Another mistake... Or was it?

When I wrote the post "We learn from our mistakes", there was no doubt in my mind that the doctor was at fault and I should have confronted him about it.  However, this story beats a different drum.

The first medical problem I ever had was my kidney disorder, cystinuria, which was diagnosed in 1994.  Unfortunately, as you would know if you were ever a sufferer, the treatments are not perfect and often carry some nasty side effects.  So one really has to weigh up the cost versus reward.

One such treatment for cystinuria is a drug called penicillamine.  Now penicillamine has a list of side effects as long as your arm, but is considered the best drug for treating cystinuria.  I know now that a side effect of this drug is peripheral neuropathy (CIDP), but back then it was not communicated to me neither was it listed in the long list of side effects that came with each box of drugs.

So I took the drug and lo and behold I now have CIDP.  A mistake I have paid for the last ten years.  But was it a mistake?

Firstly, the number of cases linking penicillamine to CIDP were very few, and a search by my doctors post my diagnosis did not reveal one case of a cystinuria patient on penicillamine contracting CIDP.  And if the pharmaceutical company that manufactured the drug did not list CIDP as a side effect, how was my doctor ever going to know about it?

This point helped me rationalise in my mind that my doctor, and even the pharmaceutical company were not negligent in my contracting CIDP.  The irony is at the time I talked to a lawyer (informally) and his reply was "You have a case".  I don't think I could live with my self if I decided to sue in this case, as I really feel based on what we knew at the time, no party involved was negligent.

Secondly, if CIDP had been listed as a side effect would it have changed anything?  Honestly, no.  At the time I took the drug I had no idea what CIDP was.  It would have just been another name on the list of side effects, and it would not have altered my decision.

So was it a mistake?  I say no, it was more like a horrible accident, and the blame in my opinion, falls with no one.  After all, if a meteorite falls on your head do you get to sue NASA for failing to detect and warn you about it?

Sadly, these days it is too easy to apportion blame, and realistically an individuals shallow victory only adds to the detriment of society.  After all, next time you whinge about your doctors bill is, ask him how much his malpractice insurance is.  In my case, I could have sued, I could have won, but I'm glad I didn't.  Until next time, stay well:)