| donkevlar |
03-23-2007 03:43 PM |
Woman DIES from tainted pills bought at online pharmacy.
Fuckers.
Quote:
MD: Online medical treatment 'frightening'
Woman killed by bad pills reported flu-like symptoms
Chad Skelton
Vancouver Sun
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Marcia Bergeron, age 57, died last December on Quadra Island.
CREDIT: Vancouver Sun, Undated handout photo
Marcia Bergeron, age 57, died last December on Quadra Island.
The B.C. woman who died after taking tainted pills she bought on the Internet got very sick in the weeks leading up to her death but never mentioned ordering drugs online, her best friend said Wednesday.
"She complained that she felt like she had flu symptoms and diarrhea," said Glenda Billerbeck, who visited Marcia Bergeron at her Quadra Island home in the days before her death. "She said, 'My legs are kind of swollen up,' and she was tired."
Billerbeck said Bergeron, 57, suffered from several health problems, including a bad hip and severe allergies.
But she said her friend, whom she has known for more than 15 years, never mentioned ordering medicine online.
The B.C. Coroners Service announced Tuesday that it believes Bergeron died as a result of taking pills tainted with heavy metals like strontium and uranium -- which can be poisonous.
The pills were apparently ordered from a bogus pharmacy pretending to be Canadian.
The death led to warnings Wednesday from B.C. pharmacists and doctors for people to make sure they know the source of their medication and to never take prescription drugs without a prescription.
"The idea of [someone] taking any of these powerful medications without having a diagnosis and a treatment plan is really very frightening," said Dr. Margaret MacDiarmid, president of the B.C. Medical Association.
Billerbeck, who lives in Iowa, spent Christmas with Bergeron, arriving on Dec. 22 and leaving Dec. 26, one day before she died.
Despite Bergeron's ill health, she was still in good spirits.
"We talked about next year, so we were planning what days I could come," said Billerbeck.
She said Bergeron first moved to Quadra Island from her home in Reinbeck, Iowa, seven years ago after meeting her Canadian husband on the Internet.
The couple split three years later, but Bergeron stayed.
"She loved the ocean and the trees. She loved Canada," said Billerbeck.
Billerbeck said she tried to visit Bergeron at least once a year.
She said Bergeron spent a lot of time on her computer.
"She was on the Internet a lot because she had a lot of friends she talked to through the Internet," said Billerbeck.
She doesn't know why her friend ordered drugs online, but said cost likely wasn't a factor.
Bergeron inherited, along with her sister, a farm in Iowa that gave her a steady income.
"They always had money off the estate," said Billerbeck. "She never really had to work."
According to the coroners service, more than 100 pills were found in Bergeron's home -- some loose, some in bags, none of them labelled.
One was zolpidem, a powerful sedative that is available with a prescription in the U.S. but not available for sale in Canada.
Another was the anti-anxiety drug alprazolam -- known by the brand-name Xanax -- a prescription drug available in Canada.
Investigators haven't found a prescription for either drug at Bergeron's home.
The third drug was acetaminophen, a common non-prescription painkiller.
Marshall Moleschi, registrar of the College of Pharmacists of B.C., said any B.C. pharmacy selling drugs online must publish its name and address on its site -- and the college's phone number, which people can call to verify the site is legitimate.
Such pharmacies must also follow the rules that apply to any B.C. pharmacist, such as getting to know their patients.
The biggest customers for online Canadian pharmacies are Americans, who pay high prices for many drugs.
Indeed, the group that represents online pharmacies -- the Canadian International Pharmacy Association -- says there's little point in Canadians using their services.
"You might be able to save a little bit, but not enough to make it worth the hassle, quite frankly," he said. "You'd be far better off going to your local pharmacy where you have face-to-face interaction. It's just healthier for you."
Moleschi said a very small number of people living in remote communities may only be able to get drugs online.
A report from IMS Canada, a drug-marketing research firm, shows the online pharmacy market in Canada is struggling -- with sales dropping nearly 50 per cent in 2006 from $420 million to just $211 million.
IMS spokeswoman Sue Cavallucci said the drop is the result of expanded prescription drug coverage in the U.S., the rising Canadian dollar, and warnings from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about the dangers of bogus Canadian drug sites.
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