Immunity symptoms and conditions

Kenalog destroyed my life! All corticosteroids are dangerous. Almost 4 years now of intolerable suffering. A doctor gave me trigger point injections w/Kenalog and it spread a "hidden" bacteria throughout my body and reactivated dormant viruses (that we ALL have). It shoots down immunity for MONTHS and gives opportunity to bacterias and viruses to disseminate throughout the body. The FDA should ban all corticosteroids. The pain and suffering from a bacteria I didn't even know I had, that was co-existing in my body fine until "set free" was Lyme Disease. Lyme disease is the most insane disease there is, trust me and it is NOT easy to get rid of, especially when your body has been slammed by these immunosuppressants. Also, I was on Ibuprofen for pain, but the doctor never asked if I was on any NSAIDs and the two combined are like a bomb. If this helps anyone ....thank God, because I go on trying to survive.

I have been on Yaz for 8 months and up until reading this website I thought I was either a) falling apart physically or b) a crazy hypochondriac!
I have had severe GI issues (gas, bloating, constipation, diahrrea etc.), headaches, neck pain, irrational irritibility, depression, anxiety, dizzy spells, unexplained weight gain (about 10 pounds, especially in the belly area), COMPLETE loss of sex drive, vaginal dryness, lack of ability to become aroused and if I do delayed orgasm (20-30 or stimulation before I can climax), fatigue and insomnia, skin rashes, shortness of breath, decreased immunity etc.
I am stopping this pill tonight after reading all of these other entries confirming the fact that I am not crazy!

I have been on Zyrtec for three years (Every day) haven't noticed mood swings in myself? My mother also takes them every other day and is not particularly moody. Although she has trouble sleeping which she attributes to the menopause But if i don't take one within 24hrs I get very itchy and hive up..now that I'm breastfeeding I've just noticed my daughter is very irritable..and am beginning to think it's related to the zyrtec. I'm changing to claratyne in the morning to see if there's a change..very,very interesting and scary reading all the side-effects!!

I am currently 58 years old and lead a very active, healthy lifestyle. I began taking 10mg of Zocor, along with 1000mg of niacin in the summer of 2004 to reduce cholesterol (251) and triglycerides (571). The therapy dramatically improved my blood tests, however, within 6 weeks, I began to experience minor chronic skin infections, both fungal and bacterial. They were easily controlled with topical over the counter type medications, but they were annoying. At no time was this new condition linked to the statin/niacin therapy by my doctor(s). The infections became progressively worse over the next 3 years, and evolved into chronic folliculitis in my scalp, neck, and face, cystic acne, and persistent fungal infections that were becoming more difficult to control. In addition, I began to get chronic eye infections. It was as if my immune system was becoming ineffective. I stopped taking niacin in December of 2007 and the symptoms immediately lessened. I stopped taking Zocor in March of 2008 and within 2 weeks, all the skin problems and eye infections completely ended. My health was restored completely and I am glad to have put that whole mess behind me! I have been taking Omega 3 supplements to control my cholesterol and triglycerides and have had results that equaled the Zocor and Niacin therapy, with cholesterol at 160, triglycerides at 91, and a favorable HDL/LDL ratio. My physician is skeptical, but I know that my body was not functioning correctly with the statin/niacin treatment. I have found anecdotal reports from others who seem to have experienced a change in their immune system, but no mention of this as a side effect by the medical establishment.

My brother has been on Asacol for about 2 years, since initially being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. He started to bleed again about 1.5 months ago and his physician recommended he go on a Lialda study. He has not stopped bleeding since switching to Lialda from Asacol and soon developed pneumonia. I am not saying that the pneumonia is a side effect of the Lialda, but it is secondary to the reduced immunity from the slow and continuous bleeding. He also has what is called "dumping syndrome" where as soon as you eat a couple mouthfuls, you cannot eat anymore and have to wait a while. He also is extremely tired, mostly due to the anemia, and has very loose bowel movements, up to 3-5 times just in the morning hours. He has skin rashes that won't resolve even with prescription ointment. His ulcerative colitis seems to be exacerbated as well. One thing we are countering a lot of his symptoms with is holistic treatments, namely good diet and acupuncture.

I already posted about my son's behavioral changes while on the drug from the time he was 4-7. He is now 9 years old and has been back to "normal now for 18 months. BUT- we recently had his immune system checked though a blood test and he does not have sufficient immunity for ANY viruses. My 6 year old could fight 8 out of the 14, but my son who was on Singulair for almost 4 years has a severely depleted immune system. And from what I have read, could clearly be attributed to the drug. BUYER BEWARE~!

My sister was prescribed Avelox on Tuesday, March 11, 2008. Within 15-20 minutes she began having breathing difficulties. Because she has asthma her initial thought was that she was having an asthma attack. She tried asthma treatment and it didn't help. She soon was unable to breath. Her husband called 911, they responded quickly but had to intubate her in the ambulance. They know that she was without oxygen to her brain for at least 3-5 minutes. This caused seizures that lasted 20 hours before I.C.U. could get them under control. Unfortunately it caused brain damage leaving her with no higher brain function (vegetative state). As she has worked in the medical field for over 14 years she did not wish to be kept alive by artificial means. On Tuesday, March 18, 2008 her ventilation tube and feeding tube were removed. It is now Thursday, March 20, 2008 and she is in a wonderful Hospice House awaiting her death.
She had taken the same class of antibiotic in the past with no reaction. Really not sure what caused this one. She was going through chemo for breast cancer, but had just finished and was scheduled to start her radiation treatment. Her chemo doctor told us that since her reaction, they have had another patient who went into anaphylactic shock after taking Avelox.
My sister is only 43 years old. This medication should be taken off the market.

I was diagnosed with asthma after 34 years of a very athletic life. My dr. prescribed me predisone, proventil, singular and ADVAIR!! Although the predisone was for a 7 day period, the other three meds. I was to take indefinetly. For someone who has never been on any medication, this was a very hard adjustment!! I took all meds. for about 6 wks. but my gut feeling was just telling me to stop, so after blurriness of vision, weight gain, shakiness, loss of sleep,mood swings,loss of concentration, severe heart burn(especially at night), breast tenderness, back pain and the need to clear my throat all the time I took it upon myself to get off the drugs!! I stopped about a week ago and am feeling a slight shortness of breath but I'm going to stay on top of it and work out on building up my lungs and flushing all these medications out of my system. Sometimes doctors are to quick to diagnose a person and put them on unnecessary medications. I believe on our bodies having the capability of healing themselves with natural elements. I'm on my way to a natural product store to find a healthier way to heal my body. Thank you all for the comments!! I'm relieved to know that I made the right choice on stopping ADVAIR!!!!

I started taking Singulair last Oct. 2006 for allergic asthma.
Within the month, I gained about 15 lbs., & no amount of working out reduced it. I had recently lost a friend/teacher to cancer, & had people staying in my house for all of October. I was a monster, unable to control myself (although I realize the situation was challenging). Over the past year, I often was irritable & have struggled with low immunity. I went on a month long Buddhist retreat in August, got off the stuff, & have felt GOOD. Symptoms have returned since being home, but I'm taking just regular
Loratidine & am OK. I feel there is something wrong with Singulair...that it wore down my immune system even more, & was taking a toll in some way. I will not use it again.

In the past I had taken two separate three day courses for diverticulits, it worked right off, no problems. Last time I had diverticulitis, my doctor prescribed 10 day course of combo levaquin and flagl. After 7 days, I started to get hip joint pain, foot joint pain, and mild numbness in fingers on both hands and toes on one. I called doctor, and stopped the levaquin, and fortunately, the divertiltis was gone. However, the joint pain lessened after stopping but is taking weeks to fully go away.

I have found that silica (usually found in horsetail or oceanic) is helpful against the joint pain. (I had also tried selenium, msm, but were of no help for this joint pain.) Most of the joint pain is gone after several doses of silica, but the numbness, though lessened, lingers on a bit.

i don't think I'll take levaquin again for diverticulitis unless I'm dying. I've found that garlic tablets (I like solary's) very helpful, as is vitamin-c, for fighting back my intenstial bugs, and if I use garlic & vit-c for 5 or more days, it seems to cure the problem. Also I've heard that bacteria do not build up immunity to garlic, that it is a broad-spectrum antiboitic and antiviral, and so even if I stop taking it too soon and the bug comes right back, I can just get back on the garlic for a longer time, no worries about mutant bacteria.

I was given 500 mg levaquin for a bad`sinus infection. My doctor wnted to nip it quick because I take a drug that lowers my immunity because of Rhumitoid Arthritis. After 3 days I broke out in a terrible rash all over my body. Since I had other allergies to antibiotics I figured that was what it was and it couldn't be much worse than the sinus infection. I was wrong. Now I have swollen joints. My knee is at least twice the size it should be. I feel horrible everywhere. I am so tired I can hardly function. I have enough health problems without this too.

There are many side effects to Doxycycline. I took it for a bug bite I got (I tested negative for West Nile, Lyme, and every other blood born disease from a tick...the doctor still doesn't know what bit me...thinking it was a house centipede based on my research and seeing a couple dozen of them in my garage this summer)...200mg for 2 weeks.

For me, it was the dizziness, headaches, chest pain on and off after taking it, and the itching that would move all over in spots. Doxy is not the best antibiotic for acne though...you should take either Tetracycline or go with topical stuff (Differin or something similar)...the problem with taking Tetra or Doxy is that once you're off of it, the acne comes back even worse than it was before, then by taking it again, the stuff doesn't work. Plus, taking Doxy for several months or years will reduce it's effect and you will build up an immunity to it...any cycline has the same side effects, but I never had the nausea/diaharrea/vomiting that most people.

But please, read the leaflet and talk to the pharmacist/doctor before taking this stuff. The big side effects are the nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. If you have to take it with food, please do, but the Doxy will not work as well (absorb through the body) when taking simultaneously with food. Be careful taking this stuff...and quit taking it if the reaction is that bad because there are other medicines that won't do this stuff.

I had read so many of these pages and related with only a few items until Neida88. I have frequent yeast infections and have started taking bacterial supplements to help stop them. My doctor didn't think the yeast infections were related to the Yasmin, but all my STD tests came back negative, so they are not an effect of lowered immunity. I am mid-pack, but I am going to stop, because I just can't take it anymore. It cleared my skin, but I think I can find some other way to maintain clear skin than Yasmin. It is pretty uncomfortable to spend a week out of every cycle feeling like I'm on the verge of a yeast infection or suffering from one. After two years on Yasmin, I'm done!

I was rx pred. by my dr. 40 mgs for 5 days for my bronchitis.
I have never had bronchitis and/or any type of breathing problem.
This was in Dec.
Since then, my immune system has been shot and every other week , I catch a cold.
This is really frustrating, since I am for the most part, an extremely healthy and strong person.
Pred. really weakens your immunity.
when is this going to stop?

I am adding a positive response for Levaquin. I have Mycoplasma pneumoniae which won't go away. I have some immunity problems and had another rhinal plasty surgery 3 yers ago. I noticed taking Levaquin did not kill mycoplasma pneumoniae at 500mg. The doctor called in for me 750, which worked like very well. You have to take 1000mg a day to kill mycoplasma, which is in your sinuses, ears, lungs. I keep going into broncial pneumoniae which is hard to diagnose. I have special serology bloodwork done to find it. My ears kept ringing on 500mg a day, muscle pain, and other problems, vision loss. Serretia Marscenses had cultured from my nose, which is the result of Mycoplasma, which has a whole barrel of symptoms. Very diffucult to treat. To kill Mycoplasma needs to be at stronger doses. I do not deny there are allergies to antibiotics. but Mayo Clinic told me to take antibiotics for a month. which Mycoplasma tends to hang on for 3 weeks or better. I hope anybody else hasn't suffered for as long as I have. Yes, I do read the phamplet the pharmacist gives me. Just ask for the write up. I am now getting gamma-globulin to boost my immune system to fight Mycoplasma. I wish everyone well. Shirley

After having many UTI's in the past, the problem with Bactrim was that it stopped working. I developed an immunity or tolerance to the drug, which didn't help with my next infection. I was then prescribed Levaquin, which, despite the cost, works, but it does take longer for the infection to completely clear up. Sometimes I wish I could take Bactim like I used to. $$$