Comprehension symptoms and conditions

I have been on prednisone since I was two years old (I am now sixteen) because I have Autoimmune Hepatitis IIa. I would like to point out that there is still a life worth living being on prednisone, maybe I say this because I do not know life without it, but at least we're alive! Last year I had a flare up of the AIH and had to 6x my dose of prednisone. It sent me into a spiraling depression of constant sleep, crying, hopelessness etc....but I made it through. Just PLEASE keep hope that things would get better, because I know what it's like being on the dreaded drug better than most.

i am so happy to hear all of these stories of recovery. i discovered my son's singulair side effects in march 2007, after 3 years of use. i can tell you from our experience that the most significant recovery comes within 3 weeks. after the 3 weeks, the more subtle improvements continued to occur for months and months after. without the effects of singulair, they experience life in a whole new way. my son's experiened 3 years of undetected side effects which included: irritability, FEAR, stomach / leg pains, poor appetite, difficulty with focusing / comprehension, restlessness and nightmares. the last 2 months on the 5mg dosage, he also experienced a facial tic, dilated pupils and hallucinations along with an increased in intensity of all the above. i thank god everyday for finding this website and removing my child from singulair.

I was on 200 mg/day of topamax for migraines. It did lessen the frequency and severity of the migraines. I lost 20 lbs and looked great. I felt horrible. I was suicidal and paranoid, cried frequently and thought that I was going to die. I was very tired, probably due to the topamax and the fact I was only eating about 500 cal per day on a good day, I was only rarely hungry and then would feel full after a few bites. I loved being thin, but was too tired to enjoy my life. I'm a nurse and couldn't remember anything, so I wrote everything down. My husband said that talking to me was like playing charades, because I couldn't remember the words for what I wanted to say. People would talk to me and my comprehension was very poor - it was like they were talking in another language that I didn't understand very well. I had always been sharp and quick witted, but on Topamax I was lost in a brain fog. I went off the drug under an MD's care. It took a while to feel like my old self, but life is now normal.

I was considering going back on it to lose the weight I put back on, but after reading all the other posts, I realize it's just not worth it. No, not everyone experiences all the awful side effects, but the side effects are not rare and some of them are horrifying. One of my friends who went on it couldn't even remember her children's names and she was on just 25 mg. I think this drug can make you feel like you are dying - just like a cancer patient at end stage. You don't want to eat, there is little enjoyment in life, your brain is foggy like you've been going through chemo and you feel incredibly sad as if you're going to die.

My advice would be to use the drug only if absolutely necessary. Try acupuncture, other migraine meds or seizure medications before this one. If you are taking it and notice that you are having extreme side effects, ask your doctor to be taken off it. If you can take it and the only side effects you get are a little pins and needles and an aversion to soda, go for it! But please note if you have strong emotional changes and try to eat healthy while on topamax.

I have a 8 year old daughter that has been on Singulair since she was 2 years old. When she first started Singulair, she was also put on Flovent (an inhaled steroid), along with Albuterol for what the doctors call reactive airway disease (similar to asthma). Her triggers were allergies and having a cold. Her first flare up of mood swings alerted me to take my daughter off the Flovent. She seemed to improve a little, but still had behavior/moody issues. I had chalked them up to the "terrible twos", and not really thought much of it. As time went on, I became accustomed to the behavior that my daughter was showing. When the few complaints of stomach pains, headaches, and leg pain came along, I managed to explain them away with reasonable explanations (example: growing pains, eating too much, not enough sleep, etc.). As my daughter went off to school, I heard numerous complaints from her teachers that she lacks focus, cannot complete a task in a timely manner, easily gets distracted, and at times (more than not) is a disruption to the class. At home, I noticed a strange "tick" going on with her blinking, the constant need to repeat herself, and the battles with bursts of crying to get her to do ANYTHING. SOMETHING IS REALLY WRONG!!! I was on the edge of having a full work-up of mental tests. I have her see the school social worker weekly and I keep a constant communication with her teacher regarding her behavior. I decided to look up side effects regarding this medication. I first looked at the website for the manufacturer and saw nothing alarming, nothing about behavior affected side effects. I looked into mental disabilities (autism, aspergers, ADD, ADHD, etc.) and saw no common link to her behavior. Then I came to this site and MY JAW DROPPED!! Everything that my daughter has experienced, TO THE LETTER, has been experienced by other children. The weight gain, the occasional pains, the strange behavior. I decided that NOW is the time to act. I have seen my daughter's doctor and discussed my concerns. We are going to wean her off this stuff starting TODAY! Fear of a serious relapse of breathing problems is making us very cautious. I am kicking myself for not making the connection sooner. Wish us luck that this drug has not destroyed her chances of getting better and that this "asthma" can be controlled another way without such serious side effects.

I just had surgery and they prescribed Levaquin 500mg. I have just started taken three days ago. My legs has sharp pains as well as my achilles. I have had numbness in my arms and hands. Also, minor confusion and comprehension. I DID NOT know all of this. The side effects on the labels does not say all these side effects on this bored. Now, I am worried after reading all of this. I am not putting another pill in my mouth. My doctor did not say " stop taking this at the sign of ..." This sounds like poison rather than a cure.

My son was prescribed Singulair for a seasonal bronchial condition. It seemed to be the answer to his problems as the chronic cough stopped. HOWEVER, since then I have had many meetings with his teachers regarding his lack of ability to focus, inability to follow directions, retention and comprehension. In addition, he recently has develped a twitch in his eye where he blinks often and says that his eye burns him. I am so upset. To think that I had such incredible faith in this "wonder" medication that helped my son's cough, but has had such a detrimental effect on his school work. I am stopping the medication today in the hopes that I can save my son's self esteem. I wish somebody had told me what to look out for. After many meetings with teachers and school psychologists I could simply have stopped it all by taking him off the medication. The answer to his difficulty was there in the pink little pill he takes every night. Shame on me. Shame on me. No more singulair for my boy. Never again.

After realizing my doctor has absolutely no clue what is wrong with me (therefore how to help me), I began to do some research on the web for my symptoms.

I, too, have been on levaquin. I finished it just about a week ago. I was also on flagyl at the same time. Besides yet another yeast infection, I have noticed several disturbing side effects as well. I too was prescribed xanax for anxiety...but was this prescription for xanax prescribed to keep me "calm" during my hospital stay? Or was it to try to delay the reactions I may have, and indeed didmay actually currently be suffering with, in the end be due to Levaquin? I do not know. I do know I have been wired and wiped out....both witihin 15 minute time frames. I do know that I thoguth I was going through the "dt's" after stoping the Xanax...but was it the Levaquin that did this too me...I stopped both at the same time. I have an ear infection...two actually...lol...and a sinus infection and am now on Zithromax. How any infection could live in my body after being on practically every antibiotic known to mankind for the past two, three, months....is beyond me and my quacko doctors comprehension.

So now, the pneumonia is ebbiing..the ears and sinus are horrible....I have a broken tooth that hurts like hell...the joints of my lips are raw, my tongue is burning and I am still miserable. BUT...I will conqueor this too...with help from you.

Any suggestions?
Please write me directly at tellirma@hotmail.com Thank You.

To Guest MD: I cannot believe your audacity in stating that Levaquin could not be the cause of our problems, and I think you are a coward for not leaving your name. I was given Levaquin in June of last year, and within 3 days began to experience pain in my joints and muscles. By day 5 I was in so much pain, I literally could not get out of my bed. I also experienced severe headaches, insomnia, and tremors. In the following 3 months, I developed tendonitis with no preceding injury, elevated white blood counts with no infection, so many complications that they are too numerous to mention. Prior to taking Levaquin, I lead an active and fulfilling life. Now that life is nothing but a memory, and my doctor said IT WAS THE LEVAQUIN. The sheer volume of the research material documenting fluoroquinolone adverse reactions simply highlights your inadequacy as an MD. I sincerely hope that none of your patients have been harmed because of your ignorance and lack of compassion and understanding of adverse drug events. How you manage to maintain your license and patient base is beyond my comprehension! All I can say is I am truly grateful that you are not my physician!