Central nervous system symptoms and conditions

I had the Mirena placed in 2004 after the birth of my second child. I had weight gain, mood swings, hungry all the time (i would sleep eat), depressed, joint pain and was tired all the time. I eventually got it removed 3 years later and my symptoms got even worse. I was severely depressed, my sleep pattern was abnormal, my mind was fuzzy, couldn't concentrate, joint pain worsened and had absolutely no energy. I started itching and having tingling sensations and "bug biting" pain/sensation especially in my extrementies. It was weird. It stimulated a hormonal response that affected my central nervous system. I know it did. I will never be convinced otherwise. It was a shock to my system. There needs to be studies done in this. I finally drug myself to the my general practitioner 3 months later and I thought that I would get admitted in a psych ward. I was hardly functioning. No kidding. I had no reason to be depressed. My life was better than ever. I was not admitted, but I was put through the ringer for tests and my healthcare bills became outrageous. I had tons of blood work, sleep studies, saw a neurologist, had a myelogram, mri, and put on several medications which added to the weight gain. It has been almost 2 years now and I am just now starting to feel like myself. All of the tests were inconclusive. The neurologist dx was something neuromuscular. I am not on any medication now, but am not 100%. But I know that damage was done and I am older. So I'm afraid that I will never feel great again. I wish I had never had the Mirena. Never. I know I miscarried once and suspect that it happened twice. I didn't have a period for those 3 years but it was not worth it. This product should be recalled.

Hi I am from Nepal, and I am 28 years young, male. I have been taking Lisinopril for about 2 years now. At the beginning this drug seemed to have no side effects at all but as the days progressed I could see the side effects. As side effects started to climb up hill day after day, my friend suggested me to consult my physician immediately. So I consulted my physician yesterday and he told me to do an array of tests; blood test including thyroid hormone test, ECG, and chest X-Ray. My reports will come in due 1 weak time. For now my doctor has changed this medication and given me amlodipine and atenolol combination and its trade name is "amlobet" (manufactured in india by: sun pharmaceutical industries). I took 1 dose yesterday and some of my symptoms seemed to disappear, but I'm quite not sure whether its my Psychology that has contributed to the sudden disappearance of some symptoms or the drug itself. I still have to take this medication for some time to make sure of it.
Some side effects experience during Lisinopril intake:

1. Extreme fatigue and lack of interest in doing day to day work this symptom has disappeared as i started on the new medication.
2. Depression like feeling specially early in the morning and at night times.
3. Waking up in the middle of the night.
4. Vivid dreams.
5. Foggy thinking.
6. Nervousness.
7. Palpitation.
8. Anxiety.
9. Profuse sweating.
10. Shaking of hands and legs during nervousness.
11. Slight Memory loss.
12. Lack of concentration.
13. Mood swing (extreme).
14. Dullness (extreme).

As I progress on this new medication I will update this blog. And I'l also give information regarding my blood tests and ECG tests after my report comes. For now this much. But I recommend Lsinopril users to consult their respective physician seriously before taking this medication and consult even if you are on the medication. This drug seems to pass the blood brain barrier and reach the brain so it affects the central nervous system directly which is not the case in some HBP medications like; amlodipine, atenolol etc.

My daughter is a 4 year old child started on Singulair after she was unable to tolerate Zyrtec. For the first few days her allergies seemed better and we were encouraged by her improved allergy symptoms (allergies to poplar trees, grass, and lambs weed manifest as headaches, itching (usually of the extremities), and stomach aches). However, after 2 days her behavior became increasingly erratic. She was emotional, tantrum prone, irritable, anxious, and had difficulty sleeping although she appeared and said she was exhausted/tired. After several weeks on Singulair, we stopped the medication to determine if it was causing the behavioral and sleep problems. The symptoms stopped after discontinuing Singulair and she went back to her usual happy, well behaved self. After being off of it for several weeks we decided to try it again due to her allergies flaring up and wanting to be sure it was the Singulair causing the behavioral problems (because for all of its negatives, the greatest positive about Singulair is that it definitely helps her allergy symptoms). Unfortunately, the irritability, anxiousness, tiredness, tantrums and insomnia returned. We tried giving it to her at different times during the day but the symptoms were still present (although she slept a little better when we gave it to her in the morning). We also tried cutting the dose in half and giving it to her around noon. Decreasing the dose did help with the symptoms to some degree, but they were still bad enough to outweigh the benefits of taking the drug. As a nurse, I love Singulair for the relief it provides allergy sufferers...unfortunately for my daughter, the side effects outweigh the benefits. Given the rates of ADD, ADHD, and other behavioral problems diagnosed in children nowadays, I thought it pertinent to report these symptoms present in my daughter that are solely caused taking this medication.

Lithium Carbonate nearly killed me. My doctor knew I was bulimic and he prescribed it any way, in combination with Geodon and Lamictal, even though I've been medication intolerant of 34 psychiatric drugs since I was 15. I am now 23. One year ago my boyfriend said he didn't like how I was changing in personality, that I was "different". I couldn't conceive his perspective. After only 2 weeks exactly of taking the Lithium at 900mg a day, I landed in the ICU where I was fighting for my life for 5 days. I had what looked like seizures but they were not. I had a dystonic reaction to the drug. It all began with a hand tremor on my left side. Ever since then, I get "episodes" where my ENTIRE right side goes dead and my left side extremities jerk and twitch and it hurts like hell. My neck snaps to the left and my lungs freeze long enough to where my lips turn blue. I live back home now. I cannot live alone. These episodes come out of nowhere. I have not been the same since that April Fool's day (how ironic right?)...I am to go to Johns Hopkins to find out what happened. They believe it may be a drug induced movement disorder. I also lose speech during these episodes or at random on its own while in class or talking with a friend. It's scaring the living hell out of me. To think that my central nervous system very well may have been POISONED makes me sick to my stomach...this doctor was reckless and used me as a lab rat. And now I pay the price. He went to med school at age 17 and did 4 years brain research on monkeys post graduation....I trusted him...if HE could do this to me, imagine what a D.O. or typical M.D. with little training could do with this toxic stuff?! I almost died. And I fear that I eventually will...The symptoms of muscle spasms and cognitive impairment have only worsened. I get annoyed with outer stimuli very easily at times, followed by hours of confusion and I cannot understand what people are saying to me nor can I finish a thought or even identify an object (nominal aphasia). If you ask me, stay AWAY from this unnatural form of help, you're better off with homeopathic medicine and breathing techniques. I learned the hard way. I just hope this helps at least one of you from starting this horrible drug. It can have PERMANENT side effects on WHO you ARE, i.e. your personality. My perception of reality has forever changed and I cannot go back. Do your research. And REALLY think about the risks before you begin taking this drug....or any of them for that matter....
On youtube you should watch this eye opening documentary that my friend found for me about big pharma. It's...jaw dropping. search "big pharma big bucks" on youtube.com and you will see what I mean.
Hope this helps. I will post the outcome of a final diagnosis, because as of right now, I cannot go to the ER when these episodes occur because they AUTOMATICALLY assume it's "in my head" simply because of a history of depression and PTSD. So all they do is give me NO pain meds for the muscle pain or even any tests ordered to find an answer, and call for a psych consult...HELLO?! talk about breaking the Hippocratic oath "FIRST do no harm". I'm a responsible, smart, and determined young woman who's been in in-patient treatment before and is very aware on how to handle my day to day strives. But these doctors...sigh....they just don't listen...it's ALL about liability for them. And it angers me. So I wait at home crying because I can't talk to anyone, in agonizing pain, and await for the moment my lung muscles freeze and I cannot breathe...it frightens me to my very core. NO ONE should have to go through with this...NO ONE. So, do your homework. Please. For you and your loved one's sake.
-H.

Ok, so here is a new one for you. I have had migraines for a very long time, since I was a teenager, and never really sought physician treatment because in our family a headache was "nothing to cry about". So, now that I am married with 4 kids and an advancing career, having migraines on a weekly basis isn't something I can live with anymore. So I went to my doctor. He said what about preventing them with Topamax. I know what Topamax is, I'm a nurse, I know what the potentials are, but I had not really heard of the side effects when using it in a perfectly healthy person. ANd I must say it has to be my own fault for saying "sure" and not investigating first. WARNING= Topamax is a drug for seizures, effecting the central nervous system, and will have effects on a healthy person's central nervous system. Now, not doing my research I will also not have known that you are supposed to be titrated very slowly up with increasing doses, starting at a suggested dose of 15-25 mg per day for the first week the 50 then to 100, etc. I was begun at 50 mg/day for a week then 100 mg a day thereon out. Please, if you experience the symptoms the pharmacy warns you about, but they are exaggerated, go back to your doctor!! Here are my symptoms by day
Days1-3- Normal effect- tingling hands/feet, taste loss of some drinks, foggy unable to think clearly
Day4-5- horrible head pain, back of my head, not like my migraine pain, stabbing and pins/needles in hands/feet, still can't taste, nausea, dizziness, confused (like I couldn't find my way to my doctor's office confused)
Day 6- And I am entirely embarrassed to say this one because I am a nurse, and I know what it implicates... Pseuedoseizure. I was in the doctors office, in the waiting room and I could not control my muscles. I knew it wasn't a seizure because I could hear some of what was going on around me, but something was not right. I couldn't move anything and I didn't remember everything. And all the above symptoms, along with. But, naturally normal CT...
Day 7- It happens again... And this time I have some right sided weakness and all the above, that's it, it has to be the Topamax, we are done. It's only been a week, so cold turkey.

That is my experience with Topamax, and unless I am actually seizing, it is a journey I will never take again, I have 4 little ones that depend on me too much. PLEASE research before you try whatever is handed to you!!

This drug is lethal! I had a leg gash from falling over a fan in the gym which resulted in a MRSA infection. I ended up in the hospital with a violent reaction to SMZ-TMP DS which affected my central nervous system. I was out of control with severe pain in my whole body, nausea, headache, etc. Even after discharge, this drug was ordered to be continued!! Ended up in emergency again! What are these drug companies producing? And why are MD's not up on the side effects? I thought I was dying.

Here is my experience, I am confused only because I know part of what happened to me is my own fault.

To make a long story short I overdosed (intentionally) on a different drug called Lamictal. This is a seizure med. When that event happened I was on a course of Levaquin. I was on day four. I was to take it for 24 days for a sinus infection that showed up on a CT scan.

I know that this sounds horrible, but my overdose was small. No overdose is small though, but what happened to me just didn't seem right in comparison to the amount of pills I took. My mind is telling me I have no right to question anything considering what I did.

After taking the pills, I passed out and ended up being flown to a different hospital as my condition was worsening. They told me that before I left the hospital, my urine had already started to turn brown.. I don't know what that means.

When I woke up in ICU the doctor was yelling at me asking me what other drugs I took. He said that an overdose of Lamictal would never have causes what was happening. He asked if I was on meth or had taken Benadryl. I was sweating a lot, my heart rate was 150, my liver and kidney functions were bad, and the worst of it all, I had a CK level of 70,000. I had developed.. excuse my spelling... rhabdomylisis. My whole body hurt. Every single joint in my body was hurting, I could not stand and I could not walk. They told me that I was going to probably have to go on dialysis. I ended up being in the hospital for 8 days. My numbers returned to normal after 7 days of leaving the hospital.

The doctor there still thinks I was lying about what I took because what happened "Makes no sense." When they found me in my apartment they said I had "Serotonin syndrome." Which is caused by antidepressants.They said that the muscles in my body had gone completely ridgid and I was having a seizure that they could not stop. What they told me is they couldn't move one muscle in my body. My doctor said that they assumed that I o'd on my antidepressants too. Which I didn't.

Anyway, it has been a little over a month since the event, and that sinus infection is again being treated with Levaquin. I will take my 2nd dose today. Since that day I have been off all of my meds, but I am starting some of them back up. My Lamictal, my synthroid and now this Levaquin. I am scared to death. I have been searching the internet and all of a sudden I started finding that levaquin caused rhabdomylisis in several patients... although "rare."

Do you all have suggestions for me? The part that makes this the worst is YES I did overdose on pills. I assume this is why no one has really looked into why I had such problems. Should I stop taking this pill right away? I suppose most of you would say yes. I'm just not sure.

I took 4 500 mg doses of Levaquin for a sinus infection on Aug 19-22 2008. I am now almost 5 months out. I suffered multiple adverse reactions and have been waiting to post to see how things resolved. I am 39 years old and in excellent health. I rarely see doctors and have never had anything chronic. This is what I experienced: extreme fatigue, all over muscle soreness/stiffness, severe headaches, tingling/numbness in hands/feets, serious shoulder problems requiring ortho, physical therapy and chiropractor, irregular heart rhythm, irregular kidney function, constant ringing in my ears, impaired vision. Currently most of these are resolved except irregular kidney function (although this has improved), shoulder issues (not normal yet) and ringing in my ears.

You can't judge the full scope of your reaction by your body's initial reaction. As time unfolds you will get the big picture of how this drug harms the various systems of the body.

I can not begin to explain how taking this drug has impacted my life and my family. I have 3 children to take care of. I thank God that I am healing and have now resumed almost all of my daily activities. I pray that I will soon be back to full health. This is absolute madness. I am so sorry that so many of us have been injury in such a way.

DO NOT TAKE THIS POISON!! I have spent the last 4 years dealing with
adverse side effects of this medication. I have central nervous system damage, digestive disorders, anxiety, panic attacks, dizziness, achiness-it feels like a really really bad flu. My dad who is a doctor didn't believe that Levaquin was the cause at first however he had a chemist look up the compound makeup and was told to never prescribe this or any other fluoroquinolone again (cipro, avelox, etc!) Side effects can last long after you finish this medication. Also animals can get this stuff so it can be in the meat you eat which will make you feel worse or it could kill your beloved pets. Do your research. Warn friends and family-even strangers. Make a mediwatch report. Helpful sites if you are dealing with poisoning.
There is also a yahoo group.

I posted earlier today about my side effects: ringing ears, headache, nausea, agitation/anxiety, inability to think straight, stuffed nose, etc. Though no fun, I was tolerating the side effects ok so far. Not for long...

Update: Took pill number 4 of 10 (500mg, 1x day) tonight at 6pm. Oh my God. Within an hour I am itching, and where I scratch, there are welts. Then nausea and belching, like I'm gonna vomit. I immediately take 50mg benadryl in case of allergy. Breathing is ok, itching stops. But this poison is making me shaky on the inside, and still nauseous with terrible headache, and muscle aches in my neck and back. I also have a sense of muscle stiffness, bodywide. All this for a "possible" post surgical infection. You couldn't get me to take this again for a million dollars. I am ordering a MedicAlert bracelet with Levaquin on it, as I don't ever want this in my body again. I almost had my husband take me to the ER. I am drinking lots of water to flush it out. I'm sure I am in the minority, and many people take it with no troubles. But all I can say is that I feel like I just took rat poison.

I'm a 58 year old female & I take good care of myself & I am very healthy.
I've had borderline HP off & on. I tried a Beta Blocker 5 years ago & took myself off it, since some of my symptoms were due to my Hypothyroid.

I started Lisinopril today 10 mg, I felt a central nervous system affect almost immediately. Tonight, I'm feeling very tired which I think is due to the Lisinopril. My BP today was 152/98 it was 140/98 the week before @ the doctor's office. Tonight @ home it was 115/70 & 100/68
I have been monitoring myself @ home & some of my readings are a little high but a lot of them seem normal. I'm getting a better monitor tomorrow. I know, there is such a thing as white coat syndrome.
I could lose 15-20 lbs. which might help too. I'm very active but that doesn't seem to help.
thanks for all your postings, it has really helped me...
My doctor did mention getting a cough as a side affect.

I am a healthy 58 yr old woman. On May 20 2008, I went to the dentist to have two small fillings done. At the time of the shot I experienced what felt as though I had received an electrical jolt because the shot hit my nerve. This jolt radiated down to my ovaries. I complained to the dentist instantly. Right after the visit I started noticing that my hair was thinning. On June 17, 2008 at my normal hair appointment I commented to the beautician that my hair was thinning. On June 27, 2008 at the second visit to the dentist I experience the same problem from the shot and again told the dentist of problem. By July 18th I noticed some extreme hair loss in two locations on my scalp. I pointed out my hair loss condition to the Dermatologist at the Cleveland Clinic on July 18, 2008 he referred me to a hair loss specialist. On September 2, 2008 I meet the specialist she stated that the hair loss was caused by some extreme stress to my system. I told her about the dental work and my reaction to the injection. She said that could have been the catalyst that started this problem. The doctor said if there is some "shock to the system", as many as 70% of the scalp hairs are then shed in large numbers about 1 to 2 months after the "shock". This sudden increase in hair loss, usually described as the hair coming out in handfuls is called acute telogen effluvium. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

I am re-posting this from June. I believe that we have many reasons to suspect that Singulair does indeed penetrate the blood brain barrier. I personally believe that under certain unusual conditions that Singulair can cause neurological damage. I tried before to put together a scenario of brain biochemistry that could explain how this can happen. Of course, I am just hypothesizing and all of my ideas will not prove to be totally correct. From the number of postings here regarding neurological symptoms, I believe that there is an answer out there somewhere. Why the FDA is not searching for this answer is a complete mystery to me.

I believe that it is possible that Singulair causes the same biochemical response in the brain that is cited in this study -- thus causing neurological damage.

"Thus, elevated NO production leading to mitochondrial dysfunction, glutamate release, and excitotoxicity may contribute to neuronal death in neurological diseases."

IS SINGULAIR CAUSING THE DEATH OF NERVE CELLS IN SOME PATIENTS? DOES THIS HAPPEN - ALTHOUGH INFREQUENTLY- BECAUSE OF GENETIC OR BIOCHEMICAL FACTORS OR BOTH?

June 12th
2008
2:56 AM
I have stated many times that I am not an expert. I just post what I find. This has been a mind boggling journey for me. This is way over my head but I struggle to read and understand. Finding answers to why children are suffering from neuro-psychiatric side effects is worth the effort.

I have made the following observations.

1. Some quinolines are known to be able to cross the blood brain barrier.
2. Molecules that ionize are known to be more likely to be able to cross cell membranes. So if montelukast ionizes as a result of change in blood pH to sufficient acid conditions, then it could be possible that it does in fact cross the blood brain barrier.
3. We know that there are cysLT1 receptors in the brain.
4. We know that researchers believe that montelukast may bind at the arginine of the cysLT1 receptor.
5. We know that arginine contains four nitrogens. And montelukast contains one.
6. We don't know what happens to those nitrogens. Are those nitrogens converted to nitric oxide?
7. We do know what macrophages create nitric oxide as I posted.
8. We do know that if something cause excessive nitric oxide to build in the brain that there would be damage to the neurons.

Some people may remember when I got stuck at the astrocytes, the cysLT1 receptors and glutamate. I keep looking for research reports that may shed more light on this.

Titre du document / Document title
Nitric oxide causes glutamate release from brain synaptosomes
Auteur(s) / Author(s)
MCNAUGHT K. S. P. (1) ; BROWN G. C. (1) ;
Affiliation(s) du ou des auteurs / Author(s) Affiliation(s)
(1) Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, ROYAUME-UNI
Résumé / Abstract
We determined the ability of pathological levels of nitric oxide (NO) to cause glutamate release from isolated rat brain nerve terminals using a fluorometric assay. It was found that NO (0.7 and 2 μM) produced (4 and 10 nmol/mg of synaptosomal protein) Ca2+-independent glutamate release from synaptosomes (after 1 min of exposure). Spermine/NO complex (spermine NONOate; a slow NO donor) and potassium cyanide (an inhibitor of cytochrome oxidase) also caused Ca2+-independent glutamate release. Preincubation of synaptosomes with 5 μM 1H- oxadiazole quinoxalin-1-one (an inhibitor of soluble guanylyl cyclase) had no effect on NO-induced Ca2+-independent glutamate release. Ca2+-independent glutamate release produced by NO was greater in a low-oxygen medium. NO, spermine NONOate, and potassium cyanide inhibited synaptosomal respiration with a similar order of potency with respect to their ability to cause glutamate release. Because NO has been shown previously to inhibit reversibly cytochrome oxidase in competition with oxygen, our findings in this study suggest that NO (and cyanide) causes glutamate release following inhibition of mitochondrial respiration at the level of cytochrome oxidase. Thus, elevated NO production leading to mitochondrial dysfunction, glutamate release, and excitotoxicty may contribute to neuronal death in neurological diseases.
Revue / Journal Title
Journal of neurochemistry ISSN 0022-3042 CODEN JONRA9
Source / Source
1998, vol. 70, no4, pp. 1541-1546 (29 ref.)

INIST-CNRS, Cote INIST : 4037, 35400007527188.0230

Oh my goodness.....my daughter, age 17, had her first injection in June 2008, started losing her hair w/in a month. We thought it was form straightening, some high lightening etc. She had blood work done which showed she was anemic...strange, as 2yrs prior her blood work was stellar, and she had not changed her diet, or physical activity. She increased her iron and protein intake (along w/ supplements).....three months later, and after her second injection, iron was still anemic....worse actually, and her hair loss significant.I found this website last night....and I am floored......I called MERCK today and spoke to a representative wh o was not aware of the hair loss issue, but said that in their case studies, Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia was a side effect.....which leads to hair loss itself.....so I am researching now what to do next.....anyone else have this issue??????

I have muscle pain, weakness, and chronic lower back pain. Started statin drug, Simvastatin, on 11/21/07. I take no other drugs. Within two weeks, I could not sit without severe lower back pain. Reported problem to family medical doctor on 1/11/08. M.D. sent me to physical therapy for 8 sessions. No relief from physical therapy so I requested an X-ray on 3/20/08. X-ray shows very mild degeneration at one lower vertebrae. M.D. sent me to an orthopaedics doctor who recommended continued physical therapy. Went to a Chiropractor instead. After six chiropractic sessions with little relief, I made an appointment with an Osteopathic doctor. My M.D. sent me to a rheumatologist who prescribed high dose naproxen for two weeks. The rheumatologist ordered and X-ray of my lower back area. The lower back X-ray produced no negatives. The rheumatologist's next step will be to order and MRI of my lower back area. The D.O. suspects statin induced myopathy and because of hyper reflexes he ordered an MRI of my brain and cervical spine. I am now recommended to a neurologist who specializes in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Am I getting the run around? Only one doctor said I might have statin induced myopathy. The rest will not even mention the statin drug theory. I just pray for ache and pain relief. I have some improvement after four months off of the statin which I believe is quite a strong point that it was the statin drug and not some unknown condition. I don't think arthritis or MS conditions improve. All I know is that I had no health issues before taking the simvastatin. Good luck to everyone who has or is taking a statin drug. BEWARE!!!

I suddenly had high blood pressure. I was put on a heart monitor for 21 days because I was experiencing frequent palpitations. I was given 25 mg Metoprolol ER the genic for Toprol XL on June 6, 2008. I had the usual symptoms extreme fatigue, headache, constipation,swelling, weight gain for the first month. I am 59 yrs. old.
The second month I started to have horrible nightmares, and headaches that would not go away. On Aug.12 while driving home I started to hear voices, had blurred vision and hallucinations. I was driving fast and screaming to make the voices stop.. I ended up in a parking lot. I was crying and for a minute I had a bit of reality. I called the cardiologist office and told the nurse what was going on. She said to immediately stop the meds because I was having a rare serious side effect. I sat crying for awhile and was able to call a friend to pick me up. I stayed at home for 4 days. The entire time my hands shook and my headache was horrible. It was one week before I was able to function properly.
I called my pharmacist and she told me that this drug affects the central nervous system. 2 % of 100,000 people have this side effect. I told her that it was not written on my paper with the prescription. She said that because it is so rare they do not have put it on. She printed out the side effects for me from her web site. A site that is only accessible to pharmacists or Dr.'s. My Dr. wants me to try Cardizeim now and I do not want to because I am afraid. I told him that the BP was down to normal but he still wanted to because of the palpitations. I was given the option of the Cardiziem or seeing and Electrical Man at the Cardiology office. As of yet I have not taken the Cardiziem. This is the first time I have read this web site and I hope that this information may help someone. I finally feel good again except for the rapid heart beat and glad to be alive.

Hi

I just ran upstairs to look at what Antibiotic I was on last and it's the same one. I got a rash on about day 7 and googled it and saw all the patients with lots and lots of complications. Actually I mentioned this to the doctor when I went back and she said lots of people react badly to it ...she could even take it. You think they should have to warn you of the serious side effects ...
I wonder why they are using this antibiotic all of a sudden as I have never heard of it before!!!
Interesting ....you should have this in your medical records in case you are in an accident.

There are on line sites that people post reactions to things that others can read....you should add yours....like I said SCARY!!!!

Jackie



-------------- Original message --------------
From: "Heather" ******
I just googled Levaquin and read this: Quinolones, including LEVAQUIN, may also cause central nervous system stimulation which may lead to tremors, restlessness, anxiety, lightheadedness, confusion, hallucinations, paranoia, depression, nightmares, insomnia, and rarely, suicidal thoughts or acts. That describes what happened to me.

I was prescribed Levaquin by my Dr. for a sinus infection. There were 10 pills and I was to take one a day. No one mentioned any of the side effects or drug interactions except to not take antacids within 2 hours of taking the meds. During the coarse of me taking the medication I began having substernal chest pains which I thought was just horrible heart burn, but it got so bad that I woke up screaming multiple nights from the pain. I also started having pain in my ankles, legs and especially my knees. The pain in my knees gets so bad that I think my knee caps are going to shatter when I walk especially when going down the stairs. I didn't know any of the drug interactions and my father in law who is a physical therapist has always advised me to take ibuprofen for muscle and joint pain so that's what I did, but little did I know that was only increasing the effects on my central nervous system. I am also experiencing bouts of nausea, confusion, light headedness, difficulty sleeping, anxiety and I actually thought I was having a mental breakdown.. I was freaking out on my husband and very depressed even having suicidal thoughts. It wasn't until my mother randomly mentioned that she had heard about the FDA issuing the Black Box warning that I connected the dots and had already finished the meds. I called my doctor's office right away and was told that the symptoms I am having are not side effects of the medicine. Maybe the Dr. doesn't listen to the news either.

I believe that objective sources of information should be posted periodically so that they are not missed.

Adverse Reactions
(As reported in adults)
>10%: Central nervous system: Headache (18%)

1% to 10%:

Central nervous system: Dizziness (2%), fatigue (2%), fever (2%)

Dermatologic: Rash (2%)

Gastrointestinal: Dyspepsia (2%), dental pain (2%), gastroenteritis (2%), abdominal pain (3%)

Neuromuscular & skeletal: Weakness (2%)

Respiratory: Cough (3%), nasal congestion (2%), upper respiratory infection (2%)

Miscellaneous: Flu-like symptoms (4%), trauma (1%)

Postmarketing and/or case reports: Agitation, anaphylaxis, angioedema, arthralgia, bleeding tendency, bruising, cholestasis (rare), diarrhea, dream abnormalities, drowsiness, edema, eosinophilia, hallucinations, hepatic eosinophilic infiltration (rare), hepatitis, hypoesthesia, insomnia, irritability, muscle cramps, myalgia, nausea, palpitation, pancreatitis, paresthesia, pruritus, restlessness, seizure, urticaria, vasculitis, vomiting

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/drugs/montelukast-088375.htm

Is there a potential explanation for the adverse psychiatric side effects of montelukast?

In my opinion, there are at least some very good clues based upon the work of the Chinese researchers.

A 2006 report indicated that they had localized (meaning found it was there) the CystLT1 receptor (same as the receptor that montelukast
Singulair blocks) in the neurons of the brain tissue of rats. In order to do that, they injected rat brain's with NMDA to cause a chemically induced state of excitotoxicity. Excitotoxicity is a common factor in Central Nervous System disease. They concluded that both 5-LOX and CystLT1 were upregulated by the excitotoxicity that they artificially created
with the NMDA. Therefore, there would be a potential link between neuron activity and CystLT1. Nerve cells are damaged by excitotoxicity. These researchers used NMDA to cause nerve damage which caused the CystLT1 to show up. NMDA was often used in human behavior studies to cause brain damage. They would then try to observe whether behavior was compromised to conclude what areas of the brain determined what behavioral response.

So I was thinking about the Chinese researchers as I was reading other posts. One post interested me particularly regarding the mother who described behavior that seemed like hypoglycemics when their snack doesn't arrive on time. So a light bulb went on. Glutamate, another excitotoxin, can build up in the brain to a level that is damaging if humans become excessively hypoglycemic. If glutamate concentration around the synaptic cleft reaches too high a level then neurons die. Clinically, it really does seem that many people experience things that sound like the effects of hypoglycemia. It could be only a coincidence. But then again, maybe not.

The Chinese researchers found the CystLT1 receptor in the rat brain neuron after brain damage. They found the CystLT1 receptor in the normal human brain in the microvascular endothelial cells and in neuron and glial-appearing cells in brain trauma or tumors.

What role does the CystLT1 play in brain function? If it exists in brain tissue, we can assume that it does have a function. If it plays a role in preventing or repairing neuron damage due to excitotoxins, then there would be a very direct link between Singulair and adverse psychiatric side effects.

http://www.chinaphar.com/1671-4083/27/1526.htm

The bottom line is that Merck owes people who take Singulair further research regarding it's effect on the brain.

Oh my gosh, I am just shocked after reading these posts. I am taking my son off of Singulair immediatedly!!!! I knew I wasn't crazy!! My son was on Singulair for over 2 years and it was awful. He was so hyper and uncontrollable. He couldn't control his temper. He had headaches everyday. He was put on it due to severe allergies and asthma. He is on other medications as well as allergy shots. I kept telling the doctor that I think the singulair was causing his bad behavior problems. He was just so hard to handle. He couldn't sit still for anything. The teacher couldn't get him to sit still in his chair. It just wasn't normal behavior for him. The teacher even thought he had ADD!! I didn't accept that however. The doctor just thought I was crazy and told me that Singulair wouldn't cause those symptoms. She said it actually would work opposit that and cause him to be sleepy. Well I took him off of it anyways and he did get pretty sick. His asthma acted up ect. But he eventually felt better and his behavior improved drastically. He wasn't so hyper and he could actually sleep at night and wasn't so scared at night. Just within the last week he has been pretty sick due to allergy season, his asthma has been bad and the doctor told me to put him back on the Singulair. So I did he has been on it for four days now and he is HORRIBLE.. It was an instant change. My husband and I can't control him and he can't sleep at night and has headaches every day. I am so glad I found this sight. I am taking him off immediately.
Thank you all so much for your comments. This medicine should be outlawed. I don't care what the doctors say. By the way my son is 9 years old. I certainly had no idea that it has caused suicide. I am so sorry to you all that have experienced such horrible things. Come to think of it my son used to say he hated himself all of the time when he was on this medicine.
God Bless You All

A report from the Netherlands discusses depression. I had failed to notice that the report stated that in three cases the onset of the depression after taking Singulair was from 3-14 days.

Discussion and conclusion
Lareb received four reports of depressive symptoms in patients using montelukast.Possible confounding includes that asthma itself has been associated with the development of depression . Inhalated corticosteroids can also exert effects on the central nervous system. Fluticason in combination with salmeterol which is used by patients A, B and D, is associated with hyperactivity and irritability whereas budesonide, which is used by patient C also has been associated with depression .
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The latency of montelukast-induced depressive symptoms varies from 3-14 days.
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In three of the cases a positive dechallenge was seen. The fact that the patients (except for one) did not suffer from depressive symptoms before they started montelukast, the short latency, and recovery after withdrawal of the drug all strengthen our hypothesis that depressive symptoms are an ADR
related to the use of montelukast.

According to the Marketing Authorisation Holder of montelukast, depression will be added to the product information.

I am one of many that has decided to stop giving my child Singulair. And like many others, I have noticed a great improvement in her behavior.

My question is for those who have done the same. What medication have you replaced the Singulair with and have you noticed any of the same side effects that Singulair was causing? What are your thoughts on Flovent inhaler?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

My 16 year old son took Levaquin 6 months ago and had a bad reaction to it. His symptoms were severe muscle weakness (he would get exhausted walking from the parking lot to a store and back, severe joint pain (in thumbs, wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles), dizziness (he felt like the room was moving away from him and would lose balance), and headaches (a severe pressure in the back of his head that was constant and then shooting pains in his his head that would come and go for no reason). I should say he was in top shape before this and wrestling in the 125 pound category. He took Levaquin to prevent an infection after sinus surgery.

Now 6 months later, his joint pain is completely gone except for his knees. They still hurt when he does squats and they are not good enough for him to go back to wrestling, but he can walk around pain free. His dizziness is also gone as well as his muscle weakness. His headaches are still there and still constant, but not as bad as they once were; however, he has had them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 6 months. He is on Lyrica which has helped make the headaches subside.

I have taken him to more than 16 medical doctors of all specialties, had multiple MRIs, CT Scans, blood tests, spinal tap, and an MRA. All come back negative. Thankfully, despite all of this, he still remains happy and positive that he will once again be 100% healthy; it will take lots of time, but he will get better. I know the first three symptoms (joint pain, dizziness, weakness) are clearly Levaquin related, but I haven't heard much about the headaches from people. Anyone else out there that has suffered from a constant headache after Levaquin? I REALLY want to hear about headaches from others!!!!

By the way, we have filed a medwatch already. I also know that Levaquin is not approved for anyone under 18 years old and he never needed such a powerful drug to prevent an infection, but there is nothing I can do about that now except to warn others. One of his UCLA doctors wants to write a case study on him to make this more known to others and I am helping him with that.

If anyone has questions, please feel free to ask. If you have had a headache from Levaquin, please let me know where in the head the pain was, if it is constant, what it feels like (pressure, shooting, throbbing), how long you have had it, and what, if anything, helped. THANKS.