SJS Stories

 

Klamath Falls, OR: Nicole Chapman, a 23-year-old survivor of Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS), will recounted her story for a national audience on the Discovery Channel's Mystery Diagnosis.

 

Nicole Chapman was diagnosed with a severe case of the measles and a bad skin rash when she was only six years old. When her fever, violent headaches and blisters worsened, it became clear that this was not a case of the measles. Chapman was diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS).

 

While there was no known cause of her development of SJS, the headache medication given to Chapman is what she feels was the cause of her development of SJS according to the CBS News KTVL.

 

SJS is usually brought on by a severe allergic reaction to medication and can cause large sheets of skin to become detached due to lesions developing in the mucus membranes.

 

Chapman still suffers from several effects of SJS such as severe scars on her throat and artificial tear ducts.

 

"This can happen to anybody," she told the KTVL. "There have been numerous people that have not made it."

 

Los Angeles, CA: Ironically, an 82 year old Chinese immigrant was awarded more than $6 million US, this after she tried to settle two separate times outside of courts for far smaller amounts. In the August 6th edition of the SunHearld of Biloxi-Gulfport and South Mississippi, her plight is described. The woman, who has decided to remain unidentified, developed SJS and TENS after a round of therapy with Allopurinal to treat her alleged attack of gout. The plaintiff did not agree with the diagnosis but consented to take the prescribed treatment. The resultant SJS/TENS left the once healthy 82 year old, without the capability to perform many activities of daily living on her own.

 

Prior to the trial and the resulting large award by the trial jury, the plaintiff offered to settle in January for $250,000. However the defendant, who is both a physician and a pharmacist, declined the offer. In July, the plaintiff again offered to settle with the defendant outside of court for $800 000, the defendant again refused.

 

 

Whether the defendant will appeal the ruling is uncertain.

 

Frankfurt, KY:

 

Steve was hospitalized for severe depression and a suicide attempt last November. While hospitalized, Steve developed skin lesions and a rash, thinking that these were just a reaction to the sheets, he thought nothing of it. No one noticed that he was exhibiting symptoms of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome.

 

"The hospital doctors let me go to a nearby clinic and I was diagnosed with contact dermatitis," he said. Steve was prescribed steroids but his condition rapidly declined into SJS.

 

Doctors in the hospital had prescribed Steve Prozac and Tegretol. Tegretol is a drug similar to Dilantin, both are used to treat epilepsy and both have been linked to SJS.

 

"I was prescribed two 10 mg pills of Tegretol per day, and then it was increased to three pills per day. Just a few days later I started breaking out in skin lesions. The hospital discharged me early because they didn't want to deal with this rash… maybe they thought it was contagious. I went home from the clinic on Wednesday but the lesions got worse.

 

 

"My lips were swollen and bleeding, my eyes were shut and the lesions were throughout my mouth. And the steroids kept me awake at night so I didn't find any solace in sleep"

 

"I woke up on Friday morning covered with lesions on my lips, eyes, in my nose and in my mouth—it was all over my body, even the soles of my feet, the palms of my hands, my genitals. I still didn't know what it was and went to the local ER. They didn't have a clue either. The ER doctor was calling other doctors and hospitals, including his buddies at the Lexington Medical Center. Three hours later he diagnosed SJS caused by Tegritol. He didn't want to treat it so they sent me to Lexington by ambulance. The doctors took one look at me and said, 'Yep, that's bad.' I was there, in agony, for six days.

 

"They treated me with more steroids and it slowly got better but my lips were swollen and bleeding, my eyes were shut and the lesions were throughout my mouth. And the steroids kept me awake at night so I didn't find any solace in sleep.

 

"They told me never ever to take Tegritol again. In fact I wear a bracelet that says as much. I'm still taking Prozac but if I am prescribed anything else it will have to pass a lot of tests. After reading up on SJS I can see that just about anything can trigger it. And SJS isn't that rare—I know a four-year-old child who almost died from SJS after taking Children’s' Motrin. It seems much more common now; maybe SJS came out of the closet…

 

"I was angry when I found out that I had SJS. I received this drug from the hospital and it is outrageous that I wasn't warned or tested somehow. When I Google this drug, the first thing I see is the SJS warning. Now I'm wondering what to do. I want to speak with an attorney first, before I call the doctors and raise Cain.

 

"I still have scars from SJS, they aren't quick in leaving. There is mostly scarring on my trunk, back and legs. I was considering my sight yesterday—I have a lot of spots in my vision, and not those common floating 'squigglies.' My tongue is also affected; I have a difficult time forming some words. And one other thought: I might also have chronic fatigue syndrome. Every day around 4 pm I crash and just want to sleep for a few hours. I was never like this before. I haven't gone back to work yet. I really don't know if I can handle a work schedule; I really don't feel up to it just yet.

 

"I just received a questionnaire from your attorney who has a SJS litigation department. Tegritol is pre-printed on the form so they are evidently pursuing this drug."

 

Tegretol, which is also known as Carbamazezine, is manufactured by Novartis. Novartis has issued SJS/TEN warnings, estimating that SJS/TENS can occur in 1-6 per 10 000 people who use the drug in countries with a mainly Caucasian population, noting that the risk of developing SJS can increase tenfold in countries with predominately Asian populations.