Heart monitor symptoms and conditions

I HAVE BEEN ON YAZ FOR 3 MONTHS NOW, AT FIRST IT WAS OK LITTLE SIDE EFFECTS LACK OF CONCENTRATION, MOOD SWINGS ALWAYS MAD EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BOTHER ME BUT SINCE 3 WEEKS AGO I'VE EXPERIENCED A SEVERE CHANGE I STARTED FEELING SHORT OF BREATH, CHEST PAIN, HEAVY CHEST AND PROBLEMS BREATHING, FAST HEART PALPITATIONS, NUMBNESS IN MY FACE CHEEKS HANDS AND THE BOTTOM OF MY FEET. SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE IF I WANT TO PASS OUT, SO I WENT TO MY PRIMARY PHYSICIAN I HAD A CHEST X-RAY, EKG, LUNG SCAN(PERFURIN AND VENTILATION SCAN) AND A VENOUR DOPPLER ON MY LEGS AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST BLOOD TEST, EVERYTHING CAME BACK PERFECTLY NO CLOTS OR EMBOLISM, MY PRIMARY PHYSICIAN SAID I AM IN PERFECT CONDITION SHE ADVISE ME THAT WHEN I FEEL THIS WAY TO GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM IT HAS PAST 3 WEEKS AND I STILL HAVE THE SHORTNESS OF BREATH, NUMBNESS, HEAVY CHEST, AND ALL MY DOCTOR SAYS IS GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM BUT IF SHE DID NOT FOUND ANYTHING WHY DOES SHE WANT ME TO GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM ANY WAYS I DON'T THINK THEY'LL FIND ANYTHING WRONG (WELL SHE DID NOT FOUND ANYTHING) BUT THE THING IS THAT SHE TOLD ME I COULD STILL KEEP ON TAKING THE YAZ PILLS. AFTER READING ALL THIS COMMENTS NOW I KNOW IT MIGHT BE THE YAZ BUT THERE IS ANOTHER ISSUE I HAVE HAD SEVERE DIZZINESS FOR 3 ALMOST 4 YEARS NOW I HAVE BEEN TAKING MECLIZINE 25MG FOR THE SEVERE DIZZINESS AND SINCE I STARTED YAZ THE SEVERE DIZZINESS DISAPPEARED I AM NOW SEVERE DIZZINESS FREE. SO I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO I AM WONDERING IF THE SHORT OF BREATH AND NUMBNESS IS GOING TO GO AWAY IS IT JUST THAT I HAVE TO ADJUST OR WHAT? AS I SAID I HAVE HAD FOR ALMOST 4 YEARS NOW SEVERE DIZZINESS( I GET REALLY REALLY BAD THAT I DO NOT KNOW WHATS WORST FOR ME NOW THE DIZZINESS OR THE SHORT OF BREATH AND NUMBNESS). I AM GOING TO MAKE A APPOINTMENT WITH MY OB TO SEE WHAT SHE THINKS. HAVE ANYONE OUT THERE HAD THE SAME PROBLEMS I HAVE? WILL THE SHORTNESS OF BREATH AND NUMBNESS GO WITHIN A COUPLE OF DAYS? DO I HAVE TO GET ADJUST TO YAZ? PLEASE SOMEONE OUT THERE IF YOU HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU DID TO FEEL BETTER? SHOULD I JUST STOP THE YAZ PILL? THANKS AND SOMEONE PLEASE ADVISE ME

I was put on Yaz (same as Yasmin but with a smaller estrogen dose) due to irregular periods and a presumed hormonal imbalance. That was in September '07. Four month later, on Jan 1, '08, I went to the ER with breathing difficulties, and weakness in my arms and legs. I had been having muscle cramps/ charley horses in my right calf, but that was the only other health problem I had experienced. I thought I was having an asthma attack. So did the ER - at first. After I did not respond to the breathing treatments, and I became completely out of breath and exhausted after walking across the hall to the restroom, the ER doc checked my D-Dimer level to see if I was at risk for blood clots. He said if it came back over 500, he would have to do further testing for clots. It came back 4500!! I was sent immediately down for a CT Scan which showed mulitple clots in both lungs, mostly small, but several of significant size. I was immediately put on oxygen and a heart monitor, and an IV drip of heparin was started. I was in the hospital for 4 days, had to learn to give myself shots of Lovenol in my stomach until my pill form of blood thinner had time to kick in. I am now taking Coumadin blood thinner every day until July, when my D-Dimer will be checked again. Depending on the results, I may come off the Coumadin, or I may have to commit to it for 3 years. However, I was tested for all the hereditary blood clotting disorders and all came back negative, so my doctor feels as though the cause has to be the YAZ! Everyone tells me I was very lucky and that I could have easily died, especially when I was just thinking I was having an asthma attack and put off going to the ER for a few days. If you are taking Yaz or Yasmin, and you begin to have difficulty breathing, any kind of leg cramps, weakness, or tightness in your chest (I had also been having severe heart burn) - go have yourself checked out!!!!!

So nice to see that I'm not just imagining the adverse reactions. I've been taking Advair 250/50 for about 3 weeks now after being diagnosed with asthma/chronic bronchitis. I went back to my doctor the following week because I was still having chest pain, back pain, felt as if I still wasn't getting enough oxygen and mentioned that I was having a lot of difficulty with being jittery. He evaluated my breathing with a peak flow meter and since that seemed to be OK, he wanted to do an EKG - which he did and seemed to see something that warranted a referral to a cardiologist. So far the cardiologist has not seen anything out of the ordinary.
I'm thinking more and more that there is nothing wrong with my heart and that this is all being caused by the Advair. Has anyone else been referred to a cardiologist and found out nothing was wrong?

Hey, I was on this pill for 3 years and over the last year and a half I have had chest problems, developing into heart palpitations over the last couple of months, I had to have a heart monitor on for a week and had the results today, my heart is perfectly healthy it was in fact the YASMIN tablets!!
So today my doctor has changed my pill and said I should notice a difference in the next month or so.
Not only was I having chest problems and heart palpitations, I have been told I was so snappy and grumpy, I was tired most of the time, always felt weepy and generally down in the dumps.
My advice, try this tablet as it may be different for you but a lot of people on here have had similar symptoms.
GOODBYE YASMIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back in May 2007 I screened to take part in a clinical trial involving advair diskus. apart of the screening involved giving me a dosage of the drug. I was given a heart monitor to wear for 24 hours I was snet home and told to return tomorrow. The same day I left with the heart monition, I felt tired through out the day, very sick and nauseated. I didn't make it into the trial for whatever reason, but as the days went on my symptoms got worse, they included: severe constipation, heart burn, burping (GERD like symptoms), BLOATING, I experienced energy dips and dives throughout the day, headaches and dizziness. This went on for months, then I began to have pains in the middle of my upper back...then the chest pains started, after realizing it had to be more than muscle pain, I decided to go to the ER. I told them my symptoms, they did an X-Ray and CAT SCAN. the conclusion of the two test was an enlarged heart(Cardiomyopathy), and it remains so today.

I have recently learned that chemicals in some drugs can damage/weaken the cardiac tissue..which has to happen before the heart can enlarge.

My diagnosis for needing this med was taccycardia, irregular heart beat, and now very slightly evalated blood pressure (that seems to bother me more than the DR says it should )I have been trying to find a new drug that doesn't interfer with my COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease...in other words trouble breathing) Most of the heart meds add to your symptoms causing thick phlegm to build up, or wheezing. Most of the side effects for Betaxolol did go away eventually. I had horrible anxiety that seemed to ache from the inside out - that has finally dissipated. Itching & irritability also went away. I don't sleep well on this med at all - find my self waking in the middle of the nite and can't get back to sleep. To reduce the breathing problems this med causes for my lung condition I have tried taking the drug every other day and I experience my heart bouncing around in my chest, squeezed throat, serious trouble breathing cause my lungs don't work when my heart rhythm is wacky. Of course nothing shows up on the 30 day Event Heart Monitor they put me on so I might as well talk to the moon. Boy would I love to hear from anyone with asthma, COPD, emphysema, etc that needs BP meds and what works for them!

I'm diabetic, have underactive thryroid, hypertension. On several meds including 20mg Lisinopril. I was put on 40mg twice a day beta-blocker last week after my umpteenth time complaining about exactly the same stuff as I see on this website. Have been in the hospital twice in the past year for these problems (they said I was dehydrated)...wore the heart monitor, all that. Heart is fine they say. Just beats weird now and then. I'm now goung to have to talk to Dr. about this drug. Sounds like it may be my problem. I, too, have wondered, "Am I trying to have a heart attack".

My Side effects: major heart palpitations, numb/tingling hands almost every morning upon awakening, fatigue, thinning hair, bloating/weight gain. I am 43 yrs old, not overweight & in good health other than my BP. I was on atenelol for about 8 yrs & switched to lisinopril aprx 5-6 yrs ago. HBP & heart attack run in my family (dad & brother both had heart attacks at age 40). The heart palpitations (I call them summersaults in my chest) have caused me to go to the urgent care & doctor more than once. Have had EKGs twice in last 3 yrs, wore heart monitor, etc. Said I have irregular heart beat, but nothing to really worry about. I started on 5mg, but BP continued to increase. Raised to 10 mg, but same thing. Now up to 20 mg & BP is finally better (but not low) at 120/86. I HATE being tired all the time as I'm the kind of person who is always going. I'm going to talk w/Dr. & see about switching to something else again... Thanks to all for sharing!

I have bipolar, and for a year I was willing to attribute my symptoms to that illness. I started the lisinopril when I moved and made a bunch of life changes, so I didn’t connect the onset of the symptoms with the med. Every night, though, I would get sick around 5 or 6 PM (I took lisinopril in the morning): nausea, headache, body aches, extreme lethargy, shortness of breath, fluttering feeling in my chest. These symptoms were so bad that twice I went to the emergency room. (Unfortunately, I presented as a bipolar patient with anxiety, so my treatment was less than comprehensive.) I swapped out all my bipolar meds to rule out drug interactions, but never touched lisinopril because I thought of it as a “safe drug”. My PCP (who prescribed the lisinopril) referred me to a cardiologist who did a battery of tests. I stopped the 30 day heart monitor after 3 weeks because every time I had cardiac symptoms, I checked out fine. The only option left seemed to be that the symptoms were psychosomatic, which scared me because I had no idea how to tackle that. I finally decided to investigate lisinopril and found this site by accident. It was amazing to read all the posts that were similar to my experiences. The day I discontinued the lisinopril in the morning, that night I did not get sick. I waited until I had been well for a week before concluding that the symptoms were indeed side effects of this med. It’s been a couple of months since I discontinued the lisinopril. And I have not been sick once, though I do struggle regularly with the bipolar. (I do monitor my blood pressure regularly: there’s a reason why everyone tells you to do that!) I feel stupid for not suspecting lisinopril earlier (I’m the kind of person who has a PDR and quizzes doctors on pharmacological modes of action) but I just thought that someone would flag it if there could be a problem.

I think those of us with a chronic illness tend to try to make symptoms fit within the framework of our known disease models. I’m writing a book and would welcome input on any aspect of bipolar or about dealing with chronic illness in general.

This site is a blessing. Congratulations on finding it!

I have just come across this site, while looking to find out why I have been experiencing heart palpitations for the past two months - out of the blue!!! and usually "exercise" induced. I had some tests and have been told they are Premature Atrial Contractions "PACs". I started taking Yasmin in April, after having tried others over the past year (tri-cyclen lo and alesse) which did not work for me as the progestin was not strong enough. I am in my 40s and never took the pill before. Yasmin was great, it significantly reduced my "physical" pms (severe inflamation, severe bloating, severe sore breasts) which I experience for 2-3 weeks a month. However, sometime in mid to late June, I started getting palpitations/tremors out of the blue. The first episode freaked me out and lasted for about two weeks. At first I thought it was allergy medication mixed with my thyroid med, which can happen - but I cut out the allergy meds and still got them. They seem to come about 6hrs to a day after I fexercise/figure skate and they last from 2 to 5 five days. It's very irritating and nerve wracking, and I feel very agitated. I am also out of breath more than usual when walking up stairs, a little light headed and have some tightness in the chest. My legs also are weak, which makes no sense given my exercise regimen. I then lowered my thyroid replacement from .125 synthroid to .100 - too much thyroid med can cause some palpitations. Anyone who has mistakenly taken a second thyroid pill having forgotten that they already took one will understand. Even with the lower dose I am still getting the palpilations. I am totally at a loss as to why all of a sudden this is happening to me (perhaps perimenopause??). I have had the odd flutter here and there in my live, but nothing like this. It just doesn't make any sense ag ll. Can one's health just change like this overnight?. I am otherwise healthy, slim, have "lower" blood pressure (apprx 100-90/70-60)I skate 3 to 5 times a week, I have a full time job and yes I do push myself, but this is getting ridiculous. The only thing I can attribute it to is the Yasmin, ... but my symptoms only started after a few months not instantly, whereas it would seem that most of the the women here noticed the side effects faster. I hate to stop the Yasmin because I will have to return to pms "hell", but I suppose I will give it a try to see if the palpitations subside. At this point, I have been offered a low dose "beta blocker" and have refused. I am stunned to think that all of a sudden I have heart issues, especially since my Dr has always kidded me my that I will never have heart problems with my blood pressure. I will stop the Yasmin tonight and post another message in a few weeks one it is out my system. Here's hoping it is the Yasmin.
KarenSkaterGirl

UPDATE: Today is the second day that I haven't taken Singulair and I feel 100% better. I am no longer experiencing the panic attacks, hallucinations, shortness of breath, ear ringing, leg cramps, etc. I went to the doctor on the 23rd and he was reluctant to think that any of this was caused by taking Singulair. I am now convinced that it was, since I haven't felt any of the symptoms I was having for the last few months. I am going to a cardiologist on Aug 1st and will have to wear a heart monitor to "rule out" a heart condition. I also have to get my ears checked because my doctor thinks this could be an inner ear problem. I will go through with all of these check-ups just to make sure that I don't have any underlying medical issues. Seeing how quickly my symptoms have stopped after going off of Singulair makes me totally convinced that this is what was causing this in the first place. I am greatful that I found this site and read all of the comments from people having similar symptoms!

On 4.25.07 after four days of taking YAZ i found myself in the ER havinf a CT of my head, lungs, sonogram of both my legs, x-ray of my lungs, ekg of my heart, blood & urine samples taken. All in all I spent 11 hours being poked and examined only to be told to stop taking YAZ. My symptoms were: extreme dizziness, heart palpatations, headache, tingling in my legs, partial numbness in my left check, fatigue. They were concerned that I may have had a blood clot due to the pills and that's why they were looking at my legs & lungs. If I had developed a clot in my legs I would've had to taken blood thinners for 6 months and if it would've been in my lungs I would've been admitted into the hospital that day. Now a day later I am extremely tired, have a heart monitor attached to my chest. (They're having me wear this for 24 hrs.) I've had one dizzy spell and feel a little "out of it". If I had known that such a small little pill could create so much havoc I would've never taken it in the first place.

Since starting Zocor 2 weeks ago I have been experiencing palpitations. I hooked myself up to the heart monitor at work and saw that I was having premature ventricular contractions, which is normal if they happen occasionally, but I was having 4-8 per minute! I met a lady at my gym who had the same problem when she was on Zocor....they did a full work-up on her and attributed the problem to Zocor. And altho Merck doesn't mention any cardiac problems as side-effects I believe it's in my best interest to get off this stuff! Plus I am also having blurred vision.

I started taking Yasmin about 3 months ago. About a week ago, I fainted and had to go the ER. There they found that my heart rate was irregular so they put me on a heart monitor. A day later I was back in the ER because of chest pains and a shortness of breath. Two days after that, I was in the ER once again due to my extremely high heart rate and pain in my legs. They told me it was my thyroid levels that were causing this, so I found a different doctor who said it was not my thyroid but had no idea what it was. I ended up going to a cardiologist who just told me I was under a lot of stress. I asked each doctor if my birth control could have anything to do with it, and they all told me no. Well, after finding this website, I can now see that it is Yasmin causing my health problems. Thank you all so much for posting your stories...they really saved me!

Was on 25mg of Toprol for 3 years with no side effects. Started taking 50 mg last week because of increased PACs noted on heart monitor (24 hr) and have experienced anxiety, gritting teeth some hours out of the day and extreme fatigue other hours. Hope my body finally calms down but am having trouble working! Talked to my pharmacist who says the anxiety could be a side effect even though it's not common.....just like Benadryl, which makes some people hyper and others sleepy.

I wanted to write back to Chris--Holy Cow you sound just like me!!!!! I have been off Yasmin for approx. 7 months now and I, too, am STILL having the heart palpitations, racing heart flopping like a fish in my chest feelings! I was in the ER for these symptoms last Friday--every test--blood work, EKG, echocardiogram, and a CT scan (to check for clot in the lungs) came back normal--and yet these feelings persist. Also, my blood pressure (although it has come down since I went off Yasmin) is still too high--I am praying that it will continue to slowly go back down to what it used to be prior to taking Yasmin.

I'm 41--two kids (ages 2 and 3), and NEVER had pressure higher than 120/70 (not even while pregnant). And yet, within about 8 weeks of taking Yasmin, my pressure had shot up to 160/110 (and had been higher than that from time to time!!!!) Now it is about 140/90--still not acceptable, but better than it was. Have you checked your blood pressure?

I am going to see my cardiologist (sheesh never thought I'd write that sentence at this age) on Friday--I will get the results of a 24-hour heart monitor harness that I wore after the visit to the ER.

I wanted to also mention that I developed a pretty serious case of acid reflux disease while taking Yasmin (again, NEVER had anything like that before)--treated it (saw an ear/nose/throat guy), and it healed up. I am wondering if some of this feeling that someone is digging a fist into the center of my chest could be reflux related. I've been taking some Pepcid Complete over the last couple days and it has seemed to lessen the intensity of the feeling or make it go away completely for a while. I had been burping like crazy--it made my hysband think maybe some of my symptoms were stomach related and he suggested I try the Pepcid.

I wish you all the best--I plan to print out several pages from this forum to bring to my dr.'s visit this Friday--I just can't fathom that all of this cr*p is "random"--is there anyone else out there with blood pressure problems lingering from Yasmin? I would be very curious to hear about your experiences--esp. about how long it took for it to go back to normal.
Connie

I'm a 30 year-old female. I've been on Lisniprol for almost four years. And these four years have been the worst of my life. I've had test after test and seen dr. after dr. trying to figure out what is wrong with me. I have a terrible cough, my face gets hot and I get the chills (kinda like the flu), I'm very achy with pain in my legs and back, headaches, confusion, memory loss, sensitivity to heat/cold, swollen throat, very tired. Chest pain and trouble breathing (wore a heart monitor and had stress test, but everything was normal). Heart rate is rapid. Gained a lot of weight in the last three years. Everything test-wise always came back normal. Saw an OB/GYN to see if I was premenopausal; nope. Had an MRI and CT for the backpain; nothing; Labs done to rule out throid disease; nothing. Saw a neorosurgeon for possible nervous system disease from so much pain. Nothing he could do. Went to allergist for possible allergies; nothing. Oh....but wait..I go to the dr. today to tell him I'm still not feeling better and that I ran acrossed some information on the web about possible side effects of the bp pill Lisinopril and that I still recall that I started experiencing side effects about the time I started the medication of 10mg. Then when he increased it to 40mg, I really felt terrible. He looked back through my labs and saw that an allergan level had been very high in my CBC. He said, "bingo, you must have an allergic reaction, or maybe a perisite". He said this CBC is done on a normal blood test and will show elevation if the body is trying to fight off an infection or has an allergic reaction to something. So...went off the BP pills today. I'll keep everyone posted. My email is ****** if anyone wants to email me with similar situations.

I started taking Wellbutrin in October 2004 to quit smoking. Started at 150mg and moved up to 300 mg. Within two weeks of taking the higher dose I experienced dizziness, nausea, vertigo, tremors, muscle cramping, panic attacks, heart palpitations, concentration problems, decreased appetite, hypersensitivity to motion, smells and sounds, crying spells and feelings of impending doom. I went to the emergency room on three different occasions because I felt like I was having a heart attack (tightness in chest, racing heart, nausea, trouble breathing) and was told I had nothing wrong. I also had thoughts of suicide because I felt so bad I wanted to make it stop. I went back to my doctor and requested he taper me off due to the side effects. He did and after a month I still had the symptoms. I missed a month of work and had to stay with family because I couldn't take care of myself or my 3 year old and my husband didn't know what else to do. I finally went back to the doctor and begged for relief. I also requested he run tests to check for other causes. He did blood work and 12 lead heart monitor and found I had slight tachycardia (palpitations), but said I was healthy. He diagnosed me with having General Anxiety Disorder and put me on Paxil. I've been on Paxil for 9 months and still have some symptoms albiet much milder than before. I am now sure that any SSRI's are not for me and am looking for alternative therapies. Also, I am going to see an endocrinologist and a cardiologist just to make sure I have no other problems. I would suggest not taking a drug to quit smoking-cold turkey is the best! I was perfectly normal before I started taking these drugs. This past year has been a living nightmare. I realized my experience is very intense compared to others who have taken Wellbutrin and people react differently to medications but I would have to say that had I continued taking it I would have died. I am 36 years old, have a wonderful family and a job I love. I do not believe I have an anxiety disorder! If anyone who reads this has had a similar experience, my suggestion is to SLOWLY get off it with help from your doctor and find alternative therapy, ie. biofeedback, nutrition, homeopathic, ect. Good luck to all of you!

I am sure glad to hear from other people about the side effects of this drug. It did help bring my blood pressure down, also taking furosemide (lasix) and labetalol, synthroid and was diagnosed diabetic and am controlling it with diet mainly. This all started about 5 months ago, when I found out all these things plus I had pneumonia. I've lost about 60 pounds since then, and have been doing pretty well. My doctor stepped my pressure down, not all at once, and only after she upped the lisinpril did I have any negative reactions, and that was what some might call lightheadedness, but someone on here referred to as "not quite right," and that's what I'd call it.
I woke up Tuesday, went to have breakfast, take my meds, went back to bed as always, maybe nap a bit, or listen to music, dozed off when alarm went off, got up, went to get dressed, then felt the not right feeling only worse, think I sat down, found myself on the floor a minute later, wondering why my face was in the carpet. Luckily,I have only a black eye and some carpet burns. I think it was too much meds, went to my dr, who put me in the hospital, ran ekg, fine, had me on a heart monitor that day, next morning , had a cat scan, found out that was normal this am, but the eeg showed "possible" seizure activity, so I'm waiting to hear about another eeg, when I'm walking around, and to see a neurologist. My dr did cut the lisinopril in half, and seems to be helping. I also have the dry cough, but not too bad.
I'll be checking out the side effects of the other drugs whi;le I wait,too.
Just turned 50 last month, NOT the way to celebrate.
Thanks for being here.

I have been very ill for almost three months now. I kept feeling like I was going to pass out at work - the same time everyday. Chest pain - under my left boob (around my heart area). Went to doctor's just before Xmas, he took my blood pressure and rushed me up to the hospital. Had ECG, Chest X-ray, Blood tests, but all of them came back okay?! Have since has an ultrasound, and am booked in for a 48 hour heart monitor in a few weeks. Off my own back, I stopped taking the pill when they couldn't find anything wrong, and I read the side effects, and this was on the 26th december. The feeling faint has almost totally gone (apart from when I start to panic about feeling faint), but I still have this 'stitch/hunger pain' feeling around my heart area everyday. You feel like it's gone, and then the pain happens. I am scared that it's something serious ( have little faith in doctors anyway). I have had two periods since coming off of it, and yes, they may be heavier, but rather that then feeling like you are going to die. I am not exaggerating. At one point over xmas, I told my boyfriend to call an ambulance because of the hot, numbness in my legs. The second yasmin free period I had, was a week or so ago, and I did feel a bit faint during. When I last saw my doctor, I explained what I had done, and he wouldn't commit himself, he just said that it could be Yasmin. I'm getting married in November, but until I know that I haven't got something seriously wrong, it's hard getting excited. If I have permanent damage from this pill, surely I can sue?

I began taking Levaquin, 500 mg @ 1-per-day as an substitute dosage over Amoxicillin after a follow-up visit to my personal physician. I was given the Amoxicillin as part of a regime after a visit to the emergency room the Sunday before with a swollen face due to an outer ear infection--the attending called it: "Swimmer's Ear gone Wild."

He prescribed Levaquin, to knock out one ear infection I had contracted the week before (which wasn't healing fast enough) as well as a new infection (middle ear) which began to bother me on Thursday.

I am an avid cyclist and felt good and fit enough to participate in a 100 mile bike ride on Sunday. 62 miles into that ride I had to retire due to extreme leg cramps (both legs) of which I had not experienced in my 25+ years of cycling.

In fact, it's Tuesday, I'm back at work and the legs are still sore.

I know some of you will say I should not have gone riding, but I am physically fit and always ride with a heart monitor to keep my pulse in the proper range.

Other side-effects include bouts of anxiety, followed by depression, insommnia, and diarrhea.

I will continue to take the meds, but will refrain from riding (except for shorter distances.) until the infection subsides.

Thanks