Consequence symptoms and conditions

About eight years ago I felt heaviness in my chest along with some pain/discomfort when doing hard physical labor and occasionally in the hot-tub. Following my doctor’s advice and an angiogram, a stint was placed and medication administered – Lipitor and plavix I also went through a 6-month program for cardiac recovery including dietary changes and a proper exercise program. About six month following that I gradually just stopped taking my Lipitor and plavix and returned to my old eating routine and other life-style. I don’t smoke (never did) and don’t drink or otherwise indulge in any recreational drugs. I’ve never been hypertensive with blood pressures typically at 115/68. I maintain a trim and healthy appearing body just naturally or genetically. I eat lots of red meat, not a lot of vegetables, drink gallons of orange juice, and eat much more junk-food than I should. About six years after that (near heart attack) event I was given a “stress test” by my physician… I was then 61 and tested at the level of a 38 year old! Two years after that I had a significant heart attack out in the middle of nowhere! It took almost 6 hours to get me to an emergency room in Spokane, Washington (that’s a story of its own). That was on a Thursday – I was back to work full-time the following Monday (four days later). This time around with more drugs than I could swallow in one gulp! Lipitor, Plavix, Coumadin, aspirin, and carvedilol. The combination or amount was more than I could tolerate and I was weaned off all but the Lipitor and aspirin within a year. My heart has returned to nearly full-function and I have no physician imposed restrictions. All that said, I’ve been gradually developing muscle soreness (pain, actually) in my fore-arms and legs. I’ve been growing more lethargic and tired with each passing month. I’m now 65 and feel that the Lipitor is inhibiting my health… I want to get off it and be “normal” again. Or is it just being sixty five? Can I just quit taking the drug? Leaving only aspirin for blood thinning and the hope of a better diet for cholesterol control.

Hello. I am am going through some major hair loss. I started the pills three weeks ago and i can honestly say that I have lost more hair in the past couple of weeks than i have ever lost in my entire life. I am 22 and I have no family line of baldness. I was on YAZ and this never happened. I switched to FEMCON Fe because I had breakthrough bleeding. Now not only am I having an almost nervous break but my face is breaking out. Something that I never really experienced with YAZ. Can anyone tell me if the hair will grow back?

Thanks

Sorry, I can't just walk away.

When you find patents or patent applications for certain purposes, then you know that your ideas are well founded. There are several patents for using an anti-malaria drug for asthma. I would bet that somebody had that idea all the way back to the 1960's. So it is very possibly no coincidence at all that a chloroquinoline or other quinoline ring would be part of montelukast's chemical structure.

Here is one of the patents.

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It is well known that quinoline rings can be toxic to some people even very rapidly. As in this very extreme example.
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PEDIATRICS Vol. 27 No. 1 January 1961, pp. 95-102 This Article

FATAL ACUTE CHLOROQUINE POISONING IN CHILDREN
Howard M. Cann M.D.1 and Henry L. Verhulst M.S.1

1 National Clearinghouse for Poison Control Centers, Accident Prevention Program, Public Health Service, U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
Four cases of acute chloroquine poisoning in children are presented. In three instances death occurred within 2 hours of ingestion of larger than therapeutic amounts of the drug. The rapid occurrence of death in acute chloroquine poisoning is probably explained by complete and rapid absorption of the drug from the gastrointestinal tract resulting in high blood concentrations which depress vasomotor function and respiration. Cardiac arrest follows and may be caused by the direct myocardial action of chloroquine, to anoxia, or to both. The similarity of the manifestations of acute chloroquine poisoning and those of acute quinine and quinidine poisoning suggests that acute toxicity may be attributed to the quinoline ring portion of these drugs.

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I don't think that we are seeing extreme examples. But we may be seeing less extreme immediate reactions or reactions where the toxicity builds up over time.

Quinoline rings are know to cause neurotoxicity. There are theories about how that happens. One of the theories is about blocking connexins which are gap junction proteins in the brains.

I don't know how montelukast could be breaking up so that it causes toxicity. Or if the problem is the how rapidly the liver enzymes can metabolize it. But there is plenty, plenty, plenty of clinical evidence that there is a quinoline ring culprit somewhere in the picture. Or some by-product of that causing problems.

Somehow it was decided that montelukast did not have the safety issues that the other drugs in the same category have. See this.

"The starting point in the development of montelukast appears to be a quinoline-containing structure, likely identified as a weak random screening lead (Figure 3). The Merck group hypothesized that this molecule was mimicking the olefin backbone of cysLTs, and that the addition of mimics for the acid and peptide regions of LTD4, might improve its potency. As a first step, the dithioacetal linkage first seen in some SmithKline compounds was incorporated; this led to a compound with greatly increased in vitro potency but poor oral bioavailability. When one of the carboxylic acids was replaced by an amide, forming MK-571, the new antagonist had even greater potency and good efficacy following oral administration. The enantiomers were resolved to yield MK-679 (verlukast), a compound with better clinical effects than MK-571, but whose clinical development was stopped for safety reasons. Further structure-activity relationship studies led to the development of montelukast (16), an antagonist that appears free of the safety concerns plaguing earlier members of this series."

If we can find out why the earlier versions were not safe and how they thought fixed it, then maybe we can find out what is going on with the quinoline ring in some people.

I would be very surprised if the FDA will address our concerns. Why does it always seem like they wait for enough people to die like in Vioxx? Wasn't Vioxx responsible for thousands of deaths?

I've been on Aviane as my first BC for 3 months and haven't noticed any significant side effects. There's been no weight gain and I've been able to actually start and maintain a fitness program required for a summer job/career (we'll see where it leads!). My period was a bit off the first couple of times with spotting but I read in the pamphlet it should be expected and for about a month, I've been completely 'normal'. The only thing MAY have been the lower sex drive but it was good for mine to shift down a gear so that can't be classified as a problem, and that can probably be attributed to other events in my life. I suggest everyone here take a step back and see if weight gain, acne, sex drives, etc. may be a consequence of other life subjects that shouldn't be blamed on BC. We all go through these events for different reasons and it would be a shame to denounce a valid and proven pharmaceutical product on account of needing a scapecoat.

I have experienced an allergic reaction to Levofloxacin:
face swelled up, strong heart arythmia, throat was closing and about 24 hrs later my skin burnt leaving a dark necrotyzed patch that fortunately turned normal after a couple of days. After more than 1 year my body seems to react to any kind of medicine that i used to bare, even if taken in small quantaties. I suffer of liver pain if i eat food containing a bit of fat, regular stomach pains and now suffer of arythmia. I have a child and am scared that i couldt pass on any kind of consequence on a second one.

Hello,

I read about how YAZ birth control pill affects the body and psych and I am now scared. This is my 2nd day of YAZ (I've never been on birth control pills ever and I am 27 years old), it's all new to me but after reading all these negative posts about Yaz I don't know what to do. Before the birth control pills, I was depressed, annoying, serious weight problems - 210 lbs :~~((, low energy, low libido, always tired, terrible migraines every 2nd day, ridiculously increased appetite and excessive hunger, hair where it shouldn't be, menstrual blood clots, excessive cramping etc
I have all these problems for 3 years now and now that the family doc. put me on YAZ birth control pill I am even more scared - mainly of more weight gain, it would be a tragedy for me, I am fat enough already and what's worse I can't lose the weight, exercise doesn't help, diet doesn't help, NOTHING. Will YAZ birth control pill worsen my already tragic condition? I just don't know what to do and what to believe ... I appreciate any advice or help you can give me ... Thank You to all!

My wife died from the effects of Mivacron during minor surgery to have a pin removed from her arm. The Mivacron caused paralysis for several hours after the surgery. A few days later she developed an unknown hepatitus. Then her liver failed and a few days later (on Christmas 2005) she was brain dead. The Dr.'s took her off life support on New Years Eve.

The death certificate lists the causes of death as
1. Acute Liver Failure
2. Hepatic Encephalopathy
3. Probable Reaction To Anesthetic Agent (Mivacron)

Still haven't got a complete pathology report. Pathologist indicates cause of death as "chronic liver failure".

She was 60 years old, in very good health. non-smoker and didn't use alcohol.

If anyone has had anything similiar happen please email me