Grapefruit symptoms and conditions

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.

I am a 54 year old male who started taking Lipitor about 4 years ago. It seemed OK at first, but over the next several years I began to have increasing amounts of joint pain after exercise. Nor muscle pain, joint pain. And it seemed to be a result of exercise. By the time I stopped it, I was hurting after everything, not just exercise. I felt better within the first two weeks, but it took about 4 months for me to be able to exercise vigorously again. Over the years I seemed to have forgotten how much vitality I used to have. I am a physician, and because of the long lag time until I felt better, I wondered whether improvement might have related to other factors, so after about 5 months I decided to restart Lipitor. It surprised me that after just one dose, I got back all of the joint pain and fatigue when I was at my worst on Lipitor. I was really hurting. Needless to say, I didn't take any more.

Coincidentally, a physician friend of mine who had statin induced polyneuropathy had a similar experience. After his symptoms went away he found that after only one dose the entire polyneuropathy came back.

Stopping and restarting the drug is a way to test the correlation between the drug and the side effect. For such a large spectrum of side effects to recur after only a single dose, it argues that the problems that my friend and I had was due to some sort of immune memory response. I have not seen this in the medical literature.

I am off it now for about 8 months and am able to comfortably play singles tennis and jog - much more energy (and I took 200 mg of CoQ10 a day with the Lipitor).

I was prescribed 20mg 3x daily for five days to treat "Reactive Airway Disease/Bronchitis." Yesterday was my 5th and final day of taking the medication and I noticed both of my shins began hurting for no apparent reason when I walked. I didn't think it had anything to do with Prednisone. Then, last night, I suddenly felt weak as if my blood sugar had dropped tremendously and ate a grapefruit while trembling with weakness to stop this feeling. Again, I made no association with this and Prednisone. Last night as well, I noticed that my shoulders suddenly became achey on both sides of my backbone for no apparent reason. This morning, I woke up and the pain from my shoulders had spread to my hips and the entire area between my shoulders and hips is tender to the touch. Today, after not taking any of the medication, I feel mentally blurry, have moments of what feels to be low blood sugar and flu-like symptoms. I'm also still experiencing the muscle pain in my back and hips although my shins seem better. My pharmacist told me to call my Dr. and seemed surprised to learn I was not weaned off this medication. All of the symptoms I have described above are side-effects that should be reported to a Dr. immediately, according to my pharmacist. Another less-serious side-effect that began yesterday is swelling in my feet, hands, stomach and face. I also had diarrhea today.

Found this on a web site listed at the end.
Very scary!!! COQ10 is a must when taking any statin drugs your body needs it for your
muscles. Other statin drugs may be better.

Numerous adverse side effect reports have implicated Lipitor as a possible cause for severe neuromuscular degeneration. Some people who have been using Lipitor for two years or more report symptoms similar to multiple sclerosis or ALS - Lou Gehrig's Disease - in which they are losing neuromuscular control of their bodies.

For instance, in an article entitled "Life After Lipitor" that appeared in the newspaper Tahoe World on January 27, 2004, Tahoe City (California) resident Doug Peterson began having serious neuromuscular problems after taking Lipitor for two years. He began losing muscular coordination and slurring words when he spoke. Then he lost balance, followed by loss of fine motor skills - he had difficulty writing. He went from doctor to doctor, trying to figure out what could be happening. Finally one doctor suggested that he stop taking Lipitor, and the downward health spiral stopped and his health is now slowly improving.

These adverse effects have begun appearing in peer-reviewed medical journals, and numerous people have reported similar symptoms at public adverse effect reporting websites such as medications.com. People have reported "trouble swallowing, trouble talking and enunciating words, feeling fatigued all the time, neck aches," "motor neuropathy which mimics ALS," "Blinding headaches, nausea, vertigo, disorientation, memory loss, extremely dry eyes, pain and stiffness in my neck and calf muscles, abominal pain," and "Muscle pain, weakness, spasms, buzzing in right leg. Can't hold arms or head up in vertical position for 2 minutes without extreme pain and weakness."

How could Lipitor potentially cause this kind of harm to so many different parts of the body? Lipitor is a "statin" drug which inhibits the production of cholesterol in order to lower LDL cholesterol counts. By limiting the production of cholesterol, Lipitor may be indirectly causing membrane degeneration in neural and muscle tissue.

The problem is this: cholesterol is essential in your body for many functions. It forms part of what is called the cell membrane - the outer layer of every cell in your body. It helps transport and pack the major components of the cell membrane, called "phospholipids," that are made from essential fatty acids (EFAs). Without sufficient cholesterol we would die, because our tissues are constantly being repaired and replaced with new cells.

Our body produces several thousand milligrams of cholesterol per day to carry out these essential functions, and each day the excess of cholesterol is supposed to be naturally recycled. If your body doesn't have enough new cholesterol each day, you cannot repair and replace your cell membranes and they will eventually degenerate.

The continual recycling of cholesterol happens naturally when you have sufficient ascorbate, another name for vitamin C. Excess cholesterol is naturally converted to bile acid and then excreted. But if you don't consume enough vitamin C (about 2000-3000 milligrams per day for an adult), cholesterol builds up in your bloodstream. It is here that doctors make a critical error: instead of telling you to take more vitamin C, they prescribe Lipitor.
If Lipitor and other similar statin drugs are in fact indirectly causing neural and muscular degeneration, this is a very serious matter indeed.

There are twenty million people in the U.S. on Lipitor alone, and probably millions more on other statin drugs (Zocor, Pravachol, Mevacor, Altocor, Lescol, Crestor, etc.). Are they all going to become victims of cell membrane degeneration and nervous system problems? There are few long-term studies that bear out the safety of these drugs, and side effects such as "muscle pain or weakness" are just classified as a reason for some to stop the medication rather than an indication of something very wrong with the drug.

What is most horrifying about this problem is that cholesterol balance can be achieved without drugs, simply and safely by taking 2000-3000 milligrams of vitamin C per day for an adult. Unfortunately, vitamin C was misclassified as a micronutrient in the 1930s and 1940s, rather than an essential nutrient involved in dozens of body processes. Our health authorities recommend that we take only 60 milligrams per day, barely enough to prevent scurvy.

It is my hope that people on Lipitor and other statins learn that they do not need to take these potentially harmful drugs.

For more information about the connection between vitamin C and the prevention of cardiovascular disease, see the article Natural Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease, or visit the research website of Dr. M.
******

Folks, Lipitor is the most widely prescribed drug. People are blaming their various problems on lipitor. They should see the appropriate specialist to address their specific symptoms vs self-diagnosing and blaming it on lipitor.

I'll just reiterate what everyone else here is saying. I've had Mirena in since April 2004 after my first child was born. For three years, everything was fine (at least I thought so. I was diagnosed with depression one year later), but last summer, my periods returned, I spotted a lot in between, my weight began to increase despite significant exercise, acne, facial hair, irritability. When this all began, I was training for a half marathon and was running daily between 4 and 10 miles a day. In November, I ran that half marathon, then decided it was the running that had whacked my system. In December, I started working with a trainer to help me figure it all out. I've lost inches in my hips and legs while my stomach continues to pudge and my body fat continues to rise. I eat egg whites, low-carb protein shakes, uncooked rolled oats, tuna, chicken breasts, grapefruit and fresh spinach almost exclusively. I've forgotten what it's like to eat like a normal person even occasionally or not think about everything that goes into my mouth.

In utter frustration, I went to the GYN to have blood drawn and battery of hormone and thyroid, etc., tests. Everything came back normal. Except for pap.

Could it be the IUD, I asked her. No. Definitely not the IUD, she said. I took her word. She shrugged and suggested I see an endocrinologist.

After putting my symptoms (only the symptoms and NOT the words "Mirena" or "IUD") into a search engine and getting page after page after page of message boards filled with Mirena horror stories, I'm trying to figure out how to get the thing out ASAP.

Does anyone know if so-called "doc in-a-box" doctors at med clinics can remove these hideous things or do they have to specially trained to remove like they do to insert?

And finally, why are doctors dismissing our symptoms? I'm furious!

I have had the Mirena for at least 3 1/2 to 4 years and I am a person that believes that everything happens for a reason. I know I came across this website because of the tremendous hairloss that I have had. Last year in 2007 all of my hair fell out in the sink, prior to that my hair had started to change drastically from thick beautiful hair to thin, fine, lifeless hair. I had breakage and shedding. I washed my hair one night and started screaming and crying to my husband because all of my hair was in the sink. It wasnt to completely skin bald but more to a mans short hair cut ALL the long strands of hair were gone. I was completely devastated and wore a wig for approximately 6 to 8 months and little by little I grew a full head of hair back, but not long, only enough to have a cute short cut. I have taken extremely good care of my hair ever since and am very careful with it. Only to find now a year later, that I am thinning and now have male pattern hairloss, the very top (crown) of my head has gotten extremely thin in an area the size of say a grapefruit, I have to take the somewhat longer parts of my hair and comb over the thinned part to hide it. Its ridiculous that Im in this situation again, but I never ever related it to Mirena, well I called for an appt. at my OB on April 4, 2008 to have this damn thing removed. I used to love it, it practically stopped my period. Recently over the past 3 months I have noticed a tremendous amount of back pain also. Unbelievable. There is no way this many women are having the same symptoms and this not be the cause.
I hope we all get the word out. It does work for some, but for so many it is heartache.
I hope we all get our youthful, thick, beautiful hair back ! WOW.

I am taking Lupron as I had horrible endometriosis, two large-grapefruit sized tumors and several smaller implants removed. I lost my right ovary, and part of my left in the process. I am 28, newly married, otherwise healthy, and I want to have children, so I went on Lupron that my surgeon/OB suggested- monthly for six months. I read a lot of side effects and was TERRIFIED to go on it.

My own husband is an M.D. and I made him call different doctors in his hospital to see what they had to say...in a few days he called about 5 different OBs. Thankfully, they said that those that had side effects that were extremely severe was pretty rare. Still, I was scared.

I am now into my second month on Lupron and I have to say that the side effects aren't nearly as severe as I thought they would be. No hot flashes, no hair loss, no crazy depression, no anything else. I DO have fatigue, but it's manageable with coffee and extra sleep. I have some mood swings- mostly I feel more grumpy. The most noticeable and bothersome is the lack of sex drive and vaginal dryness. I also have trouble achieving "the big O."

Still, so far, very manageable. I'm not sure if it'll be worse if time goes on. But I feel like everything on the internet is really negative. I'm not discounting the tales of people who have had a bad time, but I wanted to put out there that it isn't always the worst thing in the world.

No serious side effects. I want to add my experience as I see everyone
here has a side effect. I am always wary about medication, and I have taken
statins mainly Zocor and Lipitor off and on for 10 years or so. I have familial
hypercholesterolemia, so diet hasn't helped much, and I have tried all kinds
of food supplements etc. I do take CoQ10 based on reports I have read, not from any side effect. If there are any side effects its not significant that I can
notice it. Sometimes I am forgetful, hard to say if its caused by the drug, as
the times I have been off it, has been much different.

I wonder if high cholesterol is a real problem, I wonder if high triglycerides are worse? Lately I found what seems like an improvement by eliminating high glycemic foods like rice and replacing with barley and oats. Barley also has some fiber and other things that are apparently helpful. Grapefruit is also helpful, but there is a warning not to take it, if you are already taking statins. Based on all this side effects reported here, I feel I might need to try once again, to try an alternative. I am maintaining my 10mg Lipitor, though I had been planning to move back to Zocor as its cheaper for me. I will take a test
in 2 months to test my current barley diet, and recent exercise routine to see
what improvements can happen. Then if successful, I might get off statins,
maintain the non-glycemic diet, exercise and in addition take a lot of grapefruit and a reasonable dose of niacin.

In the past I have tried ginger, garlic, Chinese herbs, and more then I can list here without much help. Occasionally I had been surprised by low readings,
once when I had come back from a 10 day meditation retreat. I have read that cholesterol can change due to stress, and this is a very variable thing. I have
taken lab tests within 2 days from the same lab and seen almost 20% difference (with fasting). I think each body is different and one needs to take a very long term, positive attitude of experimenting and not feeling discouraged too much, but always reading and trying different things and being careful of how you interpret the results.

I would rather ignore the high cholesterol, except my brother died at 65 from cardiac issues, but he also had diabetes. I am now 51.

openlotus

I have been reading all the entries for this website and thought I would pass along some useful information. I have been on Levoxyl for 8 years now and have had lots of the symptoms that all these people have had. I then had an appointment with a great Endo doctor at the *** and discovered some interesting things. There is a number "range" they put all people into when checking your TSH levels, only problem is each person is different and even though the doctor may say your in the range, it may not by the right dosage for you. Unfortunately the only way to determine the correct range for you is to experiment with the dosages and it takes 3 months or more for your body to adjust. Also, thyroid hormones are accumulated in the body and depending how active you are is how you may feel. The hormone pill you take today will not be used by your body for up to 10 days, so if you feel good for a few days at rest, then exercise the next day you may feel drained. It will take a few days for your body to replenish the stockpile of hormones to feel "normal" again. A working thyroid makes hormones as needed, yours now does not so this is why so many people feel fatigued, or racing heart beat if they don't get enough exercise. I also had leg and muscle pain. The medication depletes your body of Calcium and B complex especially B12. My leg and muscle pain have disappeared. I still get headaches, but much less with the B12, and some days I still feel tired but I say again, your body cant regulate its needed thyroid hormone and a synthetic pill is only a substitute.. You will always have some side effects. Hope these tips help someone.

Have been taking Vytorin for about two months. So far, main side effects have been frequent stools, gas, and occasional diarrhea. Some tiredness; hard to know if it's caused by the Vytorin, though.

The only truly bad problems I've experienced happened when I ate a half a grapefruit. That night I awoke with a splitting headache and chills/sweats. The next day I had to take Pepto Bismol before leaving the house because I was constantly in the bathroom. Obviously the grapefruit doubled the effect of the medication.

I was prescribed 42 pills (20 days) of 10 mg Prednisone which I am to take beginning with 4 pills for four days and steadily decreasing every four days down to four 1/2 pill the last four days. I took my first dose yesterday and was told to drink lots of water. I do not wish to gain weight nor have a moon face. My doctor does not feel this will affect me in that way, but may have water retention (swelling). I am 73, and this regiment of Prednisone was prescribed to decrease inflammation due to a possible siatic nerve problem, which is causing extreme pain in my left leg. The pain is excruciating when I get up in the morning but eases down by mid morning with some pain all day and some nights if I move just the wrong way.Does anyone have a suggestion for the best foods to eat and what to avoid? I read that grapefruit juice may be beneficial.

Hello EveryOne out there...OK OK....

Now Why have I been out of touch since Sept 14th.... 2007???

I have been VERY VERY ill.....

Y'See, I went to see this new Doctor (Quack) for continued pain in my chest (sternum) area....that I have been having trouble with all Summer. (Severe Costochondritis/Fibromyalgia) By Sept 14th, this Quack who claims to be a Doctor had given me this prescription for Prednisone pills (20 mg each)....with orders to take mega doses of this toxic poison in order to combat the pain I was suffering. I was so desperate to get out of pain that I went ahead and filled the prescription and started taking the pills that eventful Friday night. I made the fatal mistake of trusting this Doctor!!!

If I had any sense God gave green apples I would have researched this a little before taking this medicine!! I would have run like all heck in the opposite direction!

I had been taking these reccomended large doses for approx two weeks back then per Doctor 'Quack's' order.... I have been hooked after the first week....and now currently desperately trying to get off of it with only marginal success!!

I have been on this Prednisone crap for some 49 days, currently and desperately trying to get off of it....with terrible side effects!! I have experienced every side effect known to the Devil himself and even discovered some new ones that I never knew was possible!? Case in point! I can't sleep night after night without terrible withdrawals all night long!!! I am forced to contend with them every night here. Not to mention I fight the withdrawals all days long too. I have this inept doctor and I am sorry I even went to him in the first place...!

The withdrawals I am now getting are harder to deal with than the original chest pain itself!!! Not to mention even eating the so-called 'wrong' foods sets off even more withdrawals almost immediately. I am now extremely sensitive to light and the sun~ not to mention.....noise....and stress....

I am much sicker from this Quack Doctor's so-called "HELP" than I ever was before....

I don't mind saying his name and trying to steer everyone away from this jerk Doctor here in Las Vegas who takes advantage of people in pain when they are desperate by feeding them toxic poisons and passing the poison off as something harmless thats gonna help them??? Just ask me who he is and I will tell you. I have no qualms about it....

Bottom line is I have spent this last month trying to get off this crap and I just found out that the withdrawals may bother me up to a YEAR after I take my last dose of this crap poison!! I have been going thru H***!!! A nightmare I would LOVE to pass onto this Quack who pretends to be a doctor!

I am down to about 7.5 mg per day now from about 180 mg that he gave me originally Sept 14 2007. Believe me this was not easy thing for me to do. I went "Toxic" on this drug weeks ago and it has affected my ability to process, think and reason properly. I feel like part of my mind is now missing or went on permanent vacation!! Dizziness,feeling like I'm gonna pass out, Brain Fog and Mass Confusion is the order for the day~depending on the time of day???

"The side effects of prednisone include adrenal suppression, which can occur with periods of prednisone use to surpass seven days. Adrenal suppression refers to the body’s inability to synthesize natural corticosteroids, resulting in a dependency on the prednisone taken by the patient. This is why doctors do not recommend the cessation of prednisone when the patient has taken it for longer than seven days. They reduce the dose gradually over a few days in the case of short-term prednisone use, and over weeks or months in the case of long-term treatment. Stopping prednisone treatment abruptly can cause the life-threatening Addison’s disease, in which in the body no longer produces sufficient amounts of adrenal steroid hormones"

I want to SUE this Doctor for making me this sick!!!!!

SDR

GRRRRRRRRRrrrrr!!!!!!!

I was prescribed prednisone with antibiotics (2 weeks prescription after 5 days in the hospital) when I had severe bronchial pnemonia. I was not told about side affects except for swelling. I ended up having a severe case of adult acne that lasted about 4 months -- many tiny bumps mostly on my forehead and both sides of my face, going down my neck and onto my chest. I seemed to have a sensitivity to grapefruit and orange juice, as well as beer (it would be very flared the next day). As a vegan I already have an excellent diet that I follow -- I'm sure if I ate animal proteins and fried foods it would have been much, much worse. My pharmacist friend told me that topical creams for acne would be of no use, since the reaction was coming from the inside out and that since the prednisone remains in the body tissue for a while, it would take a few months to work its way out. I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT I'M COMPLETELY BACK TO NORMAL SKIN AFTER 6 MONTHS. I should also say that I never had acne, even as a teenager, so this didn't happen because I was prone. All I can say is have alot of patience, eat really clean food (lots of fruits low in citric acit and veggies) and keep oil and spices to a minimum. Definately give up dairy and animal protein to help the healing faster. Good luck and don't despair!

I am so glad to read all of this information. I am a 40 year old female. I have suffered 2 PEs. I have varied from being on 10 mg of warfarin to 25 mg a day. This is the first time I got to go 1 month between INR checks. I'm on 11 mg/day with INR of 2.1. I am having SEVERE recurrent headaches, sleepless nights, feeling tired all the time, and problems with my memory. Drs tell me they don't know what this is from and there are no side effects to warfarin. I have a vena cava filter in and I'm on the medicine for the rest of my life. Glad to hear I'm not losing my mind (just having horrible side effects regardless of what the doctors say!)

I have been on Lurpon since February this year, I have had two heart attacks which required triple bypass surgery and a stent..
The Lupron is to shrink my fibroids, which are huge, one the size of a grapefruit!
I can honestly say apart from the hot flashes, I have had no side effects whatsover, I can't have any more surgeries yet until my cardiologist says so..
But I am very happy with Lupron the freedom every month (my periods stopped immediately) is just wonderful and I am not in bed for three days!
Guess it affects everyone differently, but I have read a lot of negative posts on it, but it works for me. I am forty six. The heart problems are genetic.

I don't think that 1 grapefruit per day can do the bladder infection; I was eating or drinking 3 grapefruit servings (juice or fruit) 3 days/day. I am using an Italian salad dressing with vinegar to try to offset drinking it!...but I did start the cranberry juice yesterday...good luck to all....

I just hope my 'new' doctor doesn't put me back on any steroids...it just seems that each of the (4) doctors I saw 'gave up' and put me back on them for lack of what else to do...the last one had me on prednisone for 2 weeks and then wean down on those and start on a low Decadron for 2 weeks to hopefully prevent the hives from returning...then this new doc took me off all of them ...I've been off a week now, just on antihistimines and Dixopen...so far just a little, bearably, itchy...

hi cjmom--
glad you found this site! hate to say it but i just swallow 2 tsp of vinegar before my meals. it's bad but not THAT bad. if it helps rev up my metabolism it is worth it! i really like drinking the pure cranberry juice... but be sure and dilute it in a lot of water or it is very tart. drink tons of it. it's also supposed to be a holistic remedy for shingles, which is why i was prescribed prednisone. so who knows? maybe it is also good for the hives? then my opthamologist said i never should have been on prednisone in the first place (it was prescribed by an urgent care doctor).

bottom line is my moon face has been going away. i don't know if it's the diurex or cranberry water or both. i'm going to keep using both just for good measure.

can eating a grapefruit a day cause bladder infections??? i was excited to be eating a healthy fruit!

good luck!
sanndiego

Hi... I was glad to find this site..I have been on and off prednisone for 3 mos....mostly ON..but now I have been off it for a week....I had a terrible hive reaction to 'something' in June and the only thing to suppress it has been prednisone...needless to say, I didn't sleep either...I averaged about 4 hours/night til they put me on Dixopen (sp?)...definitely helped with the sleeping as well as the hives..I tried the Diurex for the bloating and weight gain too...it helped very little...be careful around the grapefruit daily (I did that 2 different times in the past and it caused a bladder infection...) I am going to try the Cranberry juice though!...I am now off the Prednisone for a week and really watching my calorie intake...so maybe the Cranberry juice will speed things up and get me back to my 'normal' weight...do you put the vinegar 'in' anything...yuk by itself...I sure hope to get my puffy cheeks down as well...any updates?

Hello, everyone!
OK, Gypsi... i got the vinegar and grapefruit tonight and started the new experiment! Between that, the Diurex and the cranberry juice... maybe my moon face will disappear completely along with the extra pounds I picked up!

In general, my moon face is better but still there. I can't tell if my semi-depressed/low self-esteem state is due to post-prednisone moods or being down about my moon face and weight gain. Or maybe because I quit smoking and am all wacked out but didn't even realize it. haha. The good news is this website is so helpful and there are things to make us better.

Thank you to everyone who writes in!
sanndiego

Hi Gypsi--
Thanks so much for the grapefruit and vinegar tips for my metabolism. That is just what I need! My metabolism seems to be at a standstill. So today I will WALK to the store and get the stuff.

Pure cranberry juice and water is a great diuretic. I used to drink it on a diet I was on called "Fat Flush..." designed to lose weight and flush all the toxins out of the body. I was going to the bathroom constantly, it worked so well. Plus cranberry juice is supposed to be so good for a lot of other things. It may take a little research to find the pure juice... i get mine at Henry's or Whole Foods.

Thanks for saying I have a new state of mind... I am certainly trying, so maybe it shows!
sanndiego

Sanndiego,

Awesome to hear about your new state of mind. I thought I would share with you a few of my diet tips that seem to be working: add 1 grapefruit to your diet once a day and take 2 tspns of vinegar before every meal to help you speed up your metabolism!
Do you have any natural tip as well? I figure if we combine our forces we might just win the fight against Prednisone!

Gypsi ;)

Just a Note
I saw my doctor the other day and the on of the things NOT to take with Zocor is "Grapefruit". OJ is ok. It has to do with the pathways (chemically) used by the body.