Breaks my heart symptoms and conditions

I have been on Topomax for 2 years now at 200 mg. for mood stabilization. I was recently hospitalized for my depression and they upped my Topomax dose to 400mg saying it was the "therapeutic dosage". I went into the hospital weighing 116 pounds and I am 5' 6" tall. I started having diarrhea within a couple days. By the tiime I left 2 weeks later I had gone from a size 4 to a size 2. A month and 1/2 later I had lost 15 pounds, had severe abdominal pain everytime I ate, diarrhea every morning, nausea, and had absolutely no appetite.

My psychiatrist insisted it was not the medication and I went to a gastroenterologist for the full workup- ultrosound, colonoscopy, endoscopy and surprise surprise they found nothing. My Gastro doctor concluded it must be the meds so I started backing down on the Topomax and already the diarrhea has stopped. I am at 250 and up to 101 pounds now. I am taking in over 1200 calories a day but I still can't seem to gain weight. My doctor still doesn't believe it's the Topomax but it all points in that direction. Instead they insist I'm just not eating enough But I make sure to force myself to get down 3 meals plus 2 ensures and some snacks. I still am waiting to get some appetite back. I know some women would love to be in my place to have to try to gain weight but I feel like I'm dying all the time. I have no energy, I can't even get up in the morning to take care of my kids. My fiance left me because he got so fed up with my "sickness" and thought it was all in my head. I have my mother living with me now just to help me take care of my own children and it breaks my heart that I don't have the enery to play with them. I can't see my psychiatrist for 2 more weeks so I am taking my level of medication into my own hands which I know you are not supposed to do but at this point it's that or lie in bed feeling like I'm just wasting away.

I am 43 (female) and have been on Singulair for a couple of months now and the benefits have been AMAZING! I have chronic generalized eczema and pronounced facial flushing which led to swelling and Rosacea. Since starting Singulair (with a Zantac and Reactine) my skin is almost always cool (it's been YEARS). The benefits for me have been as great as what the steroids do for my skin. I can tolerate more triggers and the freedom and self-esteem boost is unquestionably life changing.

But recently I started to bruise, over every-little-thing -- even a blood pressure cup created a ring of broken blood vessels. Then about 3 - 4 weeks ago I started getting deep lower leg pain, and cramping in my calves and arches. This grew more regular, and my hips joined in and I am now rarely without the pain and deep aches. Then the weakness started, it was most pronounced in my dominant hand, I can hardly write or hold a pen now. Typing is difficult now as my hands and forearms are so weak. Yesterday I couldn't pinch my fingers to pick up a potatoe chip! My arches are curled with aches, I am weak all over and getting really uncoordinated. Going up the stairs is a chore, going down is just wacky -- it's harder than going up I am so wobbly and my knees want to give out. It's getting so pronounced that I realized that this must due to something I'm taking and the only thing I'm taking new is Singulair so I decided to Google "Singulair Side Effects" and the first link I clicked was Carrie's post, which I replied too. Then I realized there was more and have been reading all the other posts.

I am grateful that it is just side effects and nothing more sinister. This weekend the accumulated symptoms had me a bit frightened. I was washing my hands and it felt like I sprained my fingers doing it. The ligaments just sort of let go and things began bending the wrong way. It happened when I bent over to put something in the dishwasher, it was like the rib cage lost it's shape for a moment (I don't know how else to describe it). THAT felt bizarre and got my attention. Not being able to pinch my fingers to pick up a chip was the final clue that something is going wrong here. I will stop taking the Singulair now. It's a shame this happened, it was really doing it's job for me. The price of the side effects is too high though.

Hello All,

As I read new stories on this site from women just realising the devastating effects of Yasmin, it breaks my heart.

I stopped taking Yasmin 2 years ago, after I found this site desperate for a reason for my complete insanity (anxiety, depression, panic attacks, vertigo....with no history of such). I had been on Yasmin for close to 2 years with the first year and a half symptom free....the last 6 months on it I became an entirely different person....scared to leave my house, utterly depressed and completely bewildered as to why when I had never felt this way, and had no reason to.

I cried as I read this site and realised Yasmin was poisoning me and my mind. I immediately stopped it (although it is recommended you only stop at the end of the pack you are on...I couldn't wait). Well the depression lifted within days....the dark cloud literally left like a miracle from above. Anxiety proved difficult as it continued for a few months but each month got better and I continually read from this site to remind myself that although I felt out of my mind at times, it was as a result of my body detoxing itself from this drug.

I did have plenty of times when I thought the old me was gone forever....but I now am back. Trust that you are getting better....trust that the real you is not mad or crazy and is returning slowly.

I recently read the following website and found it really made sense, particularly as my blood tests after yasmin kept saying my hormonal levels were 'normal' even though I didn't feel back to normal. You need to click on the 'cure for PMS' section. I would recommend all of you coming off this poison read it....

I wish you all the very best of healing and health. Take care of yourselves, avoid caffiene, white sugar, excess salt (none of which help anxiety) and drink plenty of water and exercise....and always remember to talk to someone about how you're feeling as you go through this...I always felt better talking rather than letting things stew in my head...even if it sounded insane....my sister was a godsend reminding me that I was going through a detox.

Be well!!!!

My father was in for a quintuple bypass and had a stroke on the table. After surgery they put him on Levaquin, unbeknownest to me. He is now in a rehab facility and had I not walked in one morning and saw the IV drip, I would not have known. He has been having wild hallucinations and confusions so I asked them about it and they discontinued the drug right then. He was on this drug for 22 days, and 6 days later there has been very little change in him. I am very concerned about this, he was always very independent (only 73 years old) he did everything for himself and to see him like this breaks my heart. I hope it will eventually will get out of his system, but from what I have read I am doubtful. Make sure no one you know and love is put on this crap, I sure wish I would have known 22 days sooner.

Silke-
Hi, BitterRN here again (still bitter about yasmin too:)
But Im feeling better and I want to share with you my findings and thoughts about what I think about your situation. But first please dont ever hesitate to write me, I check in on this site pretty frequently to see how everyone is doing and it always breaks my heart to see another "victim" of science or someone who is still struggling with this nightmare drug.
So here is what I think, I think your testosterone is low still. I really believe this is the root of your problems I am almost sure of it. You see I think Yasmin suppresses testosterone. This is a side effect of most birth control pills, but I think Yasmin does it even more so. I am proof of that, I took ortho novum for several years, I had breakouts and oily skin as my body had always been this way even before bcp. Then I took yasmin, and yeah my skin had no more breakouts, no more oil, (and no more life in it.) I know for a fact that my testosterone became severely low. And with low testosterone comes all the symptoms you and all the people on this website have been complaining about, and I think the longer your on it the more symptoms develope, because your body is not getting this incredibly important hormone, the hormone responsible pretty much for anti-aging, muscle repair, sleep, sex drive, overall sense of well being. so I think symptoms start to appear one by one as the testosterone is decreased by the yasmin, and the thing I have noticed is that when testosterone starts to go down, anxiety goes way way up!!! I felt this myself, and friends who have been diagnosed with low testosterone have felt it as well, and everyone has said they felt like they were going crazy! Depression sets in. And then when yasmin is stopped its up to your body to replace all the hormones it was getting synthetically with hormones it now has to make. Again I feel this is harder with yasmin because it so severely depresses the androgens (testosterone)
Now your body is trying to balance your estrogen and progesterone and testosterone, and it seems to be unable to do it quickly let me show you my journey..
I stopped yasmin in Jan 06 I started regulating my hormones in april 06 my first testosterone level was 11 and normal is 20-50. God only knows how low it fell in the 3 months between. So april it was 11
may it was 15
july it was 21 (normal range)
I was starting to feel much better at the end of july. So the fact is as my testosterone has been going up, my body has been recovering. As well as the estogen and progesterone balancing out which cause a who new set of symptoms of their own when they are not in balance(menopausal symptoms frequently)
So this is what I am trying to get at Silke, I think your body has been working hard to get the testosterone up, and judging from your symptoms still ongoing, namely the muscle weakness, tiredness and weakness, and the anxiety, I feel very strongly that your body is having trouble getting this hormone to the level it needs to be for you to feel better (yes just like your old self) I have been supplementing with bioidentical testosterone, though I do not recommend this until you have seen a physician who will test your hormone levels and READ THEM CORRECTLY which is key here. I know you said you had your hormones tested before and that your testosterone was "Low normal"? Is that correct? But even if that is so what most people, and even most doctors do not understand is that a "low normal" reading on a woman in her 30's is NOT NORMAL. Thats normal for a woman in her 80's(and I bet she doesnt feel so hot either!)
I know it is hard to find a good doctor. But I happen to have stumbled across a good doctor here in Arizona and he has clinics all over the U.S. and even one overseas in Spain. Now I realize you live in Germany right? So I e-mailed them and asked if they had any other clinics in Europe. I will let you know when they get back to me.
Anyway here is what I found. Since I think your body needs a boost in testosterone (I mentioned this before but sometimes when bcp suppress testosterone for so long, the body kind of forgets how to make it again, so it may need some help) and I think this may be what is going on with you.. But the first step for you is getting your hormones tested to be sure what it is you are lacking and then having them read by a bioidentical hormone doctor, and then you may have to supplement with bioidentical testosterone, but do not be afraid Silke, this is not synthetic hormones like bcp it is identical hormones that your body makes and you will be supplementing not replacing.
Anyway on to what I found, Im sorry I get sidetracked....
These centers I found have a procedure called Sottopelletherapy. What they do is make a tiny incision in your hip or buttock area and insert a bioidentical hormone smaller than the size of a grain of rice with the hormone you are lacking, this is of course after they have tested your hormones and determined which one you are low in. Your body can then absorb the amount of hormone that it needs from this implant whenever it needs it.
But I really think you need a good doctor to test your hormones first and these doctors in these centers really understand hormones. Here is the name and address of the one I found in Spain:
Dr.***

If they e-mail me more info. I will let you know. But my friend who had many of the same symptoms as you silke, the feeling down, tired, anxious, muscle weakness, she went to this clinic (she is a nurse too) and had her hormones tested and they found her testosterone was very low (almost nothing) and she just had this procedure done. She has been on anti depressants for 3 years now as 90percent of the women who see this doctor are because they are mis-diagnosed as depressed (as are a lot of women on this website) and put on anti depressants. She is looking forward to getting off of them soon.
So the bottom line is I know yasmin drops your testosterone (I have seen it in myself) the thing is i think everyones body on this website is trying to replace this precious hormone, and everyones body, depending on age(because the body slows down in production of hormones and you dont make it as fast.) and just your particular situation (length of time on it, pre existing factors?) is just recovering at its own rate. However, I think the people who are taking a really long time(like a year or more) and experiencing setbacks as in your situation silke, need more help as your body cannot seem to fully restore testosterone levels that are normal for you. And I think only when this is balanced are you going to feel like the old you again.
So now I am the one who has written a book again, so write me back and let me know what you think. I hope I did not use too much medical talk. If so let me know and i will try to explain it better.
Look forward to hearing from you Silke,
BitterRN.

Hi all, Well my daughter has hit rock bottom again, she's been off yasmin 4 weeks and had 2 and a half great weeks, she was very happy and confidant, enjoyed work and was getting on with her life, she felt herself goung down 4 days ago, got her period yesterday and today can not face going to work. She is having bad thoughts again, shaking vomited and is feeling extreemely down.
Damn it all, is it yasmin or has it always been a hormone problem that she has had. Off to the docs today, she needs answers, how can someone live like this, feeling great and then so low, things have to get better, it breaks my heart seeing my gorgeous girl like this, what can i do to help her?
Please some advice would be greatly appreciated

My 3 yr old son was diagnosed with croup. Several days later it appeared to be going towards the lungs. His cough was more asthma-like so started neb with albuterol. A couple days later, he was still on neb but coughing almost nonstop. He was exhausted that night but hadn't been able to sleep b/c of the coughing. First, tried cough syrup. At two hours, no relief. Thinking back to last Spring and the cough relief he had with Singulair, I pulled out his still valid Rx and gave him one. Great relief! Around the same time the next night, coughing attack returned so hubby and I thought we'd try to give him relief one more night. Next day, we awake to a terror child. Crying and fits all day. That night, we notice he's talking in his sleep and grinding his teeth so loud we can hear it in our room. His last dose of Singulair was Thursday night. It's Monday AM and I still don't have "my son" back. If anyone has reassurance on how long it takes to recover from this, please email me at ******. I am praying that my sweet, laid-back son returns (sure, he'd throw the 3 yr old attitude out occasionally). This angry, irrational child I'm living with right now just breaks my heart. He doesn't deserve this... I want my happy, cuddly sweetheart back! There are so many cases like ours that I've read that it just makes me sick that I wasn't warned. He will never take Singulair again and I'm going to research more natural solutions for allergies, etc. What a tragedy that I hope doesn't take a long term toll on my son!

Reading this site breaks my heart... I was begged by my Dr to 'just try' Lipitor to lower my cholesterol (it was normal) but 'a study showed that if diabetics have lower levels there is a greater prevention of heart attacks'

I started it Aug 16th/05 and within three days had problems putting my arms over my head while lying down... my chiropractor tried to help but a couple of weeks later told me it was muscle issues, nothing she could do.

I even started Ion-Cleanse to detox 'cause I thought maybe I was so toxic the toxins had built up in my upper arm muscles. Lots of toxins out but my arms still caused problems. Finally near the end of Sept./05 I asked my Mom why she had stopped taking lipitor and she told me 'cause she was getting muscle pain in her left arm and it still took a year to be able to lift her arm again without pain. Yikes! I immediately stopped taking lipitor and emailed my Dr. My Doctor told me 'okay, it was just a trial anyway' but she didn't think it was the lipitor but that I had 'frozen shoulder' NOPE, that's from a trauma to the shoulder and my shoulder was just fine...

At this point I couldn't lift my left arm above shoulder level to the side, my right arm wasn't quite as bad and I couldn't put my arms above waist level behind me (made wearing a bra impossible) and if I accidently DID move my arms to the wrong position, like batting at a balloon at work, I would get white searing pain.

This Feb 3rd I had a heart attack (I'm only 44yrs old) and while in the hospital they put me on Ezetrol (which blocks absorption of cholestrol) instead... 'not as severe in the muclse side effects as Lipitor' Fine! I'll try it... after only three weeks I now have constant ache in my upper arm muscles and my forearm muscles have begun to cause me grief as well...I can no loner sleep on my sides without waking in pain. So I've stopped the Ezetrol too... with my Doctor's permission.

My main frustration in all of this that seems similar to others is, A) Doctors don't seem to take you seriously that you have constant aches and pains from these drugs and B) Very few have suggested anything to deal with the problems. I only had one Dr. suggest CoQ10 although he'd not seen much improvement. and C) no one ever asked me to try diet first to get my cholesterol lower than normal, just start giving me drugs to 'try'.

I will strongly suggest that any of you reading this look up info on 'statins and coQ10'... very eye opening info... it may be that Taking the Lipitor caused my heart attack!

Wryn

My 4 yr old son was given Omnicef for pneumonia. After a few days, i saw what i thought was blood in the stool....his stools have all been soft, but not diarrhea and also full of mucous. my son dances around crying to have a bowel movement and it breaks my heart. i called his ped who told me too that it was the dye in the med, but hello, the med is white. I have definately seen blood in his stool...bright red. i looked at the website for Omnicef and it says if you see blood in the stool or mucous to stop using it. He's almost done with it so i am going to stop it. My daughter is 2 and is on it as well and so far, no blood in her stool. this stuff is scary. Does anyone know if the blood goes away after you stop this or do you need to seek medical attention?

My father is 81 years old and was diagnosed with colon cancer, he is also a diabetic and has alzheimers. My father was in hospital when we found out that he had cancer and that they could not operate because of his heart condition. Now he is in a nursing home where he has 24 hour a day care. The doctor has told the family last friday that he had 3-4 days left..he is still going but since they have given him morphine he does not eat or drink, he can't get out of bed and his mouth is all dry, his tongue was blackish in colour and he looks really bad, he is skin and bones now and it breaks my heart to see him like this. I was wondering if the things I am noticing about my dad is due to the morphine or what??