Grain of salt symptoms and conditions

Warning: I do not know if this is related at all (or if there is anyway to know for sure). I accidentally saw a connection looking up conspiracy theories, and I can't seem to find any "real" information about it at all.

My daughter at 14 years of age had this shot. She didn't feel good after, but I thought "normal" vaccination reaction and haven't thought about it since. Feeling a bit faint, a fever, and such.

However, last September (a few months later) she was diagnosed with autoimmune hemolytic anemia. It started with her heart racing, she looked pale (and sometimes even yellowish), tired all the time, her urine turned a dark color, and fainting. Not knowing anything about this I assumed that she was dehydrated, and had her drink lots of water. Until she started fainting, at which time I took her straight to our family doctor. (Another reason that I wasn't to worried is she actually had been to many doctors who didn't seem to think this was abnormal.)

She started on high doses of prednisone to keep her immune system depressed, and has now moved on to mercaptopurine (as the steroids made her suicidal.)

I plan on bringing this "possible" connection up to her hematologist and I will report back (she has an appointment on the 11th.). However, I think it is better to do a little scare here, and possibly help someone rather than take for granted that I am not sure... (So take this information with a grain of salt.)

Also note that this was sudden onset, they can find no cause, and we have no family history nor any of the other typical reasons (sometimes can be "medicine" induced.) 10 months later she is still testing positive on her combs test though.

Happy to have Mirena out of me! I had Mirena inserted in 7/07. I had it removed on 7/13/09—YEAH!. My sister, who is a Sonographer (she does ultrasounds), noticed my weight gain and that I haven’t been myself for a while (moody). She said that so many women complain to her about Mirena when she is doing ultrasounds for them. Most of them tell her about the weight they have gained and their moodiness. My sister said… “You workout all of time and watch what you eat. You shouldn’t be gaining weight.” I was 150 lbs when Mirena was inserted and two years later, I weigh 168 lbs. I workout intensely five or more days a week and earned the 2008 Olympian title at my gym (which took a year of hard work to acquire), but my weight keeps creeping up no matter how hard I try. My workouts keep getting harder because my body is heavier… it’s so frustrating! Following my sister’s advice, I decided to do some research on Mirena and found this site. THANK YOU! I was so relieved to know that I wasn’t crazy and that others have experienced the same symptoms as me. Here are some of the other symptoms that I experienced from Mirena: constant bloating, I ached from my hips down to my knees (which I attributed to my hard workouts, but was wrong), mood swings, hot flashes in the middle of the night, acne on my chin, dark hair growth on my chin, dull cramps in my lower stomach, back ache, fatigue, fluttering in my stomach (which felt like a baby), sensitive breasts, pain during intercourse, spotting after intercourse (almost every time). I’m not sure how long it will take me to get my body back, but am so glad that I’m on my way. I’d like to thank everyone who posted symptoms on this site, you’ve changed my life.

I was prescribed this medicine for 10 days due to a cyst like skin infection on my inner thigh. On day 5 My right eye on the left side was very bloodshot. Not sure if its related as I had pink eye a couple weeks ago and thought it was gone. I also have gout and take allopurinol which sometimes causes my eyes to get bloodshot for extended periods. On day 9 I had a headache (throbbing behind my eyes), slight fatigue and that night it felt like I might be getting the flu (aches, nose passageway closing a little). Today has been the worst, still not sure if its related to the meds as this has been the season of the swine flu as well. I have positional vertigo which makes me dizzy sometimes, I've been free of dizziness from the vertigo for 3 years and just started again tonight. My teeth have been sensitive to cold all day too and even though it was 98 degrees outside and 77 in the house I was freezing. Feel a little bit of heart flutters as well. I did miss one dose on day 8. I probably didn't drink enough water with the prescription either. Lastly, I've been a bit stressed from work and an upcoming trip so take these "side effects" with a grain of salt. Either that or my body is week from all the other problems I have. Thankfully I haven't been itchy as others describe.

I have taken three 500mg doses of Levaquin since Saturday. They were prescribed by my urologist for a "possible" minor prostates that might be affecting my PSA (2.2). The very first night I was unable to sleep, tossing and turning all night. Thought nothing of it, and blamed it on diet or too much sleep the previous day. However, insomnia has continued for three straight nights and last night I woke at 4:30 AM with shortness of breath (had to take long deep breaths to feel like I was getting enough oxygen) that felt like an anxiety attack. Although there was no pain, I felt like my heart was pounding and rapid. Finally got a little more sleep and woke up feeling OK in the morning, but blood pressure was elevated. I continually feel like I'm on a caffeine high. I never associated it, but, I woke up second and third days with a sore throat and have had a few minor muscle twitches in arms, legs and abdomen.

I feel fortunate compared to others on this forum. I have stopped taking the Levaquin and have an appointment with my family doctor tomorrow. As a side note, I had an acute prostates this time last year and took Cipro for over one month with no similar side effects that I can recall. Does anyone know if two drugs from the same group can have such different side effects, or can I expect the same problems if I start taking Cipro again?

Well, I have had my Mirena since June/08. I had my son in May/08. I was 7 weeks pp when I had it put in. After my son was born I felt ok, no pains besides my c section scar
NOW...since insertion I have had a mess of problems. I have been a healthy woman for a long time and never had issues like this until July-ish. I am 27.

1. I had horrible back pain and my legs felt like I walked in 7" heels the night before (the tight muscle cramps, etc). My PCP told me I could possibly have a slipped disc and wanted me to go to PT. I had all my blood work come back fine btw. Since I knew in my heart I didn't have a slipped disc I did not waste my money on PT.
2. I have NO sex drive. The thought of sex makes me gag. No joke. I had sex 6 weeks pp and had a libido with no sleep. My son sleeps 11 hrs a night and I still don't want sex. As I type, I could go the rest of my life with no sex. THAT IS NOT ME AT ALL!
3. Extreme tiredness. Like I said my son sleeps 11 hrs a night and I sleep 8 hrs a night.
4. Light-headedness- I do have a BP of 110/70 so if I get up fast I get dizzy, but more now than before.
5. Started to have SEVERE pelvic pain right above my c section scar. It hurt so bad I was about to go to the ER. I was home alone with my 6 mo old so I tried to wait it out. I called my OB and they got me in. In his exam he felt a huge knot in my pelvis and it hurt like a MF! He suspected a hernia so he sent me for a CT scan.
Got the results yesterday and they came back normal. He said maybe I bruised something. But why do I have a big knot in my pelvis?
I feel like I am crazy. My bf takes my pain issues with a grain of salt now days. My OB did say since there is progesterone in the Mirena that my leg issues could be from Mirena and he was more than happy to remove if I wanted.
I still have it in and more and more I am thinking of getting it removed. My issue is I am so bad at taking pills and didn't like the Depo.
Anyways ladies...please let me know if you have had these issues. My email is arizonaequine@yahoo.com
Hope this can help someone feel less crazy!!

Hi. I got mirena three weeks ago, and I had a little discomfort after getting it put in, which some ibuprofen took care of. I haven't had any pain since then. I just start bleeding recently, its a pain in the butt, but not a big deal. I know I haven't had mine in as long as other women on this message board has, but i am not having as many problems, maybe I will in the months to come, but for now Im not. But for the women who are thinking about getting it, just remember, ALL WOMEN ARE DIFFERENT. Just because these women have had problems doesn't mean YOU WILL! I had to say that, because when I start reading these messages, it scared the crap out me! Just take it with a grain of salt, get informed, and talk to your doctor and decide for yourself.

i'm glad that i found this site...thank you.
I have a seven year old boy and a four year old girl that have both been on singulair for a couple of years. The first year their allergies weren't that bad, so i didn't really make sure that they took it daily...the past year, allergies have been worse, so i was making sure that they took it daily and that they didn't miss a dose. My son was in 1st grade last year and by the end of fall, he was going to the nurses office daily for headaches and stomachs. Where his drawings used to be of flowers and all of us as a family, they started being of monsters. We also noticed that his pupils were dilated more than normal (you could barely see any of the colored part of his eyes) and took him to an eye doctor just to find out that his eyes were fine and there was no medical reason for the dilation. I also asked the doctor and the school to test for ADD/ADHD, with them saying that he didn't have it..At night, both my son and daughter started waking up for no apparent reason (they had both slept through the night since they were about 1) and being very scared for no reason. The mood changes have been more noticeable in my son, but like most, i chalked it up to "a phase" and just part of being a boy....my daughter got clingier and moodier, but i know how it is to be a girl, so i just took it with a grain of salt. My kids have not been on Singulair for approx. a week now, and my son is back to the boy i knew....skipping through the house and yard, catching bugs to just look at them and not pull them apart and kill them, sleeping through the night, no trips to the nurses, and eyes that seem to be normal again...my daughter is actually a pleasant little girl that can't wait til she see's her brother instead of pinching, hitting, and trying to hurt her brother........Long story short, since they've been off of singulair, i have my kids back. my son had circles under his eyes at times and a runny nose at times and we have to find something to help my daughters allergies (she gets eczema and is borderline asthmatic) but we will deal with that and find something that works without harming them.....
Thanks again.

Everyone's body is different and reacts to every medicine differently. After experiencing depression for some years i was finally put on an antidepressant (cymbalta). My dosage was continually increased because I wasn't feeling any better. Eventually I changed psychologists and she diagnosed me as being bipolar II and said that anti-depressants have an adverse effect on people who are bipolar. so for about a year and a half i was on 200 mg of lamictal. It worked wonders and i felt no negative side effects other than if i forgot to take my second dose during the day. Eventually i took myself off of it (slowly, in the same fashion that i had started it) and was off of it for about a year. Getting off of it was hard, but eventually i felt ok. Then a year later i felt i needed it again. So after a 3 months of being on it again my doctor took me off of it because i experienced extreme head pressure-to the point that i felt like my head was going to explode. i had a checkup at my regular doctor and nothing was wrong. once i had the lamictal out of my system i felt fine again. well now a year and a half after that, i started the lamictal again in hopes that it would work like it did the first time for me. Unfortunately that has not happened yet. As i write this, my head has so much pressure. I ve experienced headaches on and off for the past 4 days. This is not a common side effect so im not sure whats going wrong.. Has anyone else experienced this or know why that is happening? Anyways like i said the first time i was on lamictal for a yr and a half and i felt fantastic. I would tell people i "loved it"---which sounds silly but when you go from absolutely miserable to feeling alive again and having motivation, that phrase doesnt sound so silly. so take everything you hear with a grain of salt. experience it for yourself because everyone's body is different and who knows, maybe you will feel better on it. I however am stopping this drug tomorrow because of the rare head pressure i experience while on it!

I like to live my life with facts, not speculation and drama. My child is on Singulair and doing fantastic. I remember the trips to the ER when I did not know if my child would live or die. Of course when I saw this report, it caused me some concern so I did some research on my own. Did you know that suicide is the leading cause of violent death in New York State, the United States and the world? In 2002 in New York State there were 1,292 suicides which exceeded homicides by 32%. The statistics show that 1 in 10 teenagers plans to commit suicide. The National Center for Health reports a 10% suicide rate in kids 15-24 years of age and 4 male suicides for every female suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among those 15-24 years old.

So now we have 1 child in New York that has committed suicide that just happened to be on Singulair, and it is Singulairs fault? Show me the proof. All I see is one distraught mom who is trying to find blame for her son’s tragic death. Is there only half the story being told, a trend I have noticed in journalism these days. Let’s face it, life happens. I am NOT on Singulair and I have had melt downs, thrown things across the room, been depressed over things, cried, and even for the past week have been having some crazy dreams. I remember as a child putting notes on my room door telling my parents how much I hated them. I remember as a teenager thinking my life would be better if I were dead. I remember my child being cranky and fussy before she was on Singulair, gee maybe she was teething. The term “terrible twos” has been around a lot longer that Singulair. Let’s face it, we have turned into a society of people who always want something to blame. I think it is time people start taking responsibility for themselves and accept the fact that sometimes life just happens. Take accountability for your own lives, and stop trying to blame everything and anything.

I also live my life by reading internet blogs with a grain of salt. These blogs are public forums and places where anyone and everyone can post. How do you know that all these posts are real? Remember the day when kids made prank phone calls for fun? Now they have the internet and can post pranks on these blogs. How do you know that a competitor to Singulair is not posting in order to fuel the feeding frenzy? How about a registered sex offender or a felon in prison? There are a lot of “sick” people in the world and yes, they have access to the internet too. If you are hanging on every single one of these posts as being true and real then I feel sorry for you. The internet provides anonymity and it is easy to create a fictitious identity and a fictitious story. That is probably why if you do a search for “internet safety” you get 15,700,000 hits.

Until I see proof, I am not going to take my child off Singulair. The CDC reports that in 2002 there were 1.9 million visits to the ER for asthma and 4,261 asthma deaths. If I did stop my child’s Singulair, and she died in the ER from as asthma attack, whose head does that fall on? The media?

I was very interested to find this site and the information people have provided. I think that almost any information found on the internet must be taken with a grain of salt: A particular car may receive rave reviews from several owners, while the same one is bashed as the worst vehicle possible by others. There are web sites that show "proof" that we never went to the moon, and other ones which have been set up to debunk them. As such, I hope that everyone will decide for themselves whether Levaquin is good or bad for them. As for me......

I had a script for Levaquin, given to me for a previous upper respiratory infection. At that time, I was able to beat it on my own without the meds. Over this past weekend, I developed a sinus infection *and* an upper resp. infection, and decided to employ the Levaquin (500 mg).

Monday night, I had very little in the way of side effects. Some slight muscular pain, mild chills/sweats, and restlessness, all of which could be attributed to the fact that I just generally felt bad. Last night, however, I took the second dose, and within about two hours, it felt as if somone had sucked every bit of moisture from my joints. Stretching alleviated some of the discomfort, and I was able to get to sleep, which did bring some pretty strange dreams.

Based on these symptoms (and after reading others' experiences), I'm going to cease the Levaquin, and see how things progress.... a "better safe than sorry" approach. If the infections don't subside, then I suppose it's off to the doc for an alternate solution.

Thanks again to everyone for posting your experiences, both good and bad.