Crutch symptoms and conditions

I have muscle pain, weakness, and chronic lower back pain. Started statin drug, Simvastatin, on 11/21/07. I take no other drugs. Within two weeks, I could not sit without severe lower back pain. Reported problem to family medical doctor on 1/11/08. M.D. sent me to physical therapy for 8 sessions. No relief from physical therapy so I requested an X-ray on 3/20/08. X-ray shows very mild degeneration at one lower vertebrae. M.D. sent me to an orthopaedics doctor who recommended continued physical therapy. Went to a Chiropractor instead. After six chiropractic sessions with little relief, I made an appointment with an Osteopathic doctor. My M.D. sent me to a rheumatologist who prescribed high dose naproxen for two weeks. The rheumatologist ordered and X-ray of my lower back area. The lower back X-ray produced no negatives. The rheumatologist's next step will be to order and MRI of my lower back area. The D.O. suspects statin induced myopathy and because of hyper reflexes he ordered an MRI of my brain and cervical spine. I am now recommended to a neurologist who specializes in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Am I getting the run around? Only one doctor said I might have statin induced myopathy. The rest will not even mention the statin drug theory. I just pray for ache and pain relief. I have some improvement after four months off of the statin which I believe is quite a strong point that it was the statin drug and not some unknown condition. I don't think arthritis or MS conditions improve. All I know is that I had no health issues before taking the simvastatin. Good luck to everyone who has or is taking a statin drug. BEWARE!!!

To the person above me who claims Dilantin is being used as a "crutch" for people, congratulations on graduating with honors and being a nurse, but please do not assume your non-reaction to this medication is how we all react. I was diagnosed with seizures at age 20 and have been on dilantin for 2 years. At 22 years old, I have no recollection of my junior or senior proms, my high school graduation, many huge events in my life. I can't recall even ATTENDING these functions. Dilantin has erased my life from my memory. I had a 3.8 GPA in high school, did not do drugs or drink. No actions that would have caused my memory loss. Now, I stutter, I am constantly tired, forgetting things very often, studying is nearly impossible and I have no sex drive at age TWENTY TWO. My doctor refuses to change my medication insisting side effects of other medications would be even worse. I've considered weaning myself off Dilantin to end these effects but am afraid to do so. I wish we could all be as symptom free as you have been, but please do not look down upon those who have legitimate side effects.

Just wanted to empathize with you regarding "asthma" and "advair". I developed adult on-set asthma @ 26 years old. I am turning 30 in a month and have finally experienced my asthma going into remission. I was on advair on and off for 3 years...and am finally free of it. I searched long and hard for answers in the last four years as I journeyed through massage school, colon therapy school and presently Acupuncture school. I adjusted my diet, stress levels, and thoughts. For me, it ultimately came down to affirmations to nullify the belief of asthma and EFT (emotional freedom technique). These alternative methods allowed me to re-align my mind with my lungs...and break up with asthma. Don't allow the conventional medical practice of prescribing medicine to destroy your immune system and subsequently your life. Seek out a holistic practitioner who practices energetic medicine such as an Acupuncturist, Naturopathic Doctor or Chiropractor. Advair is a crutch with sickening side effects! You can heal yourself...begin by taking a deep breath and telling yourself you no longer have asthma. After a few months of re-programming your thoughts....you will be breathing with ease. Would love to write more....but need to turn in! Good luck with your journey and let me know if I can be of any more support :-)

I have itching, pain in the abdominal area, sometimes panic attacks, and sometimes drowsiness.
The pain I took it for has gone away now, but I still keep taking it cuz I feel like crap when I get up in the morning, runny eyes and nose, and an anxious feeling, with no energy. I take a perc and drink some coffee and I'm good to go. Think I'm addicted? I do.

I have always been extremely active. I surfed every day, was swimming, I worked out at the gym several times per week. I am now 34 years old. In my 20’s I used an inhaler maybe one every few months if I got really sick but never ever needed it as a crutch to live. When I was 30 after going into a doctor for bronchitis I asked for an inhaler but they prescribed Advair in addition to an inhaler. They said this would help me to heal faster and stop the symptoms. Well I started taking Advair twice as prescribed. It did relive my shortness of breath but now I felt shaky, couldn’t sleep well and 3 weeks into it I started feeling dizzy all the time. I never had a asthma attack before. If I was sick I might use an inhaler but never did I feel my life threatened until now. After feeling dizzy I stopped the Advair. Well one day later I had such a bad attack I ended up in the hospital. Advair undeniably has made my problem much much worse. I noticed ever since I started Advair if I stop taking it my breathing gets so bad I can barley walk across the room. I never ever had this problem before taking this garbage. Its now 4 years later and I still take it but it took me 4 years to wean off this crap. I only take it when I feel really bad but then discontinue as soon as I can. I should also add I take my inhaler every day now. Never used to take it at all. I feel Advair put my system over the edge where there was a small breathing challenge burst into a full fledge illness after I started on Advair. I must ad in the 4 years I have been eating about 80% raw organic foods, taking lots of vitamins and supplements. I feel this is all I can do to start to live a normal life and hopefully be off Advair all together.

Denise,
just a heads-up--valerian is addictive as well, don't overdo it. One of my friends can't get off of it, and although she doesn't need it anymore for anxiety, she gets very deffensive when someone questions her taking it, just like an addict.
I just changed my diet and exercise schedule and I hope that will be enough. I am already feeling tons better without ANY medications. Everyone's different, but I think you're making the right decision by not wanting to use Xanax as a 'crutch'.
Silke is right, what you need now is someone to lean on and turn to for support, and LOTS of patience. It will all get better, promise.

sitting here staring at my xanax pill. I am anxious enough to 'need' it right now but I really don't 'want' to have to do this. Odd as this may sound; I am afraid to take it because it may make me feel better and thus it will become a crutch for me to take it. My doc has already said no refills and only gave me enough for 2 weeks @ one per day.

I know I probably sound crazier than I already feel but I don't want to become relient on a pill to get me through the day but I know if I don't take it I will feel like hell until this goes away. WHY OH WHY did I ever agree to take Yasmin? Oh yeah, that's right because my husband won't even talk about a vasectomy. Forgive my rant today; I just wondered if I was alone in wanting/yet not wanting to have to take meds.

Denise

Well you might not want to give me permission to complain. I hate to complain in front of family They suport me so much so I write complaints in a book but to find some answers is nice to my questions I ask myself.I have a question for you Gypsi. The Diurex will it work while still on prednisone. You all have made me deside to give up my addiction to Dr.Pepper for water. I am filling my bottle with water three whole days now. So here I go lets see if I can lose one or two pounds. I eat a very well balanced diet otherwise. So let see if I give up my one crutch if I can see some of this weight gone. Does anyone eles suffer from fatigue but have insomnia. My husband is going to go in for a angiogram Monday so I will not get back for answers until later in the week because I also have to go to the city for a MRI. They both can not be in the same city so I will be gone until thursday. I am going to buy the Diurex I am not even sure what it is but if it will work with out interferance to other drugs I will take it, thank you for encouragement.
Angela

I am a 33YO female diagnosed with asthma since 2 years old. I have been through the ringer with every medication known to man to treat asthma. I have tried , ventolin, intal,singular,becatide, blah blah blah!!!. I was a 2 puffs a day , never leave home without it albuteral user. I couldnt dance, run or have "fun" with my husband without an attack. ADVAIR CHANGED MY LIFE. I AM A NEW PERSON. I am living life without my crutch of my albuteral. I NEVER gets attacks except maybe once a year. I am a firefighter and work like I never thought my lungs would let me. I feel like my lungs are soooo much stronger now. HOWEVER, if I do not take my advair I will notice within 12 hours a slight tightness in my chest. I take 250/50 once each night. my doctor prescribed it twice morning and night, but I eventually weened myself down to once a night. I have put weight on, but who cares, I can breath. Hope you all can feel the relief I can from this lifechanging medication. thank you

RE: Neurontin and anger-outbursts

This is a follow-up for the side-effect I just posted. The problem of anger-outbursts can usually be traced to low levels of frustration-tolerance, and the good-feeling-feedback one gets from acting-out by doing something our society describes as "anger." This can take the effect of violence in some form or another, which usually gets a person into trouble with societal norms. It FEELS good to act-out and dissipate the frustration which may be described as feeling intolerable or inevitable.

Since Neurontin seems to work by lowering actual nerve-impulses that make muscles twitch, causing pain-signals, or restless-leg syndrome, or epileptic seizures (for example) it makes sense to me that a person suffering from OCD (Obsessional-Compulsive-Disorder)and anxiety would find the "need" to act out on obsessional actions like anger-outbursts -- which drain the buildup of anxiety and compulsion emotions -- helped by a drug that dulls or circumvents the nerve-signals causing emotional distress (Neurontin).

To expect or want a drug, any drug, to teach one how to tolerate frustration and anxiety without side-effects is unrealistic if not impossible. If you were MY client I would work with you to de-sensitize you to small levels of anxiety and frustration, while weaning you off of all meds. That way you would learn that the self-control is in your own hands, and give you the tools to deal with it without the crutch of looking for exactly-the-right drug. It's a matter of learning how to control one's own behavior in acceptable forms, like exercise, that drain-off the emotional charge that "feels uncontrollable" You CAN learn how to control your behavior without terrible emotional distress. Jan S. Kauffman, Neurontin userid, Masters degree in Counselling, alcohol and drug abuse rehab professional.