Charlotte Gilmour, a 23-year-old woman from New Zealand, shared her terrifying experience of suffering from side effects that made her feel like her entire body was engulfed in flames after taking medication for depression.
According to reports from Stuff, Charlotte was diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare condition characterized by painful blisters affecting the skin, mouth, and throat.
Charlotte described enduring a severe chest infection for several weeks, likening the symptoms to the flu. One morning, she noticed a distressing rash developing on her body.
“I looked in the mirror, and I just burst into tears. I think I subconsciously knew it was something quite serious,” she shared.
After visiting the hospital for treatment, Charlotte reflected, “It was scary, I guess, hearing… ‘OK, no one really knows a lot about this.’
According to the Mayo Clinic, Stevens-Johnson syndrome typically starts with symptoms similar to the flu, followed by the development of blisters that spread and form a rash.
Charlotte had been prescribed lamotrigine, an anticonvulsant and mood stabilizer commonly used to treat depression. She believes that the medication’s side effects triggered the onset of Stevens-Johnson syndrome.
She described, “The scariest part about it is that it burned me from the inside out. So all the burns on the outside were because my insides were so burned that it started to manifest on the outside of my skin.”
Charlotte also experienced blistering symptoms affecting her esophagus and other parts of her digestive tract, which escalated to the point where she required a feeding tube.
Initially, doctors administered steroids to Charlotte, but they proved ineffective, prompting them to discontinue the medication. Later, Charlotte’s condition deteriorated to the point where she almost lost her vision at night.
She requested to resume the medication, and after undergoing 30 days of treatment, she was discharged in November 2023.
Currently, Charlotte is in recovery but has stated, “I still get blisters pop up in my eyes, and the rash flares up, always in the same place where the worst burn was.”
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