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Immigrants and Mental Health
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I had an allergic reaction to Bactrim in February 1993 when I was in my late 20s. After finishing a round of medicine, I had a high fever and looked like I had a really bad sunburn all over. Plus, the lymph nodes behind my ears blew up like Ping-Pong balls.
I went to a Dupont Circle walk-in clinic, and luckily they immediately recognized my symptoms as an allergic reaction. The clinic gave me Benadryl and prednisone, and sent me home with strict instructions to go to the hospital immediately if my fever got worse or I developed lesions. I was scared, had a bad couple of hours at home, but slowly started getting better. My entire body peeled a week later.
Katie Rapp
Gaithersburg
My elderly mother suffered congestive heart failure and was administered Lasix, among other medications, at the hospital. After a couple of days, she developed an itchy rash all over. After I asked her about her known allergies, she said she was allergic to sulfa. I then checked her medication list and found out that Lasix is sulfa-based, as were a couple of her other drugs. I then insisted that her doctors look into this. They immediately gave her prednisone and changed her medications. After her recovery, I made sure that on subsequent hospitalizations her doctors were aware of this severe reaction.
I am a firm believer that a patient always needs a strong advocate, especially when being treated by multiple specialists.
Carol Stutts
Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Statin Side Effects
I, too, experienced side effects from taking Lipitor for my cholesterol: Both of my knees hurt, especially after standing for a long time ["Is Your Doctor in Denial?" Aug. 28].
So I then switched to Zocor for three months and noticed my knees only hurt when a weather front came through. I then changed back to Lipitor, waiting for a generic Zocor, and the pain returned once again.
When I finally received my prescription for generic Zocor, all my knee pain disappeared. I told my doctor about my experiences, but he didn't quite believe me.
John Riegler
Locust Dale, Va.
And the Best of the Buzz:
From comments readers posted online:"I am a registered nurse, working in critical care. . . . Having a patient's family call for help ["Teaming Up to Prevent 'Crashes', Sept. 4] is insane on most fronts because most of the calls will NOT be for crisis reasons. Our patients and their families call for ginger ale, bath linen, coffee, condiments, telephones, angst, you name it. And nurses have to drop everything they are doing to answer these bogus calls."
