Health symptoms and conditions

I started taking Lipitor in April 2009 and my Dr prescribed 10 mg per day. As I usually have negative reactions to medications I compromised & agreed to take it every other day. I am a healthy 56 year old woman and the only medication I take is hormone replacement therapy. I am also in pretty good shape physically. At the end of July I herniated two disc's in my lower back, the L6 & L7, after a day of normal yard work. I could not move for two days and experienced the worst pain of my life. At the time I did not make any connection between Lipitor and this event. The recovery was slow and painful. In Sept I also began to experience sharp pains in my thigh. I read the side effects again regarding Lipitor and determined that this drug is most likely the cause. I decided to stop taking the drug and after three to four weeks the thigh muscle pain disappeared and my back pain significant decreased. Just to make sure I was not imaging the whole thing I took Lipitor twice in the past week and my back pain symptoms returned and I experienced the muscle pain in my thigh again. I was so bad it woke me up. After reading more about Lipitor and the effect it is having on my quality of life I am done with this drug. Although it did reduce my cholesterol I will find another way to control the LDL's & HDL's.

I have been using Mirena for 6 years now and I have been having all the same symptoms as many of you. Frightenly I also found another website about women just like us complaining about the same things we are complaining about but what is worse is that for many of them they were thrown into early menopause because of this IUD. One as young as 25 years old, I'm only 33 but I feel horrible ever since insertion. Tomorrow I am going to have a blood test done to see if that's what's happening to me, then I am having this thing taken out.

Here is the website: ******

I am 39 years old and work for an interventional cardiology medical device company in Tokyo, and so know the importance of controling one's cholesterol, keeping the LDL's low and the HDL's high. About two years ago, my doctor put me on 10 mg of Lipitor. Several months later I herniated a disc in my neck between C6&C7. From that point onward, I attributed all of my neck and back pain, and newly acquired total body muscle and joint pain, to the herniated disc, it made the most sense. Over the last seven months, I have really worked on my diet and began to exercise more (even though quite painful) and was able to lower my cholesterol. This resulted in my doctor lowering my Lipitor prescription from 10 mg to 5 mg. I noticed a slight alleviation of the pain I felt in my hip joints and calves. About two weeks ago I took myself off Lipitor completely and found further improvements in my total body muscle and joint pain. It's still there but greatly improved. In retrospect, I now believe the Lipitor may have been the culprit (or at least a contributing factor) to my herniated disc due to muscle degeneration in the neck, and all of the subsequent muscle pain, especially in my hips and calves. I fully understand I am not going to die from calf-pain, but may from heart disease. However, I have found my quality of life has improved tremendously over the last few weeks. Less irritability, better sleep, less pain, clearer head. I feel like I have lost two years of my life on Lipitor via personal suffering and lack of ability to do much of anything with my wife and two young daughters. We all need to take charge of our own health and therefore I encourage anyone who feels completely different after taking Lipitor to engage your physician, and make sure its the right option for you. If damage has been done to my musculature I hope I can reverse it. It is evident to me that some serious clinical studies should be done to investigate Lipitor's effect on muscle degradation and hope others will consider carefully whether or not do go on this drug. If you do, monitor yourself closely.

500mg 3 times a day for 10 days, vomited once, have had a horrible headache that started day b4 yesterday, still kinda have it, comes in waves, sux real bad lol

i have Sinusitis, Bronchitis, and a severe respiratory infection.

i see some guy on here mad cuz the doctor didn't tell him he would have bad headaches, like the doctor was going to know in advance he would. this anti-biotic affects different ppl different ways, its really not his responsibility to go over every single side-effect this very common anti-biotic is going to have, thats why the pharmacy gives you a huge pamphlet informing you on the medication, if you would had read it then you would see that headache, diarrhea, and constipation are all common side-effects

i didn't read it however, until i came here and read what i read, which is comforting really cuz at least i know why i have the headache so bad, and why i lost my lunch yesterday, was actually worried maybe i had an infection in my brain and thats why i had it, i know, sounds dumb, but what can i say, im paranoid lol

Lisinopril works! I have been taking 5mg three times a day for years. No side effects. The Dr. told me to take 15mg once a day. Is this a time released tablet? I am 77 years old and a diabetic. I test my blood sugar 6X a day. This way I can control what I eat. Sugar problem was diagnosed 5 years ago with levels running from 40-385. I was depressed & worried about my health. This drug resolved the problem. My best advice is talk to your Dr. and your pharmacist. Friends, family & neighbors mean well. Consider the source!

Are there any meds that are safe? I was taking 10mg norvasc. I started taking 20/25 mg lisinopril. I was doing ok on the norvasc but the added lisinopril has almost killed me. They had cut my norvasc down to 5 mg then to 2.5 mg when I started the lisinopril. 4 days ago I stopped the lisinopril and added back 2.5 mg norvasc. Back to 5 mg. The side effects seem to be letting up. Now im wondering is all of my meds are killing me. I can't live without them. My BP sores. Im so scared of what I should do. Im afraid of all my meds.

I have been off the drug 4 days now. My BP is running around 175/85. This is to high. My doctor is supposed to call me tomorrow and let me know what to do. I refuse to take the lisinopril ever again.

I've been on Advair for 12 years.I'm 27 years old and fed up with all this medications that doctors prescribe.We are so brainwashed into thinking that we misbehave if we don't see a doctor.Let me tell you what: The majority of the doctors, only know to prescribe medication.They get bonuses from the pharma industries every time they prescribe their "new discovered"medicine.
Advair is supposed to be preventive, what you don't know it's for how long.Exactly!!!.....'cause it's not meant to cure Asthma, it's meant to keep you hooked for the rest of your life.
My worse symptom is a very fast heart beating.I'm a martial artist and every time i exert a fast burst of energy(while i'm sparring for example), my heart goes into pumped up mode.It beats very, very fast and i have to stop because it hurts.Sometimes i keep going no matter what and feel like i'm exercising for two people.When i stop, i breath very deeply for 5 minutes and all of a sudden it stops and beats regularly.
It's not fun, and one more thing: I'm from Argentina and my mom sends me the medicine from there cause it's way cheaper, sometimes i run out(i procrastinate sometimes), i'm left off with no medicine for a few days and boy.....I'm a wreck.The time you stop you go right back to where you started.I've been researching about an alternative to this "S***".I'm afraid 'cause i don't want to feel discomfort with my lungs anymore, but i strongly believe that there should be a natural alternative to all this laboratory drugs and i'm on a mission to find it.

In 2002, my doctor prescribe Avalox after two, ten day doses of Levaquin didn't seem to work for a sinus infection. I was very tired, swollen, vomiting and unable to urinate. At the hospital tests determined that my blood sugar was out of control, as was my blood pressure. I had excess potassium and several other nutrients were depleted from my body. It felt as if bugs were inside my skin and my mouth was very dry.

I stayed in the hospital 12 days because my kidneys had shut down. I was put on dialysis. My new doctor says that my kidneys are still sick. I have excess protein. Normal levels are 17 and mine are about ten times higher. I have to take a pill to protect my kidneys every day.

I have learned a lot about natural medicine and have improved my health. It took a several months and painful biopsies before the experts determined the cause. It was a combination of the two drugs.
epbp.....VA

Hey Guys,
I'm new to all this but just wanted to share my story with everyone so I feel like i'm not so alone! I'm 23 and was diagnosed with SLE 3 years ago.
It started in my joints and then moved to my kidney's real fast. I now have stage 4 nephritis, finished 6months of cyclophosphamide in Feb and have been on no less than 40-20mg of pred for about 2years. Just when things were starting to look better it has stared in my blood so they are trying to up my dose again. It has thinned my bones so I am on special meds for that now too.
I know taking the pred is something I need to do to live but it comes at a really high price. I don't even look like the same person I used too because of the moon face. I know it's shallow but at 23 it is almost as bad as having to live with this disease. I now have really low self esteem and get anxious all the time, which is affecting my job. As much as I want to come off I also worry that I would have to stop work again as the pred is what keeps me going. All I want to do is get off it though! Anyone know any alternatives? Also, just wondering if you guys are still drinking alcohol while taking pred?
Thanks for listening guys!

My total cholesterol was 220 and LDL was 157; I started taking 40mg last week and within 2 days I just felt horrible. I felt weird and yuck in my stomach. There was a fog in my head and 2 days ago I was so dizzy I was almost falling over; I had to catch myself with the walls and doors. The next day, yesterday, I started having higher blood pressure and racing pulse with heart palpitations every 45 seconds or so, which makes me breathe deep often. I have felt pain in the back, arms, neck, and hips. I have also had weight gain and stomach irritability. Last night was the first night I did not take my medicine and even though I don't feel all that better I will see how it goes. I fought taking this medicine for over a year now and since my cholesterol went up I figured I'd try it in hopes my level would drop, but I can't handle this, I'm only 38!

ok, so I am 28yrs old just had my lap for endo on October 1 and my doctor has recommended lupron, and am going to be getting the med in a week to 2weeks,but after reading this I am soooooooooo scared to even get near this med. Its like you either take this with the hope of saving fertility and no pain..or not and have endo ravage your body and you will live with unbearable pain!!! I have no idea what to do,and i am so scared after reading this. Is there anyone that did not have weight gain, headaches etc...anyone that can testify that lupron actually worked for them? did any one have a baby after doing this. my bigs thing is being able to have a baby. Cause right now its my health on the line, my ability to have children, my ability to have a normal life free of endo pain or these crazy, horrible side effects...please help me!!!

ok, so I am 28yrs old just had my lap for endo on October 1 and my doctor has recommended lupron, and am going to be getting the med in a week to 2weeks,but after reading this I am soooooooooo scared to even get near this med. Its like you either take this with the hope of saving fertility and no pain..or not and have endo ravage your body and you will live with unbearable pain!!! I have no idea what to do,and i am so scared after reading this. Is there anyone that did not have weight gain, headaches etc...anyone that can testify that lupron actually worked for them? did any one have a baby after doing this. my bigs thing is being able to have a baby. Cause right now its my health on the line, my ability to have children, my ability to have a normal life free of endo pain or these crazy, horrible side effects...please help me!!!

I wanted to update everyone about life after Mirena, I had it removed almost 2 weeks ago, there has been some spotting but I feel amazing. My energy is back already, I had horrible migraines, and knock om wood I haven't had one since, This thing might do well for some people but based on this site it seems like it's not as wonderful as the OBGYN doctors tell you. I had it in for 2 1/2 yrs, and I was never told that all these side effects could be related but they were. Ladies listen to your body and never let anyone tell you that you don't know what your talking about when it comes to your health!

I am a generally active and fairly healthy 77 yr old who had been taking 10 mg of Lipitor for over 12 years with no obvious adverse effects. Recently I started having pain in my right leg, severe enough to wake me at night. This was followed by a significant weakness in both legs, and for a while, accompanied by a lightheartedness. The doctor had me take a series of lumbar and leg x-rays which didn't show much of significance. He wrote a prescription for physical therapy, which I did not follow.
I did internet research on my own which made me aware that Lipitor could be the cause, in spite of the fact that I had tolerating the drug for so many years. I told the Doctor of my suspicions and we agree to stop the Lipitor for at least 6 weeks to see. A few days later, all my symptoms were gone. So be cautious, adverse effects from Lipitor can occur anytime.

I am currently weigh more than ever before. I really do watch what I eat and go to the gym at least 5 days a week and do 45 min of cardio. I recently went to my PCP and was told I now have high blood pressure; high cholesterol; and sky high estrogen levels....anyone else out there??? I am thinking that I need to get the Mirena removed for my health!

Started taking the Zocor generic Simvistatin just 2 days ago. My legs hurt so bad that I can not sleep. My right knee is swollen to the point I have very limited range of motion and can barely walk up stairs. It is after midnight and I can't sleep. Also having some angina and my little toe on my right foot is somewhat numb. I will be contacting my physician about this tomorrow. My cholesterol was 105 and this doesn't seem to be worth it to me!

I just started taking this drug three days ago, and I am already having such bad side effects that I don't want to take it anymore. I am only 29, but have a family history of high BP, and went to the doctor last week to find out my bp was 175/90. Since starting the drug, I've been getting dizziness, but last night took the cake. I woke up around 4:30 with horrible nausea. I ran to the bathroom where I fainted while sitting on the toilet lid, wanting nothing more than to vomit. I remember waking up and looking in the mirror, and my face was as white as a sheet, as were my lips. I looked dead, and it scared the hell out of me. As I came to, I suddenly had diarrhea hit me, and once that was over, I felt better. My husband thinks my body is trying to get rid of the drug. In addition to all this, I am having palpitations and feel that my heart is beating too fast. I know that part of this is nerves, because I'm scared of taking this medication, but the fainting and nausea ARE because of the drug. I called my doctor today, and she wants me to come in to get my BP taken again. I am so scared that she won't lower the dose or (better yet) switch me to something else, because my bp always goes up at the doctor's office when I get nervous, every time. Oh, and I also started metformin last week because the doctor tested my blood sugar and it came back 250. Could it be the combination? I don't know. I just know I have only been on this stuff for a few days and already hate it and feel that it's bad for my body! It's very scary.

I am on day 9 of Topamax. I have Depression and ADD the is controlled by 300 mg of Wellbutrin and 30 mg of Adderall daily. I always felt like this drug regimen was working but I was still having some days where I couldn't shake the blues. I saw my prescribing doc and he suggested Topamax. He started me on 25 mg and in a few days I will increase to 50 mg where it will stay if things go well. I am a 34 y/o woman, married and a preschool teacher.

So far, my side effects have been EXTREME thirst. It's so bad that my lips are actually a little chapped. As far as taste goes, things don't necessarily taste bad to me as much as I just don't have an appetite at all. I have lost 5 pounds in 9 days! However, all soda tastes flat to me. I have tried everything and it's all just flat. In the grand scheme of things, who NEEDS soda? My husband says that I have been a little sensitive lately but, I have always been an overly-sensitive person so, I don't know how much faith I put into that. But, as far as my cognitive abilities, balance issues, and energy? I feel more energetic than usual and I don't feel at a loss for words at all. I also feel even more patient with the children in my classroom. Oh, I have been nauseous off and on as well, which contributes to my loss of appetite.

Now, my dosage will increase in 5 days from 25 mg to 50 mg and I hope that I don't feel different after that increase. When and if I do, I will be right back here posting. I would like to thank those that have posted. It has given me so many good things to look for and has put my mind at ease a little. Good luck to all and best of health!

Hello everyone. I am a 40 year old female and have been on Toprol XL 50 mg. for about 6 years now. In the beginning I was taking Toprol, then because my prescription plan wanted to switch I am on Metoprolol. I was prescribed this after a stress test because my heart rate did not go down as quickly as the cardiologist wanted it. If only I knew what I did now, I would never have started it. HELLO!! I weighed 200 lbs. at the time and was a couch potato. What did he expect? Of course my heart rate wasn't going to go down being so out of shape. I am so angry that I was prescribed this drug for such a stupid reason. I am also on meds to lower my blood sugar and high blood pressure. I know that all of my problems are due to my weight and so I've made a decision to seriously change my diet so I can get off of all of this crap. I currently weigh 217 lbs. But as you all know, being on Toprol, it's so hard to lose weight. I want off of this crap as soon as possible. Can any one of you guys who has gotten themselves off of this medication please send me some information as to how you got off of Toprol XL? My doctor is a real moron who works solely for pharmaceutical companies so I refuse to go to him. I will be changing doctors soon.

UPDATE from Calybo ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!
The post below this (or a couple below ) is one that I added to this site almost a year ago!
After having Mirena removed in OCT. 08' it has been a very long uphill battle reclaiming my health. I feel I am now 90% better. I still experience some of the symptoms - just much, much,much milder than they were at first. I feel like Mirena has taken nearly a year away from my life! I've had to focus so hard on my health that I feel everything else has been put on hold. I just feel so disappointed in conventional medicine and pharmaceuticals for allowing this to be sold to women without doing more studies and not adding more warnings on adverse affects. it wasn't until I went to see a holistic doctor that I really started to make progress.

Been on Yasmin for about 3 years suffered from Loss of Sex Drive, grumpiness, being nasty to my kids and husband, weight gain - I look like I have a beer belly, I run 2-3 times a week and watch what I eat, I walk and cycle still the weight gain. The last month I have had sore breasts - cant bear hardly to put on my bra, spotting, sharp pain in the right hand ovary (in that area), crying, depressed. My doc put me on antidepressants so i have been taking them over a year now. I am not going to take Yasmin anymore, I will keep you all informed how I get on. Cant believe all the same symptoms as mine.....thanks for sharing girls.

I have been taking prednisone for three years and I love it! It has helped me out with breathing problems and arthritis pain. I take a small does every day. And when I am without it I have trouble breathing and have painful arthritis pain. This drug has done wonders for me.

Hi all. this just an update from my last post having experienced symptoms such as shortness of breath and chest pains. last week i was admitted to the hospital for deep vein thrombosis and PULMONARY EMBOLISM. the nuvaring really did a number on my health and now i will be stuck taking blood thinning pills for the next 9 months of my life. the nuvaring is very dangerous

My daughter has been on Sulfatrim for about 2 years, she was diagnosed with bilateral urinary reflex or (VUR) grades 4 and 5. I'm concerned for my daughter's health. I noticed that my daughter (about 4 months old at the time) had started having what looked like seizures, after being on the drug. She would and still does lay on the floor and draw her left leg up in to her side, while her right leg is straight out and stiff. She puts her head down and sometimes she headbutts the floor. She sweats when she does this. She alert though. We went to doctor and she had a test done to rule out seizures. We keep going back and they can't seem to find out what is wrong. This is not a normal thing or "tick" that my daughter does. I would like anyone else with these systems to come forward and talk with me please. V