Fog symptoms and conditions

Heres my Levaquin horror story:

In hospital for bowel obstruct. Took LevaQ. at home. 1/2 way through I noticed I wasn't feeling any better but worse while recovering. Starting sleeping for 3 hr intervals, while up I would feel as if I wanted to jump out of my skin. Calf pain. Dizziness. Intermittent instenseTingling around mouth and face. Called my MD.
I was put back in hospital due to a platelet count of 'one million'. My MD who is wonderful, consulted with others, even an oncologist. I refused a bone marrow aspiration, so they came up with a game plan -- possible reaction to the Levaquin???? So... 'flush out the Levaquin'. With each day of continuous mass flushing of IV fluids....my platelets decreased daily.
3 years later...I getting intermittent tingling, flu like symptoms, dizziness, heart palpitations, extreme fatigue-------------still looking for answers to my illness. Just had more blood work - lymphocytic profile was drawn, waiting on results. Definitely am anemic, chronic slight rise in liver enzymes with last sed rate and wbc count in norm range.

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 have been taking the generic form of Wellbutrin (social anxiety with a touch of ADHD) for just over six months and as much as I hate to admit it, I believe that the bad is finally, convincingly, outweighing the good.
The good things that came along with 150mg of the SR every morning at 11:00: Weight loss (but only after an initial one month period of eating every form or carbohydrate I could find), it seems to brighten the whites of my otherwise cloudy eyes, helped me maintain conversations with people that I would have normally cut off early, and possibly--but only possibly--helps me focus (although the hyper focus that I used to get via the ADHD is gone. Completely. Non-existent.)
Which brings me to the bad: This goes against most of what I've read other people experience on Wellbutrin but lethargy has set in. And it feels like it's here to stay. It's not really a sedated lethargy but more of a false contentment that everything is just fine the way it is. No progression, no improvement, and looking to the future is almost impossible through the fog. I too, during the first two or three weeks, had the speedy, productive reaction to the medication. But that has subsided. Next, hair loss has become a concern. I'm in my thirties and it could be just how it goes but I truly doubt it. Mild constipation may seem bearable but I miss regularity more than I have time to describe. Ringing in the ears. Impaired memory. Confusion. Forgetfulness to a fault. Mild hives on the back. Irritability. A marked shortness of breath. After one month on Wellbutrin, I could barely run a mile on the treadmill when I've been accustomed to flying through three to five with ease. I feel weak, vulnerable even. Working out has therefore fallen to the wayside. And last, but probably the worst, this medication has seemed to cultivate a serious craving for other drugs. I can't explain it but I can't take it anymore either.
Like most people on a medication, I have read numerous posts and some people share some of my concerns but mostly, it seems that the people who report in are the speedy folks on day two or week two. That is, in my opinion, only a bit helpful, since these effects are usually short-lived. Wellbutrin started out with promise but while parts of me look into the mirror and see an improvement, underneath it all, I know that it is purely a nicely dressed form of prescribed avoidance.
I haven't posted this to discourage anyone. If it works for you--great. Really. But I also haven't read anyone's experience that matched my own so I figured it might help someone who is going through any of the same. Good luck.

Hi I am 45 an been taking 5mg Lisinopril daily for the last 5 years, I am also a very active racing cyclist. Over the last 12 months I have seen my performances drop by 50% and I am so tired all the time, I also feel short of breath, been to docs he ran all the normal tests, nothing showed up, also,I now get terrible headache above my right eye whenever try any exercise. Watch out for grapefruit, it must react with the meds, my throat swelled up almost closed, horrible experience, I now ger blurred vision and muscle weakness. Not on, I have taken myself off the meds to see if things get back to normal, I will be able to monitor the situation based on my cycling performance results and will report back.

Earlier this summer, I developed a case of shingles. It went away, but about a week ago a similar rash broke out. I thought that it was a second bout of shingles, but my doctor assured me that it would be impossible to contract the disease on different parts of my body. Because I am not home with my ordinary doctor, I had to see another doctor, who was unsure of what the rash could be, but nevertheless prescribed with with 50mg of Prednisone daily. I took my first dose today, and am reluctant to continue. I don't want to be a victim of any of the side effects, but am unsure as to whether there is another way to go about getting rid of the rash. Any advice that could be given so as to not have to continue with the Prednisone would be great. I don't want the rapid weight gain, depression, mood swings, etc.

I had my Mirena put in on 9/11/08 last Thursday. I got it done on the recommendation of two of my co-workers that recently got theirs a few months ago. I had been having stomach problems, found out I have food allergies and than suddenly couldn't stomach my birth control that I had been taking for several years. Mirena seemed to be the answer. I had it put in on Thursday which hurt like hell. I was a little sore Friday and only spotting from my 2nd day on my period. By Saturday I was very sore and felt nauseous. By Sunday I was bleeding heavily, nauseous and had migraine headaches. By Monday I couldn't keep water down and had the worst headache. I called the doctor and she told me that the side effects were normal and I needed to give it time. I had read these post from Saturday and was getting worried. On Tuesday I couldn't even lift my head off the pillow. I woke up with my hands in a cramped position and couldn't feel them or my feet. I had tingling and numbness in my hands, feet and lips. I called my regular doctor who got me in right away. I had to be rolled in a wheelchair to his office because I couldn't even walk. I throw up about 4 times on the way down to hall to his office also (thankfully they had trash cans along the way). He immediately took the Mirena out and I got feeling in my hands and feet about 10 minutes later.

I was finally able to go back to work today after being out sick. I still have a dull pain on my right side around my ovaries and my stomach is very tender. I have felt like I was in a fog all day today and still a little sick to my stomach. I hope these symptoms wear off soon.

This is my second IVF cycle and tomorrow I go for the first ultrasound to be sure everything is suppressed. However, last time I went for this Ultrasound I had my period and they said that was a good thing and if I didn't get it it would be an issue.... well this time I don't have it! what does that mean???
and yes!!! I also have a lot of these side effects I've read on this page after starting the lupron.
I feel like I'm in a fog.... unable to remember / concentrate
I feel a little crazy =) lol. I'm certainly not myself at all. irritable
I also wake up in the night with terrible thoughts unable to sleep.
Fatigue... barely able to make it through the whole day sometimes.
I've gained incredible weight!!!! It's uncomfortable.
but I'm hoping that the outcome will bring us our child =)
That's worth it all to me =)

Hi everyone, just wanted to update you on my state ( please see my post on the 9th September). I stopped taking Yasmin on Monday after only 6 days, on Tuesday heavy bleeding started. Today is Thursday and the bleeding has gone down. However, my head is still in the fog and I had a very bad headache all night. I was supposed to go back to work today but I am not sure if I can get through the day and deal with my work. I went to a health shop yesterday and got lots natural supplement: fish oil, primrose oil to help restore my hormonal balance, ginseng to bring my energy back and I just hope I will get better soon. By the way, just spoke to a doctor who prescribed it to me, he was very surprised that I reacted so badly as he said that this was "the most common pill prescribed on the planet and the lightest one available on the market". But he said it should be out of my system in several days. I hope so and just can't wait to become "normal" again. I still can't walk properly as I feel dizzy and out of place. Does anyone know when the side effects will disappear? I've only been taking it for 6 days and it turned my life upside down.

I am happy I found this website to express my concerns about singulair. My husband and I are still shellshocked about how singulair turned our lives upside down. My son was on singulair for 5 years. During that time he had extreme anxiety, nightmares, stomach aches, suicidal thoughts and tendencies, difficulty in school, aggressive behavior. We were at our wits end when we sought therapy at an anxiety clinic a year ago. He never went on any antidepressants or anti anxiety pills, just behavioral therapy. He went to therapy for approximately 5 months once a week. At the time he started therapy, I happened to switch doctors for his asthma due to an asthma flare up. He went to a pulmonology specialist at CHOP. He was taken off of singulair and put on other inhaler medications. Slowly, we began to see improvement in his behavior. I was holding my breath, thinking I was imagining his improvements and hoping his symptoms would not return. My son is now 9 years old and has been off singulair for one year. His horrific symptoms are gone and he no longer needs therapy. He is a happy, active nine year old. He had a successful year in second grade last year. I never realized it could have been singulair that caused his symptoms until I heard it on the news. His symptoms were always related to "behavioral problems". It was such a heart wrenching, frustrating experience because we could not figure out why he was behaving this way. My heart goes out to all the families who have experienced devastating symptoms. I contacted merck and the FDA. I want to contact my state representative. I am looking forward to seeing the results of the FDA study. I am curious how they are obtaining their data because I was never questioned about the details of my experience.

I am on my fourth day of Doxy. Like many of the other posts I also experienced side effects not listed on my prescrip. info. sheet. The first day or so I did feel as though I was in a fog and was also very tired feeling. One night I felt like I had something in my throat and also burning in my throat. I was prescribed Doxy for having pneumonia so the tirdness may very well have been from that. The best advice that I can give that helped to relieve my side effects was to drink A LOT! of water when taking this medicine (20 oz) not the 8 oz advised. And to keep drinking water throughout the day and night. My side effects have all but gone away and I am starting to feel so much better.. Although I have not been in the sun it cannot be expressed enough that you should avoid the sun while on this med. And if you are having side effects try not to panic that will just intensify what is going on. Remember the side effects are sometimes better to have then the actual illness you are being treated for. But please drink tons of water. Also side effects can be reported to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088. If enough people call then maybe they will add new side effects to this med.

I have been on Topamax for 2 months and it has been horrible. I started at 25mg at bedtime and worked up to 50mg at night and 25 in the morning. I wish I never took it at all. I have had numerous migraines with the medication except now my tongue goes numb every time. I can't remember anything and I am in a fog all the time. I had to take a trip to the emergency room for tachycardia that occurs every time I stand. It goes up from normal to 166bpm. The cardiologist insists the Topamax is causing orhtostatic hypotension. I stopped all of the Topamax on Monday and it is now Saturday and I still feel horrible. Migraines are horrible but being stuck on your couch all the time because your hr increases sharply and you feel like you are going to pass out is worse. My hands and feet tingle all the time. I feel out of breath and I have always been very active. I now feel anxious all the time (never like this before). I feel like I am not myself and I am going crazy. I do not trust myself because I do not feel like myself. Has anyone else had these symptoms? Do they eventually go away? The cardiologist can't guarantee that they will ever go away.

I came to this group and posted my bad bad side effects on July23rd.
I got the IUD removed. Felt a lot better immediately, I had my periods, regular flow stopped after 4 days, feels good that I don't spot anymore. I feel great as a person, No more mood swings , no more snapping at the kids. Fog is lifted, lost weight, no more joint pains. I am glad it works for some people but for people like me it just does not work, for the 4 months I had it was the most horrible period of my life.

Now I feel good, but my mood swings and attitude when I had Mirena had already made a dent in my life . Relationships with my loved ones are spoiled. They are coming back to me and I am at loss to explain that the mood swings were not My character but Mirena. Nobody believes me and they probably think I am haughty and crazy too... Ahh ...... What do I say...... I used Mirena to help inturn has turned my life upside down, I wish somebody had told me before I got that. the 4 months I had it has altered my life permanently........Somebody has to raise this awareness and make it known that some women do get affected very badly..... Not worth it for women like me. Not at all.....

After reading everyone's posting on August 10th, I finally came to decision to remove my Mirena.Well ladies, I had it removed on August 12th, and I immediately started having my period the next day. I must say I feel so much better. I no longer have the foggy feeling in my head, no dizziness,my acne is clearing up from my face and back, not as tire,my vision is better, my arms are not weak,neck pain went away, etc....All these symptoms started when I had my Mirena inserted in on January 2008. Luckily to have found this wonderful forum and to realize that I am not alone out there. I wish everyone the best of luck! For the ladies who step forward like me to remove it, lets celebrate life again!! Yeah, no more living in the fog!!! P.S I heard there is another form of birth control call Paragard, it is similar method except it does not have hormone release. Does anyone know anything about it? Thanks!

This is wild how I found this site right before I am going to the OB. I have had the mirena for over a year now, and have had soooo many problems and side effects. I have awful cramping and bloating in my stomach. I am always tired, in act so tired that my doctor thought I was depressed so here I am taking anti-depressant. When in fact it could be the mirena that is making me tired. Like Im pregnant all over again and i am in my first trimester.... yuck! I hurt when having sex, and in fact have started to bleed after sex every time... so I made an appointment and I am going to get them to take it out.

I don't want to have an other child at this point in my life but this fog, pain, sleepiness etc is making me go crazy!!!!!!

Hey all,
Just had the Mirena put in last Wednesday. Did not hurt at all (I was SOOOO scared that it was going to!). In fact, I literally didn't realize that she had already put it in. I had a TINY bit of cramping after. Nothing like pmsing or anything. And that was for like 20 minutes a little after I got home. I took some IBProfin and had not had any cramps since. Very minimal bleeding. I am breastfeeding so I am not sure if that plays a role with the bleeding.

So this leaves me with one question (well, just one that I want to post and get responses to)....

For all that had problems with the Mirena, did they start from the beginning? From the moment that it was inserted? I wonder if there is a link...well, honestly I am kinda hoping there is a link. It would ease my mind a bit and it would let all of the women who have problems from the get go know that it isn't for them and it could be removed right then.

Oh, and for those that had a problem with the acne, how long after the Mirena was inserted did the acne come into play?

Thanks in advance!

Hi all! I am not sure this is a new side effect, but it certainly hasn't been the most pleasant one. I have had ZERO sex drive.

I had a baby in early Feb 08, had the Mirena inserted Apr 08. I thought my lack of interest was just being tired from dealing with the baby or frustration with learning how to be a mom and wife. Hubby and I had a little tiff over me not wanting to, again the other night, when it hit me. While plenty of the times I was tired or frustrated, more often than not, I truly just had NO interest. I would think, yeah, I could but I don't want to. This did not happen until after the mirena.

I was very active prior to pregnancy, during pregnancy and even after pregnancy (pre-Mirena). Heck, the baby wasn't even sleeping through the night then! He has for months and I still wanted nothing. I don't think I realized it was a possible side-effect. The pamphlets say - "this is not a complete list, please see your health professional"

As soon as I realized it, I called my OB to have it removed. They had a cancellation and I was able to get right in. After reading some of your posts, I am beginning to wonder if the fog I have been in can be attributed more to that as well. Time will tell.

I have had issues with my cycle my entire life (started when i was 12 am now 46). THOUGHT this was a godsend until i started feeling like i was in a continual fog. Dizzy, light-headed. I can't walk without holding on to something, tired all the time. Doctor's prescribed Valium to numb my brain from the dizziness.
I've had CT Scans, MRI's blood work, echocardiograms, EKGs, more blood work and all normal.
I am scheduling to have this thing removed.
I can't wait to see if it all goes away.

I was prescribed Levaquin for a bout of diverticulitis six weeks ago. About a half hour after taking it each morning, I felt completely unwell--dizziness, fatigue, overall weakness, odd sensations of pressure in my head, chest, and bladder, weird bouts of sudden joint pain. The worst side effect was terrible insomnia. I'd go to sleep OK, but wake up after 3 hours and not be able to get back to sleep, sometimes for the rest of the night. Instead of getting the rest I needed to get better, I was getting more and more exhausted. Now, a month after stopping the medication, my sleep hasn't returned to normal. I'm still awake in the middle of the night for two or more hours. Is this a residual side effect from Levaquin? Has anyone else experienced it? When can I expect my sleep to improve? Is there a way to detoxify from this drug?

I was on birth control pills for about 12 years when I decided to stop taking them about three months ago. For the past two weeks I have been experiencing some hair loss so I made an appointment w/my MD and she said that hair loss can occur when stopping hormones and she suggested Nuvaring. I didn't even have the thing in for 24 hours before I took it out! My head hurt so bad I thought I was going to die! I also got extremely queasy and sensitive to the smell of food so much that I couldn't be around my coworkers heating up their lunch. I had to give a presentation and felt the whole time that I might throw up in front of everyone. I also became extremely irritable and was ugly to a patient I saw that day and yelled at my husband for no good reason. My head felt like it was in an awful fog and I felt like I couldn't think clearly. I never experienced anything like that on BCP's. I will NEVER try Nuvaring again. It was awful. I'd rather keep losing my hair and go bald then take Nuvaring!

I had my Mirena put in April 2007 and I can honestly say I cannot see how this device was ever approved by the medical community. I suffered so many of the side effects you women speak of, and primarily the excessive fatigue. I have been high energy my whole life and needing one or two naps a day because I was falling asleep in my own home walking around was ridiculous. I had weight gain I couldn't explain, despite working out and eating healthy. My skin was dry to the point it was flaking off of my hands in some places. I've never had acne, and didn't know how to deal with that everywhere! I already have palpitations so the extra palpitations caused by the Mirena freaked me out. My face swelled, my ankles swelled, I was dizzy, and I couldn't think straight at all. I also suffered a numbness in my toes at one point, I attributed it to an athletic injury but now I realize it was probably related as well. The past year I had Mirena I had numerous colds and flu's, and usually I'm a fairly healthy person!!!

I had the Mirena removed 6 days ago and I cannot tell you how much better I feel. My thoughts are totally lucid and I feel a fog has been lifted from my brain. Within days the acne went away, and I could tell the "bloating" was subsiding from my belly area. I did start my cycle two days post removal, which I see is common. I am no longer fatigued or tired and have been really back to my normal self already. I'm already running on my treadmill again, which is something I've been unable to do in over a year because of the fatigue. So there you go..... if you are having problems from head to toe like I was, just get it removed. It's not for you. And by the way, the problems with it didn't start for maybe 3 months after I had it in... so keep your eyes open and be aware and tuned in to your body, ladies.

Hi - I am stunned at all the awful experiences that users of the Mirena are describing on this and other websites!
I had mine removed 5 days ago - principally because my hair was falling out in worringly large amounts. I wasn't sure it was the Mirena, but decided to get it taken out anyway as I had experienced pretty constant bleeding since having it fitted in March. It was only after having it removed that I checked the internet, and have realized since that I have been suffering from other symptoms that I had not realized could be related to the Mirena. Apart from the hair loss, I have experienced a terrible foggy and tired feeling, dizziness, sore and swollen eyelids, strange spots around my hairline, one sore breast (!), a feeling that I couldn't be bothered with things - including my children, dry skin patches on my face and grumpiness. However, as a working mum of 2, with a husband who is away quite a lot, I had just put this down to a busy life where I don't have time for myself always. Now I think it was the Mirena!
Having had it removed, I can feel the fog lifting, though not the tiredness. I have experienced heavy bleeding and blood clots - now subsiding, but feel more cheerful. My hair loss, however, is seemingly getting worse...has anyone else had a similar experience please? Any advice on how to deal with this and how long it might take to stop would be greatly appreciated!

My husband has solumedrol IVs for 4 days-500mg every 8 hours due to a MS flare-He could not walk at all before he had the IVs. Now he is home and has used predisone to wean off the IVs. He has diabetes now with severe depression and he is in a fog a lot. I understand this is basically the only way he got through the MS flare, but now he is worse off due to the side effects. It is a shame that so many people have been hurt by this medicine that is suppose to help. My ex husband was so violent when he was on predisone for back pain that it caused us to end up divorcing because he would beat the crap out of me or become so mean, then depressed that it drove us apart after 20+ years of marriage.

Hello everyone. I am posting follow up after my first posting which was a few hours after removal. (6/20/08 removal, insertion was 9/2007)

I can't believe how much better I feel! It took about 2 days for the headaches to stop. I was having daily major headaches, now its weird to every morning look at my husband and tell him I DON'T have a headache when I used to reach for the Advil every morning.

Before the iud, I was on birth control pills everyday for a year to stop my periods. (I had my tubes tied years ago). It took 3 days for that old feeling to start just before my period started. I was actually happy! I felt like a woman again. I know it sounds weird, but I really wanted my cycle to clean everything out so to speak. It as a usual heavy period but I felt so much better than without it with the iud.

When I had the iud inserted, for almost a year I hardly ate anything and gained weight, since it was taken out, I'm starving! Maybe my body was just so deprived of anything and all the BS with the iud that it puts your body into this "starvation" like mode, no energy, weight gain, no appetite and just a crummy feeling.

I do not feel as bloated all the time, no headaches, less leg pain and joint pain, I feel more "focused" and can pay attention like a fog is lifting. My nickname is not superbitch this week LOL.

I feel sexual again, sex no longer hurts and there is no painful cramping upon orgasm like before. I no longer have the dull ache which was constant where it was inserted, there is no sharp burning pains but the biggest thing is how much better I feel!

With only a few weeks past, and the difference I feel, I can't wait for any left overs from this thing to stop. ANYONE no matter age or circumstances, should not use this device, it has made my life hell since I got it. This thing should be taken off the market! I think there should be a class action suit filed. I hope I can repair the damage it has caused in every other area of my life: marriage, job, personal relationships etc.

Not one person I talked to about this iud had anything positive to say, everyone of the women I talked to all had problems upon problems upon problems. Every doctor said it was NOT the iud, and it was either all in our heads or we were suffering from some mental disorder. How wrong they were!

I'm looking forward to getting my old life back but I still think that Bayer should have to pay for all the damage they caused!

After reading all the horror stories on here, me and my husband soon began to realize that we were having a lot of the side effects listed here and not listed on my son's actual Singulair prescription. The side effects my son had were behavioral changes, irrational behavior, inattentiveness, not able to stay on task or stay still -- in fact he broke his arm twice being so hyper, yelling, screaming and just plain mean.

We took our son off of Singulair as a trial for a few days. Immediately we began to notice differences in his behavior. He wasn't as agitated and quick to yell or get angry. (He's only 5 years old). He actually would be listening when we would speak to him. He would sit calmy and read books and the one huge thing he would do was look at us and smile. He even said to my husband once, "I love you Daddy," which just brought tears to our eyes. I never realized what a Singulair fog he was in and what it did to him. Here we were pretty close to getting him evaluated for ADHD or even Aspergers. So now we're in the same boat as others that are searching for other asthma meds to give my son. Right now we have gone back to Pulmicort, Xopenex, Nasonex and Allegra. I'm so glad I read this forum because I was desperately searching for answers for my sons behavioral issues. Oh, by the way he was on Singulair for 1-1/2 years.