South Carolina Elmiron Claim Attorneys

Elmiron Side Effects and Injuries

Though Elmiron is a medication used to treat interstitial cystitis, known as painful bladder syndrome, it’s also been said to affect vision, sometimes leading to blindness. While some of the substances in Elmiron are used primarily to treat painful bladder syndrome, the properties in this drug can also affect other areas of your body leading to maculopathy. If you’ve started to experience blurred vision or distortion, it’s vital to see your eye doctor right away to see where the vision loss is stemming from. Typically, the center of the eye (primary field of vision) is affected first, then works it’s way out. If you’ve started to experience vision issues and have taken Elmiron in the past, we’re your go-to attorneys for filing your medication case.

While Elmiron doctors warn of some side effects like headaches, trouble sleeping, bruising, rashes or intermittent hair loss, Elmiron did not warn of vision damage until 2020. If you’ve started to experience blurred vision, you may feel asymptomatic or not realize that you’ve been affected by your Elmiron medication. Other important symptoms to look for if you’re unsure are:

• Dark spots in your eye(s)
• Yellowness
• Lesions underneath your macula
• General vision loss or distortion

Elmiron and Interstitial Cystitis

Unfortunately, Elmiron is the only current drug (produced by Janssen Pharmaceuticals) that is FDA approved for treating interstitial cystitis. Since studies have consistently connected Elmiron to retina damage, the Mayo Clinic suggests that you can try treating interstitial cystitis with physical therapy, anti-inflammatory drugs, nerve stimulation, bladder distention’s or medications instilled into the bladder.Pros and Cons to Elmiron

While we cannot tell you to take or not take the Elmiron drug to help your interstitial cystitis (IC) diagnosis, we can give you the pros and cons to the drug. To start, researchers don’t know the exact way in which Elmiron works, but it has been said to protect your bladder from irritants in urine that something as widely known as Tylenol cannot relieve. Because IC can be extremely uncomfortable and Elmiron is the only FDA approved drug for pain relief, you may consider taking Elmiron for a short period of time. Typically, IC is not a long-term medical diagnosis, so it can be safe to take Elmiron for a brief time period. If you’ve taken Elmiron for an extended length of time, your risks are greater. While most pharmaceuticals can cause mild side effects, Elmiron has been linked to retina damage that is completely irreversible. This has led to numerous lawsuits against the producers of the medication due to false marketing and failure to warn of potential permanent vision loss.

On top of severe vision loss, according to Drug Watch, just 2,627 patients were tested during the Elmiron trial before it was approved AND after three months at the start of the second trial, 52% of these members were ineligible for further analysis and medication. Because about half of the patients didn’t qualify for further treatment after three months, the producers of Elmiron deemed the drug effective enough to relieve IC pain.

Filing a Lawsuit at Christian & Christian Law

While some people taking Elmiron started to file lawsuits and vision loss side effects as early as 2002, Janssen didn’t tag Elmiron with any type of warning until June of 2020 when it finally added “pigmentary maculopathy” on it’s label. If you’ve been experiencing pigmentary maculopathy, blurred vision, retinopathy and other vision impairments and have also taken the Elmiron drug in the past, you are eligible to file a lawsuit against the drug. We encourage you to reach out to our Greenville, South Carolina team today for a free initial review.