I've summarized this letter. While also including the history of chemo treatments that I had to painfully experience. I could not & still can't tear over any of what I'd gone through. My life, passions & values on life had always been dear to my heart & beliefs. This is not really categorized as Plastic Surgery, so I don't know how to label this. However, it's very wrong and my life has been treated with NO value.
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To Whom It May Concern,
2 years ago today since I've had dysport injections. My statute of limitations are up. I've tried contacting so many lawyers as I started feeling a healing from my cancer around 7/2011. Strong enough to realize that I had a lawsuit & very devastated. The pain to not tear, I feel is my biggest trauma. As I've never been a believer in disease. I feel as if my life has no value to the VanderVeer Center, the medical board, & the justice system. Not to mention that in 2009 this Dysport botulism had already taken the lives of 16 children being treated for spastic dysplasia & over 250 reported cases. YET it, nevertheless, still slipped through my early research & into the Cosmetic centers [2009]
10/23/2011~I previously had posted about my terrible experience on the VanderVeers review site after having dysport injections. I had also sent a lettered copy to Elizabeth VanderVeer. I got really depressed because of the whole experience, so I took my negative review down, while reaching out to other websites for help. Elizabeth VanderVeer had completely ignored me from what I had been going through since dysport resulting into cancer, etc.
After my finishing up with cancer treatments, I called her. I wanted to tell her that I did report my story to the FDA & to the Dysport manufacture. I personally with the most importance, asked her why she didn't, at the very least call to see how I was doing? Her only reply was that she made a report herself to the FDA, & I wouldn't have to, However, I already filed the report.
Anyway, on with my story. I had decided to try the dysport as it was reported as being very safe. I had the minimum injections in frown lines of forehead & crows feet area om 12/07/2009. This was a Christmas present to myself. I did extensive research on the product which I was excited to go ahead with because in 2009, I literally found it to be very good with no serious side effects. Within the next few days, my eyes swoll up and I lost my total ability for tears. I was terrified. Quinby, the nurse that gave me the dysport was friendly and supportive before giving me the injections. She explained how safe that it was and that she herself had her full face and even the neck area injected. The nurse & Dr. VanderVeer assured me that it would be temporary & at the longest, side effects would last only 5 months. I'm very healthy oriented, into natural health supplements, exercise, and conscientious with educating/research,etc. before I make serious decisions about anything. So I was traumatized, with no tearing ability and I waited in a fearful state. Just a few weeks after the wait for the swelling to go down, I went to the eye doctors. The swelling had changed, and no sign of wrinkles smoothing, etc. Which was my only goal for injections. I'm a crier. It's healthy. I literally can't cry at all, whatsoever! I then started getting infections in my eyes. My right eye especially, felt like a sandblaster had been shot into it. I suffered terribly, beyound words.
In Feb. 2010 I had a lump in my r-lymphnode in my neck. Dysport travels through the body's system. The lump in my neck went away, thankfully.
On 8/20 I woke up from sleep, shivering oncontrollably & had a high fever. I went into my doctors, was given catscans, diagnosed with a severe double pneumonia, & also emphysema. I was put on so many antibiotics, while also my eyes were worse with infections. I've never had in my life pneumonia & the only eye problems, previous to the dysport injections, were common allergies, which my using Claritin or Patanol worked quite well, for relief.
I was also taking online college classes & I had to quit. I don't allow defeat or shaken easlily. The eye infections worsened so badly,and I looked like a monster as the swelling into my lacrimal glands protruded so intense while crystaling from my glands into my tearducts. So painful, for over a year & a half.
I even scared my little dog. Close people to me, pulled away, & I felt like a leper freak.
The growth in my right eye was branching out, cutting into my eyeball & causing it to bleed. I could only sleep most of the time as my swollen infected eyes were forcibly closed. I could hardly care for myself & little dog. I did crochet hats on a loom that kept me creatively ptoductive [i could do it with my eyes closed]. My eyes were continuing to worsen, so painful. Especially, while in the light & air. I could safely drive unpredictably, & with extreme caution. I'm independent & I don't like having to ask for help. I took care of myself & dog at my best. It's hard to fully explain. I'm also digital/acrylic artist & could no longer have the pleasure in my arts. I have the greatest opthamologist, & after much therapy he had me get an MRI. Which I was diagnosed to having Malt lowgrade lymphoma cancer in the both of my lacrimal glands/tearducts.
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I was diagnosed with the low grade malt lymphoma on April 2011 from biopsies. In May 2011 I successfully finished with the chemo Rituxan treaments. It was the worst experience of my entire life. I couldn't cry while the 6 hrs of slow drip into my veins & not knowing if my body would live & accept the treatments. I had to endure four treatments. Once a week. No tearing, as I sat in the chair with a slow drip killing my good body cells along with the cancer cells.
This journey has no end to what I'm still experiencing. I'm in remission, but the thing is, this cancer is incureable. With ongoing followups of catscans, etc.
10/2011 I continue to Googel. The search engines are working overtime. The irony is that my loud scream with a few websites that also continuously are adding onto with more bad experiences as a result of Dysport. The difference for me, is in 2009, I did do extensive research, before deciding about Dysport. And nothing from the FDA or other sites 'THEN' revealed to myself [public?] any caution with serious alarm against Dysport injections. The key words advertized or expressed from websites, doctors & nurses was that [1] 'Dysport was longer lasting' [2]'Safe with minor side effects,[3] such as minimal of spreading, yet temporary, with maybe a little swelling'.
Let's also safely consider, that it was not only the dysport bacterial poisoning that initially caused my losing all of my tearing [zero tears], provoking infections, traveling poison & giving damage to my lymph glands, into pneumonia, cancer, & so forth. As the nurse maybe was not prpoerly trained to give me the injections. She was friendly and a true believer in dysport, for sure. Her entire face & even into her neck was injected with Dysport. I recall again, contacting her a month later & very upset. I was told that she had no longer worked at the VandeVeer Center, and had moved on, into her nursing career. She had given me the dysport injections that had proceeded with strange erratic swelling around my forehead & under my eyes, then within a week, and with no warning, I had severe dry eyes. Within, just 2 weeks stopped all of my ability for tearing & extreme eye irritation. Then continuing into severe & painful infections to both of my eyes. Then a few months pass and I have a sudden lump in my neck lymphnode,yet it disappears after about a month. As the [dysport traveled] & into my lungs, etc. Obviously! Where is the FDA? And why wasn't it the doctor giving the injections, if even at all? Certainly, they have access to as much infomation that I was able to seriously dig up. I value not just my life, but others.
The FDA should've made known much earlier of the severieties of this poison. I believed what I read in 2009 & what I was told. It actually, was not FDA approved until 2009 & legally to be injected into only the glabuler forehead area because it does tend to spread. This article appeared early in research, before extended knowledge of so many deaths, etc. Why the FDA approved it in the U.S and waited much longer after all the deaths, to give GREAT CAUTION. As an ex: An Austrailian pregnant woman [Dec. 2008]had the injections & her baby was born with severe birth defects. I sure did'nt find such info. such as this, prior to my appt. to the VandaVeer Center to have the minimum injections into my forehead/crows feet areas,for a fresh look [not frozen].
My oncologist, he suggested to not get dysport injections again. I also have a letter from him. I still have zero tears. My vision is bad, I have floaters in my lefy eye, I still get the malt due to having zero tears/in my eyes. I go through $45.00 to $60.00 having to use the preservative free eyedrops for tears. My only salvation that helps is I recently started wearing part time the Aqua Day & Night contact lenses. Please help me. I want to sue either Dysport, the FDA, or the doctor for doing this to me. Infact, 11/2011 my last visit to my oncologist, he literally said that he believes that the dysport injections is what caused my lymphoma. It's an incureable cancer! He also had said that because of the fact that it's so unusual in this area & my case is a first, & that his lawyers too have a big part that prevents him from reporting it legally. I only wish I had taken a recorder with me on my day of that appointment.
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additional impt. information=
1-report to Dysport http://www.dysportusa.com/Contact-Us.aspx case# 127392821
2- reported to FDA, 2nd time on 9/29/2011..call & verify [also saved a file copy]
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I did contact the Vandaveer Center when I started having swelling, I was told that I would be okay, & it was temporary. Within this period, I was getting worse & becoming fearful, shutting down & withdrawn. So I was dealing with the horrible experience. It either stayed the same with bizaar swelling & tear loss, or off & on changing for the worse. I went to the opthomologist. I explained to him about the dysport & what I was experiencing. It was way out of his knowledge. As he had never heard of anything like it before. I was terrified & felt so alone. I could only explain the injections, timing, & experience. I've never had any idea or warning of ever losing any slight loss of tears before. I didn't care for the first opthomologist & his personna. He immediately overlooked my experience & was saying that it's the aging process.
Which really made me mad! I'm the one that woke up the next morning after receiving the Dysport with swollen sore eyes, & then within just a few weeks, 'I had lost all of my ability for crying. ZERO tears! No warning, for my tearing to freeze with permanentloss. I'm a passionate woman & cry with empathy, sympathy, for happiness, & sometimes will cry just because it's healthy. I then went to #2 opthamologist. He was better, yet I wasn't getting any better. I was taking medicine for my eyes & told to take precervative free eye drops. I did all that I was suppose to do. I felt that I was losing my mind, & becoming so depressed. I called Dr. VandaVeer herself.
This was not feeling temporary. We talked for over two hours on the phone. I felt so insulted, for the fact that she immediately assumed that I had Sjogren'syndrome, when I had never before had problems before that would indicate what I initially experienced from a visit to her office, for a simple dysport procedure. Botox & the fairly new Dysport alternative was becoming so popular. I have had for as long as I can recall, seasonal allergies & I would wear reading glasses when on the computer or reading. Ocassionally, contact lenses. No alarm, at all, & my prior eye prescription was weak. After the injections, I could barely see, for over a year.
It was touch & go with non-stop infections, & visual impairment. I had to be mentally focused with extreme cautioun, for when & how far I could safely drive. Anyway, the phone call to VanderVeer concluded abruptly because she said that she had to attend some event for one of her children. And that she was mailing me a refund of $200.00. I was so numb, fearful, weak, vulnerable, in shock, yet believeably hopeful, while waiting for the dysport to wear off. I became such a mess. As time went on, I knew something was really wrong while I suffered so with all this. I felt like I was dying & became very much all alone. With just my dog. My ongoing erratic disfigurement had even scared my little dog. I was looking like a monster & the total complete pain is beyound words & anyones imagination.
Today, I physically look healed because of my passion for life, great doctors & my recent retuxin treatments with ongoing constant use of eye drops, & my special contact lenses that help to sheild my eyes.
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I've taken so many notes, & I've also saved everything at best. It's been difficult to manage at my best because of what I'm still going through. In any case, you can read up on my research & full experience. AS FOLLOWS: https://picasaweb.google.com/109884655296952205919/ MyExperienceWDysportInjectionsResultingToZeroTears EyeInfectionsPneumoniaEyeCancer? authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOv7mLSGks2HTg&feat=direct#