Gut feeling symptoms and conditions

I also think I am having an allergic reaction to Zoloft (which I have been taking for about a month in a half, started at 50 mg and then my Doc. uped the does to 100 mg an few weeks ago due to horrifying panic attacks I started having.) As each day goes by my symptoms get worse. My chest hurts, body aches, trouble breathing, stomach pains, constipation, light headed, congested, indigestion, a rash that was on my stomach that put me in the Hospital (which they told me they thought I could be having an allergic reaction and gave me steroids) The Rash went away after the steroids all symptoms went away..then when I went to the Doctor she says I'm not allergic to them because the rash wasn't all over my body and that the rash went away and came back..my gut feeling is telling me my side effects are getting worse and I need to stop and I don't think my Doc. even cares to much about it. I am just scared to stop cold turkey bc of all the horrid side effects..should I stop slowly?

Today is 10/28. I am Weezie1 and I posted on 10/26 about my severe drug reactions. They have gotten worse since I wrote my first post. The fever and chills are gone. But now I have been dealing with a rash/hives over all parts of my body. They are worse where close contact to sleeping clothing are - back, chest, neck. The one side of my face that I usually sleep on is purple every morning, along with that same side of my neck. I managed to get myself back to the doctor on 10/26 and am now on a 6 day dosage of steroids for the rash/hives. The steroids have stopped the hives from getting any worse. But it is taking awhile to go away. Any heat, anxiety, frustration brings them out again. I see I will be dealing with this for awhile. I go back to the doctor on 10/29 for a recheck. I lost 2 days from work because of this. My skin felt like it was on fire with hundreds of bee stings. Now I feel like I have a severe case of poison ivy. I have found some relief using Aveeno's oatmeal powder to do a bathtub soaking at night. Then I follow that with Aveeno's rich moisturizing lotion. The doctor may want me on steroids for longer than first prescribed.....not a med you want to be on for too long. All because of an UTI last week that could have been simply treated with a regular antibiotic if my doctor was not able to prescribe this sulfa drug to me on 10/19. Next time I will go with my initial gut feeling and refuse to take a medication when I see its extensive side effect list. I wish I had done so last week. I am suffering much more now than I was last week with my UTI. I filed an online complaint at the FDA's website. They mention it at their phone number that Weezie1 reported in my 10/26 posting here. I, unfortunately, expect to see additional patient complaints here every few days when I check back at this great medications site. And now I see that someone has internal bleeding. What next? A death? My blood pressure and heart rate were both increased for several days due to this drug. I could feel my heart pounding when I was sitting still and laying in bed. Thankfully, my BP is normally on the low side, but all the numbers went up by 10. We have to band together to get this crap off the market and out of the hands of doctors and unsuspecting innocent patients. Our voices will be heard if we speak in large numbers. Keep talking!Good luck to all.

I am soo glad I am not crazy. I am almost in tears, because I can not believe that so may women are experiencing this. I have had it for almost two years now and in the beginning I just had heavy cramps and a lot of bleeding. I was told every woman's body is different and this will take some time. I went back within 4 weeks to get it out and my doctor encouraged me it would get better. It did and I loved it. Never had a problem. Until recently, I went to the doctor thinking I was pregnant, I had ever symptom that a pregnant woman experiences and I they told me it was in my head. I am constantly tired, bloating, sick, dizziness, headaches (which they told me contributed to my sinus - then I started seeing an Allergist who kept me on Antibiotics. It got really bad they did an CAT scan on me and still nothing). I thought I was going to lose it, I had mood swings, memory loss, attention span, worst than my 5 year old and the list goes on. I am so hurt now, because I am no good with the pill (2 pregnancies from the missed pill) and loved the convenience of the Mirena, but my life is worth more than convenience.
Thank you ladies for sharing your story! But remember please go with your gut feeling. Now that I recall I went twice to get this removed, the doctors will tell you anything. They are new to this product also!!!

I am 38 years old and was on NR for maybe six months. I kept telling my Dr. I wasn't very pleased with it, but she encouraged me to stay with it. Finally, tired of it, I stopped and really regret not following my gut feeling in the beginning. I put on so much weight in my stomach only and looked to be about 8 months pregnant, and had gotten a blood clot in my right leg. I was also always having to push it back up in me from it slipping out. Only one time in my early 20's have I ever had an abnormal pap., but three months after being on NR I haven't had a normal one since. Constant yeast and bacteria infections. I have now been through a painful test, and should be starting some kind of procedure to get rid of my abnormal cells on April 3. I am so frustrated and scared of what is going on inside of me. My Dr. doesn't seem to feel any of this has anything to do with the nr, but I strongly disagree. I feel like she is getting something from the company for giving out prescriptions.

So I have only been on the NuvaRing for about 3 weeks and just took it out. I feel SO down but I didn't feel down till about a week ago. Would the depression hit that fast? I keep getting in fights with my boyfriend and I'm feeling like we aren't going to last even though before this we've never had any real issues and I was positive he was the one I would marry. Now I feel like I'm doubting us but I have no reason at all to doubt us, nothing has happened except I started using the NR. I keep denying that it's the ring but the more I look back on it I feel like it could be since only a few days after I started using it I felt very irritable. I guess it's time to switch again? I don't like feeling like this and I don't want birth control of all things to be the reason our relationship fails. I feel so down and depressed but it isn't constantly, it just comes on randomly and stays till I go to sleep pretty much. Has this happened to anyone? Do you think that the effects would happen that soon after starting the NR? Any help would be great! Thanks!

For me having the Mirena removed just last Thursday was the right decision. I was not using it for birth control but as hormone therapy for heavy, crampy periods. I had it inserted in July 2008 and bled every single day for the entire time, I had it removed last week and now I am bleeding very heavily but hopefully that will stop once all those hormones are out of my body.
While on Mirena I lost all sex drive, I became severely anemic and with that fatigued terribly, and moody, crying at nothing and screaming at my kids or husband for stupid reasons, I felt bloated and gassy and didn't have those problems before.
I am 42 years old and I hate my heavy bleeding in fact I want a hysterectomy, but not sure now what I will do.

For those of you who had the Mirena removed, how long did it take to stop bleeding afterwards? This is draining every last ounce of energy for me and I am taking iron supplements.

What sucks is the cost of this, Even with insurance I ended up paying a lot out of pocket to get this thing and then all the Dr. visits due to bleeding and side affects in the 4 months it was in and now the removal of it. I am wondering if there is any way that we can get a Class action lawsuit against Bayer for this horrible thing they are trying to sell to women.
I know there are some out there who have not suffered all these horrible side effects at least not yet or that they are aware of, but I truly believe that there is nothing good about this IUD and those of us and there are a lot of us who have suffered with this should be reimbursed or compensated for the pain and loss of parts of our lives and expenses with this. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Hello. I am am going through some major hair loss. I started the pills three weeks ago and i can honestly say that I have lost more hair in the past couple of weeks than i have ever lost in my entire life. I am 22 and I have no family line of baldness. I was on YAZ and this never happened. I switched to FEMCON Fe because I had breakthrough bleeding. Now not only am I having an almost nervous break but my face is breaking out. Something that I never really experienced with YAZ. Can anyone tell me if the hair will grow back?

Thanks

Hello Ladies....I am 56 and diaged Hashimotos disease 3 years ago.At the moment on 112mcg of synthroid....dosage started off low and have gradually worked up....So angry with drs...was seeing endo, but moved and using family practice...so frustrated with weight gain approx 25lbs since diag. Also does the word sweat ....mmmm perspire for all us ladies, mean anything? I can't even wash dishes without breaking out in to a sweat...mmm beads of perspiration....Dry skin, I own stock in Aveeno....Also....does anyone get "boil type" skin eruptions in the nether region...butt, inner thighs etc? Does anyone or has anyone done any serious research on Iodine? I try to eat as well as I can, was doing Weight Watchers and gained weight do ya hear me? I am questioning my idodine intake or lack of....Presently take mulit vit with 150mcg. Considering uping it and dc ing my synthroid...cuz docs have been useless....eat less, (how much more less?) exercise more...I swim so much I look like a freaking prune....Any comments?

I had written before about moodiness and severe stomach bloat from Mirena, I have had it for three months now and the bloat has gotten better, but the moodiness has not and now I have severe joint pain - I have been using OTC pain meds every day for a week now just to make it through the day. It is not just one joint - but every joint - it hurts to sit, to stand, to type, to sleep - UGH!! I am so fed up. I am not a sick person, I have had three kids in the last 5 years and this is the worst! I do not want to give up on Mirena - but too much is too much. I am requesting blood work at my annual checkup next week and if nothing is irregular - I am going to have this thing out. I just have not felt like myself since I got it. I know it is not supposed to cause the joint pain - but at some point don't we have to listen to our gut feeling despite what the literature says?

Yes, I have been taking Vytorin 10/40 for about 10 months, and it did reduce my cholesterol and triglycerides to 'normal', however, I slowly developed (initially) some 3 months back, problems in my left solder, diagnosed eventually as 'rotator cuff' ligament damage, however, it came on slowly and progressively worsened. I had not done anything strenuous to develop such a condition. It became so bad that I was basically redd to using my right arm. On top of this, the muscles in my lower arms became sore and felt strained even lifting a glass of water was painful. My Doctor was informed of increasing on-going muscle problems, did an emzine muscle test, which turned out to be 'clear'. And I also lost my sexual drive gradually.
I went off taking Vytorin a week ago on my own gut feeling, and my arm muscles and left shoulder have improved. I am also hoping no permanent damage. I am moving to a much higher exercise regime to 'burn' cholesterol and reduce triglycerides, and in the mean time look for 'natural' solutions as well.
I am not impressed with the medical responses I got, along with miss-diagnosed muscle / tendon supposed 'rotator cuff' serious problem that developed in my left shoulder, which I suspect may never be the same functionally. I recommend looking at other alternatives and natural remedies, this is my course of action. MM

So I made an appointment to have my mirena removed on Monday. However, i am scared now that my post symptoms are going to be far more worse than they are now but, it needs to be done. So, if you have had it removed can you please reply to this posting so i can have some idea as to what i could be facing?

Thank you so much for this information. After a year of endless blood tests, specialists and other diagnostics with no answers I have been diagnosed with chronic fatigue to label a concoction of symptoms that include dizziness, extreme fatigue (I have been a runner daily for 8 years but can no longer run), regular 'infections' akin to my vagina being on fire, irregular pap smear, difficulty orgasming (previously never a concern) and so many of the other symptoms listed above that it feels like a checklist reading this amazing site. As I work in a hospital I have undertaken extensive review of medical journals to see if any clinical studies have identified concerns with the mirena - I couldn't find any and so have dismissed my symptoms as unrelated but have always had a gut feeling about it. From being extremely active and passionate about my work, I have had to scale back and back until I now work only three days and rest for the remainder. I can't thank you enough for validating my suspicion that the mirena might be the culprit - it's the only variable my husband and I can think of since the symptoms emerged. I'm going to get this stupid thing out of me as soon as possible.

I was prescribed avelox for mastitis and a UTI. I was fine until after the 3rd dose, I had MAJOR anxiety attacks that would start from my head down through my legs, like a tingling sensation. I felt as if I was going to fall over or faint. I then had tremors or the shakes. Doc said to continue the med after telling him how I was feeling. I then couldn't take the symptoms and went to the ER and they said the same thing, continue taking it. Now my gut feeling was to not take it, but I had a bacterial infection and didn't want that to get out of control, so I took the 4th dose. The next morning, it was the same thing all over again, tingling/dizziness from my head that would run through my whole body, and the shakes again. I went back to the doc and they told me it was safe to stop taking it. It has been 3 days since I stopped taking it and I still feel terrible. Very tired, my head just does not feel right. I hope with each day that it gets better. What a nasty drug this is and For anyone that reads this, please take this warning seriously, you do not want to feel like this. Oh, one more side effect, I had the tight chest also.

I am a mother of four children (21, 19, 15 and 15) who have varying degrees of asthma and allergy. All of them have some degree of ADHD as well. The oldest took Singulair from grades 7 to 12. It was great for his allergy, but he had a depression which was attributed to his ADHD.

The second is still taking Singulair. She is highly asthmatic and it has been beneficial for her. The severity of her asthma went down to the controllable range, and her migraines (suffered since second grade) significantly decreased (documented side effect).

The last two, identical twins, began taking Singulair four years ago when they developed asthma as they entered puberty. They became oppositional, defiant, prone to rages, and curiously not hustling hard enough at their sports. Prior to this, they were solid, dependable students, with moments of inspiration - and aggressive athletes, leaders at their sports. We always thought the problems were related to puberty and the ADHD. More and more ADHD meds were applied. No more weekends off the meds - because our house would be destroyed.

As 2008 began, my own allergies flared. When the doc offered Singulair, I looked forward to feeling better. Within 48 hours, I could breathe at night, and the tightness in my chest went away. Even my allergic dermatitis improved.

Then a weird thing happened. I got lazy. I heard myself saying things like, "I don't care if I'm fat." I stopped doing my evening chores. I stopped pursuing my hobbies. I almost stopped making dinner. I was wondering why I didn't care, but I didn't care enough to pursue that, either.

Then it got worse. I couldn't handle the least criticism. I was in tears over almost anything. Within a few days, I was trying to find a way to leave my family. I just didn't care about anything any more.

The water-cooler crowd at work was chatting about the news reports about Singulair and suicide. I started to wonder: gee, doesn't depression preceed suicide? Maybe this hopeless feeling I had was related to the Singulair.

So I stopped taking it. 48 hours later, I started to laugh at jokes again. Five days later, I cleaned my kitchen. Now it's been three weeks and I'm back at my hobbies and loving life.

Two weeks ago, I realized that the never-ending laziness and argumentation we've been getting from our twins might be related to Singulair. I checked with the ADHD doc, and their general doc, and got the go-ahead to discontinue the medicine (although not both of them at once). I did this without telling anyone: not the twins, not my husband, no one.

Forty-eight hours after the first kid had stopped taking the Singulair, I came home to a grinning, hugging, 15 year old, who sat me down at the kitchen table to explain the strategy he'd designed to study for his upcoming exams. I was speechless and numb. I didn't tell anyone that he was no longer taking the Singulair (he takes a variety of vitamins and ADHD meds every day). The next day, my husband called me excitedly: the kid was cooperating with him! He didn't know what to make of it. I kept him in the dark for a few more days.

The other twin had been on a lower dose (5mg rather than 10 mg). I stopped his medication as well. The change in him has been more gradual.

Neither of them takes ADHD medicine now on non-school days. They are happy and cooperative. We ask ONCE for chores. There are still a few arguments and stormy moods - but I no longer wonder what's going to get broken next. And they seem to love working as hard as possible at their sports.

The good news is, we all feel better. The bad news is -- how did this happen? How can it be that such an obvious side effect was missed?

It's not like the effect of montelukast on the brain is unexplored. Try searching on "montelukast brain ischemia" - there are many studies that show that montelukast (Singulair) dramatically reduces brain swelling. What does it do for an uninjured brain? Does it dehydrate it? Deprive it of nutrition? If I had to characterize the behavior I saw in my twins, it's this: they acted the way hypoglycemic patients do, when they're late for their next snack. REALLY GRUMPY.

Or do some research on migraines and Singulair. There's an effect there, too. Many asthma patients on Singulair report that their migraines improve.

So the drug clearly affects the brain, and Merck's position that Singulair doesn't cause suicidal ideation is almost irrelevant. The fact is, montelukast has a significant, often-studied effect in the brain. That effect is not fully understood.

In our house, the effect of montelukast on the brain has been significant. We have dragged two kids to many psychiatric evaluations. We've spent hours and hours with teachers and principals and counselors, trying to understand why they just won't get their work done. We've used every performance-management trick in the books to get them to work - without much benefit. The kids have swallowed an awful lot of stimulant medication because it was the only thing that controlled their rages. Who knows what their teachers think of them - are they forever branded as the lazy kids? And we are lucky. From this forum, I've learned that it could have been a lot worse.

I had mirena put in 6 weeks postpartum and shortly after my breast-fed baby developed skin rashes. Now she is five months and has full blown eczema. I was just wondering if other moms have had similar experience? And could this be related? I have some of the similar side effects myself ( night sweats, insomnia, bloating and dizziness and also eczema) Please help. Should I have it removed?

Follow up to my post earlier today...

I took the my son to the doctor this morning and he was somewhat dismissive of the recent reports on Singulair...says he's had a lot of kids on the drug and never heard a peep about side effects until last week when the report on suicidal tendencies showed up. He did advise that when these kinds of behavior changes happen after a new drug is started he would recommend that we stop taking the drug no matter what it was, but I still felt uncomfortable with his response to us.

I felt like he was accusing me of making it up or only coming up with it because of recent news and message board posts. In fact, I made the appointment BEFORE I saw the posts. I was worried about his behavior BEFORE I saw the posts. It's just that seeing the stories from everyone else basically confirmed my suspicions that it might be the drug causing the problems.

I feel like I definitely wasted OVER AN HOUR waiting for a doctor to spend five minutes making me feel small.

Last night was the last time my son will take the drug, and I don't care what the doctors think of me.

My story is very sadly similiar to enough's story

I have also been following these posts since the story broke
My son is 11 yrs old has been on singulair for almost 1 yr now for allergies after suffering a SI that lasted over 2 months

He was dx'd with ADHD & ODD at age 4 & they have been trying to rule out bipolar for the last few yrs But Can't, so he has been on a ton of meds!!!
I have noticed that this last year has been worse though & he almost had to be admitted numerous times within this past year We kept switching the ADHD meds & trying Bipolar meds nothing seemed to work, So last friday night (almost 1 wk ago) the day I heard about this, I stopped the singulair But he also started a new bipolar med the same day & HE IS A NEW KID!!! so now I'm stuck with the terrible task to find out if it's a combo of stopping the singulair & the new med working or stopping the singulair & maybe he doesnt even need the new med? IDK right now BUT I DO know that Something is working!!! So I have decided that next Friday put him back on the singulair for a few days to see what happens?? we talked about it & he knows I will not punish him for anything he does while he is on it I just NEED to know if this med Made him worse!!!!!! That way I can take some kind of action here, I just would like to know why the heck would they put a kid who already has mental health issues on a med that could make those issues WORSE????
I'm positive that singulair did not cause his probs since they started way b4 him being on this med But I have a gut feeling that singulair has made his probs 10X worse!!

his S/A's have been the same as e/o has already described

itching (which I know for a fact was from singulair b/c that is gone now)
mood swings
crying
angry
crabby
irritable
violent
not sleeping well (even worse than what he had already)
aches & pains everywhere

I always dismissed the complaints or assumed it was one of his other meds causing them, I never ever in a million years would of thought it was the singulair!!!!

I held off on posting b/c I wanted to see if taking him off would work?? IDK for sure yet but I will come back in a week or so & let u all know

I'll pray for all the familes involved in this I'm still kind of shocked by it all but felt the need to share my story also

(I tried posting yesterday guess it didnt work??)

My 9 yo daughter has been off and on Singulair for several years trying to get her athsma and allergies regulated. She has been put on zyrtec, and claritin and it has been a constant battle with her. She has been in and out of children's mental health facilities 3 times in the past year and has been diagnosed as having ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder), Mood Disorder, Depression, Severe ADHD, Bi-Polar as well as ADO (Adjustment Disorder) and emotional disorder, just to name some of the diagnosis she has had. SHE IS ONLY NINE YEARS OLD. Due to ALL these other diagnosis, she has been on and off so many different medications that I cannot help but wonder if some of these diagnosis are due to her taking the Singulair. When she was taking the SINGULAIR, she could not sleep at night, she complained about her stomach hurting all the time, she was very angry, emotional, and cried very easily for no reason at all. I have not given her any SINGULAIR since I first heard about all this stuff two days ago and can already see a difference. The fact that these people are doing this to our children infuriates me and something needs to be done!!!!!!!!

Both my son and I were on Singulair. As of Sat March 31st we both stopped taking it. My 6 yr boy has been on it for apprx 3 1/2 years for allergies along with nasonex and claritin when needed. He started pre k after being off the singulair for the summer. His first 3 weeks of school had no complaints. 3 weeks into school he started singulair and teacher immediately noticed the difference and brought it up to dr's who said it had nothing to do with his behavior. Over the years he has experienced, problems with excess urination after taking dose at night causing exploding pullups.. changed to day time and that helped somewhat. nightmares/ hyper /moody, irritable, leg pain, stomach pain,angry outburst (he says his brain made him do it), headaches, stuttering,sinus infections that he finally had his adnenoids removed in Feb.. He started kindergarten last Sept and it has been a nightmare..I tried to take him off Singulair in Oct but due to his enlarged adenoids his allergy symptons became so much worse I put him back on. The last few days where up and down as the Singulair was coming out of his system but I was seeing improvements.. Well I decided today to remove him also off the nasonex as I have read similar side effects about the nasonex. He had a pretty good morning today and went to school and came home for the FIRST time all year with smileys for the entire day!! I am overwhelmed with emotion! So happy that he is coming out of the fog and guilt that I have been giving him this medication and didn't follow my Mommy instinct to stop it years ago! I had side effects as well to the point people were telling me my personality had changed. I was irritable, short of patience and having alot of headaches. The last few weeks I was having days of depression and crying over little things especially with the stress of what my son was going through.... I am also coming out of the fog and happy to be back!

My son was recently prescribed Singulair and I refuse to start him on anything that I don't research on the internet first. Thank god I did. I read everyone's symptoms on here and couldn't believe what I was reading. After discussing my research with his doctor, she of course tried to brush it off saying that the internet is not a place where I should be getting my information. That people make things up etc. We all have to understand that Doctors get paid to SELL the product to you ( the human lab rat). Please make sure to research any meds a.k.a. chemicals they want you to put into your body. Take care of your body, eat the right food and take your vitamins/supplements. I can't believe the news today..I'm sooo happy I did not put my son on this EVIL drug! Take care of yourselves and god bless you all.

I want to post a website link *** in depth stories, it is a story about the side effects of SINGULAIR and the new side effects that are being kept very quiet .I have been monitoring this site since my son died in august after being on Singulair .It is our story and please make others aware of the disastrous side effects they choose to only disclose in the small print ,after enough deaths were reported.

It looks like I am going to be on Loestrin 24 one more month or so and
after reading everybody's experience with Yaz I have decided not to take Yaz which is what they switched me to and I was supposed to start on Sunday because I did not want to be on Loestrin 24 ,but I am going to stay on it until I go see my Doctor because I do not want to talk to a nurse by phone . I just had this feeling like I should not take the Yaz ,like something is telling me no, and I have to go with my gut feeling and not take it, I hope that they are not going to be mad at me after I called and got them to take me off Loestrin 24 and then they gave me 3 packs of Yaz, I just cannot take it after reading about all of the side effects, I just could not get peace over it so no Yaz for me, and so I still have two packs of Loestrin 24 and a RX too, but I am going to ask to be put back on ortho tri cyclen because it is what I know and my periods were regular on it. This week is supposed to be my period, and my last Loestrin pill was Tuesday and I still have not started, I am having headaches, cramps, leg aches, and I am having some nausea every now and then and this is not how I want to feel.

My periods were regular on ortho tri cyclen but the reason my doc took me off of it was because the last week (which was before my period) I was having headaches and having nausea but I would rather feel like that a week then feel the way I feel. I would go ahead and call the nurse but I am afraid she would tell me to try the Yaz because I have not even tried it yet and because she just called me on Monday and my husband picked up the Yaz on Tuesday, I just do not want to seem crazy or something, my body is just really weird about having reactions. Good luck to anyone else and I will let you all know how it goes, please be praying that this month goes well on Loestrin 24!!!! I just hope my period next month is not hell to pay cause I have not had one this month. Good night!
Jennifer

After reading everybody's experience with Yaz I have decided not to take Yaz. I just had this feeling like I should not take it ,like something is telling me no, and I have to go with my gut feeling and not take it, I am going to take Loestrin 24 one more month and then make an appt with my Doctor to talk to her about what I want to do and get her advice. I hope that they are not going to be mad at me after I called and got them to take me off Loestrin 24 and then they gave me 3 packs of Yaz, I just cannot take it after reading about all of the side effects, I just could not get peace over it so no Yaz for me, and so I still have two packs of Loestrin 24 and a RX too, but I am going to ask to be put back on ortho tri cyclen because it is what I know and my periods were regular on it. This week is supposed to be my period, and my last Loestrin pill was Tuesday and I still have not started, I am having headaches, cramps, leg aches, and I am having some nausea every now and then and this is not how I want to feel.

My periods were regular on ortho tri cyclen but the reason my doc took me off of it was because the last week (which was before my period) I was having headaches and having nausea but I would rather feel like that a week then feel the way I feel. I would go ahead and call the nurse but I am afraid she would tell me to try the Yaz because I have not even tried it yet and because she just called me on Monday and my husband picked up the Yaz on Tuesday, I just do not want to seem crazy or something, my body is just really weird about having reactions. Good luck to anyone else!
Jennifer

I have read some of the board and would like to know if anyone else has had prolonged side effects after being off Prednisone for almost a year. I think Prednisone caused all my current health problems. Was on the higher dose 5 day plan for a severe inner ear infection. I stopped taking it after the third day cold turkey, which I know was wrong because of blurred vision and stomach distention so bad I thought I was going to burst (almost the same as when I was pregnant). The first 4-6 weeks of stopping it were pure _ ell. So many withdrawal symptoms. I went to my doctor and he said I couldn't possibly be having all those symptoms from the Prednisone since I was only on it three days (but it is the regimen where you take the higher doses/multiple pills in the beginning and then it lowers the dose each day). Every few days it seemed I was having something new happen - heartburn, sweating, headaches. Then my thyroid function began acting up (hypothyroidism) and glands seem to swell with my monthly cycle. I started having a daily dry throat. All my symptoms seem to be on my right side: blurred vision, dry throat, swollen lymph glands, ear pain, groin swelling. It is one month shy of a year when I originally took the Prednisone and nothing has decreased, only new symptoms appear. My doctor keeps treating each symptom individually and won't look at the whole picture. I tried acupuncture and it didn't help. Any suggestions/comments?

My 2 year old son has been taking Singulair for about a month. He had a bad asthma attack in September and was on albuterol and prednisone. Then the dr. prescribed Pulmicort and after giving it to him for 3 days and reading the literature, I stopped giving it to him because it had terrible side effects. The dr. was not happy with me and I agreed to put him on Singulair since it wasn't a steroid.

He has always been clingy and never a good sleeper. Recently he's been sleeping terribly and having awful night terrors. He can't really talk much yet, so I can't ask him what is wrong, but he'll wake up looking terrified and shaking and pointing at the celing and nothing is there. I can barely get him calmed back down. He also has gotten worse about not being with me. He has to have his hand on me at all times when we around other people. As I said, he's always been clingy, but he's just been worse lately. Also, he's had a stuffy nose since he went on the Singulair. He can no longer breathe out of his nose at all. When he's sleeping he snores terribly and sometimes gasps, which scares me. It's like an apnea thing. He's also been sleeping until 10 - 10:30 am which he's never done.

My husband did not want him taking it from the start, but I was stupid and did what I wanted instead of listening to him. Now I realize his gut feeling was right on and it makes me almost cry. He is too little to be telling me if his head or body hurts or what he is feeling, so he may be feeling even worse than I suspect.

I am going to research diet changes and see if that is something we can do to control his asthma. We're also seeing a chiropractor and trying some things to boost his immune system so he won't get sick and have it lead to asthma attacks.

Thank you all so much for sharing your stories. I appreciate it more than you know. I hate that any of our children (or you adults) have had to go through these things, but sharing your experiences makes it worth it so that others won't have to go through the same. Thank you!