Apathy symptoms and conditions

I am 30 yrs old, have been taking YAZ for a little less than one year. Loved it at first, my PMDD seemed a lot better, my skin cleared up. (I had adult acne) The decreased sex drive was immediate and after a couple of months I noticed the stomach pains, headaches, and extreme hunger in the mornings as well as shortness of breath and occasional dizziness. I even went to my regular doctor for an inhaler due to the shortness of breath. Since I started this pill to now I've gained a lot of "solid" weight that seems very hard to lose. I've gone from a size 4 to an 8. The only benefit has been that my skin is a lot clearer but as soon as I take the last pink pill in the pack my face breaks out again. This past month I've had horrible mood swings. My anxiety is worse than ever and I overreact to the smallest things. I can't stand myself and feel like a crazy person. While the thought of having acne again makes me very sad, I will no longer take YAZ.

This drug ruined, DESTROYED a year of my life. Self harm, suicidal tendencies, anger, depression, apathy. I never was like this until I started this medication. Within one day I had these horrible thoughts. Immediately I came off it, but instead of letting the drug get out of my system I was thrown on another. Bad idea Doc. Educated yourself FULLY before taking this medication.

ALERT!!!

If you have been having any one of these side effects, then AcipHex may be causing nerve damage.

-- tingling or numb hands or feet
-- confusion / "fuzzy head"
-- ringing in the ears
-- vision changes
-- anxiety
-- depression
-- apathy
-- fatigue

It may be serious. In my case it certainly is. I can barely use my hands. Why it happens:

AcipHex cuts down on stomach acid. Sometimes it cuts down too MUCH acid. In that case, you are unable to break down animal products enough to absorb vitamin B12 from it. Without vitamin B12, your nerve sheathing erodes. My advice would be to stop AcipHex and get a good vitamin B12 supplement (sublingual -- the type that dissolves underneath your tongue, and at least 1000 mcg). I would also advise to get the book -- Could It Be B12? By RN Sally Pacholock. Before starting supplements, insist on a urinary MMA test. It is the only B-12 test that does not give false positives or negatives often.

This book has literally saved my life.

I started Yaz in December 2008 to combat what seemed to be PMDD and perimenopausal symptoms. The cure is worse than the ailment. I've been plagued by feelings of extreme apathy and disinterest in everyone and everything in my life. There's the old joke, "Sex or a sandwich?" I can't even be bothered for either one. I've been short tempered, extremely fatigued - even after sleeping 10-12 hours at a time. I fought with my BF on Saturday and hurt him beyond anything I've ever done or said to him. And he is the kindest man I know. I've had piercing back pain, intermittent chest pain, difficulty breathing, migraine headaches, nausea and intermittent heartburn & GI upset, dizziness, blurred vision, vaginal dryness. The depression is what was the corker for me. I have such a high tolerance for physical pain and it takes extreme circumstances for me to see the doctor. Now that I think about it, I didn't even get to see my doctor...I called in November to make an appointment, explained my peri symptoms to the nurse, then received a prescription for the Yaz....Well, enough is enough. I simply can't live like this. I called them yesterday and was directed to stop IMMEDIATELY. I've since made an appointment with an acupuncture doctor and will discuss finding a GYN who focused on midlife women and uses natural remedies. To all you beautiful women who posted here, you saved my life yesterday. I am forever grateful for your honesty, because I thought I was going crazy and the solution was kick everyone and everything in my life to the curb.

I am 23 years old and started the NuvaRing in November. The first month was great the 2nd month started with:
Crippling heart burn, Huge mood swings, Anxiety, Fogginess in my contacts, decreased libido, 15 lb weight gain, Inability to sleep through the night, vaginal irritation, debilitating leg cramps in the evening, and an insanely itchy rash on my stomach and legs.

After reading through the symptoms to go to your doctor with I decided to throw the bugger in the trash. I am outraged to hear the apathy of everyone's health care professionals. They should be brought before the medical board for such negligence. Short of death what side effects do they need to see that this is a HORRIBLE form of birth control.

Yaz was not what I'd hoped for...Instead, of relieving pre-menstrual symptoms, it only extended and exaggerated them. I had feelings of extreme apathy, exhaustion (i could sleep at any time), severe mood swings, headaches, weight gain, bloating, increased appetite, blood pressure increase from 90/60 to 120/75, cramping(both intestinal and uterine w/spotting), and dyspenea. I felt like my whole life and body were sliding down a hill. .. BAD feeling ....depression! This was only after taking it10 days. Immediately, I knew it was the Yaz. The first pill I took for almost 2 years 20 years ago...I was miserable. Since then, I've tried different pills all with the same results. Ironically, I had to take pergonal to ovulate and get pregnant. (My quadruplets are 12yrs.old and wonderful!) After a year of convincing, my long-time Dr., a female close to my age, thought Yaz would be great for me. I was supposed to take it for 3 mts. The symptoms were like a train. I'd be insane, dead or both in three months. I stopped and it was like stopping a train...severe headache, and more of the same symptoms, but each day is better. I can and you can read your body and listen to it. Do not let self -doubt slide in...Medical professionals want to help you and they should listen; if they don't, they are missing half of the picture, your picture. This time, quite honestly and even b/f I read this board, it made me wonder how many lives are affected
by such...I mean depression, clots, blood pressure, headaches, weight issues and many others...even the divorce rate. We have to have birth control. For me I'll just stick to a little bit of acne, and predictable PMSuntil I go into menopause. I know that others need something very different, and I encourage you to keep searching and communicating.

To this day, I am not sure if Nuvaring is the cause of all my problems. But after reading about the side effects and finding many commonalities in my own experience, I took it out today and will not continue using it.

I've been on Nuvaring for the past year. Just before I started using it, I had an episode in the gym where my heart started racing very uncomfortably and I felt like i was going to faint after running. Two visits to the ER and numerous specialists' visits later, they concluded I have generalized anxiety disorder.

Over the past year since that incident, I've become much more anxious than I ever remember. I've gained about 20 pounds. I get headaches all the time. I'm CONSTANTLY tired, to the point where it doesn't matter how long I sleep, I still don't want to get out of bed. Most of the time, I don't want to have sex. I have spells where I feel like I'm about to faint (but never do). Of course, the doctors attribute this to my anxiety, and I'm pretty sure that's what it is since it doesn't seem to be anything else really serious.

Like I said, I don't know if the Nuvaring has had a hand in putting me through this ridiculousness, but I'm not taking any chances. I read somewhere the Nuvaring isn't good for people with anxiety problems because it just makes these problems worse.

At least if these symptoms continue for a while after I've stopped the Nuvaring, I'll know it may not have been it. However, every month I feel my best the week of my period. Coincidence???

Hi,

I have hot flushes (feels like my body temp is out of control, with profuse sweating).
Morning aches and stiffness in joints).
I used to have sexual dysfunction before I started testosterone decanoate injection.)
I also used to have horrible fatigue and apathy.
I still have depression.
Since methadone has a negative effect on the various endocrinal mechanisms in the hypothalamus and pituitary, it makes sense that it would interfere with body temperature homeostasis.
I am on 100mg a day.
APC.

I have been on Aviane since January. I started taking it for extremely painful cramps that induced vomiting and dizziness. I wasn't taking it for birth control, acne control, or anything else. It worked wonders for my cramps. I had a regular period, no spotting, and no excruciating pain. That being said, the rest of my life was awful. I break out like crazy, put on a little bit of wait (nothing to really complain over), and worst of all, I have been in a hazy slump since I started taking it. I wouldn't say its been depression, but it is definitely a fatigue that I can't shake. I don't care about my friends or boyfriend or family until something or someone makes me aware of my blatant rudeness and apathy and then I burst into tears and cry for a whole day. Its awful, and I plan to not start the new pack on Sunday. I'm cutting birth control entirely and hoping it will change things. Has anyone else done this? I'm kind of scared of the side effects of stopping...

The first time I went on Wellbutrin, I had a really bad reaction to it. I had insomnia, horrible tremors, apathy, I felt like I was walking around in a cloud. I went on to try other medications. Now I'm taking a combination of Prozac and Wellbutrin and it seems to be working. My depression is under control. I don't have the apathy or zombie feeling anymore, but I do still have the tremors, though they aren't as bad. I get some mild insomnia, but taking it in the morning helped with that, and lately I've found that a little bit of coffee in the morning (not too much, don't need to be MORE shaky) helps with a lot of my side effects. I do have the confusion and concentration issues too. It hasn't caused any severe problems, it only seems to really happen in casual conversation, where I'll completely forget what I wanted to say. It's annoying, but way better than depression, and not severe enough for me to stop.
To those people who are telling others to stay away from this drug, or any drug for that matter, don't forget that there is a reason there are so many different kinds of anti-depressants. Everybody's body chemistry is different, so their gonna react in different ways. Also, the people who don't have issues with side effects rarely go looking for sites like this....
Just something to think about.

Hi all. My DH has been taking Geodon for 5 months for "delusion - other". The docs don't feel he's bi-polar or schizophrenic. He started up on 20mg and was taken all the way up to 160mg at night until he got ridiculously drowsy on this drug from that dose. He was having issues getting up in the morning (even after 9 1/2+ hours of sleep the night before) and was getting scared of driving to work as out of it as he'd be. The doc took him down to 120mg and it was still bad. So, then they dropped him down to 80mg and he started experiencing severe anxiety. He said he felt like his chest was closing in on him. So, now he's on 100mg and still tired, but not as bad.

Don't get me wrong.. if this was the only issue, I'd be fine with it. The Geodon was a godsend, at first. It really made his delusion dissipate (he wanted to run off and preach the word of God on street corners) and he was able to go back to working 8-hour days after a few months.

But now that he's gotten past that (he's had this once before, 6 years ago, and they had him on risperdal and depakote until the delusion was gone and then took him off of everything completely) he is BEYOND depressed. He has no history whatsoever of depression and has never felt this way before.Our family has never seen him like this. It's increasingly interfering with our relationship, as he just stares at me blankly if I happen to get upset about anything. He's just completely dead inside and feeling worthless. He can't even have an emotional conversation with me anymore and he used to be the most attentive, wonderful husband and friend he could ever be before he got on Geodon.

He also has zero interest in sex. I mean, he can go through it just fine, but he just doesn't want it on his own. And that's depressing for me!!

All in all, I want him off this drug as it seems that, once it did its job, it's eating away at his cognitive and emotional sides. He has a hard time reasoning and, of course, then ends up getting depressed because he feels worthless at his job. I just don't get it.

My question is: if he should happen to be bi-polar ( I mean, if the docs have all gotten it wrong) and he's going through a depressive phase, shouldn't the Geodon be helping? He just seems to get more and more depressed as gets further and further away from being delusional.

We're going to the doc on Thursday and I'm going to tell him that I want DH off this med.. no matter what he thinks. We just can't keep going through this crud anymore. I'd appreciate any feedback/advice/empathy you all can give.

I just miss my husband and I feel like this drug is running him into the ground and wrecking our marriage. :(

I have three kids and this is my second time on Mirena... first time was great other than bleeding non-stop for a month and half, this time same thing, but I also bleed brown after sex. Low sex drive, lots of mood swings, lack of motivation, fatigue, apathy. But it's still better than the pill or Norplant...plus the ob-gyn cut the string too short and it irritates my husband when we make love. If this continues past one year, I will ask my husband to get a vasectomy.

Found this site and read the postings for the first time today. I cried when I read the first posting because it was as though I had written it myself. I have experienced so many of the negative side effects such as, depression, apathy, loss of sex drive, crying almost every day, anger for no reason, pain, and more. I am 38 years old and have been using the ring for almost 2 years. I took it out today as soon as I finished reading other's experiences. I am looking forward to being my "old" self soon, and I know my husband and children are too.
Maybe the side effects are worse for women in their 30's and 40's versus 20's. Not everyone posted their age but I was curious regarding this possibility.

Have been taking Singulair but not consistently. I am a middle aged overweight male, and the MD suggested that conventional antihistamines could have cardiac complications.

Tried taking singulair at night per instructions but found it interfered with sleep. Recently moved to taking it in the daytime and found it prevented me from staying awake.

A couple of near-accidents while driving.

Mood swings, apathy and hostility, and even a trace of paranoia.

Greatly reduced intellectual capacity, a very bad thing for me as a computer programming professional.

Stopped taking it a week ago and I am almost back to myself. Hope and believe I escaped long term damage. I suppose I could be an outliers but I'm basically wired pretty well and I tend to doubt it. My impression is that this drug has such severe neurological effects that it should only be prescribed, if ever, in case of extreme need.

I'll take the sniffles, thanks. Singulair made me lazy, mean and stupid. Not a good trade at all.

The idea that this stuff is being foisted on inarticulate young children horrifies me. Even as an adult it is hard to make the connection. One doesn't anticipate severe psychotropic effects from something that replaces over the counter allergy meds.

I hope I'm an outliers but I think this needs some investigation. Suicide is awful, of course, but if its incidence goes up a little, perhaps a lot of minds are being disrupted short of suicide. If so this is a catastrophe and a travesty.

I was prescribed Remeron (Avanza in Australia) for a neurotransmitter deficiency that was causing "depression-like" symptoms including lack of energy, low libido, poor sleep, pessimistic thoughts, brain fog etc etc. I really wanted to give Remeron a good try because most other anti-ds that I've taken have an even worse effect on my sleep. Remeron was good taken at 30mg to help me sleep (I found 15mg knocked me out even more and was ridiculously tired the next day). I however progressively slipped into depression over a period of 3 weeks where I had zero energy, complete apathy and was really irritable to the point of having a massive blow up with family and girlfriend. I was told these effects would lessen in time and I would feel "lighter" and "better" - This didn't happen at 4 weeks and although I should keep going at a higher dose before knowing for sure if this medication doesn't work for me, I read on this page that feelings of irritability and agitation continue while on the med - This is cause enough for me to not be on this medication. Within 48 hours of stopping, I feel better already! Remeron - apparently works for most but not for me.

Taking a ten day course of 3 pills of 500MG per day. I had insomnia the first couple of nights. Some stomach problems and diarrhea. It is now the fourth day and I've been incredibly depressed and experiencing feelings of apathy and lethargy all day. Mood swings throughout the week; uncharacteristic short temper; general feelings of unhappiness or uneasiness.

Also, severe headache that lasted for the second and third days - hurt so much it woke me up several times throughout the night.

I take topamax for migraines. I'm still feeling this out. When I first started about 2 months ago I went through all kinds of crazy symptoms. My husband thought I was loosing it. For some reason my doctor wanted to start me out right away with about 50 in am and 50 at night. The first month was rough.
I read the pamplets and took myself down to a lower dose and worked up slower as the company suggest. I not only had tingly hands and extremties.
But outburst of weeping and anger like never before. Like triple the pms symptoms. There were just all kinds of weird things. In this 2nd month I am taking 100 in the am and 25-50 in the evening. I am now experiencing the acne, itchy skin, inability to concentrate, apathy. Insomnia. In general I don't get chronic headaches. But have yet to see menstrual migraines subside. Sill feeling my way through this. You cannot stop this med abruptly. As many meds. Do not tell you how dangerous they are to stop abruptly. I think every one is individual. Soda's are not flat for me, but enhanced. More carbonated. Which I like. Strange I know.

I was having terrible heartburn and would start vomiting this acid stuff from my stomach in my sleep. It was awful...actually coming up my nose as well. My doc gave me prilosec and after about 10 days my face was so swollen I couldn't even open my eyes. Now my doc gave me about 30 days samples of aciphex and I am having severe prickly feelings in my legs and arms. I still don't have a diagnosis for my problem....guess it's GERD or something. This has been six months for me and I am just at a loss what to do. For now I think the prickly feeling is better than choking half to death in my sleep.

I too have been taking Aciphex for acid reflux for about three weeks and although it seems to have helped with the burning and nausea, I have just recently (four days ago) been experiencing a slew of symptoms. They include headache, blurred vision in my left eye, facial numbness, both forearms numbness, leg (knee down) numbness, and tingling sensation in head. I went to the ER yesterday due to the left arm and left side facial numbness. They ruled out heart attack, blod clot, stroke, bleeding in brain, and brain tumor via a CT scan and a host of other neurological examinations. Doctors have suggested an MRI to rule out something else neurological (MS, neurofibromatosis, etc.) that a CT scan might not pick up. Also, will do a neck MRI to rule out a bulging disc or pinched nerve. I am hoping that it is just the Aciphex.

I just wanted to add my experience for everyone looking just like me. I started using the Nuva Ring after having a scare with the pill in November. For a while I felt pretty good but I think thing are getting progressively worse. I've had extremely intense headaches at least once a month that are completely debilitating. I have also started having intense emotional swings every month since i've been on the pill. I just changed jobs recently and thought that a lot of my moods were due to that but now I'm realizing that the mood swings start 1-1 1/2 weeks before my period is supposed to start, lasting until my period is done. During the rest of the month I feel relatively normal. The mood swings include everything from spur of the moment crying, to anxiousness, to anger, apathy etc. I've been thinking that the ring was why but I really hadn't been sure until I started reading other people's experiences. I did experience itching although not every month, and more during the 1st week of having it in. I did not experience breakthrough bleeding. Also, I have experienced a delayed period every month, (taking it out Sun. and not bleeding till Thurs.). I would appreciate any feedback from anyone on here with opinions or experiences. Thanks!

Been on Aciphex about 3 months I have daily tingling feeling throughout my spine.

I have only been on Aciphex for 1 day, and I have tingling/burning in my arms and hands! My stomach feels great, I can actually eat without curling up into a ball on the floor in pain, but I don't like this tinging, almost funny bone, feeling.

About three or four weeks into the aciphex, i started getting strange tingly almost numbness sensations in my arms, elbows, face, around the mouth/jaw, back of the head/scalp, sometimes it feels very "whole body"ish. It feels like i'm being pricked with something with electrical current and getting a shock. It's very strange and quite worrisome! Searching the net it sounds like this is a possible side effect of the aciphex. I hope that's all it is, but I will ask my doctor if there are any other possible causes we should rule out. At this point if it turns out to be a side effect and it doesn't go away (it's been 4 days now), I'm not sure if i'd decide to stay on the aciphex or try something different. It helps the reflux but doesn't solve it.

About 2 years ago, I stopped Aciphex because I was getting muscle pains and ocasional pins and needles. I went Pepcid AC. About 6 months ago I decided to give Aciphex another try, feeling that maybe it wasn't causing those symptoms. Now, I've started getting ocasional pins and needles again, only worse than last time--so now I'm back on Pepcid. I hope the pins and needles go away.

I have been on and off Lisinapril now for about ten years.
I have never had the dry cough, but, i never have had much energy.
Another disturbing thing I noticed is that I seem to get very depressed from it..very blue, without the ability to motivate to get things done.
Also, my weight went up by ten pounds a year and now, i am severely overweight. no diet seems to work!
I have often wondered if others have experienced fatigue, general apathy, and weight gain after using this medication over a long period of time?