Gunk symptoms and conditions

I am 62 years old and I was taking Lipitor 10 mg for the last 5 years in New York. When I moved to California the new doctor switched to Lipitor 20mg and I started to have strange side effects. After a pause of two days, I restarted and the symptoms were worse: my muscle in the upper arms, and my calves were hurting and week, my back ached, my head was empty nad I felt dizzy all the time.
I stopped two days ago and today I had blood in my urine. What's happening? should I go on any medication at all to lower my cholesterol? My new test was: 179 Cholesterol
HDL 71
LDL 95
I am too scared to start any other drugs like Crstor or Niaspan as I was recommended.
Please advise,

Hey ladies,
As many have said, I thought this was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I didn't have my period except a few days of VERY light brown gunk. But what brought me to the doctor was the lack of sex drive which had been affecting my home life. So she mentioned the Mirena, I made an appointment that day to have it taken out tomorrow, and then I went home and googled the side effects. I have been glued to these forums ever since. Now looking back I am sure that I have had side effects. I gained about 10lbs, acne, and lost hair (all I have contributed to stopping breastfeeding my daughter) I have been VERY moody around my period, and have slight back pain when I sit (which is all day) I now understand why I am always tired and I feel like a 60yr old getting out of bed each morning. I don't know if all these things are linked but I will get it out and find out!!! I will report back with how I feel as I see that they are having different effects.

About three and a half years ago, I was having extremely heavy periods that were causing anemia. My truly wonderful, trustworthy, kind GYN suggested the Mirena because it would lessen/delete my periods. I had 3 days of severe cramping after insertion, but within a month - no periods! At all! For just over three years! This was fabulous, I thought.

Over time, I began to wonder if my weight gain was related, but could find nothing online and the doc said absolutely not. I weighed 156 back then, weigh 173 now no matter what I do. Hmmm.

Then, about 4 months ago, I got my first period sort of thing. Mostly, it was 16 days of sticky, gunky brown smudges on light pads. Very odd. Next period included huge "flakes" of gummy brown stuff - still no reed or pink blood. Really unsettling. It lasted 12 days. Made GYN appt. A week later, my "period" began again - erratic - had 7 days of brown gunk. Asked GYN to remove the Mirena.

That was 10 days ago. I have three children - I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I have passed dozens of blood clots, and put together they'd EASILY weigh as much as a placenta and a half!!! Some look like cow's liver and are just as big, others are like huge night crawler worms or the size of fried eggs! I can't go out in public because they are so heavy, they fall out of the pad and slide down my leg! (Although I can hold the larger ones in until I get to the toilet now - not a skill I wanted to learn!) The bleeding is intense - a 100% soaked pad every 2-3 hours except when sleeping, when it slows a bit.

Called the nurse today and she said, "It just sounds like your period." Uh, no, it doesn't. It sounds like I've lost a gallon of blood. I've been dizzy and tired - got myself started on Burdock Root from the healthfood store and I'm slowly stabilizing my iron levels - but the blood loss and the huge clots (8-10 per day!) are really freaking me out. I was a BIG fan of the Mirena IUD until I got this one taken out. Just freaky, scary, odd. What the heck was it doing in there? Holding all that old blood inside me? Blood clots take time to form. What are these clots? Self-aborting would-be babies? If the IUD works by agitating the uterine wall, how in the world did all these huge clots get stuck in me? Why weren't they reabsorbed or "agitated" right out? They are not water soluble - I can hold one under running water and it doesn't dissolve or leak red. They have significant weight and mass. It's the most unsettling thing I've ever experienced - I really suspect this is blood/tissue my body couldn't remove while I was using the Mirena, or else partially formed embryos. Really creepy whatever they are. IF they are damaged embryos, then I've technically been pregnant many times in the last 3 yrs. IUDs don't prevent pregnancy, they prevent impregnated embryos from embedding in the uterine wall. That's why I suspect that's what these all are.

I wish there was more research than the pamphlet they gave me on "Choosing the Mirena" before insertion.

I had the Mirena inserted in July 2008 during my period (as I was told it had to be). I was also told to give my body three months to "get used to" it. Where should I start? I had some cramping, followed by contractions five days later - yes, I said contractions (ladies with babies, we know the difference between cramps and contractions); I had itchiness outside (vulva) and inside which was a yeast infection that was treated twice - once with OTC medication and then with antibiotics. My period ended in July; when I thought I was getting a period in August, it started as that thick brownish gunk. It was like this for 4 days; then I started bleeding, thinking I was gettting a normal period. Well, since August, the bleeding would come and dissipate - not totally go away - until within the last couple of weeks (since the end of August - beginning of September) it has become heavier. This is not normal or natural. I have bled through a pantyliner. I bled through to my pants using a tampon and maxipad. I've had to change the tampon and pad within one hour. I've had bleeding that is bright red followed by small clots and then one huge one (approx. 6 inches long, and 1.5 -2 inches wide). I repeatedly called the OBGYNs office throughout this ordeal; they have told me to give it time, this normal, "well this is better than the alternative - what would you do (re:pregnancy)" and have at times reacted as if I'm overreacting. Last week I went there to express the concerns, to have a checkup, and to express that I want it removed; the PA could find the strings and wrote me a script for a sonogram. But before I left the office, when I mentioned that I wanted this out, she said, "You really don't want to get this out - just give it some time- give it another 3 months - really, you don't want to take this out."
I went for the sono on Saturday and the tech asked when I had my last period. When I mentioned a brief synopsis of what has been happening, she mentioned that my uterine lining is very thick. I questioned, "Shouldn't it be thinning out if I'm having my period?" I also mentioned that it should be thinning out because of the Mirena. She couldn't afford any answers in regards to the Mirena but did confirm that during a period the lining thickens up and then thins out - sheds - but that mine was very thick.
Ok, now I'm totally freaked-out. I hope this isn't anything serious.

My doctor put me on Topamax for migraines, but I can not handle the effects. I just started the 75 mg dose just as I was moving into a new college apartment with new roommates, and I felt like I was going crazy! I couldn't eat anything without feeling completely ill, I was spacing out, and I couldn't remember words.. for three whole days I couldn't remember the word 'tapestry.' I finally had to look it up in the dictionary.. not a good sign for a college student. The worst, though, was the overwhelming sense of panic that was getting worse by the day. I was no longer myself! The last straw was a panic attack, complete with hypernentilating. I have never felt so scared in my life. I actually had to go the ER to get something to calm myself down.

So, I decided to stop taking it. My parents talked to my pharmacist, and she told them that Topamax IS the type of drug you can stop "cold turkey." But after a week, I feel almost as bad as I did when I was on the drug! I still can't eat anything. Also, I wake up hours before my alarm goes off, completely sick at my stomach. I feel panicky and nervous. I have several bouts of diarrhea and this morning I almost didn't make it. I share a bathroom with three (normal!) girls, and it is getting to be embarrasing and annoying. Please, can anyone tell me.. when do the side effects go away?? I want to be a normal 19 year old again!

Topamax is w/out a doubt the WORST drug I've ever been on. It made me brain dead. I couldn't find a job on Topamax. I would be in interviews and would space out and couldnt' answer questions. People looked at me like I was crazy. I felt like I had Alzheimer's at 38, especially when my neuro prescribed Exelon, the drug for Alzheimer's to counteract the cognitive side effects. As I said, couldn't find a job, had no insurance. My topa-lovin' neuro was giving it to me and getting me on the patient=ass program through Johnson/Johnson, the maker's of TM. She didn't want to help me get on another anticonvulsant PA program. Finally, I had to charge another med on my credit card because I couldn't take this toxic gunk in my body anymore. The decay of my mind has escalated to the point that I don't know if I will ever be back to myself again. BEWARE of this drug. I haven't even covered the eye pain, insomnia, headaches, leg cramps (i can go on).

I'm 35 and I've have had mild asthma since I was about 10 year old. At times I've been able to go weeks without needing to take anything, then stress, envirnoment triggers etc fire it up. I started taking advair 100/50 a couple of years back, and right now my breathing feels just about the worst it ever has. Without the advair I feel an uncomfortable tightness that I've never had before, a whole lot worse that the wheezing. Over the past couple of years I've lacked energy, been a lot more anxious and I've been warned of potential heart issues. I have a very healthy lifestyle and I assumed I was just getting older and more fragile...after reading these posts I'm seeing a possible connection.
Like some other people have said I sometimes feel like something is stuck in my throat / top of my lungs, it almost feels like phlegm but I can't cough it up.
I've stopped the advair for 3 days as of today, so far the tightness is managable, and the rescue inhaler is at hand (although I haven't had to use it yet). I'm hoping I can get back to previous drug free times.

I started using the ring about a week ago. Everything was fine til I started getting sick. Shortly after I contracted a bladder infection. I thought it was just another bladder infection cuz I've gotten them before. About 3 days in using the ring I woke up with a mouth full of blood. The blood was seeping out of my gums from my teeth, and the bladder infection was only getting worse. I began running a fever, had a sore throat and felt extremely weak. I couldn't take it anymore, I felt these symptoms were occuring from the ring. I finally pulled it out seeing a large amount of gunk attached to the ring. The next day my mouth had ceased bleeding and I as a whole felt much better. I still am battling the bladder infection, but once the doctor's office is open I can get some antibiotics to fix that. BOO to the NUVARING

i woke up mon july 7th with a cold and then tues july 8th i felt horrible, so much pressure in my head, bad sore throat, wanting to gag and maybe throw up, severe pain in my chest especially when i cough or sneeze, it hurt so bad i felt like crying every time i would, i had to blow my nose every 5 seconds and on top of all that i can't sleep cause i'll cough or my nose would run so bad i had to stuff tissue up there and leave it. also on top of all that mess this was the week i had to work mon-fri at 12 hrs a day since my bosses were up north all week. i went to the docter that tues (8th), i thought maybe i could kill it before it got bad. my doc checked me out, did x-rays and i had the first satage of phemonia. total bummer since i haven't had a cold in two years. my doc gave me levaquin 500mg and tussi-12, i went home that day at 4 pm, sleep, woke up around 8pm ,went for ice cream (sore throat), sleep at 12:30am and i have to say i got great sleep that night, next i felt good 9th, same thing that night too, next day 10th felt even better, everything was clearing up already it was amazing to me, no pain in my chest, barely had to blow my nose, gunk in my chest was clearing up, everything everyone has been complaining about didn't happen. it is the 13th and i feel great besides a little cough here & there & at night but a little nyquil kicks that in the butt & some tiredness but i am truly impressed with this drug i don't want to use all of it so when i have cold again i can get rid of it fast but i have too. the only complaint i do have is that my doctor didn't explain any side effects or good effects she just said take this once a day. maybe doctors fail to tell people the risk of side effects cause their so bad people won't want take. i usually can't get over a cold for 2-3 weeks so i love this stuff. thanx

I was feeling better the day after I got a prescription for Guaifenex, but after reading these symptoms I've noticed several of them in myself. Mainly feeling hot and restless sleep; I could sleep, but I'd wake up frequently and toss and turn for a bit. I also felt like my head was disconnected from my body which is partially due to the cold, but I think also to this drug. I'm stopping taking it after a couple of days, I'd rather cough and blow all this gunk out of my head and be done with this cold.