An Irish expat living in Spain shared pictures of her wounds after contracting necrotizing fasciitis from taking the drug
Expats have revealed the horrific consequences of taking a drug dubbed the ‘killer painkiler’.
Spanish doctors widely prescribe Nolitol despite it resulting in rotten flesh and requiring patients to even need limb amputations.
Victims shared their experiences with MailOnline, cataloguing a horror show of injuries that came as a result of using the pain relief medication.
Cristina Garcia del Campo, who campaigns against the use of the drug, said she knows of nearly 40 Brits who have died since 2016 due to the medication.
British dad Mark Brooks who died last month in Spain had his death linked to Nolitol.
It is a brand name for the drug metamizole which is banned in dozens of countries including the UK due to its well known toxicity.
Horrifying consequences of ‘killer painkiller’ are revealed by victims – including amputations and life-changing wounds
An Irishwoman, living in Malaga, said she had been given the painkiller by a doctor to help with shoulder pain.
However, the 69-year-old ended up with necrotic tissue on her neck and glands and was left with a large scar where the rotten tissue had to be surgically removed.
She said: ‘I now look and feel like a wreck and it will take me a very long time to recover, but I will never be the same again.
‘I have a long list of medical and emotional issues after this horrible experience which is not yet over.
‘My life is now horrible, no quality and constant pain, I don’t recognize myself in the mirror anymore!’
The woman said she has suffered PTSD from the experience and her health is still not 100%.
Another British woman in her 70s, who asked not to be named, ended up hospitalised with septic shock after taking just three of the tablets.
She ended up with gangrene and had to have part of her feet and several fingers amputated.
She left hospital weighing just 43 kilograms, never returned to work and is now classed as disabled.
Spanish doctors have previously been advised not to give out the drug to Britons as an unpublished study found that they are more likely to suffer adverse effects.
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A spokesperson for Boehringer Ingelheim, the manufacturer that makes Nolotil, said in a statement: ‘We take patient safety and public health seriously and closely cooperate with the regulators on product safety-related topics.
‘We are of the opinion that current approved prescribing information adequately addresses current knowledge about identified risks.’
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