Back injury symptoms and conditions

Earlier this summer, I developed a case of shingles. It went away, but about a week ago a similar rash broke out. I thought that it was a second bout of shingles, but my doctor assured me that it would be impossible to contract the disease on different parts of my body. Because I am not home with my ordinary doctor, I had to see another doctor, who was unsure of what the rash could be, but nevertheless prescribed with with 50mg of Prednisone daily. I took my first dose today, and am reluctant to continue. I don't want to be a victim of any of the side effects, but am unsure as to whether there is another way to go about getting rid of the rash. Any advice that could be given so as to not have to continue with the Prednisone would be great. I don't want the rapid weight gain, depression, mood swings, etc.

My husband is suffering from a back injury, He has been prescribed, Soma, Zanaflex and Meprozine. Since being on these meds his moods have changed. He has become irritable, depressed, short tempered and very argumentative. He is not the man I married while he is on these meds and when he doesn't take them he is ok for a while but then is like some one on drugs who needs their next fix. I am very concerned for my husband and my family because he has started taking yelling at my daughter for stupid kid stuff and arguing and yelling at me about small stupid things like whether a valve was open under the kitchen sink. He has had a migraine for 3 weeks now... his appetite has decreased... he has been having weird dreams and twitching in his sleep.. He has also experienced dizziness, insomnia, restlessness and irritability. There are other side effects... I do not recommend these medications at all especially together....

My husband has been prescribed Meprozine for a back injury, and since he has been on it I have notice a major difference in his moods, he is edgy, and temperamental. He has started yelling at my daughter for stupid kid stuff and arguing with me over small things and we never argue. He has had weird dreams and twitches in his sleep. When he is on the medication he doesn't seem like the man I married and when he is off its like hes going through withdrawals and trying to go un-noticed. He is also on Soma and Zanaflex. I don't know what to do. Im worried for him. He is also becoming depressed, and has had a severe migraine for 3 weeks now. He wont listen to me when I tell him not to take it. I would not recommend this medication to anyone, especially if they want to keep their relationship.

I just read the new article about Cody Miller and Dr. Douglas Briggs, who was taking Neurontin. That further confirms the work that I was doing to collect research regarding problems with GABA and suicide. How these drugs affect the brain chemicals is very complicated. I believe that the pharmaceutical companies do know that it is possible for a series of things to go wrong and create terrible adverse side effects in some people - not all.

I will be extremely disappointed if the FDA allows these companies to sweep this under the rug.

Suicide risks studied in drugs for physical ills
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR – 1 day ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Cody Miller was a high school football player who was allergic to ragweed. Douglas Briggs was a doctor coping with pain from an old back injury.
Both are now dead, hanging victims driven to suicide, their families believe, when drugs prescribed to relieve physical symptoms upset their mental and emotional balance.

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This testimony should help strengthen our case for warnings for Singulair.
Neurologist Sought Warning for Pfizer Drug
By JEREMY SINGER-VINE
June 20, 2008; Page B10
A British neurologist who analyzed effects of the drug Neurontin told a court hearing Thursday that he advised its maker -- now a unit of Pfizer Inc. -- to include a warning on the drug's label for potential side effects of depression and aggression, but his advice wasn't followed.
The University of London neurologist, Michael R. Trimble, was testifying at a hearing to decide whether civil cases brought against Pfizer alleging suicides linked to Neurontin can proceed. The hearing was jointly held by judges for U.S. District Court in Boston and a New York state court who are hearing similar cases. In various lawsuits consolidated in the federal court, plaintiffs allege more than 100 suicides were connected to Neurontin usage.
Dr. Trimble described what he said was a "plausible biological pathway" that could lead from the compound gabapentin -- the chemical name for Neurontin -- to suicidal behavior, hostility, and aggression. Dr. Trimble said that in 1995 and 1996, he was hired to write two confidential reports for Parke-Davis -- now a unit of Pfizer -- because the company "was concerned about psychosis in relation to their drug." Dr. Trimble said he was unable to find a link to psychosis, but noted effects of depression and aggression.
Lawyers for Pfizer argued at the hearing that the evidence linking the drug to suicidal side effects wasn't scientifically sound. Under cross-examination, they challenged his description of a pathway as a patchwork of studies that didn't prove a biological connection. Neurontin and generic forms of gabapentin are approved for treating epileptic convulsions, but have also been prescribed widely "off label" for other conditions.
In five of nine patient cases he analyzed in 1996, Dr. Trimble said he saw depression and aggression in patients who had no previous symptoms of the side effects, so he said he recommended to the company that the drug "should carry some kind of warning" for susceptible patients.
Thursday's proceedings were the initial phase of a hearing requested by Pfizer to challenge the opinions of the plaintiffs' experts. Under cross-examination and a subsequent examination by the plaintiffs' attorney, Dr. Trimble said the biological pathway between Pfizer's Neurontin and suicidal events were plausible and supported by a series of peer-reviewed neurology research.

Do not abuse them,they are very hard to come off of.I heard that it is just like oral heroin.I have a prescription and at first everything was good but then I started liking how good they made me feel and started taking more and more now I am having to recover and I wish that I would of never put that pill in my mouth.At first you are full of energy then after a long period of use your body becomes immune and it has a higher tolerance level so you find yourself taking more and more the the aching muscles begin,muscle that never ached before,you stay tired,ill and lose your sex drive.I really don't recommend them unless you are in severe pain!Trust me everything is good at first but that will in time come to an end and so will your liver.

I am a female taking narcotic pain medication due to a back injury. Those pills make it hard to pee. My doc put me on Flomax to help me empty my bladder. I have had swollen sinus every night when I sleep. I have extreme elbow, wrist and finger pain that lasts all day/night long. My legs and knees are very stiff and sore. If I stand on my feet for more than a couple of minutes, my soles ache. I feel extremely tired and exhausted. DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG!! Now that I am off of it, my retention problem is worse than ever before. I wish I would have seen this web page before starting this horrible drug.

I have been on this drug for a year. I have never felt worse in my life. I am a 54 year old woman who works out daily and am not overweight but I have HBP. My side effects did not start until 6 months after being on this drug, so I didn't think right away that it was this drug.
I would wake up with severe leg cramps at night that would not go away. I had severe pain in the lower back and on both sides where the kidneys are. I thought I had a terminal illness. I could not function in my life at all. My dr. changed my RX to Benicar which is in the same family the results were worse than the lisinopril. I took myself off both drugs for two days and all symptoms went away except the HBP. I am now on amlodipine for two days so far so good no cramps no pain. The only side effect is flushing which is a piece of cake next to what I lived with.
I am also so happy I found this site I thought I was either dying or going crazy.