Exacerbation symptoms and conditions

Hi! I am 29 years old and have had asthma since i was young. As i entered high school i had very rare exacerbations but around 4 years back attacks became more frequent. I visited my doctor and he advised me 40mg of Prednisone a day for 5 days (20mg in the morning and 20mg at night). He mentioned that this was safe and no tapering was needed for this short burst. So every time i start having exacerbations i just follow this regimen. I have had no tapering or withdrawal symptoms and i can breath very well even after the Prednisone is off.

Recently, i had an exacerbation as the New Year started. So i started my regimen again on Jan1. But after 5 days, my symptoms were not relieved yet. It seemed like my asthma, triggered by an acute bout of Bronchitis, was worse than before. So i continued this regimen until 12 days. I was taught before that as taking Prednisone approached 2 weeks, it would be wise to taper. So on day 13 - 15, i took 30mg of Prednisone per day (15mg in AM, 15mg in PM). On day 16 - 18, 20 mg per day (10mg in AM, 10mg in PM). On day 19 - 21, 10mg per day (5mg in AM and 5mg in PM). On the 22nd day, i had 5mg once a day only. The next day, i woke up very drowsy, with muscle and joint pains, dizzy and light headed. But i just fought it and went on my day feeling sooo out of it. And at night, i just felt chest tightness. I again had difficulty of breathing unrelieved by around 3 puffs of my inhaler (which was a combination of a long acting bronchodilator and an inhaled corticosteroid) which was also good for acute events of asthma. This provided no relief until i took a total of 15mg of Prednisone again. The next morning, on day24, i felt better. I tool 10mg thinking i could maintain myself on 20mg a day. But as the day progressed, as still had these joint pains and wheezes and difficulty of breathing. So a night i took 20mg again. I started reading on Prednisone and tapering and noted that these symptoms might have been an adrenal crisis, I haven't consulted my physician yet. But am trying to taper myself off decreasing my dose 5mg every 3 days. I hope i can get back when i learn more.

I hope this helped people in some way. Stay healthy everyone!

I am actually crying as I had no idea what was wrong with me. I have been on Lisionopril now for about 5 years at 40 mg/day.
During those five years I have been fatigued, suffered with GERD, dry cough. Of course my doc said to lose weight.
Last month I went on a diet and all hell broke loose. I lost 25 lbs and I don't know if the weight loss released all of those Lisionopril toxins or what but here goes:
Fatique, weakness, arm and leg muscle pain, absolutely no sex drive, rib cage pain, back pain, perceived shortness of breath. Heart palpitations, dry cough with mucus. I have a lump in my throat. It got so bad I went to the ER , they drew labs and my BP was elevated. They added labetalol to the lisinopril. I came across this site and I called my doctor and I told him that I wasn't taking lisinopril anymore. I feel as if I am having a slow death. I cant function, I cant work, I am panicky and nervous.
He said to monitor my pressure with 2x/day with the Labetalol.

I was on the maximum dose and I wonder how long will it take for this poison to leave my body. I can't believe what this medicine is made from. I am more than willing to lose weight and do anything to stop taking these poisons. I would love to hear your experiences. I need all the support that I can get.

I just don't understand the sudden exacerbation of all of the symptoms unless it is the weight loss. But my BP never went down even with the weight loss.

Results: DNA was collected from 252 participants: 69% were white, 26% were African American. Twenty-eight SNPs in the ALOX5, LTA4H, LTC4S, MRP1, and cysLT1R genes, and an ALOX5 repeat polymorphism were successfully typed. There were racial disparities in allele frequencies in 17 SNPs and in the repeat polymorphism. Association analyses were performed in 61 whites. Associations were found between genotypes of SNPs in the ALOX5 (rs2115819) and MRP1 (rs119774) genes and changes in FEV1 (p < 0.05), and between two SNPs in LTC4S (rs730012) and in LTA4H (rs2660845) genes for exacerbation rates. Mutant ALOX5 repeat polymorphism was associated with decreased exacerbation rates. There was strong linkage disequilibrium between ALOX5 SNPs. Associations between ALOX5 haplotypes and risk of exacerbations were found.

Conclusions: Genetic variation in leukotriene pathway candidate genes contributes to variability in montelukast response.

http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/content/full/173/4/379

I am a 37 year old female ~185lbs already under treatment for clinical depression with two medications. I used to take Alavert (loratidine) for seasonal allergies but found it had "stopped working" well for me. Since Zyrtec (certirizine) went over-the-counter, I decided to try it.

I took it sporadically at 10mg daily for a period of 2-3 weeks, and then, during a particularly bad allergic exacerbation, began to take it consistently at 10mg daily. My depression, which was previous well-controlled on medication, worsened to the point of severity. Extreme despair, emotional detachment, and loss of interest in pleasurable activities--well, in ANY activity beyond sleep.

I am a pharmacist, and on a whim, I decided to do some research into interactions with my other medications, and found several anecdotal reports of depression onset and worsening in Zyrtec users. This particular side effect of Zyrtec was unknown to me, nor have I received any educational materials or reports in my trade literature listing depression as a possible adverse effect.

I have discontinued the medication in both myself and my three year old daughter (5mg daily). I can already see a difference in her disposition, and I am starting to crawl out of my pit of gloom. I'm using Alavert again, as I never had one issue with it, and I'm supplementing with Benadryl (diphenhydramine) at night as needed for exacerbations.

P03.16
Idiosyncratic Reaction to Mirena IUS A Cause for Early Removal - Case Report
Sivarajan, S; Aung, SN; Haloob, R
Basildon University Hospital, UK
Background: The discontinuation rate for mirena IUS was around 40%. The common
causes for premature removal were excessive bleeding, spotting, infection and pain.
We all are aware of less systemic effects compared to other progestational agents, We
would like to highlight the importance of exaggerated minerolocorticoid activity in the
form of increased fluid retention and electrolyte changes with spontaneous changes in
weight and generalized edema following mirena IUS which result in early removal.
In our two cases, we highlight the exacerbation of well documented side effects of
progesterone which leads to premature removal of MIRENA IUS.
In my first case,Twenty four hours after insertion of mirena IUS she noticed ankle
swelling, 48 hours later swelling involved the whole lower limb and worse over the
following few days.In addition to heavy vaginal bleeding.At the end of the first week,
she put on weight three quarters of a stone (10.5 lb).Mirena was removed at surgery
after 8 days of insertion and she developed continuous diuresis and profuse sweating
within 24hrs of removal her weight went down by 7lbs.
In the second case ,following mirena IUS insertion Three months later her periods
improved a lot , but she suffered considerable weight gain(7lb) and mood swings. So
she decided to have her mirena removed and opted for Novasure ablation.
Conclusion: Although abdominal pain,peripheral oedema,nervousness are well
documented side effects of Mirena,we couldn’t find in literature of fulminant oedema
and water retention after 24 hours of Mirena insertion. This profound acute side effects
might be due to acute idiosyncratic immune reaction of to progesterone

(extracted from:
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Thank you, Mo, for finding this info on the net!

Claudia

I am a 70 years copd patient. due repeated exacerbation first i took augmenting 650mg along with Prednisolone the next day i had temp i started Levofloxacin + Prednisolone for one week. i had temp soon after i completed the course. then started Doxycycline 100 mg 1st day 200 mg then 100mg per day today is my 4th day. i don't have temp right now. i have to see after completing the course of 5days. i think i should take along with meals to avoid stomach upset.

I have COPD and due to my exacerbations my doctor prescribed prednisone to help eliminate the problem. Each time I have this problem I use prednisone. I take 40mg for 3 days, 30 mg for 3 days , 20mg for 3 days, 10mg for 3 days and 5mg for 3 days This regimen usually works. The two side effect I have noticed by taking predisone is I get severe leg cramps during the night, once, sometimes two times each night. Believe me, it is not fun waking up to leg cramps. I have also gained 15 lbs. probably due to the prednisone. And I must admit that there is a certain amount of irritability on my part when I'm on this drug. This drug was great for me in the beginning but has turned into a living hell since then. I plan to tell my doctor that I will not use this drug and to come up with something better for my COPD problem.

i was given vasotec by mistake instead of my regular vesicare(for bladder issues due to MS). I already have low blood pressure, but developed blurry vision, EXTREME fatigue, and of course hypotension. I thought all of this was an exacerbation of my MS, but now have it figured out. no more vasotec for me!
sara 31

I have been an RN for 11 years. I just want to say that I think many of your childrens problems may not be related to Singulair. Children w/ADHD to begin with will probably experience an exacerbation of their symptoms since allergy meds in general can cause a little "jumpiness." Also, as w/ most allergy meds, you can become shaky and some people who are sensetive to such meds may become anxious.

I think people are too quick to point the finger. Some of these symptoms may just be normal childhood drama. Take your children back to the doctor and have it checked rather than trying to diagnose the problem yourself.

Ive been on singulair for years with no problems. I also in the past had suffered from anxiety. This has done nothing to exacerbate that. I find it to be a great allergy med with far less adverse efffects than over the counter meds like pseudoephedrine. After reading some of these posts it just seems like the blam on Singulair is snowballing just a bit.

Again....get a doctor's opinion. Maybe this med is just not rught for eberybody. Thats why there a whole slew of others to try.

....Just my 2 cents.

I started on IV Solu-medrol this past Monday for an MS exacerbation. I was on it for five days. Yesterday was the fifth day.

I have had trouble sleeping, heart palpatations and today my face is very bloated and all flushed. The biggest thing I feel is that I am really out of it and feel really tired, but can't sleep. I hope these treatments are worth it and slow down the exacerbation. I went from 4 to 14 lesions in six months and have a new one on my brainstem. I am also on copaxone, so that could be causing the heart palpatations too.

After 5 days of Omnicef for exacerbation of acute bronchitis I have to discontinue because of extreme nausea, blood in stool calf muscle pain. Will put this on my drug allergy list with Levaquin.

I've just been through two weeks of inexorable synthetic-hormone hell (the surreptitious diuretic notwithstanding.)

Now, my life was no walk in the park prior to my two week consumption of Yasmin, but thanks to the extremely painful cystic acne break-out and yeast infection with subsequent smarting vulva, alongside exacerbation of my depression and increase in suicidal ideation/social phobia, plus vaginal spotting nearly everyday since my period stopped, I can safely claim all notions of the aforementioned 'park' (and any nearby verdure) have been concreted over with planning permission granted to a pharmaceutical drugs monopoly peddling this toxin to unsuspecting women.

I should have known something was awry when the pill's inaugural admittance to my body was met with a severe bout of vomiting and I have been feeling intermittently nauseous all throughout my course.

I truly believe just this short spell has marred my mental discernment and judgement, I'm sure my partner would concur also, the culmination of this shift in mood being my decision to split with him! I have been feeling so detached and downcast with ever-decreasing interest in sex, and this is some volte-face for a 23 year-old with a former intractable hankering for online pornographic password cracking!

Doctors should not be prescribing this symptomatological timebomb as a 'safe', 'symptom-free', 'good fit' to swathes of the female population undeserving of their first ever panic attack, or to put a slightly less reactionary spin on it: their first ever foray into the searing world of vaginal thrush with an irascible helping of labial discomfort.

When I awoke two days ago with a shooting pain in my buttock, I realised I'd reached the point of no-return! My oestrogen/progesterone limen was reached and I hastily discontinued use. I'm not even sure if the buttock was just waging a sublimated protest or if it's also a pandemic side-effect but when one's gluteus maximus undergoes a paraleptic surge you know it's time to abjure this hormonal cartel.

I must also add, in common with many people who've written here my breasts are also extremely tender and sizeable.

I have promptly stopped taking Yasmin and would implore others to do the same before things escalate. It is regrettable that so many women ply their bodies with these pharmaceutical drugs on a long-term basis solely for the purpose of contraception. I don't think it is a healthy lifestyle choice not least because when you loose your own physical homeostasis and sex drive, vicariously subjecting your body to an unnatural regulatory system it is not a good situation for any relationship. Therefore, the very modus operandi of the pill becomes obsolete anyway.