Aisle symptoms and conditions

I am on two 500 mg doses of cephalexin daily to help heal a bug bite..Still waiting for the biopsy to come back. Doctor suggested could be a brown spider bite. Definitely want to stop the skin deterioration and get the wound from where the bite was removed healed but the itching started on day 3 on my stomach and has now spread to entire torso, back, insides of arms and legs. I have tried aveeno baths, benadryl (knocks me out) and eucerin itch-relief. Today I coated my entire body with 1% hydrocortisone with little relief. HELP - I am scratching to the point of bleeding and now that I have read these other comments will NOT take another one of these pills. Any other OTC relief anyone has found?

The nuvaring should be re- named to the devil ring. I went on it for two days about a year ago. I went for a jog (like i have been doing every day for years) and felt this horrible cramp in my pelvic area. I had to sit on the curb and almost flagged somebody down to take me to the ER because I could not get up. Finally, I made it home, took out the ring, and about a half hour later I was fine. People thought I was crazy when I attributed it to the ring so I decided to go on it again last week. I immediately felt very much not like myself. I was on vacation with my family and was so extremely moody and irritable I was just un-bearable to be around. I had it in for 7 days before I decided to remove the ring. Once removed, about a half hour later I was much more pleasant and less irritable. It has been 6 days since I removed the ring and I have gotten my period. I experienced terrible terrible cramps yesterday to the point that while shopping I was huddled over in the aisle because I kept getting this shooting pain from my back to my lower abdomen. I have also been having very bad night sweats (I wake up in the middle of the night and have to shower because my clothes are completely drenched). Now, today I have a very bad migraine, I am experiencing the chills and sweats with no fever. I have made an appt w my GYN for Monday but its Friday...that means I have to go through two more days of this. Has anyone experienced similar symptoms even when the ring has been removed?

Seems like I'm in the same boat as a lot of people here. My dr. started me on Lipitor 40mg last year then raised it to 80mg. I started getting slight buring type chest pains with some sharp pains on the upper right side on my chest. The sharp pains increased when he raised me to 80mg. In Feb. 2008, I started to complain. He blew me off at first and then I ended up in the hospital for 2 days taking tests in March 2008. All the tests came back fine and my dr. explained the pains as "spasms" caused by "low flow" and told me to ignore then because it wasn't my heart...WHAT?? He gave me 2 other meds for the spasms. In Nov 2008, the sharp pains were daily and throughout the whole day. I started to research chest pains with lipitor and could believe the stories I read. It was as if I wrote them myself. I stopped taking lipitor on Dec 2, 2008 and within 2 weeks the sharp pains are almost by gone. I'm still having the slight burning feeling sometimes and was wondering how long this will last take to completely go away.

It's so encouraging to hear everyone else's views about this "device"!! I've had my Mirena since 16th March 2007 (yes, I remember the day like it was yesterday as inserting the thing was the most painful experience I have ever had, although I haven't had children!!).

The literature says you will get cramps and bleeding for up to about 3 weeks (I think) ... yes, try about 6 months.

Then, just when I thought things were settling down, I got sciatica over Christmas for no apparent reason. It was mild to begin with and then after £100 and 3 trips to the chiro, I am now on physiotherapy and have been for a month. I've also starting having cramps for about a month yet, but no sign of a period, so I got to thinking I wonder if this sciatica has got anything to do with the Mirena. I googled and sure enough, people are suffering and also from a whole host of other things I now recognize is happening to me. The blurred vision is interesting as when I went to get the Mirena removed this morning (it has got lost up there!!), the nurse said I've never heard of anyone getting sciatica. Check the internet love, the uterus is very close to the sciatic nerve and bearing in mind mine (the Mirena not the uterus) has gone walkabout, I'm pretty certain this is the root of my problems.

Someone had asked for the Mirena to be removed because it was affecting their contact lenses, so there must be something in the rumour.

Anyway, hopefully the doc can remove mine tonight or I can get a scan quickly and have the damn thing removed. Only 12 weeks until I get married and I refuse to walk down the aisle on crutches!!!!!

In 1998, my father died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage. I was only 33. This was devastating to me being a single daughter who still had aspirations of having him walk me down the aisle and all. I became extremely depressed and cried all the time. I was prescribed Paxil by my GP in this state of mind. No psychology or counseling offered first. And nothing was said to me about it being an addictive drug that would be next to impossible to stop taking. Nothing was mentioned about the long-lasting side effects. It was only a few weeks into it though that I realized if I missed a dose or didn't take it on a scheduled time each day, I would experience these "brain lapses" or "shock type feelings" in my head. I couldn't think a thought through without confusion. Having a conversation was like being a walking-talking robot that was short-circuiting. My other symptoms from this drug was the weight gain (about 30 lbs by the end) and the total absence of libido (not that I didn't want it but that I was totally numb in parts that I wasn't before), which was not normal for me. It was like many of you have stated... sort of a no-feeling zone ... and I decided this drug was NOT for me.

It took me at least 4 months to taper off 20 mg of Paxil. The side effects included severe trouble thinking or remembering things, anxiety attacks, more gain weight (which I attribute to low energy or enthusiasm for most things), angry outburst, easily tearful, then the feet swelling. At first it was just my left foot that would swell up and I attributed it to maybe a hereditary condition and dismissed it being any part a Paxil withdrawal symptom.

Another blessing I feel is a result of my Paxil is a very sensitive stomach. I have GERT (or acid reflux) most of the time. The GP put me on Protonix which helped the acid problems but then my hands and feet would go to sleep at night. I didn't think that was a good payoff so am not taking that either.

The edema increased to an almost daily occurrence for both feet. Sometimes they are so swollen I cannot bend my ankles and my hands and face are swollen too. Over the past 7 years, my GPs have prescribed varying kinds and doses of diuretics to help elevate the fluid in my system, which at first helped some, but now it doesn't even effect the edema in my feet. The only thing that helps really is to wear a closed shoe (like a tennis shoe) or -- which instead forces the fluid up into my ankles. Just yesterday I was told that compression hosiery is the only fix beyond maybe losing weight (I am not obese but am about 45 lbs overweight at 185) and that the diuretics were really not necessary.

When I exercise on an elliptical machine both feet go to sleep after only 15 minutes. I am much more active now and play tennis 3-4 times a week and when playing my hands and feet get numb.

Ten years later, I have chronic (almost daily) edema in both my feet and in my hands and face sometimes. I am way more active and exercise regularly by participating in sports (tennis and other running sports) but I do not lose weight. I still get the numbness in my hands and feet when I exercise for any length of time.

In the past 3 months I have had my blood tested for any and all problems - diabetes, low B12, high sodium, cholesterol, heart Doppler exam, CT of abdomen, and more. I am healthy as a horse from the results, but I am still having daily edema in my feet. I was told by a friend living in Italy that they prescribe a drug called Daflon for circulatory improvement. It seems this drug is not available in the U.S., probably because it is known for having no adverse side effects. I did find that a natural plant extract called Pycnogenol is supposed to help with circulation and other inflammation. It is also known as a Vitamin C "action-helper."

The reason I am sharing my side effects from Paxil, is that before I took this drug, I had no known problems with my circulation and I feel it is what caused it. I also have the ongoing trouble of remembering things. I feel this drug did a number on my body and I was only on it maybe 8 months. I can't imagine what someone on it for years will face. Thing is, I was sad about my father; I wasn't suicidal. They prescribe something that has long lasting results to someone that is in a weak state of mind and then don't warn you that there are so many serious repercussions -- no. 1 being that this drug is chemically addictive to your body's delicately balanced system. NOW because of deaths and Paxil-related murders the FDA has questioned this drug's safety.

You have to wonder if the doctors are really thinking about the patient or if they are just promoting the latest new drug for some personal gain of their own. I feel like a live guinea pig and there's no solution to the side effects I'm left with.

I want to encourage those that are thinking of getting off this drug that the side effects will wane some over time -- you can't do it cold turkey or you will pay the price -- but don't take it any longer than you have to because the long-term effects are not worth it. Better to learn how to deal with your emotions and find something that will be a boost for you in a healthy, non-drug related way (or at least natural), than let this Paxil industry continue.

I have been on Singulair now for about 14 years. I am 58 yr old white female with Asthma. Severe enough to go to the ER every 2 weeks and get the breathing treatments, IV steroids, etc. Breathlessness is something I do not ever want to experience again.

I went to an allergist and had only a reaction to dust mites, however, my Asthma attacks were triggered by all odors, scents, pollutions from cars, trucks, and construction, (tar smelling products.) I wasn't able to go grocery shopping and go down the detergent aisle. I wasn't able to go to the Mall for fear someone would have on perfume or cologne. Funeral homes were out of the question because of the above mentioned and the flowers. I was basically home bound. Now my allergist had me on another medication, but it required blood tests every month to check the liver enzymes. So he switched me to Singulair. About a month into the drug, I noticed I no longer needed my rescue inhaler, not even at night, or my steroid-laced inhaler for prevention. I thought this drug was a life restoring miracle. Now having read all these comments, and I have almost all the same side effects,: weight gain, restlessness, restless legs, insomnia, ear infections, tinnitus. Gee, I thought these were all because of my age, and now I see it is my Singulair. I don't know if I am brave enough to try to wean off this drug, because when you can't breath, NOTHING ELSE MATTERS. so .........WHAT DO I DO?

ok, i am warning you in advance that this is kinda long, but i wanted to explain a little rather than just list how i was affected. the effects happened gradually at first and then all of a sudden got worse.

i was on yasmin for just over 2 years. i started taking it shortly before i got married and at first i noticed that i hated everyone and everything around me but figured that it was due to starting a BCP for the first time. after a month, i was ok.

about last year april, my father in law who is a gynecologist said that continually taking the active pills would be ok and then every 3 packs or so to stop and have a period. ok fine, that is what i did. i thought things were fine until july when i noticed that i was starting to have all this hate towards my husband yet i still loved him. i thought it was just stress from us both trying to finish school, me working full time and him not working. around august, i got a bit happier. not sure why. during the rest of the year, from september throuogh december, i went back and forth in my head trying to figure out why i was so mad and depressed all the time...was it me? or my husband? or just life in general?my family and feriends could see that i was no longer happy and just wasn't the angel they knew. i seriously considered leaving my husband because i thought it was all stress because of him. fortunately, i decided to wait until january to see how i felt then. i didnt want to just hurry up and get divorced only to regret it later.

january came and i got worse. i started crying because i didnt know what to do. i almost lost my job because they didnt like me "coming to work with all my 'home' problems". they didnt think i kept work and home separate. around february is when i noticed the nausea thing. my husband and i went to target one night and ate some pizza before doing our shopping. while we were wandering around, i felt extremely sick. i either had to sit down right now in the middle of the aisle or go to the bathroom. this happened a few times so i blamed it on the greasy pizza - maybe my stomach couldn't handle it anymore.

i found this site last week monday. i took my pill that morning but havent taken one since. after reading all the problems other people had been experiencing, i knew i had to stop. i started talking to a friend about it; she said to stop. so did my husband. i called my sister who was also on yasmin. she stopped. things from the past year all started to make sense. things i never even considered would be caused by taking yasmin every day. having me and my sister both on it probably made a lot of people in our lives wonder why we were so crazy. as i read through this site, i realized just how many things in my life were being affected. the symptoms/side effects i noticed are:

depression
extremely bad headaches (in the back of my head)
hair loss
dry skin
no sex drive (at all)
anxiety
severe mood swings (i've always been moody but never borderline psychotic!)
start crying for no reason (i used to never cry and my friends thought i was incapable of showing emotions!)
insecurity (especially about weight)
weight gain (25 lbs in 2 yrs -no change in eating habits)
inability to concentrate/cloudy thinking
diarrhea
abdominal pains (especially after eating)
sudden food intolerances i didnt have before
very bitchy
night sweats
dry itchy nose
unexplained memory loss
swelling of hands and feet (aka edema if you come across that word!)
dizziness
blurred vision
constant achy feeling
extrelmey sensitive
dehydration
no motivation
insomnia (i've NEVER had a problem sleeping!)
constant worrying
vaginal dryness/pain during sex
heartburn

Reading abck on all of this, i must seem like one of those people that thinks they have every sickness in the world, but I AM NOT LYING. Yasmin affected me in a very bad way. It took a year for me to start noticing any symptoms, so to all of you who after 1 week or 1 month say that everything is fine, it was the same with me (for the most part). if you give it time, it will affect you too. as for me, i am never going on another BCP. i just dont like the idea of putting extra hormones in my body. if you think back to being a teenager when your hormones start going all crazy on their own it only makes sense that adding more later on wouldn't be a good thing.

as i am off yasmin for more time, i will post which symptoms are improving and which arent. And I will try to keep them shorter!

thank you for reading and best of luck :)

angel