August 3th
2007
12:12 PM
I've been taking Yasmin since March of 2006... My periods have always been light and short in duration (3 days). In the past few months my periods have been 6-7 days with severe cramping... In addition, my hair started shedding excessively about 2 months ago and I've probably lost at least 1/3 to 1/2 of my scalp hair! My doctor tested me for thyroid problems, but determined that the hair loss was telogen effluvium (caused from stress). I have also been having issues with my stomach being upset and have lost nearly 15 lbs since I first started taking Yasmin. If anyone else has ever experienced hair loss from Yasmin, please let me know. I've read articles that have stated you can lose hair when stopping Yasmin, but I'm wondering if taking it could be causing my hair loss???
-- By christy80 | Reply | (2) replies | Private Message me
July 5th
2007
7:35 PM
I'm 5'8", 180 lbs, 57 years old. My BP has been sneaking up over the last few years ( around 130/80 to 150/90 ) so my physician decided to try the lisinopril after the usual diet and exercise didn't seem to be doing much good. I took it for about 2 1/2 weeks. That was enough for me. The dry raspy throat at night got worse and worse. The last four nights got harder and harder for me to sleep. I would keep waking up choking and hacking and having difficulty getting my breath. I also experienced the intense dreams thing, not weird or anything, just very vivid. For about 4 days after I stopped, my tongue felt swollen and the surface had the same sensation as if I had burned my tongue on some hot soup, kind of dry and coarse feeling. I took my last pill on a Monday morning. That night I was awakened numerous times with the dry, hacking cough. At about 6 AM, Tuesday, I got up and looked up this site and seeing the number of people having similar reactions, I decided not to take the med that morning. That day I left work early due to excessive fatigue. I slept all afternoon and that night with little or no further disturbance. Other than the tongue irritation I mentioned, I had no further problems after discontinuing the med. While taking the med I didn't notice any significant reduction in my BP. It did stop the excessively high readings I was getting ( the 150/90 sort of thing ) but didn't seem to bring it under the 130/80 level. After I discussed the reaction with my physician, he prescribed a different medication. I hope it works better.
-- By scarecrow800 | Reply | Private Message me
June 4th
2007
2:24 PM
I started taking Lisinopril for my bp about 2 1/2 months ago and even though it did lower my bp, I started having strange side-effects. It started out with drowsiness throughout the day, no matter how much sleep I got. And, waking up feeling drowsy even after 8-10 hours of sleep. Then, I started getting strange aches and pains throughout my body, like I was getting over a stomach flu. My asthma also flared up and I started having to use my inhaler for the first time in almost 15 years (usually I just need it after exercise.) The side-effects continued to get worse over the next months with increased fatigue, drowsiness, coughing, anxiety, muscle aches, poor concentration, feeling like my nerves were "shot," headache, weakness, tightness in my lungs, numbness in my hands and feet, and just plain feeling bad.
I made an appointment to see my doctor because I thought there was something seriously wrong with me. It crossed my mind that I might be feeling this way because of the Lisinopril. I stumbled across this website and after reading everyone's testimonials, I decided to stop the Lisinopril. I haven't taken it in 3 1/2 days, and I am already feeling much better. I would rather try a more holistic approach to lowering my bp then taking Lisinopril.
I hope this helps someone else out there who might be going through the same thing.
May 16th
2007
7:56 AM
I have been on Toprol 25 mg for almost a year for heart palpitations. I has worked for the palpitations, but the side effects have been a challenge. I have gained about 20 pounds, have the vivid nightmares, lack of energy, etc. One thing that I have noticed recently is the increased severity of allergies and difficulty breathing. Anyone else experiencing this?
-- By drfnc | Reply | (7) replies | Private Message me
May 11th
2007
11:00 AM
My hair was falling out excessively about 2 years ago and my derm gave me about 10 kenalog shots in my scalp every month for 6 months and it helped me alot. He explained to me that it is a very weak and diluted version of kenalog and that I shouldn't have any side effects and so far i haven't. My hair loss has started again (comes up from time to time) and I have gone back to my derm to receive the shots. I think if you receive the shots, but experience bad side effects, maybe asking for a much lighter dosage would help.
-- By rosi1982 | Reply | Private Message me
March 23th
2007
2:33 AM
The day after I put in my nuvaring, I got a sore throat which felt like strep, then a fever of 102.6, chills and flu-like pains. I could barely get out of bed to take care of my two month old. The next day I was severely moody, excessively hungry, the sore throat went away, but I got a runny nose, chest congestion, and head congestion as well. I couldn't be up and moving for more than 15 minutes before I fell back into bed again. The next day I felt like I had a head/chest cold and same with yesterday. My fever went down to about 100.5, but my nose would not stop running, my ears were hurting, my head was pounding, and I had stuff in my lungs that I couldn't cough up. I looked up side effects and saw that 5-14% of women get an upper respiratory tract infection, sore throat, fever and chills. I took the ring out and by the time I woke up, my head was not congested anymore and whatever is in my chest I'm having an easier time coughing up. My fever has finally gone down and I feel a lot better then I have for a majority of the week.
-- By slpalumbo | Reply | Private Message me
December 29th
2006
7:30 PM
SARAH: syberlib, #35391
HOW DID YOU KNOW YOU HAD A MINI-STROKE? WHAT WERE YOUR SYMPTOMS PRIOR, DURING AND FOLLOWING? Were you diagnosed and if so what were the tests they conducted?
I feel so sorry that you were on this pill since it came out. 2001 is when it was approved in the U.S. and now it is being sold like crazy-heavily advertised.
I started Yasmin in January 2004. I went off in September 2006 so I was on it for 2.5 years. It was originally prescribed for me for anxiety interestingly enough because so many women here reported problems with anxiety while on it and then getting off of it.
I got off following 4 months of increasing chest pain. Started on the left side and then a month later, traveled across my chest and another month later primarily on my left side. This occurred usually the week just prior to my menstrual cycle so I expect that it has something to do with the hormone level changes just prior to the menses.
While on Yasmin, it made me so exhausted, I would shower and feel ready to go right back to bed. The Doctor recommended I take it at night so I did and it made getting up in the morning that much more difficult.
I went to the bathroom excessively due to the diuretic in Yasmin. no matter how much water I consumed, I constantly felt de-hydrated.
I had incredible fatigue while on Yasmin. My ears stopped up to the point of being painful and noticed right after I would take it that my ears would "pop" like they do on an airplane. This would last for 1-2 hours following taking it. I saw a hearing doc who told me that they've known for years that Ortho-contraceptives are odo-toxic meaning that they are toxic to the fluid levels of the inner ear. The inner ear consists of potassium and sodium fluid, so due to this pill's naturally increasing potassium levels, it made sense although a pharmacist, the prescribing Doctor and RN I saw to have an EKG done did not know this.
I've been off now for 3 plus months. However, to ease symptoms, I went onto Orthocept from September through December. Although some of the symptoms got better, the chest pains still continued to come the week before my period. What I want to know is how one knows if they are suceptible to a heart attack or stroke. The RN told me the EKG was normal but confirmed a returning heart murmur I had had years prior. When I was originally told I had this murmur back in 1999, a Naturopathic doctor said it was due to having low progesterone and said that it would likely go away on something like Orthocept. It did. However, after 2.5 years on Yasmin, it came back.
FOR EVERYONE WHO HAS POSTED OR IS NOT POSTING ON THIS SITE-I HIGHLY RECOMMEND KEVIN TRUDEAU'S BOOK ON NATURAL CURES. I'VE BEEN READING SECTIONS OF THIS FOR MONTHS UNTIL MY BROTHER GAVE IT TO ME FOR MY BIRTHDAY THIS MONTH. HE BASICALLY TAKES THE POSITION THAT ALL PRESCRIPTION DRUGS AS WELL AS NON-PRESCRIPTION CAUSE ILLNESS. DEPRESSION. ANXIETY. YEAST INFECTIONS. FATIGUE. MUSCLE SOARNESS. YOU NAME IT. EVERYTHING I'VE READ TO DATE I'VE KNOWN AT AN INTUITIVE LEVEL. THAT BASICALLY, MUCH TO ALL OF SCIENTIFIC MEDICINE-THAT IS PRESCRIPTION AND NON-PRESCRIPTION TREATS SYMPTOMS AND NOT NOT CAUSE AND CREATES AN IMBALANCE IN HEALTH THAT LEADS TO OTHER HEALTH PROBLEMS. I THINK THAT THIS IS BASICALLY TRUE AND I WOULD HEED WARNING TO ALL WOMEN SEEKING RELIEF FROM ANTI-DEPRESSANTS OR ANTI-ANXIETY MEDS. THEY ARE DEADLY.
IN ADDITION-EVERY WOMAN I KNOW HAS INCREASED ENERGY AND IRRITABILITY JUST PRIOR TO HER PERIOD. IT IS A NORMAL RESPONSE TO THE CHANGE IN HORMONE LEVELS IN YOUR BODY DURING THIS TIME. I USUALLY FIND THAT INCREASING ACTIVITY LEVEL, LOTS OF EXERCISE, AVOIDING CAFFEINE AND SUGAR ARE CRITICAL AND RELIEVE MOST TO ALL OF THESE SYMPTOMS.
The other thing I would like to mention is that sensations of feeling "blue" or "sad" are just as normal as feelings of bliss and happiness. We're raised to think that we are supposed to be these jolly all smile faces and if you aren't' "happy", that something is wrong. So, I'd just say, that while some diagnosis about imbalances may be very real, I'd recommend doing alot of reading and research prior to putting anything else into your body or taking any other medications. They all likely cause other problems.
I am, after all this time, quite disturbed by this and what I expect are millions of other responses by people taking an array of medications that cause such severe symptoms and sometimes death. After 6 years on the market, how its still being pushed so heavily. If you read Kevin Trudeau's book, you'll see that much of the pharmaceutical and medical industry isn't concerned with treating the cause of your symptoms, but instead recommending medication after medication to treat the symptom.
Exercise and stress relief as critical as a healthy diet which today has become more and more difficult to create and make a discipline with lifestyle but it is absolutely critical. All these pills, I believe are wreaking havoc and hell on people all over the world.
-- By jpisano | Reply | Private Message me
November 12th
2006
12:12 AM
Since I have begun Sinulair, I have noticed improvement of my chronic nasal allergy symptoms. For the first time in YEARS, the congestion is finally lessening. However, I have noticed that I'm hyper all the time now. Where I have had sleep issues in the past, they have only been excacerbated by this medication. Has anyone else noticed this effect? I have tried to research it further, but I don't have access to a Physician's Desk Reference. The web isn't giving me the entire list of known side effects. I have only seen the vomiting, diarrhea or headache listed, but have yet to see something regarding insomnia and hyperactivity.
-- By morrigan1017 | Reply | (2) replies | Private Message me
September 26th
2006
1:10 PM
Oh My Gosh...I'm in tears reading through everyone's posts on this forum. I started taking Yasmin 3 months ago and noticed small changes in my state of mind within the first few weeks. I think you can always expect this when changing pills so reassured myself I would get better. BUT...about 10 days ago, I experienced the onset of depression and anxiety...neither of which I have ever suffered from before...I feel completely detached from life..I'm not necessarily always sad, I'm just completely indifferent to everything and everyone...I feel like I'm being pushed through one day to the next but for absolutely no reason...I feel numb and don't know how I'm going to fill my time... One minute, I feel so blank that I have no emotion about anything...the next minute, I'm crying over the silliest things. I too had the awful feeling that my relationship with my husband was wrong because I felt no better when around him and this made me worry even more. In my more rational moments, I realise that my feelings towards him haven't really changed at all as I do still love him, but that disappears as soon as I am on a low...when I am in that state of mind, I just want someone who has been through this to give me a big hug and tell me it gets better. I have also experienced chest pains, muscle spasms (in my arms and eyelids) and am currently being monitored for my excessively high blood pressure (also something I had never had trouble with before Yasmin) I am in the process of sorting out some counselling for myself but will also stop taking Yasmin as from now. I know that my state of mind could be due to something deeper, but nothing changed in my life to trigger this except Yasmin. Having read everyone else's posts about Yasmin, I am going to come off it so I can rule it out of the equation..maybe it isn't really to blame, but it's a big coincidence if not.
Good luck everyone...I'd love to hear from anyone who can relate to what I have written...
Claire. Leeds. England.
-- By clairey | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me
September 23th
2006
4:00 AM
as an ent doctor with 36 years of apppling cresylate to infected ears i can tell you that the product is unsurpassed in treatment of fungal external ear problems. some stinging is common if the ear is badly infected. very severe pain usually incicates a perforation of the ear drum, especially if the pain is felt down into the neck area. it only takes a couple of applications to do the job and if it is used excessively it is very caustic to the ear and , as noted in the other posts, to the skin surrounding the ear. take care with this very potent drug.
-- By willkaustin | Reply | Private Message me
September 18th
2006
5:27 PM
I have heart palpitations and was shocked back into sinus rhythmn via a cardio-vert procedure. I have been in regular rhythmn for over a year. However during this time my moods have become excessively black, my sleep has been irregular, and I can nod off at a moment's notice. During this time I have had lapses in short term memory and have suffered from bouts of bad judgement which I have never suffered from before in my life.
My cardio suggests keeping me on these but I feel I must get off of the medication. I have been off for up to three days and have found that my outlook and vitality has improved greatly.
-- By pvwedding | Reply | Private Message me
August 7th
2006
5:41 PM
I have been on Yasmin for about 3 years now (possibly longer). In the past year or so, my skin has become EXCESSIVELY oily. I mean - it's disgusting! I have tried every cleanser/astringent/medication possible but to no avail. I eat a healthy and balanced diet and drink plenty of water. The only thing I can think of is that it's the Yasmin that is causing it. Has anyone else had this problem? Could this be the cause of my overly oily skin? I mean, 20 minutes after I cleanse it will literally be dripping with oil - enough so that I can scrape it off under my nail and it will just be liquid oil. It's gross and very embarassing. I'm 24 years old and can't think of any other causes.
-- By princess6828 | Reply | Private Message me
June 26th
2006
9:50 AM
I was prescribed Yasmin almost 4 years ago after complaining to my Gyn about side effects of all the other pills i'd tried in the past (and the Depo shot, which was awful). She said women who have trouble with other ones, sometimes do well on Yasmin. For a couple years, I loved this pill, and experienced only one side-effect: loss of body hair (I was excessively hairy and this was a plus for me). However, over the past couple years, I have gained some weight and have developed some other issues. I'm not sure if they're all attributed to Yasmin, but here they are: extreme motion sickness and dizzyness, heart palpitations, periods of shortness of breath, intolerance for fatty foods, trouble sleeping and once when i started taking glucosamine for my joints (I'm a runner) I developed severe leg and muscle cramps and extreme thirst... perhaps messed up potassium levels? I'm curious if anyone else has had these problems, especially the motion sickness, which has become a serious problem for me.
-- By julia114 | Reply | Private Message me
April 13th
2006
8:00 AM
I am 32 years old and I have gained several pounds despite always maintaining my body weight weight through diet and daily exericise. My skin has also begun to mysteriously break out with acne that is causing scars on my chin. I also noticed that my hair was thinning and coming out in the shower excessively. This all began over the last year since I have been on the Advair.
Before I found this site, I thought I was having a thyroid problem and I asked my doctor to draw some blood, but it came back normal. I also began seeing a dermatololgist to correct the sudden acne problems. I was very curious to find out if the weight gain will be permanent. It has affected my mental health in a very serious way. I have stopped the Advair cold turkey. Is that a bad thing to do?
-Lia
-- By indianheadranch | Reply | Private Message me
March 30th
2006
4:16 PM
My son was 4 when he started singulair chewable tablets for children for his allergies (winter and spring) he took it for 2 months and then we started noticing that he started to stutter/ stammer. His sppech was not like before. He would also make facial expressions like he is trying to force the words out with his eyes looking up. He also became excessively sensitive and emotional. He would cry over anything. He appeared depressed. Then I decided to look into his medication. I looked at a few websites and found other parents had complained about similar side effects - then one smart parent noted that singulair chewable tablets for kids contained large doses of ASPARTAME ! It was clearly labeled on the medication by Merck but to my shock it meant that I was giving my son with each tablet the equivalent of 5 cans of diet coke worth of aspartame ! Turns out aspartame is one of of the most horrendous things to anyone. If you visit websites about the subject you will be shocked at what the popular diet soda sweetner causes. Apparently it was the culprit. I took him off the medication immediately and his speech became normal within a couple of weeks. The same smart parent noted in her posting that she/he had given their child a split adult dose of singulair - since IT DOES NOT CONTAIN ASPARTAME ! apparently they put it in the children dose as a sweetner since it is chewable.... may be worth a try since the medication was very effective with the allergy symptoms - but for me I am gonna have to try to find an alternative...
-- By mhsalam | Reply | Private Message me
March 15th
2006
9:16 AM
I took it for over 7 years. I would get up during the night several times and eat excessively to the point of #30 lbs wt gain. I acted drunk, slurred speech, was incoherent, etc and never knew it according to family. I was extremely tired during the day and ended up with chronic fatigue, restless leg syndrome and fibromyalgia. I felt drugged during the day and even though I thought i was sleeping at night I was actually up most of the night sleepwalking, and doing things I never realized i did till I was told later.
-- By chords | Reply | Private Message me
October 19th
2005
6:02 AM
I have been taking Toprol XL 25 mg for 3 months. I am excessively fatigued, have gained 15 lbs., have swelling in legs and ankles, decreased (almost non-existent) libido and no energy at all. I'm 49 yrs old and and was prescribed Toprol XL for tachycardia by my family doctor. He doesn't want to listen to complaints of side effects. Says my dosage is not high enough to cause these problems. I have to get off this stuff! It's ruining my life!
-- By caroljean56 | Reply | Private Message me
October 7th
2005
3:20 AM
Hiya. I was on prednisolone for 8 months 40mg a day. I have been of the steroids for a month now and cnt beliveve how much weight i have piled on. I don't eat excessively but have put on a stone and half since taking this horrible drug and it wnt shift regardless of excercise and healthy eating. I'm defo going to try some of your suggestions, hopefully the moon face and swelling may satrt to decrease. Fingers crossed eh!!
-- By rebecca.lake | Reply | Private Message me
September 5th
2005
5:08 PM
After taking Singulair for about a month my nine year old son started blinking/squinting excessively. He told me that it made his eyes feel better because they were "tight" or dry. Also he started a small clearing of his throat which was quite irritating. Has anyone else seen anything like this?
-- By auswes | Reply | Private Message me
July 9th
2005
5:46 PM
my 16 and a half year old son was put on this medication because of his temper; however he sleeps excessively, does not have a problem with libido and is still as angry as he was before being put on this medication. His diagnosis had something to do with his oppositional attitude?? But isn't that fairly normal as well as common for a teenager who does not always get his way?? My ex husband had him put on this medication so that he would be easier to deal with. I want to get my son off of this drug. He is still taking wellbutrin which I dont believe has the same adverse long term affects. What do you think?? A concerned mom
-- By shelley120 | Reply | Private Message me
May 18th
2005
2:44 PM
Thank you all for your experiences about the side effects of Yasmin. I have been taking the pill for 5 months now and changed from a happy, chilled, enjoying life type of person to the bitch from hell, crying excessively at the drop of a hat for no real reason and constantly loosing the plot and taking everything out of proportion. I have been extremely negative when I have always been positive and now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have previously tried over 10 different types of pill and never been happy with any them due to weight gain, eczema, acne etc but the doctor recommended Yasmin and said that this one had very limited side effects. How wrong was he?? I was totally stressed all the time, gave my boyfriend a hard time about everything/anything/nothing was short with my work colleagues and distanced myself from my friends. Reading all of your stories has really changed everything. I thought it was me and it isn't. My boyfriend read your experiences and understood why I cried so much with relief when I read them and he understood what has been happening the last few months. Today I have taken my last pill. I was considering trying another but I would like to be myself rather than pump hormones into my body and never quite know if it was really me or the pill. Now I shall investigate alternatives more seriously and look after No. 1.
-- By lea-17 | Reply | Private Message me
January 25th
2005
6:37 PM
weiht gain, depression, frustration, bad moods, mood swings, edgy, excessively emotional
-- By malz_palz99 | Reply | Private Message me
January 25th
2005
6:12 AM
I have been on Advair since 2001 and it has been the miracle drug. I used to have to do nebs twice a day and was using my rescue inhaler constantly. When I would get a cold for flu I would end up in the hospital and would have to take steriods for a couple of weeks.
A couple of weeks ago, I began having heart palpatations. I went to my internal medicine doctor and she ran many tests to exclude any underlying heart problem. All tests came back normal except for the fact that I was running PVCs. At first, the doctor didn't want me to go off the Advair. I mentioned getting off of it and taking Singulair and she was fine with it, but wanted me to consult with my pulmonoloigst. After speaking with him, he decided that we could try taking me off the Advair.
It has been a week and I feel pretty good. I have used my rescue inhaler, but not excessively and I have not had to do any breathing treatments.
There are a couple things that I have noticed the most since I have stopped Advair - my knees are not hurting going up and down stairs and I am starting to feel as if I am not so swollen. I have also gained about 20 pounds since I started taking Advair.
Hopefully everything will work out.
I would be interested to know if anyone that has gone off Advair has actually lost weight?
-- By mmccrory | Reply | Private Message me
October 12th
2004
10:30 AM
While using doxycycline I kept an excessively dry mouth and therefore drank plenty of liquids. After one year of continued usage for acne, I developed a stone on my wheaton duct (just underneath my tongue) and an infected submaxillary gland. Underwent surgery for removal of both. I feel that the dry mouth caused this problem. Needless to say, I stopped taking doxycycline.
-- By thomasg700 | Reply | Private Message me
Yasmin (8) Singulair (3) Toprol-XL (3) Advair HFA (2) Lisinopril (2) Doxycycline Hyclate (1) NuvaRing (1) Kenalog (1) PredniSONE (1) Flexeril (1) Guaifenex (1) Risperdal (1) Ambien (1) Cresylate (1)
November 23th
2007
7:57 AM
Took a few tablets over a few days. Slept excessively. Extremely Mental Grogginess for a few weeks. Went Back to the Doctor & Explained the negative effects. He said, "That feeling of stupidity you had, some people don't come out of it. We don't prescribe it anymore." I feel it took about 6 months to regain sharp memory & mental abilities. I was prescribed Flexeril for cronic muscle ache & spasms. It did ease my back spasms & aches, but not worth it due to the side effects.
-- By turtlenick | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me