Asthma symptoms symptoms and conditions

After you read a representative sampling of this website's testimonials, you certainly ask yourself inter alia: Can this be true? Did thousands of people inject an antibiotic from the fluoroquinolone family, which crippled them for longer or for shorter? Most of us, I suspect, never really get beyond the initial litmus test: Did this medicine poison me or save me? (The answer depends, of course, upon the age, gender, medical condition, and most importantly, the DNA make-up of the individual patient. For hundreds of thousands of patients this antibiotic is a boon. For thousands of other misfortunes this antibiotic is a disaster.) But there is another important question here.

Who gains from self-revelation? To be sure individual sufferers gain certain emotional catharsis from posting their adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to levaquin. E-postings are one-way anonymous tracks that form ruts on a well-traveled trail of tears. Unless these postings are hoaxes written by mischievious gnomes, then they consitute prima facie evidence for a causal link between levaquin injection and sundry crippling ADRs.

Curiously, this e-forum cannot be used as a tool for organizing thousands of potential litigants who might coalesce under a class action lawsuit. Yes, we can analyze each other's anonymous revelations to see if they muster our respective sense of the "ring-of-truth" re: levaquin toxicity, and we may contact each other one-on-one, but no-one can harness this intoxicating communication's technology to reach simultaneously all respondents en masse as a bloc.

So, who wins? The emotionally unburdened e-poster who learns belatedly that s/he is not alone and that prescription medicine likely caused more pain than the underlying malady for which s/he is being treated? Or big pharma that continues to manufacture and market a medication that poses downside risk to many consumers who unwittingly incur more damage than therapeutic value?

Indeed, who wins in a forum where consumers anonymously reveal their symptoms and unconfirmed suspicions? The answer is big pharma wins. Pharmaceutical companies data-mine our postings to estimate the frequency and bredth of ADRs about which consumers complain. House statisticians estimate the ratio of active complainants : silent complainants, i.e., the ratio of complaints who show up on this website to the far heftier percentage of complainants who never post on this website because either they are technology-challenged or they are incurious. House actuarians proceed to estimate how much operating profits their employers must set aside to cover losses in out-of-court settlements or in awards made to plaintiffs in class action lawsuits.

I think this is how the game is played in a behavioral sink where billions are made in a deregulated marketplace that allows predators and prey to interact anonymously. Sorry to be such a downer, but I fathom only the desperate plight of tens of thousands of levaquin consumers for whom no monetary award ever will compensate them adequately for their suffering, and the hundreds of millions of dollars at stake in court awards if consumers ever brought to bear their aggregate numbers and draw a bead on their big pharma tormenters.

I think it a true horror and shame that pharmaceutical companies have not devised a test which determines in advance which patient safely may consume levaquin and which patient's DNA places him or her at risk. I suspect the genome technology is available, but would dig too deeply into big pharm's bottom line. The economics of "parachutes-for-everyone" is infeasible. We are all guinea pigs in a B-grade movie featuring Russian roulette, billion-dollar pay-offs, and an FDA that pretends not to know.

i was put on prednisone 3 days ago due to asthmatic bronchitis. i was put on 60 milligrams a day. which to my understanding is a really high dosage.
long story short my cat would not stop meowning and it made me so darn angry that i wanted to throw him around the room and kept chasing him around screaming at him to shut the bleep up and tearing him out of the window every time he tried to get up in the window. i love my cat dearly and he is like my child. i have never EVER treated him badly. he gets more love and affection than most people give their children. he was crying and scared to the point of defecating all over my room. this had no affect on me. it just made me more angry. normally when an animal is scared or hurt i am incredibly empathetic.
on top of it i have had severe nose bleeds, and severe heart palpitations. this is after only being on it for three days.
i know this product is good for its purpose but as far as the side effects go, i think i would just rather live with my asthma symptoms. i was scared that i was going to lose control and injure myself or my cat or anyone who got in my way. i do not recommend this drug by any means.

I have had life-threatening spasmodic breathing episodes for the last year. My GP attributed it to asthma, because that's what it looked like, and they have given me prednisone shots and later on, antibiotic shots, to control it (for about 6 weeks at a time). I have well-controlled type II diabetes, so predisone can cause it to go out of control fairly quickly. Prednisone also caused some occasional pain in my feet, probably because of the elevated blood sugar. All the asthma drugs they gave me actually made me sicker, like Advair, etc. Lo and behold, I was able to talk my doctor into a referral to an allergist, and my allergy numbers are off the charts! All grasses, most trees, and many animals were high enough to cause anaphylaxis, especially when surrounded by more than one. Anaphylaxis can cause the labored breathing I suffered. Meanwhile, I have the lung capacity of an Olympic swimmer. I have an elderly friend who has gone to the hospital several times this year with the same problem. After I found out my results, I talked to his wife, and they discussed the allergy and infection aspect with the doctor. Turns out he had fairly severe allergies and infections that made his life-long asthma go way out of control. With a medicine for infection, he is 10 times better - the asthma is under control because it is not being jump-started by the low-level infections he suffered. I don't even have asthma, it just looks like asthma. I will begin years of allergy shots, just like in my 20's. (I am 55). The upshoot? Some people are suffering severe asthma symptoms. Others have a combo of problems which are exacerbating the asthma-like problems. Doctors who think you only have asthma tend to only treat asthma. Prednisone greatly reduces inflammation, which is a common factor in all the above diseases. So, calming the symptom doesn't mean treating the source. You long-term asthmatics should also look inot taking allergy tests if it is considered safe (they DO inject a small amount of allergens in your skin), and not spend 100% of your time with the pulmonary specialist who is only looking at your lungs. Also, you really need to do some cause and effect testing with antibiotics or similar to see if you have some type of infection. My friend and I are both on our way to better health because we went beyond treating the symptoms.

I have been on Advair for about 5 months. It really controls my asthma symptoms well- I had wheezing with exercise and now can run without wheezing. However, I am losing my voice. I feel like I have to strain to speak and this leaves me out of breath, which is a problem since I teach 3rd grade for a living! I also have a chronically sore throat and a white coating on my tongue and throat, despite rinsing my mouth and brushing my tongue after using the Diskus. I am torn about what to do because I hate the asthma symptoms I had but I hate these side effects just as much!

I took Singulair for about two years. I had developed these now known to be side effects but at the time nobody including the FDA was either aware or honest about the aggression, agitation and other side effects. I assumed this was all due to stress in my life and since it came on so gradually I did not put 2 and 2 together that it was the medication. I lived for two years being an irritable stressed out pain in the you know what struggling with these major aggressive compulsions. Then I saw a story on the news that the FDA was issuing this new warning on Singulair about the aggressive, anxiety and suicidal side effects of this drug. I stopped taking it that day. Luckily my asthma had been fairly well under control, I noticed no increase in asthma symptoms. What I did notice was I stopped being irritable and constantly annoyed and angry within a few days. I am back to being a mellow person, no problems since I quit this drug. I am horrified they are giving this to children. Both doctors and pharmacists should be warning people UP FRONT of this risk.

I have been on Singulair about 3 weeks and have been having mood swings, irritability, depression and nightmares. My doctor prescribed Singular after I complained about weight gain from Advair. I was diagnosed with asthma after having a bout with pneumonia last December 08.

Although Singulair has helped with my asthma symptoms, I have decided to stop using it after reading some of these postings.

I'm so glad I found this! I thought I was going mad for a while there. Background: I'm a 34 yr old female. Diagnosed w/ asthma at 12, but they suspect I had it before that. Used only Ventolin for a long time. Five years ago, right around the time I had my second child, my symptoms (and allergies) seemed to get much worse. We moved around that time, to a house with a HUGE Chinese elm in the backyard (which I now know I'm allergic to) and right next to a main freeway. Around this time, Dr. prescribed Advair 250/50 when he realized I was using Ventolin up to 6 & 7 times/ day. The first year, I actually felt so much better (I could BREATHE!!) that I think I wouldn't have noticed any side affects. Year two I had MAJOR hair thinning. Dr said "age and hormones". Following 3 years on it: Almost constant nasal congestion (despite always being on a decongestant), sinus infection, tonsil infections, laryngitis, TWO bouts of pneumonia in 3 years. Around the year mark on it, I did experience the depression and anxiety, however, I had had the "baby blues" with my first child and just thought it was a more severe version of that. Now, I feel CONSTANTLY "run down" and almost always have some low-grade infection (yeast, UTI, sinus, bronchitis...etc.), am always hoarse and am just waiting for another round of pneumonia. I also get dizzy A LOT. I am in the second day of a cold turkey quit and am looking for alternative diet/exercise therapies. Good Luck to everyone!

I'm very happy to have found this forum! I've had asthma for 25 years now. I was given Advair 250/50 when my Dr. noted that I'd been using my rescue inhaler way too much, about 5-7 times/day. That was 5 years ago. My asthma symptoms were immediately improved. I could take a deep breath for the first time in a year, and after a couple months was almost completely off the Albuterol. However... the last few years (especially the last year) have been not so good. My friend finally put 2 and 2 together after I was complaining (yet again) of feeling run down and having another throat infection (the fourth this year). She told me to check the info for the meds I'm currently on, which led me here. My symptoms are as follows: about 2-3 years ago, I experienced the hair loss and mood swings (severe) and anxiety. Then I started getting recurring tonsil infection, laryngitis, joint pain and constant "rundown" feeling. I've had full blown Pneumonia twice in the last three years. I never had any of this before I started taking Advair. I constantly have some sort of low-grade infection. I was considering removing my tonsils (which was why I was complaining to my friend). Now, I'm trying to figure out if I should try to just quit cold turkey or gradually. I know my asthma symptoms will return, but at this point-which is worse? The problem or the "solution".

i posted on April 27th, on April 23rd, i stopped taking singulair, so i am here to UPDATE. after i stopped taking this death trap of a medicine, i already am seeing changes. i actually am breathing better then i have the whole time i was taking singulair, i can sleep through the night, and no HORRIBLE nightmares. jsut some normal ones, if any. but i feel like all the problems it has cause on my mental stability are still there, im guessing its going to get worse before it gets better with that. its really hard. now, me and my mom are starting to wonder if i ever had asthma in the first place, or if my dr. some how diagnosed me while i had a slight case of pneumonia. because the first time i was tested i was only breathing 60% of air, and even the nurses said i should be dead, or in an emergency room and she never not once, checked to see how my asthma was for 2 years. i honestly feel like i have been robbed of my life. its so hard to know something so little and simple, can have such a evil effect on you. because if i didn't have asthma i have been taking singulair for 2 years without needing it at all. imagine what that could have done. now im just so scared to sleep, because im scared i wont wake up. everything in my life is suffering and i don't feel like i have the strength to keep living the way ive been, im so scared every second, i am constantly checking my pulse, and now its even worse because i stopped the singulair. i already sent something to the FDA, and all that, but i doubt they'll listen. someone asked me a couple days ago "aren't you glad you at least found out your not alone" and i said "no, no one should ever have to go through what im going through, especially little kids". i feel like no one understands truly how hard this is, because its just an asthma medicine. this killed my mind, my spirit. and i don't know if ill ever be the same care-free person i once was. im constantly scared of everything, i always feel like no one wants to be around me, i just don't know. but not he positive side, im also not as weak, or tired during the day. i can actually bend down or reach up without feeling like a 98 year old women. my body is doing a lot better. its just my mind i really want back. i repost in a couple days, and hopefully everything will be a little better. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE SINGULAIR. i honestly think that, if it doesn't effect you at first it will in the long run. even if its 10 years later, you will start to slowly see something happening. just don't take it. i don't want anyone to feel, the way i do.

J.

I had my kenalog injection over a week ago. The winds here in the desert have been horrible this year and i was experiencing a daily sinus headache and my allergies were beyond what a claritin, allegra and a sudafed combined could combat. Within a day of getting an injection in right butt cheek area all of my sinus problems have ceased. Day three i stopped taking all of my medications for my allergies. I was also able to stop taking an anti inflammatory for my knee and the arches of my feet. They have never felt so good. My excema and asthma symptoms although mild have also cleared up. On the down side. I seem to be eating like a horse, insomnia and wild dreams seem to be plaguing me. But this is also the case when i take prednisone. I had this shot a few years back for the knee and foot arch pain and back then before my hysterectomy i did experience break through bleeding on my birth control pills a week early and very heavy. i decided that was the worse of my side effects back then. now that i wasn't able to have that problem i figured lets go for it again since i recall my sinuses clearing last time too, which was a bonus side effect for me then. overall i have found the positive effects definitely outweigh the negative effects for me.

I just started it yesterday, 3 doses of Advair discus in combo with methylprednisolone to treat this "post viral asthma".
Every time I take these meds, i experience tightness in my chest, difficulty breathing and a constant tickle in my throat leading me to cough a lot sometimes so much that i almost vomit.

Cannot handle this anymore. Need advice. Thank you

I am 49 yrs old and was prescribed Singulair for allergy and asthma symptoms. I began taking it 2 weeks ago. I find it extremely effective for both asthma and allergy symptoms. Last week I experienced nausea - this has stopped, so it may or may not have been a 24 hr bug. However, I often have a headache and am generally lethargic and starting to feel depressed. After reading the posts here, I realize these symptoms are most likely associated with Singulair so I am planning to discontinue this drug today.

There may be no way to get Levaquin out of one's body except time. But I wanted to at least try to speed it up. I don't know if it will work for me or others, only time will tell. There is genetics involved since each of us has a unique tolerance for Levaquin. But here is what I am doing:

1. 8 glasses of water daily with fresh-squeezed lemon juice.
2. Lots of fiber - a tblsp of wheat bran 3 times a day with more water.
3. Plain yogurt with live active cultures 5 times a day.
4. A hot bath with epsom salts once a day.
5. Magnesium, Calcium and Iron, a couple of times a day.
6. Vitamins B and C a few times a day.
7. Body Cleanse and Liver Cleanse from the drug store, as directed.

I took 7 Levaquin pills and stopped 10 days ago. Some symptoms have improved. Notably, my appetite is better, the bloated stomach is gone and food moves through normally, anxiety spells are gone, the brain fog is still there but maybe a slightly better each day.

I will be watching my body for any signs of tendon pain in the 12 - 18 months ahead. No pain so far, but Levaquin is capable of doing damage with the pain not felt until later. I will ease back into exercising very slowly over the coming months.

I will be posting updates periodically over the next couple of years. I am a 50 year-old man.

Good luck to all and God bless.

My son is 8 and for the past 3 years has been on Singular for seasonal allergies. He has since been diagnose with asthma and he takes Singular daily. After being on it for 3 weeks he is now getting into trouble in school. The teachers say it was like a light switch being turned on. Completely out of character behavior. My question is this......has anyone experienced hyperactivity behavior on Singular?

My three year old daughter was on in as a baby and it was great for her asthma. I stopped it for a year and now she is 3 and has started it again about two weeks. She sleeps at least 12hrs a night and has a nap. This is someone who slept maybe 8hrs a night and never a nap. Actual the sleep is so much its kinda worrying me. I have a hard time even waking her up. What should I do?

I found this web site while searching side effect of Singulair. My Son - 7 years old is experiencing same issue - Severe random leg pain in both legs or 1 leg as mentioned by few others. He can not walk when it happened and I have to carry him. The pain disappear in 2-3 days or sometimes it takes 5-6 days.

We did X-Ray and doc could not find anything wrong.

Others..who are facing same issue...I would appreciate if u can send me an email to ****** so that we can talk in detail.

I'm a 56 year old male who has been taking 500/50 Advair since it came out - about 9 years ago or so. Having severe asthma since my mid-twenties, this medication has been the best for me than anything else, and has greatly limited my dependency on prednisone and has kept my general well-being fairly stable. I always try to cut back when I'm breathing better, but have never been able to skip more than one day before asthma symptoms begin to come back. So far, I have notice no side effects! Anyone know what's up with that?
Also, I've tried everything under the sun to naturally get away from all medications, but have never been even close to successful....but I'm still looking.

4 yr. old son on Albuterol and Pulmicort for asthma triggered by allergies and colds. He is off of both during the summer, once he goes on the medication for the allergy season he experiences mood swings, violent tantrums, is confrontational, basically his personality changes. We have tried reducing the dose and cutting out one medication or the other with the same effect, the symptoms persist. We feel we have no choice because of the severe asthma attacks.

my 6 year old has what doctor's have called cough-induced asthma or reactive airway disorder. He doesn't wheeze but gets these severe coughing spells which get worse at night. Usually comes on during the colder months. He is on Flovent, and Singulair to maintain When he gets the coughing spells, he gets the Albuterol inhaler 2 puffs every 4 hours. It makes him NUTS. Literally climbs the walls, Can't sit still. I'd rather have him cough than to see him like this. Now with the most recent coughing episode, I've noticed an extreme personality change. To the point where his 1st grade teacher called me to ask if it could be the medicine. He's normally a shy kid, sweet now all of a sudden he's a social butterfly in school and interrupting the teacher. AT home, he's just not right .Doctor changed him to Xopenex inhaler but he's still not right.

Hey, maybe those ancient people who invented yoga were on to something when they say to do "your o-o-h-h-m-m-s-s-." So hum those ohms every day and increase our resistance against nasal infection.

American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine Vol 166. pp. 144-145, (2002)
© 2002 American Thoracic Society

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brief Communication

Humming Greatly Increases Nasal Nitric Oxide
Eddie Weitzberg and Jon O. N. Lundberg
Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Karolinska Hospital, and Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Dr. E. Weitzberg, Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Karolinska Hospital, S-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden. E-mail: ******

The paranasal sinuses are major producers of nitric oxide (NO). We hypothesized that oscillating airflow produced by humming would enhance sinus ventilation and thereby increase nasal NO levels. Ten healthy subjects took part in the study. Nasal NO was measured with a chemiluminescence technique during humming and quiet single-breath exhalations at a fixed flow rate. NO increased 15-fold during humming compared with quiet exhalation. In a two-compartment model of the nose and sinus, oscillating airflow caused a dramatic increase in gas exchange between the cavities. Obstruction of the sinus ostium is a central event in the pathogenesis of sinusitis. Nasal NO measurements during humming may be a useful noninvasive test of sinus NO production and ostial patency. In addition, any therapeutic effects of the improved sinus ventilation caused by humming should be investigated.

Key Words: exhaled • sinus • sinusitis

While I am sure that Singulair has adverse effects for some children/teenagers/adults, I took Singulair for 2-3 years (until my asthma symptoms improved to the point where I didn't need to take it) while I was a kid and had no adverse side effects. Started back on Singulair in April after having severe reactions to my new puppy (I am now 21). Since then, I really haven't had any side effects at all. I agree that they should black box Singulair and possibly not prescribe it to some children/teens, but for some people (like myself), it works, and shouldn't be taken off the market completely.

My daughter had been on singulair from the time she was 8 yrs old until she was 14. This will sound as if I am a horrible mother but I just thought that she was a raging bitch. Without my knowledge, she stopped taking her Singulair for a few months and she became a different person. She was so sweet and loving. One night she came in my room having an asthma attack and I asked her if she was taking her meds, she admitted that she had stopped taking her singulair and I got on to her and immediately got her prescription refilled. Within a few days of taking the singulair she turned into a raging, screaming emotional wreck, a TOTALLY different person. I feel so bad that for 6 years of her life I put her on medicine that caused her to have screaming, uncontrollable tantrums, and severe mood swings that caused her to be miserable. It does seem to be the only thing that effectively controls her asthma symptoms but the emotional havoc that is causes her and the people around her is not worth the benefits. We have an appt. with her doctor to see what other options we have.

I'm on a roll tonight!

I have 2 questions to all the people who stopped taking Singulair or giving it to their children:

(1) What maintanence medication(s) are you/your child using now to control asthma symptoms?

(2) How long have you/your child been on it and how is it working?

Please add me to the list of people with an extremely adverse reaction to Singulair. I had been taking 10 mg Singulair since 2005 after sinus surgery In June 2008 after returning from vacation I didn't get my prescription refilled in a timely manner and went without it for ~one week. In July I got a new prescription filled for Singulair and also began taking Advair Diskus 250/50 and AllegraD after an increase in asthma symptoms. I first thought the anxiety attacks were from the AllegraD as the "D" is for decongestant and contains psuedo-epinipherine. But the anxiousness continued and got worse after stopping the AllegraD. I then stopped taking the Advair (and also a nasal spray that I use called Flonase also since 2005) but was still in a major depressive episode with daily thoughts of suicide. It wasn't until I stopped taking the Singulair on August 23 that I started to return to normal. My normal does include a history of depression for which I take 10mg Paxil daily. Like the post from the psychiatrists wife noted, I am not sure if there is a direct scientific connection between these events. I do know that I never want to go back to that place I was in. I am shocked at the speed with witch I started to feel good after stopping the Singulair. I still have low grade sad feelings but I have stopped planning my own death. I always took my dose of Singulair in the morning and ~one hour later would begin to feel anxious. My evenings were tolerable with emotions slightly better. I simply stopped taking the medication without tapering and I am beginning to deal with what happened to me. Thank you all for sharing. Thank you.

Yes, kenalog has many side effects with SOME people. I'm both a patient that takes kenalog and a third year medical student. I've been receiving kenalog injections twice a year during allergy season for the past 5 years. All I can say is THANK GOD. I can deal with a itchy/running nose, the sneezing, and the itchy eyes. What I cannot deal with are the asthma symptoms that act up whenever my allergies do. I get little enough sleep as is, what I do get doesn't need to be interrupted by waking up not being able to breath.
What must be realized here is that however many posts are on this and like sites, the people who suffer from the side effects are in the minority. For most patients this drug provides great relief with little to no side effects.
For those who said that their doctors did not tell them what they were being given, or warned about the side effects, yes, those physicians should have warned their patients about the possible side effects. HOWEVER, it is also YOUR responsibility as a patient to ASK what you are being given, and what the possible side effects are. Never let anyone just stick a needle in your butt without asking what the heck they're doing first. I'm not defending those physicians that don't tell the patient what they're doing; they are in the wrong. But they see tons of patients very day, most of it route. And many patients lack the knowledge to ask what they are being given, and what might happen from it. Even if the physician took the time to explain, a lot of people wouldn't understand or simply don't care. Don't be one of those patients. Ask your PCP: what is this drug? what does it do? what are the possible side effects? what percentage of patients experience these side effects?. Take some responsibility for yourselves.