Blurry vision symptoms and conditions

I'm a 20 year old female, 125 lbs, exercise everyday, and eat very well. I recently had an the mirena IUD put in after a year on depo provera. I cramped for about a week after insertion and then started to have pain on the left side near my pubic bone. I also was having nausea, blurry vision, difficultly focusing my eyes, dizziness, severe chest pains, and a pin prick sensation along with hot flashes all over my body. After finding this site, I called my doctor who didn't believe that the mirena was causing this, even though many of these are listed as severe side effects. I'm a 20 year old woman! Why would i suddenly develop some disease that made me feel this way? Despite her claims that the mirena wasn't responsible, the chest pains were unbearable and the uterine pain was shooting down my legs. I demanded to have it out. One day later the uterine pain was significantly better and my vision was back to normal. I still have slight chest pains but they have diminished appropriately. the hormone in mirena has a half life of about a day and a half so in two days it should be completely out of my system and the chest pains should subside. To conclude, if you are having these side effects and have no other conditions, try getting the mirena removed. It fixed me completely.

I've been on Yasmin(Ocella) since July. At first I had no side affects and then just last week, I had shortness of breath, tingling all over, warm sensations in my body, headaches and blurry vision. I had to be rushed to the hospital by ambulance. It also seems like I'm having all sorts of thoughts that are keeping me paranoid and not sleeping. It also seems like my left breast is slightly larger than my right. I've never had any problems like this before so as of today I'm taking myself of this birth control pill.

Hi all,
I am a 47 male and was prescribed this drug for depression at 60 mg per day, and here goes:
Couldn't laugh, cry, no emotion at all
Numbness in my fingers, and was getting worse
No sexual desire, if I could get it up, nothing would come out
Prostate pain
Constant brain zaps
Raised my blood pressure, even taking 160 mg of Diovan per day; negated the high blood pressure med
Thumping in my ears because of the high blood pressure
Blurry vision
Constant diarrhea and dark
Pain in my left side of my stomach
Could not sleep
Constant headache
Shakey
Nausea all day
Sleepy during the day
Grinding my teeth
Greater thoughts of killing myself
Lost 14lbs in a week
Could not deal with large crowds, and I am in sales; that is not like me
Wanted to be isolated from all people, as I had no social skills
So then I went on Zoloft, and the hell gets even worse
Don't go off these horrible drugs cold turkey like I did, several weeks of pure hell, but I am back and feeling myself again
These doctors who prescribe these drugs need to go on them for a couple of months, and go off them cold turkey. They will never prescribe them again.
Best to all, and I welcome your comments

Last month, I went to see a dermatologist as a result of being bitten by bugs while staying in a motel. The doctor looked at the bites and one particular bite on my right arm, which he said was a tick bite. For that bite, the doctor prescribed to me a drug called Doxycycline HYC for Lyme Disease that I had to take for 30 days. Number one, I hate taking drugs and I have never taken any medication for that long a period of time, except for the Centrum multi vitamin I take on a daily basis.

I went back to the doctor's office earlier this month showing him more bites on my back and a rash on my right leg, the latter of which he said was an allergic reaction to the drug prescribed. He said Doxycycline HYC was the drug that is used to treat Lyme Disease and that I had to finish the course.

On Wednesday of last week, I had four pills left when I noticed a slight change in my vision. I took the pills Wednesday and Thursday and was done with them on Thursday to finish the course. By Saturday, my vision was very blurry and I only have one eye. I wear safety glasses to protect that eye with no prescription in the lenses.

On Saturday, I walked over to the pharmacy and the pharmacist printed out a report on that drug and there is an indication – along with many other side effects – citing blurry vision. On Sunday, I spoke with the doctor's colleague, who asked me whether I was also having headaches while taking that drug. I told the colleague I was having headaches but that I was taking Tylenol when the headaches occurred. The colleague not only told me I could have been prescribed another drug (which I was surprised to hear but would it have mattered anyhow because I only had four pills left) but he also said that my vision will get better but it will take time. I really wish I knew in what time frame my vision will come back because the colleague also mentioned that I may have to see a neurologist and I am wondering because of that statement if something happened in my brain during the times I was getting the headaches that could have affected my vision.

Then I was talking to a nurse friend yesterday concerning the blurry vision – which is still blurry since Saturday of last week – and she asked me if I have diabetes. I told her I do not have diabetes but she said blurry vision is associated with diabetes and that I could lose my sight.

I cannot believe all that has happened as a result of taking that Doxycycline HYC. I also went to have an eye exam and the eye doctor scheduled an appointment for October 8 to see me again to see if the vision clears up on its own. He said if it does not, I must now start to wear prescription lenses. But I am really skeptical about waiting that long because every day I wake up, my vision seems to be getting blurrier and blurrier. I am blown away about all of this -- all as a result of taking that drug. And I have to sit very close to the computer screen in order to see to type anything.

Because my nurse friend was talking about diabetes being associated with the blurry vision, I also went searching about that yesterday and found this statement:

"The use of antibiotics can affect blood glucose levels, at times contributing to elevations and in some cases a decrease in blood glucose levels, depending on the antibiotic used, as well as individual response. Antibiotics are also used for the treatment of infections, which often contribute to elevations in blood glucose, in and of themselves. In the case of Lyme disease the relapsing cyclic activity of the Borreila spirochete, may also contribute to times of elevations in blood glucose, due to the increased presence of infectious organisms during periods of such activity. It is important to discuss your blood glucose response to treatment with your Doctor, as improved blood glucose control during times of treatment
for any infectious state, helps the body put up a better fight."

I am stuck in my apartment scared to death and very, very, very depressed about this blurry vision. Moreover, I unable to drive to the locations I need to get to for my job because not only is it hazardous for me to drive on a consistent basis, but my bills are coming due and no way of paying them.

I had the Mirena inserted in November 2007 after having my third child. The first 6 months I had bleeding everyday. The insertion was painless. For the last year I have been trying to figure out what is wrong with me. I really didn't pay much attention to it until about 4 months ago when I started having anxiety attacks. I figured it was due to stress of a new job. I have been so tired that I can barely function. I have no interest in even leaving the house. It is even hard to come to work everyday because I am exhausted. I don't sleep well. I wake up soaking wet from sweat. I have a lot of joint pay in my legs, arms, and hands. My arms stay numb most of the time. I too experience the moodiness and I can sit and cry over nothing. I have experienced hair loss since having the Mirena. As far as sex drive it is nonexistent, even if it was there I would be too tired to even do anything. I have blurry vision sometimes. I have gained so much weight it isn't funny. I thought maybe my thyroid was out of wack so I went to the doctor for blood work. My blood work came back great. After researching some more I found this site and apparently Mirena is the cause of my problems also. I go to my GYN doctor tomorrow for my annual exam and I am going to request that the Mirena be removed. I have three children 15,10, and 22 months so I can not live my life like this. I am glad that I found this website and I plan to pass it along for those women that are having problems that they may be blaming other things for. If you have the Mirena you definitely need to read this site. I'll keep everyone posted once the Mirena is removed.

I had my Mirena inserted on 7/22 and I'm getting it taken out tomorrow (8/4)! This product needs to be taken off the market. I have already reported it to the FDA. I am a total picture of health (25 years old at 150 pounds at 5'11")--eat the right foods, exercise almost daily, no other medications,etc. Since having this thing inserted two weeks ago, I have felt TERRIBLE! Symptoms include: stabbing pains in the legs and hips, joint pains especially in the wrists, headaches, backaches, uterus pain especially in the right side (but left side as well), tingling in many parts of the body (toes, face, abdomen, legs, and arms), nausea, no libido, and blurry vision. I was fine with spotting (this is the only side effect that the doc mentioned), but the other side effects are ridiculous! This needs to be taken off the market immediately, so that other women do not suffer. I will gladly take a pill everyday to get this thing out of me!!

I have been taking Wellbutrin XL 300MG for 18 months now. It definitely cured my depression but since last couple of months I noticed my hair falling at an alarming rate. I can now see my scalp in several places. It is discouraging. I am going to lower the dose to 150MG and then stop after some time.

I started this med yesterday for staph infection. My immune system is run down from 24 days of hemorrhaging with menopause and finding cancer in my bloodwork and catscan. My skin has thinned and I have large sores all over my body. This med was given to me yesterday and also my diabetes med was changed because my immune system is so weak it is kicking up my bloodsugars. Can you tell I am run down? I went to bed trying to throw up this pill today again and went to bed with chills while it is 105 degrees in Texas today. I even had to put on socks. I feel lightheaded and kind of out of it with blurry vision. Hard to tell what is from meds and illnesses but is no fun. At least I feel better not being alone with this. I am also burping a lot and I never do.

Wow, thank you all for your postings. I just wished I had found this before I had Mirena put in. I had it placed in Feb 2009, it's been exactly 5 months. I have been extremely tired and agitated. I didn't really associate this with the Mirena until reading the other posts. My hair comes out by the handful (with root attached), I never have solid stools, I have gained about 10 pounds even though I have been trying to lose weight through a diet and exercise program. All the weight is in my stomach and people keep asking me if I'm pregnant. I started to wonder if I could be seeing as I was crying all the time, extremely moody, and that I look at least 4 or 5 months pregnant. All pregnancy tests have come back negative. I got this put in the day before my fiance and I got engaged ( not knowing at the time) and last week we were about to call of the wedding because of my emotional state and constant conflicts. I have to wonder how much of this is caused by the Mirena. I have already made an appointment to talk to my doctor after reading what all these other women have been through. It's just so tough because with any type of birth control their are side effects so I don't want to make it out to be like this is the worst thing ever, it may be exactly what someone is looking for, but just be informed that there are some side effects because I like a lot of other women on this post was lead to believe that there were no side effects or very little side effects.

I took this garbage for four days until I had to go to the ER for shortness of breath, chest pain, stomach pain, pins and needles sensation in limbs, hot flashes (felt like I had a fever) and blurry vision. The worst was the complete and utter mental breakdown, I became suicidal and had just horrible images coming through my brain.

It's been a week now and while the depression/suicidal thoughts have subsided, the anxiety, exhaustion, shortness of breath, and stomach pain remain. I'm curious how I can still have these horrible effects taking into consideration the half life of this drug. It should be out of my system now.

Any idea of how much longer this is going to last?

I've never done this so hopefully it goes where it is supposed to.... I am a 24 year old mommy of 2. I have been on wellbutrin (generic) since late march. So about 3 months. My problem wasn't really depression, but anger. I have always had a short fuse, but I was getting ridiculous with my 4 year old daughter and even I knew it. Well, I was on the 150 xl for a month and a half, then asked the dr. to switch me to something that I could take 2 times a day because the xl wore off right around 5pm and gave me headaches.... So now I am on 150 sr 2 times a day. I have to say that it really is helping me. I kinda feel emotionless sometimes, but I'll take that over feeling like I might rip someones head off. On top of working on the anger, so far I have lost about 25 lbs! I got on the mirena (huge, horrible, god awful mistake) after having my 2nd child and gained about 20 lbs in 1 year. (it also made me the reincarnation of satan)
So, good side effects: No longer angry all the time, no longer fat
And, bad side effects: No sex drive (may be due to 2 kids, not the pills), blurry vision, oily hair, dry mouth (which causes really bad breath in the morning) and I swear, I had Restless Leg syndrome when I was preggers the first time and it was HORRIBLE! It seems that now I have Restless feet syndrome :D My feet always feel like I'm spreading my toes apart (even though I'm not) Don't know what the heck that's all about, but figured I'd throw it in :D I'm also on YAZ which from what I read isn't the best BCP, so maybe I should get off of it.

i first went on Yasmin after the birth of my first child, who is nearly 3. before then i was on nordette. for the first year on Yasmin everything (i thought) was hunky dory but since reading previous posts i have come to realize that i have suffered the majority of symptoms listed by other users. however these symptoms did not appear til about a year after starting the drug. mainly i suffered from blurry vision, headaches, chest pain (which i attributed to my gallbladder which i had out not long after my child's birth.residual/phantom pain i thought silly me!) but i find that it is now that i am having the worst problems. i came off Yasmin in November last year in order to try for another child. i expected it to take a little while for my body to get back to normal but not this! ever since i have come off it my hormones have been so out of wack its not funny! i have broken out in acne worse than i ever had when i was a teenager, not only on my face but on my back as well. i have to wash my hair every night because it gets so greasy and i have put on a tonne of weight (which i first attributed to lack of exercise and poor food choices, but not to this extent!) i have also had a miscarriage in late January (when i had no trouble conceiving and carrying my first child) and am now pregnant again but think i might be about to loose this one too. i believe it is because i have some kind of hormonal imbalance due to coming off Yasmin - that it has thrown everything really out of wack. i plan on going to the doctor to get whatever test i can to try and work out what is wrong. when i first come off it my doctor said that it does affect people this way but i didn't think it would be this bad and i never had anything like this after coming off the nordette and i was on it for 10/11 years! was wondering if anybody else has had any problems after coming off it and trying to conceive?was thinking of using it again after my next child but think now i will just go back on to nordette.

Also forgot that the operator stated that they are aware of issues created by breastfeeding mothers after Mirena is inserted which I was from Nov 07-April 08 which greatens the chance of the Mirena dislogging.
After reading these problems that others had like myself, I now this was a wrong choice for me. Blurry vision, knee aches, head aches, irritable, wow what a powerful item and I didn't link it together...I turned 40 today and attributed it to my age not the Mirena.

Getting Mirena out on Monday! I got mine put in at my six week check up following the birth of my son in December 08. Thought it was wonderful. Loved it, thought it was going to be great, and it was for about six weeks...now I am so tired, but don't sleep. I walk around in a fog unable to focus. Stopped losing and actually gained weight, headaches, depression, weepy, zero sex drive, blurry vision- you name it, I have it (and it's NOT PPD!) I was a very healthy, HAPPY person. I did my research before getting it, and thought it would be the best BC for me (as did my doctor). WE WERE WRONG!!! I have talked with two friends who also have Mirena. They are also suffering with "side effects" and are planning to have it removed.
I can't wait until Monday...looking forward to getting ME back!

First of all, a big thanks to all of you who have shared your experiences. I am a biochemist, with a background in pharmaceutical research...I chose the Mirena IUD after careful consideration of it's active ingredient, Levonorgestrel. The side effect profile seemed pretty acceptable...until I started to experience nearly ALL of them...I am 33 years old and had the Mirena IUD placed in October of 2008 after the birth of my second child in June of 2008. The initial reaction was to be expected...cramping, a little spotting etc...nothing to be alarmed about. I still have yet to have a period (which I really don't miss so no problem there) I never gave a second thought to this until now...for the past month or so (coinciding with the weening process, since I have been nursing the entire time, I believe the side effects were not as noticeable) I have been experiencing the following (that may or may not be related to Mirena as my OBGYN has so adamantly pointed out, but after reviewing your posts I'm willing to bet they're connected) and are in order of occurrence: Major, but temporary, hair loss after 2 months or so; Major respiratory infection lingering over a month with difficulty breathing, tightness and pain in the chest at around 6 mos; And in the past month, several instances of motion-like sickness/ nausea, dizziness, blurred vision, major impatience/ mood swings, loss of appetite (pregnancy-like symptoms...yep, I was thinking man I'd be pretty pissed if I was that 0.01% pregnant statistic), and as of this past weekend, my first aurora migraine with tunnel vision and serious nausea and vomiting, to the point where I went to Urgent Care...who referred me to the ER...who wants to perform a battery of tests including a head CT. I have an appointment with a trusted GP tomorrow to discuss possible root causes...but it is to coincidental that so many women are experiencing these same symptoms! I am certainly leaning towards having this removed. CAN THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE HAD THIS REMOVED PLEASE RESPOND IF YOUR SYMPTOMS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED OR WERE RESOLVED!!! THANK YOU!
These side effects seem to go well beyond a 5% rate of incidence according to all of you who have reported. I will investigate further and keep everyone posted. As someone who is highly experienced in the pharmaceutical industry, you bet your a$$ I'm going to get to the bottom of this! Good luck ladies!

I started 40 mg Simvastatin in Sept 2007 and stopped it March 08. I developed severe carpal tunnel Sept 07 and it went away March 08.....gone. The illness simvastatin caused has taken a year to get better. At times, I was too weak to feed myself. Drenching sweats, 24 hour a day headache, vomiting, light headed, blurry vision, and swollen neck glands. On a scale of 1-10, fatigue was a 10. I developed Rheumatoid Arthritis. I had very few arthritis episodes but it showed on blood work. It went into "remission" Dec 08. I was still sick. They said RA was reason I was so ill. I honestly felt I was dying. They tried to fix me, cost me a lot of money. I started CoQ10 a month ago. Made changes with other meds too. I am just now seeing an improvement. The large swollen gland on my neck has started to go away. The headache and fatigue are getting better. It's been a long road. I think it effects so many people in so many different ways that doctors are not clicking. My father, my aunt, my cousin, my brother and I all had different aches and pains. The one thing we had in common was extreme fatigue. We all stopped statins and some recovered quickly. Dad and I are still suffering. No more statins for me.

I recently was diagnosed with bipolar. My doctor put me on Klonopin .5mg three times a day. and on lamictal 25mg once a day Since I have been on those I have never felt better. I am finally thinking clearly. I am able to take care of my son better and do my day to day living. The only side effect I have noticed is blurry vision. But that comes and go so I won't be driving anytime soon which is fine with me for now.

I'm exactly the same as everyone else here!
my side effects seem to be growing, but strangely only started to occur when i went off Yasmin.before taking this i was perfectly healthy.
so far my list is :
heart palpitations (which have actually slowed down a lot)
tightness/lump in throat
anxiety all the time
nightmares
lack of sleep
tingling legs and arms
being cold
pressure in head
tiredness
being more anxious at nighttime
sore left breast
fuzzy head feeling
blurry vision
a 'fluid' feeling in my ears
sharp pains in head and abdomen
chest pain
sharp pain in legs and hands
tingling down the right side of my body
faint pulse
problems concentrating
general ill feeling
hot flushes

i just WISH i had never taken this pill. only a week or so on it and look what has happened..
it shouldn't be on the shelves..

My Doctor put me on prednisone 10mg for inflammation in my neck. I did 5 first day 5 second day 4 fourth day and when it was time for day 3 he took me off my upper body from waist to neck hurt so bad if anyone would touch me, blotchy to touch no visible rash stomach cramping nausea and I described sitting down as if I had a very bad sunburn, hunched over. I called his office and they said doesn't sound like a sided effect to stop taking well that night Thurs. I was in the ER for a what they are calling an "allergic reaction" gave me benadryl and sent me home next day very groggy, body still hurt not stomach and slept all day. Saturday night back at the ER bad headache and neck and face felt tingly very weird after a million test sent home. Sunday felt the same. Monday went to doctor's office with abdominal cramping nausea and tingling face/headache had an scan of head and more test gave me anxiety pills (I think they think I'm nuts now). Tuesday back at his office feeling worse more test everything so far is normal gave me something for headache (it worked!) and sent me to see a specialist to make sure it was not my appendix which it's not. I'm Still having stomach cramps upper stomach above belly button no more headache occasional tingly of face and no appetite having a stomach ultra sound today. I'm just wondering now if anyone has had the same symptoms? Starting to think maybe I am crazy. I wasn't on it very long so I'm sooo confused. I was also told at my 2nd ER trip that they didn't believe I could have an allergic reaction very impossible.

Been taking Topamax since August 2008 for migraines . in November 2008 my doctor upped the dose from 50 mg to 100 mg because I began having daily headaches , even though these weren't migraines . This headache has been CONSTANT for 3 months, right behind my eyes , is with me morning . noon and night along with blurry vision . I have been taking hydrocodone for the pain while I went on a round of doctors visits and tests ...blood work - normal , ct scans -normal . Interestingly , along the way , my OB found an ovarian tumor that was 12cm and made with thyroid tissue of all things so I had surgery to remove my ovary ...but still the headache remains and the awful eye pressure . Also , word recall and math skills have become laughable ...doctor kept saying .you are 43 . maybe you are just getting older . after reading these posts I say I believe that my eye pain and my headache and my sudden stupidness and maybe possibly even the tumor can be attributed to the Topamax ...tonight I start titrating down from 100 mg back to 75 then 50 then OFF because I am not brave enough to go cold turkey ..I am already not sleeping at all since I gave up the ambien last week ( I have decided less pills may equal more health ) but the topamax seems to make me anxious NOT sleepy like it does some people , so I will also start splitting the dose am and pm to see it that helps . I will write back in a week or so with an update . How simple it will be if 30 doctors visits ( at 20.00 each ) plus a cancer specialist for the tumor ..weeks in waiting rooms and hundreds of hours on the internet wondering what was wrong with me could all boil down to ....one little pill. For me , I will go back to working with my migraines if this is the case .......

I started taking YAZ about about 5 months. The biggest side effect I notice is SEVERE migraines 2 days before my period starts. I am a speech therapist and found it almost debilitating to try to work with my clients today because my head was pounding out of my head. I was also experiencing some blurry vision while driving (not good). On the bright side my adult acne has cleared up and periods have shortened by about 5 days. Regardless, I've decided that if something inflicts head pounding migraines then it is not worth it. I'm going to drop birth control for good as I haven't found any that I like at the age of 37.

I had mirena put in October 2008, A total of 17 months. I am a 31 yr. old mother of 4. And I have experienced many side effects. First, of all the non stop bleeding for the first 15 months I bleed over half the month. And my periods prior to this was always short 3 days at the most. Now I would bleed 15 or 16 days at a time. I suffered hair loss, it has fell out in patches is some spots. But, luckily for me I have very thick hair so other people wont notice. But, I know its there. I have also gained weight about 20 pounds. I have lower back pains shooting pains in my lower back, I have had blurry vision at times. And that funny fluttering feeling in my stomach like a baby kicking, tenderness in my breast. But I will say that the bleeding is what that bothered me the most. I have had the brown discharge, the funny odor. But now after 17 months the bleeding has slowed down a little but its a very bright red color which is so weird. Looks like you just cut yourself, not like period blood. I have also experienced depression, and emotional rollercosters from happy to mad to excited to sad in 0 - 60 seconds flat. I was not like this before I had this inserted. Its just that I have 4 children and I went in to get a tubal ligation and i let my obgyn talk me out of it because my uterus is retroverted and supposedly I would have a greater risk of having a tubal done with complications. And she talked me in to this Mirena Now, I am second guessing myself. My breast hurt like Im still pregnant. But, I have problems with the patch, the pills so its like is there any bc that will work for me. And don't want to remove this without some other plan ready. I do not want to have any more children. But I am seriously contemplating TAKING THIS DAMN THING OUT!

I have been taking lamictal for 3 years now and i have just now started getting (or noticing) some of the side effects. Bad cramping with my period and break through bleeding. I feel more clumsy and i have noticed that my vision has gotten more blurry. This could be just me getting older, but i've noticed that it's about an hour and a half after i take my morning dose.

I am on prednisone frequently for respiratory infections as I have a chronic lung condition. I was just hospitalized for a week and on 80 mg per day IV. I have tapered by 5 mg every 3rd day. I have a rash in my hairline and actually in my hair. I have blurry vision, insomnia, cravings for food, weight gain, puffy face, swollen stomach, and pain so bad in my left hip joint that I can hardly bear weight.
In Aug, 2008, I had my right hip replaced from avascular necrosis caused by steroid use for my lung condition. I am worried that AVN is now also in my left hip. The steroids take the swelling down in my lungs so I can breathe, however they are destroying my bones. I am so scared of another hip surgery. I realize that I need to be thankful that my joints can be replaced, but it is a horrible side effect of this drug.

First I want to say, after reading several posts, that it seems a lot of you are taking Topamax without food, which may be causing your "spaciness." My doctor suggested always taking it with food, even though it says with or without food, and I only experienced spaciness the few times I took it at bedtime without food. Once I started taking it with breakfast and dinner, that never happened again.

I am a 48 year old woman, prescribed Topamax in September of 08 for migraine associated vertigo without headaches, with facial numbness. The first thing I noticed was I immediately had headaches, which to me indicated it was dehydrating me as that is the only time I get a "normal" headache. So I knew I had to drink a lot of water. Soon after starting Topamax I developed a dry cough that lasted the entire time I was on the med. I did not relate it to the drug at the time, however. It never even occurred to me. After about two months on the drug I started having trouble breathing with extreme dryness in my airways. I was prescribed an albuterol inhaler which did not help. I was then prescribed a corticosteroid inhaler which also did not help. I thought the trouble breathing was from taking Nadolol which I was prescribed for occasional heart fluttering - the neurologist said this was a normal side effect of Topamax. I stopped taking the Nadolol but the trouble breathing continued. I also had more migraines with vertigo and facial numbness than before I started taking the drug. I hoped it would eventually stop and the drug would kick in to help the vertigo, so I stayed on the drug. I had very minor tingling in my feet, but it was tolerable. I became very stressed out, had trouble sleeping, depression, my face started breaking out in November (and still is), I lost interest in everything that I normally enjoy - reading, photography, following politics in the news (sort of an obsession of mine). In December I was so depressed that for the first time in my 11 year career I started canceling appointments and eventually took three weeks off from work to "re-group." In January the neurologist decided that we would increase the dose from 100 mg to 150 mg for one more month, and if it did not get rid of my migraines with vertigo, we would discontinue the drug. The first day on the increased dose I had a killer headache, and I drank 150 ounces of water before it went away. That night I did not have to go to the bathroom during the night, unheard of for me. That's a lot of water to drink and not have to pee. Within two days of increasing the dose, my cough became much worse, and within three days, the breathing became more difficult. Within five days, I was having trouble speaking because my airways felt so dry. I called the doctor the next morning and he said it was not the drug, but if I wanted to, stop taking it. So I went off it cold turkey, per his instructions. I had rebound migraines every day for a week or two and my heart was pounding, sometimes for three or four hours at a time. Eventually the cough and trouble breathing went away, however, I had to continue drinking lots of water or I would notice that I didn't have to urinate, sometimes not at all. Again, unheard of for me. I saw a cardiologist at the neurologist's urging and they said the heart pounding was just anxiety. I disagree, as did another doctor of mine. We both believe it was withdrawal. I have now found out (by getting copies of my medical records) that the neurologist is now attributing all of my side effects from the Topamax to "somatization." In other words, psychosomatic - not a side effect, but just a way of getting medical attention. I am seeing a few people on this board who have also experienced a dry cough and trouble breathing. Can I have the same side effects as other people and have them still be psychosomatic, even though I had no idea those side effects could occur? I don't think so.

I have a theory that Topamax interferes with hormones which causes a lot of the side effects like lack of concentration, memory loss, anxiety, depression, insomnia, acne, and hair loss - all symptoms of peri-menopause and menopause. Ask any woman in her 40's or 50's if she has these symptoms and most of them will say yes. My face has not been this broken out since high school! My hair is falling out at a rapid rate. I won't even bother mentioning these to the neurologist. He'll just say it's not the drug.

I'm very frustrated and not sure what to do at this point. The neurologist has me taking a supplement called Migrelief now, but I think it takes three months to kick in, so I have no relief at this point.

Has anyone else experienced the trouble breathing with dry cough? I don't believe for a moment that it was psychosomatic.