Indication symptoms and conditions

I have been off Lipitor for 3 months but all the symptoms have not yet gone. I still have severe skin irritation and burning. Can anyone tell me if these symptoms weill go eventually or is this an indication o f permanent damage.

Thanks

No Need to Experience the Flushing of Niaspan !!!!
NOT an allergic reaction OR a "cardiac" reaction,.. it IS temporary & it is PROSTAGLANDIN !! Try this,...
Not a big deal. ~90% of ALL patients can tolerate Niaspan / ER-niacin
1-2 gms/day,.. IF,.. the prescriber knows a few tricks. Dr. Wm. Castelli, he uses plain ole crystalline niacin AND Niaspan. 40 years ago, ALL they had was IR-Immediate Release aka plain ole crystalline niacin,.. 3-4 gms a day MONO therapy. The patients FORGET THE ASPIRIN which prevents the flush. If you forget to take an aspirin AT LEAST 30 min before dosing,.. FLUSH! Taking with the dose is too late. SOLUTION 40 YEARS AGO?
Alka-Seltzer ; that`s a 325 mg of AQUEOUS aspirin, no need to take sooner,.. wash down the niacin with that. AFTER,.. you eat 3 TBS applesausce whil waiting for the ALKA-SELTZER tablet to dissolve. Use just enough water to swallow pill, so you get all of the 325 mg aspipirin in the ALKA-SELTZER. 90% of patients get through the 'rough' 1st 2-4 weeks & stick with it after. IT IS THE ONLY DRUG WITH AN FDA INDICATION TO HAVE BEEN PROVEN TO REVERSE CAD, REGRESSION.
Remember; hot drinks, alcohol, spicy food less than 2-3 hrs prior to Niaspan is a NO-NO !!
Take care,.. ...be well... Steve the Lipid Guy

The flushing is tolreable. The itching is intolerable. I'd rather have heart surgery than suffer with that infernal itching. My cardiologist believes the severe itching is unrelated to the Niaspan because the reaction has only occured twice since I started taking the medication 6 months ago. I disagree. It seems to me the itching is caused by the Niaspan, together with some other unknown factor. There may be something to the "spicy food" suggestion posted by others. Last night, I ate a bunch of hot peppers an hour or so before taking the Niaspan. I woke at 3 am, with a mild hot flash, followed by the dreaded itching. Pure torment! My chest, back and legs were bright red. A cold shower helped a little. On the first occasion, two months ago, Benedril help some, but relief did not begin for over an hour after taking it. (Take at least two tablets!) But last night, I didn't mess around with Benedril. Instead, I took two codine tablets I had left over from surgery. Relief! If you are suffering from this terrible side-effect, may God be with you!

I am currently taking Levaquin for the first time; just finishing a one week course @ 500 m.g. / day. Had a bacterial infection on knee similiar to an insect sting (one hole). Not only cleared up but also helped with a undiagnosed condition in the lungs which has caused a chronic cough for at least five years now .... now gone. Never had any indication of side affects.

Hello

For about 10 years I've been using an ACE inhibitor. First enalapril, but after I figured out I had dry eyes and feeling misserable, I was put on accupril (same group - also same group as lisinopril).

A year after starting the ACE inhibitor I was diagnosed with (severe) dry eyes.

Afer stopping with the ACE inhibitor for a while I felt somewhat better. I tried taking half of my normal dose. Next day I felt terrible; painfull eyes, not feeling good, dunno how to describe it better. I still am not sure though if it is the pills. It' snot like I take it and 2 seconds later I feel bad.

I would like to come in contact with people who dealt with the same probs. Please sent me a personal message if you like. Thank you :)

After taking Niacin for several years, I have the itching problem and my legs started to weep. Has this happened to anyone else? Eating beef seems to maximize the itching. JT

OMG! Tonight is my second night on Niaspan. I took the aspirin beforehand etc.. I am experiencing severe itching. I'm about to cut off my fingernails, I'm itching so badly. As I type, one foot is rubbing the other - I ITCH EVERYWHERE AND CAN'T KEEP FROM SCRATCHING!!! And it won't stop! I tried taking 2 benadryl about a half hour ago, and thus far no relief. If it continues to worsen I'll call the "ask a nurse" line to see if I should go in to poison control or the hospital. This is crazy!

W Female Age:29
i began having high blood pressure just before my second pregnancy 3 1/2 years ago. I have been on Toprol for over 2 years straight to today. I had tried several different medicines that could not control my blood pressure after he was born. Toprol XL 50 mg x 2 daily was the only one that seemed to work, but i do have the side effects. I have had several instances of panic attacks with feeling of dying. By the time i could be seen at the hospital it had already subsided. The doctors have not been able to give any indication as to the reason for these attacks other than it was a panic attack and have prescribed Zanax. I have experienced the heavy left arm with chest pain, the dizziness and nausea along with ringing in the ears. I am now changing cardiologists and will try new medications to rid of the side effects. Again, the medicine has done its purpose, but the side effects are begging to take their toll.

Iam taking 500 mg only - today I awoke with terrible red rash on upper left leg and lower right - - does NOT itch or burn - just there - has ANYONE had a rash while taking niaspan??? need answers!

I take 325mg before going to bed and I take 2000mg of Niaspan. I also each a small bowl of Total cereal. This combination seems to really help because I used to get terrible flushing and itching but haven't since adding the bowl of Total at night.

I take my Niaspan at bedtime, having taken an 81 mg. asprin tablet about a half hour prior. I stil will awaken sometimes about 4-5 hours later and, well, if you're googling niacin flush, you know the rest. Then, because I HAVE to scratch, even though it's not exactly an itch, my skin then feels raw. After about a half hour I will typically get up and walk to the kitchen on the cold tile floors in bare feet and drink something cold - just a few sips and get some damp paper towels to blot whatever burns the most. This seems to help some. At least, I usually then go to sleep, but maybe after a half hour to 45 minutes, the flush was about to remediate itself anyway. Who knows!

Sarah,
I live in the US. I totally understand your fear about taking hormones. For me though, the natural progesterone has made a huge difference. I don't know how long you have been recovering from Yasmin, but rest assured that as time goes on, you will get better. Two years ago was when I was at my worst. I checked this forum several times a day. It made me feel so much better to hear from other women going through the same thing as me. I don't think I've checked this forum for over a year until today, if that's any indication of how much better I feel. You will too. I also take a multi vit., fish oil & magnesium too. I think they help as well. Do what works for you. Wishing you wellness!

-Tiffany

1500mg/day for 2 yrs now and it's been a lonnnnng road with this flushing and itching. The typical avoidance foods, hot showers, spicy foods..etc..all help to aoid the side effects. However, if you still get that flushing/itching effect, take some antihistamine medication. Benedryl works, although it will make you drowsy, but it's worth it ! It relieves the itching !

Why does this happen ? it's NOT niacitic poisoning like some on this site suggest. Niaspan causes vasodilation of your the blood vessels in your skin. This causes your mast cell to increase thus triggering a production of histamine in your skin receptors. This is what causes the unbearable itching to occur. It is completely harmless, however, it can be un-bearable at times when the flushing/itching become severe. So taking an ANTI-histamine works well. Time on the medication helps. Reducing the dosage may help as well, however, you will most likely see a drop in your HDL levels by 5-7% for every 500mg drop in dosage.

Hang in there, hopefully big Pharm will come up with a new drug to increase HDL.. I know they are working on it as we speak, but may take a few more years.

I take 1500 mg. Niaspan about 1 1/2 to 2 hours before going to bed. My Dr. advised me to take it with apple juice. My low fat snack and low dose aspirin is 30 minutes prior to taking niaspan/apple juice. As long as I follow this routine there is very little flushing. If I take niaspan sooner than 30 minites I have medium flushing for about 45 minutes.

At 2000mg I got such bad itching that I almost stopped taking it. I reduced my intake to 1500mg and al things considered, I won't be going back to 2000mg.

HAVE BEEN TAKING NIASPAN 500MG FOR ABOUT TWO AND ONE HALF WEEKS. TAKE IT BEFORE GOING TO BED THEN TWO HOURS LATER I AM AWAKEN BY BURNING OVER MY WHOLE BODY. THE LENGTH OF TIME VARIES. I ALSO TAKE TOPROL FOR RAPID HEART BUT BELIEVE THIS MEDICINE IS KEEPING MY HEART RATE UP, I WILL AWAKEN WITH MY HEART BEATING OUT OF MY CHEST. WOULD IT BE WISE TO DISCONTINUE USING NIASPAN? WENDELL PAYTON

I have been taking Ni aspa n for 9 months now. My Dr. started me at 500 mg. after I mo. increased to 1OOO mg. then after 2 more mos. 1500 mg.

I am alright when I take 500mg of Niaspan at bed time but if I increase it to 1000 or as my Dr wants 1500, I have a severe reaction. It does not happen right away but about 4 hours after I take it. The itching is unbearable. I was told that over the counter items like Benedril(sp) would help but it takes a long time if it does help. I do not get these reactions every night, sometimes once or twice a week. I was told to take an aspirin or Advil before taking the niaspan and that seems to lesson the attack. I will say when I took the 1000mg it doubled my HDL(good) cholesterol but I don't think the unbearable itching is worth it. I have been told by my Alergy Doctor that there is something to take to prevent the attacks but he could not remember what it was. He did say that it is not an alergic reaction but a cardiac reaction. I wish I could find the remedy because it has helped raise my HDL dramatically.

Guest 28108.....I believe I may have had that reaction...however the dr. told me I might have the flu...no indication that I might have reacted to the medication. Or that I might have had a gastro infection. I was violently ill and if you read my previous post ....many other things happened to me...horrible joint pain and much more. We need more info.

Not a big deal. ~90% of ALL patients can tolerate niacin 1-2 gms/day,.. IF,.. the prescriber knows a few tricks. Dr. Wm. Castelli , he uses plain ole crystalline niacin AND Niaspan.
40 years ago, ALL they had was IR-Immediate Release aka plain ole crystalline niacin,.. 3-4 gms a day MONO therapy. The patients FORGET HE ASPIRIN which prevents the flush. If you forget to take an aspirin AT LEAST 30 min before dosing,.. FLUSH! aking with the dose is too late. SOLUTION 4o YEARS AGO?
Alka-Seltzer ; tha`s 325 mg of AQUEOUS aspirin, no need to ake sooner,.. wash dow he niacin with hat. AFTER,.. you eat 3 TBS applesausce while table dissoles. use ajus enough water to swallow pill, so you get all 325 mg. 90% get through the 'rough' 1st 2-4 weeks & stick with it after. IT IS HE ONLY DRUG WITH AN FDA INDICATION TO HAVE BEEN PROVEN TO REVERESE CAD, REGRESSION.
Take care,..
...be well...
Steve the Lipid Guy

After taking Lisinopril for 4 days in conjunction with the diabetes drug Metformin, I am listless and depressed! I am never depressed so this is a real indication of the effect of Lisinopril. Now that I've read the list of side effects other people are having, I am going to stop taking it immediately.

After taking Levaquin for 4 days last May, woke up with severe pain and tightness in both knees. Didn't connect with the drug so I continued taking it for the entire course, 12 days. The severe pain moved down into my lower legs and remained for weeks. I finally connected the pain with the drug but my Dr. blew it off and said I had suffered an injury.
In July I could barely walk and both legs and both knees were heavily affected. Looking for answers, I found this website. Showed some of the emails to my Dr. and he finally ordered blood enzyme tests, which, to his surprise, indicated I have suffered muscle damage. NOW he believes me. This after 13 weeks of pain, and more to go, if the testimony of others is any indication. All this for a sinus infection.

I think guest @ 12832 must work for the makers of levaquin. To go so far as to call this "mob mentality" and "group think" is a real indication that the pharmaceutical companies watch these forums. You can't possibly think that we are that stupid that we couldn't figure that out. I'm sure there are many that have been helped by flouoquinolones, however, the adverse reactions are mostly irreversible. Why would anyone want to take a chance? There are safer drugs available.

I am using several medications now and I'm trying to figure out
which one is causing a severe nausea and wretching response at
times. When I feel hungry that feeling quickly turns to wretching
and just bringing up water or whatever fluid is in my immediate
digestive tract. I am also using Aranesp but have found no other
indication that nausea long after injection is causing this.
Does anyone have this response? I got sick last week and stopped
taking the Methadose (only 5mg every 5 to 8 hours) and I got in
such a feeling of agony and tiredness that I had to start taking it
again when I realized I forgot it. Anyone who can advise or discuss similar experiences - I appreciate and good luck to others.

This site amazes me. I too, have experienced many of the same side effects; DEPRESSION, HEADACHES, IBS, MAJOR MOOD SWINGS (CRYING FOR NO REASON), ANXIETY/PANIC ATTACKS, and last but certainly not least, SUICIDAL THOUGHTS! How can a drug company "Push" such poison?! And the doctors that are prescribing it definitely need to be digging deeper into the potential side effects. If this site is any indication of what those are, this drug should be BANNED! Thankfully I figured it out and saved myself and my relationship.

This gal will never trust another prescription and will venture into natural BC and healing options. Best of luck to all of you women out there who were "sold" this as being a "wonder drug".