Grief symptoms and conditions

Prednisone has messed up my head. I had Bells Palsy (which is paralysis of one half of the face) and can be very scary. I have had some depression before but this stuff made me fall off the face of the earth. I went from someone in control and quite happy to the absolute pits. The depression was quite severe and sudden and I had no ability to stop the downward spiral. It has played havoc with my life. In its defense, it cleared the Bell's Palsy up very quickly but the grief it has caused me through my altered mind state wasn't worth it. Insomnia (eg - no sleep for 6 nights straight) was a trigger and then the mood swings took over and then bang....full blown depression and an inability to focus, work properly or function. I am now on the road to recovery but it has been a pretty turbulent 2 months. Be very careful with this drug....very, very careful.

Within 12 hours of my first dose, I started experiencing irritability, racing of thoughts, rapid heart beat, shortness of breath, nausea, sweating, and then ultimately, a panic attack. I have history of successfully treated depression from several years ago, yet this med brought forth all those painful old feelings of angst. I am discontinuing doxy immediately. I wish that one of the warning labels on the Rx bottle read, "Do not take if there is a history of depression." It sounds like that would have save a lot of people a lot of grief. Best wishes to all for good health.

I have been on Seroquel for about a month and a half.
When I first began to experience anxiety, I was given antidepressants starting with Celexa,(didn't work) Zoloft( made me feel worse), and Trazodone(same effects) , along with anti-anxiety medications.Nothing was working, and I ended up with Serotonin syndrome- HORRIBLE experience- did not sleep for a month, and it was as though my "fight or flight" response was on "hyperdrive".

Finally went to a Pdoc instead of a general practitioner,and he took me off what I was on . He put me on 50 mg. of Seroquel in the a.m., and 50 mg. in the p.m. before bedtime. I improved within several days, and have felt like myself for the most part ever since. I am thankful especially to be sleeping! Have gained some weight back, but since the serotonin syndrome caused me to lose 20 pounds in a month and a half, that is good. The first couple of weeks or so I had dry mouth, but that has gone away. There have been no sexual side effects like the ones caused by zoloft- that makes both my husband and myself happy.
Just hope if I continue to exercise and eat right that I won't experience the weight gain everyone is talking about.
My life is extremely stressful right now due to long-term circumstances beyond my control, and this medication is helping me to cope! Besides feeling some mild depression and grief due to those circumstances, I am just thankful to be functioning well again!

Wow! Let me tell you my story: I was first diagnosed with HBP (170/140) during a high school sports physical in the beginning of 8th grade (I was about 14 years old). I was in top shape and a very healthy eater. I had probably (from what I remember) every test done to see what was the cause of this hypertension - and the only thing found was that my kidney's produce too much renin (the hormone that increases BP). I was then put on Lisinopril 10mg. Everything continued good for about 6 years - I also stayed in shape and ate healthy. However, throughout those 6 years, I did notice my curly hair turing straight and my incredibly (can't do nothing with) thick hair started to thin and become stylable. Now...I do know this is my fault, but in the past 2 years my healthy eating habits have slipped, I've gained weight and started smoking - plus have a sit down, don't move kinda job. However, about 1 year ago, I had a slight spike in my pressure and my doctor added a diuretic (HCTZ 12.5mg) to my lisinopril. Ok, that brought the pressure down and all seemed well. Then..... in December 2008, not long ago, I started not feeling well. Thinking I was sick, I went to the doctor's to find my blood pressure to be 190/140. Immediately, my does was increased to 30-12.5mg. That brought a quick drop in my BP down to 110/66 - I was so darn dizzy I could barely function. I was also but on short-term disability because all this caused me to be off work for so long. Unfortunately, when my dose was adjusted to 20-12.5mg and the dizziness stopped I went back to work. Now, I can't go back on S.T.D. for many, many weeks. And....... The past month has been complete HELL!! My hands (mainly fingers) and toes are almost always cold, I've been dieting for over a month and am struggling to lose weight, my hands and feet go numb more often than usual - I never used to find myself waking up in the middle of the night because of pins/needles feeling, my hair is thinner than ever and stick straight - I'm afraid I'm not gonna have any left, I have UNBEARABLE headaches (sometimes all I want to do is sleep and sometimes, like tonight -it's 4:12am- I can't sleep), I have acne like a teenager - mind you, I never had more than 1 to 2 pimples at a time growing up, and that was rare (I was lucky)... Thank god for FMLA, or I would of lost my job since I've spent so much time home since I thought all was good and went back to work. Only wish I could make a dollar again. Now to top it off...I was referred to a nephrologist (kidney specialist) who after seeing me only once for about 30min and reviewing bloodwork from the end of January (I had a high calcium level as well as some others that deal with the kidneys) wants to take away the diuretic (HCTZ) part of my medication (hopefully to reduce the calcium level) BUT DOUBLE MY MG OF LISINOPRIL. HE WANTS ME TO TAKE 20MG TWO TIMES A DAY. I was starting to think all these new symptoms that came on so quick were a result from the increase of lisinopril - now I think I'm sure. I'm not changing my medications until I can talk this over with my PCP - I'm going to ask we try a medication change. Does anyone have any suggestions? Or any suggestions why a 20-year-old has blood pressure as high as 190/140 with no family history of HBP or really any health problems? Any suggestions why the kidneys are producing too much renin? Any meds that drop the pressure and we don't get headaches - I can live with cold limbs and numbness - it's the headaches that are rendering this 24-year-old helpless :(

I started taking Yaz about a year ago. I started taking it around the time my brother died in a car accident. I thought that my loss of libido, tiredness, lack of interest in everything, emotional outbursts, arguing with my husband for any reason, crying over nothing, unable to concentrate while studying and unable to remember a thing were all because of my brothers death. I am now thinking that this may be due to Yaz. Does this sound like Yaz side effects? or am I suffering from depression because of my brothers death. I just haven't felt right lately and I cant figure it out.

Well, I have been on Loestrin 24 Fe for about a year now and let me tell you, the person who said their side effects increased with time is exactly right! I have been miserable lately. I have been beyond moody, I have no appetite, my husband hates me because I have ZERO sex drive...I mean ZERO. We'll go a month at a time without having sex. My attitude is miserable. I feel like the most depressed person on the planet and I have never ever experienced depression symptoms until being on this pill. Recently, I missed 5 of my pills while I was on vacation, and magically, my sex drive reappeared and I wanted to eat everything in sight. Seems to me, the pill is causing me grief now. Within the last 2 months, I've had crazy pregnancy symptoms too. I'm SO beyond over this pill, I'm finishing the pack and then it's back to condoms for us. I was on Yaz for a while too before Loe, and let me just say I was the biggest bitch on the face of the earth. I'm just guessing these pills aren't right for me. The only thing that DID work was a minipill that I was on when I was breastfeeding my daughter. My ob-gyn took me off because she said that the hormone levels weren't high enough when I stopped breastfeeding to prevent pregnancy. Gosh, I miss that pill. Oh well. It's nice to know I'm not the only one with these problems.

I cannot recall off the top of my head how long I've been on Yasmin, but its been at least 3 years. I feel very tired a lot of the time, and I have little to no energy, except for a few days before my period starts, then I feel great and happy go lucky. My brother died over 10 years ago, and I was using an anti-depressant, so I kept thinking my depression was from my grief of losing my brother. Now, reading some of these posts and other women's experiences with Yasmin, I'm starting to think maybe Yasmin is the cause of my depression. I'm usually an energetic person, and love to be outside and enjoy being around people. Most of the time now, I'd rather be sleeping or being by myself. Thanks, everyone, for your experience of using Yasmin. I think I have a valid reason for seeing my doctor, to get off of Yasmin. I am not in any relationship, and the only reason my doctor put me on Yasmin was to regulate my periods, though they are usually fairly light to normal, and always have been.

My wife started taking Reglan last year one week before she committed suicide at the age of 57. She had never been diagnosed in her life as depressed, but obviously she was at the end. Two years previous she had a hysterectomy as part of treatment for uterin cancer. Five months previous to her suicide she got sick and after many weeks was diagnosed with acid reflux. She was given Nexium for this, but continued to suffer from the reflux. I believe somewhere in this time she became depressed though she continued to deny it right up to the day she took her own life. I really do not know if the Reglan or the Nexium was behind her suicide, but I believe it is quite possible. I should be mad as hell about this, but for now I just can not get beyond the grief. I am putting this out here just to say you may want to be very careful with Reglan!!!

I'm 31 and started taking Effexor a week ago 75mg to begin with. Today I'm doubling the dose. I am mourning for the loss of my husband whom I have been together with for three years and married for 4 months! In a week I had a serious nervous breakdown due to an obsession in my mind; related to getting his personal belongings from his family. But today when I think about my feelings, it seems as if they're all lost. Or they are buried even deeper inside of me. I can't cry and this is uncomfortable. One day I'm seriously aggressive, another day I'm the easiest person on earth, then another day I'm fighting with my emotions like missing him bad. I had suicidal thoughts as well. When I look back, it seems overwhelming what I felt due to this medicine on top of my deep sorrow.
I don't really know how this dose doubling will affect me, but I'm anxious!!!!!

I am so glad I found this web site I just wish I had found it BEFORE I took my Singulair this evening. I am a 54 year old mother of 12 year old twin boys and I only just begun taking Singulair 9 days ago for lingering asthma problems I could not shake. My difficulties with Singulair started right away with headaches (though I didn't realize what was going on till I found this site) and by day three I was starting to have the dreadful nightmares that everyone is describing. Now it is also obvious that an extreme depression has settled over me and seems to be getting worse every day. I feel like I am living in the shell of myself and almost as a third party observe the awful way I have been treating my family. It makes me feel so miserable all I want to do is to be by myself, shut down and sleep. I read in the other letters about body/back aches but not about what I have been experiencing. Just a few days ago - terrible leg pains/cramps began pulsate along the back of my upper legs and sometimes the lower back. I am stiff and uncomfortable during the day but at night it is terrible. Each night it has gotten worse. The pain in my legs is nearly unbearable even as I write this and is what propelled me to get back out of bed at midnight and to the computer and to this site. Thank goodness and thank everyone who has written - it is obvious you have saved me much pain and grief - hopefully my letter will help someone else. But for right now this six month supply of Singulair is going in the trash immediately!
Lauri

I discovered this site last Wednesday morning - without taking the time to list all of the grief I felt reading through the pediatric postings, I will briefly note my 4 year old daughter has been on Singulair for 2 years now. What I now realize is all the behavior issues, night screaming, etc. are so easily dismissed as stages of a toddler. She has suffered (as well as our family) every symptom and behavior listed by parents on this site with the exception of leg cramps.

Our entire family can see the dramatic results since taking her last pill last Tuesday night. The melt downs and tantrums are all but over, she even commented "hey, I listened right away" on the second day without Singulair. She is still having night terrors - I call them that because they are in no way a dream or nightmare, but rather agonizing moments that break our hearts to hear. I hope those will soon go away as well so her sleep pattern results in a restful night.

Am I angry that we have all suffered for 2 years only to find we have been basically poisoning her? Am I angry that for the 2 years her dad and I have sunk pretty low, feeling inadequate as a parent to teach and discipline our child? Am I angry that after 20 years of marriage, raising a great 16 year old in the midst of all this, we were to the point of the ADD, bipolar, etc. theory that would have been misdiagnosed? Heck no, we are all so thankful to have come across this site and are so giddy and excited to be happy again.

What I am angry about is this - when I called our pediatrician last Wednesday and relayed what I had seen on the Merck website for side effects added in recent months she had not heard this information and asked where I saw it. At that point I had not seen this site. I asked her how is it the well dressed pharmaceutical reps come in with doughnuts, exotic trips, etc. to market a drug with "ABC" treatments and "XYZ" side effects, continue to market the drug and never update the doctors when original selling points are altered - ie; new side effects.

The FDA website is troubling for two reasons: Merck is in charge of their own investigation regarding recent complaints and the FDA expects this to take 9 months. Gee, who gets to investigate themself? Secondly, in February the site notes the FDA and Merck are trying to find the best way to communicate the concerns being investigated to prescribes and patients. HELLO - we live in a world of real time, instant communication methods, two examples being the United States Postal Service and an internet connection.

Today is April 30 - a full two months after "trying to decide how to pass this information on" and my doctor, nor my pharmacist have received any information. Apparantly since we missed the story and coverage on Dateline we are out of luck.

I plan to start from ground zero to get our voices heard to change the way, or the law if you will, to implement an immediate communication link between the FDA and prescribes when an investigation such as this has been initiated. I realize Singulair has most likely benefited more humans than it has destroyed while on the drug and the FDA would have to clearly not communicate "panic". However, when a drug is used for pediatric treatments we need information quickly to assess on behalf of our children. In my case, since my daughter had been on the drug since 2 years old, I do not know what her "normal behavior" should be as that is the age they start to develop and show personality. Additionally, when enclosed prescribing information is updated with a prescription -MARK IT IN RED, "UPDATED INFORMATION". I read every ounce of information that accompanies a new prescription for any family member. I would NOT, however read the information every 30 days for an ongoing, long term prescription over the course of 2 years.

I am looking for anyone that may have started contact with a congressional representative or otherwise to change the communication to our doctors. Please note - I am in no way interested in any legal action regarding Singulair and our nightmare. We are moving forward and do not wish to live the nightmare one moment more. I simply want to see our doctors and pharmacists have vital information as it happens.

Thank you to all for sharing your experiences - I truly believe it is changing lives and making a difference. I am personally telling everyone I know about what is happening with our child and all of yours. Andy by the way, by telling one of my long time friends our amazing discovery, she realized she had been suffering from depression for some time and chalked it up to various things going on in her life. She had her last Singulair last week and feels tremendous! So keep the word going!

Okay, i am a 28 year old healthy woman. I have had a few anxiety attacks due to moving, new job, being a single momma and etc. But they are under control.
However, last month i started Yaz to help with mild PMDD which had developed after i had my daughter ( who is 2 now and awesome!!!). Well I thought it was okay at first then 2 weeks into it i started my period and bled for 2 weeks!!!! i have never had a period that long, i thought my blood would be low by then end of it. Well, i also had migraines, which i have never had before. Every morning when i woke up my head pounded. So, i have started the second pack and it has been awful, my lower back is hurting so bad, my anxiety is peaked and i am all shakey. Not to mention i feel like crying my eyes out. Oh and i have eaten 2 pieces of bacon today due to nausea. I couldn't believe it was the BC. When i was young i had taken Triphasil and ortho tricyclen. And i remember them being okay. But not this one.
So tomorrow my gyn. is putting me on Ortho-lo so hopefully it will work. I hate we all have to go through these side effects, but i guess that's how it goes. God bless everyone i hope we find some answers! :o)

I've been on Tri-Sprintec for a month and a half. My husband is going crazy due to my mood swings. Of course he gets the brunt of it compared to anybody else. One moment I am fine and the next I am yelling because I dropped the butter on the floor. Ten minutes later I've forgotten this instance and I'm crying for no apparent reason. I normally have normal to dry skin, and no acne (to very few) Lately my face is very itchy and I've had a lot of breakouts. I work in Law Enforcement, and have no problems with being straight forward and pushy, but lately I don't have it in me, I feel very depressed and a lot of self doubt. I also don't have a big appetite, I feel nauseas, and I do take the pill with food. I've also gained 10 pounds in the last month and a half. I don't know if this is a coincidence or if it's side effects from the birth control. I have also had a lot of headaches lately.

My sister was prescribed Avelox on Tuesday, March 11, 2008. Within 15-20 minutes she began having breathing difficulties. Because she has asthma her initial thought was that she was having an asthma attack. She tried asthma treatment and it didn't help. She soon was unable to breath. Her husband called 911, they responded quickly but had to intubate her in the ambulance. They know that she was without oxygen to her brain for at least 3-5 minutes. This caused seizures that lasted 20 hours before I.C.U. could get them under control. Unfortunately it caused brain damage leaving her with no higher brain function (vegetative state). As she has worked in the medical field for over 14 years she did not wish to be kept alive by artificial means. On Tuesday, March 18, 2008 her ventilation tube and feeding tube were removed. It is now Thursday, March 20, 2008 and she is in a wonderful Hospice House awaiting her death.
She had taken the same class of antibiotic in the past with no reaction. Really not sure what caused this one. She was going through chemo for breast cancer, but had just finished and was scheduled to start her radiation treatment. Her chemo doctor told us that since her reaction, they have had another patient who went into anaphylactic shock after taking Avelox.
My sister is only 43 years old. This medication should be taken off the market.

Wow. Thank god for this Bulletin! I was diagnosed with hypertension at age 28
and tried a variety of drugs with no control over the BP. So, about 2 1/2 - 3 years ago, I was prescribed 100MG of Toprol XL which seemed to control it well, but with debilitating long term illness. I had no idea until today that Toprol XL was causing similar grief to others. The horrible symptoms that I have been experiencing now for several years are Extreme Chronic Fatigue, Profuse Cold Clammy Sweating, Dizzy spells, weight gain, seeing specs of light and thousands of eye floaters, severe depression, muscle aches, headaches.

After reading about others with similar side effects, I am confident that it's from this medication. I have had all kinds of testing done including T3 & T4 Throid levels and a full array of blood work with NO LUCK! Regardless of the consequences, I am going to quit this damn medicine today because it appears to take 5 weeks or so to get it out of the body to notice a difference. I am so desperate for change. It is ruining my life because I can
't wake up, I'm always tired even though I get 10-14 hours of sleep. My wife and kids are bummed because I have no energy to do anything, EVER!

If you have any other suggestions or would like to comment about this.

Sincerely,

Sean

I've been reading a bunch of these posts because my Dr just prescribed Singulair for me. Don't think I will be taking it, unless we can find a way for me to use the purest one, which is the one they give infants.
When the companies do the testing, it's on the active ingredient - the drug itself. And it may have limited side effects. But the inert ingredients that are added can cause a great deal of grief. Many of you have described symptoms that sound like classic reactions to all of the phenol related chemicals in the inert ingredients: the heart palpitations, inability to sleep, increased pain and more. (And that would be why I won't be taking it) There IS a test to check for sensitivity to phenol but hardly any allergists or other Dr's know about it or check for it. Until physicians test for these inert ingredients, people will get sick from what are probably safe enough basic drugs. Unless something has changed this year, (I haven't checked on it lately), there is not even a national database for the pharmacist to use to check for the INERT ingredients. So when they are checking for a potential drug allergy.drug reaction, they are only checking on the active ingredient, not the inerts. I probably need to start campaigning for such a database. LDR

***AstraZenaca Phone Number 1-800-236-9933***
CALL & REPORT YOUR PROBLEMS DIRECTLY TO THEM if you hope to maybe help make a difference, please. I have been having so much grief while on this medication I finally broke down and called this number to ask for more information. During the conversation I told the lady I was talking to that every time I try to cut back on this medication I have increasing sharp chest pains. She replied that since I mentioned a problem she needed to report it to their 'safety control division' and asked me to answer a few questions. I don't know if doing this makes any real difference or not, but I believe in strength in numbers, and I would hope that more who read here might also call and express their concerns.

Good luck to anyone who might read this...and take care, JC

I just needed some advice on birth control. I started loestrin 24 fe in the beggining of the year. I was getting my period before I was do so the doctor switched me to ortho trycycline lo. I was really moody and was having anxiety attacts. I used to take bc pills for years and never had a problem until after my daughter was born. So I went back on loestrin. I got my period again before I was do. The doctor said to give it some time so I did. Again the horrible bloating moodswings anxiety and then depression. I quit talking it and now feel better. Is it possible that bc pills are no longer for me. I really would love to try another pill but a little scared. I never thought bc can cause such grief. HELP

I have been reading all the comments and I can't help wondering if I am atypical, but I have not had any of these side effects. In fact the only thing that Lisinopril has done for me is to lower my bp. I was 130 over 90 and now 116 over 78, so it sure works for me!

I have been on nuvaring for over a year and have all sorts of issues that I never even considered to be linked to the NR. I suffer from bipolar disorder, severe anxiety and depression and all my symptoms have increased while on the NR. I have terrible headaches on a daily basis and have had alot of stomach problems. Nausea, cramps, vomiting etc but I just thought I was sick. I have also had issues with weight gain and I have absolutely zero sex drive. This has been really hard on my partner and I's relationship and is extremely frustrating. We've been together 3yrs this fall and this is really hurting us both.(I'm 20yrs old) We have been thinking my headaches were caused by grinding my teeth. I'm currently on a number of medications including lamictal, ambien CR, adderall XR, allegra. I'm always exhausted and ill tempered and just had several blood tests to try and determine what could be causing my constant exhaustion but nothing was irregular. I have an appt with my gynecologist tomorrow and I'm going to talk to her about other options but because all BC forms have about the same degree, if not worse, side effects I might stop the BC all together.

It really sucks that I am having so many issues from NR because it is by far the easiest BC I have ever used. I always forgot the pill and the patch hurt like BLEEP and always fell off.

I developed shortness of breath after using lisinopril for 3 months. I quit lisinipril because of all of the other side effects it gave me (stomach pains, the hit by a truck feeling).

For me the cough didn't get serious until near the end when I quit because of the other problems. After I quit the cough kept getting worse as did the bouts of shortness of breath.

It took me a long long time to figure out what was happening, which as near as I can tell goes something like this: the cough irritates the lungs and causes direct damage. However, as the immune system kicks into overdrive trying to clear the lisinopril and associated toxins out of the lungs, liver & rest of the body, it uses up zinc and selenium reserves.

When the body runs low on selenium (from the immune system using it up) then it can no longer effectively clear the lungs, causing more lung damage. But even more is happening, since selenium is also used by other systems, and they begin to suffer too. One such system is the joint protection mechanism. Another is the thyroid system, both in the thyroid itself as well as the thyroid receptors in the various organs all over the body.

The thyroid receptor problems cause weight gain, energy problems, etc... Combine the thyriod system having problems with the lung damage and that resulted in my shortness of breath.

To combat this problem long term I found zinc & selenium helpful. In the short term I also used tyrosine & iodine & boron & cal/mag as needed to help stimulate the thyroid along with the zinc & selenium.

I also found that the traditional asthma support to be quit helpful in the short term, which are molybdenum and manganese.

I'd prefer to get my nutrition from food, but minerals are hard to absorb in the quantities needed after such a brutal, toxic chemical assault on the body, so I choose supplementation to help me.

Best of luck to all.

I had to get Xanax too - to help me through the withdrawal. That's just WRONG! My doctor put me on Loestrin 1/20 FE: I got the generic and have been on it for three days so I don't know how it's going to work out for me yet. I'm definitely getting the name brand next time - I don't trust generics. I just cannot STAND how completely 'off' I feel ever since quitting the Yasmin!! It's uncomfortable.

I can't believe this pill has caused so many women so much grief and yet - I haven't heard anything about it being recalled or anything!!!! Isn't YAZ the same thing - only repackaged and renamed?!?

After I posted my side effects, of which I had many or most as all of those posted did, I contacted an attorney. Or should I say I have contacted many attorneys, but; now would handle my case. I was just wondering if anyone else has tried to contact attorneys, and what constitues a good case other than death. And with death I won't ever care if an attorney is contacted because, then it would do me no good. I guess I would just like to make the Pharma have some grief that they have caused many people to have with their Advair. If anyone has had success retaining an attorney, could you please let me know. I am still using my 500/50 Advair and my side effects are getting worse everyday.

My doctor has recommended that I take Flomax because of recent small stream.I said lets wait till I check it out.Glad I did.After reading comments on this site No way.I am sticking with "Saw Palmetto".I found out that over the Counter Medicines with "AntiHisimines" Cause me Slow Urination.
Such as "NYQUIL" and "PM" type Asperin.NO MORE of this.Thanks to all that commeted on this site, you saved me a lot of grief. PS Stream is better now have increased dosage of "Saw Palmetto" Two Tablets a day instead of One. John Curtis

Hi,

I have been suffering from depression and an overactive imagination leading to panick attacks, anxiety and nervousness (i panic that i will go crazy and kill myself and not realise). I started feeling like this last may, exactly when i started with Yasmin. Having read through some of these posts, my decision last night to stop the pill finally, has given me some hope that i might start to feel better. I am going to be put on antidepressents soon, and i hope i feel better before then. The time scale of my feelings and Yasmin coincides perfectly, I hope I have found the cause of my grief.

Linzi