ALDARA Reviews (IMIQUIMOD)Average Rating: 2.9 (856 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare ALDARA with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Date added. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 |
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ALDARA | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 4 | Basal cell carcinoma | The first time i took it i was under the supervison of a dermatologist who had never prescribed Aldara before. She neglected to tell me to use vasalin around the area outside the BC to prevent spreading. As a result, some Aldara got on my lip which swelled and scabbed. Now I know better and am careful when i put the cream to make sure not to touch any other areas. I have no other side affects. This is the third time I use Aldara to treat the same area. | F | 38 | 7 days | 1/16/2006 | 5 | superficial basal cell carcinoma | I was instructed to apply for 5 days, rest for two days, over 6 weeks. Area became red and itchy quite quickly. 3rd week scab beginning to form.At the end of the third week application the area, which was on the upper lip, became infected, weepy and very crusty (I had not itched)An antibiotic cleared up the infection and after 3 weeks started treatment again. Area quickly flared up again so I was told to use the ointment just twice a week for the next 5 weeks. My skin coped with this and I had no further trouble. Soon after treatment stopped my skin was smooth and clear. This was 2 years ago and the area has remained clear. | It is important to follow the instructions carefully. | F | 65 | 9 weeks | 1/12/2006 | 4 | hpv | EVERY ONE! INTCHING, BURNING,SORES, difficulty urinating | I do haave herpes so i took valtrex for almost 2 weeks and the sores still were not going away so i had to stop the aldara until the sores went away. I am now using a much smaller amount and i am very careful to wash the skin off that should not have cream on it. The warts are turning white and shrinking now but i feel like they are everywhere. I wish i would have found this site before i thought i was having a herpes ob. NOTE TO ALL THAT DO NOT HAVE HERPES: THE PAIN FROM THE SIDE EFFECTS OF THIS MEDICATION (OPEN SORES) IS EXACTLY WHAT HERPES OUTBREAKS ARE LIKE! BE CAREFUL- HPV IS NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT HERPES DOES TO YOU PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY | F | 23 | 5 weeks | 1/8/2006 | 2 | HPV | muscle twitches | has anyone else experienced muscle twitches (all limbs and back) shortly after finishing treatment with Aldera? | M | 33 | 4 weeks | 1/5/2006 | 1 | Warts | First week ok, second week slight burning sensation when peeing. end of second week, sores erupted on shaft and end of penis. Doctor thought it was herpes. Tests week 3 showed neg. 5 open, seeping sores each about the size of a dime. EXTREME burning when peeing. Very sharp, stinging pain if touched or irratated, which is about every 2 seconds. Doctor advised to stop Aldara. week 4&5 healing, shaft nearly healed over. Tip of penis still very tender and sore. | Had the doctor not perscribed Lidocaine cream, which deadened the area, I thought I would have gone mad. The burning sensation alone was enough to tear my hair out. That, coupled with the open seeping sores was absolutly not worth the ordeal AND guess what?...the wart is still there. Go figure. 3M, stick to scotch tape, you suck are pharmaceuticals. 2 weeks of medication took 4 weeks to heal and I'm still not done. ABSOLUTLY DISSATISIFIED. | 35 | 2 weeks | 12/25/2005 | 1 | GW | I posted on tues 12/19. The tiny red bumps have now become small open weeping sores. The pain has subsided some because every hour I clean off the cream and put the nystatin cream usp 1000,000 p/g back on. With a mixture of Neosporin+pain relief. The area must not be dry, but moist. Once dry, pain starts up again. | A little tip to those of us that cannot pass urine without dropping to the floor and crying: fill a cup of water(I prefer room temp) squat over your toliet(or stand) and poor the water on yourself as you pass urine. It feels better than the urine directly touching these sores....As for the "flu like"symptoms...I feel dizzy and tired. Tired has been the norm. I've tried taking 2 aleve for the pain...not working. please post what you've tried, doctor recommendations, etc... | F | 22 | 2 times | 12/20/2005 | 1 | hpv | From what my doctor told me, I shouldn't apply too much b/c it will hurt a little. The first time I used it, it was fine. A year later, my second outbreak, I used Aldara twice and after the second time, I had tremendous pain. The only time the pain was minimal was sitting still, not moving. Everytime I passed urine, it burned to the point that I couldn't help bawling my head off for five minutes, and I don't cry over pain. I developed tiny blisters in clusters. | The first time using this medication was fine, but the second was absolutely horrid and nearly unbearable. | F | 23 | 3 days | 12/19/2005 | 1 | GW | Reddness,sore & swollen vulva, more little red bumps, crying when I shower/dread when I have to urinate and scream. Can't sleep. All around tired. SO MUCH PAIN! | I took Aldera this past summer for GW just inside my vagina. Took it like the package said,for me MWF and those warts went away, done in sept., great right?....well, last wednsday, I had to have a colposcopy and a small biopsy for abnormal cells (who doesnt have them now...)Well the doctor checked the original area where the warts first occured, non. On the outside of the vulva she told me I have 6 warts and she put me back on Aldera. Ok, I went home weds. night and rested, thursday I put the aldera on the warts, using the whole lil packet for the entire area (i had used one whole packet 3x's a week before,no prob) and then skipped friday and put another packet on saturday night...OH MY GOD all of Sunday and today Monday Dec 19th I have been in excrutiating pain, I seriously feel...it's unexplainable really. My vulva is red, dry, looks like more warts/orred bumps (please not herpes too now, but i think it's just a bad bad chemical reaction), I can't sit, stand, put my legs together,wal | F | 22 | 2 times | 12/19/2005 | 2 | HPV | Open seeping sores, discharge, burning sensation while urinating. Very sensitive to touch, stinging discomfort. Puss discharge from sores. Will not scab over. Area cleaned daily to remove fluids. | Perscribed Aldara for HPV wart. Within a couple of weeks penis was reddened, overnight sores broke out. Tip of penis was very similar to cankar sore. Shaft reddened with open seeping sores. No history of herpes. Now pain and irratation coincide with usage. MWF soreness worsens. I'm consulting with Dr. to discontinue usage. | M | 40 | 3 weeks | 12/16/2005 | 2 | Genital Wart | Buring sensation while urinating. Tip of Penis very raw and sore. Open, seeping sores on shaft. No history of herpes, but suddenly after using Aldara, eruption galore. Valtrax perscribed, symptoms continued. | Warts have diminished slightly. Side effects are brutal. | M | 44 | 3 weeks | 12/16/2005 | 5 | gw | *Week 1: itching, burning, and one night a stabbing pain (so much so, that I had to wash the cream off after 4hrs - this woke me up in the middle of the night). A couple of the warts bled. I used vasaline after I washed off the medicine to releive the pain. I noticed that the warts on the more delicate skin turned white, and formed a blister-like appearance, others became much harder. *Week 2: mild itching, but not too bothersome. I could sleep in the night without discomfort. No more bleeding, but some spots were still a little tender. *Week 3: no side effects. | I used as directed (Monday Wednesday Friday - bathed first, applied a thin layer overnight, washed off approx. 8 hrs later). By week 3, over 10 warts were unnoticable. Three warts remain, and I plan on contining treatment for another two months. I started treatment early (I knew that I had been exposed, so as soon as I saw the first bump, I went to my dr. and started treatment ~1 month after noticing the bumps). I am very satisfied with the treatment, however, I know that some people do have bad side-effects (my husband has developed large blisters over his warts; we are planning on continuing treatment for now). Overall, the first week was HORRIBLE, the second was bearable, and then the third was okay. In the end, I am glad that I continued the treatment. | F | 24 | 25 days | 12/13/2005 | 1 | HPV | Open sores, blisters, leasions, HORRIBLE HORRIBLE pain | 4 weeks.. no resulst yet. HORRIBLE PAIN. open sores that hurt so bad i can't even sleep, its 4am right now . cant walk cant sit cant move. underwear kills to wear! so not worth it. i need a new way to treat them | F | 21 | 4 weeks | 12/5/2005 | 1 | hpv | WARNING ALDARA CAN KILL YOU and MAKE YOUR CANCER WORSE PLEASE READ ALDARA KILLS | There is a chemical used in a widely-sold drug which has been known since 1986 to cause cancer. It is so dangerous that the American Cancer Society, The National Cancer Institute and others have determined it is a carcinogen, and have placed it on their lists of most hazardous chemicals. It has even been listed as a laboratory chemical hazard by the US Occupational Safety Health Agency. Yet, doctors worldwide are prescribing it, willy-nilly, to “cure” skin cancers, even though there are entirely safe vegetable-based creams and other safe and proven remedies.This chemical is imiquimod (IQ), and is the only active agent in the popular drug known as Aldara, which is marketed worldwide and promoted very heavily by 3M Pharmaceuticals as a “benign” salve to cure skin cancers.“I have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder called Graves Basedow disease. My doctor said it’s 99% that my diseases are due to that cream, Aldara. This is only one of my o | F | 25 | 4 weeks | 12/1/2005 | 4 | HPV genital warts. (anal warts) | THE MOST HONEST REVIEW: REDNESS in the area applied! extremely mild itch but lots of burning! going to the bathroom is painful. slight headache..and fatigue. | IT TRULY DOES WORK. at least to some extent. ive been using it for 2 weeks now and if you can bear through the uncomfortableness of this medication youll see results. follow the instructions carefully..if your going to rub it all over the affected area, be prepared to have burning and swelling on the off days. do not exceed the 10 hour period. just use it religously..and try not to be upset over the fact that you this disease..be happy and live your life. stay healthy and take your vitamins. also..let other people be aware of your virus..please. | F | 2 weeks | 11/21/2005 | 1 | genital warts | I simply applied this cream ONCE as directly and have been in extreme pain for the past 5 days. I was told after a vinegar test that I had some very tiny (invisible to my eye) warts and could rub this cream on 3 nights a week. After the first use I am ready to toss it! I have been in tears trying to urinate and have disgusting red/white weeping skin. I think I would rather have kept my symptom free tiny warts! I am sitting here now debating whether to go back to the doctor that prescibed this or head to the ER. I am worried I will become dehydrated too since I am avoiding liquids becuase I cannot pee without crying! | STAY AWAY FROM THIS CREAM!!!! | F | 28 | 1 days | 11/21/2005 | 1 | hpv | Throbbing headaches, worst I've ever had. Any hint of an erection triggers intense throbbing headaches. Also limits my gym workouts. Started with mild headaches after using for two weeks strictly according to directions. Headaches got worse over the next week, and I started getting a continuous headache. Stopped using it 4 days ago and the headaches seem to be reducing in intensity. | Used strctly according to directions over 3 weeks. No obvious effect on skin or warts after 3 weeks. After first 3 days noticed more tiny warts that went away after a few days. May have been my imagination. Stopped use because of headaches. | M | 51 | 23 days | 11/18/2005 | 2 | Basal Cell Carcinoma | SEVERE SYSTEMIC SIDE EFFECTS. Never felt so sick in my life. Applied Aldara to two small BCCs and one AK on forehead for four days, after which broke off treatment. Extreme fatigue and weakness, sudden sweats, nausea, complete loss of appetite, metallic taste in mouth and throat, numb fingers, sudden and random joint and body pains, chest pain, sharp painful dry cough, one completely sleepless night as my body shook and felt as if it were fighting an alien inside. Ran complete battery of tests to exclude other conditions, including HIV and blood analysis showing that I wasn't fighting an infection. Rapid improvement two days after breaking off treatment; starting again a week later on only one small BCC with extra care to apply only very thin brought back partial but identical symptoms after third application. | Powerful stuff. I am completely fit and healthy, lean and exercised but had this very extreme reaction. Danger of overdosing seems very high. Neither my doctor nor the usage instructions point out anything beyond "flu-like symptoms", which in my case is an understatement if there ever was one. I don't want to know what this kind of reaction could do to a weakened or elderly person. | M | 41 | 4 days | 11/14/2005 | 5 | HPV | Itch, bit tender, nothing major really. | I was shocked to find out i had hvp (warts)i thought they were just scaring from having my son untill i looked down there, my guess is they had been there for well over 6 months, i have been using aldara now for a week and a half and already they are nearly gone just tiny wee bumps now, it's very strong stuff so don't over do it just use 3 times a week, just pin prick the packet and it will last for ages, you only need a tiny tiny bit of the cream to work, i have also been putting castor oil and tea tree oil on the warts on the days i don't use aldara, i will use straight tea tree twice a day for one day then aldara the next then straight castor oil the next, also am taking vitamins to boost my immunity, my guess is another 2 weeks of this and the warts will be gone, try it i had my douts but this is amazing stuff. | F | 30 | 1 weeks | 11/10/2005 | 2 | GW | For the last few days I thought I had herpes up until I read this board. I even had tests taken but have to wait 1 more week. Its a relief to know that I finally figured out why i have these rashes and ulcers on my skin. The first box aldara didn't really work, just itchiness and scaling. The second box I used I think I went on a binge like the others on this board. I think I used it two days in a row. A week later I broke out in the worst herpes like symptons and it is the most painful experience. Makes you wonder what herpes is like. | Be careful when using this cream and follow instructiions. Only apply MWF or TTHS...I thought this cream boosted my immune system, not cause chemical burn. People have the impression that this cream is like Vitamin C, which is partly true, it will burn you like an acid. | M | 30 | 8 weeks | 11/9/2005 | 5 | HPV | a tiny bit of tenderness | This worked fabulously! I was scared after what I read here, but I guess I've been lucky in having very mild side effects and the small warts went away quickly. | F | 26 | 3 weeks | 10/31/2005 |