My Awful Experience With Activella

Hey All,

Well I have been spending a lot of time on this site and it's very informative, so I would like to return the favor to the ladies and recount a cautionary tale for you.

about 5 years ago my obgyn changed me from premarin cream to this new HRT wonder drug, Activella. She gave me a bunch of samples in 2 strengths and these were her warnings;

"take as little as possible".

Well.

This drug really worked in terms of the reasons we take hrt to begin with. It was, to coin a phrase "Absolutely Fabulous"

A couple of odd things were also happening that I didn't attribute to the Activella. Sore throats, shortness of breath, and my hands and feet breaking out in hives. That was weird. But, I hadn't read the insert so I didn't make the connection.

Within about 6 weeks, I was hospitalized with the worst flu + asthma attack I'd ever had. I had to call an ambulance because the asthma escalated so quickly.

I took a short course pf prednisone and it seemed to clear up. As soon as I was off the prednisone, again very bad asthma.

Long story short, and this was kind of a miracle.

One night, while wheezing heavily and feeling terrified that an ambulance was in my immediate future, I happened to take a slip of paper out of my pocket. It was the Activella insert.

"In rare cases, may cause shortness of breath and inflammatory issues" (loose translation)

The Activella was causing all sorts of "inflammatory issues". Like asthma that almost killed me and a severe escalation of all my allergies. Three ambulance trips in 2 years.

I ended up on a daily dose of Prednisone for 3 years. I do not exaggerate in saying it was a blow that to this day is hard to recover from.

I stopped swimming, I stopped doing yoga and I stopped walking my dog. I just was in too much pain and I couldn't breathe. I have had the severest asthma and allergies ever since. I believe the Activella caused permanent lung damage.

I should have hired an attorney but I was too sick and now that I am kinda sorta recovered, I believe the statute of limitations is passed.

I just want to pass this on to you guys because you have been so kind to me. Estrogen products, I learned the hard way, are made of horse urine.

For anyone with allergies, it's playing Russian Roulette.

You would think an old pro like I am would have read the inserts but it worked so well, I didn't take the trouble. I should have.

I notice we have a few people with asthma and allergies, so if this saves one person from going through the hell I went through, I am glad I posted this.

I'm also glad you found out what was causing your problems. Hopefully things will clear up soon.

I'm allergic to tetracycline. I bleed internally from it but yet many can take this drug with no problem. My niece had a terrible time with Levaquin but others can take that too. So I guess it depends on our bodies as to what we can take but I think this is important to know about Activella...especially if you suffer from asthma in the first place! Thanks for sharing.

Sherrine