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Chronic Pain
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Posted 10/3/2012 2:29 PM (GMT 0)
Since many of us here have these done for our pain. It's very important to discuss with your Dr. as they have not figured out the lot numbers or manufacturer and whether it is nationwide.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49271358

Posted 10/3/2012 2:35 PM (GMT 0)
 

      ...the information is appreciated! Thanks!

 

      SE

Posted 10/4/2012 1:35 PM (GMT 0)
Bumping this up as they have now confirmed 4 deaths and dozens sickened in the states of MD, VA, NC, TN, and FL..

They think it's now linked to a manufacturere in MA...

So you can check with your Dr. if you have received a steroid shot for pain in the last few months and have any questions.
Posted 10/4/2012 2:55 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Snowbunny for this article. Not to sound too negative, but this just gives me another reason why i don't want the shots. I've been able to hold off due to cost, just not sure how long my PM is going to let me get away with that. Maybe I'm just being irrational. I've had a shot in my wrist a gazillion years ago for carpal tunnel and the pain was gone (after two days of stiffness), but i am scared to death of the shot in my back. I know they offer sedation, but that's an extra $150 that my insurance WONT cover; and I'm afraid that once i get it, I'll start getting the nerve pain. I've been pretty lucky that way as i only get it once in a while and it last only for a short time. Plus I've never had an MRI and the Doc has only seen the report for the x-rays, not the x-rays themselves.

OK, sorry for the babbling, i just get goofy when i think about it.
Posted 10/4/2012 3:01 PM (GMT 0)
I know it seems scary...but just like with the latest recall of the peanut butter....there is always going to be places that make mistakes and recalls on foods, meds, products, etc.

We just have to be knowledgeable, ask questions, and then go forward.

These types of shots are actually quite easy as it's just a shot of steroid medication. I didn't need any type of sedation or pain medication....it was just a tiny pinch.

The other way to get steroids if you don't want the shot is to do a Medrol dose pack. This is where you are given I think 6-7 pills to take the first day...then one less the next day, and so on...(It's been awhile since I did them)...

So...I certainly think people should know about possible issues like this...but please don't let it worry you so much that you sacrifice a possible pain reliever in the future.
Posted 10/5/2012 1:41 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Snowbunny, i guess i was over-reacting. I appreciate you taking the time to calm me down about it. 8-)
Posted 10/5/2012 10:41 PM (GMT 0)
Interesting considering I just told my doctor today that I wasn't interested in shots in my spine.
Posted 10/5/2012 11:08 PM (GMT 0)
Unfortunately, this is affecting friends of mine. We've had one death and 100's affected.

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/wdbj7-more-than-600-patients-received-contaminated-medication-at-facilities-in-roanoke-and-christiansburg-20121005,0,376891.story
Posted 10/7/2012 5:16 AM (GMT 0)
http://www.cdc.gov/hai/outbreaks/meningitis-facilities-map.html

Here is a list of put out by the CDC of all the clinics which the possibly contaminated medication is being recalled. There's not many of them, scary, if I had not gone through with my Lumbar fusion, I would have had the shots at the one in Palmdale. Check it out, and get checked out if you went to one of these clinics.
Posted 10/7/2012 1:55 PM (GMT 0)
It turns out it was a specific mixture of the steroid that was made at the compounding pharmacy in MA.

The issue is because the fungi can grow in drugs that are not stored properly, especially those without preservatives, like those made by the compounding pharmacy.

Compounding pharmacies are not regulated as closely as drug manufacturers and their products are not subject to FDA approval. This is something that I certainly didn't know.

So...this is now becoming a serious discussion about those type of pharmacies and medication made there.

Please know that it was only that specific type of injection that was made up at that pharmacy.

Thankfully, most of us have received "pre made" steroid injections that have come from a manufacturer and go straight from sterile to sterile environment.

Roccyd...I'm sorry about your friends...I will pray for the family that lost their loved one and that the others can get treatment.

As I stated earlier, knowledge is important and now we can always ask first before we get any type of injection if it is a FDA approved med or do they get them from a compounding pharmacy and then make an informed decision.
Posted 10/7/2012 4:06 PM (GMT 0)
My best friend is an ICU nurse here in town. She just texted and said they admitted a number of patients yesterday.

The lack of FDA involvement in compunding pharmacies has been a concern of mine. Some of the meds I take need to formulated in specific ways depending on the patient. This is when these pharmacies are used.

At this point, if you were affected, you should have been called. It's scary, especially here where I can walk(if I'm feeling really ambitious) to a center, but the chance of developing the illness is pretty slim. They called 600 people here alone. Still-if you have any concerns call your dr. The good thing about his being out in the news is that, if caught early, the chance of survival greatly improves.
Posted 10/8/2012 4:56 PM (GMT 0)
I've had multiple (10+) steroid epidurals in the past, and finally, my PM doc said, "Look, I can keep doing these and charging you (my insurance) for them, but they aren't helping you."

Not to say others haven't gotten relief from them, but in my particular case, they were ineffective.
Posted 10/8/2012 5:16 PM (GMT 0)

rocckyd said...
My best friend is an ICU nurse here in town. She just texted and said they admitted a number of patients yesterday.

The lack of FDA involvement in compunding pharmacies has been a concern of mine. Some of the meds I take need to formulated in specific ways depending on the patient. This is when these pharmacies are used.

At this point, if you were affected, you should have been called. It's scary, especially here where I can walk(if I'm feeling really ambitious) to a center, but the chance of developing the illness is pretty slim. They called 600 people here alone. Still-if you have any concerns call your dr. The good thing about his being out in the news is that, if caught early, the chance of survival greatly improves.

I've used compounding pharmacies in the past as well. One in particular had an anti-nausea drug that was a topical gel. If you couldn't keep anything down, you rubbed about a cc on your wrist. It took a while to work, but it was better that shoving something up your rear. Ahem.

Back to the subject at hand, the fungus may have come from one of the compounds being used. They don't know yet. This may be bigger than the one pharmacy, if they got tainted supplies.
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