Crappy symptoms and conditions

I have been taking 25 mg. at bedtime of topamax for the last week. I was prescribed topamax to end my chronic headaches. The last week has been very difficult for me. In just 7 days I have gone from being sharp, aware, motivated, focused and in control... to scattered, unable to focus, can't remember my pin # that I have had for 20 years, stop mid sentence because I can't remember what I was trying to say, unable to hold a conversation, unable to think clearly, unable to interact with my children. My family says I have turned into a zombie. I am not safe to drive and cannot work. I did not take my topamax last night and won't be taking it anymore. I would gladly have my headaches back if I could just feel like myself again. I had no idea it would affect me so negatively in just one week on such a low dose. (25 mg)

Be so careful before taking this medicine. My doctor didn't discuss any of these side effects with me, but I did research the drug online before I took it and was aware there were serious side effects, but it never seems that serious until you actually endure the side effects for yourself. The drug is not for me.

Hi all,

I had originally posted on 6/29/08, 6 days after having my Mirena removed. I had it for 15 months.

It is now two weeks later. I want to re-iterate that my fatigue is totally gone. My acne has totally gone away. I've not had one bout of dizziness and my appetite has subsided tremendously. The bloating has significantly decreased. The numbness I had in one of my feet has not returned at all. My insomnia has decreased. Eight hours of sleep feels refreshing and enough! I am not exhausted, nor do I have unexplained muscle fatigue just doing simple tasks like folding laundry! I have not had any PMS'y mood swings as I had noted before, which were totally unpredictable on Mirena. (BTW, I was not a moody PMS'r prior!!) I also had a slight case of sinusitis during the last month I had Mirena and never attributed it to it, but perhaps it was now that I've read more of the posts!

I have as yet to go to the lab and get the "thyroid test" the doctor ordered due to the symptoms I reported the day I had it removed, because I am absolutely convinced that Mirena was the cause. I will have it done regardless just to be on the safe side.... but I waited on purpose so my body could get somewhat back to normal.....

I could always "feel" MIrena inside of me when I would lean over to tie my shoes, sometimes during exercise... etc.... and it is so nice to know that thing isn't in me anymore, and I can lean over without fear of poking a hole in my own uterus inadvertently!

So.... I'm still VERY glad I had it removed. I'm feeling more my normal "self" every day. I know it will take my body a while to get back on it's routine but if it took a while for my body to feel that crappy I assume it will take a while to get back on track!!

PS - to those women who said it hurt having the Mirena placed.... I had a hard time with it as well. The removal did hurt, but not as bad as having it placed. The removal is a faster process than placement. I would suggest asking your doctor for a little pain medicine or to take something prior to your appointment to have it removed if you have a low tolerance for pain.

Re: Dosage Confusion- Synthroid

This simple of communicating dosage became confusioning. To prevent confusion synthroid is always discussed in terms of (mcg). That is, micrograms (mcg) vs. milligram (mg).

This is of tremendous value The conversion factor is 1000, for example a dose of Synthroid represented as 0.025mg, would be converted as
.025mg x 1000=25mcg. To fully understand this blogger’s statement feel comfortable to talk with your pharmacist or physician.

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 was taking Ambien CR for almost a year. Until I stopped taking it I didn't realize all the side effects I was suffering. I was taking almost every night. I started getting yeast infections about a month after I started taking it. They continued every single month for the next 7 months, sometimes twice in one month. It got to the point that OTC meds were not curing it. The doctor prescribed a med for it and it still didn't help. I have been trying to figure out excatly what behavior (eg:diet, laundry soap) I had changed in the last year when it dawned on me. They started around the time I started taking Ambien CR. I started researching side effects of Ambien CR and in the very very fine print it lists Vaginitis. There it is. Somewhere I read that only .01% of women suffer this side effect, figures it would be me. I stopped taking Ambien immediately, the yeast infection that I was getting started to go away on its own. I bought an OTC med to help it go away and I feel great! Haven't had another one since.

Other side effects that I noticed after I stopped taking it were headaches, short tempered, confusion, short-term memory loss, hair loss. I haven't had a headache since the last day I took Ambien CR. I had absolutely no patience while I was taking it. I would lose my temper in a flash. I haven't felt as angry since I stopped taking it. I didn't realize how crappy I was feeling every day until I stopped taking it.

I think Ambien might be okay for occasional use but not every night like I was taking it.

I was prescribed lisinopril after I underwent open heart surgery for aortic valve replacement last July. Initially I was on 40mg, and was successively reduced to 5mg, which is where I am now. Basically, my dosage would be lowered after I would start to complain about side effects (dizziness, fatigue...), which my cardiologist would attribute to my recovery -- i.e. my blood pressure would stabilize, hence the higher dosage would lower it too much). Well, now I'm down to 5mg, and I feel worse than ever. I'm dizzy all the time, I have severe aches in my joints -- particularly in my knees and elbows, stiffness in my hands, pain in my feet, extreme fatigue, weakness in my arms, shortness of breath, and mild chest pains. My cardiologist maintains that it's not the lisinopril, yet after running full bloods, my primary doctor can't find a single thing wrong with me. I tried getting off the lisinopril for a little over a week, but I didn't feel any better. So, my question is this: does anyone else feel as crappy as I do, and how long does it take to get this drug out of your system? I'm only 34 yrs old, I'm not overweight or otherwise out of shape, and this is really affecting my ability to work and to spend quality time with my wife and 10 month old son. Ugh.

Man! OKay, first I came on this website to look for the awful side effects I experience with Nuvaring birth control...after reading a hundred comments of girls who had the same problems with it as me! I am definitely dropping it! So I think, what about Yasmin?? maybe this one will be good, and I come to this comment page, and everyone has OTHER identical bad side effects!
Looks like Nuvaring makes you insanely anxious and on edge and KILLS your sex drive 100%. And now I see Yasmin...gives you horrible aching pains in your legs at night.... and ups your heart rate and gives you mummurs!

Is there no hope for us? Does anyone know a BC that is actually good?? Help!

I had been on Ortho Tri-Cyclen for 6.5 years and NEVER eperienced any problems. I got on Femcon because I was moving to a new state and inbetween insurance companies. My doc gave me a 6month supply before I left so that I could still be on the pill. I'm on the first two weeks, and like everyone else I have experienced break through bleeding. I haven't gotten headaches or mood swings. But as a teacher and a coach, I can't afford to have any of these problems. I'll stick it out for a little bit longer until my new insurance kicks in, but then I think I'm switching back. Anyone know how long this bleeding will last??? did anyone stay on it long enough to see if things setteled down afterwards?

I was just given the NuvaRing to try yesterday, I did not even last 24 hours! Literally 4 hours after I put it in, my eye started to twitch, constantly. I started have chest pain and pressure, almost like when you have bronchitis. My legs felt crampy, my back hurt, I couldn't sleep, and I had the worst headaches. Seriously. I hoped it would pass by morning, but no luck, so I called the GYNO and she said to remove it and wait to see if the symptoms go away. I removed it this afternoon, and this evening, I am still feel crappy, but at least a tad better.

I read and re-read the Nuvaring packaging looking for my side effects, and there were none. I am so disappointed with this. It was the worst experience I have ever had with birth control!

My dermatologist put me on Yaz a little less than 2 weeks ago for acne. I've been bleeding ever since! I'm really getting worried about it and have been debating calling my gyn to see what the deal is. Has anyone else bled like crazy with Yaz? How long did it take to stop? My flow is probably medium and bright red...with no signs of stopping at the moment. I also have had a horrible headache for about 3 days, can't sleep, have lower back pain, and feel extremely nauseated. This pill is horrible!

I was switched to lisinopril because of crappy insurance (couldn't afford what's supposed to be the good stuff). Been taking it for high BP. I'm convinced I've never really had high BP but my previous doc thought it was indicated. My previous BP med (Atacand) wasn't great but I hung tough with it. Since switching to lisinopril, I have actually thought I was dying! Burning/weak muscles, coughing when I lay down, poor sleep ability, cramps that seem to travel from one area to another in my body, memory problems, exhaustion, and on and on. All these things just sneaked up on me slowly until I finally realized that it had to be this stuff! This stuff that is supposed to be beneficial! Tuesday, July 10, I said "ENOUGH." I stopped taking it. Got an appointment with my doc on Friday. Intend to stay off this and I'm going to try to get off cholesterol med too. I think we've all been duped into thinking we need this stuff when we really don't. I'm only 52, I'm not supposed to feel like I'm dying yet. I've been monitoring my BP since yesterday when I quit taking the lisinopril and it hasn't spiked up or anything else.....yet. I have already begun to feel better. Good luck to ya'll. Sounds like we all need it.

I started using Nuvaring last night. I woke up this morning crying from a dream about my mother. I thought that was kinda weird. I've been thirsty all day. I think I've had a least 10 huge glasses of water. Other than that things seemed fine. Then I got home and crashed out on the couch. I just woke up and my arms feel really tingly, my body feels really heavy and I feel nauseous.

I started using this thing to get rid of crappy pms. I want to take it out right now!

I'm a 55 yo male, that has been taking Vytorin for 6 yrs. A year ago I was diagnosed with Fybromyalgia, at a very large research hospital in St. Louis.
I entered a drug study, but after 4mos had to leave due to a neccessary surgery. I was able to find out, what the medicine was, and contimued taking it. It was Cymbalta. It provided about a 75% reduction in my symtoms, which were: Major muscle pain, throughout my body, fatique, constipation-diarrehea, memory loss(Fybro Fog), erectile dysfunction, body temp, always hot, with sweating, and just feeling tired and crappy 24/7. I accidently came across this site, about 2 wekks ago, and began reading these and other testamonials, and started thinking, maybe it's not Fibrom, but the Vytorin. So I quit taking it. My symtoms have dramatically decreased, almost by 90%. I hadn't told my Doc, so I'll be doing that this week.And run some blood tests to see what my numbers are doing. But I am convinced, Vytorin has something to do with my condition.

My daughter is 5 years old and has been on singulair for 1 week. i have already noticed a dramatic change in her behavior. she has become irritable, mean, nasty, and emotional. she has had me in tears on a daily basis. she has turned into a monster. we will be calling the doctor in the morning!

It's nice to know that I'm not the only one that has been having side effects with the Nuvaring. My doctor put me on it to help with my Periods. I was going 4-5 months without a period and then getting a major one. I have been on the Nuvaring now for like 2 1/2 months. I have no sexual drive (poor hubby); depression; dizziness (no fainting though); major stomach pains/cramps; minor headaches and just feeling majorly crappy. As of right now on Wednesday I will have my Period for two weeks straight. I can't deal with this. I am calling the doctor either tomorrow or Wednesday and saying I would rather go back to the way I was then feel the way I do now. I am just oh so glad that I am not alone. Thanks for sharing your stories.

THANK YOU EVERYONE. I thought I was crazy. I put the thing in one week ago tomorrow, after having a non-hormonal IUD for 3 1/2 years.

Weight gain, headaches that won't quit even after max doses of iburpofen, depression, NO SEX DRIVE and feeling generally crappy.

I'm done this is for the birds.

Oh my gosh Yasmin is not for me for sure.
I started taking it about 3 weeks ago and thought at first I felt crappy for other reasons. I can't sleep through the night, have headaches, cramps, back pain, and feel as though I am getting a yeast infection! wow how bad is that.
I think I will go back to Seasonique.
I was using Yasmin to help with PCOS but it's just not worth feeling this bad :(

I have only taken the medication for 24 hrs and have noticed a difference. My taste buds are all messed up. Im a chocolote lover and it doesnt even taste right. I can taste the minerals in bottled water which tastes crappy to me - nothing i like tastes like it use to. reading all the posts kind of scares me - can anyone tell me how long it was when you first started to notice the hair loss? Thanks.

On January 17, 2006 I was prescribed 500 mg of Levaquin for 10 days for a sinus infection. I was told to take the pill before I went to bed. That night I was extremely restless and could not fall asleep. I would start to fall asleep and then my body would "jump" awake again. I also woke up in the morning with nausea. I would force food down my throat. I lost my appetite and no longer craved foods I used to. I was having very earlymorning bowel movements. I had pain in my arm for a couple of days. I have never felt so crappy from being on a drug! After seven days on Levaquin I called my pharmicist and told him I felt like I was dying and he told me to start taking the pill in the morning. I did and felt a little better. Nevertheless, my nausea never went away in the morning. I would have tremors in the morning and was always cold. Finally, in April I started to have night sweats and lost alot of weight. In May I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. I started on 10 mg of Lexapro and started seeing a psychotherapist. I was fine for about a month and then my nausea came back.

In November 2006. I was put on 40 mg of NEXIUM which has saved my life along with increasing my Lexapro dosage to 15 mg. LEVAQUIN NEEDS TO BE TAKEN OFF THE MARKET NOW! I STRONGLY BELIEVE THIS DRUG CAN RUIN YOUR LIFE AND KILL YOU!!!!!!!

Okay, been off Yasmin since Sept 20, so I know I'm coming up on my first period since stopping it. I've been doing pretty well for the most part, feeling better overall; but then last night the anxiety started up again. I was up all night with it!! I think I've read previous posts about anxiety popping up again around that time of the month, but does that eventually ease?? Out of all of the crappy side effects - anxiety is the ABSOLUTE WORST! I have NEVER felt anything so uncomfortable... I've been taking vitamins and extra calcium so I hope that this just means my body is adjusting. Still haven't decided if I'm going to try a different pill or go without. (I don't use it for BC 'cause I'm spayed.)

Chris

I'm absolutely miserable. I figured my TOTAL lack of sexual desire was due to starting Yasmin, but I had no idea the rest of my recent crappy existance was also because of it. I'm 35, married, and this is my first time really on the pill. I was on it once about 15 years ago for about 2 months, but that was it. I started to help with bad periods, awful bloating, clotting and cramps. My feeling down used to come as PMDD-- for about 2 weeks before my period. Now I'm just plain down all the time. It's not a swing like that, like I'm all of a sudden very emotional and sad, this is a general lack of anything. I've been on this for 7 weeks. I feel alone and unhappy. No joy. I wouldn't say I'm terribly sad, but I've been crying a lot, and I never do that. My head ached horribly during my period. My breasts kill. I've gained at least 10 lbs. Now I'm really mad about all this. I've kind of kept my emotional state to myself. Now the doctor wants me to stay on it until I finish the three months. I don't want to. She said then I'll probably have to deal with the bleeding problems. My other option is to finish out this pack and start on Allese. Right now I think I'd rather have the hell of my period and the PMDD. I hate to go back to all that, though. I'm nervous and sad and angry. I'm thankful for finding this board, though. I wish there had been something in the package insert that hinted at the severity of changes you can experience. I feel like I've messed myself up good. I don't knwo what to do.

I had been prescribed sulfameth/trimethoprim 800/160 tabs twice a day for seven days for a UTI. Immediately they made me feel small waves of nausea and I have a terrible back ache. I've also had a bad headache a couple of days and for some reason I find it difficult to fall asleep at night. I've also had an overall crappy feeling and just want to lay in bed all day. I have also had some serious chills a couple of days too. I only have 3 days left of my prescription, hopefully I don't develop anything worse.

sophie,
I too experienced bad headaches when I went off yasmin. They would hurt in my shoulders up my neck into the top of my head and pain in the back of my eyes. It was sharp stabbing pains and a feeling of someone hitting the top of my head with a big rubber mallet. I would get so upset and cry and this seemed to make them even worse where I felt like my head was going to explode, I could even feel pulsing up around my temples. I remember getting one bad headache when I was on the yasmin (I was on it for three months and this was around about the second month) but they really got worse when I quit taking the yasmin. They would come and go every so often and this continued for about 2or 3 months, usually they would be worse around the week before my period was due to start. I do not get them anymore. I have been off yasmin for 5 months now. But I think they quit aroung the 2nd or 3rd month off. I know they were due to
the yasmin because I never ever have had such bad
headaches like that in my whole life!! I know what you mean about feeling like your going crazy, and depression!! Oh I felt so terrible. Please believe me when I tell you it will get better, but its going to take time. There are going to be days when you feel better and think ok eveything will improve from here on, but then the next day or in a few days you feel just as crappy as you did before, sometimes even worse. Just to know though that this is part of the process is helpful. I can even pinpoint a day that I felt the heavy "cloud" lift from my brain. I quit yasmin at the end of Nov. and I felt that cloud lift on about Jan. 20th. Now I tried going back on my regular birth control I had been on previous to yasmin for the month of december, and the first part of Jan. (I took the first 4 pills) and things still seemed bad and not to be getting better, so I quit all birth control all together, and then I started feeling better emotionally at the end of Jan. so what I am saying is, if you are not taking any birth control pills now you may start to feel better sooner than I did because you are not still putting the hormones into your body. I also felt a lot of the same symptoms you wrote, I was ALWAYS soooo cold, especially my hands, feet, nose, even when other people were hot, I would be bundled up in a blanket. I was severely panicked, and anxious mostly I think about whats going to happen next. I also had alternating diarrhea and constipation and my stomach would make these horrendously loud churning sounds! I also experienced mood swings and I didnt want to do anything or go anywhere anymore. I felt very self conscious about my looks because my face seemed to be changing before my eyes, my skin was sallow and I dont know how else to describe it but depressed. It has gotten somewhat better but not completely. In addition to cold skin my skin felt dry everywhere. And yes of course no sex drive. Also do not be alarmed if you start to lose more hair than normal. That happened to me as well when I quit the yasmin. my scalp also became sensitive especially in certain spots sometimes and then I would get little bumps on my head like an oil gland breaking through. Just know that you are not going bald you are still growing hair, you just losing a lot for a while. I took a prenatal vitamin everyday because I feel the folic acid and vitamins helped my hair grow faster. If It does happen try not to let it alarm you because thats the last thing your poor body needs now is more stress!!! Believe me, it has enough. Another thing I have been doing that I wish I had done sooner is acupuncture. The doctor I see says my body needs to get back in balance and that my liver needs to heal. It also seems to help with the depression. Dont get me wrong I feel better than dec and jan but Im still trying to get through some of the other side effects and Im in month 5. One other thing, Dr Lee has a book out called what your doctor may not tell you about menopause, dont let the title scare you, but a lot of the symptoms we are experiencing are signs of estrogen dominance. I am having my saliva tested to see what my estrogen and progesterone levels are, even though the doctors have tested them twice now and say they are in normal ranges, the saliva tests are supposed to be more accurate than blood draws. If you want to know how to get these tests write me back and Ill give you the website address I got mine from. I hope this helps. Write back and let me know how your doing.
Bitter RN.

I just was prescribed this medication after going to a new dr twice and having very high BP. My last reading was 170/110. I've been on it 3 weeks now. The dr NEVER once mentioned the cough as a side effect.

I noticed it started 2-3 days after I started the medication and thought it was my allergies since I have severe allergies. The cough kept getting worse and worse, as did my tiredness. I'm up ALL night coughing my brains out from this crappy drug!

I'm 27 yrs old and now am wetting the bed thanks to coughing so hard at night!! I'm embarrased to have to sleep with a towel underneath me because I'm coughing so hard (even in my sleep) that I'm leaking urine.

I went back to the dr yest thinking I was sick because of the severe coughing and horrible sore throat. Not until I found this and many other sites did I realize it was the Lisinopril! The kicker is that yest my BP was just as high as it was pre-Lisinopril! I'm going to stop taking it as of tonight, especially if it's not even working!

How long did it take to have an effect on your BP? 3 weeks should have been enough time for it to work if it was going to IMO. I can't stand the coughing anymore! Even the codine cough syrup my dr gave me isn't helping me sleep. Now I just hope the cough won't linger for weeks like I've heard it can.

Hi Ladies...
Thanks for the input. I think that my estrogen levels dropped off so much from stopping this crappy pill that it was causing the headaches. Mine, too see to be behind my eyes and at either side of my head, not at the same time, one sided headaches, if you will. They have seemed to let up in the last two days, I read that Aleve is the best help for hormonal headaches. It seems to be the only thing that has helped thus far. I have been seeing a psychologist since July for the panic and anxiety. I have it pretty well under control, but at the time I NEVER thought it might be the BC until I found you wonderful ladies. I am about 6-7 weeks post pill, and the general anxiety is really easing up. I'll keep you posted!
Thanks, Cristy