Degenerative disc disease symptoms and conditions

I am a 41 year old woman who had an epidural injection using Kenalog in my lower back (for stenosis, disc herniation, degenerative disc disease, etc.). My first injection was on 4/1/09. About two weeks after the injection, my period started a week early. I had light to moderate spotting, not quite like my normal period. I also noticed that I broke out with major acne, had bad mood swings, constant urination and increased hunger. I had a second injection in my back on 429/09. I told my pain management Dr. what I had been experiencing, and he said that it was the side affect of the drug, Kenalog.

I just saw my GYN for my yearly pap smear and told him what I had been experiencing. He said he had never hear of anything like what I was going through as it related to an epidural injection, though he also admitted it wasn't his area of expertise. Due to my age, my GYN commented that the spotting I was having could be due to my body changing and getting ready for menopause. He said that spotting was very common in women my age. He gave me a prescription for Progesterone 100mg to start taking for 15 days to see if that stopped my spotting (and hopefully return my cycle back to normal). He also did a uterine biopsy to rule out any other causes. My uterine biopsy came back normal. I'm currently taking the progesterone and my period seems to be tapering off, but it still hasn't stopped. It went from spotting to more heavy bleeding to spotting again. I'm due to stop the progesterone on Tuesday 5/26/09 so we'll see what happens there. It's officially been six weeks of having a period.

I'm very frustrated that I've had a menstrual cycle this long. I canceled my other future epidural injections as right now, by back in doing much better (the injections did help, though the side affects are the pitts!). If my back flares up, I will seek other solutions as I will NEVER have any Kenalog again.

For those women who've had the same issue with their menstrual cycle, did your cycle ever return to normal? If so, when???

I'm glad this website is running this information because I realized today that after taking 1500 mg over the last 3 days I'm not going nuts or am having an adverse reaction to the cough medicine prescribed to me as I completely stopped taking it.

My symptoms are: Increased heart rate-fluxuating, skin crawling/itching, tingling feeling throughout my body, horrible menthol-like taste in my mouth, and strangely an increased libido.

Trust me when I say that the increased libido isn't worth all of the other horrible reactions to this medication. I initially took it for severe cough and flu-like symptoms. I also suffer from severe NES, and degenerative disc disease. No doubt I will be stopping this regiment.

As a follow-up to my post earlier today about my daughter's severe reactions to Avelox.... I wanted to add that we weren't given a prescription -- the doctor actually put a weeks worth of samples into a bag, individually wrapped pills. So even IF there was a warning on the box or a pamphlet included with this toxic drug -- we wouldn't have gotten them. Doctors get these samples from the drug companies and hand them out like candy with no regard for their patients and obviously no knowledge of what they are giving them. This is very wrong in my book. If anyone knows of anything that can be done to stop this drug from being given out - please post here.

Don't think there is anywhere else to put this. Please someone else tell me you know what I am talking about and that I am not crazy! After two years of doctors treating me for muscle issues in my left neck/shoulder area someone finally realized I MRI images were not clear and ordered another. I have Mild Degenerative Disc Disease and three bulgin/herniated discs. C-6, C-7 and T1 (I believe). Anyway, prescribed Predisone and immediately had severe lower back pain. It was almost like back labor or the worst menstrual cycle ever. I stopped taking it for two days, lower back pain went away. I tried taking it again and the same thing happened si I stopped again. Theb I received a total of seven trigger point injections. All but one caused the same awful lower back pain, but went away after a day. I just had my second cervical epidural injection. The first one had the same painful side effects, but again went away after a day. The second one whick I had Monday, September 9, 2008 was the worst yet! Not only did I have excruciating lower back pain but it also moved around to my lower abdomen. Oh gosh labor all over again, but without being pregnant. I have three children so I know what it feels like. I have tried everything including: Ibuprofen, Naproxen, Acetametifen, heat, moist heat, ice packs, hot baths. Pain Specialist doesn't prescribe enough pain meds to make the pan tolerable. So I end up running out 2-3 days early so I can't ask for more. has anyone ever has this side effect form steroids? I so, do you have any other suggestions. Please help, one more injection to go and can't take the pain anymore. My kids need me!

This site is like a moth to a flame for me.

I took my damned ring out a week & a half ago after finding this site & reading so many testimonies & side effects I could have written myself that it wasn't even funny. This makes me so mad that a freaking pharmaceutical product could make so many women this sick without being recalled. And what the heck is wrong with all the doctors not being able to tell any of us what was causing all these problems?

In the fifteen months I was on NuvaRing I have seen every type of doctor you can imagine. Including TWO neurosurgeons who wanted to do TWO different types of surgery on me. BOTH docs sent me for MRI's of my pelvic region/lower back & KNEW I was on NuvaRing. I mean, I know it was CLEARLY right there in the middle of both the results of those MRI's!

So why did it take me finally figuring it out by using GOOGLE?

I've had chronic lower back pain (diagnosed degenerative disc disease in JUNE), severe pelvic pain & cramping (diagnosed pelvic inflammatory in JANUARY), UTI's turning into kidney infections that were so bad I went to the emergency room in APRIL, another UTI & kidney infection in JANUARY, not being able to sit or stand for more than a few minutes without severe pain, leg pains & weakness that two neurosurgeons couldn't figure out WHY they were happening, anxiety, depression, terrible temper, severe fatigue, headaches, stinging painful feeling in my vagina, high blood pressure (that has to be treated with expensive blood pressure meds now) etc etc etc.

I can't believe my husband has stuck around through all of this. When they say the first year of marriage is tough, they weren't joking around huh? The person that said that must have used the NuvaRing their first year of marriage too.

Please, if you are thinking of using this product or are leery to stop it - JUST TAKE THE THING OUT! and DON'T USE THIS PRODUCT! It's just not worth it to feel this bad for convenience sake. Not even slightly.

PS - For those of you who want to say something like "Oh it works for me. You just had a bad reaction."...

That's like saying just because some people don't get cancer from cigarettes that they are still a good product.

I have been on synthroid for about 6 months now. Some of the side effects I have been experiencing are numerous.I have hair loss, sometimes I get so ill that no one can stand to be around me, my weight has gone up about 30 pounds, my cholesterol levels went sky high so now I'm taking Crestor, I'm bloated most times, I have episodes where my face flushes and gets so red that it feels like its on fire, and now I've just started experiencing burning and aching of the legs, I'm tired a lot too! My doctor said I would lose the weight but every time I go for check ups and get on the scale it just keeps going up. I would like to know if anyone else out there is experiencing the burning and achy legs because I have been tested for everything and they can't find out what is going on. They of course say it's not the medication.It seems to never be. Does anyone feel me??

I started out exhausted and dizzy as I was upping the dose for the first 3 weeks and then magically all of my pain was gone! I have chronic back pain due to L5/S1 disc removal, bulging discs and degenerative disc disease. Everything was great until I got my period and it started for 1 day and stopped w/mild spotting (that is not normal) the Dr. suggested I was pregnant when I KNEW that I wasn't. After the 4th week on the medication my hair started falling out. 1st more strands than normal and now by the handful! It is obviously thinning. Has anyone experienced this? Is the follicle permanently damaged by the chemicals? I've since weaned myself off the medicine and am in complete pain again. This seems to be one of the rarer side effects of this medication. Has anyone experienced this?

I am a 50 year old post menopausal woman with osteoporosis. I had 3 injections over a 3 month period for degenerative disc disease (cervical). Last injection was done 1/12/07. I was not warned about increasing osteoporosis as a side effect of this medicine even though they knew I had it and was taking medication for it.
I experienced the following side effects:
extreme sweating around head, neck, and torso
extreme mood swings where I actually became violent (I'm really a passive person), hitting loved ones, throwing and breaking things (completely out of character for me, in fact I've never behaved in this manner)
extreme depression where I tried but failed to commit suicide (I was hospitalized in a psychiatric facility for 9 days)
huge face
huge hump on my back
I now have extremely high blood pressure (was normal before)
I experience confusion and memory loss (sometimes I'm in the middle of a sentence and forget what I'm talking about and I am normally a pretty sharp person.)
I now have adrenal insufficiency and am currently scheduled for an MRI of my pituitary gland next week so they can figure out why my adrenal glands are no longer producing natural cortisol.

Went to see the doctor who gave me the injections about these side effects (before the suicide attempt) and was told these side effect would go away in 3 or 4 days! He gave me a prescription for 5mg valium and told me not to eat so much!

After my stay at the psych facility I again called the doctor who gave me the injections to try to find out if the injections had caused all of this. This doctor would not order any tests but thankfully his nurse (behind the doctor's back) told me to call my primary doctor and explain the situation and ask for a cortisol level test. My cortisol level was so low that I got an appointment with the best endrocrinologist in town the next day.

I am currently on a prednisone taper to try to stimulate my adrenals to produce the correct amount of cortisol.

Has anything like this happened to anyone else? I am so angry with the doctor I want to sue him but I'm sure I signed something protecting him.

I am a 62 yr old lady that was started on Topamax a little more than 2 yrs ago for migraines that were getting worse as I was aging. After the first "weaning on" period I have been taking 100mg a day at bedtime for the entire time. Initially, I had a lot of tingling in my hands and feet, but it subsided somewhat and never seemed like a big deal. The Topamax brought my migraines to a grinding halt. However, more recently I've noticed quite a number of new increasing symptoms that are bothersome and scary. Difficulty concentrating, a certain amount of confusion, and some eye pain that sometimes feels like pressure and my vision is blurry. My balance does not seem quite normal. I'm not really dizzy, but I have "missed" a step too many times lately. My mind functions do not seem all together "there". Normal functions like spelling, counting change, answering questions, like my address and phone number, aren't always easy especially if I'm under pressure or get upset. Backaches and joint pains are present, but since I have Degenerative Disc Disease it is hard to distinguish the source of the pain. The problem is I cannot determine if this is from the medication or if I am experiencing another kind problem. ? Most medications have side effects; however, if the benefits out weigh the (negative) side effects, it is worth it.

I love Ultracet!!! I have degenerative disc disease and a lumbar herniated disc, but have been resistant to taking pain meds due to the risk of addiction and also due to the adverse cognitive side effects. I do not feel sluggish or "fuzzy" and can perform my job without impairment-not to mention the pain relief! However, I do feel a bit hyper and euthymic, but for me that is a bonus!