September 12th
2008
2:28 AM
I was on Lipitor for less than a week 2 years ago and the muscle pains were so bad that moving my head was painful. I called the doctor's office and was instructed to stop taking the medication; which I did and felt 'back to normal' within a few days. I haven't had my cholesterol checked since that time, or if I did before surgery, no one mentioned anything negative about it. However 6 weeks ago I had a heart attack. Apparently my cholesterol was twice what it should it have been, and my potassium was incredibly low. So I'm now on Lipitor (standard procedure after having a heart attack and high cholesterol seen as the cause of it) to ensure that another blockage does not occur.
The only problem is I'm now bloated even though I've changed my diet drastically (no more junk food or soft drinks, no 'white' flour products, no dairy products with more than 5% M.F and lots of veggies and fruits). I've lost 3 or 4 pounds but my pants are too tight around my waist, and now I have a my upper abdomen bulges over the waistline. Besides that, I get muscle 'kinks' in very places and after sitting for more than 10 minutes I limp when I take the first few steps.
People have told me to 'keep taking Lipitor and Plavix' but exercise more. The only problem with that is that I have a brain aneurysm and the neurosurgeons don't think it can be operated on 'without it being a very high risk procedure'. The first one ruptured 10 years ago and since then I've managed to control my blood pressure. However the meds I took for that was what lead to my potassium being so low that my electrolytes were imbalanced. That combination of low potassium and high cholesterol is what lead to the heart attack.
I'm 54 and feel as though I'm losing control of 'how' I feel. Between Lipitor, Plavix and diuretics and medication for hypertension I'm not sure if it's one drug in particular that's making me 'ache, limp and look like a blimp' or if it's because of the interaction of all of them. How do I decide 'what' to stop? What's more important to look after first - my heart or my brain?
-- By bvh123 | Reply | (4) replies | Private Message me
July 27th
2005
9:54 AM
i began taking topax in oct 2004 due to migraines and seizes and have a serioues famliy history of brain aneurysm. I started taking smail dose 25mg at night working my way to 200mg a day. My head acheah where a little bitter and the seizes werent as strong and i could felt the medication working to control them . i have always suffered from depression and the medication control my mood i was at first happy. i work at a very stressful place and as my job became overly stressful during our yearly audit time i couldnt cope and i missed my does of medication i began to get all of side effects. weight gain : ( when at first i was losing a bit) mood swings, confusion, i couldnt put my words together right and my thought pattner was off. but, and during that time i wasnt sleeping and one of the things i enjoyed about topmax was the that i could finally sleep at night. i would call my doctor and he would add other things to my medication regain such as vim c for the tingels , iron, and for the headaches i was getting very strong pain medication which i wouldnt take. i was becoming very depressed and had to stop the medication so i did for a about 3 months but i realized that i do need it and now am back on it and try not to miss my doeses which cause my problems, but im facing the mood swings right now but all medication have side effect you just have to make a personal choice what your gonna choose for ou what most important. for me in 34 single mom of a 12 and a set of 5 year twins and ill all they have and so i have to ensure that im at healthly as i can be because they need me.so good luck
-- By pstarr27 | Reply | Private Message me
October 20th
2008
1:00 AM
Okay folks, I've been taking metoprolol for nearly two months and It sucks big time. Came to this site because of feeling dizzy and I find that's a big problem. I keep feeling dizzier, more tired and I'm a zippy old gal, not overweight, none of that, but dang I just feel like crap and tend to drink more coffee and stuff just to keep zipping. I will take a half dose tonight and call the doc in the morning. Also have gastric problems. Heck, I would rather die of heart attack or brain aneurysm (sp, I know) than live life dizzy.
-- By cfluz7 | Reply | (3) replies | Private Message me