Citrus fruits symptoms and conditions

DO NOT take antibiotics unless it is a Life or Death situation!
I have been diagnosed with CYSTITIS, based in my breasts & bladder, and now I'm scheduled to go in for other tests because I have had excessive bloating, IBS & pain in my gut.
I thought the Nuva Ring was causing my extreme random cramps, my breast soreness (Extremely Painful, making me want to inject them with novacaine, if it were a good idea...), my Pain During Sex (esp. since I have a lovely sex drive) and most recently, the constant urge to pee when I didn't, but it was NOT the birth control.
ANTIBIOTICS CAUSED THIS!
In the last month I have met 3 more women (& 1 man) with the same/similar problems and diagnosis, All on heavy antibiotics in the last year.
The good news is that it is Not cancerous to my knowledge, there are foods you can eat, like those that are good for reducing swelling, and it's a good idea to Avoid certain foods such as soy, anything too acidic like tomatoes, cranberries or citrus fruits & juices, preservatives, additives, really spicy foods, etc. **It is Very Important to take a Pro-Biotic capsule with At Least 4 different types such as Acidophilus, Bifidum, and others, depending on your symptoms & areas of concern (look up what bacteria does what). Taking these only during antibiotic usage Is NOT Enough!
The bad news? If a few months to a year of partial/full diet change does not help, it is considered either too late to help (get used to the pain, it's not going anywhere) or it may be an auto-immune disease, though this is quite rare.
PLEASE, LADIES -- Take Care when dealing with antibiotics, they are much more dangerous than many people/doctors know/are lead to believe. (And as for the yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis? Take 1 part Hydrogen Peroxide, 3 parts water, douche (rinse, do not let it set for more than 10 sec's) once a day before bed/naptime for a few days, splash Outside Only with cool water if needed, but Not inside. Burn/irritation for about 1 min. but Absolutely worth not waiting for a doc's prescript. or spending endless $ on crappy worthless ointments/creams. Totally safe when Diluted -- Hydrogen peroxide is made naturally on its own in All Vaginas, this just helps to kill yeasts and bad bacteria which are Anaerobic (do not like oxygen).)

Hello! I've been taking Lamictal for about 6 years now. I'm diagnosed as BP II and have the most difficulty with depression. I currently take 500 mg-- 400 mg at night and 100 mg in the morning. I have to say that Lamictal has been very good to me for the most part. As long as I don't put myself into extremely stressful positions-- such as my last job-- I do quite well. I also take a combination of supplements with Lamictal which seem to give the extra push that I needed to completely get out of my last depression. I take 1000 mg EPA (fish oil), B-100 Complex, Folic Acid, Cal-Mag, multivitamin (high quality, organic), Vitamin D (at least 1000 mg) and a few others.

I notice that when I take it at night if I don't go to sleep right away, my mouth and tongue will tingle. Sometimes when I take it in the morning, I feel foggy and dizzy and sometimes get vertigo. Every now and then the side effects seem to get worse, which I am not sure about. I started searching on the internet because I've been noticing that the "tip of the tongue" problem has been occurring more and more often. I often cannot think of the word I want, simple things even. As others have mentioned, I also have difficulty with memory. I am still very successful, currently pursuing a 2nd Master's Degree, but have noticed that achieving the same level of quality of work takes a lot more effort than during my previous degrees.

I do have some periods of anger/irritability and have recently been sleeping a lot, though it probably has a lot more to do with the time of year-- winter with less light-- than anything else.

I am particularly worried about my memory loss and inability to sound "well-spoken" in a setting which demands that of me. It is frustrating! I don't want to do any lasting harm on my brain. After increasing to 500 mg from 400 mg, I have noticed more of these brain issues, but I'm also doing so much better mood wise!

I was on Novinette (Europe, don't know if it's sold here in the U.S.) before Yasmin and didn't really ahve any side effects besides severe bloating which made me feel awful.
Before that I tries Logest (EU again, don't know about U.S.), which I stopped after a week because I could not eat ANYTHING besides citrus fruits.
I never had the chest pain or anxiety before Yasmin.

I really want to try Nuvaring... has anyone else had any luck with it?

Trailblazen, #12588 aka Guest, #12586

Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to be as thorough as possible. :)

About transplants; immune cells recognize the transplanted kidney as different from the rest of the body and attempt to destroy it; prednisone stops the body's normal inflammatory reaction to foreign tissue and infection lessening the chances of rejection.
However, recent studies have shown that very short term prednisone therapy (3 or so days) after kidney transplants has excellent outcomes. Because of this, new transplants are routinely being placed on steroid-free maintenance programs.
I wonder trailblazin, why they felt that long term therapy was needed in your situation?
I am happy though, that although you have the horrible side-effects, you are now off the stuff and feeling better!!! Most importantly, the transplant was a success!!

About Vitamin C; Vitamin C is important in the synthesis of hormones by the adrenal glands and a very high concentration is usually found in the adrenal and pituitary glands.
The adrenal glands are also referred to as the anti-stress glands of the body .
Well known studies have shown that aspirin, alcohol, antibiotics, and steroids increase vitamin C requirements. To make matters worse, when we are stressed, Vitamin C disappears from our blood stream too quickly especially from our adrenal glands.

We should try to get our vitamins from natural sources first. The best known food sources that contain vitamin C are citrus fruits, berries such as strawberries, melons, tomatoes, potatoes, broccoli, green peppers, dark green leafy vegetables and cabbages. If you take supplements, try to take 100 to 250mgs but no more then 500mgs. Supplemental Vitamin C is usually excreted if it is not utilized right away, but as with all things, it has some possible side effects at real high doses, like possible kidney stones.
I personally try to drink two glasses of OJ and try to eat yogurt, cantaloupe or tomatoes everyday. I also take 250 mgs of the chewable C in the morning, thats when our adrenals normally put out our daily cortisol.
To get the needed amounts of C, experts recommend 5 servings of fruit or vege's everyday...that seems like alot of eating for the average busy lifes we lead. :)

About insomnia; I have had insomnia most of my life. It's aweful and I feel for you!!
I have tried everything, from natural sources to pills. The only thing that works for me is keeping a routine and seeing a chiropractor. No matter how tired I am after a fitful night of tossing and turning, I get up at the same time everyday.
No napping either!! That's a killer for us insomniac's. Other things that help are keeping the room dark and serene, no tv watching in the bedroom right before going to sleep and no eating or exercise within 4 hours of going to bed.
You may want to try eating things that raise your melatonin production. Melatonin rich foods include:: spirulina seaweed, soy nuts, cottage cheese, chicken, pumpkin seeds, turkey, dried watermelon seeds, oats, sweet corn, rice, ginger, tomatoes, bananas, and barley.
Some vitamins and minerals such as B6, niacin amide, calcium, magnesium, or antioxidants may help. Other herbal remedies to consider are Valerian root, Chamomile tea, Skullcap, Passion flower, Wood betony, or California poppy.

As always, research everything before you take it. We know our bodies best and some herbs do carry possible side-effects.

The good news is that you probably have Transient Insomnia from the prednisone and it will usually disappear within a few months!! Hang in there and try a few things to help it resolve.

Again, I apologize for my abrupt and inconsiderate posts earlier on.

Best of luck to you Trail, hang in there.

Jules

possible side effect - swollen lips and mouth ulcers - could this be linked with eating/drinking citrus fruits and juices??