Depleted symptoms and conditions

I am a 48 y/o Caucasian male and am writing to describe the terrible effects Lipitor had on my health. These side effects gradually worsened over years of use. I did not associate my symptoms with Lipitor use until I depleted my supply for about a week...until my mail order prescription was renewed. I began feeling better after just a few days, but the symptoms recurred when I resumed its use. I questioned this link and discontinued its use after a few weeks to determine if the symptoms would subside, and they did. I then conducted another trial, taking Lipitor for a few weeks. The symptoms appeared once again, so I have stopped taking Lipitor and will not use it again.

My symptoms have been well documented over the years by my physician, who did not indicate a relationship between Lipitor and these side effects. Accordingly, you might understand my surprise when I started reading about Lipitor's significant side effects in recent published news articles.

I have suffered from dizziness, confusion, depression, memory loss, painful joints and muscles and severe prostate pain, and I could not determine a cause for these for years. I have been free of all these symptoms since I stopped taking Lipitor about 6 months ago, except for a few recusing leg pains.

You can't imagine the money I have spent on doctors trying to determine the cause of my ailments, confusion and depression, not to mention money lost due to resulting poor work performance.

As far as I am concerned, Lipitor should be totally discontinued. If it isn't, then the side effects, of which there appear to be many, should be fully documented and disclosed to everyone to whom this medication is prescribed.

Has anyone out there had an increase in urination? I started Yaz in Feb. and since then I've been peeing like a race horse. My OBY said it was probably an overactive bladder, typical for a peri-menopausal woman. I had tests for bladder infections and they read negative. I was in the middle of relocating my family across many miles and I just put up with the symptoms. Now I find out there is microscopic blood in my urine and I am scheduled for a slew of tests probing for tumors, cancers, polyps, etc. in my bladder and kidneys. My Dad had bladder cancer so I'm pretty scared. However, I am starting to wonder if there is a Yaz connection. I hate the thought of returning to periods where I couldn't leave the house because I was bleeding so much but all the risks here are scaring me. I don't have an OBY here yet but assuming I am not harboring cancer or an other disease (i.e., kidney stones) I think I'll go off Yaz. I already have horrible migraines and acne so I'm wondering if it will all get worse. My headaches are the same (2-3 times a month) with Yaz and my skin is better. It's been pretty good for water weight but as I said, I am in the bathroom way too much.

OK, It has been 1 week now since my wife has stopped taking 750mg and 3 ER visits later and there is still no end in sight! Can someone please tell me when the side effects will go away?!?!?!?!

Original Post
WHY IS THIS DRUG STILL ON THE MARKET???? My wife is in severe pain after taking just 2 days worth of 750 Levaquin. Fear of dying, legs trembling, vomitting, hips and back pain, headaches, and severe stomach pains! Does anyone know how long this willl last? It has already been 3 days since she stopped taking the pills! DO NOT TAKE THIS PILL!!!

I am 48 years old and I have been taking Tricor for about 4 years. About 2 years ago my doctor added 10 mg of Lipitor. My cholesterol went from 235 to 145, however during the past 2 months I have started to develop joint and muscle pain in both my arms. I went to the doctor and he told me it was tendonitis. I felt that having it in both arms at the same time was weird. I have always been very physically active and have not changed my routine. Last weekend I stopped taking the Lipitor and I felt a little better. I took it again this week and the pain is back. My doctor told me it is not the Lipitor. I am going to stop it for a week a see what happens.

I have been on Lupron for about a month and I have my second shot this week. I really just wanted to see if anyone else has had dizziness?? I am so dizzy most of the time and I have passed out twice. I haven't spoken with the doctor about it yet but it is really scary because i travel for my job and I am afraid I am going to be in a car accident one of these days if this keeps up. The joint pain is the other major thing. I haven't had any cramping which seems abnormal to me since it really should have been going crazy at this point. Any input you have on this subject would be great. Thanks

I truly believe after 4 months of research that the problem is that Yaz Yasmine cause severe anxiety coming off the pill and on the pill and it depleted or altered all of our neurotransmitters.

There are only a couple ways to fix that

1. Antidepressants
2. Alot of time like a year or more
3. Some forms of electromagnetic holistic approach but it takes 4-6 months and I hear very expensive

All I know is Yaz Yasmine changed my whole life and personality

The people taking antidepressants are off the birth control of course.........
I dont know for sure if neurotransmitters replace heal on their own Bitter RN is better without antidepressants as are some of you but it took almost a year.

Its very scary

This medicine can cause weight gain, energy and stamina problems, shortness of breath, etc...

It does this, I believe, mostly by interfering with thyroid function due to selenium and cysteine depletion.

Selenium (and zinc too) is depleted as the immune system uses these minerals to detoxify from the lisinopril and its associated chemicals and toxins.

Cysteine is depleted because it is used in repairing the lungs from the damage caused by lisinopril with the cough side-effect.

With selenium and cysteine depleted, the body runs low on selenocysteine, which is necessary for thyroid hormone reception and response all through out the body.

Also with selenium depletion, the thyroid has more difficulty making the thyroid hormone.

hi foggyhead,
i always get nausea a couple of days before my period, the only thing i can compare it to is morning sickness,that is exactly how it felt when i was pregnant with my 2 daughters,i found it a bit alarming at first as i thought on no,don't say i've fallen pregnant on top of everything else! i have been off yasmin for coming on 9 months now and have had the sickness pretty much every period for the last 7 months. i am not sure if it is to do with our progesterone levels being out of whack,when you are pregnant the progesterone levels rise to keep the pregnancy and can cause some women to have nausea,i wonder if it this same mechanism that causes some women to have pre/post menstrual sickness???? like everything else to do with yasmin it is a mystery but it is not harmful just annoying.try some ginger in warm water or a peice of toast.that always helps me. hope you start to feel better soon,i think the length of time you suffer the side effects depends partly on how long you were on yasmin and also how badly it depleted your natural hormones and also how you care for yourself after stopping taking yasmin. i was on it for 1.5 years and was in a pretty bad hormonal state when i started taking yasmin as i had just finished breast feeding my daughter after a year and had not had a period when i was put on yasmin. i don't expect my recovery to be overnight but i know it will happen,have faith in your body,it may take it a while to repair the upset the yasmin caused but it will get there eventually.

sarah

Hi to everybody.
replying to lilahk, i also had a fast heartbeat while on yasmin. I had one episode that really frightened me. My heart just started to race and would not slow down. I had an ecg done that afternoon and it just showed a very rapid heartbeat and pulse.

I did have a follow up appointment in which the doctors described it as a tachycardia. I stopped taking yasmin shortly after that and never experienced it again.

I can only describe it as feeling a butterfly in my chest. This went on for about 24 hours and then went back to normal.

I cant imagine what it must be like to have it ongoing. At least you are off yasmin now. As you will see from all the other ladies here it takes a while for your body to get back to normal after yasmin.

I really do believe that a good multivitamin helps a lot because i feel that for myself, yasmin depleted a lot of vitamins and minerals in my body. I was on yasmin for 4 years.

Please go to your doctor and tell them what is happening to you. Sometimes reasurrance is a great healer. It is terrifying when something is happening to you and no medical person will help or believe you. Maybe you are lucky enough to have a good doctor. I hope so.

Insist on answers. I had to.

Most of all try not to get too anxious about things. I know that when i was feeling bad i worried and then i felt worse. You will start to feel ok again soon. It just takes a little while for yasmin to leave your body.

Keep us posted on how you are getting on and i wish you the best of luck.
murph70

to Murph70,

Are you serious that you were almost blind? Strange how the more I think about all of this and the things that occurred during those 2.5 years, the more realize how much was linked to taking Yasmin. This is crazy. I read through so many of these emails and I too was advised by both the prescribing doctor as well as an RN that Yasmin could not be responsible for the symptoms I was experiencing. Makes me absolutely nuts that this is happening to so many women, being advertised so heavily and that people in the medical field prescribing it are unaware and discounting.

Can anyone advise what treatment has been the most effective for coming off of Yasmin? Ive been off now for two month. I still have alot of pressure in both ears and interestingly noticed several people who advised they had colds coming off of it. I got really sick immediately following coming off it with someone that took me two months to get rid of. Then, after two weeks, I just got another cold. I've never been sick like this!

It occurred to me that it could well likely be due to how the increased potassium levels or changes to the electrolytes have effected the immune system? Anyone else had this experience?

While I can't say I noticed a change in sexual drive (except I will likely notice that more as I am off of it for longer), did notice I was exhausted all the time. ALL THE TIME. I would shower in the morning and then want to go right to bed. It depleted me and all my energy. And like some other people, lost interest in everything I enjoyed.

I've never been able to find vitamins that I could take that didn't make me feel kinda sick. How much magnesium is recommended? Any particular type of vitamin recommended?

Depleted potassium in my body and gave me severe body cramps and weakness

46 year old male noticed aches in legs and loss of stamina. I read that coQ10 in depleted when taking this drug. Started taking a supplement 1x a day and noticed a great improvement in my energy level. The aches are still there and I also get some swelling in one or both legs. After many tests, there is no explanation. Anyone who has experienced leg swelling should e mail me

I took Lipitor 20 mg for 2 weeks. After day 5, I felt like I was getting the flu. By day 7 I could hardly get off the floor. No amount of stretching would relieve the aches and pain. Weak arms, legs and my whole body ached. I operate heavy equipment and could barely climb up on it. Could no longer work out on weights or walk any distance at all. Doc says RA or Fibromyalgia or bad shoulders or it's all in my head. I'm just glad he gave me lots Hydrocodone. Still depleted, looking for energy, trying to find what I lost to Lipitor.

Ugh, I feel you on that. My doctor STILL won't admit that my depression and migraine headaches (that I had every day for two months) are caused by the pill.

I was put on Lexapro last weekend for my depression and I feel that it's helped me a lot.. my anxiety is gone, and I'm feeling a bit happier lately. I think that my problem was due to a chemical imbalance though.. it wasn't just hormonal. Birth control pills cause certain chemicals in your brain to be depleted, like serotonin, which will make you become depressed if you have low amounts of it.

I don't really like having to take YET ANOTHER pill.. I just want to be free and natural for pete's sakes. But I think I'll give the anti-depressant a few more weeks, just in case.

It's a damn shame how much birth control can ruin someone. We want it to give us confidence in our sex lives (along with getting rid of cramps and such) and it comes with so many side effects that end up damaging us in the end.

I posted here in early Sept. about my problems with lisinopril. After reading other posts I started doing some google searches. Because a previous HBP medicine caused my thyroid function go down I was switched to Lisinopril. Two years later, my throid levels which had recovered are now going down again. Several posters mentioned suppelmenting with zinc to deal with the cough so many people develop. A "lisinopril zinc" search had several sites that all stated in practically the same words that no research showed a link to zinc and lisinopril but supplementation might be a good idea. (Don't dose yourself with zinc because that can cause things to go out of whack.) I also found an article by Dr. Ron Hoffman about "Drugs That Steal." He reported that ACE-inhibitors caused zinc to be depleted from the body.
Then, I googled "zinc TSH". TSH is the indicator of how your thyroid is working. There I found several articles about how low zinc levels may cause low thyroid symptoms. Ask low-thyroid sufferers how hard it is to get doctors to diagnose and deal with this wide range of symptoms that are often vague.
Now I'm stuck. Is it lisionpril or is it my thyroid? My doctor sees the HBP first and wants to add medications to deal with the first medication's side effects. But then suppose there are more side effects from the next medication. This is a real quality of life issue.

I've been searching for details about what vitamins and minerals are depleted, when taking Zyprexa. Does anyone know where I can find such information? Thanks.

I was on Yasmin for a month and a half with little side effects (lack of sex drive, that's about it). After the middle of the second pack, I started having heart palpitations. They went away the first time.

The second time it happened, I had to go to the ER. My heart was racing 200 beats per minute! I had a spend a WEEK in the hospital. The only thing that has changed in my life was the birth control. My gynocologist said it couldn't be the Yasmin.

The hospital said I can feel free to quit taking the Yasmin (which I did) but they didn't know if that was what was causing my problems.

My friend is a pharmicist and she has found some possible links to Yasmin and heart palpitations. Someone on these boards touched on it... it had to do with postassium levels getting depleted by the Yasmin and the heart racing accodingly. There's a dieretic (?) in the birth control that is supposed to keep water retention down. But, it can deplete your potassium levels which can cause heart palpitations.

The doctors diagnosed me with PSVT. I have two follow-ups the next two weeks.

I think it was the Yasmin and I hope that since I have stopped, the heart problems will, too. I'm on four pills a day and I hate it.