We’re putting together a “top 10″ list of disturbing side effects mentioned in drug ads and we wanted to make sure we didn’t miss any.
What are we looking for?
For example, in this AmbienCR commercial, the announcer says:
“Sleepwalking and eating or driving while not fully awake with amnesia for the event have been reported.”
Driving while not awake? With amnesia? Neat!
If you’ve noticed a disturbing side-effect in a tv drug ad, watch the ad again and write down exactly what the announcer says and the name of the drug, and email it to us at tips@consumerist.com. Put “Disturbing Side Effect” in the subject of your email. If you can find a clip of the advertisement on the internet, please include a link. If you have a commenter account, feel free to leave your suggestion in the comments.
We’ll pick the top 10 and feature them in a Consumerist post. Thanks!
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Priapism. Hands down.
The only thing more disturbing than the tendency of people to diagnose themselves based on the drug commercials is the following statement from my doctor last month:
“I was watching tv last week and a commercial came on for a drug and I thought of you. Maybe you should try it.”
Cool – my doctor and I get our information from the same source!
Lamictal can cause toxic epidermal necrolysis, which (from Wikipedia) “is characterized by the detachment of the top layer of skin (the epidermis) from the lower layers of the skin (the dermis) all over the body.” It causes skin loss on the same scale as a major burn and causes blisters on all major mucous membranes, including the eyes.
@Hedonista: I just saw your comment. Agreed, adverse effects and side effects are not the same.
I vote for the one asthma drug that increases your chance of asthma related death. Why exactly would you treat the problem with something that could make you die from the problem?
“I see you have headaches. Well, we can drill a hole in your head to relieve the pressure, but it could kill you. Which do you want to try?”
Possible side effects of Heparin:
vomit that looks like coffee grounds
no joke
@BloggyMcBlogBlog: That is by far my favorite side effect, who doesn’t want to experience an increased desire to gamble.
@billbillbillbill: Seconded!
(or thirded or fourthed)…
Isn’t death the worst by default?
@Shutaro: the Red Death?
I just took some Ambien last night. I woke up not really sure what I did after I got home from work (6 hours before taking it).
Ambien is PWESOME.
[www.veramyst.com]
“When an allergen enters your body, it sets a chain reaction in motion as your immune system releases a stream of chemicals that leads to allergy symptoms.
VERAMYST works on a whole range of chemicals that lead to your allergy symptoms.*
*The way VERAMYST works is not fully understood.”
It “WORKS ON A WHOLE RANGE OF CHEMICALS”
@Teleolurian: People who take Ambien not only drive but often go clubbing, have entire conversations and (this has happened to several different guy friends of mine) initiate sex in their sleep, then wake up and claim they were raped.
Once again I’ll stick with a hot toddy…
I was on a cancer drug in the early ’80s, one of the possible side effects
is “sudden death”. L-asparaginase given IM.
–
All Good People Are Asleep and Dreaming
I had a friend that took the sleep aid Lunesta (is that the one with the butterfly?) and said that she had this horrible metallic taste in her mouth for days. It was so bad, that it kept her awake! Later we looked through the looong list of side effects and there it was:
Anxiety; decrease in sexual desire; difficulty with coordination; dizziness; drowsiness; dry mouth; headache; indigestion; lightheadedness; nausea; nervousness; unpleasant taste; vomiting.
Oh, and here’s some more Lunesta fun:
Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); aggressive behavior; breast growth; chest pain; confusion; depression; hallucinations; memory problems (such as amnesia); painful menstrual periods; seizures; severe mood swings; suicidal thoughts; swelling of hands or feet; symptoms of infection (eg, fever, sore throat, and sinus or chest congestion); unusual or disturbing thoughts.
BREAST GROWTH?! I’d rather just stay up.
Side effects may include…
painful rectal itch
hallucinations
dementia
psychosis
coma
death
halitosis
lung cancer
mental retardation
brain tumors
enlargement of the ears
paralyzation
permanent sleeplessness
internal bleeding
bone weakening
claustrophobia
acne
tooth loss
inability to speak
homicidal thoughts
inability to breathe
migraines
diabetes
deafness
uncontrollable twitching
formation of a back hump
rapid growth of a vestigial tail
Please consult your doctor if you experience runny nose.
@InfiniTrent: Yes that’s the one I was thinking of.
There’s some commercial for an asthma medication that always frightens me just because when it comes on, I can go take a pee and grab a snack and when I come back it’s still rattling off side effects and warnings. It’s the one that’s all in blue and the woman’s in black shadow. Anyone?
My personal favotite was on a motion sickness patch that had scopolamine (zombie drug) in it…
blurry vision, double vision, dialated pupil(s), hallucinations, delerium, dizziness, rambling… basically good times.
It was neat because if you put it behind one ear the opposite pupil would dialate all to hell.
These are the side-effects when you stop using the patch…
Nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headache, and poor coordination… so basically you just delay the sickness.
My wife was looking at a drug for some ailment and a side effect was…
NO HEARTBEAT
That’s a kinder and genteler way of saying DEATH.
@qitaana: That’s what I was going to say!
Haven’t had time to find the ad yet, but I think my current fave (other than Alli, which will always be #1 for sheer terror) is Abilify. Something along the lines of “Consult your doctor if you experience uncontrollable muscle spasms, as they may become permanent”. The commercial just makes me twitch.
Forget the side effects!!! I want the answer to the most riddled question in a drug commercial — What the HELL are those damn tubs supposed to mean in the Cialis commercials!!
I want to marry this thread. News item: Everyone on Consumerist comments suddenly funny and nice
A friend of mine in high school had prescription acne cream that listed a skin rash as a possible side effect.
“Driving while not awake? With amnesia? Neat!”
People need drugs to do this? My dad did it when I was a kid.
“May cause you to piss tiny spiny robo-crabs”
@EyeHeartPie:
I think that is the way drug companies give you a placebo that could
possibly kill you and has an equally likely chance of stopping what is
ailing you in the first place…
So did the top 10 list ever get official? I was looking forward to it.
I’ve had a lot of weird drug side affects, but here’s the weirdest for me: When my 1 year old was born, the nurses in the maternity ward gave me 2 ambien to try to get me to rest before I was to have labor induced the next morning. Unfortunately, less than an hour later, just as the drug was taking full effect, my water broke naturally and within another hour I “sleep gave birth”. I don’t remember any of it, the pain, getting an epidural, talking to the nurses, holding my daughter for the first time, or getting up and walking to the recovery room… my memories begin the next day. My husband says I was conscious and calm, if not entirely cooperative, during the labor.