Debilitating symptoms and conditions

I suspect Advair is responsible for my having come down with pneumonia,stabbing chest pains( which the Dr. at the ER suggested was Pleurisy) and severe back pain in my lower back. I haven't been able to sleep in bed for at least 6 weeks and must sleep in a chair with my feet propped up on an ottoman.I have used Advair since July 2007, first 250/50 then 500/50 and now back to 250/50 in order to reduce hoarseness. The pneumonia is gone after 5 days hospitalization; the pleurisy pain has just subsided with pain killers and anti inflammatory meds . But the severe lower back pain is still there; my orthopedic Dr. has recommended physical therapy which I plan to initiate. However, stopping the use of Advair may be exactly what I need to end the back pain. I would like to mention that I did experience Thrush upon using Advair and I found that it completely went away when I started drinking pure Pomegranate juice.It doesn't taste great but it was recommended by friends during the time I had pneumonia, and lo and behold, it seems to have done away with Thrush. The Advair along with Siriva does seem to help my asma but these suspected side effects are very debilitating.

side effect: bleeding at urethra

For a long-term sinus infection that has drained my energy, I took my first pill in the Leva-pak about noon today with a large glass of water. Ate lunch. Planned to vacuum, but it was difficult to get into and around in our garage (we made a space for a car to go in now that mornings bring frost outside.) So I ended up moving things around in the garage. Major moving around, some stuff heavy. I was thrilled to have energy and strength to actually do something at last and to think of how long I had been listlessly surviving and at times even bedridden before this magical pill.

About 8:30 I came in to pee and found my undies bloody. Bravo, I said to myself, 10 years post menopause and I got my period again. This is the drug of youthfulness: energy and menstruation. Fortunately I still have a few sanitary items around for female friends who visit, so I got to be one of my friends.

But it seems that the blood is coming from the urethra, not from the vagina. And I have some discomfort there. So I recalled that the drug pakage said to drink plenty of water and realized that I hadn't had any more drinks since about noon or 1. I drank another glass of water and headed back to the garage.

I finished up the garage (who said I'm obsessive?) about 9:30 and came in to find out more about the new drug. I saw that the pack said right on it that drinking plenty of liquids PREVENTS THE FORMATION OF CRYSTALS IN THE URINE. So I drank 2 more glasses of water, thinking maybe crystals have formed in my urine and are cutting into the tissues of my bladder and urethra making them bleed. Guess these crystals must be softer than kidney stones or maybe much much smaller, because I've seen the pain folks get with kidney stones, and I would not be sitting here reading your experiences and now typing up my own to share with y'all if I had as much pain as kidney stones cause!

Anyway, with those two more glasses of water, I came online to see the deal with urethral bleeding caused by Leva-pak, and what do I see. Well, the first website I went to said about reading the pharmacist's paper that came with the L-pak. (My doc calls it L-pak, and I hope it's not gonna be L for me as it has been for most of y'all.) Now I wondered if the pharmacist had even put one in. Went and looked and sure enough, there it was, and it said to drink plenty of water "to prevent the formation of crystals in the urine." No further info about those crystals or their side effects. Some words about bleeding but totally vague, like does drinking water cure bleeding?? Who knows?

That paper the pharmacist put in my bag also said that one of the side effects can be "excitement". I thought, that's my side effect, and I am very happy about that. Garage is too. Hubby is too. Life is good. Leva-pack is good for me, for us for the world.

Anyway, back at the puter, eventually I found y'all and your many stories of pain and suffering caused by Levaquil. But, lo and behold, NOT A ONE OF YOU HAS MENTIONED MY BLOODY SIDE EFFECT. That goes to show what drinking plenty of liquids can spare you. Save ya a quarter wasted on sanitary pads you coulda given your female guests. Save ya from washing blood out of your undies again. Save ya from worrying about whether to call the doc (pharmacist is home in bed by now and tomorrow is Sunday. It figures.) And whether to take another pill.

Sheesh, it's a slow business trying to type up my story for ya, now 11 and time for more water, I figure. Be right back again...ok. I see the bleeding continues but it's a LIGHT DAY.

Well, now I've read this whole webpage top to bottom, and I feel pretty worried about taking enough of this Levaquil stuff to get exploding tendons and total nerve damage and pain and suffering and crippling and insanity and death by anaphylactic shock if I take another one.

I probably will take another one, just being sure to drink plenty a water too. Excuse me a sec while I go get another, as it is now after 10....okay I'm back now.We'll see as time goes along about taking any more. And if I am a good scout, I should come back and provide the REST OF MY STORY in a few days.

I saw that someone here said that Cipro is a fluoxosomethingorother too. I don't know why the doc didn't pick Cipro for me today instead of the Leva-pak. Maybe the last drug rep in his office gave him some good lines about the advantages of L as opposed to C, who knows? Anyway, if Cip and Lev are in the same family, I must say that as a postal employee, I am ready to take Cipro at the drop of a hat if our new machines spot anthrax in the air where we work. Sounds like those postal employees who died would have survived if the docs had recognized what was wrong with them and given them the Cipro early on. At least, other people who showed up sick afterwards with anthrax exposure got Cipro, and most of them survived, I heard.

The upshot is that I hope we don't take away the fluoxisomethingorothers until we find somthing better. Law suit perhaps, but not to deny the life-saving drug from EVERYBODY because some folks have bad side effects. Instead, we should find out how to test each person for having trouble taking it. You know, put a little drug in with some of their hair and a little in some of their blood and a little in some of their pee and see if it curdles or grows sprouts or something to show how each patient will react to it. Then tell each one what to expect from the various drugs available for that person's ailment. Then the patient can decide which side effects he wants to sign up for or if he just wants to stick with his original ailment.

I have not decided whether I will take any more of these pills. I will observe my crochety side effect and watch for any new ones that may pop up before I make my decision each day. I am very very concerned about long lasting muscle and tendon pains. I have not been able to hike now for about 3 months due to loss of energy, strength, and confidence. And I sure don't want to miss 3 more months trying to get over exploded achilles, burning knees, seizures, or nerve damage etc.

As a postal employee, I never do any research into cures for ailments. I am fairly experienced with ailments. I cannot provide you with any good excuses for not seeking to find cures for our health troubles.

I feel lucky to have been born when and where I was. I waited until central heat, air conditioning, cushioned seats in heated, air-conditioned autos(spare me from buckboards on unpaved "roads"), and penicillan. That penicillan brought me through pneumonia in 1947. Had I arrived 5 years sooner, I doubt it would have been available to me. Hmmm, I wouldn't a been available to share my story with you folks this evening either. So I must say a blessing for all those who try to improve my health when I go to them for help with my various complaints. Sure, money may be highly motivating for some of them, but Donald Trump and Bill Gates found ways to make money without going into medicine or research and drug development or doctoring.

So far, that's my story, my red flag today.

May THE FORCE be with each of you as you search for the best solutions for your ever-new mind and body problems. May we seek wisdom widely and recognize that what used to work for us often won't work any more because our bodies keep changing. We are along for the ride and hope to make it as pleasurable as possible as we round each curve and surmount each hill.

God bless us all, each and every one.
Christmas is coming...Tiny Tim's words echo through the years.

Hello, I have been on Topamax for about 2 months now for severe and unexplained dizzy spells\vertigo. I am at 100mg. The spells are gone thank God, because they were debilitating, but the side effects are HORRIBLE! First it was me just feeling like an idiot, dropping everything, forgetting words, losing my train of thought mid sentence... I am a hair stylist so this could be quite embarrasing. Then I got the crazy weird tingles everywhere, but they are kinda cool. Except when they wake you up in the middle of the night. AHH! But luckily the stupidness has worn off, and the feeling like I never get enough sleep has too. But now I AM LOSING SOOO MUCH HAIR! Like handfulls of it. I took a ziplock bag of it to my Dr. and (extreme, I know...) he says "yeah, that can happen..." not to me! I'm a hairdresser! I think I may go off of it... Has anyone else experienced this??? Soda still tastes like crap most days, but I don't like it much anyways. It can up your anxiety level at times too, i think. The positive is that it keeps you from overeating. The side effects get better, as in not as constant, but they never completely go away.

Hello,
My journey with Minera started in September 2005, two months after the birth of my second daughter.

Previous to the insertion of Minera and the birth of my daughter I was under the care of a rheumatologist for chronic knee and foot pain. I was never diagnosed with any specific disease or disorder. When I became pregnant with my daughter in May 2004 all of my pain vanished. I stopped seeing the doctor and had a normal pregnancy.

My pain symptoms started to return shortly after I gave birth and in September 2005 I decided to have Minera put in. I had no problems with the insertion and after bleeding for about 6 weeks my period stopped. I had some cramping here and there but no more period. I felt great!

My pain symptoms worsened over time and I developed more problems. none of which I related to Minera. My problems were:

Terrible joint pain and swelling in my knees
Pain that radiates from my lower back to my feet
Pain in my right ring finger
Stiffness
TMJ
Insomnia
Hair loss
Weight gain
Irritability
Mood swings
Scarring acne
Fatigue
Lack of interest in sex
Swelling in my feet

I started to believe I had something really wrong with me. I did research and found a lot of my symptoms were in sync with Fibromyalgia. I started seeing a new rheumatologist who did tons of blood work and x-rays on me. After all the results came back she said I did not test positive for anything. She diagnosed my with rheumatoid arthritis because I had all the clinical symptoms. She prescribed prednisone and placqunel (sp?) for the arthritis which seems to be helping.

I was on a parenting forum I frequent the other day and I saw a post form a woman complaining about all the side effects of Minera. I did some research and found this site and another
http://curezone.com/forums/f.asp?f=713
It's like a light bulb went off. All of these things that I have been suffering with seem to be related to the IUD.

So I would like to hear from some of you ladies that have had Minera removed already. Do you feel better? Are your side effects gone?
Also has anyone removed Minera themselves?

I have been taking Neurontin for 1 week (300 mg 1x per day and then prescribed to increase to 300 mg 2x per day after 1st week). It has been incredible taking the pain away (hemi-vertibrae bone defect in neck with severe arthritis)!!! Like Oh my goodness wonderful!!! however - by the end of the day - i am 20 lbs bloated and feel like the weight gain is right around the corner... I am very aware of body ( I am a dancer) and need to know if this is going to balance out... i know the answer of it depends oneach person - but some insight would help me not panic right now

Do Not Take YASMIN. I do not want any other woman having to go through what I have and by the sounds of it, hundreds- thousands of you already have. I, like many of you was a bubbly, warm and happy person who loved life and with the addition of YASMIN a SEVERELY debilitating depression followed. I never stopped crying. I woke up crying, I went to bed crying. Anything at all would start rivers of tears that never stopped. I was ridden with excruciating panic attacks on a constant basis and almost drove myself to the hospital about 3 times a week. Heart palpitations, or what felt like that, were not unusual and my heart was constantly racing. So fast that I felt constantlyyyy anxious. I was not myself. I knew my true self, and this was not it... so what did I do? STOPPED TAKING IT.. immediately. just one day i threw the rest of the cycle in the trash and I have not looked back since. YASMIN is what is causing these same symptoms in you and you can get back to your normal self with just one.. easy.. step. ENDING your attachment to it. Good luck to everyone, just be strong, you'll be alright.

I started getting panic, palpitations, anxiety, bouts of crying, no sex drive, odd taste in my mouth. I only had the taste and lack of libido since early on but felt fine and than whammo the crying and palpitations and anxiety hit. I asked the doctor if it could be the Yasmin even tho id been on it for a while, i got the royal fob off and some lame comment about 'us girls doing funny things sometimes' whatever that means!!!!! It got worst, i couldnt stand to be in the college where id gotten the palpitations to start with so dropped out and i couldnt understand why, but i was cool to still work nearby the college, I had some odd behaviour tho, like i suddenly couldnt park on the ground level for fear of the levels collapsing, i was scared of dying, of freak events, of flying and i LOVED flying, the syptoms waxed and waned and then a few months lather while still having intermittent anxiety a stressful period popped up and that was it i was gone, worst time of my life, allergies, nauseus, paranoia, depression, nightmares, horrific mental images and distressing thoughts, suicidal thoughts. Crux of it was it sucked big time!!!! That was 3 years ago and im still trying to put myself back together! The original syptoms did get better with time but ive never been quite the same.

I have fibromyalgia so when I complained to my doctor about the increased and almost unbearable pain after being on Lipitor it was not taken seriously, also blood tests showed up negative for any problems. Finally after being sent to a arthritis specialist he took me off the drug. He also told me that half of the patients that he see that are on Lipitor have serious side effects even though blood works shows nothing. More than a year off the drug I still have chronic and debilitating tendonitis in both arms and bursitis in both hips- which doctors tell me is highly unusual.

I have been on my "period" for 12 weeks now, and about a month ago my gyn. prescribed Yasmin for me. I have now been taking Yasmin for exactly 3 weeks, and I have been amazed by what I have read in this site! I met my live-in b.f. 2 1/2 years ago, and used to be such a fun, energetic, hopefull, and loving person. I took Yasmin for a couple of months in 2005, and looking back,...after stopping the pill because of extreme mood swings, that is also when my panic disorder came about. I never have been able to understand why a person like me, who once had so much to offer had become a walking basket case having very frequent, debilitating panic attacks. I am blessed to have such a concerned, and compassionate b.f. and he has told me that he has seen an extreme diference in me. Like I said above, my gyn. put me back on Yasmin 3 weeks ago to stop my bleeding and regulate my periods, and it never dawned on me that Yasmin is what started my chaos until now. And my bleeding has not stopped! I don't know what to do. It seems clear to me that my problems are stemming from this pill, but others have said on this site that the side effects continue well after the pill is stopped. What to do? Needless to say, I will be making an appt with my dr.

I have been taking Neurontin for 2 months. I didn't think it was really helping because I still couldn't function normally. I have had 3 disk surgeries on L4/5, and still have severe pain in my right hip and down my right leg all the way to my foot. I am told there is scar tissue build-up in the area causing the nerve pain. I started taking Neurontin in small doses and have built up to 1200mg 3 times a day. I still couldn't walk more than 20 feet without leaning on something, but the pain was noticably less severe. My doctor put me on Trileptal instead, and the first day off the Neurontin was a nightmare...the pain was worse than ever. I went back to the Neurontin immediately. I have experienced some weight gain, but have attibuted that to no exercise. It does seem to make me forgetful, tired and somewhat depressed, but without it, the pain is completely debilitating. I want my life back, but I don't know what to do from here. Neurontin has helped the pain to a more tolerable level, but if I still can't even walk, I'm not even close to functioning normally. If anyone has a suggestion, I would love to hear it...thanks.

I just took my 5th shot last week. The hot flashes are terrible some days and hardly noticeable others. Some times I just want to scream in anger for no reason. I feel like I'm hypersensitive to everything. I don't want to cry, I just want to lash out in anger. I've got one dose after this and am praying that it will have been worth it to have some relief from the endometriosis.

I started with 60 mg per day for polymyalgia rheumatica and now after two years have weaned myself down to 5 mg per day. I have a side effect that I have not read anyone else having. It has effected my taste buds. Many foods that I loved in the past, have a foreign taste to me. I am 66, male and have tried to drop down to 2 1/2 mg but the pain is too intense to remain at that level, so had to return to 5 mg. I have lots of pain in the feet and especially toes. I can tell that I am getting better and am very anxious to get off of Prednisone.

while taking adderall xr 25 mg. twice a day i have experienced numbness or a tingling like feeling in my right thumb. anyone out there had this with adderall xr? i can't imagine what else it could be. i also have severe headaches and seem to live off tylenol!!!

Basically I have nothing new to add, but to confirm the many reports here. I under went some Upper and Lower GI testing back in May, and to clear up some infections the doctor found, he put me on a 10 day course of Levaquin and 14 days of Metronidazole. After the 2nd day, I was very sore in every muscle and tendon in my body. I had been doing work in the garden and just thought it was from that, but a couple more days, the muscles in my calves and the tendons around my knees felt like they were being pulled out of my body and it didn't matter if I was at rest or up moving about. Getting up in the morning was excrutiating. It was all I could do to put weight on my legs, and my arms and back muscles felt like they were on fire. I also had headaches, but the muscle and tendon pain overshadowed anything else. Doctors need to know this very debilitating side effect of this drug, and prescribe it only in the most dire of cases, and not to anyone already suffering from joint, muscle or nerve disease. The flyer I received from the pharmacy had a brief warning about tendonitis..but listed it under additional side effects. This should be listed as a critical warning. It has been 2 months since I finished the prescription, and I am still having problems walking and a great deal of pain in my legs. The calf pain has mostly subsided, but the muscles in my calves still feel very tight and the tendons around my knees feel sore all the time. This is a very dangerous drug!

Have been on Lipitor for almost a year and muscle aches and pains have increased in the past two months to a debilitating stage. The muscles in my arms, shoulders and back hurt constantly. My hands are aching and I've also experienced cramps in the feet and toes. Last week cramps started in the leg calves. I can barely climb any stairs. There has also been some weight gain since I began taking lipitor.

I went to the doctor yesterday afternoon and when I finished describing the symptons he immediately said it was most likely the Lipitor.
He also shared that he had two friends who are doctors, one a runner, who had these same symptons as a result of Lipitor. He told me to stop taking it for two weeks and see if it is better. I will stop taking this permanently and try to lower the cholesterol with exercise and Vitamin C.

I have beenon lipitor for more than five years. I now have unbearable pains in my shoulders which are only relieved with antiinflammatories. I also have pains in my right foot which is sometimes very difficult to walk on. My Dr says ok go off lipitor but risk heart attack/stroke. I am getting to the point that the pain is so debilitating that Idon't care.

I just wanted to add my experience for everyone looking just like me. I started using the Nuva Ring after having a scare with the pill in November. For a while I felt pretty good but I think thing are getting progressively worse. I've had extremely intense headaches at least once a month that are completely debilitating. I have also started having intense emotional swings every month since i've been on the pill. I just changed jobs recently and thought that a lot of my moods were due to that but now I'm realizing that the mood swings start 1-1 1/2 weeks before my period is supposed to start, lasting until my period is done. During the rest of the month I feel relatively normal. The mood swings include everything from spur of the moment crying, to anxiousness, to anger, apathy etc. I've been thinking that the ring was why but I really hadn't been sure until I started reading other people's experiences. I did experience itching although not every month, and more during the 1st week of having it in. I did not experience breakthrough bleeding. Also, I have experienced a delayed period every month, (taking it out Sun. and not bleeding till Thurs.). I would appreciate any feedback from anyone on here with opinions or experiences. Thanks!

PROLONGED PERIOD:
(Previously posted erroneously on the Loestrin FE24 page, but this relates to Nuvaring)

I have had a nonstop, heavy period for 9 straight days since using nuvaring. There is next to nothing in the materials they give with the product that warns of this, so I have spent the last two days reading all kinds of stuff on the web trying to figure out what is going on. They mention possible "breakthrough bleeding" which anyone other than a doctor would think of as spotting between periods. But this has been heavy bleeding for 9 straight days with no apparent "end" in sight.

I used nuvaring once about 3 years ago and did not have this problem. In fact, then it viirtually stopped my period. That concerned me, so I stopped taking it. I went back on after my doctor assured me the reduced bleeding was not a concern, and the main PURPOSE for my using it was to reduce my heavy periods and related anemia, Apparently they have changed (lowered) the hormone dose in the nuvaring, and for some of us it is insufficient, causing the "breakthourgh bleeding." (It has taken EXTENSIVE web searching to glean this information.)

I finally removed the nuvaring last night, and while I guess it may take some time, I want my body to normalize from this shock. I've had nausea, and now I am very fatigued from the extended heavy bleeding. This is NOT what I signed up for. Some responses out there suggest that this problem may "correct" itself in 1-3 months once the body adjusts to the hormone levels dispensed by the nuvaring, but personally I cannot endure this level of interference with my life that long, and the fatigue is becoming debilitating.

I think there needs to be improved warnings and disclosures with this product. Hope this helps someone searching for answers as I was. KN

Daily episodes of pulmonary arrest, congestive heart failure leading to heart surgery, loss of motor control, curling of the right foot into a club foot that could not be uncurled, nerve damage, numbness in toes, loss of memory, depression, anxiety, dry eyes, elbow pain, intense neck pain and stiffness, backaches, leg spasms, loss of balance, hair loss, permanent "hissing" in the ears, inability to concentrate, inability to walk, nausea, elbow pain, jaw pain, debilitating exhaustion, impotence, flaking skin.

I am on Levaquin 500 now for what I was told was a respirtory infection, this is my 4th antibotic for the same problem. I am extremely sore and feel as if there are hundred pound weights on my ankles, it hurts to walk. My stomach is sore, my muscles are so tired, it hurts to situp. I am so lightheaded after taking this medicine, I feel ok before I take it but it all hits me at once after I have taken it. I have only been on Levaquin 4 days is this normal?

I was diagnosed with bilateral ear infections and was prescribed 500mg Levaquin ( because I am allergic to most penicillin-based products) once a day for one week. On the fourth day I began to experience stiffness and pain in both feet, especially the heels, and also in my calves, and knees. I also had pain in my neck, at the base of my skull.These symptoms proceeded to worsen to the the point that I could barely walk on Sunday and had to go up and down stairs two feet at a time. I worked from home yesterday and took a Naproxen because the pain and stiffness was so debilitating. Today the symptoms have somewhat subsided, but I still feel stiff and can't walk or climb stairs very well. I was so deparate to figure out what was wrong with me and entered all search words that applied to my problem to Google. My search return included numerous sites connecting these symptoms with Levaquin. I found the PI and it is true. I have to say I feel better just knowing why this happened. I never suspected that the antibiotic was responsible. My question is this: has anyone else ever had this happen to them and what were you advised to do to "get back to normal"? I hope that these responses to the medication will go away now that I have finished the prescription. Please advise.
Ruth

I have been on Topamax for approximately six weeks - 100 miligrams for migraine. I have to say that so far my side effects have been minimal and my results have been quite good. I am experiencing some parasthesia in my hands and feet - but it is transitory and mildly annoying at worst. I have found that a lot of foods don't taste very good - and I really only like highly flavorful things like fruits and vegetables. I don't enjoy anything fatty, starchy or sugary. I'd like to be able to complain about that - but let's get real - that's probably a good thing. I've lost about 20 pounds since I started on the Topamax, 20 pounds that I can easily afford to lose. I also find that I am quite thirsty. I was experiencing some tiredness, but by switching to dosing only at bedtime, I have minimized that side-effect. My appetite has diminshed a great deal. I am not noticing cognitive side effects. I have had two migraines since I started on the Topamax (I was having approxmitately 15-20 days a month of severe migraines before), but I was able to take 1/2 dose of Relpax, and the migraine was gone within a half an hour. Typically I woiuld have to take a whole dose, repeat the dose in 2 hours and still have a headache, and repeat for 3-5 days, so I am seeing a big difference in the incidence of my headaches. All-in-all I am feeling quite hopeful that the Topamax, for me, will be an excellent overall solution for something that has been quite debilitating.

I am a 39 year old female. I have been taking Advair for about 4 years now, since a bad attack landed me in the hospital. My pulmonologist initially put me on the 500 strength and told me to take it twice daily. After a couple of week of that my skin broke out in small bumps all over the place - my face, my chest, my back, even on my scalp. I suspected the Advair, told my doctor, and she advised me to reduce to once daily. I did, and the bumps were gone within days. After a few months she decreased me to the 250 dosage and I remained on that for 3 years with no debilitating side effects. Unfortunately my doctor retired around this time and another doctor took over her practice.

About a year ago I noticed that my joints were weaker, specifically my knees, and I had one bad fall caused by complete loss of strength in my left knee. My new doctor said I might be experiencing cartilege loss but did not mention it may be from the Advair.

Then a few months ago I had got an upper respiratory infection which went into bronchitis. My doctor put me on an antibiotic that I'd never taken before and increased my Advair to 500 again. Almost immediately I began experiencing racing heart, joint pain, extreme skin sensitivity, sore throat and ear pain. I also got a yeast infection, which is something I have never had before. I still did not suspect Advair as the culprit. Although I reported all these symptoms to my doctor, he also did not mention the possibility of Advair playing any part in them. He told me it was acid reflux, although I've never had a single GI problem in my life. He told me the muscle pain was stress, for Heaven's sake. I wasn't very comforted by his diagnosis, but couldn't think of what else I could do.

One morning a few weeks ago I woke up and for some reason decided to Google Advair, and found copious documentation from reputable sites like Mayo Clinic that detailed all the possible side effects of the drug. I was floored to see that I have been experiencing so many of them.

I have now taken myself off Advair. It's been a week thus far and my breathing has not gotten any worse but the heart racing has already gone away. I also feel less ear pain. The joint pain has remained. I suspect that bone and cartilege damage done by this drug will not be reversible.

Tomorrow I have another appointment with my doctor and plan on showing him the information I printed out from the Mayo Clinic site on the effects of Advair. I do not plan to resume taking that drug.

Been on 20 mg. Lipitor for 4 years. It brought my total cholesterol down from 290 to 190. Tolerated it well for awhile, then I started dragging. Last year, started having ringing in ears, dizziness and fatigue. Had MRI, MRA, heart CT scan, blood work, etc. and they could find nothing wrong. I have suspected Liptitor for awhile, but doctor was so proud that my cholesterol was going down, he wanted to increase dosage to 40 mg., I tried it for a week and felt worse. He told me to reduce it back to 20 mg. But now, I feel so bad with extreme debilitating fatigue and nausea. The ringing in my ears is driving me crazy. I have talked to several people who told me they felt the same way on Lipitor and when they got off, the felt so much better. I hate to give up the progress of getting my cholesterol down, but at what price? I just hope it gets out of my system real quick. Will try to keep cholesterol down by eating more healthy foods (I love red meat and fried chicken).

I am a healthy, 36 year old woman and on 3/18/07 I was hospitalied for a blood infection caused by e.coli and was given levaquin intraveinously (sp?) during that time. Upon release from the hospital I was given a perscription for 750mg once daily for 10 days. In the hospital, I was having TERRIBLE HEADACHES- borderline migraines, HORRIFIC NIGHTMARES and was also sweating profusely throughout the night. When I got home and began taking the prescription pills, I continued to have the nightmares, nightsweats and headaches but then started having ODD TINGLING SENSATIONS IN MY LEGS, DEPRESSION, BACK PAINS & TERRIBLE NECK STIFFNESS/CRAMPING as well as INSOMNIA. (Right now it's 2:53 am and I am up writing this email). I am also noticing some pain in the tendons in my ankles and feet. After I read these postings I immediately flushed these pills down the toilet. I believe that these postings saved me from further suffering and possible long term damage. At this point, the cons of the medication seem to definitely outweigh out the pros. I am a mother of three (two of whom are under three yrs old) and I can't afford to have any lingering and/or debilitating side effects. Good luck to all and may God bless and keep you.

PS - It may be helpful if future posters would include their ages and health status pre-levaquin to help others in ascertaining risks, etc.