.  However, the publication of a study by the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) in 2006 set off a chain reaction of discovery by patients and negative reports that ultimately led to the recall of the medication after much involvement by the FDA and the federal government.  The side effects included the following:

• Kidney failure
• Strokes
• Encephalopathy
• Heart attacks

Heart attacks proved to be the most prevalent of Trasylol side effects, and the study by the NEJM concluded that those who had heart surgery and had received an injection of Trasylol faced a much higher risk of heart attacks and other side effects than those who did not.  In addition, some estimates indicate that as many as 22,000 people died as a result of using this medication and another 11,000 required ongoing medical treatment.

The recall came about after the FDA requested that the manufacturer stop marketing Trasylol in 2007, and in 2008, the full recall was initiated.  While this likely saved lives, it did not help those who had already suffered.  As a result, Trasylol lawsuits were filed all over the United States, and if you have suffered as a result of using this medication, you may have that option as well.

If you’d like to explore those options, all you need to do is contact a defective drugs attorney to schedule a free initial consultation.  You’ll only need to gather whatever information relating to your injection of Trasylol that you can find, and your attorney will handle the details from there if you have a valid claim.  Contact an attorney today to get this process started.

Reglan is only available via prescription, and it works by providing a ‘boost’ to the reaction time of the muscles in the upper digestive tract, which results in food emptying into the intestines from the stomach after it’s ingested.  This speed of delivery helps patients avoid the painful symptoms of heartburn.  The active ingredient in Reglan, metoclopramide, was actually approved by the FDA in 1985, but Reglan was the highest-selling brand name that depended on metoclopramide to perform its basic functions.

Unfortunately, reports of Reglan side effects eventually began to surface, and initial examples of these side effects included:

• Depression
• High blood pressure
• Exacerbation of Parkinson’s Disease

However, one side effect began to dominate reports given its extreme severity, and that is known as Tardive Dyskinesia, or TD.  TD is a rare condition that remains somewhat of a mystery to the medical community, which only creates more problems for those who suffer from it.  Symptoms of TD include uncontrollable movements of different parts of the body that include:

• Tongue
• Mouth
• Face in general
• Limbs
• Trunk

TD is progressive in nature, which means that these movements increase in rapidity to the point where basic daily functions become impossible to complete.

In response to these reports, the FDA required Baxter to perform a ‘REMS’ study, which stands for Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Study.  The goal of a REMS study is to determine whether the benefits of a drug outweigh the risks and therefore decide whether that medication should remain on the market.

While this is occurring, defective drugs lawyers around the country are answering inquiries regarding the possibility of filing a Reglan lawsuit.  If you or someone you love has been injured as a result of using Reglan, you may have the option of pursuing a legal claim.  In order to get this process started, you simply need to contact a defective drugs attorney to review your situation.  Try to gather as much information as possible regarding when you started using Reglan, how long you used it, what side effects/symptoms developed and what medical care you needed as a result.

At that point, your attorney will be able to provide you with an opinion as to whether or not your claim would be valid, and if so, he or she will manage your situation for you so that you can focus on your recovery.  Therefore, you have only something to gain by inquiring about your rights, so get that process started today.

One of these drugs is known as Paxil, which is manufactured by SmithKline Beecham, was approved for use in the United States by the FDA in 1999.  Paxil works by providing and maintaining a balance of serotonin that passes from cell to cell.  Serotonin is the body’s messenger that carries orders and messages through the central nervous system.  When there is a serotonin imbalance in a patient, it can lead to the development of depression and anxiety, and this is often referred to as a ‘chemical imbalance’ by non-medical professionals.

Paxil hit the market with a lot of promise given its early results, but eventually a series of Paxil side effects began to be reported by patients.  There were two side effects that gained early notice, but others soon followed that were just as serious.  The two initial discoveries included:

1. Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension (PPHN) – PPHN is a condition whereby the pressure in the lungs rises, and this rise in pressure makes it extremely difficult for oxygen to pass through the respiratory system.  The condition is particularly dangerous for children and infants, but almost regardless of age, those stricken with PPHN require ongoing intensive care.  PPHN can be fatal in several circumstances.
2. Heart birth defects - Another initial batch of reports concerned infants of mothers who had taken Paxil while pregnant being born with serious heart birth defects.  This was particularly true of those mothers who had taken Paxil during their first trimester of pregnancy.  Two of the most common side effects were atrial and ventricular sepatal defects.  These conditions occur when the wall between the two side of the heart is not properly developed, thus creating the need for immediate heart surgery.

In addition to these two side effects, reports also surfaced that Paxil users between the ages of 18 and 24 showed a troubling tendency to develop suicidal thoughts.

In response to these reports, the FDA required a Black Box Warning to be affixed to all containers of Paxil as well as requiring Paxil to be classified as a ‘Category D’ drug for pregnant women, which means that it is seen as particularly dangerous for unborn fetuses.

As a result of all of these problems, peole began to review their legal options, the first of which is filing a Paxil lawsuit.  While taking on a pharmaceutical giant can seem quite daunting, the fact is that those who were injured as a result of using Paxil needed only to contact an experienced defective drugs attorney and to provide him or her with all the information the patient could gather that was relevant to the situation.  Beyond that step, the attorney would generally be able to handle the claim and any other issues that arose.

Therefore, if you or someone you love has been injured as a result of using this drug, you need to do the same and contact a defective drugs attorney as soon as possible to schedule a free initial consultation.

As MRI’s became more prominent, different companies began to formulate new products designed to provide doctors with more help in diagnosing patients on the basis of the results of MRI’s.  One such substance that was found to be of great help in MRI’s is gadolinium, which in its basic state is an element that appears on the International Periodic Table.  Gadolinium possesses properties that provide doctors with a visual contrast on MRI images that make injuries and potential problems much easier to spot.

For several years, gadolinium-containing products sold quite well and performed to their expectations.  Unfortunately, reports of serious gadolinium side effects eventually began to surface, and these reports led to scrutiny from several different sources.  Of the side effects that were reported, one condition above all others was most prevalent, and it’s a condition known as Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis, otherwise known as NSF.

NSF is an otherwise rare condition that has yet to be clearly solved because of both its rarity and its short time in existence.  Basically, those who suffer from NSF deal with symptoms that include the progressive hardening of the skin and ultimately decreased movement ability.  As NSF continues to advance, it can develop around joints and lead to broken bones in patients.

If you have had a gadolinium-containing agent injected into your system prior to an MRI and are experiencing any of the following symptoms:

• Tightening of the skin
• Bone pain
• Skin lesions
• Muscle weakness

You should seek immediate medical attention.

Additionally, if you have been injured as a result of using gadolinium, you may have the option of pursuing a gadolinium lawsuit, but you’ll need the proper guidance from a defective drugs attorney in order to properly make that decision.  If you’d like those answers, contact an attorney to schedule a free initial consultation.

Unfortunately, many who used Avandia eventually began to develop serious side effects, and these included:

• Severe allergic reactions
• Severe chest pain
• Strokes
• Heart attacks
• Death

Those who have been found to be in a position of high risk include anyone who has had a history of heart problems in the past.

Ultimately, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a public health warning in regards to Avandia and the increased risk of heart attacks and other serious problems for those who were using it.  This announcement followed the publication of a study by the New England Journal of Medicine that concluded that those who used Avandia faced a higher risk of a heart attack by as much as 43 percent.

If you or someone you love has been harmed as a result of Avandia side effects, you have legal rights and options, but you’ll need to work with a defective drugs lawyer in order to obtain a full set of answers that directly relate to your situation.  If you and your attorney decide that filing an Avandia lawsuit is a sound decision, you’ll need to help your attorney get the process started by providing him or her with a few pieces of information.  These include:

• Documentation regarding your Avandia prescription
• Dates you took the medication
• Any medical records pertaining to problems you encountered as a result of using Avandia
• Any insurance documentation regarding your health situation that relates to your use of Avandia
• Any other information you think could be relevant

This is not an exhaustive list, and you’re only going to serve yourself better if you err on the side of over-inclusion when it comes to potential evidence.  After you’ve provided your defective drugs attorney with the information he or she needs, you can likely focus on your recovery and allow your attorney to handle your claim.  If you’ve suffered from the use of Avandia, contact an attorney today to schedule a free initial consultation.