Job symptoms and conditions

I suffer from severe endometriosis, and occasionally, if something goes awry, I have terrible cramping. The pain is extremely intense and has caused me to pass out. I have tried several medications, some narcotic, some non, and some naturopathic. I would say that Dilaudid is the best I've tried. Not only does it do a wonderful job of getting rid of pain, it also seems to be easier on the stomach than other opiates in its class, and causes less side effects. Of course, highly addictive such as other narcotics, but if taken only when needed it is a lifesaver.

Took it in August this year.

Developed raging anxiety, insomnia, memory loss, muscle twitches, weakness, nausea, lost myself, my job and almost my husband.

I'm on Benzos now.

Thanks Cipro and your makers, you took my life from me

wow i cant tell all of you women how thankful i am that you posted on here, i started femcon fe a little over a week ago my ob/gyn had me on 4 pill for 4 days then 2 for 7 and then one after that well Saturday i got really sick vomiting blood and everything i cant keep any food in my stomach, so the on call doctor told me to stop taking then well my dr told me on mon to start them again but only take 2,,still nothing but sick she has me taking a pill for the nausea but that makes everything worse.. my emotions are way out of wack, im tired all the time and my periods are extremely heavy a lot of clotting.. i always seem to be in tears,, and its not helping my job at all.. im calling her tomorrow to get me off of this.. so thank you very much

I'm a 47yo female & sorry for putting this as a reply to another post - new here:

Gosh.. glad I found this place - have been taking Warfarin for AF for about 2 weeks now and have been slowly sliding down hill. Thing is you just never know when to contact a doctor hey.

My symptoms, bloating, weight gain already, light headed, blurred vision, have had numbness & tingling in right arm and leg, and now I'm slowly getting colder and colder, and have a high sensitivity to light. Just started my monthly cycle and it's literally flooding, and I have an awful pain in the left hand side of my neck - it's sharp and unbearable at times. Some days when I'm driving home from work I feel I should pull over, not sure what my body is going to do to me next. I lack concentration, am crabby most of the time (and was picked up on that today at work) - and very emotional.

I don't like this at all - at what point do I mention any of this without seeming like a whinger?
I have a physical job, which has been reduced to 'light duties' due to the risks at the moment, which I'm grateful for. Today I bumped my thumb only slightly and it swelled up in a bloody lump - the blood has disappeared but the swelling is still there together with 'loose' skin where the originally larger swelling was. Everything seems just so weird.. I don't feel like ME any more - I want ME back :((

I am a 48 year old female with a-fib. I am not overweight...just started falling apart since now I am menopausal. I've been on Warfarin for 6 weeks. My INR has hardly moved. I'm now on 8 mg and have my INR test on Monday. I started at a 0.9. Now I'm at 1.20 and have been there for three weeks in spite of upping the warfarin. I've not changed my diet except to exclude greens and green tea when I began the therapy. Everything else is consistent.
I just started exercising again a week ago. Something I haven't done in five years since I lost my sister. I bought a Total Gym and enjoy it. It has helped me get some energy back, has helped alleviate some of the mental fog, and has lowered the incidence of anxiety attacks. (I've been getting anxiety lately...since the mental fog and memory lapses...that bothers me since I love to read and write and the mental fog seems to be taking the joy out of it now.) The reason I decided to start strength training again is because of the joint pain I have been experiencing lately. I didn't have it before warfarin. I do now. Only one joint, though. The strength training does help, but every once in awhile, that sharp pain comes back to visit. It's just a little less now.
I plan to tell the doctor that I have begun strength training again. Not just because it's good for me and my heart, but it seems to help with the side effects of menopause and warfarin...without adding another drug like an antidepressant.
Warfarin...I believe is a life saving drug. BUT, I have to do my part too.

BTW, if I didn't have triple thick hair, I would complain about hair loss. Right now, it's a non issue for me. Just saves money at the hair dresser.

MAJOR loss of short-term memory and inability to concentrate.

I have been on Lamictal (for bipolar tendencies) for 3 or 4 years now. Overall it has been really great for me -- really calmed me and leveled me out like no other medication has.

Except that it has made me embarrassingly dumb. I have a graduate degree in electrical engineering, which is pretty worthless at this point because I cannot add two simple numbers in my head. My grammar and spelling skills have taken a nosedive. I took a grammar refresher class to try to boost it again, but I couldn't concentrate and can't remember what I learned. And even worse, sometimes I can't remember basic things like which way to flip the turn signal lever to signal left or right when I am driving.

I went up to 350 mg and it worked great (for the bipolar), but I could barely function at my job. So I've lowered it slowly to 150. My brain works a bit better, but still not well. Today in a meeting I was explaining something important and realized a couple minutes later that I was totally wrong -- I'd remembered incorrectly. So I had to interject later and explain that I'd been wrong. Things like this are very embarrassing and ruin my credibility at work.

But as I said the Lamictal has been amazing in other aspects. Ultimately I don't know if trading my brain for that is worth it, but for now it is because no other medication has worked. I worry though that even if I stop it in the future, my brain may not be able to recover, from lack of use.

Thank you all for your information. I am relieved to know I am not alone.

My experience with Topamax was unreal. My doc gave i to me for anxiety/depression/weight loss. The weight loss began working right away but so did the disaster. By the time I had been on Topamax four months I was fired from my job, having an affair with my husband's best friend, spending $1000 on a credit card no one knew I had and spent 10 days in a psychiatric ward. There they determined that the Topamax had made me manic. A feeling of unreality had set in along with an intense feeling of well being, and aggressiveness. I am putting my life back together now after getting divorced, finding work in a new field, and trying to repair the damage done to my relationship with my kids.
My best friend called me tonight to tell me that her daughter who is also taking Topamax has become almost anorexic, is also getting a divorce, is now on medication for heart palpitations and will not speak to most of her family. It IS dangerous!!

I haven't gone through to read all of everyone elses side effects yet but is there anyone who is getting migraines because of this thing? i feel like my head is going to explode and the come so frequently i have never had this problem before getting the mirena i have no clue on whether or not this is what is causing them but i am hoping so, that way i can get it taken out! i go through spurts of depression too but im sure that it is because of the mirena but i will admit i do love the no periods and that it has done its job in preventing another unexpected pregnancy i just do not think i will make it through another headache!

Hey Guys,
I'm new to all this but just wanted to share my story with everyone so I feel like i'm not so alone! I'm 23 and was diagnosed with SLE 3 years ago.
It started in my joints and then moved to my kidney's real fast. I now have stage 4 nephritis, finished 6months of cyclophosphamide in Feb and have been on no less than 40-20mg of pred for about 2years. Just when things were starting to look better it has stared in my blood so they are trying to up my dose again. It has thinned my bones so I am on special meds for that now too.
I know taking the pred is something I need to do to live but it comes at a really high price. I don't even look like the same person I used too because of the moon face. I know it's shallow but at 23 it is almost as bad as having to live with this disease. I now have really low self esteem and get anxious all the time, which is affecting my job. As much as I want to come off I also worry that I would have to stop work again as the pred is what keeps me going. All I want to do is get off it though! Anyone know any alternatives? Also, just wondering if you guys are still drinking alcohol while taking pred?
Thanks for listening guys!

Girls! I am so glad I am not the only one!!!!
I had Mirena right after I had my second baby (around March 2007) and I had it for 2 1/2 years. I think I was alright for the first few month (but it is hard to tell as I was quite overwhelmed with baby and toddler care). But the past year 1/2 or so It was clear to me that something was not right. I was feeling really intense mood swings, had no patience, felt angry at times, loosing interest in my job and feeling at lost with my life at times and... NO libido whatsoever!
My OB told me over and over that Mirena was not the problem! But it seemed to me that this had to be the answer. My husband did not encourage me to take any other drug to fight my mood swings and he suggested I just take this off. So, I did it... exactly 5 weeks ago! And I am so much better. My libido is back. I have not felt down. I am enjoying my work. I am loving my children and my husband!!! I am so sorry I did not take it out sooner!
Alright now... the hormones are not crossing to the blood stream... But I had NO periods and of course No ovulation! So why is this so surprising to all of those guys that there may indeed be such side effects!!!
So girls! You are not crazy! Give yourself a chance and take this IUD out!
Good luck.

i am getting back on topamax for the second time....the first time i lost a tremendous amount of weight. i am on it for migraines...working my way up to 200mg from 50mg. I am experiencing that memory lapse (having something i want to say on the tip of the tongue) all soda taste flat. Nausea and menstrual cycle is changing up. Been on meds 6 days so far lost 2-3 pounds. I have seen a lot of people say they have not lost weight the second time around. Is there anyone who has? I have definitely seen a change in my appetite at week one. I had the tingling in toes and feet the first time around but nothing yet. first time around it lifted my mood and I had tons of energy. It helped with my migraines that i had everyday for a year. Lost my insurance when I lost my job so now I have been able to start up again.

I took Lisinopril for approximately 7 months. My main symptoms were that I could not think clearly (it has been very difficult to perform my job) and I was tired all of the time. When I finally decided to stop taking it, the fog lifted from my eyes and I had more energy. I like to have a drink once in a while and I had noticed that one of the side effects of Lisinopril was that I no longer had any tolerance for alcohol (I know I'm not supposed to drink). Drinking one beer gave me the same sensation as if I had four beers. One Friday (I was going on vacation) I decided to skip my dose so that I could go out and drink and have fun like I'm used to doing. The next morning the clarity of my thinking and my level of energy was dramatically increased. This is how I found out by accident (you could say irresponsibility) that Lisinopril was dragging me down. I have not touched Lisinopril since and I am working with my doctor on finding an alternative.

I was put on Topamax for extreme migraines about 6 months ago... Started up slowly with 25mgs to 50mgs to 75mgs daily and now I am taking 100mgs (50 in the morning and 50 at night). Topamax did the job in taking my everyday headaches away but I still continue to get the very painful and extreme migraines that last 304 days.

I did have extreme tingling in the hands and feet for the first month but that soon tapered off. As far as my appetite - I never really lost that and my weight has stayed the same.

After reading all of your posts I can take a deep breath and believe that I am NOT crazy. I have begun to think so because of Topamax. I am constantly anxious (and being an over anxious person to begin with this is not good), my mood swings are horrible - I am a total bitch to my boyfriend, and my mind just does not seem as clear as it once was - struggling to come up with the simplest of words....

I feel like Topamax has made me very paranoid and has set me into a depressed state. It is just not worth it. There are many OTHER drugs out there that can deal with migraines - and trust me I know they are painful, but I am much more willing to get myself back than continue to deal with these side effects for the sake of getting rid of a migraine (which isn’t always the case for me).

After switching doctors (from the one who had put me on this drug to begin with) - she is helping me wean off Topamax and wants me to explore other options.

Has anyone experienced weaning off this drug before - how are the side effects? And will I ever be myself again?

Oh and PS- I too also, lost my sex drive while on the pill.

I started Topamax over a year ago and titrated up slowly, 25 mg a week until I got to 125 mg a day, split dosing. I was started for migraine prophylaxis. Once it kicked in, it did an amazing job of keeping my headaches away. But, here is something really important: if you are going to have surgery, there are contraindications with Topamax and anesthesia. No one either knew this or told me this and I only found out weeks after I went through a really lousy experience. What I believe happened is that the combination threw my body's pH balance off. I felt like my insides were burning and it was only at that point that I started to experience the severe diarrhea and weight loss, fatigue, and general malaise. It lasted for weeks. All I could figure at the time was that it was just taking me a really long time to recover from my surgery (ovarian cyst removal and unilateral oophorectomy), but that didn't make sense. I felt like I had a horrible flu for weeks. I kept seeing my doctor saying something was wrong with the way I was healing (ie, i had an infection or something). Anyway, this eventually stabilized as I back off the Topamax. I was so weak that I didn't even realize the memory issues or word finding problems, but when I started to feel better physically, I did notice those. That REALLY bugged me. I like to be sharp. So, I tapered off. About 1.5 months later, my headaches started coming back. I decided to try Topamax again feeling that now I understood it much better and could watch it more closely. Maybe this time I could ride out the side effects. Well, this time several months passed at the same dose. My headaches were still there and I had no side effects. We upped the dosage. Still having headaches, but no diarrhea, no weight loss (in fact, weight gain of 15 pounds over the last 9 months since last Topamax round), no real problem with word finding, etc. Up to about 200 mg daily by this time. It has been about 6 months and I have started tapering down and about to give up, down to 150 mg daily right now. NOW, here is something interesting: I just have another surgery, but no anesthesia. It was oral surgery. I did, however, have to take a round of antibiotics. It seems that this round of antibiotics has kicked the cycle into gear because I started having gastric problems, perhaps because of the antibiotics (although in the past, I have not had problems with antibiotics before, ALTHOUGH I did have to take them last year with my in-hospital surgery), I don't know, but I have finished the round of antibiotics and I am still having diarrhea. My appetite is suppressed, and I have lost 5 pounds in this last week. Many people say you cannot lose weight if you stop Topamax and restart it later. That is an interesting. I wonder why that is. Topamax is such a strange drug. Why did it not work for me the second time I took it, or at least for 9 months? Is it just now kicking in with its side effects as the result of upsetting my gastric system? Will it start working now for my headaches, too? I think I will continue to taper off or maybe see if I can prevent headaches on a very low dose. Oh, another interesting thing: I found the first time I took Topamax, it made me feel energized. I found that this time, it made me feel the opposite. I sleep a lot more and feel more sleepy during the day.

I am 44 years old and have been taking singulair for about 4 years. 3 months ago I started experiencing crushing chest pain, tingling in my lower limbs, and felt very stressed out. I went to the ER last Thursday and was checked out for angina - the ER doctor told me I was suffering from chronic severe anxiety. I took Ativan for 4 days and felt better, but now the drigs are gone and I again having constant chest pain. In doing some research I found that anxiety can be caused by imbalance in adrenaline, and so started looking online to see if any of the allergy/asthma meds I am taking (adviar, singulair, allegra) can affect adrenaline. That';s when I found this website. Although i find the testimony compelling, I wish more folks would have poted about how their symptoms improved (or didn't) AFTER discontinuing singulair. Also I've noticed many of the stories are about children not adults; many people are taking more than one med for asthma, and most people's symptoms seem to come on right away whereas I have been taking sinulair for years and only recently have anxiety. I will stop singulair tonight and see what happens, but am wondering if anyone has come across further research that correlates singiulair with anxiety? My job life is really peaceful, I am otherwise happy, work can get hectic but that's true of any job, and I am out of ideas as to why suddenly at age 44, when I eat right and exercise - why get anxiety? Thanks for the posts, I'll try to remember to follow up after I am off Singulair for a few weeks.

I have been taking Keflex, 500mg, for about 4 days now, in that time I have since developed a lack of appetite, I have lost my job, my roommate stole my favorite shoes and walked through puddles, my normal sure handedness has disappeared resulting in me dropping 4 eggs on the kitchen floor, my toes are swelling to the point that flip flops are not an option... AND coke tastes like Pepsi...

All of this to treat a sinus infection. I will never take this medicine again.

Like many of you in this forum, I'm experiencing the pins and needles feelings all over my body, especially on my arms and face. I have weird lapses in memory. I attributed the joint pain I've been feeling this past year to being a 45-year old runner. However, upon reading so many comments regarding joint pain, I can only ascertain this isn't just something caused by age and running. Is anyone of you men experiencing erectile problems? Since starting Lisinopril a year ago I've noticed performance difficulties. My doctor said that can be expected with high blood pressure and prescribed me Cialis. Good Lord is that drug awful! I'm going to flush my bottle of Lisinopril right now and call my doctor tomorrow and discuss a safer alternative to this medicine.

Like it has been said MULTIPLE times before my post....I AM SO HAPPY I FOUND THIS SITE!!!! I seriously was beginning to think I was crazy and that I was doing something wrong in my life to cause the horrible feelings I was having! My life is the best it has been in years (super job, fantastic,loving, caring boyfriend of 2+ years, super family & friends, financially stable, etc.) but one little thing could ruin my day or my week! The littlest things set me off (like my boyfriend playing with my phone! how dumb!) and I was a total bitch to everyone I came in contact with if I had been set off earlier. I have very low energy and the whole dryness thing too (eyes, mouth, and down below) as well as ZERO sex drive. I seriously was beginning to think that maybe I didn't love my boyfriend anymore and that I needed to go see a psych to get my self out of this mood! I cried for no reason at random times during the month, I perseverate on stupid stuff that means nothing. I have only taken Yasmin (Ocella is what I take, it is the generic) for about a year and I totally attribute all of my craziness with this pill!!!!!!! I don't know what made me think of my BC first to check side effects but I am so glad I did! I hope this helps those of you who feel the same way and don't know why. I know reading everyone else's did me! :) Good Luck and get off this pill!!!!! BTW...Yaz was just as bad!!!

I'm 23 and began taking BC for the first time about 2 months ago. My gyn recommended Loestrin 24, and I'm just now starting my third pack.
So far I've noticed the following side effects:

1. Breast tenderness - they are constantly sore. (In the past they would only be sore during my period.) It's somewhat annoying, as I used to enjoy having the boy play with "the girls", but now he has to be completely gentle or I start cringing.

2. Moodiness - there have been 2, possibly 3 occasions so far where I've been quite depressed/ apathetic/ generally negative/ irritable for several hours without real cause, and was unable to "snap out of it".

Frightening, but infrequent, and therefore bearable once you recognize what's happening.

3. LOSS OF SEX DRIVE - by far the scariest side effect, especially since the whole point of me taking BC was to be able to have sex with my boyfriend (without getting preggers, of course.)

Fortunately I've only noticed this on 2, possibly 3 occasions - the boy was goin' to town, giving' me the WORKS - which usually does the job quite nicely, but this time my response was, "meh." No arousal at all.

Completely frustrating - for me, because I hate being unable to respond sexually to the guy I love, and for him, because what worked before isn't working now. randomly. for no reason.

4. Period, periods, ALL THE TIME - I've had my period 5 times in the past 8 weeks. RIDICULOUS. completely ridiculous. And I'm not talking occasional light "spotting" that comes and goes - no. It's like, I'm thinking about buying stock in Playtex because I am single-handedly bringing about full economic recovery with my bulk tampon purchases. Five days (often more) of bein' on the rag full-time.
Ridiculous.

(Although to be fair, there were a couple times where I forgot to take a pill one night, and had to take two the next day.... I'm forgetful. and distractible. This could be causing the excessive periods.)

5. Other side effects - I haven't gotten fat, or pimply, or nausea, or sleeplessness, or headaches; at least, not that I've noticed.

Good luck finding decent BC that doesn't make you fat and crazy, ladies!!

I had Mirena put in about 3 months ago and I have been living in Hell without knowing why until I found this page. I had had moderate post partum depression before getting it inserted, but since having it put in I have felt like I have been losing my mind. It has put my marriage in jeoporday and my job.

I had the Mirena for about a half a year. My side effects included cramps, blurred vision, brain fog, nausea, high blood pressure, headaches, extreme fatigue, severe depression, lack of interest in anything, bloating, and extremely dry skin and hair. Also, I had to have two surgeries for atypical cells after my first ever bad mammo. ever. Whether this was related remains to be seen, but the other severe changes to my health make me suspicious. A few weeks after getting Mirena, I thought things would get better, as some of the severe cramping subsided. I was wrong. I had no idea how depressed I was until I had it removed. Honestly, the change after two days post removal was amazing. I could function again. My skin started getting better within a few days. I would have had it out earlier, but like many, my doctor felt I should continue with it. Thankfully, after my second request, he agreed it was a good idea to have it removed. I feel that this is a very dangerous product that certainly affects much of the body. I am aware that many women have no problem with it, but I urge those women who have had problems to report them to the FDA and also consider searching for the Mirena petition site. Otherwise, problems will go under reported, and personally, I do not believe enough studies were done on this product. The manufacturer tells us that side effects are uncommon. What is uncommon? If you have symptoms similar to many others, you should trust yourself. It affected my job and family. I am so happy to have it out.

My 13 year old daughter was injured by Gardasil and completely disabled for the past year. Merck got it right when they used the slogan "One Less" for Gardasil. Because of Gardasil, my daughter was "One Less". She was "One Less Student", "One Less Active Child", "One Less in every aspect of her life". Take it from a mother who has spent the past year sitting by my child's bedside wondering if she would die in her sleep. INVESTIGATE BEFORE YOU VACCINATE. DO NOT trust your doctor to make this decision. If you want to understand Merck's role in the medical community, investigate some of their former wonderdrugs such as VIOXX and then marvel at how many people died from it before it was pulled off the market. The CDC AND FDA need to do their job and get this off the market before more children are harmed. The public is not aware of VAERS and the #'s are grossly understated. I have had to tell my child's doctors about VAERS and make them file reports or she would not be one of the current statistics in VAERS. Even then, her information has not been entered correctly so I know that VAERS is not what it should be. Please do not let this happen to your child.

As I read these posts I want to S C R E A M! This drug is like a slow death from Arsenic. If your Memory is impaired, it should be. It's listed as one of the side affects right inside the pamphlet that the Pharmacist gets. I have a Pharmacist friend and she read me, muscle pain, joint pain, muscle twitching and on and on. It's poison for sure and anyone on it should get off it ASAP. My husband's been off for one year next week and he still experiences mental sluggishness and cognitive deficits. So much so, he's retired because he could no longer do his job. It creeps in on you slowly, and insidious. When you start to notice, you're scared to say anything or you don't associate it with this drug. Guess what, the only drug he's ever taken. And, oh yeah, lead to depression. This is a centrally active Ace Inhibitor that cross the blood brain barrier and is literally poisoning you. Actually, there is a derivative from a Brazilian Pit Viper. Synthetic or not, it's poison. Get off people, get off. It will eventually affect your memory more and more until you resemble some form of dementia. Maybe that's why so many people are sitting in Nursing Homes with full blow dementia. The disease that caused it are the DRUGS you're taking.
Get off.

wow I thought that everyone really enjoyed the Mirena I know that i do. I actually do not get a period at all just thee occasional spot here an there. I Never got half the side effects that everyone else has gotten on this page..lol so I am thinking that this is another "Med" that has different side effects for everyone boy am I sure thankful that i didn't read some of the articles in this site or I would have never got it!!!! I am 22 a mother of two and my husband and I wanted to wait for a while to have another. Since the Pill didn't do its job and thats how I got baby girl #2 so I turned to the Mirena. Other then the uncomfortable insertion I was fine I bled for a few weeks after I had it put in but I absolutely love it. i have had mine for about a year..In fact a year next month and I AM NOT HAVING MINE REMOVED...lol I just have to say to everyone out there you cant be sure what its like till you give it a try...