Avandia News

Discovered Avandia Problems Just in Time

-LawyersandSettlements

09/11/2008- Donita has type 2 diabetes, and was on Avandia for over seven years. One heart attack and a triple bypass later, her life has changed forever, but she's grateful she discovered potential problems with the drug, and got off it before it was too late.

Even though Donita was on Avandia for many years, it wasn't until just before her heart attack that she started to notice some common side effects associated with the drug, specifically water retention.

"In 1999 I underwent surgery for a cyst that ruptured in my stomach, and that's when I was put on Avandia," Donita said. "In 2006, I began retaining a lot of water, and I had pain down my leg. So I went to the doctor and they sent me for heart tests. They found out I had blocked arteries--five blockages. They had to do bypass surgery, almost immediately: three bypasses to cover the five blockages.

When I was admitted to the hospital for my surgery, they first had to deal with the edema. They took 40 lbs of fluid out of me in five days. That's when I experienced shortness of breath. Within three weeks I underwent heart surgery.

They also discovered that sometime prior to June 2008 I had suffered a heart attack. They couldn't tell exactly when, but within the year. I didn't know I'd had a heart attack; probably because I have a high tolerance for pain. But my doctor showed my images of the scar tissue on my heart."

Nobody had mentioned anything to Donita about Avandia, and its association with heart failure. So Donita remained on the drug after her surgery. It wasn't until she saw some information on television about the potentially dangerous heart complications that she called her doctor. He said he had just heard about it himself and took her off the drug immediately. "That was about April, 2008," Donita said. "I remained on Avandia up to that point. Although I'm off it now, I still have water retention and will have it the rest of my life. In 2007, they found a blockage behind my heart, and I had to have a stent put in."

But Donita's problems aren't over. "This last year I've been in and out of the hospital six times, because of the fluid retention," she said. "They have to drain the fluid regularly. And this is definitely connected with my heart condition. My brother was on Avandia until I warned him about it. He came off it the same time I did."

Not surprisingly, all this has affected Donita's everyday life in some very dramatic ways. "I cannot live alone now. I'm also a lot more sensitive to things as a result of my heart condition. I'm monitored on a regular basis – MRIs, stress tests. But you get tired of going to the doctor all the time. I had a friend come and live with me, but now I am staying at her house, which is closer to where I work. The doctors still haven't said I can live alone, because you never know when something could happen.”

And Donita has to keep working because disability won't even begin to cover her medical costs. "I take 14 pills in the morning and seven at night, most of which are connected with my heart condition," Donita said. She would like some legal help." I talked to a lawyer and he told me to look at the Lawyers and Settlements website. So, I here I am, telling my story; I'm only 59 years old."