Hearts symptoms and conditions

I am 50, pretty healthy, but have had a new condition of inflamed and severely painful joints and muscles limiting activity. Doc put me on 60 mg prednisone for 3 days, then 40 mg 3 days and 20 mg 3 days. First day was ok. Since then I have been a raving lunatic! I read the post about the person chasing their cat around and had to laugh and relate. I flipped off the neighbors workers because they were backing up a truck and it was noisy! It is all I can do to keep myself in check. I have canceled/rescheduled all unnecessary appointments until next week when I am finished. I "sleep" about 3 hours a night. Last night I peed the bed. I eat constantly. I have to work and concentrate (teach college) and that is so hard. I imagine my students must think I am on meth. I can't take it any more. I have 1 day left and I am not going to take the last one. I hope that this regimen will have calmed down the inflammation and if it recurs I will seek alternatives. AM NEVER going back to prednisone unless it is life or death situation.
Good luck to all those out there who have to take it long-term. Bless your hearts.

I am not sure of the origin, but I have my issues outlined below since I switched to the mail order Simvastatin. I was getting it from Rite Aid for over 2 years without issues. I found out mail order Simvastatin was made by same company as Rite Aid, TEVA.

My issue is throbbing in neck, high blood pressure (HBP), twitching in eyes (prob due to HBP), uncomfortable in general. I also know that I took pill in morning and by 9am issue would start and get worse into lunchtime, where is was the worst, then subside by 2 or 3 pm. Doc said it was nerves and stress and gave a script for that. Also said get off of simvstatiin for 2 weeks. Well without much or any change to the stressors in my life work, stock market, etc, I am not experiencing the throbbing or HBP. I have not taken the script for stress or the Simvastatin either. Didn't like the idea doc said you can get addicted to stress pill. I will get back in Simvastatin shortly, but do expect to be back where I was within a week or so. Anyone else experience this throbbing and HBP.

Well I have been on Lipitor 80mg for years (family history of high cholesterol) although no hearts attacks/strokes ever been attributed to the h/chol....without sounding like I'm a hypo I have 3 disk out in my lower back & years ago suffered intense back as a result...the pain which seems to be now all over is horrid ...I have been thinking that it was perhaps arthritis & old age (59yrs).....several months ago I mentioned it to doctor he said Lipitor could cause side effects but he'd keep an eye on it....well this morning after googling "Lipitor" iv'e made a decision & that is to get rid of this medication...everything I'm reading sounds just like what I have been experiencing...thanks for the input I think I have come to realize that it is the medication that is causing all my problems.

My 13yr old niece has always been a healthy, active and straight A student. Then on 11/5/08 during a routine physical, she received her 1st dose of Gardasil. On 11/28/08 she started to complain that she felt weak and had a headache. Since it was 2 days after Thanksgiving we thought that she was tired from all the holiday activities. On 11/29/08 she had a headache and stayed in bed all day. She got up that afternoon & had 2 seizures. She was rushed to the ER.
As of today, March 8, 2009 she is still in the hospital in Intensive Care Unit. She has been in critical condition since. Within 2 days after her seizure, she lost the ability to eat,speak,walk and communicate in anyway. She is completely unresponsive. She is on the ventilator, she is basically in a coma. We do know she has an viral infection with a shadow on the left side of her brain. All of the testing that has been done all show negative for any illness or diseases.
We are still unsure if she will come out of this. This has been completely devastating to our family.
We have no answers from doctors. Even though we know in our hearts that this was a side effects from Gardasil. I don't know if they will ever fully admit it.
We are left to watch and wait. That is what the doctors tell us daily..

As a Doctor myself I think drugs are NEVER the answer except in EMERGENT issues in Heroic life saving... YOU however and all individuals are and should be MORE accountable for your own health and STOP DEMANDING the Drugs and look to LIFESTYLE changes in DIET and EXERCISE to achieve the GOALS so necessary for quality and quantity of life.... The tools are at your fingertips ... The almighty internet ... And your OWN imaginative mentation is your TRUE limitation... So TAKE control of yourself and BE accountable .... Sorry so blunt but MORE tough love and Educating people is whats needed.... NOT more drugs....

MDG

After having the third shot I noticed my hair began falling out (July 2007). It is now over a year later and after having numerous blood tests, visiting a dermatologist and doing tons of research, I have concluded that gardasil must be causing this. My hair continues to fall out, I have bald areas around the crown of my head and my mood is very depressed by this. I also experienced soreness in my legs and joints but these are not constant. My periods also are out of whack. They can be between 28-50 days apart. I would not recommend anyone getting this vaccine. I wish my OBGYN had not sold me on it. I was 31 when I got it but she said age didn't matter, she said one day insurance companies would cover this vaccine for all women no matter what age they are. I paid $190.00 a shot and now I have a thin head of hair that may one day soon be bald if it doesn’t stop falling out. I think they should take this vaccine off the market. If anyone else has had severe hair loss, has it stopped falling out after a certain point?

I discovered this site last Wednesday morning - without taking the time to list all of the grief I felt reading through the pediatric postings, I will briefly note my 4 year old daughter has been on Singulair for 2 years now. What I now realize is all the behavior issues, night screaming, etc. are so easily dismissed as stages of a toddler. She has suffered (as well as our family) every symptom and behavior listed by parents on this site with the exception of leg cramps.

Our entire family can see the dramatic results since taking her last pill last Tuesday night. The melt downs and tantrums are all but over, she even commented "hey, I listened right away" on the second day without Singulair. She is still having night terrors - I call them that because they are in no way a dream or nightmare, but rather agonizing moments that break our hearts to hear. I hope those will soon go away as well so her sleep pattern results in a restful night.

Am I angry that we have all suffered for 2 years only to find we have been basically poisoning her? Am I angry that for the 2 years her dad and I have sunk pretty low, feeling inadequate as a parent to teach and discipline our child? Am I angry that after 20 years of marriage, raising a great 16 year old in the midst of all this, we were to the point of the ADD, bipolar, etc. theory that would have been misdiagnosed? Heck no, we are all so thankful to have come across this site and are so giddy and excited to be happy again.

What I am angry about is this - when I called our pediatrician last Wednesday and relayed what I had seen on the Merck website for side effects added in recent months she had not heard this information and asked where I saw it. At that point I had not seen this site. I asked her how is it the well dressed pharmaceutical reps come in with doughnuts, exotic trips, etc. to market a drug with "ABC" treatments and "XYZ" side effects, continue to market the drug and never update the doctors when original selling points are altered - ie; new side effects.

The FDA website is troubling for two reasons: Merck is in charge of their own investigation regarding recent complaints and the FDA expects this to take 9 months. Gee, who gets to investigate themself? Secondly, in February the site notes the FDA and Merck are trying to find the best way to communicate the concerns being investigated to prescribes and patients. HELLO - we live in a world of real time, instant communication methods, two examples being the United States Postal Service and an internet connection.

Today is April 30 - a full two months after "trying to decide how to pass this information on" and my doctor, nor my pharmacist have received any information. Apparantly since we missed the story and coverage on Dateline we are out of luck.

I plan to start from ground zero to get our voices heard to change the way, or the law if you will, to implement an immediate communication link between the FDA and prescribes when an investigation such as this has been initiated. I realize Singulair has most likely benefited more humans than it has destroyed while on the drug and the FDA would have to clearly not communicate "panic". However, when a drug is used for pediatric treatments we need information quickly to assess on behalf of our children. In my case, since my daughter had been on the drug since 2 years old, I do not know what her "normal behavior" should be as that is the age they start to develop and show personality. Additionally, when enclosed prescribing information is updated with a prescription -MARK IT IN RED, "UPDATED INFORMATION". I read every ounce of information that accompanies a new prescription for any family member. I would NOT, however read the information every 30 days for an ongoing, long term prescription over the course of 2 years.

I am looking for anyone that may have started contact with a congressional representative or otherwise to change the communication to our doctors. Please note - I am in no way interested in any legal action regarding Singulair and our nightmare. We are moving forward and do not wish to live the nightmare one moment more. I simply want to see our doctors and pharmacists have vital information as it happens.

Thank you to all for sharing your experiences - I truly believe it is changing lives and making a difference. I am personally telling everyone I know about what is happening with our child and all of yours. Andy by the way, by telling one of my long time friends our amazing discovery, she realized she had been suffering from depression for some time and chalked it up to various things going on in her life. She had her last Singulair last week and feels tremendous! So keep the word going!

Have been taking Zyrtec for about 3 months now, due to chronic hives. Was put on zyrtec after going into anaphylactic shock. The hives are gone but now I have bouts where my hearts flutters and pounds like crazy. Don't know what to do because this is the first time in 5 years that I haven't had hives but am afraid of what long term side effects may be.

Here is some perspective for you all. I take Singulair and do well on it and in ACTUAL studies it has one of the safest safety records. Understand that post marketing reporting does not mean there is a correlation between the event and the product. Throughout the life of a drug the companies must disclose any report of side effects reported to them REGARDLESS of causality. A popular antihistamine that is OVER THE COUNTER also has suicidal thinking/behavior listed in its post marketing section. However, just because patients who had reported having these thoughts while taking the product doesn't mean it was a result of the product! Maybe they had a depressive personality and were also on multiple other medicines to treat that. You must look at the "Adverse Reactions, Warnings and Precautions" sections of package inserts to see the side effects that were actually seen in studies. You can die from ulcers derived from over use of aspirin or ibuprofen. Decongestants can throw off your blood pressure and these events are documented in actual studies! Listen to your bodies when taking any med. If you feel differently report it to your doctor.

These are all drugs people, there are potential side effects. There are also side effects to those "natural" over the counter remedies that are not nearly as regulated by the FDA or studies by the drug companies.

To anyone out there who has experienced side effects to singulair timed to when you started it, talk to your doctor, stop taking it and see if it goes away. Same advice for any product prescription or over the counter medicine. Side effects can be a combination of many factors (what other meds are you taking?) But understand for many people this product is the safest and most effective treatment for them. The FDA and Merck are reviewing all information to see if there is any correlation to the reporting. But singulair been around for about 10 years and prescibed to billions of people and is known to be one of the safer medicines out there overall.

In between the legitimate posts on this site I get the sense there is a lot of ambulance chasing going on. People looking to cash in on this big drug companies. We want drugs, we want them cheap and with no side effects which is not a reality. Keep stepping up the regulation and make the companies hire more lawers to protect themselves and jump through even more hoops and see what happens to the price and access to new meds. Even better, see how regulation has impacted the development of new medicines around the world (here's a tip, it will dramatically decrease). Drug companies certainly aren't perfect but which industry is?

Please, when taking any medicine over the counter, prescription or herbal supplement listen to your bodies to see if the potential benefits of the product outway the risks or side effects. Report any changes to your doctor.

My son has been on Singulair for asthma for a year and we have seen his behavior get worse and worse. He has gone from a happy, well mannered, polite, sweet little boy to a child who has violent outbursts, is volatile, unpredictable with other children and is fearful of everything! We have talked and talked to his MD, we have been told to redirect him, give him more control by giving him more choices, engage him in more activities, less activities, and on and on. NOTHING has worked and we feel SO STUPID! We never thought to look at his medications. I saw his MD as a child and still see him now (he is a family MD) and he has seen my son since the day he was born, we trusted him with his medications. We have stopped his medication and are hoping everything will return to the little boy we knew his first 3 years of life.

* * DO NOT GIVE THIS MEDICATION TO YOUR CHILD! * *

The FDA needs to recall this medication! It breaks our hearts to think about how much heartache my son has been through when it was possibly a medication that caused such a drastic, dramatic and complete change in his behavior. We read this tonight after hearing the suicidal thought warning for adults and it was reading our life. We hope he gets better over the next few weeks. How can this happen???????

One month ago I went into CHF, I have cardiomyopathy and A-fib. They put in an ICD that paces. I was sent home on Toprol 50 2x/day .Lisinopril 5 1x/day, Digoxin 125 1x/day & Coumadin. I weigh 86 lbs. These heart meds zapped all the life I had remaining out of me. Even at half doses I was in a fog with severe anxiety. I felt so bad I was readmitted 2x/ in a month. I have tried to take them at night, I have tried spacing them and nothing works other than being drug free. (Coumadin is not a problem) The Dr said there are some folks who just can't tolerate them, and that my real protection comes from my ICD. I worry about not taking the meds, but I have no quality of life with them so what can I do?

I am a 47yo male, I had 4 hearts placed in 10/06 they put me on plavix and lipitor 40mg. I exercised daily- cycled 40 miles a day, I can not do that now. I have bad back pain and chest pain (plavix) the cardiologist did a second stress test in 12/06 and it was clean, the lipitor and plavix are the issue and at this point I have no choice other than to live with it or take the risk of clotting these medicated stents.....any thoughts please let me know.

i take this med for sinusitus, clogged ears, etc. usually by day three i experience severe muscle spasms. it srts in my back and travel aroung under my breasts. feel either like a hearts or gall bladder attack.. anyone else have similar side efects???

i am only on 25mg of topamax which i take before going 2 bed but ive noticed that about 30 mins after taking it i pass out.....i am extremely tired during the day like im in a fog.....no one in my family wears glasses yet i had 2 get glasses cauz i was seeing blurry out of my left eye my right eye still has perfect vision...im never ever hungry ..............and for some weird reason i am always itchy itchy alllllllll over my body. i have extremly strange dreams that is when i get sleep cauz i only get about 4 hours a nite i cant manage to sleep thru the nite also ive notice alot of tachycardia......like my hearts about 2 jump out......ahhhhhh...but on the good note i no longer have migraines :)

Seizure Disorder
Hello. We are desperate searching for answers. Our 3 yr. old boy was on Singulair for 11 months when we noticed he began having atonic seizures (his head would drop forward - loss of muscle tone). He was a perfectly healthy little boy. Our intuition as parents is that Singulair is responsible for this seizure disorder he has developed. He has been off the Singulair now for 1 month and a half. His seizures have not improved at all - we feel in our hearts that he has had some neurological damage done. He had an EEG done and it shows a generalized atonic seizure disorder. He was completely healthy before. What can you tell me about your child? Any feedback will be appreciated. Thanks so much.