Dangerous side effect symptoms and conditions

I have been on lipitor since Oct 2008, 10 mg. Off and on, I am very dizzy. The backs of my calves start to weaken and I start drinking Smart Water, because I think I"m dehydrated. The Smart Water does help, but today, the dizziness is lasting all day. I probably have tinnitus. My right ear occasionally has a loud ringing and today a little pain and feels as though it has water in it. I am going to call Life Extensions and speak to their health advisors and try something naturpathic. I am soooo scared, because I have 50% blockage in my carotid arteries. Any advice out there?

okay ladies, I'm not sure what you all are experiencing since I'm not a doctor. But I will tell you that a huge amount of your symptoms can either be age related or post baby related. I have four children ages 15, 6, 5, 3.
The beginning stages of the Mirena granted are not pretty and can last for months. I was having a terrible time with my periods and was out of commission for the first three days of every cycle each month. I have had my Mirena for almost 2 years now and am going on 41. I had to wait it out for about 6 months before seeing any huge improvements. I will tell you this, over eating and NOT eating a healthy diet of fruits and veggies will aggravate bloating and mood swings. You could have these with or without the IUD. I never lost my hair unless I was 3-6 months post partum.
A diet rich in potato chips, bread, meats and cheesy pizza will show on your hair skin and nails. The typical American diet will leave even your special guy moody. As we age the expectation is that we will always feel 18 and I have had to come to grips with how my body ages and how I take care of it. A new baby whether it is your 1st or 4th will cause unwanted fatigue. I still struggle with fatigue because not everyone sleeps thru the night including my hubby so my sleep gets disrupted a lot. There are several things you can do to help your Mirena work for you and not scare you. I NEVER lose my sex drive unless I fail to exercise even a little each week and have fought back with a super charged diet. I'm not perfect at it but boy does it ever help. Sugar has a HUGE impact on your hormones and fatigue level. Limit it. Got to bed as early as you can and avoid late night TV. Don't give your precious zzz's to some silly show that won't help you be a better person any way. Get moving and add a little (or a lot) of weight training to your days- your sex drive will soar and your body will thank you. Pray for wisdom. God will help. Sometimes he uses fatigue to slow me down and focus on what is really important. Granted not everyone can handle an IUD. But if you try a little self care and be patient you might find that it works for you. I had heavy bleeding and at my age the doc said I got it just in time because from 40-50 I could expect more of the same. I am grateful for it because I felt like I was dying every time I had a period. A little fatigue is worth the benefits. Keep in mind that even your little ones get tired. They need naps and they are kids. We need rest in the afternoons too. It's okay to stay off the phone and rest a little if you can. My energy drainers are TV, negative people, talking on the phone too much, eating too much especially when I'm not really hungry, the wrong foods when I do eat, and not getting sleep or exercise. Start small and see if over time it doesn't make a big difference before you throw in the towel. Blessings to all and especially the new mommies.

my symptoms were with Prevacid, I believe that these drugs all have the same dangerous side effect. It started with extreme weakness, numbness and pins and needles in my legs and arm. Now after 9 weeks of stopping the Prevacid I feel shaky and tremors. I take b-12 injections because it seemed to have depleted me of my normal b-12 levels. I am hoping this is the problem and will improve . until than my doctor has me going to a neurologist to assure it is nothing else . mri of brain is normal and thyroid is normal. HOW LONG UNTIL THESE SYMPTOMS SUBSIDE , PLEASE TELL ME THEY WILL GO AWAY.

I have MS and have been taking Ambien for a few months now to help me sleep. My husband and daughter told me this morning that last night I got up from bed and was completely naked and walked out into the living room. They said I looked very wasted and was looking all around the house for some soda and them went back to bed. I can't remember any of this. It scares me. what if they were not home, would I of drove to the store naked looking for soda? This is a very dangerous side effect. It only happened one othere time when I got up and was surfing the TV channels looking for a TV program. Again, I don't remeber it happening. I also It is making my MS symptoms worse, I am having more stiffness and spasms along with blurred vision.

I'm 57 years old and have been on Lipitor for probably 5-7 years (was initially on ZOCOR). I have neuropathy in both feet and have recently begun to have muscle aches in my legs and lower back - have the "lipitor shuffle" and have to take a few minutes to get my balance and fluid movement when I begin to walk after sitting for any length of time. I think it is strange that they reference a "seldom but dangerous" side effect concerning the muscles "which should be reported to your Doctor immediately" As others, my GP who is an internist is very much a statins guy - even went so far as to reference that Lipitor could possibly reduce the chances of Stroke.... After reading the stories on this website, I'm setriously considering dropping my Lipitor and reverting to Viatmins and Diet to moderate my Cholesterol.....Any suggestions?

have been on toprol for about 2 months now, though i wasn't sure i needed it because i had been battling an infection at the time my blood pressure was determined high. now my feet are swollen so badly i can barely wear shoes. feel like sausages. because of this swelling i have pain when i walk and many small blood vessels are breaking.

i contacted my doctor and he says this is not a side effect to toprol, even though i shared with him that it is indicated to be a dangerous side effect on the manufacturer's website.

anyone else experiencing severe swelling of feet?

Apparently, I am allergic to the 20 mg. of Lisonipril the doctors gave me to take once per day to regulate my blood pressure, which shot up unexpectedly 6 days ago and landed me in the local cardio unit.

I have never had high blood pressure, but I had a dangerously high spike that the ER staff had trouble lowering.

Within 24 hours of beginning to Lisinopril on Friday, I started getting a deep ache in the center of my hip joint in both legs. I thought it was just stiffness from being in bed for over two days, and maybe a reaction to all of the drugs they used on me when I was in the hospital.

Nope. It got worse, and by Sunday night, I was taking aspirin every 4 hours just to cut the pain enough to sleep.

I took my next pill on Monday morning, and the joint pain started getting worse, and were traveling down my leg as muscle pain.

I tried walking up and down stairs, walking around campus, and sitting in my work chair--nothing helped, and the pain just kept getting worse.

I looked up possible side effects for this drug, and the one I found from the National Institure of Health (NIH) site on Lisinopril stated that muscle pain and cramps were a dangerous side effect and that I should see my doctor immediately.

The pain was coming off and on in waves that I could practically time with a watch.

So, I called the office of the cardiologist who took care of me in the hospital, so I could get this medication changed, and see him if necessary.

No dice. His secretary wouldn't even take a phone message for the doctor, because I had not been in to see him before in his office, and all my records were at the hospital (which I found out later, she could have had FAX'ed to her immediately, doggonit).

She said I had to go back to the ER to be seen in order to determine what was going on, etc.

I called my military primary care center, and told them my tale as my cramps grew worse by the minute.

They said I had to go back to the ER, and that Tricare would approve it.

By the time I arrived, I could barely walk, and I stumbled into an ER gone mad. Seems that the entire county got messed up at the same time, and everybody's case was different, but severe.

The only other hospital in the region was in the same shape, and was calling the hospital I was in to see if they could take some of their patients (they couldn't). We even had guys lying on gurneys who had been medevac'd in from other places who were waiting in line to get into ICU.

What a madhouse. The staff took an EKG on me as soon as I arrived and it was OK, so they sent me for a chest X-ray (the results of which I was never told), then left me alone in the hall.

The pain in my hips, back and legs was absolutley agonizing, and grew worse whenever I sat or walked. The pain made my head hurt like hell, too, and made me nauseous, and my vision was becoming very blurred.

I was left unattended for nearly three hours, until I finally fell apart, hobbled into the ER nurses station and keeled over--I woke up vomiting in a securty guard's arms.

They left me on the floor for a while until they could round up a wheelchair, then sort of folded me into it until they could find a free gurney. I lay around for another hour until someone came and started looking me over.

The ER doc said that he "had checked the literature, and that there was nothing about anyone having muscle cramps or joint pain from taking Lisinopril unless they were also on a water pill". I asked him to read the information sheet I had brought from the NIH, but he didn't bother.

I was not on any diuretic, but I was convinced that he didn't know enough about the drug to know for sure what it could or couldn't do.

The info I found on the government medical web sites definitely DID indicate that severe muscle weakness or cramps could occur, and it mentioned nothing about water pills having anything to to with these symptoms.

Anyway, they took blood work (came back normal), and gave me a shot of Xanax, which did nothing to help the pain at all.

Six hours after I arrived in the ER, the doctor finally got around to calling the cardiologist who had cared for me when I was a patient there a few days before.

After another hour of rolling around in tearful agony, and contemplating the beautiful freedom that death could bring, the nurse came back in and gave me a big ol' shot of Demerol. That worked, thank the Maker. My pain subsided to a bearable level, and I passed out.

In the end, the cardiologist's diagnosis was to take me off of Lisinopril, give me a shot of Demerol right away, and then send me home with Darvocet and Flexeril to keep my muscles relaxed and joints relatively pain-free until the drug clears my system (it's one of those that is supposed to "build up", so it takes a few days to clear).

They did this and sent me home--nine hours after I arrived. I will be put on something else by my primary physician when I see him on Friday.

I definitely think my problem was related to the new drug, and I will know for sure in a few days. Thank everyone for your posts; they have provided me with lots of useful information and confirmation. I will be very careful when taking any new BP lowering drug, and will gather plenty of information if I have any problems, so that I can convince any ignorant physician who needs to know what he or she does not.