Hasn symptoms and conditions

I am a 70 year old woman, I have been on 20mg Lipitor for high cholesterol, 200 total and 25mg of Spironolactone for a not so high blood pressure, for 3 1/2 yrs. Oh, my God, the Spironolactone is a potassium sparing diuretic that is very dangerous and has many uses I didn't know about or the terrible side effects, it causes breast cancer. It's also used to treat women who have an over growth of hairiness, or on a higher dose to treat hair loss and I've gone bald on the top of my head! Plus all of the good foods we're supposed to eat for high cholesterol, fruit & veggies one isn't to eat on this drug, because of lot's of potassium, what a huge contradiction. And muscle pains, and rashes, (eczema, atopic dermatitis) that I've suffered from both.
Anyway, Lipitor, had know idea about the side effects until I looked it up on the internet and read these posts on here.
I stopped taking Lipitor last week and Spironolactone 2 days ago.
I had cholesterol test last week too and saw my dr. Wednesday. He said it was okay that I stopped the Lipitor, but not the other one, why not the other one worse then Lipitor and why am I on this strong drug, geez.
The pain and burning started in my hip for no reason, then my ankles with eczema which started soon after Lipitor, then my fingers, numbness, can't pick things up, tingling, burning. Then my feet, yes, just like all of you I have these same problems. This is not just coincidental, this is from the drug Lipitor. I get severe joint cramps in my legs, feet and fingers.
For now on before I take any drug I've prescribed I will thoroughly check for side effects and not take it if they're seriously impairing like Lipitor. I feel like a cripple and older then I should feel, I almost just felt like why live anymore if this is how it's going to be.
Since I've stopped Lipitor I feel a little better, I read that it causes permanent muscle and nerve damage though, oh I hope not, I can barely walk anymore or get up out of my chair. This is all drug induced toxicity of my system. Thanks so much everyone who posted for sharing and enlightening all of us who are suffering from this drug and others.
It should be banned along with Baycol, (a statin) which was banned a few months ago because of these same side effects. With the studies that it only helps maybe to prevent heart attack, well I'd rather be able to walk again and hopefully all this will go away, the rash, etc.

I am starting to think I would like to be a part of a class action law suit, my daughter had to switch schools because of her mood swings, and vague hallucinations. and vague paranoia. She once ran into a parking lot she was so afraid of needles! Took her to a psychiatrist, sensed she was quick to put her on mood stabilizers and left before the eval. Recently her ped refused to up her dose of singulair and told me about depression. I subsequently upped her flovent and took her off her singulair. I did this after I heard her teacher saqy she kept on leaving the classroom to go to the nurse, and was exhibiting defiant behavior. and saying she was depressed, hearing music that wasn't there, etc. Now that shye has been off of it a week, she is a different child, and hasn't argued with me once. Hasn't cried for 5 days. has not argued w2ith her brother either! I feel I have the child back from 5 years ago when she started taking it! unfrigging believable! I would love to sue, because these episodes have almost ruined my marriage, and caused me to miss many days of work, and feel guilty when I didn't Thank-God I just took her off of it on a whim!

My name is Amanda, I'm 21 yrs old, engaged and having some problems:
I had mirena put in December, 2008 and had a horrible first night. My cramps were terrible for at least 5 hrs. After that I had no problems other than really odd cycles (on for 10 days, off for 3 months, on for 4 days, etc)
I hadn't thought my other problems were due to this iud but now think otherwise and am seriously wanting it removed. I've been very irritable, bloated, exhausted, can't sleep at all at night until 6 am then finally sleep till 1 pm... I have absolutely NO SEX DRIVE (odd because my fiancé were very happy with our sex lives , now it's maybe once if that).
My fiancé says this is a very good form of B.C. Because we never have sex... Hahaha. I don't have any cramps but do get unusual headaches (right temple, extremely sharp pain) ...
If i knew for sure that these symptoms weren't from mirena, I'd keep it... But now am going to get it removed and get back on the shot...
Let me know if anyone has anything to help me out with the sex drive thing!!!

Does it hurt to get mirena removed?

Will my sex drive return?????
I'm only 21 and am getting married in sept 2010 (hopefully ... Haha) ...
Thanks, A.

After almost a year to date....I am experiencing a lot of the side effects lately that almost everyone has posted. I have two beautiful daughters and a loving husband. Here is my story. I had it put in Oct of 2008. I had not been on BC before b/c we were purposely starting a family. Well, I had it put in because I ended up getting pregnant for the 3rd time after having my 3month old (second child). Being pregnant so soon after giving birth was such an emotional roller coaster and caused a lot of stress for us both. Unfortunately I ended up having a miscarriage after 3months. When that happened, we decided that I needed an effective BC that I didn't have to think about everyday because I already had a 3month old and a 20 mo running around. This is what led us to getting the Mirena. So NOW that I stumbled upon this forum, I realized that I had been through a lot of the side effects that others have. I thought it was "normal" to go through what I did. At times, I thought it was my imagination. And now, I wish I would have spoken up about it sooner. I bled for 6 months straight thinking that this is what I had to go through to have years of light or no periods at all. It def put a wedge in my sex life with the hubby and not to mention my libido has been next to nothing. After the first 8 weeks of insertion, my hair fell out, but I blew it off because I thought it was due to the stress of the kids and the miscarriage. It fell out so terribly that I had to get a new hair cut to even it out. Fast forward to May of 2009, finally, my period is starting to last only 7 days and not like 3 weeks. Next thing you know, we are smooth sailing. Libido hasn't moved up a notch, but at least I knew when my period would come and how long it would last so that my hubby and I could have intimacy for once. Everything was fine all summer all the way up to last month (Sept 2009). Present day, now all of a sudden, my period has not shown up. Last time it came was 6weeks ago in Sept.. Kid you not, I'm having all the same symptoms of all my pregnancies. All last week including today I have had the following symptoms:
-Extreme dizziness with nausea
-Severe abdominal pain-like a sharp piercing pain on the left side
-lower back pain every single morning
-nose bleeds everyday, sometimes twice in a day
-increased appetite
-Extreme fatigue like I need to take a 2 hour nap
-adrenaline flashes
....So, after 7 days of this I called my OB today since she was on call and asked if I should go to the emergency. She decided that she wants to see me at her practice first thing tomorrow morning. In the meantime, she asked me to take a hpt. It was negative. But guess what, I'm not convinced. The 3rd pregnancy where I had the miscarriage...you remember right? Well, I took a pregnancy test the week before I was supposed to get the Mirena in b/c it had to be put in before my next period, well, that's when I found out I was pregnant...at the doctor's office! My hpt test said negative. So anyways, I am nervous and anxious to get to the bottom of this. If I am not pregnant, I will probably have it removed. It has caused so much unwanted change in my life-loss of sex drive, irregular bleeding, moodiness to the point where my husband thinks I'm psycho at times....you name it. If I am pregnant, then I will certainly have more worries than I ever have had before.

Yasmin is most definitely the pill from hell! I was originally on Microgynon from the age of 17 until I was about 20/21 which was when I changed to Yasmin. I didn't notice at the time but I had the usual mood swings which come with any contraceptive, I got diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and I was suffering with anxiety and palpitations for no reason. I stopped taking Yasmin in 2007 to give my body a break but had problems with other forms of contraception so I gave in and went back on the pill after a few months, this was when the worst side effects came! Depression, anxiety, palpitations, racing heart beat, breathlessness, migraines, crazy mood swings and I’m so aggressive with it too! My aggression scares me sometimes it’s that bad!  The worst side effect has to be my hair loss! It upsets me so much! My GP but it down to low Iron and Pernicious Anaemia a year ago which I am now being treated for and my hair hasn’t got any better! I went back to my GP at the end of my tether and he did more tests including sex hormone tests which show some of my hormone levels through the roof and others struggling to get into the normal range. I had no idea this was what Yasmin did to your body! I have an appointment to see my GP tomorrow to discuss these results! Hopefully he will have some answers!

my son has all the symptoms that people have discussed and i would not have found it if he had not hit his head and started to have weird symptoms and after ruling everything out realized that he had been off singular for a month this summer and had started back up. He has had a lot of symptoms but I always thought it was something else. Like everyone said everyone felt that singulair wasn't a problem. I remember when he was little he was having night terrors and the doctor switched it to the day time which made it better but he has always had a hard time sleeping since he started. he has been off it for four days how long does it take before the thoughts come back to normal. If someone could answer it would be great. i am so upset right now as I am sure the other parents are that our children had to go through this.

Hi, just wanted to follow up. I HAD my Mirena in for roughly 3 months. I had it removed after a lot of speculation. I must admit, I feel a lot better. My hair is no longer falling out by the handfuls, my moods have evened back out, joint pain is still there but not nearly as bad. The weight thing...I lost 10 of the 25 pounds within the first month, and have not lost an ounce since then despite a strict diet and moderate exercise. But, the odd thing is, that 3 days post removal, I started my period, bled HEAVY for 4 days and back to normal flow on days 5 thru 8 (yes, 8) but now, a month and twelve days later...no period, and I'm right back to retaining water in my hands and feet, and again have the bloated gut, with lots of cramping. It's very odd...

If anyone can offer some insight, it would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and I forgot to mention, I'm actually dreaming again!!! It's awesome. Sleep is good!!

And another thing, I couldn't help but notice that a lot of women are saying they had theirs inserted more than a year ago...the "IUD" Mirena hasn't been on the market that long. The previous Mirena was a coil, not a silicone IUD. I've been told by one of the doctors at the hospital I work at, that it's more so a reaction to the silicone than to the hormone...food for thought...

And, along with the few lucky women who have been successful with their Mirena endeavor, I also have 2 friends who absolutely LOVE theirs! No side effects, no weight gain, nothing! That's why I decided to get mine, but I knew within a matter of days that something was going on. I wasn't my self, and after never in my life struggling with weight, I all of a sudden was outgrowing all of my clothes. It wasn't pleasant. So again, congratulations to the lucky ones, and for all others, my sympathy. Removal is quite simple, no pain at all. It was over before I could even hold my breath. Felt similar, but not even as bad, as a pap.

I've had horrible side effects whilst using, and horrible withdrawal symptoms whilst coming off Yasmin.

I came off using Yasmin 5 days ago. Since then, i've had horrible vivid nightmares, my head hasn't stopped banging, and i've been feeling really run down in general.

I'm assuming theres more to come than this though.

Whilst I was using Yasmin, i was the most moody, depressed, out of control person ever. I thought everyone hated me. And even though I was going through some personal problems at the time, I now realize that it was probably me that was making it worse in my own head. I used to fight and argue with my boyfriend for no reason. I fell out with my best friends for no reason. I felt sick all the time. My leg used to randomly go dead when i was sleeping, or lying down. I used to get really bad headaches. I used to get emotional (or hormotional as I call it!), mixed with anxiety attacks. and I completely and utterly lost my sex drive. now for a 22yr old I don't think thats normal! I just hope it will get back to normal, and quickly! I've realized hormonal contraception isn't right for me. Using Yasmin has completely put me off using hormonal contraception ever again, and I am considering getting a copper IUD fitted asap.

I've had my Mirena in for a year now, and slowly over the past 6 months or so I've developed the same symptoms as everyone else on this site, except that my hair hasn't started falling out yet. My strings vanished last week which is why I started researching to see if it could "fall inside" me, since I'm positive it hasn't fallen out. Now that I see the list of symptoms, I'm ***SO*** grateful to all of you for sharing your stories, like everyone else I just thought I was slowly going crazy and turning into a whiny, hypochondriac b**ch! My husband is so relieved as well, to think that he might possibly get his wife back some day.

So the question I have is: how long does it take for all this craziness to end and for your body to get back to normal after you have it removed?

I expect I'll probably have to have surgery because it'd likely floating around in my uterus (or worse, but hopefully not) -- I have quite a bit of discomfort when I bend over or pick up my kids so I'm pretty sure it's still in there somewhere! My appointment is tomorrow, so I'm confident it'll get taken care of pretty quickly. And I'm thrilled to know that it will be out of me soon and I can start getting my hormones back in balance. But I'd love it if some of you can share your stories about recovery, just so I'll know what to expect.

Thanks, and good luck to all of us!

So like i just told the lady that thinks this site is a joke, I am happy for her that she hasn't had any negative side effects. For the rest of us though, this site is a blessing. I am a 27 year old with one daughter who is 2 1/2. I got my mirena put in at about my six week check up as well. For me, it took at least a year for me to really notice any symptoms, I guess before I just thought it was new mama syndrome. Now I am losing tons of hair (now when I say tons, no one can tell but me, like when i pull out handfuls when i shampoo or blow dry), I have horrible fatigue, depression that i am taking medicine for with little relief, discharge, and about once a month i have horrible pain on my right side about where my ovary is. Oh and not to mention no sex drive, which is not normal, and moody, moody, moody.

So my point pretty much is that I am a REAL WOMAN, not someone paid by a drug company, and I was looking for answers. Maybe the lady that is posting nastiest about this site is paid by Mirena? Hmmmm.....

Ok, I have to say I'm glad i did my research first and came across this site! Just yesterday i met with my gyn to discuss Mirena/IUD's. I'm in a monogamous relationship and not looking to have children right now. Condoms are a pain and I don't want any more hormones in my body so, no Pill for me. I'm not a candidate for Paraguard because I haven't had any children (FDA hasn't approved that one for women who haven't, only women who have had children). He kept pushing Mirena (I'm sure there are some motivation$ for him behind that too). I'm hesitant to put any more hormones in my body than i already have and all these posts I've read are exactly the reason why. I already suffer from depression (being treated with meds) and IBS (w/constipation). I also just lost about 25lbs recently that was bc related weight. There is NO WAY I'm willing to deal with weight gain again! MISERABLE! I can imagine how all you ladies feel and i know it's not good. All these bad side-effects far outweigh the benefits if you ask me. I've reached my conclusion: I'm not doing this to myself, I'd rather use pain-in-the-ass condoms than deal with hormonal bs. Thanks to all who posted!

I am a 39 year old mother of two teenager daughters. I had my original Mirena inserted in July, 2002 due to extreme bleeding for many months. I would bleed for about 24 days out of every month and felt horrible. As I was only 32 years old at the time, my GYN did not want to perform a hysterectomy and suggested the Mirena. I bled for a couple of months after insertion, but shortly thereafter I had no bleeding and have had no period ever since. This is the side effect that is fantastic!

Shortly after having the Mirena inserted, my marriage fell apart and I was feeling very depressed, EXTREMELY EXHAUSTED and overall "crappy". I assumed that this was all due to my life circumstances. I gained significant weight in my mid-section, I had (and still have) constant headaches, I am always still very very tired, am dizzy, fuzzy-minded, blurred vision, achey, etc. etc. etc. I never once thought about the Mirena being the cause of any of these symptoms.

My doctor has checked my bloodwork numerous time to ensure my iron levels, etc. were okay as well as my thyroid - every time the results were normal so I thought it must all be in my head and all be due to me being somewhat depressed, etc. due to my marital breakdown.

I had my 2nd Mirena put in in December, 2009 as the first one was in for the full 5 years. It was a little painful getting it taken out and the new one put in, but for me the pain was worth it to continue to be period-free for another 5 years!

Recently I have been experiencing hot flashes and night sweats so I asked my doctor if I could be going through menopause. She ordered bloodwork to check my hormones and informed me last week that yes, in fact I am quite far into menopause!!! (remember, age 39)! Because I have not had a period in almost 6 years, I did have the early warning signs of menopause such as missed or irregular periods.

I wondered why I would be going through it so early so googled "Mirena and early menopause" which brought me to this site. When I started reading all the side effects, I wondered if it was maybe the Mirena that cause a lot my problems over the years and it wasn't in fact the dissolving of my marriage and change in life circumstances.

I now have to decide what to do. My doctor stated that I should (because of my young age) go on Hormone Replacement for quality of life. (I am close to my decision and believe that HRT is beneficial for me) - hopefully this will help with the terrible symptoms of menopause I have been having.

I am wondering if having the Mirena inserted had any part in accelerating my body into menopause. I am thinking of having it removed before starting HRT because even though the doctor told me that there is a very low hormone dosage in the Mirena, I don't want to over-do it with hormones as that could cause me even more problems. It would be amazing if I had it removed that I would feel the way I used to feel back 6 years ago (minus the husband)

FYI, before I had the Mirena inserted the first time I read and re-read the pamphlet which contained all the possible side effects, etc. But, as I stated above, my life changed dramatically very shortly after insertion so it never occurred to me that some of my problems may be related to the Mirena.

If this device does accelerate a woman's body into menopause, this should be well publicized as it would be tragic for young women who use this as a form of contraception early in their life to only find out later that they are no longer able to conceive due to their body going though "the change".

Okay. I have been on Yaz for the last year. I have been having horrible migraines. I have been told to switch from Yaz to something else. The doctor prescribed me Loestrin 24. Now, ever statement I read someone says they have had a lot of spotting. Is there anyone taking Loestrin and is not spotting? I am not sure if I should take this pill now?????? I also need to loose about 10 pounds from taking the Yaz. I am afraid that taking the Loestrin I will gain more........ I just don't know what to do.

Hi Everyone,

I need Some help!!!!!!!!

I been on Yasmin for two months now because of extreme period pain. Im 20 years old. And for the past week, Im bleeding a little and also clotting, however its still a week from time for the sugar tablet. On top of this my skin hasn't cleared up yet. Is this due to the time scale? Also I am bloated so much and i have stacked on the weight, its the fattest I've ever been, Im only meant to be small. It pretty much came on in a couple of months, I just feel like shit. fatigued also.

Its nice to know that there are a few of you that are going through the same thing.

Is this the wrong pill for me???

It so annoying!!!!

I had Mirena in for a month ( 2 days shy, actually ) and it was a living hell. I had it removed this past Friday, much to the disappointment of my doctor. "Give it more time" she said. I said "give it more time for WHAT?!". In the 4 weeks I had it in I gained 8 pounds, bled every single day with the exception of 3, and I mean heavy bleeding. Equivalent to after the birth of my children. It was horrible. I had headaches and extreme moodiness. My sex drive went to absolutely nothing. I'm so anxious for my body to get back to normal and I hope and pray it does soon. Very soon. I can't drop any of the weight and feel hungry constantly. I'm watching what I eat and I exercise and so far no results. I don't know how long it'll take to get this nasty thing out of my system. I can't wait to have a sex drive again. I've been so moody even I can't stand myself. This just really sucks.
As far as the removal, it wasn't painful; just a slight pinching. Having it put in however, was another story. Nightmare city. I'm just glad it's gone and hope I return to normal soon. Also, after having it removed, I bled like CRAZY for 3 days. Small price to pay to have it out though.
So anyone thinking of getting it .... DON'T! Anyone who has it and hasn't had any problems ... count yourself very lucky. This thing should be banned. My insurance isn't covering any of it so I'm out $1200.00. Yes, that's $1200.00. Just the icing on the cake, I guess.

My son has had 3 night terrors in the past 2 years. This is such a horrific experience for a parent and I can't imagine what the child must be going through, but my son is in such a panic state when this occurs that you can't do anything to help him. All I can do is keep trying to talk to him until he comes around. He never remembers the episode thank God!! I just realized last night that there might be a link to him taking Omnicef and these night terrors. He hasn't had one for awhile til last night and he had two doses of Omnicef yesterday for an upper respiratory infection. After reading this morning about others who have had this same experience, I will not be giving my son this medicine again. Hopefully this medicine has been the cause and the night terrors will be over.

Let me start by saying WOW ... I've been on AVIANE now for roughly 6 months or more yet have been on Try cyclin and Alesse in the past. I went in expecting to get Alesse, came home to notice it was Aviane (Pharmacist must have switched without saying anything), didn't think anything of it and just started taking the pills (thinking it doesn't hurt to try a new brand, to not let your body get too immune to a certain kind). However I have had nothing but problems and have finally decided to research it more.

For the first few months, if I were to miss a pill i'd spot for the rest of the month (nothing like having your period for 30 days) ... I've gained at least 15 pounds which is ridiculous as I play for 3 indoor soccer teams, bounce on my trampoline daily and can not seem to shed any pounds (only gain).

I'm waking up frequently throughout the night, have had heart palpitations, my hair is thinning, have had more yeast infections in the past 6 months than I've had in my life, etc... Luckily my sex drive hasn't decreased (thank god) but I have noticed its more painful during sex (vaginal dryness) and now reading all these posts things are starting to make A LOT more sense.

Luckily as well i'm able to control the irritability and depression however it does come quite frequently.

OH also not to mention the acne, I wash my face twice daily and seem to be getting acne quite often.

Other symptoms i'm experiencing are:
Dry mouth, no motivation (even to play sports and that's a passion of mine), lack of confidence, bloating, increased hunger, heart palpitations, memory loss, etc...

I'm going to look at switching IMMEDIATELY!!
Thanks girls for all your posts ... helped me figure out what my symptoms were caused from :) Good luck to all you!

I've been on Wellbutrin XL about five months and prior wellbutrin SR. The XL has taken soo much of my hair out and hasn't helped my depression at all. Every time I washed my hair I'd get hands full of hair, it' s enough to make a small wig. The only positive thing is that I've lost 20lbs. I've stopped taking them cold turkey now about a 10 days.

All these stories touch home. I recently lost my metal strings. My mate said he hasn't felt them for a while now. Men I sware wouldn't it be nice if they told us these things. I have extreme pain in my ovaries for the last two weeks, the pain is so bad it makes me ill. My mood has been fine however I do tend to cry easily. So I guess I am emotional. I like a dumb arz threw away all the papers the doctor gave me after he inserted the iud. I just wanted to forget about it because it hurt so bad. I am tired a lot more, I started taking diet pills to boost my energy and even they don't work. I am breast feeding only at night now because it drains me so much. After reading all of your comments I want this thing out of me. I am totally freaking out about the iud being lost in my uterus. I hope i'm not pregnant and miscarrying. The pain I fel resembles a miscarriage. I was have symptoms of pregnancy early on when I first got it put in. I'm so tired of bleeding and the embarrassing odor. I thought it was an infection but was to embarrassed to see the doctor about it. I guess it's another side effect. So we are the gunie pigs for this New IUD. Great.....

I'm calling kaiser Monday to have it taken out hopefully it doesn't hurt to much. Over the counter meds won't help that area of the body if they do have to dig around to find it. I am positive it is not in my cervix because I checked.

Ugh.....

Hello, I'm a 21 year old female and I've been taking Yasmin for about one month and two weeks now. Prior to taking Yasmin I was on Ortho-Tri-cyclen lo for about 8 years and had only positive results. I have PCOS and my specialist recommended that I take Yasmin because it is suppose to be better for those with PCOS. After reading the negative posts on this site I was scared to switch but decided I would give Yasmin a try because results vary from person to person. The first month I noticed that I was extremely moody, when I'm usually mild mannered. I also noticed that I was really thirsty, which is probably because Yasmin is a diuretic. Other then that I didn't have any negative symptoms. This month I noticed that the mood swings have disappeared. Yay!!! Also, my skin looks really clear. My skin usually has one or two bumps on either cheek, while taking Yasmin I don't have any. Oh yeah my period lasted about 7 days and Yasmin hasn't altered my weight. I wouldn't mind losing 5lbs though. I will post another update once I've been taking Yasmin longer.

I've had my mirena in for 4 years now..and can relate to some of the symptoms mentioned. It never occurred to me before that mirena may be the cause. I'm extremely exhausted all the time. I'm a mother of 3 and I maintain a very healthy lifestyle. I go to the gym at least 4 times a week and eat all the right foods. Instead of my workout leaving me refreshed(as should) it nearly takes everything out of me. The rest of the day is a total struggle. Its like ive used up all the energy available to me. I turned 33 less than 2 months ago. I taught of aerobics prior to the birth of my 4 year old son. I had my mirena inserted at my 6 wk checkup. I lost my motivation to continue my workout habits..yet still maintained an active lifestyle without the intensity until 6 months ago. I was 112 lbs @ 5'1 when I got pregnant with my son. I was 144lbs when I delivered. I was down to 120 at my 6 week checkup...and still haven't budge from there! (after the mirena). I'm bloated all the time. As others have said...looking like they're 3 months pregnant...thats me! I've also have swelling in my hands and feet randomly. (mostly my hands) My periods are light..spotting mostly and come approx every 3 weeks. My breast become extremely tender a week prior to. Sleeping is not a problem here...I'm practically out before my head hits the pillow. I often have trouble focusing and feel lightheaded. I also hope to have another child next year some time being that I am remarried and my husband doesn't have any children of his own. After reading some of these stories I'm wondering if that will be possible. In the past...my husband had often complained of feeling scaping during intercourse...yet hasn't felt it in quite some time. I wonder if that's good or bad? I hope I don't have to get mine surgically removed! I'm scared now! If anyone can relate to me...please comment.

I'm a 38 year old female who took Topamax back in 2003 as a migraine preventative. I don't remember any diminished brain capacity, forgetfulness, etc., but then I also suffer from ADD, so who would know. Anyway, I don't see this particular side affect with anyone, but exactly 72 hours after starting Topamax, then 72 hours after each dosage increase, I would suffer from severe body aches. The worst I've ever felt in my life and I usually get body aches with the flu.......these were much worse. If I remember correctly they would last for several days then gradually fade away. The Topamax didn't seem to help my migraines because six months later the neurologist switched me to something else. I'm seeing a new neurologist now and he wants me to try Topamax again. I'm worried and stressed beyond belief. I don't want to go through the body aches again. Has anyone else experience this? Am I maybe deficient in something that I could beef up on while taking the Topamax to decrease the body aches side affect?

sd

It is hard to tell what side effects come from which med but after reading other peoples experiences I think that its easier to put my finger on. I have been taking Lamictal and Lexapro since last spring/summer. I started to feel a lot better as soon as I started the Lamictal. I have a history of being severely depressed all the time. It has been a long road in search of the correct combo of meds. We added Lexapro and I got even better. I was on Wellbutrin and Topamax before this and it was too much drugs in my system causing loads of anxiety. I heard Topamax makes you Dopey so I was happy to get off that. I don't notice Lamictal doing the same thing. I think clearly now, but I do have trouble crying - which is fine with me. I am so sick of fucking crying everyday. Aren't you??? The whole point of treatment is to increase the quality of life and These drugs have definitely helped me to be happy which is all I care about. However, I do still wonder what I would feel like without them. It is tempting to stop once you feel this good. Why cant i just be able to feel this good naturally. WHY WHY WHY .

I've had all the side effects listed and more. I quit taking the pill on the 21st of January. My period hasn't started yet. Has anyone else had this problem and if so how long before my period starts

I am a 60 year old male. I have been on high dose Niacin for more than 12 years. 2 years ago I started taking the combination drug, Advicor. (Lipitor and Niacin) Up until this point, there were no side affects with the Niacin other than occasional flushing. Since starting on the Advicor I have noticed a gradual weakening of muscles, and occasional joint pain. I have recently increased my exercise, thinking this was part of the aging process. I have not worked out consistently for 2 years. I have not noticed much improvement in my conditioning in the past 3 weeks, and have in fact noticed my quadriceps feel as though there is a buildup of lactic acid. I also notice my heart rate does not climb very high before my perceived exertion is above 50%. I did a fitness evaluation today at the health club I go to. The trainer mentioned that he hears the same thing from a lot of people who are on Lipitor. He went on to say, there heart rate is usually 20 bpm lower when on the drug. I am going to be talking with my physician to see about getting off Advicor and going back to just the Niacin. I will increase my exercise and more closely watch my diet. I want to thank the folks who have posted.