Chest pressure symptoms and conditions

I've only been on Yasmin for one week. Three days in I started having chest pressure and difficulty breathing and exhaustion. Its been getting worse, the doctor says it is most likely not the Yasmin, but I just have a bad feeling about it, and after reading this, I think its time for me to bail out!

My husband had all of these same side effects... Bloating in the stomach, swelling in the ankles, sick as a dog!!! Vomiting, burning sensation in the chest, wheezing, chest pressure... He was on it 2 days before I found this site and discontinued use.. I gave him benadryl for the allergic reaction which is what this is .. It is called Intestinal swelling, some people get it on the inside and others on the outside in forms of rashes and such. I took him off of this immediately and gave him benadryl and lots of water. Almost immediately he was up and walking and talking and color began to return to his face. He had been sitting on the coach unable to move hardly or talk since I brought him home from the hospital... I read that this medicine is actually made from snake venum.... Enough said...
How many of you would not react if a snake bit you. I argued with the cardiologist and finally decided it was my way or the highway.. A lot of times the pharmacist can tell you way more about a drug than a doctor.
By the way if you are going to kick this drug be aware that you will still have some bloating and irritation due to side effects from this drug for usually 1-2 weeks.....My husband is almost through this... Good luck everyone and thanks for your posts.

I've been on the generic Wellbutrin for around 5 years. When I started it, no real side effects. About a month ago, I had what I think was a panic attack. This was the second one, the first happened about 3 years ago. Anyway, I had racing heart, dizziness, a feeling of a lump in my throat, tingling hands and feet and chest pressure. I thought I was having a heart attack, but a holter monitor and stress test showed my heart is fine. I think it was the Bupiron. I am weaning off, and still have most of those symptoms, though much less. I can't wait to be off of this. It helped for a while but has nearly paralyzed my life for the past month.

I am almost finished with my second week of starting Aviane, generic for Alesse which I was originally prescribed for. Before this I was on Yasmin for almost two years and never had a problem until this past December. I suddenly having some sort of anxiety attacks or something. I would get chest pressure, constricting throat as well as a lump and was feeling miserable as it would come at different times and unannounced. I had an EKG, chest x-ray and cat scan of my chest to make sure everything was fine and I didn't have clotting in my lungs- and everything came back perfectly normal. It's hard for me to say if my experiences are really anxiety or not, and if they were connected to the pill, as I didn't really give much of a break between Yasmin and Aviane. I don't feel so bad anymore, and occasionally I will have slight chest pressure or a strange feeling in my throat and that's all. However, with Aviane I've definitely noticed extreme bloating and I feel ten times as full after I've eaten a normal amount, and in the evenings I get an upset stomach and overall ill feeling, like mild nausea but no vomiting. I have appointments soon to have a thyroid ultrasound and to see an ear,nose and throat specialist. Other than that, I do plan on taking a break from birth control after I get my period just to see if my symptoms have simply been the pill all along.

There are many, many pages of Lisinopril side effects on here, very scary. I started taking this med and was only on a short while after reading these posts. I took myself off the small dose of 12.5 mg. and BP went up. I put myself back on again, but half the dose which seemed to do it for the high BP. However, I really don't like the way I feel on this drug at all. I can relate with many of the posts about the chest pressure, heartburn like feeling and a pressure feeling in my head. It's hard to tell whether it's symptoms of a stroke or heart attack!!! I've become so paranoid and lie awake at night thinking I'm going to die. You can't win -- if you don't take it you are damaging your blood vessels from high BP. What are the alternatives and are any other meds going to do the same thing? I know loss of weight and exercise are two big ones, but that's easier said than done.

I started taking Levoxyl about two months ago and since that time I have suffered from an internal shakiness that won't stop. I was told that Levoxyl has no ill effects, but the handout from the pharmacist shows that nervousness and trembling can be one of the side effects. My blood pressure has also been all over the charts since I started the medication and I feel chest pressure every once in a while.

My Mom (87) who was in great health given her age, was given Avelox for a urinary tract infection. She has developed severe side effects that include shortness of breath,chest pressure, (not chest pain)swelling of her esophagus & eye lids, confusion/agitation, dry mouth,complaints of twitching in her mouth.
The worse case of all the symptoms has been the swelling of the esophagus and eyelids. Her eyes are swollen shut and she labors to swallow & talk. Eating is a monumental task.
She is currently hospitalized and the medical team seems to be having a hard time accepting this as an allergic reaction to the Avelox. They have run series of tests to look for other things such as pnuenomina, heart issues and stroke issues. So far the tests have revealed nothing out of the ordinary. One would think that they would start treatment with steroids or another anti-allergic treatment but they seemed convinced that the Avelox is a non issue because she only took 2 doses @ 400 mg each starting Saturday & Sunday (11/29-30). This ordeal started Sunday early evening.
If anyone else has experienced specifically swelling of the throat & eyes please post!

I have been on Lisinopril and a diuretic for about 1.5 years -- started with 5mg of lisinopril. At first had a slight cough, but went away. In Feb 2008 routine blood tests were done and my ALT - liver enzyme was slightly elevated to 36. ( last test in 2003 was normal) --- had the test repeated in Aug 2008 and the ALT was up to 41. Doctor was not too worried, not very elevated - but I persisted as to why and she sent me for an ultrasound that showed all was normal for my liver, spleen, gallbladder, kidneys. My pressure was up a bit at the Aug appt - so she increased my Lisinopril to 10mg. I had another liver enzyme test done beg of Oct 2008 and now the ALT is up to 66. I told her the only difference is increasing my Lisinopril and that must be the cause for elevated ALT levels. She is not sure -- I am now being referred to a specialist -- but told to stop taking the Lisinopril for 3 weeks and they will see what the levels are. Have only seen a few mentions of elevated liver enzymes as a side effect -- has anyone else experienced?? My AST levels are normal.

I have been on prednisone since November 2007 for minimal change disease, 65 mg, in May I started to decrease the dosage (per Drs. orders) and by the time I got to 15 mg all my symptoms came back and I swelled up again. I was again put on a higher dosage of prednisone and put on Cytoxan 75 mg. I am now decreasing prednisone, back to 15 mg every other day and will be off Cytoxan next month. Hopefully this will work. Right now my main complaint of side effects is chest pressure, anything I eat or drink makes my stomach swell and I feel like I can never take a full breath. I recently had chest and abdoman xrays and an ultrasound, all negative. Does anyone have this symptom? I also have moon face, weight gain, hump on back, insomnia, headaches, digestive problems ,shakes, night sweats, vision problems, extreme tiredness and hair loss. How long before all this goes away?

I have been taking the generic Omeprazole for about 12 days. First few days i had no symptoms whatsoever. I thought i was in heaven, until now. I am now suffering from lower back pain, shooting pains through out my upper body, chest pressure, stiff neck, and head pressure through out the whole day. It's funny that this medicine will cure one symptom but will give you many others.

i experience severe chest pressure and neck pressure. My doctor took me off of it asap

Does anyone got multiple sclerosis because of yasmin?
i started taking yasmin when i was 19 and took it for almost a year.
i have always been a healthy person never really got sick.
i went off the pill because of the terrible side effects; first my sex drive changed in a bad way, then i had mood swings (i would cry or get mad for any reason) then my leg got numb then my arm got numb then i got speech trouble then chest pressure, then blurry vision on and off for two months. my doc sent me to a neuro doctor, did all the tests everything came up clear except for the mri. He told me it was up to me to start the medication for ms, and that he cannot be sure if i really have ms or not because of the test results. I decided to stop taking yasmin after my leg got numb and since i when off the pill (2yeas ago) i have not felt any numbness, or blurry vision, or speech trouble, or chest pressure, only 2 occasional terrible headaches in the passed 2 years (last year) and anxiety once in awhile).

I took 500 mg. Levaquin for 9 days for a sinus infection, beginning 2/20/08. I noticed my hips ached, my lower back (kidneys?) did as well along with chest pressure, insomnia and overall tiredness, which I suspect was associated with the insomnia. I took it at night, so while I noticed dizziness when I was up at night, it didn't affect my day. After speaking with my doctor, I stopped taking the medication, and I won't take it again. Has anyone tried naturopathic or homeopathic remedies to help cure the side effects? I'm tired of the "cure" being worse than the sickness. Thanks.

I started taking Yasmin august 07-took it for 3 weeks, 2nd week I felt pressure on my chest, 3rd week there was this day I started feeling pressure on my chest and bad palpitations, I got a little worried and they told me I was having a panic attack, it took 20 minutes for me to calm down. I stopped taking Yasmin that day and have continued to feel sick since. Symptoms since Yasmin have been:severe nervousness, shivering, racing heart especially with activity, chest pressure, pain by me heart, huge decrease in appetite, panic, thoughts I will die, body aches, headaches, slight dizziness sometimes. I've been to ER twice I've also had 2 d-dimer tests positive but no blood clot in my chest or legs and been to doctor about 7 times-she just sent me to psychiatry even though she knows I say the pill caused it. I also have an appt with cardiology tomorrow- and I'm sure they will tell me its in my head as well-its been 5 months I wonder how long my sickness will last.

Wow, am I glad I started doing research and found sites like this and others. I have been on Singulair for 1.5 years. A little over a year ago, I started having HUGE problems with anxiety and depression. My psychological problems have been so bad that my life has basically come to a halt. I gather enough emotional energy to make it through the working day every day, then I go home and collapse, barely accomplishing anything before bed time. On weekend, I sleep a lot more than usual and basically have no life. I just didn't feel well and did not feel like myself.I had trouble sleeping, joint aches, low grade fevers, complete loss of motivation, difficulty thinking/focusing, and a huge loss of self esteem. I started to question my career decisions (I'm nearly done with a 6 year PhD in biomedical research/physiology), gained 20 pounds, and lost my sex drive. I really felt like I was a sorry excuse for a human being. In the past year, I have been on no less then 3 psychoactive drugs to try to treat my anxiety and depression. Never once was it suggested to me that this could be the results of Singulair!!!! Last week, I started having trouble with chest pressure/pain and was diagnosed with GERD (acid reflux). My dr. was not available, so I saw someone else, and he suggested that I research all my meds (I'm 27 and take 4 Rx's a day, 3 of which I can probably cut out now that I am no longer on Singulair!!!) and see if any of them could cause GERD. That's when I found out that, not only can Singulair cause gastric problems, but I am an exact match for most of these lists of side effects!!! Wow, I am so glad I started doing my research about this medication! My regular doctor confirmed this morning that I started Singulair about 4 months before I finally sought help for my anxiety and depression (and they were terribly severe at that point). Basically, I've lost 1.5 years of my life trying to fix what this med did to me. I quit taking it as of last week. I hope things return to normal soon.

I began 50 mg Toprol XL 2 years ago then reduced to 25 mg when palps and blood pressure normalized. Had trouble sleeping. Back in August, I began taking the generic version Metoprolol. One day I couldn't feel my index finger and thumb on right hand and immediate began to worry. I also began feeling depressed and was having terrible panic attacks. Sleeping was non-existent. Also, my chest felt as if it was on fire. Throat closed up and had difficulty breathing. Went to Walgreens nurse and she looked at me funny and said it was allergies to try Claritin and Flonase. DID NOT HELP! Went to the Dr. and he too chalked that up to allergies and gave me a shot. That relieved the breathing symptoms but nothing else. He told me numbness was tendonitis and gave me a "pretty brace." Numbness and tingling did not improve in fact went into other arm which caused me alarm. I went to chiropractor for help...nice massages but still numbness! Then my hands and feet started going cold...I'd had it. Went back to Dr and he put me on Xanax for panic attacks, told me I was depressed and need to see a psychiatrist for mood altering meds. I was ready to slug him! The numbness and tingling are insane! The Dr. to appease me switched me back to Toprol XL...no relief then tried Atenolol. The thing is for a few days while the insurance was figuring out what to pay for, I didn't take meds and began improving. Tried Atenolol and symptoms came right back. Called Dr and was told to just stop altogether...no weaning. Terrible tightness in chest could not breathe...miserable and scary. The next day I got a little better. Sleep improved somewhat but still having trouble with muscles tingling in feet up to knees and muscle cramping in right calve and for arms. Wondering how long this stuff stays in system. Seems to me I should be done...I have been off 17 days and am looking for relief for muscles symptoms...also looking for new Dr...anyone out there know how long this stuff hangs out in your muscles and stuff?????

Hi all...I am not currently on Yasmin, but I was on it over a year. Never experienced a SINGLE side effect. In fact, I'm pretty sure that my mood, acne, etc actually IMPROVED with my use of Yasmin. I plan on going back on Yasmin.

For all of the people here who are within the first three months of use of Yasmin or any birth control, my doctor told me that there is a three month adjustment period. Try to hang in there; maybe it will get better.

I'm not a drug rep or anything of the sort...just a satisfied customer. I was once on the patch, but while I used the patch I experienced very serious mood swings. I stuck with it for over two months, and I simply couldn't wait out the three month adjustment period.

If Yasmin isn't for you, try to switch. The patch didn't work for me, but Yasmin did. If Yasmin doesn't work for you, it is not a reason to swear off all birth control pills. The difference between every pill is that there are different dosages. Each pill has a different dosage, so another pill might work a lot better.

I started advair a year ago for COPD and the side effects have become intolerable, but I'm between a rock and a hard spot, because it has made it possible for me to get off of the rescue inhaler which I was previously using every two hours. My hair periodically falls out by the handful, my legs swell every night and a deep bruise to my right leg has created a four week odyssy of the ankle swelling to twice the size of the other by dinnertime and the bruise is only just starting to appear - I suspect the steroids have slowed healing. I also have most of the same side effects as listed by others here - belly-bloating, diarrhea, severe stomach cramping, charlie horses, quicker temper, hoarseness, sore throat, heart palpatations, and chest pressure, trouble swallowing, bruising, blurred vision, most disconcerting is the way this stuff is affecting my short term memory. I just started back to school and I can't absorb anything into my memory and my ability to conceptualize (one of my best skills, previously) is now frightenly limited. For the first time in my life, I know what it is like to be the one in class scratching my head with a dumb expression on my face. I realized that it was the Advair, because I tried studying in the early morning (after the last dose of Advair had worn off) and Voila - my memory and conceptualizing abilities had partially, but dramatically, returned. But I need the Advair to GET TO class and by the time I reach the test (after my morning dose of Advair), I can't recall anything in a timely enough manner (test taking had always been my strength). I hate to think what this drug is doing to the minds of children in this country. I now know for the first time in my life, what a horrible feeling it is to not "get it" after trying with all your might. I flunked a math test last week after studying days and nights for it - first test I've ever flunked in my life and I used to get Bs in college while not opening a book until the night before a test. Does anyone know of anything else that is anywhere nearly as effective without all the side effects? I suspect it is the fluoride in Advair that makes it so dangerous - a good percentage of the dangerous drugs taken off the market or still on the market, but with blackbox warnings contain Fluoride - it is highly reactive and unpredictable. Flonase (nasal spray made with steroids and fluoride) makes my father and sister nearly psychotic!

Who would think an antibiotic would have such effects? I have been experienceing pain in my shoulder for about 3 weeks. This began less than 2 weeks after taking Levaquin for 2 weeks. In addition to that, I experienced side effects during the treatment. This include chest pressure and rapid heartbeat.

Yesterday, I saw an orthpaedist who diagnosed me with a rotator cuff injury.
I have one month of physical therapy to endure 3x per week now. If the pain doesn't improve in 2 weeks, then an MRI will be done. If it is ruptured, there will likely be surgery.

I am a healthy 35 year old woman with no history of shoulder problems. The doctor and others have asked what did I do to hurt myself. My answer is that I made the mistake of taking a drug that shouldn't be on the market. I don't lift weights and I didn't pitch 9 innings before this. So the only connection is a drug whose website states "ruptures of the shoulder, hands, and Achilles tendons have been reported...".

I have woarned all of my friends and co-workers about this drug. I am now on a crusade to prevent others from falling victim to this drug. I understand that the risks to the few outwiegh the rewards to many. However, when you are one of the few who is affected, your viewpoint changes. I am an educated woman and did read the side affects prior to taking the drug. I knew this was a possibility but it was "rare". Who knew an antibiotic could be so helpful and harmful at the same time!

Hi Ladies,

Just to let you know I'm feeling great, 2 months off of Yasmin now. My sex drive continues to improve, my magnesium when last checked was 2.1 (vs 1.7) and the heart palpitations, arrythmias, and chest pressure have disappeared. I still take blood pressure medication, but I know now that with time I will be able to get off of those.

I forgot to mention in my earlier posts that I've gained almost 20 pounds since I got on Yasmin. I now have to try to lose them, hopefully before I end up pregnant (!!!).

I congratulate all of you that have made the decision to get off of yasmin. Remember what my specialist told me a few weeks ago: "DON'T TAKE ORAL CONTRACEPTIVES. FIND ANOTHER MORE NATURAL WAY". Remember he also said that he doesn't let his wife take them.

I know not everyone has a negative reaction, but for those of us who have it is encouraging to know there are doctors out there that support us and believe us. If no one else, we believe you. Stay strong, you will get better.

IPJ

Hi Kim123,

Your story sounds like an exact exact replicate of my own. I stopped Yasmin in May 06, and until now am still suffering from it's effects. The first 4 months off were the absolute worse. I became an exact opposite of my former self. All of sudden, I would get SEVERE panic attacks esp. while eating.... I too lost 14 pounds and went from somebody who couldn't stop thinking about food, too somebody who absolutely detested and feared it.

I went to tons and tons of Doctors. The one thing that they finally found was subclinical hyperthyroidism with a tsh as low as .009. Finally in October of 06, after getting to the point of wanting to end it all, I gave in and took fluoxetine 10mg, every other day. I feared taking any more drugs because of what Yasmin did to me., but at that point it couldn't get any worse. At that point I finally started making slow, but steady progress. The fluoxetine helped a lot with the anxiety and also with my gastrointestinal problems. I researched many hours on the drug type and realized most Dr's prescribe to high of a dose and it is better to take the lowest possible dose to avoid the extra side effects.. Btw, I never had any side effects from the drug.

The first four months, I couldn't eat anything. I had chest pressure, tightness, difficulty swallowing/ sometimes breathing, anxiety, panic attacks, all day nausea, chills.

Now at almost a year off, the chest pressure and swallowing problems ceased. The nausea ceased though depending on my cycle I still cannot eat too much and sometimes feel ill after eating. The anxiety is much less and the chills went away. So even after a year off, I still cannot eat as I used to, but I did make progress and so will you.

Kim, it's probably going to be a long hard journey back to health as all of us on these boards now. The one thing that keeps me going is knowing that eventually there will be more good days then bad... and that one day I will have my health back and that I will never ever take for granted again.

Best wishes, and God bless.

Jen

chest pressure and severe caughs for the past 2-3 weeks now.

I was on Yasmin for 1.5 years and YAZ for 7 months. I am getting off the pill after this pack...only 6 more pills.
I am terrified of what will happen when I stop.
So far my side effects are:
Melasma
heart palpitations
anxiety
rapid heart beat for 15 mins. or more (this happens randomly)
chest pressure
NO sex drive

I had a severe poison ivy/sumac reaction and slowly the swelling in my face reached the point of affecting my breathing, so I had an emergency treatment with Prednisone. This was my first experience with this drug. (I am not one to use allopathic medicine unless it's an emergency.) The first dose was shots, then I was put on a "med pak" of methylprednisolone, to be used for 5 or 6 days, tapering down the dosages day by day. By the third day, I began to find the side effects increasingly intense. I had had a mild headache, some chest pressure, funny bone aches, stomach/liver aches, as well as sensations of spacy-ness, floating feelings, difficulty focusing my eyes at times, and my attention, etc.; but the chest pressure was what worried me most. It was all on the left side. I eventually called the doctor because the pressure and discomfort was beginning to become severe each time I took a pill. He agreed to let me stop the prednisone. I had about 2 days left of tapering to one a day, but couldn't stand to take anymore. It was beginning to feel like a life or death situation! (My rash is flaring a little now, but not seriously. I am using alternative remedies as well, and things don't seem to be reversing to where they were, thankfully.) I had missed quite a bit of work, and did not feel like myself. Yesterday was my 2nd day off the pills, and I stayed home to work on flushing my system of the prednisone. I felt like I was going through withdrawal. Today I feel much more like myself. I know now that a lot of the "sickness" I was feeling wasn't just an allergic reaction to a plant--I was sick from the medicine as well. In fact, I think it was more the medicine than the poison ivy that kept me out of work. I appreciate the use of something like prednisone in emergency cases...it may have saved my life...but from now on, I'm going to do whatever I can to avoid having to ever use this drug again. It was clearly very damaging to my body. I hope I was able to eradicate it enough, and was not on it long enough to cause any permanent damage. I have not noticed any more pain in my chest since stopping the medicine. (I may, however, insist that my doctor run some tests to make sure there isn't damage, although the damage might not be something they could easily measure at this point. I have no history of heart problems, and a stress test a few years back came out great.) I would seriously encourage anyone who has to use prednisone more than a few days to look for alternatives, or insist (to your doctor) on alternatives (that hopefully won't be worse). This drug is VERY, VERY toxic and dangerous!! I'm very aware of how my body responds to what I put in it. A lot of people aren't as in touch with their body's responses, and may start on a roller coaster of treatments as things come up, not realizing that the problem may have to do with their medicine. I believe this is the case with a lot of the elderly who frequently end up taking pills to remedy the symptoms created by other pills! Good luck to everyone, and God bless us all!!!

I found this web site today and I could not stop sobbing. I have been diagnosed with 'stress' and anxiety, and was given cymbalta and zanax which made all my Yasmin symptoms that much worse. I knew I wasn't suffering from stress-the symptoms and the lack of a correct diagnosis were causing me stress.
My side effects began the first month I was on Yasmin. I called my doctor to complain of the nausea, weight loss, spotting, and general "yuck" feeling I had. I was told to keep taking it and that those symptoms were normal for the first four months. The nausea did indeed go away, so did the weight loss and spotting.
I took Yasmin for the next (nearly 3) years. I now have the full blown symptoms which crept up on me and have been misdiagnosed since November '05. My side effects include awful constant chest pain, chest pressure, chest fluttering,occasional pain in my left upper arm, pain under my jaw, occasional breathlessness, mental unclearness, hair loss, unwanted hair growth, depression, nightmares, sweats, thoughts of dying, mood swings, weight gain,bad headache during my period, and a feeling that I was going crazy!
I am both saddened and relieved to see I am not alone. After leaving a cardiologist who told me there was nothing wrong with me, I decided to look into this nagging suspicion I had about Yasmin. I had been taking Low Ogestrel (sp?) for years without incident. At my 2003 gyno visit my doctor switched me to Yasmin because "it is better". I remember thinking he must have some incentive to switch me to a new brand when I didn't have a problem with the one I was on. That first month I was on Yasmin I didn't feel well and called my gyno.. Then I just trusted and let it go, after all my initial side effects seemed to go away.
I have been to several doctors including my family doctor, the ER doctor and a cardiologist for this nightmare. I have told each one that I am taking birth control pills yet not one even asked me what kind. That bugged me and eventually led me to this site with the hope of finding my syptoms listed. I have an appointment to see my gyno. this week. He has been away since my discovery. I hope there is something to be done. I can't stand living like this. This is not me. Thank you for sharing your stories, it is the most help I have recieved so far-I am not alone and someone out there 'gets' it. I am going to show these stories to my doctor in the hope that he will inform his other Yasmin taking patients to be on the look-out for these symptoms. I do not wish for anyone to suffer as I am. Good luck to you all.
kath