Cat scan symptoms and conditions

I experienced severe chest pains and major mood swings...shortness of breath..12 days i was on it and when i called my obgyn - they said take the ring out and go to the ER. I immediately went to ER...I work at a hospital - so that got me in quicker..the ER doc did a cat scan, ekg, blood work and chest xray - thank god nothing showed up...This birth control was NOT for me and should be taken off the market.

I am soo glad I am not crazy. I am almost in tears, because I can not believe that so may women are experiencing this. I have had it for almost two years now and in the beginning I just had heavy cramps and a lot of bleeding. I was told every woman's body is different and this will take some time. I went back within 4 weeks to get it out and my doctor encouraged me it would get better. It did and I loved it. Never had a problem. Until recently, I went to the doctor thinking I was pregnant, I had ever symptom that a pregnant woman experiences and I they told me it was in my head. I am constantly tired, bloating, sick, dizziness, headaches (which they told me contributed to my sinus - then I started seeing an Allergist who kept me on Antibiotics. It got really bad they did an CAT scan on me and still nothing). I thought I was going to lose it, I had mood swings, memory loss, attention span, worst than my 5 year old and the list goes on. I am so hurt now, because I am no good with the pill (2 pregnancies from the missed pill) and loved the convenience of the Mirena, but my life is worth more than convenience.
Thank you ladies for sharing your story! But remember please go with your gut feeling. Now that I recall I went twice to get this removed, the doctors will tell you anything. They are new to this product also!!!

After you read a representative sampling of this website's testimonials, you certainly ask yourself inter alia: Can this be true? Did thousands of people inject an antibiotic from the fluoroquinolone family, which crippled them for longer or for shorter? Most of us, I suspect, never really get beyond the initial litmus test: Did this medicine poison me or save me? (The answer depends, of course, upon the age, gender, medical condition, and most importantly, the DNA make-up of the individual patient. For hundreds of thousands of patients this antibiotic is a boon. For thousands of other misfortunes this antibiotic is a disaster.) But there is another important question here.

Who gains from self-revelation? To be sure individual sufferers gain certain emotional catharsis from posting their adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to levaquin. E-postings are one-way anonymous tracks that form ruts on a well-traveled trail of tears. Unless these postings are hoaxes written by mischievious gnomes, then they consitute prima facie evidence for a causal link between levaquin injection and sundry crippling ADRs.

Curiously, this e-forum cannot be used as a tool for organizing thousands of potential litigants who might coalesce under a class action lawsuit. Yes, we can analyze each other's anonymous revelations to see if they muster our respective sense of the "ring-of-truth" re: levaquin toxicity, and we may contact each other one-on-one, but no-one can harness this intoxicating communication's technology to reach simultaneously all respondents en masse as a bloc.

So, who wins? The emotionally unburdened e-poster who learns belatedly that s/he is not alone and that prescription medicine likely caused more pain than the underlying malady for which s/he is being treated? Or big pharma that continues to manufacture and market a medication that poses downside risk to many consumers who unwittingly incur more damage than therapeutic value?

Indeed, who wins in a forum where consumers anonymously reveal their symptoms and unconfirmed suspicions? The answer is big pharma wins. Pharmaceutical companies data-mine our postings to estimate the frequency and bredth of ADRs about which consumers complain. House statisticians estimate the ratio of active complainants : silent complainants, i.e., the ratio of complaints who show up on this website to the far heftier percentage of complainants who never post on this website because either they are technology-challenged or they are incurious. House actuarians proceed to estimate how much operating profits their employers must set aside to cover losses in out-of-court settlements or in awards made to plaintiffs in class action lawsuits.

I think this is how the game is played in a behavioral sink where billions are made in a deregulated marketplace that allows predators and prey to interact anonymously. Sorry to be such a downer, but I fathom only the desperate plight of tens of thousands of levaquin consumers for whom no monetary award ever will compensate them adequately for their suffering, and the hundreds of millions of dollars at stake in court awards if consumers ever brought to bear their aggregate numbers and draw a bead on their big pharma tormenters.

I think it a true horror and shame that pharmaceutical companies have not devised a test which determines in advance which patient safely may consume levaquin and which patient's DNA places him or her at risk. I suspect the genome technology is available, but would dig too deeply into big pharm's bottom line. The economics of "parachutes-for-everyone" is infeasible. We are all guinea pigs in a B-grade movie featuring Russian roulette, billion-dollar pay-offs, and an FDA that pretends not to know.

Hello, I can't help but get into the Mirena conversation. Three months after my son was born, I was put on the Mirena IUD. I had a ton of symptoms. My hair was falling out, tired, weak, headaches, stomach cramps, and just all around felt like crap. I went back to the doctors to have the Mirena removed positive that it was the Mirena that was making me feel like crud. The doctor persuaded me to keep it in longer and after much debate and feeling flustered with the doc I agreed for a couple more months. Well symptoms got ten times worse to the point I called and demanded to be seen right away to have it removed. Well after it was removed, I felt better but not completely. I started losing weight, I had periodic migraines which mind you I never had a migraine in my entire life, and felt like a truck ran over my body every morning when I got out of bed. I went to the doctors and they ran a slew of tests and NOTHING! Well about a month after a car ran a stop sign and crashed into me. I hit my head. IT was the best damn thing ever, I got a cat scan and it showed something on my brain. A MRI picked up a right cerebellum hemangioblastoma about 3cms. I had to have brain surgery to have it removed. They decided to do a full scan and I now currently have a kidney hemangioblastoma. Moral of this story. I am 31 years old, I have always been healthy with no migraines, no ailments, nothing. I have the Mirena put in and I feel like shit and they found a brain and kidney tumor. The estimated both my brain and kidney tumor to be about 2 yrs old. THE EXACT TIME I GOT THE MIRENA IN. Hemangioblastomas are either sporadic of VHL. With sporadic, usually you only get 1 and if you get another its later on down the road and my two tumors would not be the same age so it rules that one out. VHL, I had a genetic test done and it came up negative. So anyone of answers for my mishap. I know the Mirena caused this for me. Im just looking for someone with a similar story

I have had Mirena for 1 yr and 5 months. The insertion was not painful that I recall, although I have had 4 kids, so I hear that may make a difference.
I loved this IUD for the first 9 months or so, then started noticing things that I didnt know were attributed to Mirena until I started reading about others experiences. Bleeding and spotting were minimal at first, no biggie.
I stopped having my period at all around 6 months...haven't had a period in a year..and had spotting maybe 3 times total. Since about 9 months into Mirena....I have had cystic acne. (which I didnt know existed until mirena) I had never had a blemish on my BACK in my life! Also on my face, around hairline, and in my ears, on my neck, and hard to get rid of. I have noticed little cyst like nodules in my neck and the back of my head, behind my ears, like swollen lymph nodes but they come and go...never noticed this before. Have had a intermittent mysterious sharp pain in my side, like a side stitch, comes and goes, and feel it during sex. No doctors had a clue about it. I have been very tired lately the last 3 months and I am on a stimulant for ADHD, so I should not be tired! (also why I haven't gained weight like others) But most markedly, I have always had a history of migraines, and had auras about 6 times in my life. Normally I would have 3 migraines a month tops.....then after about a year, I would get them several times a week...NOW I HAVE HAD A HEADACHE for 21 days straight, with only about 4-5 headache free days in there. Severe enough that I am taking painkillers and went to the ER, and they did a CAT scan and so nothing. normal. So. What could it be???
I got fed up this morning...after waking up one more day with kids I cant take care of properly or enjoy.....so I took out my IUD all by myself.
Couldn't leave the house to go somewhere with my head throbbing.
Dont want to pay anyone to remove something that has already cost me so much. Just looked at the diagrams, and found the string, pulled gently and viola! It was pretty darn easy! No pain, no discomfort at all. Not a drop of blood yet after 7 hours. Head still hurts but the relief I feel is great. I know I made the right decision to take it out and I wont use a hormonal BC again. I am looking into Essure now.
It works for some people, sure, but don't forget it worked fine for me for almost a year before I realized what harm it was doing to me.
I cant wait to have my skin back and my body back to normal.
Be wary, but it did its job. But I have read hundreds upon hundreds of negative reactions to this. Class action lawsuits getting ready. So be careful,

Am I the only one this happened to??

I was taking Quasense back in 2007, I had only gone through one pack of it and in March of '07 I was having minor chest pain and getting slightly short of breath from simply walking up a flight of steps. The thing that pushed me to go to an immediate care was the fact that I jogged about 10 ft and got dizzy and short of breath. At the immediate care the doctor said I should go to the emergency room to take a test to check for blood clots. I wound up stuck in the intensive care unit for 5-6 days because I had blood clots in BOTH of my lungs that covered almost my entire lungs... I could have died if I didn't go into the ER when I did, a day or two later and I may not have made it. This is INSANE to me... they basically told me that if I wasn't so young (23 at the time) and healthy (I ran track for college) that I wouldn't have made it. I don't even smoke!

I have been on omprazole 20mg 2x per day for 1 1/2 years. I went off of omeprazole in December of last year because I was tired of taking drugs. In February of this year I went to the ER because I thought I was having a heart attack (severe chest pain, pain shooting up my left jaw and my left arm was numb). The doctor in the ER gave me Mylanta with lidocaine and told me to go back on the omeprazole. I did and haven't missed a dose since that hospital visit. Until September 9, 2009 I took my regular dose of omeprazole (one in the morning and one in the evening) I was having a lot of discomfort and was uneasy. That day I also took two aspirins. I had continued stomach and chest discomfort and took some Mylanta. My old doctor had advised my to up my dose in severe situations and I took a third 20 mg dosage and within 10 minutes my face and arm went numb. I was rushed back to the hospital , my blood pressure was 144/81 and I was having panic attacks. I felt like I was going crazy. The doctor ordered bloodwork and a cat scan (because of the numbness) all came back normal. No one addressed the chest pain. Maybe because the EKG I had in February was normal (I don''t know). They had no answers and told me to follow-up with my primary care physician. I went home and finally tried to go to bed, I couldn't sleep well, my mind was racing. The next day the numbness and pins/needles went all over my body. Like everything just went to sleep. I tried to relax and stay calm. I finally went to bed that night but had a hard time falling to sleep (my mind was racing and I was scared). I eventually went to sleep and woke up with less numbness but I had a stiff and painful neck with a killer headache. I don't get headaches that often and this was a major concern for me. I called my insurance and they advised me to go in for an immediate care/same day appointment. I did which was also inconclusive but the doctor asked about my omeprazole. I told her I haven't taken any medications since I was seen at the hospital because I was scared it was something I took that caused the numbness. She didn't say that my symptoms were related to the omeprazole but told me to not take it again and only use Mylanta for my stomach problems. She was not a fan of this medication and told me it is over-prescribed. I have not taken the omperazole since September 9, 2009 and the numbness is almost gone but I still have the tingling and pins/needles from time-to-time and neck and chest pain. No headaches. The doctor gave me a mild muscle relaxer (for my neck pain) but with everything that has happened I haven't taken that either.
I have fibromyalgia and I manage my pain without medications and I do have random symptoms from time to time because of the fibromyalgia but these were acute and terrible. I have never experienced anything like this and I am hoping since I have stopped the omperazole I will go back to normal soon..........

I have been taking Levoxyl for about 2 years. I have told my Endo doctor many that I have had headaches, nausea, stomach pains and have gained 40+ pounds in the 2 years. Every time I go in to review my blood tests and tell her I'm not feeling right I get the same respondents as a lot of you; they are you sure you are not pregnant? you need to change your diet and eat right? you exercising enough?...The Dr always seems to ignore my symptoms. The last 4 weeks have been Hell for me...I woke up one morning thinking my stomach was going to burst. I went to the Er. They did an ultrasound...found nothing..gave me stomach reflux meds and I went home. 2 days later the pain was a lot stronger right under the center below my rib cage. Went back to the er. They gave me more protonics and gave me a gi dr. I went to the GI doctor and got a contrast scan and then a scope. They of course found NOTHING. A week later I woke up again with the worst pain yet and the cold sweats...to the point where I was going to pass out...Went back to the Er where they gave me a cat scan. Everything was perfect the er doctor said. "They said they couldn't tell me what was wrong". I knew I wasn't going crazy and having all these symptoms but no one could explain why or what is was. I was getting fed up of being sick...So I took my Levoxyl like I do every morning and within 15 mins the pain was back. I went online to look up the side effects of Levoxyl and found this site. Its great to know that I am not the only one out there with these side effects from this medication and am not going crazy! I made an apt with my Endo Dr today called and told her this med was making me sick. She made me have an apt with her assistant. I printed off this page to show her I wasn't alone. As of today I am off of Levoxyl. Thanks to the new Dr who FINALLY listened to me. I do not have to take any other form of this med either. Since I just had a nodule not hypothyroidism. Please Can anyone tell me what they went through from withdrawal from this medication? and anything that helped it go away? and How long did the "detox" from Levoxyl last?

I am so happy to have found that many others are experiencing the same things...I have gone CRAZY!!!! I almost started anti-depressants and was scheduled to see a psychiatrist next week because I have totally changed emotionally and sexually. I had a great sex drive and was always happy go lucky....after some thought I starting researching this Mirena...and I think this may be the root of my unhappiness. Plus all these other side effects!....

~Tired all the time
~ Depression
~ Hungry all the time
~ leg cramps
~ hair loss
~ oily skin and bad breakouts
~ No period ..ever
~ Mood swings (huge...yelling fits at my husband and the kids)
~ light stomach & back cramps for weeks at a time

Best of Luck to all of you~I am getting this thing taken out ASAP!

There is a class action lawsuit for anyone that took Yaz/Yasmin birth control. I just saw the commercial the other day from an attorney in Denver and it's nationwide. Please call Nolan Law Group - Valerie Romo at 888-630-9340. They are handling it nationwide.

Was in the hospital receiving IV and inhaled steroids for breathing problems. Sent home with 10mg prednisone twice a day. It was even worse. ---puffy face, no sleep,and extreme weakness in my thighs--hard to even walk up stairs. Had a CAT scan of my lungs and my dr. was alarmed---said for a 112 pound woman,my stomach was the size of an obese person! now I'm going to have a stomach emptying test to see if that or the steroids is the problem.

I am so grateful for this website. I found it in early of 2008. At the age of 11 my son went on Singular for mild asthma. He started taking it in November of 2007. Slowly we noticed different complaints he was having. The first was that he couldn't sleep. He was having nightmares. This had never been a problem. He started losing weight. He was complaining about leg pains and headaches every day. By February 2008 he had lost 15 pounds. This is drastic for an average weight 11 year old. They did blood work and everything came back normal. He started bruising very easily and all the other complaints were still there. His mood was very irritable and he is the most quiet gentle child you will ever meet. With new aches, bruising and the weight loss we were getting very frightened. They did a cat scan and more blood work in early April. Still, thankfully, they found nothing. No terrible disease or cancer was found.

When I saw this website and the posts with similar side effects we took him off Singulair. The symptoms went away. He gained back the weight he had lost and each day the symptoms starting going away. Things have been great every since. I can't believe a medicine did all these terrible things to my child.

oh please your all a bunch of whiners. I don't understand that when people get something medically new that they seem to blame every little thing on it!!! seriously!!! if it were so bad it would not be on the market..... i have had it for two years.....a little cramping in the beginning which is NORMAL and as STATED on the side effects list. YOU MUST UNDERSTAND that these are listed because they DO AND HAVE happened to other people. That is why they are listed! NOW if you died, got cancer, pregnant or what have you then you can bitch. BUT PLEASE don't complain about the LISTED side effects. it is a wonderful product and it does just as it claims. yea the cramping sucks....the spotting is a pain.....men can feel it during intercourse and yes sometimes they can bump it and hurt you. also it causes cysts to grow on your ovaries which can sometimes require surgery. it can also grow outside your uterine wall at time. and it can fall out. all kinds of things can happen that are LISTED. what i would recommend people should do BEFORE they leap into bed with a new contraceptive is RESEARCH the SIDE EFFECTS BEFORE you decide you want it or not. its simple read the damn sheet and decide if you can live with the side effects. maybe one....or all...or none. THEN DECIDE.

Hi Ladies, like all of you I too have my share of Mirena issues. I have had my IUD in since March 2008, so a year & four months now. To start with the positive- I do not get periods. I haven't had a period starting the following month I had it put in. Now for all the Negatives- Bad Acne and usually I have great skin. Not anymore. They are more like red bumps mainly on my forehead, Constant migraines, mood swings, constantly stressed, pain in my lower abdomen, lower back pain (Doctors thought I had a kidney infection- all urine, blood tests, pelvin ultrasound, CAT scan were normal), constant urinating & cannot hold my urine (like a bad UTI), I have noticed when I comb my hair after washing it, I am losing a lot of hair, I get a lot of dizzy spells all the time, painful cramps in my legs, fluttering in my stomach (like a baby moving/kicking- I thought I was pregnant), I have a lot of discharge- I will be walking a big gush just comes out, my sex drive is barely there- I am in my 20's and just about every time I have sex with my husband I will just go dry in the middle of it & just about every position hurts, I have very itchy skin now. I am always scratching especially my legs. I am always applying lotion to help with the itching, I also developed a ganglion cyst in my hand next to my wrist. It was so painful my hands would swell, numbness & tingling in my fingers, pain in my forearm, I just had a needle aspiration done a few days ago. Now that I have confirmed the side effects with this site, as soon as my doctor's office opens I am calling to have this trash removed!!! Thank you Ladies.

Is there anyone who has taken lisinopril and had a mri of the brain that has showed white lesion on your brain that are unexplained? Also how long do you think it takes to get this drug totally out of your system?

I have had my mirena since Dec 2004 its suppose too come out In Dec 15 2009 that would be my 5 years with it! I recently ended up in the ER with stomach pain, It felt like I was being stabbed to death from the inside out, they proceed to do a CAT scan on my pelvic and realized that a cyst had formed on my uterus and is connected onto the mirena!! I now have to go into surgery so that they can removed the cyst and mirena both! I'm scared that this has affected my chance of getting pregnant and becoming a mom! I'm getting married in June and this is just one thing that i never thought i would have to worry about!!! I just recommend that if anyone plans on getting the mirena that you do your research don't do it just cause your ob thought that it would be good for you!!!

I have had a cough for 4 mos.nothing shows in a breathing test,cat scan & blood work.I have no mucas coming up .Occasionally ,small
amounts of water like substances which is thick comes up.I take avapro 300mg & Toprol xl , could either one of these meds be the cause of my problem? I really do need an answer I am exhausted.
I have coughed so much that my head hurts as well as my throat when have the coughing episodes.

03/11/09 went in to have a blood test the MD had ordered. I met with the Md-- told him that the metoprolol 100mg twice a day had not agreed with me. I asked to change my prescription to what i had been taking before -- Norvasc 5mg twice a day along with a diuretic. A week later I went for my lab results. The AST(SGOT) 232 and ALTSGPT) 516, being dangerously high. Md asked if I had ever had hepatitis B. My answer was no. I asked him to check my blood test results of 11/08. The results were AST(SGOT) 24 and ALT(SGPT) 37. I told him I thought it could be the Metoprolol. The Md told me he wanted for me to have CAT scan and to refer me to a GI doctor. Went home praying to the GOOD LORD and received peace about this whole situation. I searched on the internet and found on ****** Metoprolol-induced hepatitis: is the rate of oxidation related to drug-induced hepatotoxicity?L. MS.
University Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, United Kingdom. Hepatology. 1989 Jan;9(1):163-4. Also found Hepatic toxicity is reported in at least one case report. ******
" 56-year-old female with a history of migraine headaches developed seronegative hepatitis associated with metoprolol. Her signs and symptoms resolved within 48 hours after discontinuing metoprolol, and were reproducible on rechallenge."
My results for hepatits were negative.On 3/31/09 I had lab tests and 4/01/09 the Md faxed my results AST(SGOT) 29 and ALT(SGPT) 43. I have not gone back to the doctor. I am taking milk thistle daily. I have learned a valuable lesson and am passing it on to others.

I am 62 years old and I was taking Lipitor 10 mg for the last 5 years in New York. When I moved to California the new doctor switched to Lipitor 20mg and I started to have strange side effects. After a pause of two days, I restarted and the symptoms were worse: my muscle in the upper arms, and my calves were hurting and week, my back ached, my head was empty nad I felt dizzy all the time.
I stopped two days ago and today I had blood in my urine. What's happening? should I go on any medication at all to lower my cholesterol? My new test was: 179 Cholesterol
HDL 71
LDL 95
I am too scared to start any other drugs like Crstor or Niaspan as I was recommended.
Please advise,

I had recently had my esophagus dilated and was in a lot of pain and feeling sick to my stomach. I went to the ER. They wanted to do a CAT scan, but wanted me to drink some liquid before having it done. Already feeling sick, I couldn't keep the liquid down so they gave me reglan. With in 5 minutes I began to feel very confused so I pressed the nurses button, by the time she came in the room I was unable to move or speak, yet I was completely aware of what was going on. After a few minuted of asking me what was the matter (the fact that I couldn't speak should have given here a clue) the nurse went to go get the doctor. He came in and asked me what was wrong (at this point I felt like they were not going to fix me). He then order 100mg of Benadryl.. I came out of my reglan reaction with in a few minutes, but I was crying and hysterical. Hopefully I never have to experience this nightmare again.

I have had my Mirena for about nearly 8 years now and have been experiencing all of the below listed side effects. Headaches, Blurred Vision, Dizziness, Back Aches, , Hair thinning, Mood Swings, Loss of Sex Drive, and the newest thing.my option picked up some worrying eye problems.
I have been to a specialist and he wants me to have an urgent cat scan
I have seen that this problem he thinks it is pseudotumour cerebri but can not rule out the dreaded brain tumor.On reading up about pseudotumour have found it connected to the Mirena coil.I put the other problems down to pre menopause or just a problem with my contact lens/prescription needing renewing.
Anybody have any thoughts or experience of this?

I was prescribed Levaquin 500 mg today because of pneumonia. I was told to take 1 tablet for 10 days. I'm allergic to penicillin so my doctor prescribed Levaquin. After I took my first dose today, 15 minutes later, I started to have what I would call hallucinations . I would see all these weird colors. I was in the shower at the time and it was certainly not a pleasant experience. I also had a tingling feeling in both arms. I would almost describe the feeling of when doctors inject a dye into your vein to take a CAT scan. After a half hour of this, all went away and actually felt better throuout this afternoon. After reading other complaints on this site, I'm calling my doctor first thing in the morning because this medication sounds like trouble!

During my 6 months on Warfarin (Coumidin) I experienced tremendous lethargy and short term memory loss. No issues with other commonly reported symptoms of hair loss, heavy legs,…
I am a 49 year old male. In January 2008 I was diagnosed with DVT's in my right lung. Interestingly I experienced 100% of the pain on my left side though the DVT’s were on the right. The onset of symptoms was a pain in my chest like I pulled a muscle lifting something. The pain progressed from "notable" to progressively uncomfortable, where I was restless in bed to the point of not sleeping. On the 3rd day after fitful sleeping and progressively more painful breathing, I made a doctor's appointment for that afternoon. By the time I got to the Dr. I was sure I had made the right decision (I am male and avoid these things).
My primary care did an EKG to rule out a heart attack which the symptoms were identical to; sharp pain in chest toward left shoulder and arm, trouble breathing. I was sent for an X-ray and was very uncomfortable laying still on the Xray bed as the pain as I inhaled had gotten sharper. I went home and resumed office work but soon was in extreme pain with each breath. So much pain that I could not lay or sit, but collapsed to my knees where I stayed for 20 minutes until I could move again. I called the doctor's office and was advised to go directly to the ER. Duh. The ER again ran an EKG and ruled out cardiac issues.
Three ER Attendings pondered my condition for an hour or so and then began asking as series of questions and at the 3rd question – had I flown any long flights recently? Yes, several transatlantic – at which I saw their glances and was whisked off to a CAT scan which confirmed DVT’s. I was put on morphine and some IV’s and admitted for 5 days. I started Lovenox shots and by the 4th day was feeling better.
Blood tests did not revel any genetic disposition (factor V) for clots and no family history so it was recorded as “Coach Class Syndrome”. I was put on Warfarin for (5mg/day) for 6 months. I was able to keep relatively good INR’s. I came off Warfarin (12 August 2008). I will have to take Lovenox shots before long flights. I am happy to come off the Warfarin as I experienced tremendous lethargy and short term memory loss. No issues and I have been off coumadim for 6 months now. Glad to have that behind me… hopefully.

I had open heart surgery August 23rd 2006 for a conginital heart defeat (Aortic Valve replaced with mechanical St Jude valve). I wanted a bio valve but Drs insisted I should have the mechanical valve because of my age (45 at the time).

Prior to my heart surgery I was a performer, singer/songwriter/actress/comedianne and I loved what I did. It was my life. Now, after 2+ years post-op and on Warfarin (7.5 mg daily for life) I feel like life has ended and I'm just a walking dead person. The effects I feel daily are as follows...

Dizziness
Severe Headaches
Blurred vision
Memory Loss
Fatigue
Weight Gain
Trouble concentating
Fluttering effect in my head/ears- Hard to explain
Hair loss
Unexplained pains in chest & left side of my body
Unable to sleep well
Tiredness- even when I've done nothing to be tired for
Nausea
Gas & Diarrhea off and on
teeth pain- Like I've drank something very cold
feeling in my head similar to a brain freeze- like you ate ice cream too fast
Night bleeds in my month- wake up with a mouth full of blood daily
What do think, is that enough??

I'm going in tomorrow for a cat scan because the headaches have been so bad they feel I need to be checked for brain tumor and/or internal bleeding. When I tell the Drs I think this is due to Wafarin they pratically laugh in my face as if to say, "Silly silly woman, don't be foolish! We know whats best for you. Remember, we saved your life!" Really? Did you?!

I want nothing more than to get off this rat poison and regain my life, but to do so could mean a stroke or heart attack. I would go under the knife again to have the mechanical valve removed and replaced with a biological valve, but do you think my insurance company (Kieser) would pay for a "silly" thing like that? Right!

Welcome to the greatest country in the world!

I'm going to start a website to help people like us. I want your stories, please send me your info, together we might make a change, what can it hurt to try? Email me ******

B.

I am a 65-year-old female. I was given Lipitor 10mg in Feb 07, which I appeared to tolerate, with the effect of reducing my high familial cholesterol. Because of a genetic enzyme problem, I am careful about my diet; having been a vegetarian for decades. I don’t smoke, and rarely have wine. By May that year my GP increased the dose to 20mg., but days later I was sent to A + E with cardiac concerns. The hospital adamant it had nothing to do with Lipitor.

By mid 2008 I told my GP of dizzy spells, and loss of balance, also swallowing difficulties, but after liver function tests I was reassured it couldn’t possibly be Lipitor.

Early October 08, saw me in hospital with a ‘stroke’, although the CAT scan and MRI were puzzling. I was sent home with no help or guidance after the Consultant insisted Lipitor was not a problem, and I should not reduce it, as it was already a very low dose. Unable to walk to the end of my street, my calf muscles feeling as though I’d run a marathon, and experiencing cardiac stress. Severe neck and shoulder pains, and confusion with words. Frequent muscle spasms in my feet, legs and hands, etc. etc. No energy for anything, and so difficult coping - living alone. End of Dec. a friend from out of town visited, and was alarmed, as she’d researched a web site for her brother, who was using a walking frame. I was astounded at the reports from users of Lipitor, so many suffering in the same way. Although my GP had arranged more laboratory tests for me, I was not prepared to wait.

On 6th January 2009, (almost 2 years later) I reduced my dosage to 10mg., and within days was experiencing improvement in many areas. By 17th January, I reduced to 5mg., (maybe a little hasty) and by 24th stopped it. By 28th my GP could see for himself, the considerable improvement generally, with a lower blood pressure reading.

By then, I could complete half, of what used to be my regular walking regime. To date, I am able to cover more than that, and hope I will eventually be able to cover the full distance. I’m hoping there will be no lasting damage, but am so thankful that my friend found this website. Its scary to think I had no quality of life, and doubt I would have survived more Lipitor. So I’m taking my chances with high cholesterol, and a near normal life.

M.

New Zealand