Fortunately symptoms and conditions

How long did it take for the migraines and dizziness/vertigo to go away after removal? I can't keep missing 3 days of work here and there b/c I'm unable to walk, drive, or leave a dark room despite medication?????

I using Mirena as a method of birth control...until I realized it was inhibiting my weight loss goals.
I had Mirena inserted Jan. of 2008. I was trying to rid the last 20lbs from my pregnancy. Nothing I would do seemed to budge the scale. It was very odd because I've always been small and never had weight management problems. I even started working with a personal trainer 3 times a week. I managed to stump 2 different trainers when my weight would not budge. They would see me at the gym constantly, I wrote down everything I ate.
Finally enough was enough. I had Mirena removed last month. Within days I dropped 5lbs. effortlessly. I don't expect the rest of the weight to melt off like the initial 5lbs but now I know it was in fact Mirena.
I also experienced acne(I'm 28, never had acne before). Fortunately that is starting to clear up as well.
It's a shame because Mirena was a great method of BC but the side effects just aren't worth it, at least for me.

side effect: bleeding at urethra

For a long-term sinus infection that has drained my energy, I took my first pill in the Leva-pak about noon today with a large glass of water. Ate lunch. Planned to vacuum, but it was difficult to get into and around in our garage (we made a space for a car to go in now that mornings bring frost outside.) So I ended up moving things around in the garage. Major moving around, some stuff heavy. I was thrilled to have energy and strength to actually do something at last and to think of how long I had been listlessly surviving and at times even bedridden before this magical pill.

About 8:30 I came in to pee and found my undies bloody. Bravo, I said to myself, 10 years post menopause and I got my period again. This is the drug of youthfulness: energy and menstruation. Fortunately I still have a few sanitary items around for female friends who visit, so I got to be one of my friends.

But it seems that the blood is coming from the urethra, not from the vagina. And I have some discomfort there. So I recalled that the drug pakage said to drink plenty of water and realized that I hadn't had any more drinks since about noon or 1. I drank another glass of water and headed back to the garage.

I finished up the garage (who said I'm obsessive?) about 9:30 and came in to find out more about the new drug. I saw that the pack said right on it that drinking plenty of liquids PREVENTS THE FORMATION OF CRYSTALS IN THE URINE. So I drank 2 more glasses of water, thinking maybe crystals have formed in my urine and are cutting into the tissues of my bladder and urethra making them bleed. Guess these crystals must be softer than kidney stones or maybe much much smaller, because I've seen the pain folks get with kidney stones, and I would not be sitting here reading your experiences and now typing up my own to share with y'all if I had as much pain as kidney stones cause!

Anyway, with those two more glasses of water, I came online to see the deal with urethral bleeding caused by Leva-pak, and what do I see. Well, the first website I went to said about reading the pharmacist's paper that came with the L-pak. (My doc calls it L-pak, and I hope it's not gonna be L for me as it has been for most of y'all.) Now I wondered if the pharmacist had even put one in. Went and looked and sure enough, there it was, and it said to drink plenty of water "to prevent the formation of crystals in the urine." No further info about those crystals or their side effects. Some words about bleeding but totally vague, like does drinking water cure bleeding?? Who knows?

That paper the pharmacist put in my bag also said that one of the side effects can be "excitement". I thought, that's my side effect, and I am very happy about that. Garage is too. Hubby is too. Life is good. Leva-pack is good for me, for us for the world.

Anyway, back at the puter, eventually I found y'all and your many stories of pain and suffering caused by Levaquil. But, lo and behold, NOT A ONE OF YOU HAS MENTIONED MY BLOODY SIDE EFFECT. That goes to show what drinking plenty of liquids can spare you. Save ya a quarter wasted on sanitary pads you coulda given your female guests. Save ya from washing blood out of your undies again. Save ya from worrying about whether to call the doc (pharmacist is home in bed by now and tomorrow is Sunday. It figures.) And whether to take another pill.

Sheesh, it's a slow business trying to type up my story for ya, now 11 and time for more water, I figure. Be right back again...ok. I see the bleeding continues but it's a LIGHT DAY.

Well, now I've read this whole webpage top to bottom, and I feel pretty worried about taking enough of this Levaquil stuff to get exploding tendons and total nerve damage and pain and suffering and crippling and insanity and death by anaphylactic shock if I take another one.

I probably will take another one, just being sure to drink plenty a water too. Excuse me a sec while I go get another, as it is now after 10....okay I'm back now.We'll see as time goes along about taking any more. And if I am a good scout, I should come back and provide the REST OF MY STORY in a few days.

I saw that someone here said that Cipro is a fluoxosomethingorother too. I don't know why the doc didn't pick Cipro for me today instead of the Leva-pak. Maybe the last drug rep in his office gave him some good lines about the advantages of L as opposed to C, who knows? Anyway, if Cip and Lev are in the same family, I must say that as a postal employee, I am ready to take Cipro at the drop of a hat if our new machines spot anthrax in the air where we work. Sounds like those postal employees who died would have survived if the docs had recognized what was wrong with them and given them the Cipro early on. At least, other people who showed up sick afterwards with anthrax exposure got Cipro, and most of them survived, I heard.

The upshot is that I hope we don't take away the fluoxisomethingorothers until we find somthing better. Law suit perhaps, but not to deny the life-saving drug from EVERYBODY because some folks have bad side effects. Instead, we should find out how to test each person for having trouble taking it. You know, put a little drug in with some of their hair and a little in some of their blood and a little in some of their pee and see if it curdles or grows sprouts or something to show how each patient will react to it. Then tell each one what to expect from the various drugs available for that person's ailment. Then the patient can decide which side effects he wants to sign up for or if he just wants to stick with his original ailment.

I have not decided whether I will take any more of these pills. I will observe my crochety side effect and watch for any new ones that may pop up before I make my decision each day. I am very very concerned about long lasting muscle and tendon pains. I have not been able to hike now for about 3 months due to loss of energy, strength, and confidence. And I sure don't want to miss 3 more months trying to get over exploded achilles, burning knees, seizures, or nerve damage etc.

As a postal employee, I never do any research into cures for ailments. I am fairly experienced with ailments. I cannot provide you with any good excuses for not seeking to find cures for our health troubles.

I feel lucky to have been born when and where I was. I waited until central heat, air conditioning, cushioned seats in heated, air-conditioned autos(spare me from buckboards on unpaved "roads"), and penicillan. That penicillan brought me through pneumonia in 1947. Had I arrived 5 years sooner, I doubt it would have been available to me. Hmmm, I wouldn't a been available to share my story with you folks this evening either. So I must say a blessing for all those who try to improve my health when I go to them for help with my various complaints. Sure, money may be highly motivating for some of them, but Donald Trump and Bill Gates found ways to make money without going into medicine or research and drug development or doctoring.

So far, that's my story, my red flag today.

May THE FORCE be with each of you as you search for the best solutions for your ever-new mind and body problems. May we seek wisdom widely and recognize that what used to work for us often won't work any more because our bodies keep changing. We are along for the ride and hope to make it as pleasurable as possible as we round each curve and surmount each hill.

God bless us all, each and every one.
Christmas is coming...Tiny Tim's words echo through the years.

This is my second round with Doxycycline for a Staph infection (probably MRSA - the culture isn't back yet); the first round was unpleasant, especially in terms of feelings of heat in my head, wooziness, and rather severe stomach upset and esophagitis due to reflux. I am a Chinese herbalist, and tried going that route with the first bout of the infection (which fortunately is at the skin level), but didn't get much relief so went the route of the 'big guns.' The infection cleared up, more or less, but three weeks later I began to get another new lesion. Grr. Back to Doxy. This second time I've been more proactive, however: Ginger is used in a lot of chinese formulas to help with digestive upset, so I've been taking a couple of pieces of candied ginger as soon as the stomach upset gets going, and hey it works! By the way, I am taking capsules, and I find that lying down on my LEFT side actually helps prevent the reflux pain - the exit of the stomach is on the left side, and since capsules float, lying on my left side keeps the med closer to the exit than the entrance... or so it seems. Whew - I'm glad this stuff is out there, but I'd really like to be done with it - forever....

Wow - so many of you with the same symptoms and side-effects I'm experiencing. I was on Ortho Tri Cyclen years ago with minimal side effects beyond slight weight gain during the first few months. With this pill, I feel like I've become a monster. I'm bloated and I've been bleeding for 9 days now (I started the pills the day my period ended, on the advice of my doctor. I began bleeding a week later and have not stopped.). I'm normally a very happy person, but in the 2.5 weeks I've been on this medication, my moods change faster than the weather - I go from happy to despondent over the smallest, most insignificant things and cannot be cheered up. I have constant anxiety. I've cried more in the last 2 weeks than I have in the last year. I get angry over nothing, and I feel lazy all the time. My normally above-average libido is in the toilet. Fortunately, my boyfriend is incredibly understanding and knows that the changes I'm experiencing are due to this new medication changing my body chemistry.

I don't want to be like this, though. I don't want to be angry, sad, anxious, lazy, or uninterested in sex. I don't want a month-long period for 3 months while my body adjusts. I'm not in the physical condition to be able to shrug off an extra 10 pound due to bloating, and I'm tired of popping Advil to deal with my cramps. Before I found this site, I thought maybe the symptoms would go away in the next week or so, but I've now decided I'm not waiting this one out - I'm calling my doctor and finding a different alternative. This is simply unacceptable.

Also, I know it has nothing to do with the effectiveness of the medication, but their website disgusts me. "Cammie's Story"? If they spent half that advertising budget on research to eliminate the horrible side effects of their product, perhaps the pill would sell itself.

I have experienced an allergic reaction to Levofloxacin:
face swelled up, strong heart arythmia, throat was closing and about 24 hrs later my skin burnt leaving a dark necrotyzed patch that fortunately turned normal after a couple of days. After more than 1 year my body seems to react to any kind of medicine that i used to bare, even if taken in small quantaties. I suffer of liver pain if i eat food containing a bit of fat, regular stomach pains and now suffer of arythmia. I have a child and am scared that i couldt pass on any kind of consequence on a second one.

My wife had a UTI (urinary tract infection) and the doctor prescribed cipro-something which did not work. Two days later the pain continued and it started to make her back feel very sore (infection spread to kidney). The doctor prescribed Levaquin and she felt better within an hour or so. As I recall, a 5 day supply cost $100 so this is not cheap, but our insurance did offset that quite a bit. Two days after she started taking it, I found this site and read all of the horror stories. Fortunately for us, the 5 day dose is now over (since yesterday). My wife has not experienced any side effects and her UTI issues have disappeared.

I have been on Topamax 4 weeks. I see why they call it Dopamax and Stupamax. Fortunately I work with some pretty stupid people so no one has noticed yet that I am not on top of my game. I am no longer practicing as a nurse, therefore I don't endanger people in my job, so its safe to be dumb and ride out these side effects. I have read lots of the experiences of others and have noticed over the past 4 weeks as I have increased my dose gradually from 25 mg to 100 mg that the side effects have A) changed in quality and intensity and B) been transient and some are wearing off altogether. At first, on 25mg, I couldn't hold my eyes open and I could barely make a sentence. At 50mg I had to call into work one day because I was so gorked. By the time I got to 75mg I was hyped up, charging around the house cleaning, just a little dingy and forgetful, but a powerhouse of energy and no headache at all. Something I didn't expect was the very pleasant side effect of it making me feel as if I had taken an antianxiety medication all the time. This is great because I have a high stress occupation. I overeat and am a little overweight, I need to lose about 40lbs. Now food looks larger and I don't want to clean my plate. I miss diet Pepsi but I am going to group therapy for that (j/k). Granted the dizziness, forgetfulness and word finding problems really stink, but I have seen such an improvement in the side effects in such a short period of time its worth it to me to stick it out. I was having severe, incapacitating migraines about twice a week and less severe ones the other five days of the week. I haven't had a headache in over 2 weeks. My experience over the past 4 weeks is that having patience with the side effects and depending on others to be understanding and supportive, swallowing my pride and being ok with looking a little or a lot goofy for a few weeks while this med has gotten into my system has really started to pay off!

I had a chronic cough which got worse and developped into bronchitis. My doctor gave me 10 days of 500 mg levaquin. Ten days later I went back, still coughing, even though the bronchitis was a bit better. He gave me another prescription for 7 days of levaquin with a refill.
A week or so into this routine, my legs started to hurt a lot. I thought I was just out of shape and needed to get back to the gym and do some stretching exercises. I could barely climb the stairs to the gym, but I must say that after working with the trainer and stretching a lot (and it hurt a lot) I was able to walk easier and the pain lifted quite a bit. . . for a while.
I also have developped total diarrhea, which made sense to me; because I was trying to kill bad bacteria in my system which I thought was causing the bronchitis.
Fortunately, last week I decided to go to another doctor because I wasn't getting better and I felt my old doctor was just overwhelmed by the health care system and was just going through the motions. This doctor, an ENT doctor, immediately diagnosed me with LPRD (acid reflux which goes all the way to the vocal chords, resulting in cough, tightness in the throat, etc.) I know he's right because I have felt the acid reflux thing at night when I have eaten late and had a couple of glasses of wine with dinner.
Tomorrow I'm heading to a gastro doc to attack the diarrhea, but I wondered if the leg pain had anything to do with the levaquin, since it came about after a week or so on the stuff. and lo and behold found all these postings which have now scared whatever shit I have left out of me!
I'm off to get some magnesium, as someone suggested and would appreciate any other tips anyone might have. My only tip is that stretching out your legs and butt muscles, does temporarily help a bit.

I wouldn't try the patch because of skin sensitivity, shots just seem really wrong to me, but I have been taking different oral contraceptives for nearly fifteen years. Fortunately I haven't had a pulmonary embolism which was definitely a risk because I was a smoker the whole time. Every time I switched pill brands, it was because of insurance copays, it would be non-preferred. However, I was still diagnosed with endometriosis and had one ovarian cyst removed laparoscopically and one ruptured on its' own. Endometriosis is less common in women on the pill because of the ovulation regulation...so I imagine things could have been so much worse. I was able to ask to take the pill continuously, meaning I'd skip the sugar pill week. Oh heaven! Without the pill I have severe cramps, PMS, heavy bleeding, pain and numbness in the crotch area, diarrhea, and was emotionally unstable. Although I suffer from depression, I don't feel that the pill has affected that much at all. I've recently quit smoking, and now am on the Nuvaring because of drug interactions. I've been spotting for 10 days now at least, and been on the ring for a month. I know there is a transition period, but this is not acceptable. My request to my doctor is to get back on some sort of pill on my insurance's preferred list. I'm starting to break out too. I want my pill back!

I am a 66 year old male being treated for giant cell arteritis and have been on prednisone for one year and ten days. The disease and its treatment with prednisone has completely reordered my life. My doctor told me that I dodged the big bullet but there would be more. He was right. The 60 mg dose of prednisone I started with was both a life and eye saver. Three months later I was down to 40 mg and I was starting to sleep more than the two - four hours per night that allowed me to all kinds of things done which the increased adrenlin made possible.

Unfortunately, the prednisone made control of my blood sugar nearly impossible even with maximum dosages of metformin and avandia. I was soon forced to add injections of insulin to my daily regime. As I gradually reduced the amount of prednisone I gained some measure of control but was not able to start decreasing the amounts of insulin I was taking until I had dropped down below 20 mg. Now that I am down to 5mg I'm off the insulin and two weeks ago I took my last metformin tab.

Prednisone accelerated the growth of cataracts in both of my eyes. I was taking the prednizone with the hope it would drive the arteritis into remission and I would avoid going blind. And I was blinded anyway by the cataracts. Fortunately the cataract surgery I had in May and June better than restored my sight. I now only need glasses for reading. I was thrilled and could even see myself going back to work at least on a part time basis. No such luck.

After telling my doctor how great it was to be able to read again I mentioned that I thought I had a groin pull because I had been experiencing pain in my groin area and the top of my right thigh just above the knee. That got his attention and he said it might be related to the prednisone. He sent me for a MRI of both hips. The results were not good. I was diagnosed with avascular necrosis in both femur bones with some deterioration of the right femoral ball. A month later I had core decompression surgery of the right femur. The surgeon told me that we had caught it early and this surgery had a 50/50 chance of restimulating the venus blood path that fatty deposits caused by the prednisone had closed off causing the bone to die. Unfortunately, it now looks that it didn't work for me and I have additional micro fractures of the ball joint that weren't there when he operated. My left hip isn't far behind and I now have enough pain in both hips even with the anti inflamatory medicine I'm taking to make it difficult for me to walk to the mail box or negotiate stairs.

I hope that I'll be able to wean myself off the prednisone entirely, but for those folks that are putting up with all the most common side effects, getting down to and below 5 mg per day will seriously reduce if not eliminate the effect they have on you. That includes the fat face and turkey neck, and the thin skin that shows vividly every bump and bleeds profusly with the slightest abrasion that more often than not you can't recall the incident that caused it. The giant cell (also known as templar) arteritis disease I developed was devastating to me and really put me down for the count. I lost 30 of my obese pounds in the first two weeks of symptoms I had with this disease. Even though I was over weight, I was very active and got lots of exercise doing my own lawn work ( 1 acre lot) with a walk behind mower and lots of leaves to rake. Within two months after diagnosis I had managed to work my way up to a two mile walk everday. After 3 months I was walking between 15 and 20 miles every week. Now, as I said, I'm lucky to walk to the end of my driveway to get the mail.

Prednisone is not a miricle drug. It is a terrible medicine with terrible side effects that has been arround for a very long time. Unfortunately, it is the only medicine available to successfully treat a wide range of autoimmune diseases that have no cure and would be absolutely unbearable without it.

I am sooo relieved that I found this site. OMG. I was on the NR before for about a year and 3 months. I didn't have any side effects whatsoever. I went of the NR because my boyfriend and I broke-up and I wasn't having sex. About 4 months later, I developed 2 ovarian cysts that ended up rupturing in my right ovary. BTW, I turned 30 in the same month. I was in so much abdominal pain, hot flashes, painful menstrual cycle, passing huge blood clots, depression, crying all the time, thoughts of suicide, anxiety attacks, very irritable, easily frustrated, inability to concentrate, and nausea. I had NEVER had any bouts of depression, crying all the time, thoughts of suicide, anxiety attacks in my life before. NEVER! My OB/GYN told me my hormones were all out of wack and that I should go back on the NR to regulate my hormones. So, I went back on the NR, my cysts went away and I felt 100% better immediately. Now it's 2 months later and I'm having all the same symptoms I had before the NR, although, it’s not as bad as it was before. Apparently, I'm still ovulating while on the NR although the NR STOPS ovulation. I have developed more cyst(s), haven't gone for the ultrasound yet, in my right ovary, even though my last ultrasound showed that the last 2 cysts went away. Right now, I am emotionally drained and physically in a lot of pain. I think that if I get off the NR my symptoms would be a lot worst. I’m allergic to the patch because of the adhesive, coming off of depo caused too much pain, and I forget to take the pill. So I don't know what to do.

The drug Doxycycline belongs to the tetracycline group of barrow spectrum antibiotics particularly aimed at killing gram-negative bacteria such as those causing Lyme disease, inhibition of malaria virus transcription, etc. The problem however with this drug is the severe side effects it brings about... Which ranges from all symptoms stated on this web page. It is therefore thought that one has to stop the drug in order to halt the occurrence of the side effects. WRONG! Do not stop doxycycline regardless of what pain or discomfort you are experiencing. It is important to always complete the dosage to the last grain as bacteria have a very high ability to develop resistance from this drug. ONly stop the drug if you develop adverse reactions or allergic reactions which can result in date. Such cases, fortunately are quite rare. Here are a few things to take/do to ease the symptoms.
Stomach Pain- Down as many glasses of water as you can. The pain is brought about by the drug still being present in the digestive system long after food has been absorbed. It is a slow acting drug, releasing its active agents gently into the human body. Hence, taking it with lots of food at d same time wont prevent the drug from causing stomach pain/cramps. Do this as often as you can.
Drowsiness-confusion- Steaming hot cup of tea. Tea doesn't react with the drug and revitalizes your brain.
Rash- An anti-histamine usually does the trick
Sunburn- Use a sunblock!
Lower back pain- This is a less frequent side effect but has been reported in some instances... causes a lot of discomfort. Pop two analgesics and take a 15minute walk. Clears up like magic.
Nausea- Metoclopramide Hcl... This eases off the nausea. It is not an antacid.
I hope I am able to be of some assistance. For more direct consultations, you can contact me on ******Get well soon.

I have been taking Levothyroxin (Synthroid generic) for about 5 months. I started on a low dosage and have been taking 75 mcg (which turned out to be the right dosage. I turned 59 years old in July and I had been gaining weight.Nothing startling--a few pounds a years that added up to about 50 pounds over time..I am losing weight now. The side effect I am most concerned about is a an inarticulateness I seem to have developed since I started taking the medication.I can't sepak civilly to my son who also turned 20 in July. I just want to scream at him all the time.

Is this a side effect of Synthroid? I don't think I have been losing my hair, fortunately, but it is dry and brittle...

In the past I had taken two separate three day courses for diverticulits, it worked right off, no problems. Last time I had diverticulitis, my doctor prescribed 10 day course of combo levaquin and flagl. After 7 days, I started to get hip joint pain, foot joint pain, and mild numbness in fingers on both hands and toes on one. I called doctor, and stopped the levaquin, and fortunately, the divertiltis was gone. However, the joint pain lessened after stopping but is taking weeks to fully go away.

I have found that silica (usually found in horsetail or oceanic) is helpful against the joint pain. (I had also tried selenium, msm, but were of no help for this joint pain.) Most of the joint pain is gone after several doses of silica, but the numbness, though lessened, lingers on a bit.

i don't think I'll take levaquin again for diverticulitis unless I'm dying. I've found that garlic tablets (I like solary's) very helpful, as is vitamin-c, for fighting back my intenstial bugs, and if I use garlic & vit-c for 5 or more days, it seems to cure the problem. Also I've heard that bacteria do not build up immunity to garlic, that it is a broad-spectrum antiboitic and antiviral, and so even if I stop taking it too soon and the bug comes right back, I can just get back on the garlic for a longer time, no worries about mutant bacteria.

I am weaning off Zoloft. I began taking it in Nov. 2001 because I knew I would have post-partum depression since I had it with my first two. Zoloft changed my life so much for the better. That was almost 6 years ago. The past year I have decided that I can do w/o Zoloft. One, because I’ve learned how to choose to be happy. Two, because I don’t like being addicted to a pill. I know I’m addicted (or somewhat addicted to) because if I forgot to take the pill, several hours later, I would get weird feelings, like when I turn my head and move my eyes at the same time, a weird slightly dizzy feeling.
Here’s how I did it. In May and June, I took a whole pill (50 mg) every other day and every other day I took half a pill. That’s 2 months of that. Then, July and August, I took a half a pill EVERY day. Now that it’s Sept., I’m taking a half a pill every other day and NO pill every other day. I must say, this has been the hardest. It’s just 4 days into Sept. and I’m having those weird sensations a lot. My toes and fingers are tingly, too. I was planning on doing this for 2 months but I'm on the 4th day (2nd day of no pill) and I'm having too many tingles and weird dizzy sensations. So, I guess I'll continue taking a half pill every day and take NO pill ONE day a week for this month of Sept. Then, in October, I will take NO pill TWO days a week (but not 2 days in a row). Then, in November, I'll go to THREE days a week of no pill (but not 3 days in a row). And so on. I had hoped to be off by Christmas or Jan. 2008, but I see that it won't work unless I wean to a NO pill gradually. I knew all along that it would have to be gradual, and that's what I've been doing, but I had no idea that just missing a mere 25 mg. for 2 days (but not in a row, mind you) would make such a difference.
Now, if I get too many really sad days, I will consider going back on. But I’ve done really well so far. I know that God is helping me. He can lick it; I can’t. I have had just a handful of occasions where I was told something slightly disturbing or something happened to me that was slightly upsetting and it got me down, but only for the rest of that day. AND, I gave it to God and let Him deal with it. He wants to take care of my problems; He doesn’t want me worrying about it. I know that medicine like Zoloft may be the answer and if that is what I ultimately do, then I’ll just continue leave it to Him. I hope this helps someone.

on Topamax 1 mo experienced nightmares, could not spell, remember my address, phone #, ringing in ear and since off drug going on 2 mos. also altered personality; slight hair loss; trouble driving. Trouble typing. Horrible drug............

Glad to find your site. I have been on Lisiopril for 2 years (ever since my Insurance stopped paying for my Aceon and I had to have a substitute drug for blood pressure control). I have had increasing cough and horseness for the past 12 months to the point that I now have 24 hour symptoms! I also have been having leg cramps at night the past few months.
I will stop Lisinopril TODAY. Plan to monitor my blood pressure and see what happens. Does anyone see any problem with doing this?????

Well, I am not the type to post things on line but I'm so angry and disgusted with the whole medical and pharmaceutical industries for promoting this product FALSELY. I got the mirena 5 weeks ago and am having it removed in two days- and counting. I am extremely anxious and depressed. I feel "raw"- like I want to cry for absolutely NO REASON. I just gave birth to a beautiful boy two and a half months ago and have a lovely 15 month old boy as well. I need my mental health for these babies and MIRENA has taken it away. I was told (as most women who are posting about Mirena complaints) by my doc that there would be no side effects despite me telling him that I did not do well on the pill. When I had to go to the psychiatrist because of how MISERABLE I felt, she called the ob-gyn and he said it was "absolutely not" the Mirena- leaving me to feel like a basket case. Fortunately I looked on line and realized I AM NOT CRAZY and I KNOW MY BODY better than all these doctors. I had read about Mirena before getting it inserted but only on their website- obviously heard no horror stories there. I wish I would have read websites like this one before having it inserted. Anyhow, NOBODY is going to tell me that what I feel is NOT because of Mirena- I KNOW IT IS. I am having this awful thing removed and no doctor will persuade me to "try it a little longer." They can say it's not the Mirena but we all know the truth and the truth will prevail eventually.

My experience with Levaquin is very similar to many of the other postings. I have had Levaquin twice, the first time for seven days that produced only mild joint and muscle soreness. The second time was supposed to be for 14-21 days for a severe sinus infection. The literature that came with the prescription did worry me a bit but I remembered reading the same information the first time I took it some six years previously. Well, about nine days into the prescription I was at the gym running on the treadmill, something I do a lot of. I had run in a Half Marathon about a week earlier and planned to just run an easy mile or two, get the blood flowing again. I was about a half mile into the run when it felt like someone stabbed me in the left achilles with an ice pick. I thought I was imagining it at first but I slowed up to see if it would go away. After another 10-15 seconds it now felt like my left achilles and lower calf muscle were going to explode. It may sound strange but that is the only way I can describe it. I have never felt anything like that in my life and I've had quite a few injuries to date. I limped home and for the next three weeks not only could I not even think about running, I couldn't even walk fast and had to shorten my normal walking stride. I went to see a doctor and he said it sounded like a slight rupture. Fortunately, the pain did subside and I resisted running for over three weeks just to be sure it had healed. I started running after that but very very slowly. However, even to this day, I can still feel a "tightness" in that area that was not there before the incident and does not exist on the right side. I had no idea that so many others were having similar or even more sever side affects from Levaquin until the weeks immediately following my incident. When I mentioned this to the doctor who prescribed it, he was very surprised and alarmed. Should he have known, well, probably, yes. However, now that he knows there is no excuse for not using caution for the next patient.

The first couple of months on this pill I had the worse cramping and headaches I've ever experienced in my life. Fortunately, now the cramps and headaches aren't an issue, but spotting is. For each of the last four months, I have experienced spotting more often than not. For each cycle, I have ended up having less than two clear weeks. I have tried to stick it out to see if my body would finally "take to" this pill. I can't wait to switch...

I've been on lisinopril for 6 months and have been having this odd gagging sensation. Even before I start coughing, sometimes the smallest thing -- or nothing at all will make me gag. Tonight, despite the fact I didn't feel at all naseous, I had to stop the car while driving in order to gag and vomit. I also have a mild heart burn sensation in my throat and I have never been prone to any kind of heart burn in my life. My lisinopril cough is very small and inconsequential, but is more scratchy feeling than a normal cough. That's the best I can explain it.

I mentioned the feeling of gagging to my doctor. I suspected it was lisinopril since the symptom started shortly after I took the drug. My doctor shrugged off my question re: could it be the lisinopril and I concluded it must be in my mind, or perhaps some bizarre mid-life symptom of a result of being overweight about 30 pounds.

I had taken Benicar and Micardis for high blood pressure a year ago and both worked extremely well and without a single side effect. Unfortunately, my health insurance company (Blue Shield of California) wouldn't cover either, so my doctor switched me to lisinopril.

Fortunately, if my doctor reports my side effects, the insurance company will cover Benicar or another drug like it, so I'm going to fax him tomorrow with the alternative drugs covered by my insurance.

Tonight's gagging / vomitting attack provoked me to look up side effects for this drug on the internet. Now my suspicions are confirmed and I feel very validated. Thanks to all who posted here.

I used NuvaRing for about a year and a half before I stopped. At first, I thought it was great. It was discrete and worry free and cheaper then the pill. I also didn't seem to have any side effects. Until a few months later when I started getting headaches. Then sex began to be painful. The pain wasn't too bad at first and I thought maybe I just wasn't sufficiently aroused. I never thought to connect it with the Ring. Gradually, the pain got worse and worse to the point where I had to stop having sex at all. I thought there was something wrong with me and my body. I tried everything, condoms, lubrication, vibrators, anything that might make sex pleasurable, but it was useless. Finally, even touching the area became unbearable. One night my fiancee tried to touch me it felt like glass cutting my vagina. It was awful.
Until one night when I realized the Ring had fallen out. I always used to check the ring before engaging in any kind of sexual activity, just to make sure it was there, as I tend to be a little paranoid. Event though we couldn't have sex I checked the ring anyway, out of habit, and realized it was missing. Fortunately pregnancy was not a concern since I hadn't had sex in months but it was still a shock that it could fall out and I'd never even know. I went online to see what to do if the ring fell out and discovered the pain during intercourse is an UNLISTED side effect of the NuvaRing. I was outraged. I'd spent months thinking there was something wrong with my body and turns out it was the ring! I stopped using it immediately and two months later was able to engage in intercourse with minimal pain. This has been a huge ordeal and I'm glad it's finally ending. If you value your body, DON"T USE NUVARING! It breaks your body and takes all the pleasure out of sex. Also, had I been having sex I could have gotten pregnant without even realizing it. The fact that pain during intercourse is an unlisted side effect is unconscionable and outrageous! Don't support such an irresponsible company!

I've been on FemCon now for 4 mos and it's been great! I had some breakthrough bleeding for the first 1 1/2 but that's normal usually when you start a new birth control pill. I haven't gained any weight and I have very little cramps during menstruation. My face has cleared up since I've been on it also. And fortunately, it hasn't affected my sex drive...

I am a 30 year old woman who has been on Toprol (25 mg) for a week now. My doc prescribed it for mild hypertension and rapid heart rate. So far, I have had terrible indigestion and other "digestive issues", as well as difficulty sleeping. Fatigue and frequent urination (especially at night) have also plagued me for the past week. I have been taking my BP and heart rate readings every day and have yet to see a noticeable improvement. After reading all of the posts on this page, I am extremely nervous and wondering if I really need to be on this medication