Coworkers symptoms and conditions

i am 20 year old male with high blood pressure. i have been on lisinopril for about 3 months and since i started taking it my sinus is always clogged, i get mad for no reason, i flip out on my friends and coworkers, i don't care about stuff, i say stuff i normally wouldn't even think, i feel depressed randomly, i cough really bad for a few minutes after i eat a meal, and am very tired all the time for little or no reason. i am planing on stopping the medication as soon as i can talk to my doctor but i don't have much free time to drive across town and am afraid to stop taking it on my own with out letting her know.

Last Sunday I attended the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) walkathon in St. Paul, Mn. I was able to hand out hundreds of flyers to survivors of suicide and people in the mental health community. Of the hundreds of flyers that I handed out only two people had ever heard of the link between Singulair and these various side effects that we have all noticed. I received some wonderful responses and many people offered to make copies of the flyers and hand them out to everyone that they know. Several people worked in the mental health community and in pediatric offices and they were going to tell all of their coworkers about Singulair.
I also had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Paula Clayton. She is the National Medical Director for AFSP. She said that they are aware of the concerns with Singulair and their organization is going to Washington this spring to express concerns about Singulair and several other medications that are linked to depression and suicide. She also stated that if everyone could write letters to their local representatives that it would really help to raise awareness.

I was on birth control pills for about 12 years when I decided to stop taking them about three months ago. For the past two weeks I have been experiencing some hair loss so I made an appointment w/my MD and she said that hair loss can occur when stopping hormones and she suggested Nuvaring. I didn't even have the thing in for 24 hours before I took it out! My head hurt so bad I thought I was going to die! I also got extremely queasy and sensitive to the smell of food so much that I couldn't be around my coworkers heating up their lunch. I had to give a presentation and felt the whole time that I might throw up in front of everyone. I also became extremely irritable and was ugly to a patient I saw that day and yelled at my husband for no good reason. My head felt like it was in an awful fog and I felt like I couldn't think clearly. I never experienced anything like that on BCP's. I will NEVER try Nuvaring again. It was awful. I'd rather keep losing my hair and go bald then take Nuvaring!

I have been on prednisone since November 2007 for minimal change disease, 65 mg, in May I started to decrease the dosage (per Drs. orders) and by the time I got to 15 mg all my symptoms came back and I swelled up again. I was again put on a higher dosage of prednisone and put on Cytoxan 75 mg. I am now decreasing prednisone, back to 15 mg every other day and will be off Cytoxan next month. Hopefully this will work. Right now my main complaint of side effects is chest pressure, anything I eat or drink makes my stomach swell and I feel like I can never take a full breath. I recently had chest and abdoman xrays and an ultrasound, all negative. Does anyone have this symptom? I also have moon face, weight gain, hump on back, insomnia, headaches, digestive problems ,shakes, night sweats, vision problems, extreme tiredness and hair loss. How long before all this goes away?

I have been on Lexapro for a few years now but just until recently have I experienced these side effects that I thought was something serious. But after reading all these comments I feel reassured that its caused from the Lexapro.Head rushes that make me dizzy, and making me sick to my stomach(causing major anxiety) . Another term I have read it head zaps, also true. Hot flashes one time while at work and Im only 30 years old. Major hunger all the time. I rally think my coworkers think Im crazy but not knowing what is making you feel crazy will cause you to panic. My husband has always told me that antidepressants were bad but haven't really notices until now. Im going to try and wein myself off of Lexapro and replace it with exercise. Has anyone else tried to do this?

I've been on synthroid now for about a year. My dosage is VERY little (0.075). My doctor keeps running blood tests every 3 months and assures me I am within the "lower-end" of the norm, but I still feel tired, sleep deprived, wake up with night-sweats and I keep gaining weight...

I am only 24 and have just been told that I need to take this medication for the rest of my life, it\s pretty depressing. I keep asking if there are other ways to lose weight and feel more energized. He tells me that I need to keep taking this medication and has put me on a "sleep hygeine" routine where I go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.

Does this "disease" mean I will always be overweight and tired for the rest of my life? I would like to know if someone else with more experience with this medication can give any sort of advice? Feeling a little hopeless about it and not really interested in complaining to my doctor anymore.

Thanks:)

I have been on Yasmin for two months now. I got the month-long spotting and irritability in the first month. My female coworkers would make a joke out of it and say that I was "yazing-out" when I got moody. In the second month, I noticed my hair is thinning. Dramatically. I thought maybe it could be from stress at work. But, now after reading this site I see others have experienced hair loss too. I thought estrogen was supposed to work against hair loss? Ugh....

I took Singulair for a little over a year. In that time I have quit my job of six years, dropped college classes that I was previously excited about, and generally didn't give a damn any more about anything. My dreams became dark and horribly violent nightmares leaving me shaken throughout the day. I couldn't concentrate and was thinking I should seek professional help. My wife was worried that it was her and I couldn't figure out what my problem was.

About 6 or 7 weeks ago I heard there had been links to mood swings and depression from taking Singulair and immediately stopped taking it. It sounds cloche but it was as if the clouds parted and the sun began to shine again. I have become much more like my old happy and motivated self. My wife has noticed a huge difference as well as my friends and former coworkers. I am still having a little bit of a hard time staying on task but each day gets better and better. I sleep much better and the nightmares have stopped.

I think I'd rather deal with the allergy symptoms rather than take the FDA sanctioned poisons put out by firms like Merck. Their practices are criminally negligent but nothing will probably come of it because the regulatory agencies are in their pockets. It's all about the bottom line profits--public health be damned.

I took this to try and help some rather chronic sinus congestion. I only took one or two doses (it was a few years ago), but became really ill. I have palpitations normally, so I didn't notice that. However, I was leeched of energy and ended up spending half the day vomiting or feeling like I had to. I was cold and clammy, which is extremely abnormal for me. According to my coworkers, I looked pretty darn bad. I somehow made the long drive home (I wouldn't recommend) and tried to sleep. Eventually I passed out for a good 8 hours, but still felt yucky the next day. Naturally, I haven't touched the stuff since. To be fair, these side effects are listed under the drug info (online), but who thinks they are going to be in the small percentage affected? Also, in response to an older post, it's NOT pseudoephedrine. It is the ingredient in mucinex and a decongestant similar to or found in the "new" crappy sudofed. I've been taking pseudoephedrine for years with no problems. Glad I found this! I thought I was the only one!

I have been taking Yaz for several months now and loved it; however, suddenly I am this crazy person. I cry at nothing, I'm moody, but the strangest thing is I'm very very angry. I will be fine and all of a sudden this angry RAGE comes over me. It's horrible!!! My poor husband and coworkers. Also I recently saw a doctor because I have had horrible nausea, and he prescribed Prevacid. I wonder if this is a side effect of Yaz?? I'm seeing my OBGYN next week to discuss. I'm thinking I should just stop the pill all together for the next few months and see how I feel.

I've been on Topamax (150mg/a day) for 4 years for migraines. At the start I had some of the common side effects: dropping things, memory loss, mood swings, weight loss. The weight loss evened out in the first year or so, and the other side effects went away in the first few months-mainly after my Dr. had me take it as one dose only at night, and increase the amt. of water I drink. I am still on it, and they just increased my does to 300mg/ a day for chronic pain. So far, no weird side effects, but I'll wait and see. I'm sure anything is possible. But after trying everything before for migraines, this was the only thing that worked, and was worth riding out a few months of side effects. I was honest with family and coworkers when I did dumb stuff, or had off the wall mood swings and got through it. Guess I may have to do the same thing again. Reading on her some many bad experiences, I hope some of the people starting it or thinking about, will give it a chance to work. I was desperate and so out of options, I am so glad that I did.

i'm on my 3rd week of aviane and i have never been so miserable! i was previously on yaz, which was working wonderfully with the only side effect being mild nausea. unfortunately, the yaz was becoming rather expensive, so my doctor switched me over to aviane. last week (my second week) i spotted on and off for 2 days. my sex drive has just crashed, and i feel like i can never make up my mind on how i feel. one moment i want to be held and cuddled and loved and then the next i want to hit anyone who tries to touch me. i feel so bad for my poor boyfriend! on top of all that, i'm a nightmare to my coworkers too. i get so angry over the stupidest things! i'm almost tempted to take the $40 difference out of our food money and apply it towards going back on the yaz! aviane may work for some people, but i'm slowly realizing, this is NOT the bc for me!

Okay, I recently made a post on July 26th about how I loved Yasmin and have not had a problem with it. I would now like to revoke that post. Since I wrote that I have been feeling totally crazy! I snap at my 2 year old son, my fiance and my coworkers. That is not me! I do not do things like that. I'm usually a very happy person and very strong emotionally. Lately the most stupid stuff has me crying my eyes out. I seem to pick fights with my fiance, which I don't do. We never fight. And it was only last night that I sat down with him and told him that I feel like I'm going insane. We thought about it and the only thing that has really changed in the past 6 months is the fact that I started taking Yasmin. We discussed it and I have decided to stop taking this BCP for at least a month to see what happens with my mood. I'm hoping it works. If anyone has any suggestions about how to do this smoothly, please let me know. And good luck to you all!

Hi I was a nuvaring user. I am 18 and my gyno told me that nuvaring would be better than any other birth control on the market. I really wanted to start on the patch but my gyno insisted on nuvaring.....yea that was the biggest mistake ever!! I had it for only 15 days because a 15 day period wasnt exactly what I wanted... I had no smile on my face for 13 days and I hated it! My back felt like I was constantly carrying boulders on it and I felt tired all the time. My coworkers had to constantly crack my back for me because I was almost in tears from the pain. I stopped using it and within a few days I was fine. I felt better, my freakin back felt better, and I finally felt clean for sex! But now im experiencing a problem that I hope someone out there can help me with... I stopped nuvaring about 3 weeks ago and ever since I have had gross brown discharge come out of me... Yea lost alot of nice underwear due to that. and now I have my period but its like alot!! minimal cramps but the blood sucks but im assuming that its normal? but does anyone have any advice??? maybe been through it???

I have major bad effects from strong perfumes, more of a chemical intolerance/autoimmune response (body aches, fatigue, irritability, difficulty concentrating) than nasal or sinus type reaction. This gets worse as the years go by. One of my former coworkers drowned herself in strong perfumes every day. I felt like I had the flu all the time and my other co-workers could barely smell the perfume. My doctor put me on Singulair. It was like a miracle, I was almost unaware of the perfume and my symptoms were gone. I left that job at the end of Feb. 07 and stopped the Singulair immediately. Within 4 or 5 days, I was completely crippled by lower back pain, right at the top of the pelvic bone, started in one side then moved to the other. Spent most of a week not being able to move, walk, etc. I started another job mid-May and started the Singulair again due to the entire place being landscaped with jasmine, another of my major triggers. I left that job after 4 weeks, stopping the Singulair immediately again. Now, several days later, the back problems are returning and worsening. I've never had lower back problems in my life. I am thinking that the crippling back pain may be due to the sudden cessation of Singulair. Any thoughts on that, anyone? I also wish I had read these comments earlier, because during my last 3+ weeks on Singulair, I was waking up after a couple hours of sleep and unable to go back to sleep due to mind racing, was uncharacteristically unable to cope with stress, etc. It was a nightmare that I blamed on the new job and now am wondering if it was not caused by Singulair.

ive been gettin severe chest pain in the middle of my chest could this be from taking this medicine

I went on Yasmin in the Spring of 06 and about a month ago I woke up thinking I was losing my mind. I hated everyone--family, freinds, coworkers and worse of all myself. I was sad and cried all the time. I had to cancel going to events b/c I was so afraid I would flip out and have a crying spell. After doing a lot of research today, I see I am not the only one this has happened to.
I'm just really happy I'm not losing my mind--I have quit taking the pill and can't wait to get back to my happy self.

this pertains to my post below, i forgot to mention that i am taking the generic paxil at 20mg a day in the morning. i am a 22 year old female. a few other side effects i forgot to add are:
- decreased sex drive (but not much!)
- a little scatterbrained at times, mild confusion
- some moodiness
- trouble concentrating and paying attention (ADD seems to be worse) but still managable and able to pass college courses and maintain a full time job at a receptionist.

some advice that i learned as i endured the extremely difficult days before taking the medication:
keep focused on a certain goal, mine was keeping my new job and never missing a day no matter how out of my mind i felt. it was hard to put on an act everyday and keep the tears inside but you have to do it and this kept me strong. afterawhile, i started to feel the best at work becuz my mind was occupied and i was learning something new everyday. coworkers were encouraging me and complimenting my hard work. keeping on top of this goal kept me afloat at my darkest hours. you can really help yourself if you truly try. it may all just be mind over matter....

On wellbutrin xl 300 mg for about a month now... really tired today and took a coworkers' stack 2 (caffeine pill) BIG MISTAKE! Feel like i am having a heart attack, jaw pain arm pain, shoulder pain, some pressure in chest and my heart is just thumpin away as hard as it can! I have been nauseated and have thrown up 3 times. I am never going to take any caffeine while on wellbutrin again. Here is a thing I have not read yet about wellbutrin. I used to sleepwalk as a child, and now I am on it I have started to again! Comments?

I was prescribed 10 mg of lisinopril in late July. My doctor offhandedly mentioned I'll probably be back to see her, because I'll think I have a cold and a cough. I laughed it off and went on my merry way. The cough started about 3 weeks later, and got worse and worse. I felt like I had something stuck in the right side of my throat. I was exhausted from coughing all day, and being kept awake at night (this could have been from either the cough, or the couch I was exiled to, when my husband couldn't sleep through my coughing) I work in a library, and I think I drove everyone crazy with the coughing. Nothing seemed to help. I constantly had a cough drop in my mouth and a bottle of water in my hand. I felt like everyone was always staring at me, wondering what in the world was I doing out in public when I was so sick. I never felt sick, just exhausted...and coughing. One of my coworkers finally asked me what meds I was taking, and when she heard lisinopril, she insisted I call my doctor and ask if there was something else I could take. She had the same symptoms last year, along with extreme sun sensitivity, and various other problems. My doctor switched me to Avapro. It's been 10 days now. My cough is slowly going away, and my bp is doing great. I have not met anyone who has had good results on this medication. I know I sure didn't.

I was prescribed WB SR to offset the fatigue and sexual side effects from Paxil... For the first week I felt very speedy. Not always in a bad way - the focus and energy was great at work. Now I tend to feel more fatigued and am back on coffee. Climax still a problem but desire has increased a lot.

I do drink on it; I've been self-medicating since ending a long relationship seven months ago. However, I do feel a lot more hopeful and am looking toward the future instead of dwelling on the past.

I have had three new side effects just this week... Nausea if I take it on an empty stomach, mild constipation and SWEATING. I mean, I get DRENCHED, mostly when I eat. I was out to lunch with coworkers today and it was pretty embarassing...

That said, for now I am going to stick with it, since I am dealing with things more productively. This is a very useful forum and I appreciate everyone's posts.

Hello everyone. I am also very grateful that I found this site - I really did believe I was crazy.

My obgyn prescribed Yasmin two months ago. The first month was fine - I didn't really experience any problems, except for the excessive urination. But as I was entering the third week on the second pack, I noticed that I was becoming EXTREMELY depressed and paranoid, and I also started having cramps. The week before and week of my period (Thanksgiving week), I began having blurry vision, pressure behind my eyes and a headache that lasted for five straight days, no matter what I took. I normally have headaches during my period week anyway, but not like this.

I also felt drained, and my coworkers noticed it. I decided to see my regular doctor (particularly because of the blurry vision and headache), and he switched me to another pill. He also said that many women have not been happy with Yasmin.

Last night, I experienced tingling and excessive itching, which has now gone away. The headaches have subsided, but the blurry vision has not. I visited my eye doctor today, who assured me that everything was healthy, and he could only attribute it to the medicine.

I hate that the majority of us posting here have experienced this ... it's such a scary feeling. But for those of you who continue to use it, all I can say is please be careful and please be vigilant. If you think something is wrong, don't let anyone talk you out of making a change. IT'S YOUR BODY!

I feel compelled to post a message here regarding the side-effects of Yasmin in hopes of preventing someone, even if its a complete stranger, from struggling with the effects of this pill in the same way that I have for the past year.

I'm 29. I started taking Yasmin a year ago to regulate mid-cycle bleeding and I had also just begun a long-term relationship so it seem appropriate to get back on the pill. I had been on BCPs in my early twenties and didn't have a problem with them, but really preferred being hormone-free. My doctor recommended Yasmin. She said it was the "Wonder Pill".

It was the start of a very crazy year in my personal life--death in the family, moves, relationship & health problems, etc. I started seeing a therapist right around the time I started the Yasmin and didn't notice a correlation. After all, life had been pretty cookoo so it seemed fitting that I felt cookoo, too.

After months and months of being extremely irrational, over-reactive, and anxious I decided that I needed a 'clean slate' as nothing seemed to be helping-no amount of therapy or self-talk/self-work was putting a dent in the amount of bad feelings that were swirling around inside myself. I felt very at odds with everyone--my boss, my family, my lover, my coworkers, and my friends. I was generally over-whelmed & completely off-center.

I called my doctor THREE times over the year and told her that something just wasn't right...that I felt "off" and wondered if it could be an effect of the pill. She assured me that Yasmin is the best pill on market, etc. etc. and that no other patients had experienced the effects I described.

Finally, at wit's end, I decided to try the 'clean slate' approach and eliminate any possible stimuli so I could attempt to get a handle on my inability to manage my emotions. I decided to stop taking the pill. My relationship had gone to hell anyways, so it was sort of an act of defiance.

What do you know? I calmed down & was right back to my old self--the one the my friends and family missed and the one that I missed so bad it hurt! I have never felt so refreshed. All the bad things that were/are going on in my personal life still exist, but I am not INSANE from the scary, bad hormone anymore.

I agree with the posts that state enourage you to find a doctor that checks your blood levels before choosing a BCP. Its really important to find a pill that works for you.

I have a lot of regret about my inability to see just how off-centered this pill made me. I made a mess of my life flopping around like a fish out of water for a year. So, the best I can do is encourage anyone who stumbles along this long post to please keep yourself informed..and listen to your body when choosing a hormone.

Yasmin is one of the worst things that has happened to my body. It might not be that way for you, but don't let any doctor tell you that this pill (as with all BCPs) is free of possible major emotional side-effects.

Thanks for reading.