Decisions symptoms and conditions

I had my IUD removed November 12th after having it for two years. The removal was painless. Within twenty-four hours, the abdominal bloating was noticeably less and within a week, gone. I also noticed an increase in energy level and change in appetite. I am looking forward to getting rid of the gained weight over the past two years and getting back into the clothes I love. More importantly, I want to feel alive and attractive again. The only adverse effect of having the IUD removed was four days after removal, I had a very emotional, crying episode for the better part of the day. A minimal amount of vaginal discharge, similar to the start of a period, has been present for about six days. Otherwise, no problems. Also, my knees, hips and back are no longer hurting like they were. Don't hesitate to have it removed and don't let your doctor talk you out of it! It is your body and your right to make all decisions regarding your healthcare! Good luck to you all. Thank you for sharing your experiences. If you had not, I may have never put two and two together.

After you read a representative sampling of this website's testimonials, you certainly ask yourself inter alia: Can this be true? Did thousands of people inject an antibiotic from the fluoroquinolone family, which crippled them for longer or for shorter? Most of us, I suspect, never really get beyond the initial litmus test: Did this medicine poison me or save me? (The answer depends, of course, upon the age, gender, medical condition, and most importantly, the DNA make-up of the individual patient. For hundreds of thousands of patients this antibiotic is a boon. For thousands of other misfortunes this antibiotic is a disaster.) But there is another important question here.

Who gains from self-revelation? To be sure individual sufferers gain certain emotional catharsis from posting their adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to levaquin. E-postings are one-way anonymous tracks that form ruts on a well-traveled trail of tears. Unless these postings are hoaxes written by mischievious gnomes, then they consitute prima facie evidence for a causal link between levaquin injection and sundry crippling ADRs.

Curiously, this e-forum cannot be used as a tool for organizing thousands of potential litigants who might coalesce under a class action lawsuit. Yes, we can analyze each other's anonymous revelations to see if they muster our respective sense of the "ring-of-truth" re: levaquin toxicity, and we may contact each other one-on-one, but no-one can harness this intoxicating communication's technology to reach simultaneously all respondents en masse as a bloc.

So, who wins? The emotionally unburdened e-poster who learns belatedly that s/he is not alone and that prescription medicine likely caused more pain than the underlying malady for which s/he is being treated? Or big pharma that continues to manufacture and market a medication that poses downside risk to many consumers who unwittingly incur more damage than therapeutic value?

Indeed, who wins in a forum where consumers anonymously reveal their symptoms and unconfirmed suspicions? The answer is big pharma wins. Pharmaceutical companies data-mine our postings to estimate the frequency and bredth of ADRs about which consumers complain. House statisticians estimate the ratio of active complainants : silent complainants, i.e., the ratio of complaints who show up on this website to the far heftier percentage of complainants who never post on this website because either they are technology-challenged or they are incurious. House actuarians proceed to estimate how much operating profits their employers must set aside to cover losses in out-of-court settlements or in awards made to plaintiffs in class action lawsuits.

I think this is how the game is played in a behavioral sink where billions are made in a deregulated marketplace that allows predators and prey to interact anonymously. Sorry to be such a downer, but I fathom only the desperate plight of tens of thousands of levaquin consumers for whom no monetary award ever will compensate them adequately for their suffering, and the hundreds of millions of dollars at stake in court awards if consumers ever brought to bear their aggregate numbers and draw a bead on their big pharma tormenters.

I think it a true horror and shame that pharmaceutical companies have not devised a test which determines in advance which patient safely may consume levaquin and which patient's DNA places him or her at risk. I suspect the genome technology is available, but would dig too deeply into big pharm's bottom line. The economics of "parachutes-for-everyone" is infeasible. We are all guinea pigs in a B-grade movie featuring Russian roulette, billion-dollar pay-offs, and an FDA that pretends not to know.

im really glad i found this site. I just gave birth to my first child and she is now 1 years old. my husband and i we're looking for something like mirena but i don't think its such a good idea now.do you ladies have any suggestions?

I am so glad that I found this website I thought I was loosing my mind. Maybe I have, I used to be really quick on decisions, I was able to remember things and concentrate since I have been on lupron I cannot remember things at all. I feel like a complete idiot when before I used to feel kind of smart. On top of that I have had massive hot flashes for about a year.
I had laparoscopic surgery in May 2008 for endometriosis, held of on taking lupron for a few months than finally gave into my doctors advice to take lupron in July 2008. I had my last lupron shot in February 2009 and still am having hot flashes, memory loss, depression, weight gain, and still no period. Which after all of this is the scariest part of the whole thing. I went to my doctor today and she told me that I should have started my period already and I may have now gone into menopause permanently.
Wow what a great way to start the day sorry you cannot have kids because you could be in menopause. HAS ANYONE HAD THERE PERIOD RETURN AFTER NOT HAVING ONE FROM LUPRON AFTER 6.5 MONTHS? I am really worried that my chance to have a child is no more after having surgery to prevent this very thing from happening. HELP.

I've been on Prednisone for about a month now and have experienced the racing heart. I've been thru so much lately and hope we can help each other here....for the asthma and other reactive friends - try an ALCAT test. This will tell you what foods/meds you have an intolerance to. They send you a kit and you may be surprised what happens to your body when you consume something that your body doesn't like. They have also just given me a script for Methotrexate because my RA numbers are high...I've done my research and so far am refusing to consume that toxic drug. Has anyone tried Minocycline (or other drugs in the cycline family) for joint pain, RA??? I hear it works and at least those side effects aren't deadly.

I have been on this for 6 days for a UTI. I personally am not allergic to sulfa drugs and have had absolutely no problem while on it so I can't speak to specific side effects but I do have something to say about it. I'm a little confused as to why so many of you believe that this drug should be taken off the market. Surprise, a lot of people are allergic to sulfa drugs which accounts for the vast majority of adverse events described by nearly everyone on this post. And guess what, every single drug comes with side effects (Tylenol, Advil, Tums, etc. are no exception) and you accept the risk of those side effects when you put it in your body and weigh that risk against the possible benefits. It's not your doctor's or the drug company's fault you're allergic! Antibiotics, including this one, have saved millions upon millions of lives. It seems intuitive but it evidently must be said: if you're allergic to it STOP TAKING IT and call your doctor so he can prescribe a different antibiotic. Seriously people, it's not rocket science. Hives are a pretty straight- forward symptom of an allergy and one that can be diagnosed by the lay person. I am a medical professional, but even if I wasn't, you don't need an MD behind your name to figure that one out. Why would you continue to take it after having an obvious reaction? (a reaction that, by the way, is a well documented, clearly stated possible side effect of this particular medication if you'd taken the time to ask any questions whatsoever regarding your own health, not a surprise adverse event of a bad drug) It's not rocket science, it's common sense people. When I'm prescribed something I'm not familiar with, my first question is, "What do I need to know about this." Even after a satisfactory explanation, I look it up before taking it. In fact, that's how I found this post. Which brings me to my last point, why is it that people blindly put things into their bodies that they know nothing about. If the pharmacist doesn't explain drug information to you in person, that's what the little drug safety pamphlet attached to your Rx is for. Read it, that's why it's there. OR, there's always the option of using this wonderful resource called the internet. Use your brains for god sake and take a more active, responsible, and informed role in your own healthcare process. You are ultimately responsible for your own health, and to be completely honest, you're one of the only people who actually cares about it (guess what, your doctor probably isn't one of them because he has a hundred other pain in the ass patients with no common sense to keep track of). Think people...

Another update:
It has been 16 days off the prednisone and I still have the puffy face and the hives have returned. The Dr. said they could not send me for allergy testing because the prednisone would interfere with the tests for a month or 2. Wow, I had no idea this stuff can stay in your system for such a long time and I only took it for 7 days, so my heart goes out to all of you who have been on this drug for months or years. I can't even imagine what you must be going through. I was put on this drug for hives, but some of you are on it for far more serious conditions so I have no idea if it would be wise or unwise to discontinue this drug for those of you in that situation. Talk with your doctors tell them you want off and to advise another alternative to at least try. I see that the prednisone is no cure for hives it just treats the symptoms and as soon as the prednisone was stopped the hives were still there. In my case the chance of this drug damaging my body for just a moments relief from hives was not worth it. How wonderful for those who are able to tolerate this drug but for most people it seems to have horrible effects on the body. May God help you all to make the right decisions.

I was prescribed Paxil and started out at 10mg. then they gradually increased it up to 60 mg a day. Later on they added I think it was 200 mg of Wellbutrin. I was on Paxil for I think 2.5 to 3 yrs. What happened was I was so out of it I didn't know what day it was. The HMO would have to call me to remind me to come in that day for my doctor visits. I slept most of the time and was just worthless. I didn't care about anything much and didn't have the energy to do much of any thing. This was a drastic change in me and my family hung in there with all this. I actually drove which is not a good idea at all. But when they put you on this you don't realize how bad you are on this stuff and once you are on it for so long then you are either a captive at home not able to do anything or you try to take back some part of your life. You also can't just go off of it cold turkey at 60 mg. I tried and it got bad and went back on it. After I got really bad all I did really is drive to therapist appts or to nurse practitioner who managed the Paxil and Wellbutrin. After being on 60 mg of Paxil and Welbutrin for awhile/months and I was so out of it, that is when they said we need to back me off of it. I think it accumulates in your body and I think you can kind of have an overdose in a sense. They didn't really monitor it that well and took their sweet time recognizing it. But they didn't say anything about it. I think that is what happened to me but no one at the HMO said that. Instead they got me scared that I was going to run out of therapy sessions allowed while on Paxil and that is why they were going to back me off of Paxil. I guess another patient had that happen to her and they didn't want that to happen to me. I then say my therapist very rarely while I was backing off of the Paxil. She acted like I was ready to handle everything on my own. I had no idea that suicidal thoughts were in my future when backing off of this drug. But they sure knew it, a lawsuit in California had been filed the month after I started taking the drug and it was all about the lack of disclosure about the withdrawal issues. First I got off of Wellbutrin and then they slowly backed me off of Paxil. It was physically wrenching. Throwing up and diarrhea all at the same time. Painful is not the word. I have given birth to two kids and pneumonia and this was much worse! Chills, tremors, I felt sick all the time. This went on for months. When I talked to nurse practitioner they pretended that it was no big deal. I wasn't sure what was happening. I finally got pissed off about the whole thing and never called them back and they didn't follow up either. Not even therapist. They hoped I would go away quietly which I did. When you are in the throws of this and you know who did this to you, you really don't want any more of their harmful help. It took at least a year to feel better. There is this uneasy weird feeling and zinging noise that lingers for a long time. But my memory is a fraction of what it was. My short term memory is very difficult. I know that Paxil was responsible for this. How do I know? Well when you are on Paxil and if you have a recall on a bad incident and you start to emotionally react to it, Paxil will offset it by making you sleepy. It literally targets your emotional reactions and those thoughts connected to it. It tries to disconnect the feelings from the thoughts. These disconnects also disconnect your ability to remember other things. Even after I got off of Paxil I noticed that I would get sleepy when I thought of stressful things. It has taken me about three years and I am talking better and can remember many more words. I talked very simply for so long since I couldn't recall basic conversation. It targets emotional responses and I got to a point where I was really numb about a lot of stuff due to the constant tapping down by Paxil. I feel like it disconnected those connectors to your brain that talk to each other. My family made jokes about me and how simple I got and how I couldn't remember anything. They are worried that I have alzheimers disease or will get at this rate. I could not work on Paxil at those high doses I was on and while I was withdrawing. I found that afterwards my memory was so bad that I missed so many simple things that I would have never missed before. I am concerned that my memory lapse will cause a big mistake that may hurt someone. I was out of work for so long. I volunteered to keep myself busy until I got too bad. It would keep me busy. I also noticed that while on Paxil I was uninhibited and said things that hurt folks and I was unable to monitor myself like normal and couldn't determine what was not appropriate to say all the time. I had an emotional disconnect to myself but also to others. This hurt some folks and cost me a job. My memory is so bad that I have to write down important things if I really want to refer to it again. I also have given up on going back to school. I couldn't test well at all. I can not remember what I did 5 minutes ago let alone a chapter I have read. I am only 52 now and I feel so much older due to this. I suffer from Fibromyalgia and IBS. I was so upset with my doctors at HMO since they didn't warn me of the withdrawals. When they put me on Paxil I was adamant about not taking an addictive drug. My family has had a history of addiction and I was not going there. I know how bad it can get. Paxil's withdrawals is very much like the withdrawals that addicts go through. I was devastated by not only how doped up I was on Paxil but also all time I wasted on it and with the year just trying to withdraw from it. Then the time just trying to get some of my memory back to function. I am mad that there is no way I could go back to school to better myself. I am mad that no one warned me of any of this and if they would have I wouldn't have taken it. How many of you would take a drug knowing that you memory would be messed up? Not many. Certainly not me. My daughters know what a tyrant I am about drugs and alcohol. This is not something I would have opted for if the whole truth were known. They certainly don't warn you that your memory will be like swiss cheese afterwards. No one in my family has had such memory loss. No alzheimers disease. In fact quite the opposite is the case. My grandmothers were very clear at older age, so menopause can not be a big factor and beside this happened before menopause. Also grandfathers and father were very clear getting older. My family noticed a definite change while I was on and after Paxil. The irony was that when I started to go back to HMO for regular care which took me a long time to trust them enough for them to do even that, someone at HMO had put in my automated chart that I was allergic to Paxil. They won't say who put it in either. I was not allergic to it but they are now saying that I had a bad reaction. But what I say is after seeing so many "bad reactions" on websites like this I am convinced that this is more than isolated cases but rather the norm of what happens to patients who take it. HMO doesn't want to admit wrong doing. Paxil seems to have kept a lid on it. Besides how do you measure a bad memory and how do you prove it after the fact? You are getting older and who is to say it isn't genetic. But I was on it for maybe 2.5-3 years. I was so out of it I don't remember how long I was on it. I also was suicidal when coming off of it. I even called a crisis line since I couldn't trust the HMO. I was irrational. For those of you still on it I think you are doing more harm than good. I don't believe all the facts have come out about the side affects from these types drugs. Who would be doing the studies? Certainly not he drug companies, FDA is a joke and if you think the attorney generals are doing much think again. Yeah a couple states like CA an NY they did settle on suits about suicide for kids but they settled quietly. The doctors who prescribe these drugs also are in a catch 22 like my HMO. They don't want to be linked in this and will avoid it too. What attorneys can afford to go up against all those high powered attorneys for those loaded drug companies? Not many. No one is actually dying from this and that is another reason there won't be much done on this either. Fortunately today we can hook up online and share our stories and this is the first step in documenting what is really happening to patients.

Be so careful coming off of these drugs. Give yourself plenty of time to get normal. Make sure you are seeing a therapist you can trust and is trustworthy. It takes an alcoholic about a year to rid their bodies of the toxins that have built up in their tissues. I do believe that is also true of Paxil. Be kind to yourself and get good support while doing so. It can be a very lonely physcially and mentally anguishing time. Think of yourself like someone who has had a brain injury or stroke. You need to practice to get things to reconnected as best as possible considering. You will never be like before you took Paxil but with time and patience and hard work it can get better or you can develop ways to compensate or work around or cope with such memory loss. Financially this can be devastating and it was for us. The loss of income and finally a bankruptcy. We paid dearly for taking this drug. It can be very frustrating and you have to look long term. I think it is very easy and cheap for HMO's to pass out pills rather than schedule needed appointments for therapist and other alternatives. Before they started to take me off of Paxil I was warned by my HMO that I had exceeded my number of appts allotted for a 2 or 3 yr period. So I may end up without any therapy while on Paxil. That is the reason why they decided to back me off. I had apparently used something like 32 appts in two or three years and I was getting close to not being able to have any for a long while. This was interesting approach since by then they knew that suicide was linked with Paxil. They will put you on Paxil and they will leave you high and dry without at therapist if you actually use one regularly and use up a normal amount of visits. I have very little compassion for HMOs. What was amazing was listening to the nurse practitioner tell me if these drugs don't work there are lots of other ones we can use. These are the easy going drug pushers of today and they prescribe these drugs without much thought. They make it cheap and easy and they will swear to your face they aren't addictive but are basing it on very little research. They regurgitate what ever the drug companies tell them. The cost cutting with HMO's is almost frightening. I also have problems sleeping too. I wonder if the drug messes up your serotonin levels since it does make you sleepy so much of the time and when you are off of it the brain is fried from all that artificial serotonin that it no longer knows how to manufacturer it well. I think that is what maybe causing my Fibromyalgia since this is a condition where you muscles never repair themselves at night due to lack of sleep is one theory. I was always a deep sleeper before all of this. I think there maybe a connection.
Finally depression. When you can't remember what you did 5 minutes ago or simple things it gets more than frustrating, you get depressed at how limited you are now. The pain from the fibromyalgia is constant and that too is depressing. I wish someone could put together the data on this to prove the link to memory loss and how it has affected our serotonin levels.
The only way you can stop companies is to sue them. Government won't do it really. A class action suit might work.

anyone feel like drinking a lot? i've been on Yaz for 2 weeks and im absolutely miserable! I don't like my friends anymore, i hate my job and I want to go somewhere to relax but i cant think of a place that doesn't sound depressing to me. Ive never felt like drinking would help a mood swing issue but i find that im drinking every night and i definitely don't want to become an alcoholic because of this stupid pill. Ive smoked for a few years ..no more than a pack a day and now im smoking a lot more which makes my chest hurt then the paranoia comes in and i think i have cancer and all these other things wrong with me and start crying..at work. i yell at everyone and say really mean things then 2 seconds later i want to take it back cause i really didn't mean to say them in the first place. i think i make things up and dwell on them. im psychotic and so insecure now. I cant be satisfied and i cant make decisions. but hey, i cant get pregnant if no one wants to be around me!

I'm the 56 yr old - I forgot - I also cannot make decisions easily and I'm as forgetful as a 100 yrd.

Have been on simvastatin on and off for 15 months now. First of all 10mg came off for a while - cholesterol level up to 7.6 again so was put on 40mg. Very nauseous and came off the 40mg. Went back on to 10mg in Nov. and since then no nausea at all. At present I am getting terrible pain when laying down in my right leg from my hip into my buttock right down to my foot. It is similar to cramp in leg but it lasts sometimes for a couple of hours. Cramp usually disappears in a few minutes but it is the same sort of sensation. Also needle-like pains in my hand and foot. Above symptoms only since going onto Simvastatin. Would be interested in any others have these symptoms too. Trouble is damned if you take them and damned if you dont. Current research does show however that there is no benefit to women over 60 taking these wretched pills - everybody reading this should try and get or borrow the book by Dr Malcolm Kendrick entitled The Great Cholesterol Con (Dundee UK GP) written in 2008 who also is of this opinion. I am not advising not to take Simvastatin but please do research and read this book and reach your own decisions.

This is amazing to me to hear all of these side effects from the yaz. I have been experiences all of them but really didn't make the connection. I have been experiencing knee joint pain since I have been on these pills but really didn't make the connection. I only started researching this since I received an email from someone about yaz and the warnings about it. This message went into my spam out of the blue, and I opened it to read it. That was about a month or so ago, and I am scheduled to see my doctor in a month or so and I don't want to abruptly discontinue without having a plan. I am 46 years old and was an anemic due to heavy periods, so this was the solution to get my blood count up to what it should be. This was a real issue because I had to have emergency surgery but had to have 2 units of blood before the surgery. So after that, it was suggested that I take bc to control my periods. I really didn't want to do this but I had to for the mean time and I have been on them for about 8 months. My blood count is back to normal now but I have to figure out what else I am going to do because I cannot continue on these pills now that I see what it is doing. I will be going into menopause soon also, but that's probably not until 5 more years and I am not going to take these all that time. I have some decisions to make.

I am 24 and used the NuvaRing for almost 3 years. As I finished up college at 21 and directly afterwards I was becoming more and more depressed, which I first attributed to the transition. It was while I was still in college that I also noticed a change in my ability to concentrate and remember. Focus and decision-making were abnormally difficult. My moodiness and depression increased over the next two years, my sensitivity to other's comments became more acute and I constantly felt at the edge of tears. I had little to no enthusiasm for even my favorite activities, no energy for sports/physical exercise, and no interest in sex with my partner. I required more sleep, always feeling tired when I woke up. I also began to have headaches, which had never been a trouble before.
I have been off the NuvaRing for about 3 weeks. Like some have posted earlier, I feel like a dark cloud has lifted and I can enjoy life again. Notable changes over the last couple of weeks have included:

1. Waking up naturally in the morning, almost 2 hrs earlier than before
2. Dramatic increase in ability to focus and remember (effectively study)
3. Happy mood and few to no self-deprecating thoughts
4. Increased energy
5. Enjoyment of flavors
6. General clarity of thought
7. Return of interest/enthusiasm, competitive spirit
8. Interest in sex
9. Decrease in headaches

I am absolutely thrilled to have identified the NuvaRing as the source of these issues and having eliminated it from my routine. I feel like I have my life back.

I am SO sick at my stomach right now after reading all of these posts. My son is 2yrs old and was put on Singulair right after the new year. We have noticed a horrible change in his behavior....but we attributed it to his age and the fact that he is VERY strong-willed. However, thinking back, he has had some hallucinations. We had a babysitter tell us that when she tried to put him to bed that he cried and told her that there were monsters in the closet. When she picked him up and took him in the kitchen for a drink he kept reaching at the ceiling trying to grab something. Just last night he told me that he saw his Grammy dancing in the living room....my Mom wasn't even there. He has been throwing horrible fits to the point of gagging himself, hitting himself, kicking, hitting, screaming....you name it. At the end of them, I am usually in tears and we are both exhausted. I am not the only one who has experienced this with him....my Mom has too. He is also on Veramyst nose spray....both meds are for allergies. We have taken him off of both and decided to go a more natural route. We have bought local honey, an immune booster from teh health food store, and have him on a really good brand of liquid vitamins. It is hard as a parent to make decisions about your child. It is even worse when you realize that the decision you made has affected your child in a horrible way. I plan on giving him A LOT of attention tonight and giving him a big hug! I just want my fun, playful son back! Good luck to all of you and God Bless!

My son is 7 years old and was put on singulair for his asthma and allergies, my daughter who is 10, had been on it for over 2 years.
My son started experiencing, night terrors, out burst of crying, difficult to make decisions.
Anxiety attacks, panic attacks, did not want to go to school. After seeing his Doctor it was suggested that we pull him off the medicine. We started noticing changes within a few weeks. Please watch your child closely if on this drug. My daughter did not have side effects however we have taken her off this medicine also.
I would really be careful with this drug. Our family was in complete terror, watching your child struggling like this. USE CAUTION, IF YOU DECIDE TO TAKE THIS MEDICINE....

My mom was put on Levaquin for 3 days to follow up on a Colitis diagnosis. She began hallucinating, hearing voices, can't sleep, loss of balance, among other things. We suspect it's Levaquin and took her off yesterday.....how long until she gets back to normal? She seems to be getting worse even though she is off it now.

I am totally upset by reading the posts here. my son is just now 8 months old. he was put on singulair when he was just 6 months old. at first it seemed to be working...for maybe 2 weeks...then everything went crazy. he was started out on it when his pediatrician stated that he had asthma and apparently was on a very high dosage of it. they started him on 10 mg of the oral granules. before taking it he was a very happy baby, even with him being so young i never had any problems with him crying excessively or being massively irritated. since he started on the medication he has had massive irritability spells, constant fussing and crying and cant seem to fall asleep at night let alone stay asleep very long. i had taken him to the emergency room on christmas eve because a new problem showed up. he now was having a massive hard time breathing, he had a persistant cough, congestion in his chest and was almost always gasping for air. the staff at the hospital were in disbelief when they were informed that his pediatrician had put him on singulair at such a young age and at such a high dosage. i am now in the process of obtaining a lawyer and filing a lawsuit against the pediatrician for medical malpractice. this drug is very dangerous for anyone especially children. i would suggest anyone else having these problems with their child and this drug do the same. it can apparently cause long term lung damage, pulmonary disorders and even death. my son has been off of the medication since christmas eve and has already done a massive turn around. he sleeps well and through the night again, his breathing has improved and his cough is almost gone. they did say in the E.R that he has congestion in his chest due to the singulair but it should clear up over time with the help of zyrtec. please help make a stand and protect our children from the dangers our own pediatricians present to them.

I am so happy to have found this site, I only wish I would have researched prior to having Mirena inserted. I have had The Mirena IUD for nearly three years. I thoroughly enjoyed having decreased flow and some months not having a period at all. However now I realize its probably one of the worst decisions I ever made. Only recently have I come realize that my fatigue, inability to concentrate, loss of memory, lack of interest in anything including sex, weight gain, constant yeast and bacterial infections were most likely due to the IUD and not due to anything that I was doing wrong. I have had bouts with depression and have been on meds for that, however it seemed like I was a basket case, over anxious and often times a nervous wreck. There were days recently where I was lethargic, lacked motivation to do anything. Then I'd have a good day, a day where I felt energized and thought, well maybe it was just the gloomy weather. Now I have come to realize it had to be the IUD. That is the only thing that makes sense. I made an appointment and got the IUD removed yesterday and already I can tell a difference in the way I feel. I woke up this morning feeling well rested for the first time in three years. I am looking forward to getting back to the "old me" rather than just a shell of of person that lacked motivation to do anything. I wish I would have investigated further and not listened to my Nurse Practitioner all these years that told me over and over that my symptoms were not the cause of the IUD.

Hi, I am a 36yr old mother of 2 boys aged 14 & 12yrs. I had the mirena fitted in 1 1/2 years ago.. had all the bleeding at the beginning, but unfortunately it carried on for months. had very heavy bleeding in months 7 & 8, so heavy it left me feeling nauseous and faint. then it went back to 3 weeks of bleeding out of 4. and thats now how long i bleed for all the time. have heaps of discharge (eww), zits, feeling constantly like crying over nothing. Had hard cyst, which went on its own. got referred to a gyno (cause of heavy bleeding) which i saw 3 weeks ago. he has no idea why i had the heavy bleeding, has no idea why i am bleeding 3 weeks out of four (not heavy) but he is now booking me in for a vaginal hysterectomy.!! I still have the mirena in, only because i am told that if they take it out, my periods will be a lot worse than before i had the mirena inserted!! argghhhh. anyone else being put forward for a hysterectomy??

I had Mirena inserted in January 07 and for the first few months things were ok. I came across this site about 6 weeks ago after I'd been experiencing cramps, lower back pain and constant bloating for about 2 months. After reading other womens' symptoms I recognized a few I was feeling myself, such as feeling tired all the time and aching joints, extremely painful breasts, also I lost interest in the most basic everyday things. I have gained 15-20lbs in the last 18 months and nothing I did would shift it. Well I decided to have it removed and it was taken out a couple of days ago. It's a good job I have a strong personality as the doctor did his best to convince me I was making a mistake (I had it inserted to help with painful periods) and basically said on your head be it. I'd rather have a painful few days each month than all the symptoms I had all the time. Well I am now having a really heavy period, with pains to match, which I'm hoping will calm soon. I must admit I'm not feeling very different but I feel better in the knowledge I have control over my own body instead of that little plastic contraption. If I gain or lose weight, it's down to my own actions. I'll post again in a couple of weeks to let you know how it's going. All I can say is that it's your body and the decisions are ultimately yours, don't let doctors bully you and you should go ahead and take control. Best of luck to anyone who is thinking of having it removed.

I hate it! My doctor prescribed 1200mg a day. When I followed this dosage for a week (approximately 2 years ago) I was so lethargic, my tongue felt as if it weighed 10 pounds plus it was numb and I was the most unproductive individual! I stopped taking 1200 and started with 600; the same side effects occurred. Now, I take it every few days which really sucks because the manic monster rears its ugly head. At this point, I have to do my own research to find the right medication for my bipolar. I do know that I cannot continue this medication. I thought it was going to help control the severe angry outburst; I've broken one of our ceiling lamps by throwing my shoes. It's like being trapped within myself. I hope any and everyone who posts to this and even those out there that have bipolar, finds the right medication. It is so incredibly difficult not knowing which way my mood will take me; what journey: being ok one minute and the next, feeling terrible.

I have been on Effexor 75mg and at first experienced extreme drowsiness and extremely dilated pupils. However, after the third week these side effects subsided, and I switched from AM dosing to PM dosing which helps with the drowsiness. The one thing I did notice though is that, though my anxiety and depression are gone, I have seemed to develop a new habit, or not new, but whenever I go shopping, I end up spending a lot of money and I don't really worry about it or care. The first month I burned through my credit and still, although I know it's a problem, don't feel any anxiety over it. Before the anxiety would stop me from doing ridiculous spur of the moment spending or other silly decisions, but since I have been on effexor I seem to not care anymore. I do love this medication however, and have learned over the past few months that I need to monitor my decision making more closely, and not based solely on my emotions, since I am always happy and carefree. Has anyone else experienced this?

My personal experience with Cipro is what they say is a mild case. To me I felt I would die. I've documented everything blow by blow on a new website ****** I was so angry with the medical profession for crippling me, so I took the time and channeled it into the only thing I could. My daily report. 6 weeks and I'm well on the road to recovery. To all of you who say it can't be done, it can. To all of those who say it will recur, perhaps, but I have great faith in the power of natural supplements to heal and support the body in it's repair. If you are suffering and reading this, make sure you visit my site and make your own decisions on what course of action you will take.

The experience has changed me forever, I will no longer have blind faith in the medical profession. We can't fight in the courts, but people have power in numbers. Share your experience, share your pain and help warn others about the toxic substances doctors hand out like candy.

YOU call the shots with YOUR healthcare.

Sadly, I am just another case among many it seems. I am a 26 year old female who was prescribed ciprofloxacin for a UTI at my urgent care center. I have health problems to begin with and did not want any more. You know, I’ve had to take all kinds of meds over the years, including harsh ones, but it was never so bad as to prompt me to write comments on the internet about it. What does that say about Cipro? When I got home from the doctor I read the paper before swallowing the pill, which included the description of side effects. Unfortunately, it did not include the truth about what could happen to you while even taking this drug for a short time. If there had been some kind of warning about the strength and potential risk of taking this drug, I most likely would have steered clear from it since I am sensitive to medications and already suffering. The paper led me to believe false information, listing some common antibiotic side effects, and I ended up starting treatment. Some of the negative effects I experienced while on this medication for only 2 days were: severe muscle/overall body weakness, difficulty breathing, fatigue, mental confusion, difficulty concentrating, anxiety/nervousness, restlessness, mild carpal tunnel pain, slight vision change, stiffness, pain, an overall feeling of terrible heaviness, including of the chest, and possible heart palpitations. It felt like the medication was damaging my body; like it was eating away at my muscles or something. I've never had chemotherapy before, but some how that's how I would imagine it. It felt like it was doing damage to every cell in my body. The worst part is the weakness and altered thinking right now. I hope these symptoms go away completely. I felt better after quitting the drug, but not completely. I am just thankful for my hope in Jesus Christ. Even if things don't improve, I am comforted that He cares for me. I am going to be praying for this terrible situation where doctors are just handing this out for common problems without giving proper warning. May fewer and fewer people have to suffer because of Cipro and this class of drugs. I am also going to report this to the FDA and hopefully to my doctor’s office. I would like to see clear and extensive warnings on this drug, if not for it to be taken off the market. My personal advice to any one who is currently on this medicine and experiencing side effects would be to: drink milk or eat other dairy products to lessen the symptoms. It seemed to temporarily help me.

I don't have a side effect to post THANK GOD. I want to thank all of you for posting your comments. These comments help people like me make more informed decisions. Our Doctor strongly encouraged my husband to have our 3 daughters receive this vaccine. I am so glad he waited to ask me - I have long been angry at the Government insistent on vaccines that don't seem necessary. In any case my research landed here along with a web site from a law firm looking for more more victims in the class action law suite they are waging. Many of you should call them. Also, a news article that was shocking on the subject. In this day and age any medication or vaccine should be researched on line with a buyer beware attitude - NOT through your doctor!!! I have seen many cases of drugs that cause side effects that doctor's and laboratory's say couldn't possibly happen.