Cocktail symptoms and conditions

Please someone help. I've been on prednisone for a year and a half. told I had Adrenal Insufficiency and as I was weaned off complained to my doctor about mood swings and not being able to sleep. Now down to low dose and experiencing free fall feeling in chest,shortness of breath and worst of all rage. Want to break things and just die.My mood swings escalated and they want to up my prednisone and told me to see a psychiatrist! My eye sight has changed this past year for the worse. Need new glasses and if they up it I'll go blind! I want my life back. I use to be the most level headed, peacemaking person and now I don't know who I am. Please someone HELP I need advice how to get out of this vicious cycle.
Thanks in advance

I have been on NuvaRing for over 3 years now. When I first went on birth control I was using the ortho evra patch however, I was suffering from side effects such as nausea, always feeling sick and tired. I eat a lot and everything but while using the patch I felt TERRIBLE eating the blandest toast. I am not a heavy drinker but even one cocktail would cause me to be extremely sick. I switched to NuvaRing and since then I was back to my normal self. Not only that but while on the NuvaRing my period is like CLOCKWORK, I know exactly when I am getting my period. I did not experience any breakthrough bleeding and my periods are extremely light. Overall the switch to NuvaRing was so worth it.

"Bipolar cocktail" is an excellent way to articulate my medication regimen as well lol. I've been on Wellbutrin for about 8 years, and recently increased my dosage of Lamictal dramatically. (I'm on Lexapro too, but I don't think it's relevant to this situation.) Immediately after the increase in dosage, I started having greater difficulty with my cognitive abilities, a whole lot of trouble speaking (that pulling the word out of my head issue), short-term memory worsened beyond the little ability I had left from the rest of the side effects of my other medications, and other examples of brain mushiness :) Anyway, I recently brought this up to my doctor- she said these symptoms sound more like side-effects of Wellbutrin, and Lamictal is supposed to have few to none except a rash. But I haven't had a change in my Wellbutrin dosage in something like 5 years. Has anyone heard anything similar to this from their doctor? It doesn't make as much sense to me as it being a side-effect of Lamictal does...

"Bipolar cocktail" is an excellent way to articulate my medication regimen as well lol. I've been on Wellbutrin for about 8 years, and recently increased my dosage of Lamictal dramatically. (I'm on Lexapro too, but I don't think it's relevant to this situation.) Immediately after the increase in dosage, I started having greater difficulty with my cognitive abilities, a whole lot of trouble speaking (that pulling the word out of my head issue), short-term memory worsened beyond the little ability I had left from the rest of the side effects of my other medications, and other examples of brain mushiness :)

Anyway, I recently brought this up to my doctor- she said these symptoms sound more like side-effects of Wellbutrin, and Lamictal is supposed to have few to none except a rash. But I haven't had a change in my Wellbutrin dosage in something like 5 years. Has anyone heard anything similar to this from their doctor? It doesn't make as much sense to me as it being a side-effect of Lamictal does...

When I started my little emotional rollercoaster @ age 35, they classified me as being bi-polar with generalized anxiety disorder. I put myself into a treatment center after feeling like I was going to go crazy. I used to work in the medical field and I should have known better. They doped me up on 1000mg of Lithium, and 9oomg of Depakote. Lithium can be hard to regulate and dangerous; coming from a person who can sneeze and lose two pounds Depakote just turned out to be a fat pill (180 to 210 in three months). I went through the guinea pig stage Every SSR they put me on had a very bad side effect, Paxil being the worst. After two days of taking it the racing thoughts and feeling out being out of control made me want to jump out the window. I could not even call 911 as I felt I would go even more insane. I really almost did not make it through it. I discussed it with my new Dr. and he suggested Lamictal. I have been on Lamictal for over 4 years at 300mg a day. It has stabilized my moods but I still argue with the doctor about my diagnosis as I feel I am more Cyclothymic , my mood swings are not as pronounced and can last from a few hours to a few days. Since first taking the med I noticed the memory loss, my train of thought going out the window, bloated, the feeling of having a fever, but not. One of the most important affects, if I am an hour or so late from my regular scheduled dose I get dizzy and my shoulders and neck start to tingle and get numb. Just two weeks I requested an increase in the dosage to 400mg to see if it would help with my underlying depression that every other combo has not addressed. Since then I have been a bit more of a whack job. (Emotionally)Two days after the increase I had a very hyper mania day, I had to leave work early for fear I would lose control of my mouth, do or say something very ADHD. I took two days off and seemed to be fine after that. This Sunday I went downhill as soon as I woke up. I wanted to cry, but couldn’t and I did not know why; I felt void of emotions except for sadness, lacked the energy to want to deal with people, even my other half, wondering why I was even here. (Physically) I have noticed heart palpitations and muscle spasms in my face and arms. I looked up side effects and found this site and wanted to add to it. I have tried just about everything out there that I can and nothing will really work as good as this one. Combos with it do nothing for me either. It really freaks me out that the thing I am taking so I do not feel the way I do is making me feel that way to the extreme. I am letting my Dr. know that I will be taking myself off this dosage.

My doctor is a good doctor she is a great listener. Medicine is a hit and miss process for one to undergo. Singular worked great to keep the asthma at bay. Yet, there was a down fall that my doctor did not expect. I was having major mood swings. Such as anger, sadness, depression. Once I added Singular, it didn't come until the second month. I know myself quite well I am funny and very loving. This change came like a thief in the night. I woke up one day not standing the sound of my family voices and felt angry. I was crying and feeling sad to the point I was just waiting for the next mood to come. I do know the difference us women have with moods. This was a different degree of a mood swing. I been threw ups and downs so life was not the problem. I notice this change and immediately told my doctor. But, also I was on my rescue inhaler and a steroid inhaler. I believe it became like a combine cocktail of drugs. This combination cause me to feel this way. I got off the steroid that I was taking and Singular. I notice in just two days I am more patient, happy and so is my family. My doctor has me on new meds now and hopefully this well work. Please, as soon as you feel different don't wait seek your doctor's advice immediately. Good luck to all who suffer from Asthma. May there be a cure one day. Thank You, S.

I really did not notice any side effects with the Zyrtec alone. I have allergies to mice (which I work with in my job). The zyrtec really helped when I took it once a day at first. It stopped the sneezing and I did not feel funny (nothing I can think of). Then the zyrtec seemed to stop working after 12 hours, so I felt like I needed to start taking more of them. At one point I was trying to take 3 a day, almost like I was weirdly addicted to them? I went to the doctors b/c I knew something was wrong, and they put me on Zyrtec and Singulair cocktail. The Singulair has made me feel nausea, I have had extreme diarrhea, lower back pain and headaches. I think I want to try to stop taking all of the medicine and see how I feel! I don't know how bad the zyrtec is, but I know the Singulair made me sick!

I am glad I found this website. I thought I was losing my mind. I had a migraine for 5 days before going to the doctor. He didn't think the headache was from the Doxy. Ended up in the ER for the migraine, I was literally at my wits end. They gave me the cocktail to get rid of the headache and I woke up with it the next morning. I stopped taking the Doxy and started on Levaquin. Finally back to myself, no headache and energy.

Hi Everyone...I've been on a bipolar cocktail for 3 years and one ingredient is LAMICTAL along with Lithium and Wellbutrin. Overall the drug has worked and I feel pretty healthy mentally. Of course I am particularly concerned about my memory loss, putting a sentence together and finding the simple words for basic objects. I really do feel dumb, especially at work, as I am in sales. Many times I stutter, fumble and go blank in front of customers. I have not told my boss or anyone else that I'm on the meds, so I know they think I'm just a dumb-ass. I'm ok with that. I also quit going to school for my master's because of the short term memory loss and general mushiness of the brain. I was once an honor student and very outgoing, now I just keep my mouth shut when I can in fear of making a fool of myself. My balance is off and as weird as it sounds I have trouble parking my car straight in a parking space. My co-workers have commented a few times that I don't know how to drive. At first I thought it was my car, the tires, alignment, etc...but when I got another one, it's still happening no matter where I park. I'm 43 and have acne and underlying bumps on my face, chin and neck. I did lose weight though! So, I can empathize with most of you. I'm not thrilled with being on these drugs for what may be forever, so I guess I need to decide whether to stay on this stuff, reduce, taper or change drugs. LOL to all.

Ive had really good results with this drug. Ive been happy alert cheerful etc.. like a "normal" person. I was taking it for about a year when Lithium was added to my cocktail and some very bad sexual side effects occurred. Thankfully a touch of real (im not going that here) Wellbutrin eliminated that but right now im off and in the wonderful land of generic budeprion. Im switching back to Effexor ASAP!!!

My son was on a cocktail of Singulair, Zyrtec, Astellin and Nasonex. Like a miracle, his severe allergies cleared up almost immediately. Months later, behavioral changes started to surface. Extreme irritability, major meltdowns over nothing, problems in school and pulling out his facial hair including eyelashes and eyebrows. We stopped the medication in April and he improved. By mid summer, the hair pulling stopped. When his allergies started up again about 10 days ago, I put him back on the Zyrtec, because I was certain the Singulair was causing most of the problems. Within 3-4 days, the emotional outbursts started, panic attacks that never happened before - he said he couldn't breathe. Now the hair pulling is back. Everyone thinks I want to blame medication for his problems, but I am certain that Zyrtec has something to do with these problems in addition to Singulair. We have taken him off Zyrtec 2 days ago. We have a dr. appointment in 2 days and we will discuss all of this with him. In the meantime, his allergies are back and he is miserable. I would rather him be physically sick than mentally at this point.

I have experienced, avascular necrosis of both hips (resulting in total hip replacements) and avn of both solder (this time it resulted in partial shoulder replacements) Not to mention as everyone else has the thin skin, the weight gain. I have been on prednisone for 8 years - it is part of my immune suppressant cocktail that I take everyday. I have been on 4mg for approximately 5 years. It's very hard to lose the extra weight, the moon face lessens after a time but it is hard to tell because of the weight gain.

Hello . . . why do we continue to take medications that cause us such physical and mental anguish . . . we hope for a life . . . I am one of those who takes a cocktail containing . . . Lithium, Lamictal, Cymbalta, Sequel, Topamax and other medications for high blood pressure, low thyroid and osteoporosis . . . down four medications . . . because I have a good doctor . . . it is impossible to distinguish which one or the synergism of the medications . . . which do what . . . what I want to say . . . there are more medications now . . . more doctors . . . change doctors . . . change medications . . . you might not feel great . . . but you will feel better about taking control . . . it has happened to me . . . M.

I had Mirena in for two months - and it was hell. I had a non-stop period PMS cocktail, cramps, crazy mood swings, depression, irritability, dizziness, fatigue, etc. My doctor talked me into keeping it in for awhile. I wanted it out after the first week and instead of listening to me she just gave me a prescription for anti-depressants and told me that any side effects from the Mirena would go away eventually. After a few more weeks of torture I stopped listening to her and listened to my body. I've had the Mirena out since Tuesday (08/26/08) and I'm more depressed than I've ever been in my entire life. I don't know if the Mirena crash can happen since I had it in for only 2 months - but I wouldn't doubt it considering how strongly it affected me while I had it in. I had a baby in May and I think the Mirena messed with hormone levels that were already fluctuating post partum anyway. I'm hoping to achieve homeostasis before I go messing with my body anymore. I wonder if it would've been a better option to have had it put in much MUCH later after delivering a baby. Every woman is different and makes her own choices about which birth control works for her, but Mirena was hell for me and that's what I will be telling every woman I know.

I also felt the "hangover" effect as mentioned by the others. Headache, foggy thick, I call it "doughy brain", agitation. I have a connective tissue disease, FMS following trauma from 06 auto accident plus chronic neck and back pain so the pros outweigh the cons. I take a Vicodin 750mg Flexeril and Serax cocktail at night before bed...and sometimes sleep...sucks.

I hope this helps someone.

I was never allergic to anything in my life until I went around this cat at the age of 33. I sneezed and got a really scratchy throat. I thought it would go away, but it turned into a cold. I thought the cold would go away, but it turned into bronchitis and then pneumonia. I was jogging everyday at the time and realized something was wrong when I couldn't finish my run.

I was hospitalized for two days and upon discharge I was stocked up with a cocktail of drugs: Singular, Advair, Albuterol inhaler, and Claritin. Needless to say, I took them all, because I was scared of dying. Thank God I'm not a good medicine taker, because I missed many doses and only took them as needed. I think this is why after 3 years I have only started to see the effects of these meds in the last 8 months.

Okay... I have major joint stiffness(all over) especially neck and fingers, heart palpitations, nervousness, short patience, horrible memory, lack of motivation. Oh my God! The weight gain...Please!

Before this, I was completely healthy. After reading this I will reduce myself to my inhaler and Claritin. I notice they are cool. Otherwise, if I keep my stress level down my breathing does really well. It would probably help if I got rid of the cat. Shhhh...Don't tell anyone. LOL.

I have since put my self on a juice fast using a high powered juicer to cleanse my system of all the trash the doctors gave me.

God bless you all and I speak life and breath into each of our lives.

BreatheWrite.

I hope this helps someone.

I was never allergic to anything in my life until I went around this cat at the age of 33. I sneezed and got a really scratchy throat. I thought it would go away, but it turned into a cold. I thought the cold would go away, but it turned into bronchitis and then pneumonia. I was jogging everyday at the time and realized something was wrong when I couldn't finish my run.

I was hospitalized for two days and upon discharge I was stocked up with a cocktail of drugs: Singular, Advair, Albuterol inhaler, and Claritin. Needless to say, I took them all, because I was scared of dying. Thank God I'm not a good medicine taker, because I missed many doses and only took them as needed. I think this is why after 3 years I have only started to see the effects of these meds in the last 8 months.

Okay... I have major joint stiffness(all over) especially neck and fingers, heart palpitations, nervousness, short patience, horrible memory, lack of motivation. Oh my God! The weight gain...Please!

Before this, I was completely healthy. After reading this I will reduce myself to my inhaler and Claritin. I notice they are cool. Otherwise, if I keep my stress level down my breathing does really well. It would probably help if I got rid of the cat. Shhhh...Don't tell anyone. LOL.

I have since put my self on a juice fast using a high powered juicer to cleanse my system of all the trash the doctors gave me.

God bless you all and I speak life and breath into each of our lives.

BreathWrite.

it is so good to see this! I can't believe I am not the only one suffering with Singulair. I developed what I thought was just bronchitis, and my new doctor put me on a cocktail of respiratory meds... 2 inhalers, antibiotics, steriods, and singulair. Well, I finished the course of antibiotics, and am feeling better. I stopped using one inhaler, because it made my hands shake uncontrollably (I was assured by my doc this was normal). I stopped using the other, because I thought it was making my head feel foggy and making me moody. The only medications I am currently taking are Cymbalta for my panic disorder, and Singulair.

I have been on the Cymbalta for long enough to know that I do not suffer side effects from that (unless I miss a dose). But lately I have been more moody, emotional, snippy, and having almost daily panic attacks! I can't concentrate on a thing, my mind almost feels detached. I also suffer periods of numbness in the left side of my face.

After reading this site and everyone else's stories, I am not taking Singulair any longer! Hopefully some of these effects subside. And now I know to never let my son take it, either. I am so angry with my doctor for not warning me about these effects, not taking into consideration that I already have an anxiety disorder, and just brushing off my concerns!

I had been on different versions of the pill since the age of 15 due to debilitating and horrific periods. After having migraines, a TIA (mini-stroke), and discovering that I have a small hole in my heart (PFO), my doc told me that I really should not promote estrogen in my body via the pill. So.... after nearly 20 years on the pill, I had to find an alternative. My ob/gyn suggested the Mirena. She told me she has one and that she doesn't have any side effects, I'd love it, it lasts for 5 years, no periods really, etc. I went for it! Not only was the insertion one of the most painful things I've experienced while being 100% awake and alert ---- Motrin and a light numbing cocktail --- and I've never had a baby!????! But the pain afterwards and for the following weeks was amazing. I have had several surgeries, stitches, broken bones, etc. in my life. I'm not a woosie girl. However, that pain was something I had not prepared myself for whatsoever. The first month was really rough. The second month was better. After 3 months of toughing it out, I started to be happier about having made the choice to go with the Mirena. Months 4-6 were pretty good actually. Virtually no period, pretty much no cramping other than once a month, and no glaringly obvious side effects. However... as time kept on, and my life continued to change, I can now look back at Months 7-13 to see how things truly did change albeit at a slow enough pace not to cause any red flags and make me consider pointing my finger towards the Mirena. Work was stressful, but I've always dealt with it... but it was SO much harder to shrug it off, suck it up, and just deal with it! I never sleep enough, but for some reason now, no matter how much I sleep, I'm ALWAYS still tired!! Being single was not as much fun anymore... because I apparently am depressed, even though I've never been depressed a single moment in my life! I freak out about deadlines, but have never had a problem hitting them so why? I clearly have anxiety issues which weren't there before... Lastly, I am BUSY BUSY BUSY, working out regularly, eating quite healthy for me, and consistently gaining weight instead of losing weight..... what the he**? I went to my family doc because I didn't feel "right" and was sick over the weight gain!! He ran blood work, which came back "perfect". He prescribed a med for anxiety and a med for mild depression to get me through "these stressful times". I went to my ob/gyn and she prescribed a diet pill. My sis found this site... I have read 7/14 thru 7/21 so far. I'll read more before making my decision... I will also read more on other sites and talk to my ob/gyn. However, I must admit that the mid-section weight gain, moodiness, anxiety, depression, etc. are all sounding oh so sadly familiar. I also must admit though, I am bummed out if this is the case because as I mentioned, I had high hopes for the Mirena and had enjoyed about 4-5 months of "good" time with it. It's the months after that and right NOW which is seriously in question. I do think it is right for many people, just maybe not for me. Good luck to you all... Oh, P.S. for those of you who have had it taken out, if any of you don't mind saying, had you had a child/children before? I'm really nervous about repeating the horrific pain of the insertion given I had not had a child. Thanks!!

Think long and hard BEFORE you take this medication. I was prescribed a psychotropic cocktail by an irresponsible doctor and was on 200 mg of Lamictal a day ... I am not bipolar ... was part of depression treatment. Like a fool, I continued to take it. It took away my ability to think, my motivation ... it robbed me of my life for nearly two years UNTIL I saw an article on the BBC website that literally saved my life. I am now medication free and happier than I've been in years!
There are NO long term studies out there for Lamictal yet ... you are playing with fire if you are taking it for anything other than epilepsy and even then it's sad, but has to be taken to control the seizures.

pancreatitis,, After being prescribed Byetta for Type II Diabetes by a PA, I used the 5 dose size of Byetta for 30 days, then I went on 10 dose of Byetta twice a day. on a Saturday morning I had discomfort under my left breast after my AM injection, then after PM injection I began to experience severe pains under my left breast, they got progressively worse as the minutes went by, terrible pain, ended up in the emergency room, blood tests showed increased pancreatic enzymes, I was given a prescription and told to visit my GP on Monday. My GP knew what had caused it as soon as I told him I had been taking Byetta, he had other patients who had the same thing to happen. I called the mfg, they were aware of the problem, the FDA has put out a warning after I began taking the Byetta. There were no warnings about pancreatitis in the medicines I had received. Since this instance in December, I have talked with two others who had similar experiences with Byetta. I now am left with chronic pancreatic pain and am on meds for that. From what I have read have a 4% chance of developing pancreatitis cancer as a result of the attack. When you read the little infor out there about this, it appears to be pushed off as long time alcoholics who drink excessively are the ones who have had this problem with Byetta. I would estimate it has been at least 4 years since I have had a cocktail and have never been an alcoholic... BEWARE!!!

I had the Mirena inserted in October 07 because of very heavy menstruation problems. I have never tolerated the pill so I was nervous about the possible hormonal side effects of the Mirena, My GP and Gyno both played the side effects down and maintained that the dose of hormones was so small and only released "locally", whatever that means. The first month was ok, I spotted daily and did not experience any other serious side effects, just the occasional cramping. The first day of my Mirena period I had a massive vertigo attack, spinning out of control for a couple of hours. I was due to catch a plane that day and had to cancel my weekend away with my husband. My GP maintained it had nothing to do with the Mirena and that I had an inner ear infection. From that day on I experienced chronic dizziness, and increasing symptoms of heart palpitations, nausea and anxiety. By the end of the second month, I felt I was loosing my mind, becoming extremely irritable and very anxious for no apparent reason. My body felt like it was in a constant state of alert. I decided to have the Mirena removed and experienced almost instant relief form the dizziness and chronic anxiety. I "crashed" 9 days later for about 4 days when all my symptoms came back with a vengeance and it felt pretty scary. 6 weeks post Mirena I feel chronically fatigued and have achy and weak legs. I have consulted a naturopath who has given me a cocktail of vitamins, minerals and instructed me to be alcohol free, caffeine free, wheat free and cow's milk free. I try to walk my dog once a day and eat extremely healthy food and sleep. I have had to stop work for a month.The Mirena experience has been a disaster for me and I am still waiting to get back to my normal self. Reading this site does give me support in knowing that others have experienced similar debilitating symptoms. I have felt very let down by the lack of medical support and understanding of what Mirena can do to you.

Is this a forum for trashing Lamictal? I've been on it for a year and it probably saved my life. If you have negative effects from taking it, why not drop it and try something else? I'm glad I never read all of these horror stories, as I'm sure it would have scared me enough never to have tried it. That would have been a shame .. I've never felt as symptom free as I do now; I sleep well and dream well, put in long days in my business and never have a problem remaining focused and alert. The perfect cocktail for me turned out to be 250mg Lamictal twice a day, 25mg Trazodone at night, and 40mg Citalopram. I feel really fortunate that my psychiatrist only feels the need to visit with me once every 6 months just to check in. If I miss a day, my wife notices immediately as I start to swing "up" again. Drawbacks? The cost (about 7 bucks a pill), and some weight gain which may have happened anyway .. (I'm 52). If you have the insurance to cover it, I say give it a try.

Have anyone had symtoms like my constant hiccups. Please respond. I am desperate!