Bananas symptoms and conditions

Hi All,

In addition to what I wrote earlier if you do have a history of hypokalemia (low K+ or potassium) that is very serious for that electrolyte controls cardiac and renal function. However, it is quite simple while you are on this antibiotic to increase K+ rich foods such as bananas, baked potato, OJ, whole milk, avocado (which has more K+ than 5 bananas) and do so judiciously during your therapy for infection.

It is also significant to alert anyone that infection (bacterial) causes some fairly significant physiologic issues from fever, to myalgia, vomiting and loss of fluids, and organ impairment. This antibiotic like Ciprofloxacin has a huge ability to permeate bone infection and non circulatory areas that most antibiotics never reach. It is important to understand that if you are feeling that ill to require that antibiotic you may not be getting around to feeling "normal" until you are past taking the medication, follow up with your provider and rid yourself of the infection.

When you end an antibiotic early or play games with such a drug you can rebound to a super infection that is not treatable by the same antibiotic or even anything more powerful and after this drug you are talking IV antibiotics in a hospital setting.

I would strongly suggest if you are handling secondary side effects then continue onward for the result of an infection out of control is anything but desirable.

I do run low on K+ either and find that Cipro is more K+ wasting then Levaquin. I also am on the smallest dosage (250 mg. QD) and having a positive result but yes, the lovely side effects. In another few days though when done those will be gone and I might feel 100% human again.

K. BS,RN,UM,QC,DON

I am a professional nurse with extreme allergies; however, please for you own benefit consult your physician but do not stop taking it unless he or she states adverse or of course, you have some reaction requiring emergency medical assistance (911).

Yes I am dizzy, weak, very nauseated (and with my emaciated body frame due to other health issues cannot afford to not eat), and the first 2 days of therapy got a whopper headache. However, I had a UTI that likely moved into the kidneys and also look to have stones and after 8 days am passing urine properly and not up every hour not passing urine; hence it is killing an infection that might kill me.

Early on with this drug we did prescribe higher dosages then perhaps necessary they have now cut back quantity and instead of doing BID dosing do QD dosing. You might require a lower dosage at my body weight they prescribed only 250 mg. a day and this has given me some side effects but is treating an infection that could be fatal...

K. BS,RN,UM,QC,DON

I have been taking Yaz for a month and a half. The only medication I have been on in several years.
At work yesterday, my head started getting foggy. And my perception, was all messed up. After about 15 minutes of this not getting better, I started to lose my speech communication. I couldn't finish sentences or words. Stuff was jumbling together. In my right hand, two fingers went numb, then the whole hand. A client ended up driving me to the ER. I tried to call my receptionist, but I couldn't get the words out, my client took the phone and told her I was going to the ER. By the time I got to the ER, feeling started coming back, and I could communicate, in full sentences, if I paused between. By the time I was checked in and saw the doctor, I was able to tell him all that happened. With no problem, then a huge headache came on.
He wanted to rule out stroke, so did the CT scan and MRI. The nurse had some trouble getting blood from me. She kept mentioning that the blood kept clotting. The doctor sent me home saying my brain was perfectly healthy, and to go see my regular doctor.
A friend told me it was the birth control, because she could not take it, as she has lupus, and could have a stroke. She said it causes clotting. All of this was making sense to me. I looked up the side effects I had and found the "stroke symptoms", listed as rare, on Yaz.
My opinion of what happened, I had a blood clot that ended up passing through, and it could have become a stroke.
Another thing I read, besides the clotting. Was that oral contraceptives increase the potassium in your blood. I had been eating a banana for breakfast, 3 mornings in a row (the third on the day of this episode). The added potassium, could have been related to this episode.
How is anyone to know they can't eat something like "bananas" with birth control? I certainly didn't.
I am afraid to try any form of birth control at this point.

Hello All,
I"m a 50 year old Mother and Grandma who takes Topamax as a Mood Stabilizer for Bipolar Disorder. I took it about 5 years ago and about 6 months after I started taking it I was struck down with debilitating diarrhea, nausea, loss of appetite, extreme weight loss ( 26 pounds in one month ). No one knew what was wrong with me. My psychiatrist actually upped my Topamax dose because I was becoming depressed and having severe mood swings. I was sick for 8 months. I saw a new psychiatrist and he stopped the Topamax because it just was too over medicating at that time and started a different mood stabilizer.

I didn't put 2 and 2 together. I just was happy that the diarrhea and nausea for the most part was gone. I still have nausea frequently but that is from a totally different cause.

In December we discussed that the new mood stabilizer was no longer working so we went back on the Topamax. In April the diarrhea and nausea this time accompanied by vomiting started. I was ready when it started tho even tho I didn't know the cause. I got hooked up with a GI doctor, started probiotics immediately, started eating organic yogurt with as many live active cultures in it as i could find. I would only eat plain boiled rice, boiled macaroni, toast, ripened organic bananas and drink lots of fluid. No gatorade but pedialyte because gatorade has citric acid in it which can be irritating. Pedialyte doesn't. I also drank decaf ice tea with small amounts of sugar.

Now today I read that Topamax can give you diarrhea and if you have a history of diarrhea tell your doctor. Great, just great. Trade my mental health for my physical health but having diarrhea at the most unopertune times does affect my mental health. What am I going to do?

I refuse to take a weight positive mood stabilizer and that is all I'm left with. Like Lithium, Depakote. they will make me as big as a cow. I'd rather have diarrhea to tell you the truth. I don't think I'm gonna tell him.

Missyk10atx

I'm 22 years old and I have been on Yasmin for 3 years. The first year it was fine, but the next year I began getting panic attacks which I never even believed in until I had one myself. I've had severe anxiety that is uncontrollable and doesn't allow me to sleep at night. Let's not even talk about the emotional mood swings during my period. My boyfriend knows when it's that time of the month because I'm not myself. I will cry over things that would never make me cry in a million years. I'm mean and moody and then 20 minutes later I feel bad, but then I'm crabby again. Weight gain has not been a problem for me only about 3-5 pounds, but my breasts did go from a large B to a D. My boobs definitely do not fit my body. I have noticed a lot of hair fall but I just thought it was normal. I too have had problems with my potassium levels as I would get leg cramps in the middle of the night so I began drinking Gatorade and eating bananas every morning which has helped. I love being on birth control because it helps me plan accordingly, but I just don't feel like myself anymore. I am always hungry and am never full. I literally have to tell myself out loud that I'm done eating because it doesn't trigger for me. I have had a stomach ache nearly everyday of being on the pill. I became addicted to TUMS which only made it worse. I thought it was stress related which it might be, but I literally do not go to the bathroom for 4 or 5 days and it is soooo painful. Another thing is that I have no sex drive. I really have to prepare myself for it otherwise sex does not even occur to me. My boyfriend thinks I'm not attracted to him, but I AM! We just moved in together and you would think it was "freedom" but I'm just motivated to have sex. This is not normal for a 22 year old healthy female with an extremely hot man.

Anyway, I just went to the doctor and told her I was interested in Yaz. She gave me a few sample packs which I will begin next week. I'm hoping for the best and I truly do believe that birth control is a trial and error process. Everyone's bodies are different and you need to find the one that works best for you! I will write again once I know how Yaz works out.

-MCL

The following article in the WSJ may explain the reason for the significant number of Adverse Reactions to statin drugs.

Why You Can't Tell Where
Your Medication Was Made
April 8, 2008; Page D1- Wall Street Journal
Bananas come with those little stickers listing their country of origin. Why not pharmaceuticals?
That's what some consumers -- and even some physicians -- are asking since the Food and Drug Administration linked the deaths of 19 people to contaminated batches of the blood thinner heparin from China.
*******

I encourage every patient with a bad experience taking statins to contact the FDA (see, July 1, 2008 posting for FDA contact info).

The following article in the WSJ may explain the reason for the significant number of Adverse Reactions to statin drugs.

Why You Can't Tell Where
Your Medication Was Made
April 8, 2008; Page D1- Wall Street Journal
Bananas come with those little stickers listing their country of origin. Why not pharmaceuticals?
That's what some consumers -- and even some physicians -- are asking since the Food and Drug Administration linked the deaths of 19 people to contaminated batches of the blood thinner heparin from China.
******

I encourage every patient with a bad experience taking statins to contact the FDA (see, June 29, 2008 posting for FDA contact info).

what a relief to read all your experiences! I too have been on the ring for about 5 months, while my sex drive was not totally shot - i too get these insane cramps in my calf muscles that wake me up at night on a regular predictable basis. to cure those i started taking vitamins and eating bananas more. weight-wise, i'm sure i gained ten pounds since i started but was too depressed to check so i waited until i knew i lost a few and now i'm 7 pounds heavier than when i started. of course I tell this all to my doctor and she's like "That's strange, it's such a low dose of hormones that shouldn't happen." FINALLY the worst of it is the first week I put it in I'm INSANELY emotional. crying hourly. today's been such a hard day - worsened by the fact that it was my birthday two days ago and one of the most pathetic birthday's of my life so i just keep thinking about it and crying. so i wonder if it's the ring thats exaggerating my emotions or if i'm really feeling depressed about having a lame birthday. does anyone else have this first-week slump? i hate it. i want to go off the ring now but i hate taking the pill and i feel like any BC has some hideous undesirable side effect. PLUS when having sex, it's popped out 3 times and i haven't been able to find it after!!! so annoying. what to do what to do...

Here is what happens with me: taking one lighter mg amount vicoden during work (i know its illegal) usually increases my alertness and focus, and calms me down some in order to focus. It does cause me to stay awake, buuut, usually after a couple of doses of it within 8 hours, it wears off and i start getting tired. i never did the stuff daily though.. only on days i was tired ; p sometimes I would do the naughty thing and have a little bit to drink after work. the alcohol effect would increase, but at the same time, i controlled my amount by what i bought at the store. so, i never did anything truly harmful to my liver or stomach .. food before the vic (few bananas) and very slight food before the alc. It helps me sleep anyway, but like I said, I control my intake of things, so unless you can too, these ways aren't suggested ; p

My doctor (PA, actually) prescribed Lisinopril a few weeks ago because I'm diabetic and she said it would help protect my kidneys as well as lower my moderately-high blood pressure. Things went well for a couple of weeks, but the past few days have been unbearable. Not much of a cough, but I feel terribly weak, exhausted, and I can hardly think at all--am very confused, and can barely write this note (strange for a professional writer, eh?). I also have trouble walking, am quite dizzy and out of breath, and have severe muscle cramps; feels almost like my nervous system is shutting down. And truly, I feel like it could kill me. I was grateful to read all of your comments; makes me know that I'm not alone. I will have to discontinue this medication, as I simply cannot function while using it. (I'm a 62-year-old female, by the way.) Thanks again for your comments, and I wish you all luck and happiness.

I have been on Prednisone for about two weeks now! I hate it!!! I have never liked medicine, i don't even like to take Advil. They gave it to me for something called a idiopathic pseudo-tumor behind my eye, thought that it was an infection at first but the antibiotics didn't work.. I'm on a pretty high dose, i was on 80mg for 9 days and now I'm on 60mg so far has been 3 days. I have had all sorts of bad side effects from it! WAY bad anxiety attacks, heart palps, bad night sweats, dizzy, confused, like everyone else the brain fog feeling, bad knee aches, hungry all the time but i haven't really gained wait but am bloated in the stomach. After taking it for only 4 days i almost went to the ER i felt like i was going to have a stroke or something, my legs felt like they were turning into jello, and i got really light headed, I was about to freak out! I think that it dropped my potassium levels or something, i ate a few bananas and that made me feel better. It is starting to get better now that i dropped to 60mg but i still hate it, and I'm starting to get really bad chest pain (heartburn or gas?!?) not too sure but its starting to become unbearable.. I get to go down to 40mg next week and then 30mg for a week then to 20 for a week and so on! I'm a bit nervous now cuz i thought that depressing would make it better but everyone is saying that it get worse. I hope that it don't get much worse cuz i don't know how much more that i can take! My eye looks great so the meds did the job, but i still don't know if i would ever take this again knowing this much about it! I'm glad that I'm only going to be on it just a little over a month but even that seems way too long! good luck everyone take care of your selfs! oh yeah I'm only 23 and this stung really makes you feel old, i feel at least 40 it hurts to get up or sit fast!

I no longer take Imitrex as it makes my migraines 100x worse, more frequent; but I was reading following side affects everyone has.... Ive dealt with the queasiness, feeling lethargic and such....

But some of the ones not listed that I had was extreme abdominal and stomach cramping where I was in fetal position (i kid you not), my back felt as if i had a warm heating pad to it (kind of a benefit on cold days!) and from the calves down, I felt as if I were walking around with 25 pound weights on both legs; I felt very weak and could barely move.

Anybody ever experience any of this!? :(

I've only been on a few days and already experienced the flat soda effect... that's the whole reason for soda.. I like the fizz... not cool.

My doctor warned me about the tingling, it's a sign of low potassium, so she said to start eating more bananas... so no tingling yet.
Also consume a lot of water to reduce risk of kidney stones...

So far I've only experienced the flat soda that I know of..

I was born without a thyroid gland so I can't compare the way I feel now to the way I would've felt with a thyroid. I've been on Synthroid my entire life (22 years), and I'm up to 112 mcg now. I am very skinny (5'5", 104 lbs) and feel constantly fatigued no matter how many hours I sleep, what I eat, and how much exercise I get. I periodically get pain in my hip joints, heart palpitations, and intense mood swings. My thoughts race but I have very little physical energy. I feel restless and gloomy almost all the time for absolutely no good reason. My doctor tells me I'm depressed but I honestly have no reason to be depressed and I wish she would see it as a symptom instead of a diagnosis. I graduated from a good college, I've got a job I like, I have friends, I enjoy life and my hobbies, yet I feel overwhelmingly sad. This does not seem like depression to me.

I find that after I do aerobics I get a tightness in my chest, which makes me worry about my heart, but again my doctor doesn't seem to think this is cause for concern. I have been irritable/fatigued for YEARS and I suspect I'll feel this way for the rest of my life. The worst of it started when I hit 16 years old and started the 112 mcg. My tests are always normal and it frustrates me that my doctor disregards my symptoms. I've tried other doctors, but they always send me away with my 'normal' test results. Can anybody help?

I've been on Seroquel for a month now. My dosage was progressively increased from 100mg to 400mg for severe chronic insomnia, a symptom of manic depression.

Within one month, I've gained 20 pounds and I look as if I'm six or seven months pregnant.

I am weaning myself off of it, because my doctor doesn't seem to care much about the weight gain, despite the fact that I eat less than 1000 calories a day.

A symptom of bipolar disorder is also depression, and the more I look at myself in the mirror, the more depressed I get.

I'd rather go without sleep than gain weight at the rate I've been gaining it. It's just not safe, and I can feel it taking its toll on me physically and psychologically.

It's just not worth it in my opinion. I'm giving Melatonin a try. Hopefully, that will work for me. It was suggested by one of my nurses.

It's not easy to go from a 4/5 to nearly a size 9 in a month. It really makes you feel terrible, especially when you exercise an hour and a half everyday and are on a low calorie diet.

Until I'm given something that can counteract the weight gain, I refuse to stay on Seroquel.

I admit I'm having some bouts of insomnia, but they're not nearly as bad as they were before I started the Seroquel. Perhaps that will change once the Seroquel is all out of my system.

I also notice I'm itching everywhere, from head to toe. I suppose that's a symptom of weaning yourself off of the drug.

i've been on synthroid for 9 years. started at some low dose and gradually went up to112 mg. get extreme itching all day everyday if i don't take allegra for that.not a rash just itching. that doesn't bother me as much as the fatique. every joint in my body aches all the time. sure there are better days but fo rthe most part it's bad. tried physical therapy and chiripratic care but no avail. they ended my sessions. my legs get sooo weak and my feet burn lower back really aches. sometimes muscle cramps. i'm very negative towards my loving family and it hurts me to do so. can't seem to keep upbeat. soo tired all the time.
is it the syntroid? i used to be very energenic and a doer. now i have spurts of activity in the morning , but then i just can't get motivated. help me any suggestions?

Extreme fatigue. Serious bouts of depression over minor things. Loss of desire in wanting to do daily activities such as cleaning, attending church service, going to school. Food cravings of bananas, strawberries, dairy products, potatoes. Body craves more water. I have been drinking more than the daily recommended amount of water.

My gynocologist had to put me on Yaz because I had had a Kenalog Injection for a slipped disk and after being injected with Kenalog I kept having menstrual periods....4 in a month a half! So she gave me Yaz, it seems to work so far, but this drug gives me side effects too. Has anyone experienced extreme tiredness? I seem to be tired non-stop even after having a lot of sleep. This wasn't listed as side effect on my prescription, but I thought this may be causing it. Since I started taking this 3 weeks ago I began to feel real depressed and angry for no reason at all. I just get these weird bouts of depression.

For optic neuritis, and arm and shoulder pain: I had a combo of 3 days of Solu-Medrol infusion (steroid via IV) and then went on the following regimen of Prednisone: 5 days 60 mg; 3 days 40 mg; 2 days 20 mg.
Side effects have been terrible with the WORSE CASE OF FACIAL ACNE I have ever had. I'm 28 - I have my 10th high school reunion, weddings, and more -- and it may sound vain, but if you saw this acne (hundreds of tiny pimples all over my cheeks; sides; chin; and upper neck) you'd feel my pain. Also, got shoulder, arm, back, and chest acne -- which I can take b/c I can find ways to cover that up. But face! It's terrible. I'm using Pro-Activ and see minimal improvement. The #2 problem has been SEVERE heartburn during the tapering off phase. I have never felt that much pain and it only went away after I completely went off the drug - I treated this with ginger drink (a hot tea sold in international food stores) and Pepcid AC. Also, due to my original symptoms I can do virtually no exercise when I used to exercise 6 days/week. I'm really worried about weight gain which I already see in my arms and face. My appetite has been through the roof. Irritability was the worst but I forewarned my family. My original symptoms have greatly improved, but I'd honestly rather fight through that original pain than endure the craziness that is prednisone.

Does anyone else spin in circles when they try to sleep and taste and metal? I can't sleep I'm sick to my stomach all day usually only alleviated by bananas.

I have been taking Toprol for 2 1/2 years following bypass surgery. Some weakness has occurred, but I have bicycled 5,500 miles and even finished in the top five in a couple of amateur races during that time. I often have leg cramps, but have noticed taking a potassium supplement (or eating more bananas) and drinking more water seems to alleviate that problem. Other side effects include reduced sex drive and a need for more sleep and rest. When I don't get enough rest, I get so tired I can barely function. I am also taking Crestor and Avapro (the combination of which has caused even more side effects -- weakness, BP drops, dizziness, sharp muscle pains, sleeplessness, etc.)

I am a caucasian male age 48. I was diagnosed with HBP last Friday 160/111. Dr put me on 20mg Lisinopril same day. She had me start with 1/2 dose (10mg) and I can't stand the drug. I work for a computer network installation and this drug makes me really spacy, lethergic, dizzy, and I have a slight dry cough now. I've only been on this for 6 days now and am stopping it on my own. One thing we must all know is what is right for each of us. I've never been an advocate for allopathic medicines (mainstream immuno-suppresive drugs) which PALLIATE symptoms (allieviate but not cure)
I know mainstream allopathic doctors can save lives, but this drug really make me feel terrible. I understand it's been only 6 days on the medicine, but my body and heart tell me this stuff is giving me a bad reaction. I am going to stop it on my own, and try naturopathic medicines. There is a therapy that can be found online called HOLISTROL which supposedly brings down high blood pressure. It contains HAWTHORNE herb which has been shown in trials to reduce blood pressure, and also contains Holly Leaf Extract. Along with this I will exercise 30-45 minutes every day and do not use salt at all and will eyeball all convenience foods that I buy for excessive sodium. I have also cut sugar cold turkey and only eat plain yogurt with bananas (yeah- I know bananas contain natural sugar but it's better than refined!!) and fruits for desserts now. I feel that if I lose about 15 lbs along with the diet modification and naturopathic remedies I can beat this. I bought a BP monitor from Brooks drug store that is automatic and all you do is strap the cuff to your upper arm and press start and it gives an accurate reading. Dcotors love to peddle drugs (I think they are in cahoots with the powerful pharmaceutical industry) I will also see a naturopathic doctor who can prescribe herbs and/or homeopathic medicines to help me. It's YOUR life- make the right choices and know that you have a right to good service, to ask questions and realize doctor is NOT GOD. But- it is also important to ensure your safety as well so make informed decisions.

I began a low dosage of Maxide on 21 Feb 2006; i.e., 1/2 tablet three times/week for high blood pressure. I have a high sensitivity to any drugs (including Tylenol) or adverse reactions to them so I have never taken medications of any kind except an occasion antibiotic and fortunately I have been healthy. I just turned 61 yrs old and I still think the high blood pressure is due to my husband (LOL). My first two doses of Maxide put me in bed. I was dizzy, nauseous, my legs (toes, calves and thighs) and arms tingled and my knees were so weak I could barely stand. My heart rate soared and my back felt like my kidneys had hardened to stone consistency so that if I looked at my back in the mirror, they would be sticking out of my back. I also felt I was listing to the left, I was shaky and I was very cold. I felt really bad. Fortunately I did not have any rash. The symptoms started both days exactly 1/2 hour after taking the half tablet and subsided exactly 12 hours later. The benefit was that the following day, I felt better than I had since I can't remember when and I had tons of energy (which is new to me) except I still had a sore back.

By the second dose, in addition to the above side effects, my head felt disconnected, my neck hur and the left side of my throat and my left ear felt numb; the nausea had increased. I kept a diary of time and symptoms and faxed them to my doctor but I had taken the third dose by the time she phoned me. The second dose I took a couple hours after coffee in case the drug was interacting with caffiene. No difference.

In the meantime I had picked up some bananas at the store just because they looked good and I had eaten one not long after taking my third dose. My symptoms nearly all disappeared almost immediately. I did not connect the two until reading posts on here, so thank you for that. However, please be careful about potassium intake because an overdose can be lethal quickly.

Good luck to everyone and may you each feel better soon.

I have been taking Yasmin for two years to help with irregular periods and ovarian cysts which Yasmin has indeed helped. But in the last six months, I have been suffering from TERRIBLE leg cramps and it was not until today that I realized that this may be a side effect of Yasmin. I thought I was not drinking enough water or eating enough bananas. I feel like such an idiot for not putting two and two together! Alas, I too have been experiencing anxiety especially at night (well before the leg cramps) and panic something I have never felt before...and I wonder if this too is due to this drug. And the vaginal dryness--again something I have never dealt with before. Why is the burden on the patient to find out serious side effects to a drug? Why aren't doctors informing their patients about the side effects of Yasmin?! Why should we suffer only to find out later that it was due to a drug? I am going to a doctor today and ask these questions. What I can't figure out is why the psychiatrist I saw for these symtoms (anxiety), did not pick this up? The bottom line is we cannot put our trust in doctors--as patients we have to do all the research and read the fine print!