Age: 43.0
Sex: F
Vaccine: HEP, HEP
Symptoms: Rash, Systemic lupus erythematosus, Tenosynovitis, Viral infection, Weight increased
Clinical narrative: I am a First Responder.  They recruited people to be First Responders and I, desiring to help others, volunteered.  I was requested to take a Hepatitis B vaccine as part of my First Responder role. The first vaccine was given by an Occupational Health employee, the second was given at the Occupational Health Office (both shots were administere while I was "on the clock". Approxitmately one week after first shot  in series, a rash developed on my face and lower arms and I began to have frequent falls.  It was initially diagnosed as contact dermatitis (I was given topical steroids which just aggrevated it further).  The rash was present and quite visible when the second shot in the series was administered, this did not alarm the nurse.  Within hours after the second shot in the series, the rash spread from my face down to my chest and intensified significantly.  I called the Occupational Health office and discussed this with them.  They didn't feel that it was related at all.  My next day at work, I went to HR and asked that their safety rep take me to the occupational health doctor.  He was confused by the rash.  He ulitmately diagnosed it incorrectly and gave me more medication for it saying it would be gone in 10 days (he gave me bactroban and different allergy meds i.e. allegra, claritin and zycor (?))  This treatment didn't help in any way.  After doing some research on my own, I asked my primary physician to refer me to a rheumatologist.  She did some tests and diagnosed me with Lupus, fibromyalgia and referred me back to my primary physician due to a high sugar count.  He diagnosed me with yet another auto-immune disorder, diabetes.  She has also referred me to a neurologist to try and determine why I am falling so often.  As a result of my falls, I have had to have surgery on my ankle to repair a ligament due to a serious sprain and removal of a bone fragment.  A few other important facts are that I had been very ill with shingles immediately prior to the first vaccine.  I mentioned this to the person administering the shot, she said it wasn't a problem.  The company refuses to acknowledge these problems as a result of the vaccine and I am forced to be on Long Term Disability, due to my conditions, at a substantial reduction in pay while my doctor bills grow and I continue to discover new problems that have arised since the first shot.  I asked about any possible complications prior to admistration of the vaccine and was told not to worry about it, everything would be fine.  And I was NOT provided with written or verbal information about the vaccine. The medical record received on 2/3/04 states insomnia and adult onset diabetes. The medical record received on 2/5/04 states SLE and fibromyalgia. The medical record received on 2/9/04 states dizziness, headache, carpel tunnel, falls, fatigue, insomnia, panic attacks, pain, muscle pain and numbness. 60-day follow up on 04/20/04: "Pt has not recovered from adverse event.  Lupus, fibromyalgia, injuries to leg and shoulder due to falling episodes testing and testing and testing!! Severe weakness and fatigue.  I am pursuing legal counsel and compensation. VAERS nurse was very helpful to me! Per annual follow up report, injuries due to falling resulting in 3 surgies (andle, shoulder, and knee), carpal tunnel surgery du to the fact that Lupus accelerates this type of problem (right and left hand). Conditions stemming from Lupus and subsequent injuries are, arthritis, weight gain resulting in diabetes, broken bones (tailbone,ankle) fibromyalgia, headaches, lower immun system from plaqueril (lupux RX) therapy, yeast infections leading to cellulitis, thrush due to antibiotics because of lowered immune system (plaqueril) makes you open to more illnesses, physical therapy for surgery recovery and fibromyalgia, constant Drs appt. for testing and dryg monitoring (retinologist, endocrinologist, rheumatologist, dermatoligist, orthopedic surgeon, PT therapist, primary physician, optometrist, neurologist. The conditions continue to develope and complicationsconstantly arise. Mobility is decreased. Medical expenses increase. Inability to drive, walk, sleep without aid. Inability to work. The list continues to grow.