July 26th
2008
2:13 AM
I took this medication as a malarial prevention whilst traveling through India.
Never EVER again. My boyfriend had suffered from depression in the past and we had heard bad things about Larium in relation to anxiety and insomnia so we specifically asked our doctor for the malarial tablets with the least amount of side effects associated with that kind of stuff. He reassured us that there was no record of Doxcycline ever having caused those sorts of effects.
So off we went- we followed the instructions exactly and began our trip.
A week or so into India I began to notice shortness of breath and stomach pain- I put it down to typical India travelers upset and thought no more about it. A bit later I began to suffer moments of anxiety that were really out of character ( I've never suffered from anxiety or depression). I'm very well traveled ( I work in the travel industry and have traveled extensively in the Americas, Africa, Australasia and se Asia) and so although this was my first trip to India- i knew my anxiety had nothing to do with India itself. ( people kept telling me this but I loved India)
It came to a head on a overnight bus from Goa to Hampi- I was feeling really anxious, sweating and clammy, I couldn't sleep and my breathing was really tight. Eventually I had a full blown panic attack that was almost like a out of body experience- I couldn't see and I couldn't breath. The whole bus had to stop ( embarrassing!) at 3am in the morning. Eventually I managed to get back on and make it to the next town ( although not as far as Hampi) so we could take stock.
I was petrified and had no idea whatsoever what was going on. It never occurred to me it could be the malaria tablets as we had been so clear and our doctor so confident they didn't have these kinds of side effects.
I was worried about being on buses, trains even planes again since I didn't know what caused the attacks and I was terrified another one would happen. I had no valium or any other sort of thing that might have helped. In the end we had to cut our trip short and make it back to Mumbai - In Mumbai I suffered from another two panic attacks- one where I could see the walls closing in in our cheap hotel room. Shortness of breath, tightness all through my body, hysteria, blurry vision - it was awful! And also this ongoing pain and upset in my stomach.
I ended up cutting short a RTW trip that my boyfriend and I had been saving for for over a year and coming home to Australia 2 months early.
It was devastating and I still had no idea what was causing it. Finally a friend said her doctor had mentioned sleeplessness and anxiety as a rare side effect of this drug when she was taking it for some problems to do with vaginal bleeding and spotting. I started searching on the internet and was amazed to find loads of sights with people experiencing heaps of the side effects that I'd been told were never a problem with this drug!
Obviously Malaria is really serious but if I had been properly informed I could have made the decision to come off the drugs and look at alternate medication. For now - Im taking the risk of no malaria tablets at all for my next couple of trips (to Borneo- so not a major risk anyway) and will actually research much harder before taking anything again!
March 4th
2008
8:50 AM
WARNING be aware of H.I.T.
IF YOU ARE ON CLEXANE PLEASE MAKE SURE THE DOCTORS CHECK YOUR PLATELET LEVELS BEFORE STARTING THIS DRUG.DO NOT BE AFRAID OF ASKING AS THIS IS STATED IN GUIDELINES.
THE GUIDELINES SUGGEST IF YOUR PLATELET COUNT FALLS 50% FROM WHAT IT WAS BEFORE YOU STARTED THE TREATMENT THEN H.I.T. SHOULD BE SUSPECTED AND ALL FORMS OF HEPARIN SHOULD BE DISCONTINUED AND AN ALTERNATIVE ANTICOAGULANT BE USED.
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT; PLEASE DO NOT TRUST YOUR DOCTOR TO AUTOMATICALLY DO THESE TESTS. WE TRUSTED MY GRANDMOTHERS DOCTORS, THEY DID PART OF THE TESTS BUT FAILED TO ACT ON THE RESULTS!!!!!
My grandmother died from heparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT).
This is an adverse reaction to the drug Clexane. Guidelines suggest platelet count should be monitored, unfortunately the hospital Doctors did not monitor her blood whilst she was on this drug. A 50% fall in platelet count should have alerted Doctors to act on their findings and discontinue the drug, instead they carried on giving it to her for a further 6 days. Her symptoms were as follows;
itchy
drowsy
bruises
nausea
vomiting
diarrhea
Because her reaction to Clexane had gone unnoticed she was still being given this drug her symptoms became worse they were as follows;
Black bruises (necrosis)
gastrointestinal haemorrhage
spontaneous bruising
slurred speech
confusion
falling platelet count
When the Doctors discovered the internal bleeding they stopped the Clexane but did not offer her an alternative anticoagulant and her symptoms after this were as follows;
Deep vein thrombosis, arterial thrombosis, she was still hemorrhaging, her platelets fell to 5 and her HB fell to 6.9 INR was normal.
She was transfused with platelets and red blood cells and then died. (Clexane heparin induced thrombocytopenia) is on her death certificate AFTER A FOUR YEAR BATTLE FOR AN INQUEST INTO HER DEATH! My research has led me to believe that most Doctors believe HIT is very rare and they don't bother to check for this condition, if the doctors had checked her blood test and realized a sudden 50% fall in her platelet level was more significant than the actual platelet count itself , then she would not have died.The 50% drop was a serious side effect of this drug.
PLEASE ASK YOUR DR TO CHECK AND TELL HIM/HER TO CHECK IF YOU HAVE GOT BETWEEN 30-50% DROP IN PLATELETS THEN MAKE SURE YOUR DOCTOR KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING.
Jill (Lancashre UK)
-- By jillorrell | Reply | (3) replies | Private Message me
July 7th
2005
8:50 PM
After 3 weeks of taking tapazloe I developed Very severe joint pain. It felt like I was paralized. Then after 2 days it would attach a different joint. Scarest thing I ever had to experience and I have had 2 children via c section. Worst part is that the dr said that it wasn't the meds so I continued taking them!
-- By gshopkins | Reply | (4) replies | Private Message me
November 2th
2009
8:41 AM
I am having Mirena removed today at 1:30 pm. I guess i hopped online just now to reassure myself to go through with it and not to wimp out if the doctor suggests (again) that i try to keep it. I got it inserted Dec 15th last year and have bled just about every day it seems since then. It hurt like hell when i got it. I took 3 days off work. I sweat thru a sweater and jeans on my way home from the appointment. I felt like i was going to die curled up at home by myself. Nobody believed me. I have had the worst attitude and mood swings. I am 29 years old, and don't have kids. I have never had acne in my life and have subscribed to ProActive since having Mirena. One time my chest, arms, upper back and shoulders broke out in small red bumps like i was diseased. I was not using any different perfumes or lotions etc. It went away in about a wk but i will bet it had something to do with my Mirena after reading these other posts. Once i was driving and my right foot cramped so bad i had to pull over and relax it to get home. I have not had regular bowel movements since Mirena. I swear to you- its like peristalsis stopped working on me. I always have to have help. Ive been through countless jars of Fleet suppositories and fiber supplements. And i have been on a constant detox type diet full of fiber foods to help move. I recently took my first trip to Europe. I was very worried because i had started to feel hot flashes 2 weeks prior! Hot flashes! Did i tell you im 29? It was a chilly day in October and i wanted to stip down to my undies in the AAA Travel office. I may have had a couple yeast infections in my life (in college) before Mirena. Since Mirena i have had one every couple weeks. Ive had odor out of this world when i never used to. Nothing over the counter ever worked. The doc actually tested me and found nothing abnormal about my swabs. She gave me a handful of the Diflucan pills. (Why give me that if i have nothing abnormal). I read up on vaginal health and flora. I bought the plain yogurt with probiotics etc. I started using tampons dipped in yogurt to calm things down there. Thats the only thing that felt good (but now 100%). My friends started to joke and call me Fruit on the Bottom (like Yoplait- lol). My area down there was sensitive to the touch and in pain at one point. It actually swelled up and looked super crazy one time and went back to the doctor. She again said she found nothing wrong. I asked for removal because that episode actually scared the crap out of me. My underwear even hurt. The blood and discharge burned. It was like my fluids were toxic to me. She didnt seem to believe me! She gave me 2 estrogen patches. Said to use one for the first week, remove and replace with the second one the second week. I did this and the bleeding stopped. I went for a follow up appt and she said ok- the bleeding stopped, you are ok now. The next day- you guessed it! I started bleeding again. I have been a pretty fit chick (even though im curvy/plus sized) and i pay attn to what i eat. At one point i stopped exercising and would eat anything not nailed down! I would be halfway thru a meal and plotting on what to eat next! I consulted a nutritionist and started losing the 23lbs i picked up from my Mirena binge. I have 3 friends who got Mirena and loved it. Its why i got it in the first place- because i was having abnormal periods and wanted to get it regulated. This has been a learning experience for me. I look forward to being myself again. The birth control part of Mirena is that ive been such a damned dragon that no man wants to come within 10 feet of me. LOL! And even if he wanted to I don't know what kinda mood Miss Vagina would be in that day so i don't risk the bad experience. I am going back to Orth Tri Cyclen. I never ever ever had a bad day with it. It wasn't broke so i never should have tried to fix it. I hope some of this stuff helps you. Im definitely going to my appointment to rid my body of this enemy.
Imagine me as King Leonidas on The 300 kicking Mirena into the dark pit of no return. This is Sparta!!!! :) Make your removal appt today. Im changing doctors after this also. Take care of yourself ladies!
D.
-- By curvyspice | Reply | (2) replies | Private Message me