You get what you paid for, right? Buying Prescribed Drugs Online

The Food and Drug Administration has issued another warning about purchasing prescriptive medications over the internet. They have received notification about many Americans who have purchased Ambien, Xanax, Lexapro and Ativan medications over the internet, and following ingestion of those medications they sought emergency medical treatment.

These individuals sought medical treatment for the following symptoms; difficulty breathing, muscle spasms, and muscle stiffness. It is believed that what these individuals ingested instead of their regular medication was haloperidol, a powerful anti-psychotic drug. Haloperidol is the active ingredient in a drug primarily prescribed to treat schizophrenia. The FDA’s laboratory analysis remains ongoing. They were notified about this issue from a U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturer who initially received complaints.

The packages sent to affected consumers were postmarked from Greece; however, the origin remains unknown. Affected consumers have named several different websites where they purchased the medications. It will be difficult for officials to track down the vendors at fault because of the deceptive practices of many commercial outlets on the Internet. The FDA continuously warns consumers of the extreme danger in purchasing prescription drugs online. If consumers do make the decision to purchase medications over the internet, they are strongly encouraged to review the FDA website for information before they make their purchases.

Our consulting services can be of assistance for those cases that involve ill drug interaction. Those services include:

Medical Record Review

• Identification of affected person’s medical and pharmacological history
• Review of emergency room record
  • Reason emergency treatment was sought
  • Initial and Final Diagnosis
  • Treatment modalities provided
  • Follow-up care prescribed
• Medical research regarding medication originally prescribed and ingested medication
  • Comparison of side effects
  • FDA warnings issued
  • Pharmaceutical manufacturer issued warnings and/or notification

Timeline Chronology

• Illustrative demonstrative evidence showing affected person’s medical and pharmaceutical history(including evidence prior to incident, during incident and follow-up medical care required post incident)

Expert Witnesses

• Identification and location of applicable experts to advance case theory

Reference:
U.S. Food and Drug Administration: FDA Alerts Consumers to Unsafe, Misrepresented Drugs Purchased Over the Internet. February 16, 2007. Retrieved February 2007 from http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW1564.html.

For more information on this issue please see Contact Us and see how our services can work for you.