Digestion symptoms and conditions

I am 39 years old and work for an interventional cardiology medical device company in Tokyo, and so know the importance of controling one's cholesterol, keeping the LDL's low and the HDL's high. About two years ago, my doctor put me on 10 mg of Lipitor. Several months later I herniated a disc in my neck between C6&C7. From that point onward, I attributed all of my neck and back pain, and newly acquired total body muscle and joint pain, to the herniated disc, it made the most sense. Over the last seven months, I have really worked on my diet and began to exercise more (even though quite painful) and was able to lower my cholesterol. This resulted in my doctor lowering my Lipitor prescription from 10 mg to 5 mg. I noticed a slight alleviation of the pain I felt in my hip joints and calves. About two weeks ago I took myself off Lipitor completely and found further improvements in my total body muscle and joint pain. It's still there but greatly improved. In retrospect, I now believe the Lipitor may have been the culprit (or at least a contributing factor) to my herniated disc due to muscle degeneration in the neck, and all of the subsequent muscle pain, especially in my hips and calves. I fully understand I am not going to die from calf-pain, but may from heart disease. However, I have found my quality of life has improved tremendously over the last few weeks. Less irritability, better sleep, less pain, clearer head. I feel like I have lost two years of my life on Lipitor via personal suffering and lack of ability to do much of anything with my wife and two young daughters. We all need to take charge of our own health and therefore I encourage anyone who feels completely different after taking Lipitor to engage your physician, and make sure its the right option for you. If damage has been done to my musculature I hope I can reverse it. It is evident to me that some serious clinical studies should be done to investigate Lipitor's effect on muscle degradation and hope others will consider carefully whether or not do go on this drug. If you do, monitor yourself closely.

I am a 52 year old female and my bad cholesterol is fine but my good cholesterol is low. I have been taking Lipitor now for a few years and have numb hands and feet to the elbows and knees. My feet are extremely sensitive, worse at night and now I'm getting sharp pains that feel like a bug just bit me. My tongue is also always numb and I do get migraines.I have insane stomach issues and food intolerance. I also take medication for high blood pressure, acid reflux, & thyroid. I have now been diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes but control that with diet so far. Until four years ago I had nothing wrong with me. I am slim and healthy. I had a lump in my thyroid which was removed and there was a trace of cancer. Then like dominos all the other conditions lined up. I have had MRIs and all the tests and doctors insist that I am not a severe enough diabetic to have neuropathy. I can hardly wear shoes now and it hurts when I wear runners while I walk and exercise. Does any of this sound familiar to anyone? I hate that my health has become so much a part of my daily life. Does anyone have neuropathy as a result of Lipitor and am I even taking the the right medication since I don't have high cholesterol?

I would also just like to add that I have developed a ganglion cyst in my right wrist, and do experience frequent joint pain. I don't know if this can be attributed to the use of Yasmin.

I've been on a 7 day regime of Levaquin 500mg for an a infection that wasn't cured by other antibiotics and I can say it's worked. Yea I had a some muscle craps in the legs and some leg pain and a first day bout of nausea but overall, it's worked great for me.

I'd suggest that anyone on it do as my doctor said and either eat at least 1 cup of yogurt a day and/or take a Probiotics pill. The antibiotic/any antibiotic kills the "good germs" that help raise your bodies immune system and helps with digestion and the Yogurt/Probitic pills help grow the "good bacteria" back and ease the side effects while on it. Good luck to all

June 27/09
I am 65 yrs , very active. Play hockey, baseball, slopitch, and jog.
Started on Lipitor 10gm about 5 years ago. About 6 months later increased to 20gm. about 1 years later increased to 40 gm. Did not really notice any side effects. During that time cholesterol dropped from approx in Aug2005 to 8.01: ; Jan06 to 6.37:; Apr06 to 5.3 ; May09 @ 4.2. No problems noticed while on 40s for about 2 years.
June09 doctor increased to 80 gm !? Started to notice muscle cramps and pain . Also started to notice some stomach upsets.Thought I had strained a hamstring muscle from hard running acceleration but not sure now after reading some of the comments. Three days ago , although I always stretch for 1/2 to 3/4 an hour before every baseball which I play 4 times a week, I had very severe muscle cramps suddenly above my calf muscle just below the knee as I started to run to 1st base. I played the rest of the game but in pain and could not run hard . Could not sprint on my toes as I always did , so had to run about half speed but flat footed on the bases but painful,as we had only 9 players. Had hot shower Thursday night after game, massaged calf area with Wintercrest ointment. Got up this morning Friday , muscle sore but can walk on my toes. Tonight @ midnight slight soreness but most of the pain gone. I was thinking that I might have strained a calf muscle playing baseball but noway! I think it has to do with the doubling of the Lipitor from 40 to 80!!!! Will cut back back to 40 gm on my own till I see the doctor.
Will go to see my Doctor ASAP!!!

Update: I took Levaquin 2 months ago, stopping after 7 daily doses of 500mg for an upper and lower RI. I did not have the extreme reaction to it that others here suffered. I had general fatigue, brain fog, loss of appetite, dizziness and tight joints. I had always exercised regularly prior to Levaquin. I also had a sudden onset of bloating and inability to digest food. Doc said Levaquin wouldn't cause those symptoms. It's hard to tell if it was the Levaquin, but...

Now 2 months after my last Levaquin dose, my joints seem OK, I can exercise, although I don't push it too hard since that can aggravate any joint damage done by L, the brain fog is better, and the digestion is still a problem sometimes.

Levaquin symptoms can appear months after the last dose, so I am being vigilant.

God bless everyone here who has had horrible experiences with Levaquin and I hope that your bodies will heal as the months go by. I will be posting updates in the future.

I've experienced a severe allergic reaction that resulted in over 3 weeks of being in and out of the hospital for severe hives, breathing and digestion associated with severe reactions. I am now still hypersensitive with a low level case of hives. ARe there other normal chemicals /food additives that I should stay away from to eliminate that as a possible future reactions?

I am glad i found this site, i just wanted to add my little bit of info for now. I have been taking Two pills a day at 800mg of bactrim for a total of 8 days so far. Because i HATE antibiotics and try my hardest to let me body work out infections and such i avoided going to the doctor for tonsillitis( i used to get it a TON when i was growing up) and noticed i had pus covered "zits" that were very HOT and raised which i researched and thought were a staph infection after reading about them online. So i ended up at the doctor, being scolded for not spending my money on their BS antibiotics.... and still ended up with a prescription. Which i had no bad reaction to until last night when i noticed my skin was hot and hives on my elbows. I put some antibiotic ointment on (thought it was bug bites from camping) and went to bed. Today my skin is still hot, i can see the start of a rash on my neck and i feel it everywhere on my arms and neck/chest. So far it has not been too bad but i think it may also have to do with the fact that i have been eating yogurt like crazy! I chose to eat activa and another similar brand that are supposed to be helpful for your digestion but not only that i was more concerned with not getting a yeast infection which i have found to be common when taking antibiotics. So I am not sure if the cultures in the yogurt are what are helping me so much but it's just a suggestion. hopefully my side affects won't get worse and as soon as 14 days is up I'm back to avoiding antibiotics all together again!

lactaid milk for a NON lactose intolerant person! eating regular dairy all day long, lots of normal cheese and ice cream daily... bought the lactaid for my cat..but ended up making COFFEE with it..latte style.. a full 8-10 ounces...
for a month now... and ended up with an ammonia smell to my urine and underarms..skin in general.. afraid of kidney problems as I also developed TERRY's NAILS..or "half and half nails" WHITE nails!!! the ammonia smell and the white nails indicate kidney troubles... my tests came back normal for kidney and liver... I attribute this to the lactaid so I hope this helps someone who may read this!!! these symptoms 100% coincide with the lactaid, NOTHING else is different in my diet..maybe my body got confused having lactase enzyme..AND normal dairy at same time.? maybe its not for people who are NOT lactose intolerant or for people who will ALSO include some regular dairy in their day... (without use of tablets) from what ive read here, you people are mistakenly believing you are intolerant... when all you need is probably PROBIOTICS after a course of antibiotics..which killed your healthy bacterias..and rendered you ineffective at digestion. That happened to me. takes months to re-establish the bacterias..and can even be a YEAR or two even, AFTER you took antibiotics that your digestion finally gave up..your antibiotic use didn't have to be "recent"
Thank you

so far, ive been on Yasmin for almost 3 wks. the first week i had no side effects but as time progressed i started getting abdominal craps with a watery vaginal discharge; it sorta feels like i'm having my period except ther's no blood. i'm constantly nauseous and i have no appetite. my legs can feel numb at times and i get these really sharp pains in my chest. my body practically feels tender all over. i'm really depressed lately and my moods change drastically. Is this normal?

I was given reglan to aid in digestion while I was being treated for chirosis, and had some negative effects from it, cant remember them now but was taken off of it. I still fight small bouts of depression and anxiety. Now I have to wonder why a doctor from a very reputable hospital would prescribe reglan to a patient with a long history of drinking (that alone is a depression symptom) a pill that has suicidal thoughts as a possible side effect of reglan.

Took first pill (5mg) on 7/8. Second on 7/9. After lunch on 7/9, food stayed in stomach and would not digest. Felt like a huge lump. Digestion continues to be a problem. No appetite. Food does not look good. On 7/11, developed two hives with large red areas surrounding them, however, they were not itchy. Became quite tired also. Allergy symptoms of itching eyes, watering eyes, itching throat, stuffiness developed. Headaches to the point of taking a pain reliever. Developed muscle cramping in calves on 7/15. Still great difficulty eating with no appetite. Existing hiatal hernia became a problem at night with nausea. Terrible flatulence also. Exhaustion is now the description, not just tired. Feeling depressed, but perhaps that is a result of the exhaustion. Blood in urine on 7/18, the final straw. Discontinued med on 7/18. Hives have still not cleared up totally (7/28) and the tiredness has still not gone away. I have been told that when you have hives on the outside, you have hives on the inside too. I would never take this med again. Going to look into biofeedback.

Took first pill (5mg) on 7/8. Second on 7/9. After lunch on 7/9, food stayed in stomach and would not digest. Felt like a huge lump. Digestion continues to be a problem. On 7/11, developed two hives with large red areas surrounding them, however, they were not itchy. Became quite tired also. Allergy symptoms of itching eyes, watering eyes, itching throat, stuffiness developed. Developed muscle cramping in calves on 7/15. Still great difficulty eating with no appetite. Existing hiatal hernia became a problem at night. Terrible flatulence also. Exhaustion is now the description, not tired. Feeling depressed, but perhaps that is a result of the exhaustion. Discontinued med on 7/18. Hives have still not cleared up totally (7/28) and the tiredness has still not gone away. I have been told that when you have hives on the outside, you have hives on the inside too. I would never take this med.

Saw Levaquin on the news yesterday. I was very pleased to see that they are putting a warning on this med. I thought it was just me with a problem with Levaquin. I have allergies to antibiotics anyways so I attributed my problems to just another allergic reaction to an antibiotic. Wow!
I took Levaquin in April 3 years ago for a respiratory infection of some kind. I then had the same experience I have with allergies where my tongue felt swollen. I called the nurse and she told me to take the next dose anyway. I did so and my chest/esophagus felt like it was on fire. I couldn't breathe. I went into the Emergency room and they gave me a lidocaine/maalox combo that would take the pain away for a while and diagnosed me with reflux.
I went on some reflux medications later that caused more problems for digestion. The more we tried to solve it the more my system reacted. I ended up in the emergency room about 5 times that year. Two were for chest pain from the esophagus and two were from severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis). I became allergic to many categories of food and lost down to 110 lbs. I went to naturopaths and other specialists and none of them could pinpoint any problems. I was tested for Celiac and had two upper GI and one lower GI that year alone, My Dr. bills totalled more than $5,000 for that year.
The next year I had given up. The only doctor that I would go to was the allergist and the new GI doctor I had found. I still worked but was in such severe pain that I did nothing but sleep when I got home. I cried and begged God for death or healing all night long. I was losing my hair in great handfuls. They put me on ativan and I became addicted to the stuff. I was allergic to most foods. I had a diet of about 6-10 foods that I would cook homemade and I would never eat out unless I knew what and how the food was prepared. I took vitamin c in very high doses and that took the pain away.
I slowly re-introduced food back to my system. Now I have a less restrictive diet but it still is limited. I am now allergic to all nuts, rice, sunflower seeds (sunflower oil is used in most potato chips), some other grains, and melons. I still have problems with legumes and some other foods.
It took 2 years for the pain to subside and I still have digestive problems with diarrhea on and off. I am fine just as long as the pain stays away. I don't mind being limited on my diet.
I had noticed that my legs and joints hurt during that time too- but the other pain was so severe and my diet was so limited that I attributed that to diet.
If there is a class action lawsuit on this stuff I would like to be involved.

Took the perscription (500 mg, 2X daily) for three days before I started having bad side effects, then it hit me like a ton of bricks, and I quit immediately. My digestion has been real messed up, my stomach and intestines have felt as though they had a meat grinder turned on inside. My head has felt as though the top of it was going to come off. I've been off the pills for 3 days now and my head is beginning to feel better. My major complaint now is that my legs ache. My thighs mostly, but also my calves some. I had no idea I would get so sick from an antibiotic.

I am 3 weeks post removal and I am still experiencing aches and pains throughout my body, still have the 10lb weight gain, some mood swings and extreme tiredness and some periodic bloating...I am fed up! I have 2 questions: Has anyone found anything about this hormone levonorgestrel and how long it takes to get out of your system? Second, if anyone knows of any suits against these people, let me know because this is really interfering with my life and with my children and my boyfriend!! This is ridiculous, I didn't know about all of this crap prior to getting the Mirena and wouldn't have gotten it if I did know, and I am still paying for it after removal! Please let me know...thanks!! : )

I've been taking lisinopril for about 4 months for HBP which I have had since I was 18 and I am 40 now. My blood pressure went down immediately--I can never remember the number but before nurses testing my bp would always say I was "a little high" and now they always say "it's normal." When i first started taking it I noticed I felt a little depressed, and I always felt lethargic on lisinopril. I believe that's just normal from taking something which reduces BP. I had bad diarrhea and got pretty sick for a short while a couple weeks ago but there was a flu that was going around. I noticed some dizziness and was pretty out of it, but I have felt those symptoms before I started on lisinopril. I am now worried from reading your complaints about this drug.I ran out of pills a few days ago and I feel much more energetic and with-it now, generally better although now I worry about the long-term effects on my body of my HBP. I currently have a headache and to be honest I still don't feel 100%. While I was on it I noticed some dryness in my belly and my poop seemed weird not normal--I had some bad flatulence and my poop would come out sometimes pretty sparse. I definitely felt different, especially in my digestion and lethargy, but did not have very very bad side effects. Still I'm thinking twice before taking it again. My father had some blindness in one eye that was apparently from long-term HBP, so I am concerned about long term effects of not doing anything about my BP--so I may go back to lisinopril or whatever else my doctor prescribes.

i HAVE SO MUCH COMPASSION FOR ALL OF US SUFFERING ..I have been on 300 mcg of levoxl and i am always filling with fluid,feel like i cant think straight or remember simple things....I have gained 150 lbs in 8 years and its not due to food increase...Myskin is dry and I am exhausted all the time..Hashimotos is what they say I have ..i am sure that this medicine is causing this,but what is the alternative?When i went off it years ago my thyroid tsh level went up to 13!....yet I lost weight!I think new testing has to be done on thyroid and the meds we are using...right after i take my med in the am I get really hungry..thats the only time i get hungry..my digestion is so slow!...Its a terrible way to live being fat when you arent eating like a pig..

Take it with a huge meal that has both creamy diary to coat the stomach and meat to delay the digestion of the food - a meal that stays in the stomach long enough until the drug is absorbed will help.

I am 27 and have 3 children. In March of 07 I had a laparoscopy to detect (and laser) endometriosis. At the time of the surgery, I had the Mirena implanted because 1, I needed birth control and 2, I was told it would stop the progress of the endo. This past 8 months has been anything but, fun. I've had cramping, spotting, bleeding, migraines, not to mention that my mood swings and emotional breakdowns have been so bad my husband can't deal with me and my Dr diagnosed me with bipolar 2 disorder and I really think it's all from the IUD. I've had depression before but, never, EVER this bad. I've called the Dr on several occasions and they always say something like, "one more month, everyone has such great luck, just try one more month". Tomorrow, I have an ultra sound to "check placement". I pray they just take this thing out once and for all.

My mother was placed on Reglan for slow digestion due to diabetes. She shot herself to death approx. one month later. She had never, ever, been suicidal and looking back now I can see how her personality changed at the very same time that she started taking the drug. I miss her so much and would give anything to be able to go back and make the connection in time. If anyone would like to ask any questions of me, please feel free.

I have found since taking this drug that my bowel movements are very difficult. I am not actually constipated, but feel almost impacted. I have never experience this problem before, and attribute it directly to this drug. I am curious if I am alone in this problem.

Thanks

Scary drug. After only 11 doses i suffered hoarseness, thrush (very unpleasant) extreme pain in chest, neck and shoulders in particular. Though i was having a heart attack!! My digestion seems totally screwed up as does my sense of taste. Also, it seemed that when dosage wore off breathing was much worse than before; forcing you to take it again. Bad side effects lasted long after i stopped taking 50/250, and stilll continue. How did this make it thru FDA?

I'm so happy I found this site. I've been thinking I'm crazy or just getting old for the last 3 years while on Yasmin. I started taking it at age 29 and almost immediately after started having mood swings, extreme irritability and depression. I had previously been on Ortho Tri Cyclen and the Ortho Cyclen before Yasmin and was on them for MANY years and never had one side effect. I only switched in the first place because I like to have very very few periods and I run all my active pills together to forgo periods very often and I was having breakthrough on the Cyclen. Hence, the Yasmin trial.

I'm actually a doctor (which is why I CANNOT have frequent periods with all the accompanying issues), but I didn't even realize the possible connection between IBS and Yasmin. This needs to be studied and taken seriously. I never once had IBS symptoms until a few months after starting Yasmin. Now, 3 years later I have almost constatnt trouble, to the point everytime I eat I run for the bathroom, yet my weight has never been higher. I asked a GYN friend at work if they could be related and she said definitely no, but reading all of these "real life" examples, coupled with my own experience has made me think otherwise. Often, the symptoms will occur shortly after taking the pill, even when I haven't yet eaten breakfast. It's crazy!!

I'm going to switch either back to Ortho Cyclen or to something new ASAP and will report back. I'm both excited at the thought that my "IBS" might really be Yasmin related but also scared that it might not go away and therefore might really be IBS. I'll report back... It honestly never entered my mind that all of it could be the Yasmin. I had just moved, started a new job in a town I hate and I thought it was all stress related.

I've also had an interesting side effect no one has mentioned yet- my hair texture has dramatically changed. It isn't falling out, but has gone from VERY curly with a nice soft spiral curl pattern to very dry, straight and hard to manage. Nothing else has changed and now I'm wondering if it's not the DRSP. If pergnant women can have hair changes, why not women on the pill?? It's all hormones.

As always with a drug, there are always possible side effects. No one drug is perfect, and humans are so complex in their make up and they way they process drugs. Therefore, please don't judge your family docs or GYNs too harshly as not even the best doctor in the world can predict every side effect.

Had total thyroidectomy 9 months ago and started taking Synthroid immediately thereafter. For the last 4 months I have noticed significant hair thinning. I have always had very thick, healthly looking hair but now it's just dry and brittle all of the time. I always feel tired and bloated around my stomach area in particular. I have always been a size 4-6 but have inexplicably gained 6 pounds in the last month. Is there an alternative to snythroid without these side effects?