Amazon symptoms and conditions

Hi, folks, I posted back on September 22nd here, and have also responded to a few of your postings. I fear a lot of people visit once but never return here. That's a shame. An ongoing conversation might help us all.

Anyhow, I pretty thoroughly hate all the anti-hypertension drugs since every one that I've been given has caused me suffering and, in many cases, damage either temporary or permanent. I'm now on Cozaar, very expensive but I'm hoping it will prove tolerable.

One thing I would recommend is for all of you to look up a book by a research scientist, Richard Moore, Ph.D., M.D. It's called "The High Blood Pressure Solution." You can find it new or used at Amazon or perhaps even at your local bookstore or library. Dr. Moore taught at the University of Indiana, and was adjunct at the University of Vermont and also New York Stony Brook. A top level researcher. One of the great things about his book is that he explains, at the cellular level, what is the cause of most cases of hypertension. Not all, but most. The chapter on the science is high school level science, but you can skip it if you wish and still get the important stuff. After reading his book, for the first time I really understood the roles of sodium and potassium in blood pressure. It's not helped my BP very much, but at least I know what's going on. For those of you who've just recently developed high BP, it could possibly help you a LOT.

Bless you all, folks, and good luck. We all need it!

I have been taking prednisone for three years and I love it! It has helped me out with breathing problems and arthritis pain. I take a small does every day. And when I am without it I have trouble breathing and have painful arthritis pain. This drug has done wonders for me.

Hi I am 31, have been put on prednisone for a pinched nerve in my shoulder blade. Iv taken two pills of 10 mil. For two days. one pill a day for two days. I'm stopping now. I feel so tired weak and unable to exercise. My chest is so heavy and heart flutters. I'm a smoker so it seems worse after a cigarette. I also have a few glasses of wine a day. I'm so frightened at these feelings. My tummy is now bigger in just that short of time. I really wish I knew all this first. Can any one tell me how long before I'm normal from the short usage. Please this really sucks and very scary. Also the smoking and alcohol how does it effect this? Please

I'm 15 years old and i've been taking prednisone for a few months, and from what i've read i'm on a really high dose. i was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and another autoimmune disorder concerning my muscles at the same time. my doctor told me prednisone was my only choice; it was either that or i would lose the ability to walk. he told me there'd be side effects, but i had no idea it'd turn out like this or i would have fought harder for another course of action. i started out on 30mg twice a day, and since then was weaned down to 20mg twice a day and now i'm down to 30mg once a day. i've been looking up a bunch of information trying to figure out if there's a way to lessen the side effects or any hope at all that they will get better. apparently there isn't much. after reading a bunch of these stories i gotta say i'm not feeling great about this. i totally understand everything everyone is going through. i'm sure you can imagine what it's like being smack in the middle of high school with a huge puffy face, acne so bad on my face, chest, back, neck, and shoulders that wearing a bra could put me in tears, and mood swings so bad i've lost friends over it. everyone knows how brutal high school can be, where appearance and attitude are everything. and i try to tell my doctor about it and he literally looks at me like i'm a whiny teenager and says "you're just going to have to deal with it." and people like my mom and my closest friends don't get it either. nobody understands how beyond frustrating it is. i'll get into the worst moods and not have a reason for it, but i'll stay angry for hours or burst into tears over someone looking at me the wrong way. it'll get to the point where i have to isolate myself from other people because the abrubt mood changes get so bad. as bad as i hate to admit it, the pain from the arthritis is gone now and supposedly my muscles are doing better too. developing arthritis caused me to have to quit cheerleading, something i've loved doing for 6 years, because the pain got to the point where i couldn't get my arms above my head or bend my knees. however, i'd almost rather deal with the horrible joint pain than deal with the side effects of prednisone. if your doctor gives you and alternative method, take it. i've always been confident in the way i look and really outgoing and happy and now i sometimes catch myself thinking about suicide. that's shocking to me because i've got so much going for me, but this medicine makes me miserable. and when i complain about it, anyone i'm talking to just looks at me like i'm being a cry baby. my mom does too, she'll say things like "you just have to do this. i know it's not what you want but to be honest i'm sick of hearing you bitch about it."
i feel a little better knowing other people feel the same way - like nobody gets whats going on with them. the prednisone does give me days of really great euphoria and days when i feel like i could run a marathon, but waking up in the morning to the acne and huge face puts me to tears every day. i have to pee all the time, usually getting up at 2 or 3 am. i don't sleep well anymore and i do sweat all the time. which also sucks being a teenage girl. i'm always hungry, and when i eat i never feel full so i don't know when to stop. my neck and face have put on so much weight that when people see me in the halls or out and about they ask me what happened. mind you these are people i don't talk to, just ones i know from classes or whatever. and it's pretty bad when teenage boys i've never really talked to ask what happened to your face. kind of a blow to the ego, or whatever is left of it at this point.
i'd like to know if, as my dosage gets lowered, the side effects will diminish and when i'm off the prednisone completely if they will disappear altogether. any help there?
or if there is any way to help the acne or puffy face

my doctor just put me on something called methotrexate or something like that to help wean me off the prednisone, and does anyone know what those side effects will do? or if they'll affect the prednisone side effects?
i'm constantly obsessing over gaining weight and what my skin looks like and what i eat and how heavy my face feels and the occasional pressure in my eyes to the point where i just want to be put out of my misery.
and after reading other people's stories i really don't understand why this drug is still given out as freely as it is. but maybe all doctors are like mine, they just don't get it.
best of luck to anyone who's on prednisone, my heart goes out to you; i'm right there with you
sorry this became like a book it wasn't meant to be this long

Someone, please tell me how long this coughing will last! I took Lisinopril for 4 weeks. During that time I had many of the same symptoms that I'm reading now, but didn't realize what was causing them. But after 3 weeks of a constant dry cough that led to gagging more often than not and cough attacks every hour on the hour even at night, I turned to the Internet to research tickling coughs. I too was sure I had throat cancer after experiencing lung cancer just a year ago. After reading all of these experiences from all of the people on this site, I was relieved yet furious. I called to inform my doctor of the side effect of the coughing that was keeping me from going anywhere but work (I'm a teacher so you can imagine how difficult that is). I was consuming 10 - 15 cough drops a day and night which was not helping my weight issue. She prescribed Toprol which I researched and read that it should not be taken if you have had a history of lung issues. Needless to say, I'm not going to take that either. My blood pressure is pre-hypertension so I believe I can control that myself with exercise and diet. It's been 5 days since I stopped taking the Lisinopril and the coughing has not subsided at all. I was up every hour on the hour last night and that was with taking a sleep aid.

I had a UTI at the beginning of November. I had gone in for a physical and my bs were 127. My cholesterol was 276. 205 was bad. 46 was good. Triglycerides were only 135. I had another bs test and it was 130. My creatine (kidney function) was .7 which was good.

My doctor told me that since I technically have diabetes, they need to be aggressive with the cholesterol/blood pressure. I took Vytorin for about a week. I noticed tingling in my arms and legs immediately. My left arm was "heavy" and the left side of my body was numb for a bit. I also started using the restroom a lot. My knees also ached at night while sleeping and it woke me up. I had just started walking so I chalked it up to that. I had fatigue and anxiety as well.

I knew the pills were giving me these side affects so I took myself off of them after a week. I started myself on a diet. I walk 30 minutes a day. My cholesterol is now 237. The bad is 173, the good is 39 (I am working on raising that number naturally) and my triglycerides are 123. My fasting blood sugars are new only 95. My blood sugars do not go above 140 now, which is considered normal.

Unfortunately, my kidney function has taken a slight dip. It was .7 and now it is .9. I really feel that if I had taken the Vytorin much longer, it would of given me kidney failure. Apparently kidney damage is on the warning label of this product. If I had read the label before considering this drug, I would of never taken it in the first place. I am hoping the kidney function restores itself. Please scour the internet before taking any prescribed medications!

I have been taking simvastatin since June 28, 2008. I am 44 years old and have always been majorly active with my 17 year old daughter. Recently I have become chronically fatigued so much as to want to go back to bed within 2-3 hours after I get up in the morning, (definitely not me). I have felt spaced out,depressed to the point of wanting to cry all the time, have severe back, hip, knee, leg, and hand pain. I go to pain management for my back and hip problems (past surgery), but the usual pain has been intensified over the last 2 months and I wasn't sure why, until i decided to check out the Simvastatin to see if it has made me put on a few pounds, and boy have my eyes been opened!!!!!!!!! I AM STOPPING THE MEDICATION IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks to all who have spoken up, I wish I would of checked on this sooner!!!!! I'm calling my Dr. first thing in the morning!!!!!!!!!!!

By exhausted in Canton

I just started using Singulair a few days ago. I am 54 years old and just started coughing at night only. I would be fine during the day and then never failed, at night I started to cough keeping me awake. I was given antibiotics, narcotic cough syrups but it only helped temporarily and then I went back to coughing nights only again. So as I mentioned, I started taking Singulair a few days ago because my physician thinks I have developed allergies and Singulair is noted to help night coughs. It is helping my night coughs but I still cough a few times at night and now I cough quite a few times in the day when I never use to cough in the daytime. Wondering if Singulair is worth taking as the symptoms are becoming opposite? I hate taking drugs and don't know if I should find a safer alternative? Help, anyone? Thank you

What a relief! I've been on the nuvaring for 2 months after having the mirena for about a year and a half. The mirena caused aching pain in my abdomen during and after sex, but that seems very minor compared to what I've experienced while using the nuvaring. My sex drive decreased dramatically, I've had headaches like no other, and to top it off I've gained almost 10 pounds while decreasing my diet and running about 5 miles 3 times a week!!!! This thing is coming out today!! Not to rejoice in any one else's suffering, but I'm soo glad to have found this site and realize that I'm not absolutely nuts for thinking the nuvaring is responsible for the changes going on in my body! I'm not sure what b/c to use now - I've gotten pregnant twice while taking the pill religiously - condoms aren't really an option, my husband hates them. Anyone have any suggestions?

I did a post of my side effects last night, and had to question if stop taking the Singulair which did help relieve my really bad sinus headaches I get with the fog, when I woke up this morning to fog and a headache, but the answer is still yes. One thing that I have found that have helped me were some suggestions I got from reading a book called The Sinus Cure: 7 Simple Steps to Relieve Sinusitis and Other Ear, Nose, and Throat Conditions, available from Amazon or bookstores. I also found the Grossan Hydro Pulse Nasal and Sinus Irrigation System a huge help, especially greatly reduces problems I get with phlegm. I don't know if this info helps anybody, but I wanted to pass it on.

Have been on Aciphex for about 8 months and have had many side effects. I thought it was the acid reflux causing the side effects but maybe its the Aciphex. I get light headed every once in a while, i get blurry vision, bad gas,tingly cold hands and feet, back pain and chest pain,arm pain, neck pain,irregular heartbeat, and go to the bathroom constantly. also feel very nervous at times. Its very scary because i thought maybe i had a heart problem but got an EKG and everything was normal. There is a book that i found that is guaranteed to naturally get rid of acid reflux or your money back. I am definitely going to purchase this book. You can find it on ***

I'm aged 51 and have had high blood cholesterol for years, diagnosed in my mid thirties. Over the years I have tried changing diet but it didn't reduce tha bad cholesterol. Three years ago I decided maybe I better reduce the cholesterol as they say it clogs up you arteries etc. I went to the doctor and he put me on Lipitor and within a few months my levels were down to normal. I got joint pains in my hands, back, neck , legs and had sore heels after long walks. The doc then decided I'd go off the Lipitor to see if my levels stayed normal but they went back up. After a week the new pains had gone away. I came up with a plan to take 3 x 10mG a week rather than one each day and this worked with a lot less joint pain. The last test I had my levels are back up again so he put me back on 10mG a day and now three weeks later the pains have built back up and I don't like them. Desperate for a different solution I was listening to one of the Juice Plus promotions and something they said set me thinking. They said that having a high level of bad cholesterol doesn't always mean it will badly affect your arteries as it has to react with free radicals in your body to cause the damage. Their theory is that a diet rich in antioxidants will combat the free radicals and generally reduce the risk of disease which also includes any bad effects from high bad cholesterol. Now I'm wondering two things, how do I know if my high cholesterol is causing me any harm? is there a test I can get done to measure how it is or is not affecting me? Can anyone throw any more light on this?

Listen honey, you are not going crazy, you do NOT have atumor. I PROMISE you this. I have been off Yasmin for almost a full year and still have anxiety! It is tons better then before, and i have actually stopped seeing the therpist I had been going to to deal with the anxiety WITHOUT medication. The anxiety comes and goes and is worse during my period and right before it. HE told me that it takes alot of time, like more then a year, to feel better but you have to learn to deal with the anxiety to make it leave. You have to be able to feel it when it comes, but not let it SCARE you. You have to be able to say it is only temporary, it is only a few chemicals in my brain that are TEMPORARILY misplaces that are making me feel this way. You have to occupy yourself so that youre not sitting there thinking about it more intensely as each moment passes. You will get better, you will be ok. It may take longer then you thought, trust me I never thought I would still feel the effects of a pill i was on for 3 months a year later. You simply have to CALM DOWN and BREATHE. You are not dying, you are not going to be hospitalized, and you don't have to be medicated if you don't want to. You will still be a wonderful mother, friend, wife, and whatever you want to be. I would go to amazon.com and buy Hope and Help for your Nerves by Dr. Claire Weeks. I can honestly say it probably saved me to know that I wasn't alone and that it was all REAL. good luck, god bless you.

I don't think our doctors know any more than we do about this drug. It's up to us to research it ourselves. According to what I've read, there is no evidence that even taking it at all prevents fractures, and there is quite a bit of evidence that it is in fact harmful. What's more, the drug stays in your bones even after you stop taking it and has a half-life of 10 years, meaning that it takes 10 years for it to reach half it's potency!! This, plus the fact that the long-term effects of this drug are unknown!!

I have been taking Didronel, which is a weaker form of bisphosphonates for several years and was recently put on Fosomax because my bone density had gone lower according to the DXA test. I've now stopped taking it after having perused this forum, and reading an excellent book on the subject called "The Myth of Osteoporosis" by Gillian Sanson. All I can say is, I wish I'd read this material before taking any of these drugs.

A very interesting fact that our doctors do not tell us because presumably they are ignorant of it themselves, is that bone density itself is not a reliable indicator of fracture risk.

I've drawn the conslusion that our doctors are ill informed and we put our trust in them at our own (often considerable) risk.

******

See my previous entry below at: "Fri, 26 Mar 2004 18:48:12 -0500 by balinaidoo, #4960".
I have since read "The Cholesterol Myths" by Dr Uffe Ravnskov (bought from Amazon). This man is as straight as a die and just completely and scientifically honest. Believe me, I am always on the look-out for "snake oil salesmen" and would run a mile if I smelled one nearby. I am now utterly convinced that cholesterol DOES NOT CAUSE HEART DISEASE. It is the innocent bystander trying to help at the scene of the accident. It REPAIRS damage for heavens sake. Read this book and be amazed (?) at how the drug companies, so-called "scientific" research study groups, government regulating bodies, physicians and cardiologists etc etc have mostly shown venal greed, total lack of care for you and me, lethargy and laziness, desire to go along with "revered authority" etc etc to foist on us the huge lie that high cholesterol is a problem and that the diet-heart theory is to be believed. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE! This is your health (easily damaged and very precious to you) and your money (Absolutely BILLIONS) that they are mis-appropriating. The message is FORGET ABOUT CHOLESTEROL LEVEL. Unless you are in the minority group who suffer from familial hypercholesterolemia (an inherited condition), then cholesterol is NOT going to give you heart disease. I exhort you to read this book.
Statins appear to faintly reduce the number of cardiovascular events in very high risk patients (are you sure you are one?) although even this result may be down to pure chance. What they do is to increase the number of deaths overall! So, you may well increase your chances of dying from cancer. Is this good?
The true villian appears to be Homocysteine a sulphur bearing amino acid in the blood. A test for level is readily available (on the NHS in the UK). Now buy and devour a book called "The Heart Revolution" by Dr Kilmer McCully. This is another revelation and the answer to high levels of Homocysteine seems to be Vitamin B6, B12 and Folic Acid. How difficult is that? This Homocysteine may also be implicated in Alzheimers, Cancers, Arthritis etc. The fact that no expensive drugs are involved explains why those famous drugs companies (and all those who are in their very deep pockets) don't want you to know about this.
Finally get "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon. Wow! Those lovely tasty foods we were warned to spurn are OK after all. She also gives you a very thorough and expert introduction to the good and bad points of almost anything you may want to eat. Read, go back to good old-fashioned food and enjoy your life again. Just who are these ghastly people who have been foisting the failed diet-heart theory on us at huge profit to themselves and at huge cost to our health and to our enjoyment of decent food? Why did we let them do it to us?
I am not a doctor and I have no vested interest in promoting any of the above mentioned works except that I have ditched statins and have found that these people give a totally refreshing and deeply honest take on the problems that so many of us have suffered from. Best of all, get your doctor to read them too. We need to get this monkey off our backs.