Incidences symptoms and conditions

this post is for dmbfreak, who asked for incidences of positive experiences with wellbutrin. First off, it's really, really important to remember that a site like this is going to have posts ONLY from people who have had bad side effects... who might be only one-half of 1% of all that particular medication's takers, for all you know. People who aren't having side effects aren't even coming on this site...why would they? So these posts are good for enlightening you when you have a side effect and are trying to match it to a medication, or for enlightening you as to what to watch out for, but it does not mean any or all of the side effects are common, and is NOT at ALL good for deciding whether to take or not take a certain medication without trying it yourself.
That said, i got here because i wondered what was causing me to wake up somewhat sweaty on occasion. Turns out that i am taking three different meds that can cause this, including wellbutrin, a blood pressure med, and my birth control pill.
But otherwise, i have been taking Wellbutrin for three years and the benefits have far outweighed minor side effects, which for me have only been the occasional sweats (usually associated with my period, so hormonal component too.. might even have nothing to do with WB) and i can get jittery if i take too much - in my case, 450mg a day is too much. I simply went back to 300mg and was fine. This medication also has some GOOD side effects for me, such as weight loss/control, and it doesn't affect my sexual functions at all... which every other antidepressant i tried did. I had far more severe side effects from other antidepressants, and am very sensitive to drugs in general, so i was very happy to finally find one i could tolerate so well. My doc says people who don't tolerate the SSRIs often do very well on WB, it's a very different formula (and other people who don't do well on WB can do well on SSRIs- it's all individual). He says WB is not usually the top medication choice for my particular issue (PTSD) but it's the one i'll actually TAKE, which does make it the best one for me (any of the others, i'd just stop taking because of side effects).
So folks, don't condemn a particular medication outright based just on anecdotal posting sites like this. This site should be used only by people who are already taking it, having problems, and comparing notes. You can't tell from the posts if the problems are with a very small % of takers or not. Sometimes, you can't even know that a particular individual's problem is actually from the drug being discussed (look only for ones that are repeated among many users). We're all different and react to things differently. If you decide not to take a med based just on anecdotal posts like this, you could do yourself out of what could be a very beneficial med for YOU, and that might well not have any side effects for you at all.
I'm not a doc and definitely not pro-pharmaceutical, and am very critical of the medical establishment in general... but i'm very pro using rationality and perspective when dealing with such things.

My 1 year old son got into my box of chocolate Ex-Lax and ate about 3 or 4 pieces. Called Poison Control and they didn't have any suggestions except to keep him hydrated. I put him to bed that night, he was still in a diaper, and he had a bowel movement during the night. In the morning his butt had huge blisters where his stool had laid. The senna in the Ex-Lax caused severe chemical burns. He had to be admitted to the burn center at Akron Children's hospital. Most people aren't aware of how dangerous this product is because adults wipe after using the bathroom, but imagine what this chemical in Ex-Lax is doing to the inside of your stomach, intestines, and colon. I would like to make people aware of the seriousness of this drug, especially parents whose kids, like mine, will eat anything chocolate. I always assumed Ex-Lax was so safe, as they even claim on their box and that it would just cause you to use the bathroom without harm(as obviously even the Poison Control Center doesn't know the dangers), but Ex-Lax is very dangerous!

In 1999, Ex-Lax company changed the main ingredient to senna because the old main ingredient caused cancer. Ex-Lax and other senna-containing product companies don't want people to know about this. It's not even labeled on their box or website! They definitely know about it because I have called the Novartis Company and they have also had many other similar incidences. Please pass on.

V. Donaldson

In 2006 at the age of 38 after 4 years on Yasmin I had a mini-stroke. I am writing a non-fiction memoir about my experience and am very interested in hearing from anyone who has had a bad experience with Yasmin (or indeed, any other hormonal contraceptive.) I invite you to have your story included in my book. I am particularly interested in incidences of blood clot and of course, stroke, plus any withdrawal symptoms experienced from the drug. Please email me at ****** including your full name, age, location, a brief gynecological history, and the main facts of your experience. Thanks!!

Let me start by giving you some history.

My sister is a 22 year old girl who worked full time and was never seriously ill until this summer.

During the last full week of June my sister started having headaches. She told me that these headaches were like none she had ever had before. Days later she started complaining that her legs and wrists hurt. She said that her legs were so tired and achy she could barely walk up the stairs. At that time I dismissed what she was saying. My sister constantly wears heels and I chalked up the complaint to a pair of shoes that were not yet broken in.

By July 4th, the headaches were so intense that she went to urgent care. The physician she saw in urgent care gave her an antibiotic and sent her on her way. By July 7th, she was having difficulty standing up and walking was almost impossible. My sister started complaining about severe joint pain. Her ankles began to swell and her stomach appeared distended.

On July 8th, my sister went to her primary care physician. I believe he sent her for an x-ray and said that she had a cyst on her sinus cavity which was causing her to have severe headaches. He then gave her another antibiotic and referred her to a rheumatologist never even thinking that these two symptoms may be related.

On July 10th, my sister saw the rheumatoid arthritis doctor her pcp referred her to. He dismissed her complaints saying that she probably has some form of arthritis, but that there are over 800 forms and it would takes months to pin point exactly which one she has. He then gave her a prescription for Celebrex and sent her on her way. She spent the entire week in bed because her joints were so swollen and achy that she could not move. She actually crawled to go to the bathroom.

By the middle of the following week, my sister's stomach began to burn. She contributed it to being a side effect of the Celebrex and stopped taking it on July 21st. We had no idea that the pain was so bad. My sister's last normal meal was on July 22. By the 23 she had no appetite and could not go to the bathroom. On July 24, the stomach pain was so bad that she could not work, or sit, or function. All she did was cry. She went back to her primary care physician who then prescribed her prevacid to help with the so called indigestion. He told her if the pain continues she could call him. On July 25th the pain became unbearable. My sister called her PCP as directed and he told her to go to the ER. Never once did he say he would meet her there! I brought my sister to the ER where they did an x-ray and cat scan of her stomach. They found nothing. At that time my sister had not gone to the bathroom or had anything to eat since the 22nd. The physician in the ER said that she was literally "full of shit" and needed to go home and take a liquid laxative. My sister is only 22 and my parents were away on vacation. We were stupid and didn't know any better and were so happy that they didn't find anything that we accepted his findings and got out of there.

My sister took the liquid laxative prescribed by the ER physician as soon as we got home. We waited anxiously for it to relieve her stomach pain. After many hours the laxative did not work and my sister ended up back in the ER. This time she was screaming in pain. One of the doctors there told her that if she couldn't calm down she needed to leave her ER. My sister did just that. At this point my parents (back from vacation) took my sister home and called Digestive Disease. A doctor there told my mom to give my sister 2 Enemas. He said that should relieve her pain. My mother followed the doctor's orders, but the pain did not stop. Sunday, July 27th my sister was right back in the ER - this time at another hospital. This time my sister was admitted to the hospital for severe stomach pain. After 5 days and numerous tests my sister was discharged. The doctors found nothing in her cat scans, x-rays or ultra sounds. The pain was more manageable (she was on morphine every 2 hours) and they said she was ok to go home.

August 1st my sister had a great day. She was sitting up in bed and seemed to be in good spirits. The following day she couldn't get out of bed. This time it was neck pain. My sister said the pain in the back of her neck was so severe that she could not lift her head up or move it side to side. By August 4th she was admitted to the hospital again. This time we brought her to University Hospital in Syracuse, NY. We were sure to get some answers there...or so we thought. As soon as my sister arrived in the ER they started treating her with antibiotics. They were certain she had an infection. They then told us they would have to do a lumbar puncture to check her spinal fluid for infection. We thought we would finally have an answer to what was wrong with my sister, so we agreed. The spinal fluid came back fine - no infection. At that time they admitted her to the hospital. While at University Hospital my sister was treated by a team of doctors. They tested my sister for lyme disease, west nile, lupus, leukemia etc. They performed a spinal tap, cat scans, x-rays, ultra sounds, blood smears, etc. All of these tests came back negative. The doctors could find nothing abnormal except for an elevated white blood count -22,000 (it was also very high during her last hospitalization), an elevated C reactor and a very high SED rate. After 4 days of numerous tests and pain killers (first morphine, then Dilaudid, then Dilaudid with a fentanol pain patch) they discharged my sister. The head doctor told her that he believed she had viral meningitis and that it would eventually work its way out of her system. By this point my mother and I were skeptical. We did the research and viral meningitis should only last approximately 10 days. Mig had been sick since the last week in June. No one was putting all these symptoms together. On the day of her discharge my sister started getting her stomach pain back. The pain was mostly on the left side of her lower stomach - under her belly button. Again she was told the pain was due to constipation and she should buy some Miralax when she got home.

My sister was home for a mere 2 days before she would be hospitalized again...for the 4th time. Her stomach pain was back and worse then before. My family could not believe this was happening. My sisters spirits were down and the excruciating pain was making her mentally unstable. This time the ER physician recommended a hematologist come in to see my sister. We just wanted answers so we agreed. This hematologist, Dr. R stated that she believed my sister had drug induced lupus. We were shocked as my sister was tested for lupus twice before and both times the test came back negative. Dr. R explained that she believed my sister got drug induced lupus from the Gardasil shot. My entire family was shocked. We had never heard of any severe side effects like this from the Gardasil shot. Dr. R asked my sister for her permission to test her again. My sister agreed and a week later my sister learned that she was positive for drug induced lupus. My entire family was so happy that my sister finally had a diagnosis and could begin treatment. We were told that after a 6 week steroid treatment (Prednisone) my sister would be back to her old self. We were ecstatic!

My sister was home from the hospital and on the steriod treatment for 10 days when things started to go wrong again. The doctors were very concerned with the dosage of Prednisone that my sister was taking (80mg. I'm not sure how many times a day). They cut the dosage down in half over the course of a few days to prevent kidney damage and other side effects. Once the Prednisone was decreased, my sister started getting sick immediately. Her forearms were very weak - she could not put any pressure on them. Her shoulders would tingle and she would get shooting pains down her right arm. One of her doctors believed she was developing fibromyalgia and prescribed her lyrica. Shortly after my sister began taking lyrica she started seeing stars. She had double vision and a migraine that would not go away. My mother called her doctor and told him about this. His answer was for my sister to stop taking the Lyrica. She did immediately.

On August 29th, my sister still had a migraine. This was day 3 without a break. She woke up early Saturday morning and began vomiting every 30 minutes. After a few hours of non stop vomiting my mother called her doctor. His nurse practitioner was on call and she told my mother to take my sister to the ER immediately. My mother went back into my sister's room to tell her they had to go back to the hospital and she found my sister having a seizure. My sister has no history of seizures. My mother called 911 and the ambulance came to bring my sister back to the ER...her 5th hospitalization.

Shortly after arriving at the ER, my sister had another seizure. Immediately after the seizure the ER doctor ordered my sister to have an MRI. My sister had one during her last hospitalization only 2 weeks before. That MRI was normal. This one was not. There are lesions all over my sister's brain. The neurologist told us that he cannot believe she does not have permanent damage. According to him there is no oxygen going to her brain.The neurologist also explained to us that her brain looks as though she has been poisoned. He said that her MRI is very similar to an MRI of a patient who has been poisoned with antifreeze. Later I learned that Gardasil has both aluminum and sodium borate (which is in both rat poison and cockroach killer). However, according to the doctor once your brain looks like my sister's all the poison is out of your body. My sister's team of doctors started debating as to whether this could all still be from the Gardasil shot...my sister's last shot was on 02/22/08. Some believe that the side effects started off as mild, but since they were left untreated for so long they've turned into a serious neurological problem. They told my family the only way to truly know what is going on is to do a brain biopsy.

Yesterday, my sister was transferred to Mass General in Boston. We were hoping for a bigger hospital, better technology, more seasoned doctors. So far my sister has been treated badly. When my mother told the doctors' about the Gardasil shot and the devastating effects it has had on my sister they dismissed it. When my mom asked the doctors to test my sister for heavy metal toxicity they completely ignored her. I fear that she will never get the proper care.

My son started Singulair in the 7th grade and his personality changed but I never attributed it an asthma medication. He was on it and off of it for the next five years. On it again last year, he committed suicide on October 2nd, 2007. I consider his suicide a "side effect."

Doxycycline has been helping with me skin BUT it is entirely not worth what it is doing to my mental health. I went to a therapist yesterday because I have been depressed and he told me that I have a Dysthymia, a mild form of depression. I have been taking Doxycycline 50 mg for 9 months. I thought my depression had to do with me being unsatisfied with my life but now I realize that I have been feeling sad and hopeless due to this drug. I have had incidences of crying for small annoyances, like missing a bus. I have stopped taking it for a day now and I can't wait until this stuff gets out of my system. I have had yeast infections as well, that were so mild that it took me this long to realize it. I only got nauseous when I took it on an empty stomach. Be aware that some people have committed suicide because they were depressed, due to the acne medication, Accutane. I’m not a doctor, but it seems that we need to evaluate the possible detrimental effects acne medications could have on us. I will now look into improving my eating habits and hopefully that will help.

I am 62 years old. I was put on Lipitor in early December 2007. I took it just before bedtime. Around 3:00am and until about 5:00 or 6:00am I experienced severe anxiety, mental confusion and suicidal thoughts. It felt as if I were having a psychotic break that was so intense I decided to commit myself to the psychiatric clinic where I live, in the morning. However, when I arose at 8:am, it was all over. I had no idea what had brought the thoughts and extreme emotion on. There were no events nor specific incidences which might trigger so strong a reaction. After three successive nights of this, I suspected the Lipitor and stopped taking it. The episodes stopped immediately and have not re-occurred. I took Lipitor for a total of 5 or 6 days.
Having read the postings on this site and a few others, I now suspect that my recent memory loss (actually its an inability to access certain words and names) started at precisely the same time. I am still struggling with the recovery of memory. In addition, I have experienced elbow muscle pain, fatigue and muscle weakness (hands and arms specifically) which started at the same time and also continues to this day, in spite of rigorous exercise. Whether this is related to Lipitor directly is hard to say for sure, but the timing is extremely suspect.

Have been on Lexapro 20 mg and Elavil 50 mg since January 2005 and Clonopin .5 mg for about 5 or more years. Have been on Welbutrin for only 5 days now and I can't get to sleep at night even though I'm clearly exhausted. Since I've been on Welbutrin, I've had 2 incidences of rage and wonder if the combination of Lexapro/Elavil/Clonopin and Welbutrin are contributing factors. Anybody out there know anything about this?
Thanks,
Mary

I've always (~40 years) had blood pressure at about 155/60. It seems that my body likes to function at that pressure. A recent severe trauma caused an increase to 200+ systolic requiring emergency treatment. This focused the m.d.'s to prescribe lisinopril to bring me down to their "optimum" ~140 range. 20 mg/day caused a temporary decrease to about 145 for a few days and then some internal readjustment of body chemistry brought the B.P back to 155. I noticed bouts of dry cough many times a day that resulted in chest muscle pains and back pains. Now 40 mg/day is prescribed and the B.P has moved back to ~140 with about twice the severe incidences of dry cough. I'm living on cough drops that offer very little help. Question is, should I trust a group that has a record of multi billion dollar profits relying on scare tactics related to the dangerous effects of high B.P., or rely on what my body is trying to make evident by showing these side effects? These forums should be reviewed by the government for overwhelming evidence of serious drug side effects and the drugs taken off the market.

I have had a recent mildly disturbing few incidences with depakote lately. My nipples have been emiting blood and also there has been an account or two of my semen discharges being very bloody as well.