Caught a cold symptoms and conditions

I started taking Symbicort 4 weeks ago. I'm an active person, eat well and I'm in good shape. I caught a cold a week after taking symibort. It seems that as my cold got better, I didn't feel like I could breathe any easier. Since I starte taking it, I've been real fatigued. I wake up very tired and I'm sleepy all day. I stopped taking it yesterday. I fell better today. I went back on Advair until I can see the Doctor to try another medicane.

I was diagnosed with a sluggish thyroid also and the dr put me on 50 mcg of levoxyl. I had all of these symptoms of low thyroid hormones and didn't know it. I never put all the problems to the same culprit. I had very bad muscle aches, with or without exercise. I kept thinking I had bruised or torn something. I had weight gain on WW and a health study I was on. Nothing, I mean nothing would help me lose weight. I've gained 20 pounds. Which also caused depression. Sometimes I would have low blood sugar, when I've never had problems with blood sugar before. I was very tired all the time. I felt like I couldn't make it in the evenings and some mornings. I would complain to my PCP that I felt like I had just caught a cold - really drained and tired. I have really severe allergies and couldn't figure out why. After starting the meds I felt bad the first day - diarhea, nausea. Then for the first couple of days I felt great. Then the fourth day I couldn't sleep and felt shaky and had nausea only at night. After about three nights of no sleep, I cut the pill in half and took it. Then I was able to rest at night and didn't feel shaky on the inside. I took 25 mcg for about two weeks and then I started feeling the same way again. So I called the office and the dr said to take 3/4 of a pill. That worked fine for the frst week, but then I started getting these headaches that won't quit. I used the process of elimination and the thyroid meds were the only thing that changed. I will have to call tomorrow and see what I can do about that. If anyone has some of these problems let me know. The dr said that it doesn't have any side effects, but I beg to differ. I'm not sure what dosage to take today. I've had these bad headaches with a little dizziness for a week now.

About 6 weeks ago my doctor decided to put me on a mile medication for BP and he prescribed a tiny 2.5 mg lisinipril daily dosage for me. About the same time, first or so of November, I caught a cold and had a bad cough with it. The cold symptoms eventually subsided except for the cough. It lessened in severity but is still with me. About 3 weeks ago I developed what I thought was a side ache or possibly a pulled muscle from the coughing but it progressed to be quite painful. I went to see my doctor today and it's apparently pleurisy which is not so serious but is VERY painful. He immediately took me off the lisinipril and prescribed a different BP med for me. He feels that this will solve my problem and the pleurisy will go away. He said that lisinipril can cause the urge to cough and it can be a problem at night while trying to sleep and this has been a problem for me. My husband also caught a cold, has a cough and is taking lisinipril. If he's still coughing in a week or so, the doctor may change his BP medication too.

I first posted about three weeks ago re: my 3 1/2 year old son who was taken off Singulair around the first of September. All the bizarre symptoms (mood swings, itching, tummy aches, etc.) he was experiencing are gone and he is still doing great in that regard. However, he caught a cold after starting back to preschool (which always turns into an asthma episode for him) and, as expected, we ended up having to use an oral steroid to pull him through. So ... we were happily off Singulair but still needed a method to deal with what would inevitably be more problems from his asthma. I had heard that some asthmatics have success when changing their diet and so decided that we really had nothing to lose and started to research this issue. While we knew that my son was not allergic to the foods that are typically known as allergens (due to past allergy testing), I learned that a food intolerance is totally different from a food allergy, and does not show up with testing. Most all of the food you buy at the store these days is loaded with preservatives, chemicals and artificial colors. I learned that sulfites can be particularly dangerous for asthmatics and that many also react to food colorings. While these things do not cause an immediate reaction in my son, the theory is that when these foods are consumed regularly, they weaken his immune system and thus make him more suscepticle to have an asthma episode when he does get a cold. There is a book called Fed Up with Asthma that explores this theory that was written by Sue Dengate out of Australia. While we have not gone on what she calls a "failsafe" elimination diet (it seems a little extreme for us), we did decide to experiment with buying all organic foods to see what happens and started on that quest about 2-3 weeks ago. Foods that are certified organic are supposed to be free of pesticides, preservatives, colors, etc. Last week, my son got another cold and this is the first time in 3 years that we have not had to use an oral steroid to get him over it. It was just like he was any other kid with a little cold. Another thing that I read about was that many asthmatics have a reaction to milk (which the medical community flatly denies) and the one lingering symptom we had after stopping the Singulair was a persistent cough that was not associated with illness, was not accompanied by a wheeze, and had no obvious origin. We switched my son to soy milk about 2 weeks ago, and the cough is gone. I also have a 17-month-old who is asthma-free (at least so far) but does have eczema, which I have learned is also thought to be affected by the consumption of cow's milk. When we switched from cow's milk to soy milk, his eczema completely cleared up, too. 6 months ago I would have laughed at someone who said that what I thought was healthy food I bought at the grocery store contributed to my son's asthma, but we have just had too many coincidences to ignore what we are seeing. I just figured I had nothing to lose by trying the organic route, and I'm glad I did it. Good luck.

Hello, fellow sufferers,

I was given a prescription for lisinopril about six weeks ago. I had gone for an employment physical, and my blood pressure was very elevated. I panicked, and went strait to my doctor, who put me on a trial of lisonopril. Luckily, I only took it for two weeks, but I've experienced, and continue to experience, many (most?) of the symptoms registered here.

The first to appear were floaters. The morning after I took my first dose, very large, dark floaters appeared in my vision. Most of them slowly "dissolved" over the next hours, but they reappear from time to time, and one in the lower left corner (when I'm looking straight ahead) has remained all this time. It flies into my vision field when I move my eyes when reading, etc.

The next to appear was the cough. Coincidentally, I went out of town to a conference the day after starting the medication. The conference was in Washington, DC, the weather was hot outside, but the meeting rooms were freezing, and so I thought I caught a cold. However, I was not congested, didn't have a sore throat, and the cold didn't progress. Also, I am a healer (Reiki Master) and I'm quite good at fending off colds and such, or at least getting rid of it quickly if a cold does manifest. I couldn't budge this cough, which continued to get worse each day.

The next symptom was extreme fatigue. I could hardly get myself and my small amount of luggage onto the train to get home. I had to have my husband meet me at the train depot even though I had planned to take local public transportation to get the rest of the way home.

In the next days, I stated to experience a "foggy brain." I felt like I was drugged, and couldn't function. I wouldn't dare drive, and I couldn't work. The cough continued to worsen, and it kept me up all night. The last two days I took the drug, I also developed congestion (which continues). I also had a rash, which cleared up quickly in a day or two.

The next thing that manifested was extreme muscle weakness. I work out with a personal trainer, and on my last visit to her I had to give up early because I just couldn't make my muscles work. When I got home, I was so fatigued and foggy I had to lie down and sleep for a couple of hours. I'm normally a high energy person, so this, I think, distressed me more than anything else.

That same night, my friend, Linda, invited my husband and I to her home for dessert, but I told her I just couldn't get myself together to go out. I told her what I had been experiencing, and she asked the big question--"Are you taking any new drugs?" I told her about my high blood pressure and the Lisinopril. She told me that she experienced something similar a year ago, and that it was her blood pressure medication that was to blame. Thank Goddess for Linda!!

The next day I went to the doctor and told him this medication was making me sick. He agreed that the cough could be due to the lisinopril, but said he didn't think any of the other symptoms could be blamed on it. Oh, yeah? He wanted to put my on another drug, but I said "No way. I'm controlling my bp through diet and exercise," and he agreed to let me try. He said not to expect spectacular results.

The next weekend was Linda's wedding--I was the photographer. I did manage to get through the wedding with the help of a lot of cough drops and nose blowing. I got some great shots and didn't ruin key moments with my hacking cough.

The cough continued, with the congestion, but the lethargy and fogginess have abated, but had not entirely disappeared. I tend to get winded climbing the stairs I used to run up. A new twist was added--I seemed to have developed sensitivity to everything: pollen, dust, smoke, mold, my cats.

My husband and I had scheduled our vacation to Maine, and we decided to go, thinking that if I got away from my house and the cats, I might improve. That didn't happen--we were near the ocean, but there are a lot of plantings along the ocean in Maine, expecially goldenrod, which made me miserable. I was extremely congested, and my sinuses got infected and my ears filled with fluid.

When I got back from vacation, back to the doctor. My sinuses were so inflamed, he put me on cortisone and an antibiotic. The corisone got rid of the inflammation of the sinuses, but didn't help the ears. The cough was only occasional, too. However, the cortisone also gave me insomnia, and I began to get leg cramps. The cortisone was given in decreasing dosage--six tablets the first day, five the next, etc. to one on the last day. As the dosage went down, the insomnia disappear, but the cough started to return.

As I finished with the drugs, my doctor was away, and, being an alternative healer, I decided to try another alternative healer. My sister is away, so I decided to take her appointments with her AMMA therapist. AMMA is an Asian message healing modality. The therapist also did cranio-sacral and lymphatic drainage with me. I'd feel better after each treatment, but rebounded worse each time. Last treatment was two days ago, and I decided not to go back, but to take back control of this thing. Since my ears are STILL clogged and I can't hear very well, I also returned to my physician to see what he suggested. His suggest was a 12-day course of prednosone. I that doesn't work, he's going to refer me to an ear, nose and throat doctor to have my ears drained surgically, and perhaps have tubes put in. Today's the third day, and I think the fluid is reduced but not eliminated. The cough is worse. It feels deeper in my chest, and it is unproductive. I worked on myself with Reiki a lot yesterday to clear my lungs. I was pretty good last night, but I'm coughing again today (dry heaves as well). I think I might try Mucinex to make the cough productive. I have to check to see if it's okay to use it with the prednosone.

The sensitivities do seem to be getting better. The cats, at least, don't seem to bother me, but mold is still a problem. I think my air conditioning might be contributing--there's standing water in the drip pan, so the drip line must be clogged. I'll bet there mold or mildew in the system, but I can't get anyone in to fix it and clean it out until Tuesday. I've turned the AC off, but I'm sure my husband will be switching it back on when he gets home from work since it's in the 90's. (He doesn't get it). I've also eliminated dairy, orange juice and tomato products from my diet since they produce mucus.

I hope to post of my improvement soon. Positive thinking helps! I promise not to be so long next time.

Thanks for reading

I was injected with Kenalog 40 on Oct 4th 2004,i went to my doctor cause I thought my Kidneys were infected. Dr. tested my urine and came back negitve my Dr. told me that I may have a musle spasm in my lower back causing me extreme pain. He told me that he was going to inject me with an anti-inflamatory and I should feel better witin 2 hours. That day I went home to nap and felll asleep for 12 hours. Apx. 2-3 weeks after the injections, I noticed a quarter sized red, black and blue spot on the injection site. My minstrul cycle lasted for 4 weeks and i spot evey now and then till this day Nov. 24, 2004. I am also experencing extreem acne on my neck back and shoulders, I have caught a cold and have had it for 3-4 weeks and nothing is helping it go away, My hands have a rino hide texture and dicoloration all on them, I have had severe chest pain and 1 episode of a serious panic attack causeing me to black out and I could not breath.
I went back to the doctor who injected me on Nov. 19th 2004 to let him know of all the problems I am having and he acted like he never seen anything like what I was going thru before. His soultion was to recomend a gynocologist and a dermatologist to take care of my skin a minstal problems and told me that he could not do anything about the reaction I was having from the injection site. After my visit I decided to do a little investigation of my own and descovered that Kenalog 40 was never tested for musle spasms. I called the maufator of this drug and they said that the side effects I was experencing were never reported and I should have not been injected with this drug for my lower back spasms. I have called my doctor several times and he will not return my phone calls. I don't know what to do. I am 24 and am in good health other than the side effects of this drug. Anyone using this injection for musle spasms ? What should I do ? Nov 24th 2004.

PS: Happy Thanksgiving !

500 mg, 4/day. Unlike most of the posts, I have not had loose bowels. However, I am terribly woozy, almost to the point where I'm afraid to drive. I have little to no energy and headaches, but I have just caught a cold so I'm sure that is a factor. I was prescribed this for a cyst in my armpit.

WM 34

I have been on this stuff for 5 days for sinus infection....felt great the 1st 3 days, then caught a cold from my 2-year old son. Now I feel worse than before. I guess my immunne system was wiped clean? Avoid this drug.