Las Vegas, NV"My husband, son and I contracted an upper respiratory infection last November," says Darlene. "We stopped coughing and recovered about 3 weeks later but my husband didn't get better so he was prescribed Actos. He never got over it and I believe Actos caused his death."
"My husband was a diabetic for years but it was under control so I don't believe his death had anything to do with his condition before taking Actos," explains Darlene (name withheld). When he got this infection, he continually coughed and lost all his energy. Even on a short errand, he walked like someone who couldn't get his breath.
I took him to the doctor and knew there was something else wrong, other than this infection. The doctor did a bunch of tests and prescribed Actos around November of 2006; I don't know why he prescribed this drug, I didn't ask. We just trusted the doctor's judgment at that time and never questioned why this drug was prescribed. In February my husband got really sick and I took him back to the doctor. This time he had a blood test and soon as we got the results, he told me that I needed to take him to the hospital, NOW.
He spent 10 days in the hospital because his heart was so bad they had to implant a defibrillator and his blood sugar levels were in the 500s. By the time he got home, the hospital doctors were working on a heart transplant at UCLA. But that didn't happen fast enough--two weeks later my husband passed away…
Then I started hearing about Actos and its association with heart problems. My husband should have recovered from that virus but now he is gone. I want to ask his personal doctor why he wasn't monitored more closely if this is what Actos can do but I didn't have the nerve.
When I found out about this diabetes drug, the doctor should have told us about Actos side effects, he should have emphasized the side effects; never in a million years did I think this drug would kill my husband. I believe if he wasn't taking Actos, he would have recovered from the infection.
Just before he got this infection, we had built a workshop together; he was physically fit—out there working with the rest of us. His diabetes was under control. Sure he would get tired once in a while, but he was never sick. Ever.
His death was too quick and too coincidental.
I first heard about an Actos class action lawsuit on TV. Then I found a website that invited you to fill out a form and join the suit but there were so many questions I didn't have answers to that I never finished the form. I finally talked to a lawyer but I was told that the statute of limitations in Nevada had changed from two years to one year: I was too late to join a lawsuit. I wonder if there is some way around this statute?
And I am talking with you now about my husband because I want the public to know how dangerous this drug is; I don't want anyone else to go through what I went through; I hope that I can help someone not lose their loved ones. Nobody deserves to die."