Attempts symptoms and conditions

After several attempts to lower my cholesterol, my doctor has settled on 40 mg of Lipitor, but, after reading these comments, I'm going to self-medicate and work my way off the drug completely. My main complaint is the fatigue and brain fog others have experienced. I do have a shoulder that has developed pain and weakness, and my legs don't seem to be as strong as they used to be, but it's the fatigue and memory/cognitive slowness that concern me the most. Also, like others, I assumed it was normal aging (I'm 58 and have been on statins for about eight years). I'll report my results after getting this stuff out of my system. Good luck to everyone going through this...we're not crazy after all, huh?

Well, I am so glad I found this website. I am 39 yrs old and my husband is fixed....so I have no reason or desire to take any form of hormonal birth control. I never liked the idea of inserting a ring or taking hormones after the many female issues I have endure. I only agreed to this because I have painful ovarian cysts chronically, at least 6/year and 3 or 4/year that take me into my OB/GYN for a scan. I have previously had a tubal pregnancy (tube was saved because my OB/GYNs also specialize in fertility) and have had endometriosis. I have had 3 laperoscopic surgeries and 3 miscarriages. First for the tubal, second for follow-up endometriosis and third to remove a GOLF ball sized ovarian cyst to prevent ovarian torsion. Finally, I agreed for the 4th time to take birth control (previous attempts were thwarted by side affect from oral products. I used the nuvaring for 3 weeks and removed it today. Five days into the use I started cramping and bleeding AGAIN (10th day of my cycle). I have been bleeding, heavily for 11 days now, suffered dizziness intermittantly, have had a headache for the last 6 days and been more anxious, moody and tearful. I removed the ring today! I see my gyno on Tuesday. My cycle was predictable before, albeit painful and with ovarian cyst. Just want to say to all who took the time to share. Now I know it isn't in my head.

Thanks ya'll,
~ Texas Pharmacist

i also have been having pains in my back, i just cant wait for the day to end, some days i feel like i worked out all day. The things that i used to i don't do anymore like dancing,exercising and being more energetic. I haven't had trouble with the sex drive actually i want sex more and i don't have drywall either. I really have a sexual drive the week i take out the ring. this past two months have been the worst the for me, i taking to my doctor soon but every time i tell my doctor and i get checked for the problem the results are always the same that nothing is wrong. so what can i do

I am so relieved to hear that so many people have experienced significant WEIGHT GAIN while on this drug. I weighed 150 pounds when I got pregnant and was 183 when I gave birth. I got all the way down to 152, when I became depressed and suffered from severe anxiety. I have gotten as high as 210 lbs, and my life has been miserable because of my attempts to lose weight and NOTHING WORKS! I can do an hour of spin class (supposed to burn 500-700 cals), lift weights, eat perfectly for weeks and step on the scale and lose NOTHING! I even hired a personal trainer and I think she thinks I am lying because she sees how hard I work out, and nothing changes. This is so depressing, I am embarrassed to go in public or even look in the mirror. I have decided to wean off although I have been taking this med for 10 years. It did help the depression, but now I am so depressed from this weight it is not worth it. Thank goodness I found this thread, because maybe I am not crazy!!!! Is there any chance I will ever lose the weight, or is my metabolism ruined for life?

I was prescribed Lamictal around this time two years ago (July '07) for Borderline Personality Disorder. At first I thought it was great and I felt like it'd been a miracle drug -- the drive back home from the psychiatrist's office that day was such a feeling of relief because I was going to get my miracle drug, finally. Later the next month I moved away from home and began college in the lower half of the state and stopped taking the medication because I noticed that I feeling any difference, or experiencing any change in my moods. Infact, I felt exactly the same as I had before. I looked up the medicine derivative drug and found out that it has a "placebo-like effect with highly addictive qualities".... which made me think that once again, my problem is all in my head. I still feel like I need to be on some kind of medication, but I am not willing to part entirely with my authentic self just to make some other people's lives easier. If they think my mood swings and attempts at self-destruction effect them negatively, just wait until you are the one having them and you can't control them! I don't want to become a zombie, I don't want to lose my hair, and I don't want to gain 30 lbs, but I feel like there's nothing else I can do. But then again, there doesn't seem to be any drug that can help without the drastic side-effects.

Sheesh.

I started the ring and about a week later got intense itchiness and break through bleeding. It was supposed to be time for my period, and I thought since I timed it wrong possibly I was going to have it anyways. So I took the ring out. The itchiness went away immediately. Also, I could NEVER get the ring all the way in. It dropped down considerably, and I made many attempts to move it. Two days after I took the ring out I had HORRIBLE depression, thoughts of suicide and self harm. Also I was exhausted but unable to sleep. I feel a bit better, and I have no idea what it's half life is and if it will wear off, or if a new medication is needed to rebalanced the hormones. I hope not, as I had a bad experience with hormone balancing medications in the past.

My doctor prescribed Loestrin24 to me after three failed attempts at other birth controls. I was on the Depo shot for about 9 months, and had my period for 4 months which is why we decided to switch. My period went away within 4 days of taking loestrin which was great. I haven't noticed any side-effects until now. I have been taking this pill for 1 month and 1 week, and for about 5 days I have been extremely rude and moody. I am having horrible stomach cramps that make me feel very depressed. I don't want to leave my bed, and I don't want to eat. I have lost 7 lbs in a little more than a week. My sex drive has increased, which is great, but the stomach pain and mood changes are too much for me. I just feel like giving up on birth control because nothing seems to work for me. If you have any suggestions for a better birth control pill I would appreciate it very much.

I first posted my problems with Mirena on Jan. 15. Sice then I have been to the doctor 3 times and am now scheduled for SURGERY!!!! It seems that the Mirena has turned sideways in my uterus and after several attempts to remove it, without success, the doctor I'm seeing now says she will have to sedate me and use x-ray guided equipment to remove it. Has this happened to anyone else? I just can't believe this. No where in anything I read before I had the Mirena put in did it say that this was even a possibility! I get so mad when I watch their commercials on TV. They really need to tell people the truth about the possible side effects. They make it sound like there aren't any. I just hope that the women who are considering getting it inserted find this web site before they make their finial decision. I wish I would have found it sooner!

I have had the mirena for 7 months now..
I never realized that I was having all these symptoms until reading tons of websites..

I'm constantly suffering from severe sharp stabbing pains, and my migraines are back are like hell now.
I'm having crazy lower back pain(to which I believe only 1/2 of it is to be blamed on mirena.. other half is to be blamed on my 9 attempts of an epidural)..

I'm going to get it removed today so we can ttc #2(Presleigh our daughter is 1 yr and 2 weeks old:)) I'm terrified of what it will be like to get it removed.. anyone been through this?

I have been on Celexa (citalopram) for about 13 months. I took it at night, starting with 10mg and over time worked up to 60mg which is the max. dose. My doctor switched me to Lexapro and then Cymbalta to see if they worked better, but eventually I ended up back on Celexa, that seemed to be best. I did gain about 35 pounds on it, though and was still going, along with absolutely NO sex drive whatsoever. When my husband could finally coax me into it, I couldn't orgasm at all. I finally begged him to even stop trying, the attempts seemed to annoy me. This wasn't me, so I slowly tried weaning off of it. First down to 40, then 20, then 10.

so here's my question: I've been completely off of it for 3 days now and I'm still feeling dizzy, lightheaded, have indigestion, headaches, etc. The other times I was off of it, I went right on another med, so I didn't seem to notice the side effects. Anyone who has been taken off of Celexa, PLEASE respond and let me know how long these awful effects last? I have a 2 year old I have to care for and she doesn't understand why mommy feels "woozy" all the time.

i had a merina inserted about 2 weeks ago and i had nothing but trouble since it was put in i got terrible cramping not long after it was inserted and the bleeding was shocking i then developed a yeast infection which lasted for a whole week and nothing touched it it was terrible..
it wasn't till last fri that i got shocking pains and could not urinate with out feeling immence pain..
my friend took me to the emergency hospital and they informed me it may be infected..
after 4 attempts it was finally removed and lucky it was as it was starting to embed itself into my cervix and much of the string was left for them to retrieve it..
my advice to any one is not to get this mirnea it is not a very nice thing

Welcome a board singulairsurvivor. I received back an email from the woman at the lung association,she was of course sorry for our experiancr,and went on to say the scientist that reviewed the data were some of the best,and the association has no ties to any product.then as i am watching the updates on the hurricanes,i am inendated with singulair commercials as once again it is allergy season,so what a windfall for Merck that this article came out this month and not next....Coincidense i think not shame shame shame on you.To all those unsuspecting people about to get their prescription .i am sorry

I had no trouble coming of Effexor 6 years ago. No side effects, nothing. In past attempts, I'd merely suffered recurrence of depression, but this time, not even that. I was on Effexor-XR, 75mg and Wellbutrin-SR 100mg and went off both.

At the time, I was receiving neurofeedback to try and overcome ADHD (which is what the wellbutrin treated for me). It seems that this method of re-programming brain wave patterns might have reduced or eliminated any withdrawal effects from these drugs. Can't guarantee it, though, since I'm my own guinea pig here.

Just started back on after being off for 6 years. Hopefully short term. This depression is reactive due to several losses. So far the only side effects are appetite loss and vivid dreams, and I had vivid dreams in the first go around too, so I'm not too concerned. They went away in time.

When I was visiting him for something unrelated, my doctor pointed out the bags under my eyes and said he could eliminate them with a Kenalog injection. He did not mention any possible side effects. Worst case, he said, would be that the injection would have no effect.

That's the last time I consent to a treatment on trust without first researching it thoroughly myself. The injection did nothing for the bags, but did cause atrophy of my right cheek at the injection site, resulting in a severe indentation in the middle of my cheek which continued to get worse as the weeks went by.

Attempts to fill out the sink-hole have resulted in a lopsided appearance to my face, which is quite demoralizing.

I have waited long enough to tell my story. I am a 29 yr old single mother of 3. I started YAZ in Feb of 2008. I took it for 11 days. ELEVEN DAYS. It was about 4 days in that the headaches started. I couldn't stand light, I wore hoodies and sunglasses. I was nauseated. Saw double, black spots. Motion sickness.I could barely make it to work. I was out of control. I did not have control over my mind. I was crazy. My friend almost took me to the hospital to have me committed. There is no history of this in me or my family. The headaches would last from the time I woke up til the time I would go to sleep. Painkillers was the only thing that would keep me asleep through the pain. My dr immediately stop the the pills. I saw an eye doctor and they found nothing. They ordered an MRI. They found T2 Foci scattered throughout my brain. VERY unusual in someone my age. What that is, is my protective covering of my brain cells had been damaged there were gaps in its covering. I soon developed a stutter and a slur in my speech. The pain then moved throughout my whole body. They said fibromyalga and daily migraines. I'm now on topamax daily which gives me breaks in my headaches. I still get them daily. I still have pain in my body daily and I'm on painkillers daily. I have found a new dr who is wonderful. Who has recently taken blood. Who thinks that maybe it could be lupus. So I started researching Lupus...my symptoms and rashes match up. There is also a DRUG INDUCED LUPUS. and ORAL CONTRACEPTIVES is a KNOWN drug that can cause this!!! BUT IS THAT ON THE LABEL???? NOOOOOOOO!!! I was perfectly healthy before yaz, in kick boxing and now I walk and have the memory of a 60 yr old and my brain is permanently damaged. I have another MRI coming up to find out if there is more damage and I will find out the results of the blood work to find out what is wrong with me...but I blame all of this on YAZ and I hold them responsible. I SAY CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT....just have to find a firm with big enough BALLS to do it!!!

Hi Everyone,
I just spoke to Sarah Sellers from the FDA ,she seems to be working hard on the review of Singulair.She has received a lot of good information from all who contacted her.She now needs reports on completed suicides or thoughts and attempts, to further her investigation.The email address is sarah.sellers@fda.hhs.gov Please if this drug has had these effects on you or a family member report this as promptly as possible.Thank You Kate Miller

Some of you who are following this site may remember that I posted that when I was following the pathways of the leukeotriene receptor antagonist Singulair that I got to a point where I concluded that there has to be a genetic component (meaning that there are different gene groups of people) and that the efficacy of Singulair (and possibly safety) can vary depending upon what gene group people are in. So I took a little time to see if anybody else was already studying that issue. And YES, they are -- including Merck.

quote:

" However, logically one might predict that it will be the combination of the polymorphisms in these different key regulatory enzymes and receptors that may ultimately determine treatment response. There have been some attempts to tease out the possible contribution of different genes important in this pathway for treatment response to a Cys leukotriene receptor 1 antagonist.18 However, because of the number of potential gene variants that may contribute to efficacy, large studies will be needed to fully evaluate the potential contribution of pharmacogenetic variability in this pathway to treatment response to Cys leukotriene receptor 1 antagonists. Work in the cardiovascular field has demonstrated the potential importance of genetic variants in this pathway to disease risk and also to treatment response,19 suggesting the potential for important effects to be defined in asthma."

(Chest. 2006;130:1873-1878.)
© 2006 American College of Chest Physicians

Pharmacogenetics of Asthma
Ian P. Hall, DM
* From the Division of Therapeutics and Molecular Medicine, University Hospital of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Correspondence to: Ian P. Hall, DM, Division of Therapeutics and Molecular Medicine, University Hospital of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK; e-mail: Ian.Hall@nottingham.ac.uk

http://www.chestjournal.org/cgi/content/full/130/6/1873

And Merck sponsored a study on this which is now completed.

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00116324?intr=%22Montelukast%22&rank=79

Of course, it was sponsored by Merck and paid for by Merck.

I don't know if the study discovered anything but I believe this is an indication that Merck acknowledges genetic differences in populations that may predict the success of montelukast.

I am not any where close to being an expert in this field. I have another background but I believe that there are experts who can tell you exactly why you had side effects from Singulair.

Okay so I'm reading all of your postings and I about to totally flip out. My 6 yr old was diagnosed with a very mild case of asthma (an occasional cough that got worse with colds) when he was around 3. The doctor prescribed him Singular and I'm almost positive they started him at 5mg and now I'm reading that it's not recommend at that dose until 6yrs. He is very prone to severe mood swings....one minute screaming "I hate you!" and making commits like "I'll get a knife and kill myself!" to acting like there is nothing wrong and the previous outburst had never occurred. As a rule he is an extremely lovable kid but has these sudden outbursts. Having said this he has been off the medication since October with out any noticeable change. My concern is that if this medication has these types of side effects could it have long term or permanent effects on such young and still developing children. Has anyone else out there had their child off the meds for more than 6 months and not seen improvement in their behavior?

My son has been taking Singulair for several years. He is now 16 was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder about 2 years ago. Prior to that he was misdiagnosed with ADD. Unfortunately he is in a behavioral health facility, probation placed, and I feel I have very little control over the situation. The staff, his GP and his psychiatrists will all be getting phone calls from me, along with his attorney. I have wanted to get my son off of all medications since he attempted suicide twice 3 years ago while in juvenile detention. Luckily his attempts were very lame and definitely more of a cry for help. Because of the legal issues, his medications are all controlled by "them" and not mom & dad. I have seen my beautiful boy change so much, and now his childhood is gone.

I have been on Toprol for over 5 years. I have finally (after numerous attempts) - been able to wean off of it. I am on my 10th day (7 day step down and now 3 days with NO Toprol). Can anyone that has successfully gotten off of Toprol please tell me how long it took to start feeling better?

It has caused be severe GERD/Acid reflux, SEVERE breathing problems, and has stopped controlling my HBP - in fact my B/P is HIGHER on Toprol than it ever used to be. It also caused my heart to race from time to time.

I want to get excited about feeling better - just waiting for that to happen. Anyone know what I can expect? Thank you so much.

I am 31 years old and have been on Advair for atleast 5 years and have experienced a 25 lb weight gain despite all attempts at losing it, bruising, joint aches and pains, fatigue, and "lung pain." I have made the decision to wean myself off of it at this time especially because I plan on becoming pregnant in the near future. I need to search for alternative medications, preferrably not a steroid. Any ideas?? Thanks, Staci

Hi,
I am a 28 year old male diagnosed with "accute sinusitis" and "seasonal" allergies. My ENT put me on Singulair after numerous attempts at other drugs, including, Allegra D, Allegra 180, Clarinex, and Zyrtec. I have mild nerves and anxiety as it is but since I have been on Singulair, I have been fatigued, weak, nautious, no appetite, depressed, more anxious, more nervous , tingling in my face and skin and tightness in my chest. I am freaking out thinking I am dying of stomach cancer or heart disease and I can barely function. These symptoms/side effects started 4 days after starting Singulair. Someone out there please tell me I am normal and that if I stop taking this I will feel better because I cannot go on like this much longer. It is helping my allergies and my ears but I'd rather live with stuffy ears and nose compared to the side effects.