Chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms and conditions

I was on birth control for 17 years because I suffered from severe cramps and bleeding when I was a teenager. Two years ago I was so sick - extreme fatigue, dizziness, nausea, severe constipation, severe depression, irritability, almost constant yeast infections and overall just felt very sick. I had gone to many doctors for many different testings and they all told me they couldn't figure out what was wrong. Some thought IBS, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome but nothing specific. I finally got to a point where I didn't want to live like this anymore and went to see a Holistic MD. He changed my life! The first thing he said was that I needed to come off the pill. Of course not wanting to ever have children - this was very scary to me. It took me about a year of talking to him about that that I finally decided to give it a try. OMG! I became a totally different person! Happy, full of energy, no fatigue at all, no more yeast infections, all my symptoms disappeared. It took about a year for the hormones to regulate because I had been on them for so long. I'm telling you all this because after being off of the pill for two years, I decided to try the ring which didn't work and then thought I'd try going back on the pill for my huge fear of pregnancy. Well, it's only been 3 weeks and all my symptoms are back in full force. I am miserable and will be taking myself back off. My quality of life is more important than anything else. The doctors don't tell you these things because they believe what that sales reps tell them who of course want to make a ton of money. As women we need to stand up and speak out so that is what I'm doing. My husband and I are researching other options but the pill is definitely not one of them.

Provigil saved my life! Been taking it every day for years now after a weird sleep condition left me virtually bed bound, unable to work-it was thought I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, until I was sent to a sleep clinic! The first couple weeks taking provigil I had indigestion type symptoms, so just avoided taking on an empty stomach. Also every few months it seems to become less effective, so I just schedule in a 1-2 break. Otherwise, its great!

It is too soon to tell if YAZ has contributed to my daughter's problems but her doctor just recommend that she stop taking it immediately.

My daughter is 17, in the last two years she has had mono twice. It all started with spasms in her back and neck two years ago, then her neck lymph glands started swelling and she kept getting horrible viral sore throats. Next her blood pressure started dropping radically. 85/50 for no reason, next she started getting terrible stomach pains and then headaches,nausea, watery eyes, irritable bowl syndrome and then the glands in the area of her appendix swelled up so much the emergency room thought she had appendicitis.It was her glands, not her appendix. This was all over a 2 year time frame. None of the symptoms had any rhyme or reason and they all came and went erratically. However, they were making her miserable and me miserable because she was depressed, very moody and unhappy and sick!

The only thing she has ever taken during all this time was YAZ. I asked her doctor if the YAZ could contribute to the swelling of the lymph glands and he did not think so. That was a year ago. Yesterday, I took my daughter to a Rheumatologist and when he heard she was on the YAZ he told her to stop immediately and prescribed a low dosage of muscle relaxer and an anti inflammatory. I have no way to know whether all of these symptoms are going to clear up. I have started my daughter on a wellness plan of eating which includes lots of holistic methods. Hard to get a teen away from comfort foods when they don't feel well but she is resigned to the fact that her immune system is so compromised that if she ever wants to feel well we have to try drastic measures.

She has had almost all the symptoms described as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and I am told that's what she has now. It is possible that the YAZ had made all of this worse. She sleeps endlessly and only time off of the YAZ will tell, but as a mom I wanted her off this pill a year ago and I am upset that I didn't do more to get her off it. It took her missing 60 days of school consecutively for a doctor to say STOP and see if it helps. My feeling is she couldn't be much worse, well actually that's the direction this seemed to be going. I think that the estrogin has fed many of the problems my daughter has had, but I am not a doctor and it's just my mom opinion.

Only time will tell.

I have been on Lisinopril for 3 years, originally 5mg, now 20mg/day. I am 44 years old and high BP is hereditary. Over the last 3 years I have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Last week, after reading posts on this site, I stopped taking that d*$! medication. What happened..... I am starting to feel better....... Now, it is off to the doctor to find another medication. My Bp is high (140/118) even with Lisinopril, so it is time to switch! Thanks to everyone who has brought this to my attention!!!

I had a great experience with Biaxin. I have chronic fatigue syndrome...took Biaxin for a skin infection...the skin cleared quickly. The only side effect was that I actually slept incredibly well for the first time in years!

I suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. I have problems with painful joints and have fluid on my knees. I tried Aqua Ban to try to relieve the fluid on my knees. I started by taking 2 tablets x 2 times on the first day, I was fine. The next day I took same dosage. In the afternoon I started feeling unwell. I went to bed as I had terrible tummy pains, felt sick and went downhill quite quickly. The next day I felt worse and had cramping pains all day. I stayed in bed with a hot water bottle. I had no energy at all. This went on for 4 days and eventually I ended up with a pain in my pelvic region. I can only think that the Aqua Ban had such an affect because of the chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia? Has anyone else had an experience like this?

Hi everyone,

i need to tell you about what just happened to me, because it seems most people are definitely not informed of all the possible side effects of prednisone - not only just relating to the dose of prednisone you take but also for how long.

I have been using prednisone for almost 14 years now, the doctors all tell me i'm unlikely to ever get off prednisone now because i've been on it too long. I know all about it's usual side effects (water retention, mood swings, thinning of all tissues including blood, acne, anemia, etc etc).

One side effect i was not advised of, not even in any educational material about prednisone either, was that long-term dependence can lead to Acute Adrenal Crisis. Which is deadly if not diagnosed and treated promptly. Thus i nearly died two weeks ago. I became rapidly ill with vague symptoms that i now know are symptoms of acute adrenal crisis. *THE ONLY REASON THE ACUTE ADRENAL CRISIS OCCURRED WAS BECAUSE OF LONG-TERM USE OF PREDNISONE*. Not many doctors will warn patients in advance of this. It is however, very very important that people are aware that long-term use of prednisone needs to be very carefully weighed with the benefits of using prednisone (i was started on prednisone in 1995 to treat severe Crohn's Disease).

Acute adrenal crisis can happen over weeks, months or years - in other words, it can come on so slowly that by the time you know there's something wrong you're already very very ill and in great danger.

I am very glad to have found this website and i hope you will all refer anyone who has any experience with prednisone to this site - education and knowledge is power - the power to stay alive.

(by the way, the treatment for acute adrenal crisis is to load up on prednisone - seems i'll probably never be free of this drug unless i can get my adrenal glands to begin working again (as prednisone "takes over" for the adrenal glands and they effectively go to sleep, and this is especially true for long-term use)).

My sympathies to everyone who has to go through the many nasty experiences with prednisone, especially the young children (I had to start it when i was 16). It really does mess with your body and mind, and in my case, became lethal.

Please pass on all your information relating to use of prednisone to everyone you can - it really is that important and seems to be the only way to avoid most of the disasters related to prednisone use.

take care everyone,
Linda
(Australia)

Just got prescribed Bactrim today for a URI. I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and am very sensitive to ANY medications anyway. THANK GOD I had the brains enough to be cautious and only take a 1/2 of a tablet (I am the butt of many jokes in my family because I am almost medication-phobic due to side effects) but I just took a 1/2 a tablet and 11 hours after taking it, I have a swollen face, eyelids, etc., a bloodshot eye, nasal passages are swollen completely shut, have heart palpitations, and my urine is BROWN. Yes, BROWN. OMG I am not taking another pill, it should be removed from the market. You all know that SOME day, we'll be seeing some attorney commercial on TV asking for people that have been injured/death from side effects of this drug......unbelievable doctors are still prescribing this as I believe they've got to be getting complaints about it all the time. I had a friend that worked for a doctor and she told me that SOME doctors push certain drugs to their patients based on the good "perks" the drug reps give their office (lunches for staff, vacations for doctors, etc) shouldn't be that way but is for compensation for prescribing their drugs more than a competitors. Sad. Pray for me no long-term damage has been done.

Hi
I started taking 10 mg. daily ofLipitor 8 yrs. ago and about a year later I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. There's no test for Fibro, just blood tests to elimate everything else ex: Lupus, RA etc. I've been suffering so much from muscle pain, all the tender points as in Fibro and also diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. Three doctors diagnosed me with Fibro. and chronic fatigue. I had most of the symptoms everyone else is complaining about also. The pain in my stomach muscles are just about gone too.

It reached a point three weeks ago when I was having sharp pains all over my body and muscle cramps and charlie horses at night and I could just about walk up the stairs my hips hurt so much that decided to stop Lipitor. I was so tired all the time and in constant pain.

My doctors said it couldn't be the Lipitor. The pain in most of the tender points are just about gone but I know it will take a while to get out of my system. I lost muscle strength over the years and hope to get that back. I'm 64 years old and know it will take awhile .

I went to my doctor Tuesday and told him I took myself off the Lipitor and that I now remember being diagnosed with Fibro shortly after going on Lipitor. He got so mad at me and said that Lipitor doesn't cause a disease. As I said there's no test for Fibro and it's not a disease it's a syndrome or condition where the brain sends pain signals to the tender point muscles but there's nothing actually wrong with the muscles. I told him that 6 years ago when I tried going off Lipitor for 3 months and joined a gym, Curves, I felt fine and thought I was in remission. Then when I started taking Lipitor again I couldn't do the exercise in Curves and had to stop going. It never dawned on me it was the Lipitor.

I now have a problem with my heart, one condition I might have been born with but the Arrthymia I don't know about. My heart beats too many beats and it beats 4 beats and the 5th beat is backwards. Now I'm on 25mg of Topricin (the generic) beta blocker to slow down the heart beats. I don't know if this is caused by the Lipitor or not. My cardiologist said that Lipitor can affect every muscle in your body and she suggested that I get a RX for a blood test to tell whether I have muscle damage. I went for the test Tuesday but haven't received the results yet.

I'm going to change doctors, I don't like my doctor's attitude with me over the Lipitor. These doctors think they're God. When I told him on Tuesday about the 3 months that I felt fine 6 years ago he said that there are other drugs besides statins to lower cholesterol. I don't want to go on any drugs and the non statin drugs can cause intestinal blockage, he got upset when I told him that too. I'm going to try to lower it with flaxseed and fiber and see if that works. I go to Weight Watchers and kept 17 lbs. off for 6 years now, I do try and eat healthy.

I can't believe it cost me almost 8 years of my life in pain. It's even hard for me to get down on the floor with my granchildren, I have to crawl to the couch or chair to lift myself up and I get tired so easily. I just hope I get back to normal.

I'm so glad I found this website and figured out what was wrong with me. I hope my writing helps someone else dignosed with Fibromyalgia and taking a statin.

Thanks for listening.
Marie

I have been on Wellbutrin XL 150mg for 5 days now and have noticed that I am very short with people and experiencing anger. I tend to lash out. Will this go away?

I have had the same serious of same side effects as everyone listed in this site. Tiredness is the BIG one - Mostly to not being able to sleep...Timing is perfect with taking this Drug. i necver had this problem before. I feel great in the morning untill about and hour later after popping the pill and the rest of the day is a struggle. Doc' put me on Provigil (speed) to keep me going. Some days that doesn't even work. it's only been lately i have put two and two together and blame it on the Lisinopril.

Question? Anyone switch Med's and had beter results? If so which one??
Thanks
Rich

I was given an injection of Kenalog one week ago. By the time I got home I felt extreme fatigue and was forced to go to bed. I had not been nervous about the injection & it was pretty much pain-free. The injection was given for two herniated discs & sciatica. Within the next couple of days new symptoms appeared -- fast & irregular heartbeat, headaches and excessive urination. I also feel unusually anxious. I suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome and wonder if that condition had something to do my onging symptoms. My medical knowledge is very limited, but I wonder if this medication could cause changes in my adrenal function. When I saw my orthopaedic physician assistant on Friday I mentioned the symptoms and she didn't seem concerned & said maybe I had been retaining fluid --- which is not the case. I am 59 years old & I know my body! Although I have been eating well, I have lost three pounds. I am so confused. I have also had sweats, similar to hot flashes. Do you all think these symptoms could be related to the injection. I have a call in to the pain management doctor who did the injection, but I guess he will just blow me off, too. This is awful. He wants me to have another injection next Monday. Right now, I do not think I am going to follow though -- but will just deal with the pain the best I can. !

Hello, I have had severe fibromyalgia, Crohn's disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome which put me in the bed for about four years. My pain was so severe, I was put on morphine. They were ready to put the morphine pump in when I just rebelled and put my foot down. I was tired of everyone ruling my life. I was like a zombie but was still in severe pain. When I pulled off the medication, it left me with neuropathy in my feet. I asked the doctor to put me on Neurontin for that. I had no idea how it was going to effect my fibromyalgia. The very first pill I took, I was scared to take it because I am so hyper sensitive. It eased my entire body down and it felt so good. For the first time in such a long time, I had the best nights rest. i had been sleep deprived for years. Since then, the doctor has eased my dose up and I am presently on 1200 mg a day. I am starting to excercise my muscles for the first time lifting cans of soup. I know that sounds funny but I have come from my death bed. I am concentrating so much better. I am working on a home study course and being able to get up very early and go to bed at a good time. I again stress that I sleep so well. The only thing I can see that has happened differently is that my vision has gotten worse. I don't know if it is from that. My pupils are not equal either as someone else has mentioned. I also have had some ringing in my ears but I am taking other medications too and can't say that it is just neurontin that is causing it. I have hope now where I didn't have before in my life. I can't say enough good about what Neurontin has done for me. You have to start out very low on it and gradually go up. Carole

Taken it for years to help with the insomnia problems associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The undesireable (literally!) side effect is a poor erection and retarded orgasm. This improves with a two week holiday from the drug.