Hypertension symptoms and conditions

I am so happy I found this website, I have been taking Lisinopril for about 5 years now. I have been have dizzy spells or the tunnel effect for about 2 years now. I thought I was going crazy! I can't drive, sit in a meeting, or even sit through church and it's getting worse. I call my mother and just sit and cry thinking something is wrong with me. I'm so glad all of you came here to tell your experiences. I will stop taking this medication RIGHT NOW!!

My whole torso, stomach area and sides along with upper and lower arms broke out in an extreme rash which was painful, oozing, welts, open sores and some bleeding. This lasted from @ mid July 2009 to present, Nov. 2009. Using A&D ointment, oatmeal baths, many vitamins and plenty of water it is just now settling down to symptoms of pink(raw) skin and not so severe pain with still some itching and flakey skin.

I just happened to do some research about lisinopril, and happened to stumble into this website. I am 43 years old, newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetics, i also have a history of hypertension and migraine which is under control. my physician just switch my medication from Norvasc to lisinopril, Im already on my 3rd week of taking it, 20mg a day, however, i noticed that i have more frequent headaches, more of a migraine headache that pulsate in one side of my head, i tried taking some over the counter medicine, but with no relief, i went back to see my doctor, and i was given some sumatriptan for the migraine, but at the back of my mind, i already suspected that the lisinopril might have triggered my migraine headaches, i have a relief when i take the sumatriptan, however the migraines keeps coming back. and its been seven days already, i was not able to work one day, because the migraine made me nauseated and vomit. i was doing well with my other medication, and never had migraine like this that last for 7 days up to now.after reading the comments. i have second thought of taking this medication.it seem like it might be the one that triggers my migraine headache. what do you think?

If none of the other postings tell you to get off of this drug, I certainly hope this one will. I began taking 5 mgs. of Lisinopril after visiting my Physician due to back pain. I have been a runner my whole life and went in because I had pulled my back out. I was very nervous; hence the high blood pressure….I was told by the nurse that I probably had white-coat-hypertension. Anyway, after being scared out of my mind, by this Doctor, I agreed to go on this drug, even though, at 50, I had never taken any other kind of drug in my life….HATE DRUGS! I began having heart palpitations after the first day on this drug, and one month after taking this poison, I began experiencing severe itching on my head, neck, and top of my back. I had just visited my salon and thought it was due to hair dye, which I had never had allergy to before. The itching increased and then I started getting severe cramping of my legs. I called my Dr. and was told to purchase organic shampoo/conditioner/soap, and that the leg cramps were probably Restless Leg Syndrome. He told me it was DEFINITELY NOT from the meds. He told me to let him know if the cramping got worse as there was something else that he could prescribe for it. This itching went on gradually for about 5 months. I purchased ever kind of organic shampoos, etc. with no relief, and the cramping of my legs became unbearable. Then, in April of this year, every thing starting to happen. I began itching all over my body and when I itched, it left big red welts wherever my nails hit. After about a week of this, I began breaking out in hives here and there. Went in to the Dr. and told him that I thought this medicine was doing this. This Dr. assured me again, that this would not be the cause of this and told me to take Benadryl and come back the next day so that he could see if I was any better. The Benadryl helped immensely and upon the next Dr. visit, he told me that I had come down with some sort of allergy and it was NOT due to the medicine. Went home and itched my body raw for the next week. Now the hives had turned into huge welts with water in them and my body began swelling with each new day! I stopped this poison on my own and was told to come back in to the Dr. immediately. I was put on Prednisone and told to take massive doses of Benadryl and this idiot Dr. still insisted that it was not from the Lisinopril….my ankles, arms, etc. now were almost double in size and the itching was unbearable. The seven day pack of Prednisone didn’t do a thing. I will say, though that after three days off this poison, my leg cramping subsided and my heart palpations did as well. I decided to take this in my own hands and went to see another Doctor. The Doctor I had been seeing, I found out, owned the Center where he practiced, and I believe he kept having me come back just to make more money. By now, my entire body had huge sores and pits and scales on my skin….I felt like a leper. I went to a Holistic Dr. and told him my story and he could not stop apologizing for the agony that I had been doing through. He told me this was ridiculous. His nurse asked me if I had ever heard of Johnson Steven’s Syndrome, and told me that she thought I had it. I was immediately sent to a Dermatologist and given steroid shots….which did nothing. My skin was pealing off each and ever day in flakes and I itched so bad I wished I were dead. I underwent skin biopsy’s and blood tests which came back showing that I was overwhelming reacting to some sort of allergy. This Dermatologist, who was excellent and didn’t even charge me due to his concern for what I had been through, sent me to an allergist. My small stature body had now increased 25 lbs due to water retention and sores covering my whole body. I can not put into words the agony I was in. Upon the visit to the Allergist, he recognized immediately what I had. He said he saw this type of thing, (not this bad, however), often due to the Lisinopril. Why didn’t that other QUACK Doctor stop this from the beginning…I believe it all comes down to money! Anyway, after almost 6 months of the hives, sores, etc., I am finally seeing a bit of improvement. My legs and back and back of my arms are permanently scarred…they are poke-a-dotted due to the huge hives and massive sores, and I still itch all night long if I don’t take my Benadryl. Who knows what the Benadryl will have done to me in the long run. Please, please look into this medicine and all other medicines that you take. There are holistic, natural methods of getting your ailments under control. Through my experience, I have encountered the most money-hungry, unprofessional Doctor in the world, but I have also experienced the most considerate well-intentioned Doctors. Please do your homework, and find a Doctor that has your best interest in his sight. Through this ordeal the only thing that sustained me was prayer. I have always been somewhat superficial about my looks, weight, etc. and this truly was an eye-opener. It’s amazing what these medicines can do to you, and don’t you wonder if the Pharmaceutical Companies don’t know all of this and could care less due to their hunger for money?!!!! It’s gotten to be a sad world. God Bless!!

I know the side effects I read online show that mood and depression issues for this drug are supposed to be minimal ... less than 1%
... but mood issues seem more prominent on this med when I move up to the 16mg level. 8mg is almost tolerable.
Clarity and drive are also an issue when I move up to the 16mg.
Anyone else run into this?

I am trying to Zone Diet to see if there is any way to deal with hypertension outside of the pharmecutical approach.
Please help me find a solution to BP that does not put my emotions into a spin.

Hi, folks, I posted back on September 22nd here, and have also responded to a few of your postings. I fear a lot of people visit once but never return here. That's a shame. An ongoing conversation might help us all.

Anyhow, I pretty thoroughly hate all the anti-hypertension drugs since every one that I've been given has caused me suffering and, in many cases, damage either temporary or permanent. I'm now on Cozaar, very expensive but I'm hoping it will prove tolerable.

One thing I would recommend is for all of you to look up a book by a research scientist, Richard Moore, Ph.D., M.D. It's called "The High Blood Pressure Solution." You can find it new or used at Amazon or perhaps even at your local bookstore or library. Dr. Moore taught at the University of Indiana, and was adjunct at the University of Vermont and also New York Stony Brook. A top level researcher. One of the great things about his book is that he explains, at the cellular level, what is the cause of most cases of hypertension. Not all, but most. The chapter on the science is high school level science, but you can skip it if you wish and still get the important stuff. After reading his book, for the first time I really understood the roles of sodium and potassium in blood pressure. It's not helped my BP very much, but at least I know what's going on. For those of you who've just recently developed high BP, it could possibly help you a LOT.

Bless you all, folks, and good luck. We all need it!

I recently back in April of this year received Cyberknife radiation for Adenocarcinoma with metastasis to my brain. After surgery to remove my brain tumor in March of 2009. I went though whole brain radiation and the Cyberknife to my lung. The doctor was very adamant that as the lung heals from radiation you will develop what they call wet lung or neumonesis sp? This will have to be treated separately, or severe coughing would continue. My primary care doctor in the mean time put me on Lisinopril 20 mg for hypertension. I have not gotten a good nights sleep in 2.5 months since, then came the pneumonosis. This cough persist to this day waking me from what little sleep I do get, and amazingly am now suffering from joint pain especial in my hips. It's to the point I can't even cross my legs anymore it hurts. When discussing this with my primary she says its in my head as of today and reading this site and side effects I am taking myself off of Lisinopril and will seek a second opinion, even a third if need be thank you all so much for posting your side effects from this drug.

I had mirena put in in Oct 08. My symptoms are: dizziness, sweating, nausea, (these symptoms can be mild and brief (seconds); or last a few minutes. I had severe dizziness in May and June of 2009. I also get acne on my shoulders, neck, face, and my T zone is very oily (especially my forehead). I am using good acne products to try to combat this problem, but I continue to have a problem. Some of my acne is like welts and I even have this going on on my scalp. I wrecked my car in December 2008. At that time I was very foggy headed. I blamed the foggy headedness on being stressed and overworked. I am 40 years old. My children are 10 and 13, therefore I know my symptoms are not post pregnancy. Today, I questioned if I wasn't going through early menopause. My doctor said this mirena would be wonderful and that after six months I would not have a period anymore. I have a period every two weeks. My periods are very light, but I still have them every two weeks, and they last for two weeks. I have been wondering if my body will adjust, and if I will eventually get to this heavenly place of now periods and bliss?

I was prescribed Lisinopril last September due to hypertension level blood pressure that was at "emergent level" as determined in the ER. I had no other pre-heart attack symptoms other than headaches at night in sleep..

Prior to taking the RX I was doing 1 hr gym works outs 3-4 times per week, walk/jogging 3 times per wk 2-3 mi ea. NOW I'm lethargic and fighting to keep active. Joints are easily taxed and take several days to weeks to recover from what used to be routine.. Cough is dry and hits at night or day and leaves a general feeling of fatigue. Memory is impaired. Twitching muscles all over like little electrical impulses being shot off and extreme cramping of upper leg muscles when sitting down to stretch. Intermittent "heart flutters". Nothing I've every experienced before.

I'm heading in for followup now that I've read this forum. I had no idea of the severity of side effects. Here I thought I was being saved from eminent heart attack or stroke.

Raising two children and can afford to be lethargic or forgetful or worse.

Thank you all for your postings. You are indeed the life savers.

D.

Thank god I found this site! My body has been going crazy ever since I started taking Yasmin two years ago and I didn't put two and two together until reading all of these postings and realizing the Yasmin might be the culprit.

I'm a healthy 31 y.o. who exercises regularly, doesn't smoke and has been on various oral contraceptives for the last decade without too many side effects beyond slight moodiness and minor weight gain. About two years ago I switched over to Yasmin. About two months ago I came across this site as I was researching hypertension which I had developed. I was confused and didn’t know what was causing it as I am healthy, unstressed and have a history of low blood pressure. But as soon as I found this site it all started coming together and I realized Yasmin had done much more than raise my blood pressure. I immediately went off the pill and almost right away many of my side effects went away. Here's what I've experienced since being on the pill:

-Weight Gain: Almost right away I gained ten pounds. I’ve effortlessly lost five of those pounds since going off the pill.
-Seborrheic Dermatitis: After a few months of being on Yasmin I developed a painful scalp condition called Seborrheic Dermatitis. Side effects of this are inflamed scalp, redness and most importantly, hair loss. The doctor said it is generally brought on by stress but on further research I saw that it is also caused by hormones, so it wasn’t a stretch for me to realize Yasmin might be the culprit once I saw this site. Over the last couple years I’ve been using all sorts of prescription shampoos to make the problem go away and nothing helped. But as soon as I went off the pill my scalp condition cleared in only a month without the use of shampoos.
-High Blood Pressure: Before I went on the pill my BP was about 100/70. During the time I took Yasmin my BP slowly climbed to above 140/90. Within two weeks of going off the pill my BP was back down to pre-Yasmin levels.
-Irregular Heart Beat: After about a year and a half of being on the pill I started to suffer from seriously irregular heart beat which went away immediately after I got off Yasmin.
-Hyperpigmentation: I know any birth control can cause this but none of them ever have until I went on Yasmin at which point it sprung up all over my face. I’m hoping the dermatologist can clear it up now that I’m off the pill.
-Tightness in Chest: Happened around same time as irregular heartbeat and is now gone.
-Anxiety: I’m not sure I can blame Yasmin for this one since going off Yasmin has not caused it to go away. But enough posters on this site mentioned it as a side effect and it wasn’t a problem for me pre-Yasmin, so I wanted to mention it.
-Irritability: I’m generally easy going and don’t let the little things bother me, but as soon as I went on Yasmin everything started to bug me. Now that I’m off Yasmin I’ve been in a much better mood.

If anyone is on this pill or thinking about going on it, I implore you not to. Too many risks especially since there are so many other pills out there that don’t have many side effects. I mean, there are close to 5,000 postings on this site, mostly against this pill while if you search the web there are almost no other pills that generate this kind of attention. That alone tells me something. I hope the makers of the pill pull it from the market immediately or doctors stop recommending it.

One more thing...I think everyone taking BP Meds should google the FASEB Journal and read the article "From Viper's Venom to Drug Design: Treating Hypertension". Fascinating! Can't imagine going to the Doctor and saying" "Hey Doc, can you give me a shot of that Viper Venom" to lower my blood pressure"? Can you? Do you think your Neurological system has be compromised?

Without a doubt!

I am 31 years old. I had my daughter when I was 24 and developed pregnancy induced hypertension. After her birth my high blood pressure never went away. My doctor and I went around in circles trying to find a birth control that wouldn't make my blood pressure crazy. We finally came across the NuvaRing. I was so excited that it worked. My blood pressure was regulating and it was so perfect because I didn't have to remember a pill and I didn't have to worry about the patch showing in my bathing suit!!! I've been on the NR for almost years now and I'd say the first year or two were good. But I've had all kinds of problems that I just didn't know what was wrong with me anymore. I've had terrible headaches, nausea, severe depression, fatigue, anger issues, crying uncontrollably and lately my hair is falling out in the shower (in chunks). I actually went to a hospital and sat in the parking lot for hours because I thought I was going crazy. Every now and then I thought MAYBE it could be my birth control but then I thought, surely not! The only reason I finally started checking into this is because my boyfriend and I,who I've been with for a year and half, are having some serious issues in the bed. I have lost all desire to have sex. He keeps asking me what he did that made me not like sex with him anymore. I've tried to explain I have no idea what is wrong with me. Now I know. I hate to get off the birth control especially since I had such a hard time finding on that wouldn't effect my blood pressure, which I still take medication for, but this is killing me. I literally feel terrible. I don't wanna get out of bed and my head always hurts. I'm only 31. I shouldn't feel like this. Im so glad I found this website and Im not alone.

Ayurvedic Herbal Treatment for Hypertension

Hello. I have been dealing with my hypertension now for approximately 1-1/2 years now and those of you that have read my findings through my previous posts know that I'm always looking for natural supplements to stay off of the lisinopril. I stumbled onto a new herb for bp. You absolutely have to try this. I went to see my doctor yesterday and I was having a really stressed out day dealing with a family crisis and my bp was 150/100. I left with a prescription, but I received my order of this stuff in the afternoon and I took the recommended two tablets twice a day and woke up this morning with my bp 108/69. This product gets shipped from India and takes approximately two weeks to arrive by registered air mail, but very much worth the wait. I have the link to order it and to read more about the herbal treatment. If you are interested, feel free to e-mail me and I will send it to you. Take care and good luck.

Hi, I was on Singulair for two years and I had one additional side effect that I've not seen anyone else mention: allergy-like reactions to antibiotics. Prior to taking Singulair I had a bad reaction to only one antibiotic, doxycycline. I had elevated heart rate and blood pressure and ended up with what I was told is called intracranial hypertension or high blood pressure in the head which is the worst and most severe headache I've ever experienced.

While I was on Singulair I had the same reaction to every antibiotic that I was prescribed and they were all antibiotics that I had taken in the past without any problem. I stopped taking Singulair about a month ago and was able to take an antibiotic again without any problem. Every medical professional I've talked with about it said it was news to them and they've never heard of such a side effect.

This was, of course, in addition to many of the other mental and emotional side effects that other people have posted about: severe anxiety, suicidal thoughts, depression, inability to think coherently. The worst was just before periods. I figured it was wacky hormones after having my son but my periods since stopping stopping Singlulair have been WORLDS different. The first was within a few days of stopping and I had really heavy flow with lots of clots. (I know, TMI... sorry!) The most recent period came with mild PMS instead of the mental near-incapacitation accompanied by paralyzing anxiety and depression that I had been experiencing the past two years and the period has been relatively mild and manageable.

One more side effect I want to mention is intestinal cramping. I have been having increasingly frequent intestinal cramping and pain over the past year and had no idea what was causing it. I missed work and spent long periods of time in the bathroom expecting diarrhea that rarely came. Since stopping Singulair that has stopped as well.

All I can say is that Singulair was clearly not the drug for me. My entire life has been improved in just 3 - 4 weeks since I stopped taking Singulair. That's good considering my entire life was turned upside down over two years of taking it... at least the improvement has been faster than the degradation. Now if I can just get my asthma under control again (no, Singulair did not manage the asthma well to top it all off) I'll be doing beautifully!

On May 8th 2009 I had my gallbladder removed. I have lupus, sjogrens disease, pulmonary hypertension, diabetes type II and coeliac disease. I was prescribed doxycycline as an antibiotic for post op infection. Within 2 days I was very ill - thought I was going to have a heart attack. The pain over my heart was alarming. Also, I found it very difficult to breath. I did some reading and found out that Lupus patients should not be given doxycycline. (The hospital and specialists knew my medical history and it should have been an easy thing to check for contraindications of medications - I had never had doxycycline before)A day after I stopped the antibiotic things improved dramatically. At the post op visit to the specialist, I was told that this was 'all in my head' and it was a lot of nonsense. However, I stuck to my story and finally the specialist conceded that even the best doctors do not know everything!!!!???
One really has to be VERY careful to look after one's own health.

I started taking Lisinopril two weeks ago for relief of high blood pressure. Male, 45, 260 lbs, family history of high blood pressure and stroke. After one week I began experiencing intermittent chest pain, tingling and numbness in my left hand, and sensations like shocks in my head.

I spent several sleepless nights feeling for chest pain, feeling my heart race, expecting my heart to explode and wondering if I should go to the ER.

I visited my doctor and expressed my concerns. She immediately performed an ECG and verified that my heart was functioning normally and that my blood pressure was down. She also indicated that it's not uncommon for vasoconstrictors like Lisinopril to allow stomach acids to rise in the esophagus. This can cause chest pain and affect nerves leading to the brain and to the arm. She prescribed Zantac 150 twice a day and asked me to call her at home 60 minutes after taking the first pill.

I filled the Zantac prescription (one of the $4 prescriptions you can now get most places) and took one immediately. Ten minutes the chest pain was gone. Twenty minutes later the shocks in my head were gone and my arm went from tingly and numb to just slightly achy. Thirty minutes later all of my symptoms were gone. After an hour I dutifully reported to my doc that she was a genius and on my Christmas gift list.

If you're taking Lisinopril and having chest pain obviously let your doctor know about it. Studies indicate that denial is a serious issue and a contributing cause in heart disease victims. Many of my symptoms were classic for unstable angina, which is scary. However, they are also common stomach acid symptoms for first-time users of a wide variety of high blood pressure medications. It's possible that a simple antacid could relieve your side-effects.

Now my goal is to lose 80 lbs so I can get off this medication completely. Working 90 hours a week (the highlights of which are travel, sitting at desks, and eating) isn't going to cut it any more.

My experience with Mirena has been terrible, I have always been very cautious of hormone related medication, so I released this had hormones after he fact. It took a total of 2 and half years of torture and many hospital visits, and medication to finally read all these shared symptoms to narrow down my doubts to Mirena, I successfully had it removed yesterday,,,,,,,,,,,,,and cant wait for a normal life. Some of the symptoms I experienced are HEADACHE, NAUSEA, HYPERTENSION, NERVOUSNESS, JOINT ACHES, BACK ACHE, MOOD SWINGS, BLOATED STOMACH, WEIGHT GAIN-20 POUNDS,

I AM SO GLAD THIS TORTURE IS OVER. THEY NEED TO MAKE DOCTORS EDUCATE PATIENTS BEFORE THEY INSERT THINGS INTO THEIR BODY.......I WAS RUSHED ON THIS, I ORDINARILY WOULD HAVE CONSIDERED GETTING ALL THE INFORMATION BEFORE GETTING IT DONE......HOPE THIS INFORMATION WILL HELP IN PUTTING DATA TOGETHER AND HELP OTHER WOMEN WITH SIMILAR SYMPTOMS.

July 8, 2009
I took Lisinopril for 2 months and began noticing soreness and stiffness cramping in my legs. Joint pain and general muscle weakness. Biggest indicator was my inability to ride road bikes (bicycle) nearly as much as normal. I did not have the muscle strength or stamina to ride like before. On one ride I had such sever cramping I had to get pick up, first time in 18 yrs of bicycling. It also states to not use sodium or potassium supplement while on this medicine, which I was doing for cramping. Also because I was borderline hypertension I did not notice any decrease in BP while on this. I have stopped taking this medicine. nn

59 year old female. A history of hypertension started on Lisinopril in April of 2009..I am so GLAD I found this site! I have developed a severe chronic cough. This cough keeps me up at night ( and everyone else in the home)
Severe soreness in every joint in every part of my body. I can not sleep, serious fatigue, I have had mental confusion, short term memory loss I NEVER had the mental confusion or memory loss. I went to my Dr. 2xs he put me on antibiotics, told me I possibly had aspirated mucous in my lungs or had "silent reflux" no matter what I have taked or done none of the above symptoms lessened. Therefore, I started to do my own research and wound up here on this site. I am going to my doctor tomorrow informing him of the side effects ( which I would have thought he knew) and asked to be put on another medication for my hypertension. My question I have that there does not seem to be a easy answer is how long will it take to reverse all these symptoms? Truthfully I put all these symptoms in to the "just getting older" category. Thank You so much for sharing

It is so crazy that I found this site today, and super glad that I did....I should have went with my gut 3 months ago when I wanted to stop taking this pill...but now for sure I will!!
I originally started taking a Triphasil pill when I was 14..then it changed to Trivora, and I never had any problems with those pills....then when I moved to California when I was 19 I got greedy and wanted no periods (or short ones at least) so I tried Loestrin...which by the way made me bleed for 58 days straight...I thought I was going to die! So my doc prescribed me Femcon...and I said I'd try anything to get me to stop....It was fine the first few years but I was diagnosed with the first stages of Hypertension 2 years ago (age 24) and I blamed all of my bc symptoms on that! I thought, ugh I hate getting older cause now I have side effects like crazy...well I don't think its my blood pressure, and I wouldn't doubt that FEMCON has helped cause my high BP!!! Always tired, fatigue, WEIGHT gain like crazy, moody, ZILCH sex drive (poor bf), jawline acne (always was blessed with nice skin!), depression (poor bf again, we broke up constantly) and just recently nausea...no food can satiate me...I thought I was going crazy....Im getting off this crazy pill and hopefully I will get back to being normal...I'm 26...I'm not old!! This definitely is birth control cause I don't have sex, and I feel like a total fat @ss all the time!! It sucks!! I sure do feel like it and I'm stopping this pill today! I hope this site helped you as much as it did me!!

Hello everyone I just found out about this site today. I am 30 years old and I thought that mirena was a good choice for me after I had my second son. I got the mirena when my son was 8 weeks old June 2008. I was losing all the baby weight at first but, once I got the mirena the nightmare began. I gained 80 pounds in the two years in the stomach area I had it,My cycle stopped right after I got it. I had sharp stabbing pains in the uterus and lower stomach, I have had lower back pains, Nervousness (I use to think I was losing my mind). My breast was heavier, I was sleepy all the time, moody and picked fights with my husband constantly, I had no sex drive at all. I attempted several times to get it removed and the OB always talked me out of removing it. They claimed that it didn't caused any of the problems I was having. Then my OB told me that I was gonna die if I don't control my weight because I was 5 ft 1 inch and 220 pounds and have got hypertension and started taking two pills a day. I barely was hungry I could never keep any food down with the mirena I was vomiting everything up. So how could I was I gaining weight. Then finally I went and lied said I wanted another baby the doctor said that I would run a risk of having an abnormal baby I told him I didn't care I just wanted the mirena out and he took a long time to find it then he finally saw where it was and removed it. He showed it to me after removing it. Now that I gotten it taken out I fell better. My breast went right back to normal I lost ten pounds now. I am currently walking and drinking lots of water so I can continue to loose. My body is getting back on track with some eating I just eat small portion now, but i'm getting back on track slowly. I have a lot of gas from the time I wasn't eating I just hope i get to my normal size I use to be I wasn't my average size like he said I should be 115 pounds but I was never this fat. I use to be between 145 10 160 pounds and if GOD bless me to get back to that size I'll be happy but I'm still losing my doctor gave me a prescription to lose. I'm now 200 pounds. I'm glad I got that dern mirena removed and It was gone on 5/5/2009

I started taking Welchol in February of 2009. Took 4-6 pills a day. I began to have heart palpitations, and flutterings of the heart soon after. I did not see any connection to my symptoms with the Welchol. I went to the doctor and he did a CT and told me that the heart was fine. He increased my heart medication and still the palpitations went on. Then, last week, I forgot to take the Welchol...didn't take it for a whole day and suddenly the heart palpitations ceased. I'm into 4 days without the Welchol and have had no heart palpitations whatsoever. I will stay off it for awhile...then try it again, and if the palpitations return, I will know who the culprit is. Is anyone else out there having this problem. I did have the tiredness and after reading all these side affects, I now know the reason why.

DOXY SUX BIGTIME. If you want to feel like you have an ax in your forehead and knives in your torso, chow it down. Not just the stomach either, SHARP PAINS in the whole organ area. Also, extreme LETHARGY, if I took on an empty stomach I'd THROW UP, numbness in extremities. Took it so I wouldn't get malaria. The drug company must have an overstock of this & they prescribe it for everything! In other countries you get other drugs for malaria. WTH? Intracranial hypertension?! How scary is that? Of course I read about that after I got the head splitting HEADACHES FROM HELL. I hope it isn't permanent because I still get the headaches & have stopped the devil's drug for 14 days now. You take it 28 days after exposure to mosquitoes has stopped - and every single day you of your trip. Someone is making a ton of ca$h off this poison & they will pay in the next life with the worst karma ever. I thought I was having an aneurysm. (seriously). It was obviously pulled off some countries shelves, renamed, & sold here. DO NOT USE. Going to research intra cranial hypertension now & see if it is permanent.

I was prescribed Doxy 100mg twice daily for 14d for a Mycoplasma pneumonia. Day 6 I started to get a bit dizzy and some changes in my vision, sort of having a hard time to focus but I just though it was symptoms of fatigue or just being hypochonric. From day 8 I started to get really depressed and felt that I was going to die and that everyone was leaving me. On day 10 I also started to get anxiety attacks and had extreme difficulties to concentrate on anything. By this time I also got tremor, weakness and tingling in my arms and severe neck pain. Throughout this time I was aware of the risk for benign intracranial hypertension, but I didn't get any headache or nausea until d 16, i.e. 2 days after I stopped the medication. I never had fever. I then dropped 6 pounds in a week and had a hard time eating. It is now 6 weeks since I stopped taking the medication. My pneumonia is totally gone. The depression/anxiety is almost gone although some social withdrawal and lack of initiative still remains. It's still a bit up and down but much better. My neck pain is still there but is also getting better and I only have minor tremor in my arms. The visual changes still persist but every now and then I feel like my old self again for a few hours/day. The whole episode have been, and still are, the worst experience of my life. I keep my fingers crossed that it will all go away over the next few weeks.