July 7th
2009
8:12 AM
i have had my mirena for about 1 1/2 months now, and so far i love it, i have had the spotting for the first month which doesn't bother me and now my period is on and i do have very bad diarrhea which im sure is associated with the period more than the mirena itself. haven't had any lack of sex drive in fact i 've wanted to have more sex, and i haven't' been irritable or anything else, so some of the side effects i believe everyone is having may be made up, think about it if you read over and over and over again how bad the mirena is your going to begin to feel that way i know if i tell myself that my arm hurts all day long then eventually it feels like it hurts..neways all im saying is relax stop reading these scary ass posts and do something to take your mind off of it, i know 3 other people who have the mirena that live down the road from me and NONE of them have had any of these problems...ladies i think you are just trying to find something to blame it on...
-- By niahsmommy | Reply | (14) replies | Private Message me
May 15th
2009
12:03 PM
Consumer Medication Information (CMI) distributed by pharmacies with prescriptions is NOT regulated by the FDA and may not contain a complete list of side effects from the medication's FDA approved label.
CMI is usually stapled to the prescription bag or inside it and is often produced by private companies that provide this information to pharmacies. It is different than a medication guide or patient package insert, which are FDA approved, published by drug manufacturers, and and required to be distributed with certain medications.
You can get accurate medication side effect information from the United States National Library of Medicine's DailyMed website.
-- By zsmom | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me
March 2th
2009
1:25 AM
y story is but an echo of many of the others so there is no use to repeat what is being said. I do believe there is due cause for a class action suit. I hold the FDA and those responsible for its poor performance as well as the drug manufacturers and the pharmacies responsible. I just found out about the recall of metroprolol today when I went back to my local Walgreens to pick up a refill of my prescription. I was told by the pharmacy that four days ago that they had to obtain a new authorization from my doctor to refill it. Today a different pharmacy technician told me they had to send their supplies back to the factory because met-succ was no longer made by tthat company. I thought that strange, and I asked why the recall. I was told it wasn't really a recall, but the company wanted the meds returned to it. In answer to my "what is wrong?" I was told their was nothing she knew of, that the medicine was fin, the company just wanted it back and that I should talk to my doctor for a replacement.
After reading the comments hear I believe we all have been given the runaround. It sure seems like our pharmaceutical companies are trying to copy the Chinese. It looks like collusion between manufacturers of generic drugs and insureance companies. I do not think the doctors were privy to this.
Yes, I'm mad as hell. I hope I live long enough to see a good resolution to this matter.
H. R.
I'm taking no more of that poison
-- By helia | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me
January 18th
2009
8:33 PM
I had muscle aces and pains most of that time but near the end of the 3 weeks I would loose the use of my left arm for periods. I would feel faint and very weak. I have had restless leg since I was a child but my legs got much worse during the 3 weeks. Finally I remembered that if you had muscle weakness you were to stop Zocor so I did. The daily muscle weakness gradually went away but I developed severe restless leg and had to go on Requip. I also started having face spasms and “turrett” type spasms in my legs that would travel up into my arms and hands. My hands would clench and I couldn't talk plain. My head would jerk and my body would shake inwardly as if I were freezing. These symptoms were worse when I was stressed or got too hot. Eventually I had to quit my job, it was very high stress. Five years have past. I now stay home and garden and paint. I very seldom leave my home and my stress level is low but when I do get into a stressful situation I still have to deal with the “loss of control” over my body. My sleep is a nightmare every night. My restless leg syndrome is getting worse and I've had to increase my Requip and will probably have to do so again soon.
My cholesterol is very high and my doctor keeps trying to get me to go on some meds for that but I would rather die than add to the painful, exhausting struggle I go through now because of what Zocor did to me.
-- By sheliaht5 | Reply | (2) replies | Private Message me
January 15th
2009
9:35 AM
I was shocked last night on the news, when they reported that "there is no link between Singulair and suicide". I guess Merck is going to stick their heads in the sand, and let children continue to be harmed by a drug that I feel should never be prescribed to a child in the first place. I'm shocked at how young some of these children are! It makes me sad that Dr.'s, the FDA, and Merck will continue to put profit before the safety of the people being prescribed this drug and having terrible side effects from it...and most Dr.s are not fully aware of!!!!
-- By froglover1069 | Reply | (3) replies | Private Message me
January 12th
2009
3:58 PM
I'm a 47 male and took Crestor for a year. I experienced muscle tremors, constant fatigue and muscle soreness. Not just a little sore but as if someone had hit me so hard as to leave a muscle bruise in both arms. One night my left arm and leg began to tremor and it was as if they were too heavy to move.
What I noticed was that all of my little aches and pains became severe aches.
I experienced blistering on my hands, a common side-effect of your liver rejecting the medication but my doctor didn't pickup on the symptom. Instead, he gave me a steroid-based topical cream that actually eliminated the blisters but they would return within weeks.
I experienced lapses in my memory and I started to forget words. I would forget the names of things and I found myself substituting the word 'thingy' when I could remember what something was called (like a phone).
I visited the hospital 4 times and my doctor countless time. Each time my doctor treated the current symptom and not the person as a whole.
It became too much to bare when I started having chest pains that felt like something was crushing my chest. At this point I started to do some research and found forums like this one.
During my time of the worse pain, I felt like I was actually dying. I started to get my effects in order and finalized my estate.
I stopped my Crestor about a year ago, after about 3-6 months my muscles began to feel better. After a year, I am finally starting to feel like my old self again (not that I was all that well before).
Statin affect people differently, but there is NO DOUBT that these drugs can have adverse effects on people. Listen to the commercial for Lipitor, "contact your doctor if you have muscle fatigue or weakness"......
-- By patientone | Reply | (2) replies | Private Message me
December 13th
2008
9:24 PM
My 4 year old son started taking singulair when he was two. I don't think I picked up on his behavior change right away b/c I thought that he was just entering the "terrible two's". But over time, his allergist added on Nasonex (I know the docs say that it doesn't cause side-effects b/c it's a nasal spray, but I don't buy that...it's a steroid, plain and simple) and more recently zyrtec was added on for his hives. Well, the zyrtec was the straw that broke the camel's back. I mean, he has been a real "handful" since the singulair, but after zyrtec was added 5 months ago - let's just say he was completely out of my control. His meltdowns were so bad that I couldn't go ANYWHERE with him. I either got a sitter or just didn't go anywhere. He became aggressive, defiant, emotional, unhappy. And to top it off he started to have serious "autistic-like" self-stimulatory behaviors (grinding teeth, squinting eyes shut, flapping his hands, punching himself...). At this point my life had become a complete nightmare, and my poor 10 month old son was getting NO attention b/c my 4 year old was so out of control and aggressive. I was afraid for the baby's safety...oh, I could go on all night. This medication has impacted my marriage, my finances, my sanity. Shortly after he started Singulair I had to go on an antidepressant b/c it too so much out of me just to be his mommy. Anyway, a week ago I had him scheduled for a psych evaluation (thought for sure we were going to walk away with either autism or bipolar diagnosis), but two days before I decided to look up the meds he is on and BINGO! All of these posts sound like what we have been going through. I stopped all of his meds that night, cold-turkey, and he has been the most pleasant little boy I have ever met!! My husband and I have fallen in love with him over the past week - we had no idea he was such a sweet child.
Now, while I'm ecstatic that we have found the answer to our nightmare, I also feel SO STINKIN' ANGRY! We lost out on 2 years with our sweet boy, there were times when we raised our voices at him when he just couldn't help himself - he was suffering inside!! When I went to talk to the allergist about my findings this past week, he said, "well, maybe he just had a good day. I'd like to see what happens if he goes off all his meds for a week". Well, there you have it, he has been off for one week and he's an absolute angel. He has an amazing heart and is so caring!!!
Singulair is awful (and so is zyrtec). Please don't give this drug to your children. Research other alternatives (I am giving my son Nordic Naturals Fish Oil, Culturelle probiotics, vitamin c, and am changing his diet - increased magnesium and decreased dairy. I came up with this after hours of research...).
There is a woman on this site whose daughter committed suicide after 3 years on Singulair. This is no joke and the FDA needs to get with it.
BTW, I used to date a Singulair rep (I knew there was something I didn't like about that guy:)
-- By nomeds2 | Reply | (5) replies | Private Message me
October 13th
2008
9:51 AM
I'm 55 year old female and was put on Simvastatin 3 months ago with a cholesterol reading of 6.8. I've been experiencing severe lower back pain, a burning pain in the right side of the groin and severe pain in my right hip and leg. It has become so bad that I'm finding walking difficult. I also have severe itching all over, especially on one part of my arm. I can't take anti-histimes because I am alreading taking beta-histine for vertigo. After reading the postings here I am seeing my doctor this week to have my medication changed. Since I live in the Uk cost is not a problem
-- By vivienneq | Reply | (3) replies | Private Message me
September 17th
2008
6:16 PM
WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration appears to be giving priority to projects that benefit the pharmaceutical industry rather than helping consumers, a top Democratic lawmaker said on Wednesday.
The head of the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee questioned how the FDA set its priorities given recent controversies over its handling of safety issues, including tracking tainted foods and inspecting drug manufacturers.
A 2007 list of top projects includes plans to offer advice to companies on promoting products, as well as guidance on offering reprints of journal articles to physicians, California Democrat Henry Waxman said in a letter to FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach.
The agency also planned to change its regulations to protect device makers from lawsuits as long as their products are FDA-approved with a so-called preemption clause.
"All appear to prioritize industry desires over consumer protection," Waxman wrote.
The FDA has come under fire in recent years following a string of highly-publicized safety scares, starting with the 2004 withdrawal of Merck & Co Inc's (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) painkiller Vioxx following heart problems.
The risk of suicide with antidepressants and other drugs, as well as tainted batches of blood-thinner heparin and bacteria-laced produce such as spinach and hot peppers have also fueled concerns.
Asked if it had any response, FDA spokeswoman Heidi Rebello said the agency would comment directly to Waxman
THE DAYS OF RECKONING ARE COMING
September 15th
2008
8:30 PM
Besides hair loss, vision problems, pain all the time, dry mouth, diarrhea, sleeplessness, pounding heart, I also had a problem with mucus filling my stomach and my food would get stuck. So I had to vomit to get the mucus up so I can continue eating. The first time I quite taking this poison pill, I got to feeling much better and my stomach got much better too. But never connected Lipitor with my problems. When I started taking this poison pill again, all my problems returned. But only worse, because I was in so much pain that it was hard for me to climb stairs and I had to hold on to everything just to go to the bathroom at night. Than I quit taking this poison pill again and haven't taken anymore since. All my problems disappeared again. I told my new doctor what this poison pill was doing and he told me to stop taking it, which I had already done.
So how many more people is this poison pill going to hurt and kill before Lipitor is taken off the market? I'm once again seeing Lipitor advertised on TV claiming this poison pill is FDA approved. Wasn't Baycol approved by the FDA as well and was taken off the market because it was too dangerous?Scary!
I'm 62
-- By loneseerous | Reply | (3) replies | Private Message me
July 9th
2008
3:29 PM
It is quite amazing how when the story hits the news, the number of postings here jumps up! How sad it is that many people now realize the same things that many of us have known for quite some time. I only hope that the floodgate have now opened and that everyone will now keep the pressure on to limit the use of thee dangerous chemicals.
After 20 months I have had my right distal tendon surgically repaired, I endure tremendous pain in my left arm daily, and I fight the other unmentionable adrs. A black box warning is a start but it is not nearly enough.
New side effects: intense anger with the FDA and drug manufacturers, distrust of the medical community, and the required development of pain management skills.
-- By antileviquin | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me
March 15th
2008
1:54 AM
Recently took a twenty day run of 500 mg Levaquin for a cellulitis infection that popped up after a knee surgery. It seems that unlike most people I tolerate the drug pretty well. The only side effect I have noticed is a little muscle stiffness when I wake up which is quickly remedied through light stretching and a warm shower. After being put on this medication I looked up it's side effects and was frightened by how many people have had terrible and debilitating side effects. Next time I'll trust my doctor and not look them up. I think any lost sleep and nervousness can be attributed to worrying about side effects that never came up.
-- By railguncannon | Reply | (8) replies | Private Message me
December 30th
2007
9:18 PM
I had my MIRENA put in 2 months ago. Since then, even with the holidays, I have lost 11 lbs. (bringing me to 15lbs underwt.) I have had no appetite, acid reflux, extreme nausea, esophageal spasms, diarrhea, stomach cramps, headaches, and weakness. I am also still breastfeeding, so my once fatty milk now looks like water. My husband's starting thinking it was the MIRENA, because my body must think I'm pregnant again. I am going to the MD tomorrow to talk about have it taken out.
-- By mlsawyer | Reply | (3) replies | Private Message me
October 1th
2007
8:16 AM
When a class action lawsuit is filed, let me know....this drug should be taken of off the market immediately. We started all of this with an OB/GYN that prescribed this “miracle pill” and now have had to go not only to our primary doctor, but also a psychiatrist, gastrenologist, college campus counselors, psychologists, psychiatrist, and the campus medical doctors; All the while, accumulating enormous doctor bills. All the doctors say, "No, Yasmin won't cause those problems" (except the college campus doctors..wonder why? Hmm.. could it be that they are not in private practice?)....well, I beg to differ. Everyone needs to give this website to their doctor so the doctors can hear from the patients that have taken this drug, and not listen to the pharmaceutical companies that are pushing this drug to be the "miracle pill". Maybe if enough people complain and go to the media, we can get rid of this drug!
My daughter who is 18 was put on Yasmin because of irregular periods, hormonal imbalance, etc. We were told it was the new “miracle pill”. It will make you loose weight, regulate your periods, clear up acne, you name it, it will fix it. Yeah, right.
She started taking this pill in March 2007. She was off at college but called to tell me she was experiencing horrible headaches, behind the eyes. She complained about her stomach hurting, but we just figured it was the stress of freshman year at college. Then she said she got where she couldn’t eat when she went to a restaurant. When she came home in May for the summer, I noticed a total personality change. For example, she was always a neat freak, and now she wouldn’t clean her room. The first day when she drove home, she started crying she was so mad about the traffic. Yes, she has always had a little road rage, but this was ridiculous.
By June, not only could she not be in crowds, like at a restaurant, but now she is having full blown panic attacks and IBS. We called the OBGYN and they said, “Yasmin won’t cause this, go see your primary doctor”. I knew that the only thing that had changed with her was taking the YASMINE. I knew it had something to do with all of this so I “Googled Yasmin” and this website (http://www.medications.com/se/yasmin) was the first one I looked at. All of her symptoms matched everyone else’s! I am so glad we found this website, it explained everything and I had her to stop Yasmin immediately.
So we went to the primary doctor, explained about the Yasmin and how we thought it was the culprit of everything. Of course this doctor also says, “Yasmin won’t cause that”. We told him to look it up on the internet and see how there are over 3000 complaints on this drug, more than any of the other drugs on the market.
Besides the emotional problems she starting having, her pulse and blood pressure was sky high, so he puts her on medicine for that, and puts her on an anxiety medicine and sends her to a psychiatrist. She is very thirsty all the time, and develops IBS. She can’t eat without having pains in her stomach. So, now we’ve have gone from having just irregular periods, to all of the above, plus a psychiatrist.
The psychiatrist doubles her medicine (and puts her Pamine for the IBS) because the panic attacks are gone, but she still is having a lot of nervousness, anxiety, can’t sleep at night, crazy thoughts, worrying all the time, etc. A month later he changes her medicine again, to Effexor. The first 2 weeks, she does okay, but the packet doubles the strength after 2 weeks. It takes 4 weeks for it to take full effect. Right after she doubles this medicine, it is like her senses are on hyper-mode. She can taste everything that is in her food (chili powder, seasonings, etc…), taste the metal in water, and she can hear someone’s phone vibrating, in another room.
Then she goes back to college at the end of August 2007, and it’s horrible. The Effexor is having bad, bad side effects. We called the psychiatrist that she was using at home and he doubled the dose. That was the worse thing they could’ve done. The side effects were worse than ever. I had her to immediately go to a psychiatrist on campus. She told him the whole story and he believed her! Needless to say we switched doctors. He then lowered her dose back down to ½ a dose and hopefully can slowly get her off of all this medicine.
The newest thing she has developed is being hypoglycemic. The campus psychiatrist sent her to a campus medical doctor and he told her that they would get to the bottom of this. He tested her for everything under the sun. Low blood sugar is the only thing they found. But, she hasn’t taken the Yasmin since May. No telling what the results would have came back like if it was done at the time she was taking Yasmin.
Thank goodness she has counselors and doctors there at the campus that believes that Yasmin can cause all of these problems, and are working with her. From what I have read from the people that have used this medicine, although most doctors do not agree, Yasmin takes like 6 months to get out of your system. I think I am going to believe the testimonials of the people who take this medicine, over a doctor who prescribes it.
If everyone goes to the media, their doctors, the FDA, congressmen, and make them aware of these horrible effects, surely we can get this drug off of the market! Does anyone know a class action lawyer that would pursue this? For my child to have to go through all of this is ridiculous, not to mention costly. What do we know of the long term effects this drug will have if it is doing all of this when you first start taking it?
If you have the same concerns as me about this drug, and would be interested in looking into a class action lawsuit, please email: ****** I would be interested to see how many would want to pursue this.
June 15th
2007
6:20 AM
I've been taking Januvia for 8 weeks, and have experienced muscle cramps with shock-like pain running down my leg into my heel; upper and lower GI spasms; night sweats with sleep interruption; and I gained 5 pounds in the first 4 weeks which I can't attribute to anything else. I've also taking metformin and glyset for several years, and although I've experienced the night sweats, they've greatly increased in intensity.
-- By judiwein | Reply | (6) replies | Private Message me
April 19th
2007
6:42 PM
i too was leary of these posts. i never knew these sites existed until i began to become concerned about side effects my child was experiencing. i began to research singulair. i read EVERY post on this site and also askapatient.com. i also read every registered singulair complaint on the fda watch report. i was stunned by the vast amount of complaints. in addition, singulair is listed as one of the top 20 worst drugs on the market. i would of never willing given my child a drug that was on the top 20 worst drug list.
the side effects are not always immediate and they also do not effect every person/child or effect every person/child in the same way. luckily, many people get positive results with this drug with no side effects.
my child was on singulair for a long period of time. after one month of discontinuation, the changes were dramatic. this drug was causing harm to my child physically, mentally and emotionally.
knowledge is power...just being aware of the POSSIBLE side effects will allow you to catch any bad effect, sooner rather than later.
a young child has limited ability to relate how a drug makes them feel. parents, drug manufacturers, physicians and the fda, have a responsibility to be that voice.
-- By jjlhoops | Reply | Private Message me
April 14th
2006
8:56 AM
Took this product for about 2 years. Had terrible problems with insomnia, ringing in ears, anxiety during that time. I liked the fact that I had lost about 2 sizes so I was reluctant to stop. When I did, even though I decreased the dosage very slowly, I had terrble withdrawl symptoms. Extreme hostility, agitation, up for days, suicidal thoughts (which I'd never felt before). The doctor had no idea what would help. I called Narcotics Anonymous and was told to drink lots of water, cranberry juice, walk, take hot baths and above all pray. It has been about three weeks now and the worst has passed, but my life was hell for about two of those weeks. I don't believe doctors give you the proper counseling when you get on/off these or any other meds. They are too busy writing prescritions and keeping the drug manufacturers fat and happy!
-- By sariazi | Reply | Private Message me
September 18th
2005
8:31 AM
First I urge everyone who personally has experienced a serious side effect or had a family member such as a child suffer to go to the Food and Drug Administration's website and file a report. I did. It's confidential and it took me only about 10 minutes to complete. The drug manufacturer will claim that all of us reporting side effects never notified them. Doing it through medwatch notifies the FDA and the drug manufacturer.
I am the mom (guest number 13248) who hoped that Singulair was the cause of my daughter's behavioral, emotional and physical problems. It's been one week since we discontinued the medication and all of her symptons are gone. They are actually too long to list here. Her last psychologist said not only did she have adhd but oppositional defiiant disorder and since she was thinking about killing herself we may have to consider hospitalizing her! The emotional toll on myself and my poor daughter has been unbelievable. Two gastroenterologists couldn't account for all her stomach problems. She had a reflux scan, and an upper GI at age 5.
I can't possibly put her all the problems we've had, but once again, I urger everyone to be proactive and file a drug interaction notice with the FDA.
Then, maybe as doctors become aware that the drug causes these problems they may start notifying their patients. Doctors tend to rely on what the drug manufacturers tell them. I think very few doctors actually do any "outside" research on their own. To think how much agony would have been saved had two years ago the first doctor we saw suggested we take her off singulair.
-- By kelly76246 | Reply | Private Message me
Singulair (6) Lipitor (3) Levaquin (2) Mirena (2) Wellbutrin (1) Januvia (1) Zocor (1) Yasmin (1) Metoprolol Succinate ER (1) Simvastatin (1)
August 4th
2009
12:51 PM
statins are poison...bring back oat bran with niacin...the big drug manufacturers killed it...it is more effective than all the statins in the world...the big drug manufacturers are killing us slowly...
-- By jgc711 | Reply | (2) replies | Private Message me