Digestive system symptoms and conditions

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I thought I was totally crazy and something seriously wrong with me: Absolutely No Sex Drive, Horrible acne all over my face (really bad under the skin huge ones) and on my chest, neck and back, back depressions and mood swings, bloating, upper back pain, and weight gain! I am an active person and have been on dance teams for years now and I have never gained weight the way I do now. I have also always had energy to do everything! And I don't have any to even get up off the couch right now! :( I thought that my upper back pain was just from everyday/coaching stress but my massage therapist says that the tenseness in my back is unlike anything she's ever seen! I feel like my stomach is going to explode after I've eaten the smalls meal and then my digestive system doesn't work like it used to before my IUD. I've become a completely different person than before I got my IUD! I am going to call my doctor today and make an appointment to go talk about options. I REALLY LOVE NOT having a period and not having to worry about taking a pill or using a condom. My husband likes that aspect too so we will see what the doctor has to say and if they have any advise or suggestions on what to do. I will keep you all posted!!!!

I'm a 54 year old female prescribed 10 mg zocor(simvastatin) for slightly elevated cholesterol. Took it for 7 months before I clued in to the cause of my many symptoms. Muscle and joint pain, head fog, blurry vision, weight gain, stomach upset, fatigue, etc... The muscle and joint pain were excruciating at times --especially in my left hip...which had gotten so bad I needed a walking stick for support. I felt so darn old wondering if I would even feel normal again.
After reading many postings I decided to stop my zocor(simvastatin) 6 weeks ago and am very happy to report an improvement in many of my complaints...although far from where I want to be.
I am curious as to the withdrawal effects others may have experienced. The first week coming off I had stomach aches and I had awful headaches which thankfully did stop. The stomach aches and touchy digestive system still plague me though. Am I the only one experiencing this?....

I'm a 54y/o female prescribed zocor for slightly elevated cholesterol. Too it for 7 months before I clued in to the cause of my many symptoms. The muscle and joint pain, head fog, blurry vision, weight gain, stomach upset, fatigue, etc... The muscle and joint pain were excruciating at times --especially in my left hip...which had gotten so bad I needed a walking stick for support. Felt like I was 95--and never going to feel normal again!
After reading many postings I decided to stop my zocor 6 weeks ago and am very happy to report an improvement in many of my complaints...although far from where I want to be.
I am curious as to the withdrawal effects others may have experienced. The first week coming off I had stomach aches and I had awful headaches which thankfully did stop. The stomach aches and touchy digestive system still plague me though. Am I the only one experiencing this?....

I was taking it for two days. I was trying to change the channel, but I couldn't. I looked down and screamed because my hands were literally coming at me. They were crippling inward and so were my feet. My abdomen became severely painful. I couldn't stop vomiting and started vomiting bile. I was rushed to the hospital, they placed me in the 'security' emergency private room and strapped me down because they said I was out of my head. My whole body was yellow (jaundice). The doctor told me while the nurses tried to stick ivs in me that my digestive system has failed and your liver is failing. He told the nurse to stand by my bed period to keep me awake. I remember him shaking my face telling me 'johanna you have to stay awake, if you don't, you are not waking up. you have to stay away.' I was released later on. I had to eat liquid foods for two weeks, then baby foods for two more, then I slowly had to eat mushy to solid foods. The doctor said I had to reintroduce my body just like a baby due to the failure. That was my experience and if that nurse didn't keep me awake I would not be here right now.

I was given a free 10 day coupon for Avelox by a physician to treat an awful cold that wouldn't go away. He also wrote a prescription for, and I got it filled at a pharmacy, an inhaler. Avelox is the WORST medicine I have ever encountered in my 69 years!! I took it for 4 days and QUIT (today) the *^%(% thing. Who wants to be dizzy, crabby, anxious, short with people, impatient, thirsty all the time, constantly gasping for breath, and NO energy at all?
Bayer should be prosecuted, condemned for creating this poison pill. I can't believe this med it is still allowed for public consumption!??

This is my story. My daughter 14, the most precious child ever born. She has a wonderful disposition always happy, loving, and determined to succeed in whatever she does. She just brightens everyone’s world.
She suffers from severe seasonal allergies and mild asthma. She takes approximately seven allergy/asthma medicines a day during peak season. Over the past two years she has been taking Singular as one of her medicines. Being 14, sick of taking medicine she would not take the Singular on a regular basis. Approximately four months ago “MOM” says, if you take nothing else take your Singular it will work both for the seasonal allergies and your asthma. She has been taking this regularly four the past four months.
She became paranoid, she became a compulsive eater and bites the skin on her fingers. She would eat and chew on her fingers at the same time, until she choked. She had so much anger, she could not even go to the mall without temper tantrums.(As a child she never had any tantrums ) Always afraid. Severe depression set in. She would cry at a moments notice. She would say, I have a very sad life, sad very sad, nothing makes me like this, I’m just sad. She felt she should go live with the homeless people. I asked her why, she didn’t know, she felt maybe that’s where she belonged. Nightmares and sleepless nights.
She needs help quickly. Before calling the Doctor, I went on the internet and entered Singular and depression and I found 1900 entries, all people telling me what I was experiencing. Could this possibly be the answer for us? I called her Dr and told him what I thought, he said he has never had anyone that this has happened to. He hoped it was the answer, but really didn’t think is. He said if it wasn’t the answer she would need therapy, mood stabilizer and Prozac.

Its day four off Singular, she smiling, no tears today, no temper tantrums, looking forward to school next week, wants to play volleyball next year, singing in the car,
I hear that happy voice again.(Hi, Mommy!!!!!!) Every once in a while a glaze comes over her face. She isn’t a 100% back, but I know it is coming.

To all the people that don’t have the happy ending, I will pray for you and hold you in my heart forever.

June 2, 2008

My son age 3 was diagnosed with asthma about a year ago. Since then he has been sick constantly. Most recently his doctor has prescribed Singulair. He is aggressively pushing it on us. I stated my concerns to him, and he said there is nothing wrong with the drug.. he gets all the news letters.. and all the things I listed was the first time he heard anything.. I asked for his to refer us to a specialist and he wont.. I cant find anyone for a second opinion..My son needs medicine- at night i cant leave his side cause of his breathing.. The doctor wont suggest any alternate and I am stuck. I keep reading about all the people who are not taking singulair anymore- what what are they taking? I am completely lost here!

I was on Paxil for 9yrs, but have been off it now for 8yrs. It was prescribed by my family Dr for extreme PMS. At the time, it was a new drug just on the market, and there were no boards like this to describe any side effects.
After I was on it for several years, I tried to come off it. But the side effects were so bad, every time I tried, I decided to stay on it. I realized I couldn't stay on it any longer when it was affecting everything in my life. Paxil was making me so exhausted I was sleeping up to 20 hours a day. It almost ruined my life. Because I couldn't get to work, I lost my job and was out of work for 2 years while I was trying to come off Paxil. Of course my Dr refused to believe I was going through withdrawl, because he said Paxil was not addictive. We all know now that is incorrect. I had to slowly wean myself off it 1/4 of a tablet at a time over several month, and I still had horrible, very scarry withdrawl symptoms. I suffered from vertigo, tremors, tingling throughout my body, numbness in my hands, feet and legs, brain shocks, vomiting, dizziness, slurred speach, memory loss, heart palpitations and the hallucinations were the worst. I became easily aggitated by everything, unable to stand up without losing my balance. I was seeing floating black waves across my vision when my eyes were open. I can say it was hell, and I wouldn't want anyone else to suffer through it. I'm writing this to warn others that if you are on it for a long time, and then come of it, some of the withdrawl effects never go away. So be very careful how long you stay on it. To this day, 8yrs later, I still get numbness and tingling in my legs and feet. I still get brain shocks every so often. I still get short-term memory loss. The worst part is Paxil ruined my digestive system. Before I was on it I had no problems, now there are only certain foods I can eat. Paxil effects the serotonin levels in your brain, but it also effects the serotonin levels in your stomach and intestines. I went through several thousand dollars worth of health tests only to discover it was caused by all my years on Paxil. So please be careful and only stay on this drug as long as need be. It may have a negative affect on the rest of your life.

I have used the NuvaRing for approximately 2 years and been very happy with it for the most part, although I have started to realize some possibly connected side effects. Not having to commit to a daily pill taking schedule has been great and I liked the fact that it was a lower dose of hormones since it is close to your uterus and does not have to go through the digestive system like pills do. However, I have noticed a decrease in sex drive and I have been drier over time. Sex is still great, but I definitely have to work harder to get motivated. I have also noticed that my allergies have worsened over the last 2 years and I used to never get sick, but the last 2 years I have gotten sick several times. It may not be directly connected, but it is an interesting observation. I had a little weight gain and my breasts got bigger for about 2-3 months, but then it evened out and returned to normal and I felt great. I think I also was a little bit more emotional than usual the first couple months, but not drastically- nothing that caused any problems. I think I helped regulate my emotions by being conscious that my body was working to balance itself back out. However, because of the allergy thing, immune system thing, and sex drive thing, I think I am going to try going off it for awhile and use a fem cap and spermicide instead. I am ready for male birth control already! I will post again if there are any side effects with going off and how the new methods work. Thanks for everyone's comments; its so important to have this public information out there!

Back in July of 2007 I had a partial Colectomy and was given Levaquin before the Surgery. When I woke up from the surgery I immediately felt all types of strange symptoms like, vibrating all over my body, anxiety, chills, Heart palpitations, tremors, insomnia, memory loss, and panic attacks. They told me that it was the anesthesia wearing off so I just sat in bed feeling that way for my entire 2 week stay in the hospital. When I went home these symptoms persisted as well as continued pain in my lower left quadrant where surgery was performed. It has been 8 months now and the symptoms are not getting better. They have conducted MRI’s, MRA’s. EEG’s, EKG’s, CAT Scans, X-Rays, numerous Blood Tests, and Thyroid tests but have found no physical problem. They can see that I’m having the symptoms I describe but cannot give me a reason for them. At first they thought that my Thyroid was having problems that turned up to be inconclusive. The doctors are currently referring me to a third Colorectal Surgeon, a Neurologist and a Second Gastroenterologist. We are also looking for a new Endocrinologist and will be going to the Cleveland Clinic for help. My life has come to a virtual standstill and I have no Diagnosis or direction to go toward other then the possibility that I have been affected by the Levaquin they gave me. I found a website that has all kinds of information concerning Levaquin poisoning. http://www.fluoroquinolones.org

I have been taking Omeprazole since December 2007 now so 2 and a half months.

I had the dose increased to 40mg 3 weeks ago as 20mg wasn't curing the burning in my throat.

For a few weeks now i have had increasing vertigo/dizziness and palpitations. I only linked the 2 to the medication just yesterday, googled it just now and confirmed my suspicions to the Omeprazole.

Other feeling i have had since taking this medication...

Severe dizziness
vertigo
palpitations
headaches/migraines
weakness
fatigue
sweating
nausea
bloating
stomach cramps
visual problems
intolerance to bright lights
aching joints
chest pain

Now my question to myself is do i come off the tablets and endure the misery of my acid reflux? surely there must be something else we can take for our stomach problems that don't cause these awful side effects.
Anyone tried anything else that worked and didn't make them unwell?

After I switched to Metoprolol Succinate ER, the generic form of Toprol XL, which I had used for 4 years with no noticeable side effects, I began having the experience of everything moving faster - heart beat, pulse, intestinal peristalsis was highly accelerated. Daily bowel movements increased from one or two normal a day to three or four. After a few weeks this condition was punctuated by brief bouts of diarrhea(not something I am prone to) approximately weekly.

Since nothing else changed in my food, supplement or prescription drug intake, my digestive system has always worked extremely well, without problems; and because I had a colonoscopy showing no abnormalities in recently years and no occult blood in the stool in a recent doctor's visit, I am wondering if the Metoprolol is the cause. My entire system feels like it is on some type of "speed' drug, sort of a mania experience.

Have there been other reports of this with people who switched from Toprol Xl to the generic?

I didn't seem to have any side effects until the doctor upped my dose to 20 mg of lisinopril after 7 weeks at 10 mg.Then the gastro-intestinal effects started with gas,constipation and severe cramping for about 2 hours every night.I finally was told to quit the lisinopril and wait until side effects subside to try another approach.I would be interested in find a more natural way to control my HBP other than a drug derived from a pit viper's venom.

This was my husband's experience, not mine. He started Lisinopril in October of 2007. After one month he started having anxiety/panic attacks, started having trouble concentrating on reading (which he loved), his memory was shot, he didn't sleep well, he lost his sense of humor. After two months, in one week's time, he spiraled into such a deep depression that he ended up taking his own life. I'm convinced it was because of the combination of Lisinopril, diuretic and Statin he was taking. He was a different person after adding Lisinopril and Simvastatin to his diuretic medication.

I had a sore throat. The first doctor said mono. The 2nd doc. said no mono or strep --must be viral. Third doc says viral and puts me on predinsone, levaquin and darvocet because my uvula was swelling from infection. White count was elevated and had low grade fever. That was Friday..............................The Monday after that I had severe pains in my left side. After teaching went to ER they said gas after 2 minutes. Next day level 8 pain same side went back to ER. They said skeletal prescribed me 4 more drugs and told me it was viral too. Went to internist on Wednesday had to miss teaching he scheduled CT on Thursday morn. Level10 pain almost passed out on Thursday eve missed school/teaching. Friday admitted to ER at different hospital beyond any level of pain I have ever had, blood pressure through the roof, heart palp, they gave me morphine and phenagrin and muscle relaxer for spasms.

Here I am a perfect state of health get a sore throat and the next week I am in the hospital because of the 2nd ct saying that I am full of poo. 4 weeks later I am still in pain, missed 12 days of teaching and now they say i have ibs. I miss my active life before. I believe the combination of these drugs caused this. I am young no children and very healthy. Ultrasound,s blood works, 2 ct scans with dye, colonscopy, xrays show no probs. Which is great but still in pain. Anyone PLEASE HELP the doctors are taking their sweet time while I have lost weight and stay in bed which helps the pain. Bending over, lifting, eating, pooing, sneezing, coughing, hiccuping can make it worse. It is intense SHARP pain. I have cut out everything med wise except for Miralax and now I have diarrhea and joint pain.

They want me to take Dicyclomine and IMIPRAMINE, MIRALAX and Levisin sublingual and Diflucan.

I had a chronic cough which got worse and developped into bronchitis. My doctor gave me 10 days of 500 mg levaquin. Ten days later I went back, still coughing, even though the bronchitis was a bit better. He gave me another prescription for 7 days of levaquin with a refill.
A week or so into this routine, my legs started to hurt a lot. I thought I was just out of shape and needed to get back to the gym and do some stretching exercises. I could barely climb the stairs to the gym, but I must say that after working with the trainer and stretching a lot (and it hurt a lot) I was able to walk easier and the pain lifted quite a bit. . . for a while.
I also have developped total diarrhea, which made sense to me; because I was trying to kill bad bacteria in my system which I thought was causing the bronchitis.
Fortunately, last week I decided to go to another doctor because I wasn't getting better and I felt my old doctor was just overwhelmed by the health care system and was just going through the motions. This doctor, an ENT doctor, immediately diagnosed me with LPRD (acid reflux which goes all the way to the vocal chords, resulting in cough, tightness in the throat, etc.) I know he's right because I have felt the acid reflux thing at night when I have eaten late and had a couple of glasses of wine with dinner.
Tomorrow I'm heading to a gastro doc to attack the diarrhea, but I wondered if the leg pain had anything to do with the levaquin, since it came about after a week or so on the stuff. and lo and behold found all these postings which have now scared whatever shit I have left out of me!
I'm off to get some magnesium, as someone suggested and would appreciate any other tips anyone might have. My only tip is that stretching out your legs and butt muscles, does temporarily help a bit.

The drug Doxycycline belongs to the tetracycline group of barrow spectrum antibiotics particularly aimed at killing gram-negative bacteria such as those causing Lyme disease, inhibition of malaria virus transcription, etc. The problem however with this drug is the severe side effects it brings about... Which ranges from all symptoms stated on this web page. It is therefore thought that one has to stop the drug in order to halt the occurrence of the side effects. WRONG! Do not stop doxycycline regardless of what pain or discomfort you are experiencing. It is important to always complete the dosage to the last grain as bacteria have a very high ability to develop resistance from this drug. ONly stop the drug if you develop adverse reactions or allergic reactions which can result in date. Such cases, fortunately are quite rare. Here are a few things to take/do to ease the symptoms.
Stomach Pain- Down as many glasses of water as you can. The pain is brought about by the drug still being present in the digestive system long after food has been absorbed. It is a slow acting drug, releasing its active agents gently into the human body. Hence, taking it with lots of food at d same time wont prevent the drug from causing stomach pain/cramps. Do this as often as you can.
Drowsiness-confusion- Steaming hot cup of tea. Tea doesn't react with the drug and revitalizes your brain.
Rash- An anti-histamine usually does the trick
Sunburn- Use a sunblock!
Lower back pain- This is a less frequent side effect but has been reported in some instances... causes a lot of discomfort. Pop two analgesics and take a 15minute walk. Clears up like magic.
Nausea- Metoclopramide Hcl... This eases off the nausea. It is not an antacid.
I hope I am able to be of some assistance. For more direct consultations, you can contact me on ******Get well soon.

My dad has dilaudid in his pain pump that goes right to his lower spine. It has slowed down digestive system. Food is staying longer in his stomach and is not processing thru his system properly. As a result he is always nauseas. He is constipated also. At times he has experienced shortness of breath.

I'm not 100% certain that Alesse has been causing my major health issues recently, but after going through all other tests, my doctor has suggested I stop taking it. I pray that it is the answer.
I have been on Alesse for two years, (this past Aug 2007) but it was last March that I really noticed some of the typical impacts. Moodiness, lack of a sex drive (which I missed) and then the dreaded splotches. I had these dark type of circles appear on the top of my cheeks, which appeared overnight. I soon found out that any type of birth control can cause these to appear. Great. Just great. Then I had spotting between periods, which wouldn't be so bad except they came along with those tiny tummy cramps. This didn't add much fun to my current IBS issues.
I'm diabetic (but have been for 30+ years) so it never impacted me regarding blood sugars etc.
Then along came May. I had a bad bought with IBS one morning then I had the panic attack hit at the very same time. I've never hypervenatlated before so I had no idea what was going on other than I felt like I was dying, at home, and alone. For the first time ever, I called 911 and took an ambulance trip to Emerg. After being there for a few hours, they didn't find anything and I had calmed down. Since then, I've been experiencing on different levels from '1 - 10':
- small tremors through my neck and should areas (they can worsen to the point that others can see me shake)
- burning sensation in the same area
- numbness in my jaw / face area
- fullness in my right ear
- lightheaded but not *dizzy* as if I'm going to faint
- overall not feeling right as if my head is detached
- weakness in lower body and legs
- numbness in right leg and foot (not all the time, it comes and goes)
- panic attacks when my digestive system kicks in
- lack of an appetite
- nausea (sometimes)
- a few other items which I am too tired to think of....

When I try to sleep, as soon as I feel like I'm about to doze off, I have the symptoms flood over me big time and I'm 'shaken' awake. I can also been in a deep sleep, having a pleasant dream, when if feels like someone has grabbed the back of my neck/shoulders and has shaken me violently awake. I have to sit right up and bring my knees up to my chest and try to relax myself. Sometimes I stay awake all night.

I have every test you can imagine since May, as this is ongoing with no relief. I have had a head MRI (made my tremor and head detachment feeling worse), Spine MRI, Chest CT Scan (bad reaction to the dye), colonoscopy (I'm convinced my IBS triggers the symptoms to be worse), heart monitor, blood test for thyroid (one of the first things since I'm diabetic), along with many other blood test. I have two in for Mercury and Lead poisoning, but the results aren't back yet. More and more I'm starting to believe that it's all attached to the birthcontrol, although I've been on it in the past without issues, and this time around it was just over a year and a half when these symptoms all kicked in.
If this is all caused by the bc, I will be very relieved as this has been causing me a lot of grief. Thankfully I am able to work from home on my laptop, otherwise I would be out of a job. Getting up, showered and out the door is impossible. I had one good day last weekend where I was able to go out with my very supportive and adoring boyfriend, and we fed a few squirrels in a park. It's taken away my summer so far.
I'll come back to post an update if I find that stopping Alesse has helped any.
I wish everyone well!!!!
Stacey

Just one question I have been on this stuff at the beginning dose for less than a week. My eyes hurt, my head is about to explode, I am sick as a dog, I lost 5 pounds, I can't eat, constipated, can't sleep, can't function, ringing in my ears, and the ADD is unbelievable. I am a medical transcriptionist I kind of need to be able to work, no work, no pay. Topamax is going bye-bye for sure but how long till the side effects go away?

Mine is nothing new according to the previous posts. I primarily have a problem with breathing and weight gain. I ride (rode) my bicycle 15 plus miles a day for years, but now it is a distant dream because of the severe breathing problem that begins in my upper chest and rises to my throat.
One pulmonologist tested me for asthma and said it appeared to be a reflux problem (without heartburn) that causes the acid in my upper digestive system to rise into my esophagus eventually causing this blockage of my windpipe. I can stop, sit for 15 minutes and then begin to exert myself again and sometimes it returns but sometimes does not.
No one mentioned the medicine, which I have been on for 5 years at 40 mg (because lower doses were ineffective.)
Once, I was given a different generic than I had been taking for 3 year, and it proved to be completely useless in controlling my BP. However, the choking did stop at that time, though I only notice it was the medication now.
Now, I am on a new lisinopril called Longes, which is made in Japan, so I became curious about the side effects. I will monitor this nedication for a few weeks and let you know if anything unusual happens. For now, it does appear to be controlling my BP.

severe pain after injection, constant nagging headache,insomnia, blocked up digestive system,tiredness, dizziness, lightheaded. Low energy.

Was on increasing doses of fentanyl for back pain - with time and not much time, the fentanyl slowed my digestive system so bad I suffered with gastroparesis. I have taken myself off with a doctor's guidance. My last dose was ten days ago after slowly tapering from 100 to 12mcg. I still have some gastroparesis and wondering if it will ever end. How long does it take to get back to normal????
Most people have not heard of gastroparesis - your system slows to the point that food does not go down normally and one ends up with horrible nausea.

In January I was diagnosed with polymyalgia rheumatica and temporal arteritis (giant cell arteritis). I was put on 60 mg prednisone and an array of other meds to help with pain, inflammation, water retention, and stomach problems from everything. I've lost some vision from the TA. I've experienced the weight gain, the moon face, stomach problems, depression, fatigue, muscle weakness, lack of memory and concentration, and generally feel miserable. The brain fog is awful! I don't trust myself doing much of anything these days!

When I was first put on the prednisone it completely took away all my TA and PMR symptoms. I could walk and get up and down again, didn't have the headaches, and didn't hurt all over.
My doctor tried to taper my dosage about 6 weeks ago and all my symptoms returned and increased as I went down on the prednisone. He upped me back to 60. That time the symptoms didn't go away. They lessened but were still there.

He's trying to taper again, and I'm down to 30 mg now and feel worse and worse. My sed rate has been normal, so the doctor thinks it's from the prednisone. Does it mimic all the TA and PMR symptoms? I also am having a lot of hand and feet cramping.

Does anyone else have these two illnesses? I would be interested in your experience. I want off these meds! Anyone found an alternative approach that's helped?

God bless!

I'm on 15mg dose. For the first few nights it knocked me out, then for the next four I woke up an hour after falling asleep and vomited!!
Then I had night sweats for a few nights (although I was also having hot flushes in the day due to chronic stress and anxiety so who knows). Then I seemed to have some insomnia and restless leg syndrome (I think that's what it's called) for about a week. It took a month for the anxiety and depression to decrease, but at this point I did experience a noticable difference which made it all worthwhile. However two months in this seems to be coming back.
For the last two months i've been eating chronically and my digestive system seems somewhat sedated!! Don't know if should increase dose or try something else.