Journals symptoms and conditions

Wow! My husband and I have thought recently maybe I should stop using Zyrtec. Maybe it is causing my lethargy, weight gain, difficulty sleeping, inability to work for more than an hour doing anything, intense hunger. I have taken Zyrtec year round for several years since living in Santa Fe where I developed bad allergies. There I took it in conjunction with Nasonex. After leaving there I couldn't afford it so I switched to day hist but I started sneezing and had an itchy nose constantly. Sinus infections also. So I started Zyrtec full time a few years ago. I can't lose weight to save my life and have no energy. Depression-yes. I would never have thought I would experience that. My journals are full of it. But I thought it all was because of "the change" because I was under the impression there weren't any side effects. But I am all organic and still struggling with trying not to gain anymore weight. I have a terrible time just trying to clean one room without feeling wasted! I don't look forward to stopping but I have got to see if this is affecting me this way, Thanks to all. I want me back!

I took Yaz for a month and the whole time I suffered from urinary tract infections. After taking 4 different antibiotics and having my doctor say that the cause could not be the birth control pill I decided to discontinue. I'm lucky to be a researcher and have access to journals and research information that helped me figure out that it was, in fact, the pill. Doctors do not know anything and I lived in HELL for a month because of yaz with people treating me as if I'm crazy because they would not admit it was the pill. Their only suggestions was to see a urologist. As I imagined, once I stopped taking the pill the uti symptoms went away. THIS PILL AND THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM INCLUDING DOCTORS THAT CAN NEVER BE REACHED SUCKS. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA HAS THE WORST HEALTH CARE AND THEY TREAT PATIENTS LIKE CATTLE. YAZ is a horrible drug that is overrated.

AP
Medical schools, journals fight industry influence

Go to this article just released by the AP. ......YAHOOO they may be listening keep fighting

I am a 72 year old white female who has been on Fosamax over 5 years for osteoporosis which runs in my family. In December, I had severe discomfort in the thigh area of my right leg. X-rays ordered by my GP showed nothing. Sent me to orthopedic surgeon whose x-rays also showed nothing. He ordered bone dye test which showed stress fractures of BOTH femurs. No one, NOT EVEN THE ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON, could figure out how it happened since I had not fallen or had other trauma. When I began to do my own research, I found answers to other problems I had been experiencing, for which no one had answers.....bone and muscle pain, hair loss, depression. I realize doctors are overwhelmed with info but I am especially disappointed in the orth. surgeon who should have known this was a possibility since the study came out in The Orthopedic Journal. As I continued my research, I find that women have been experiencing these side effects for years. I was previously very active and a dedicated walker, but this has robbed me of my confidence since I fear breaking other bones. The femur is the largest and strongest bone in the body and if I broke both of those with no trauma, what else could happen? I want to get the word out to women but am not sure the best vehicle for that. Any suggestions? There are Fosamax lawyers anxious to jump on this but I am more interested in spreading the word, not litigation, however I think there are possibly many unreported cases of the Fosamax side effects just because people don't know where to turn.

Effective after two weeks for some people - not effective for others. Side effects for some people - others do not report side effects. So why does Merck have to grow their market before they have any idea what's going on?

This isn't a big group of people in the study but it makes sense from what we are reading here. These researchers did examine the mast cells. We need to know about mast cells (while suppressed by montelukast) on a longer term basis.

J Asthma. 2008 Apr;45(3):243-50. Links
The efficacy of montelukast and airway mast cell profiles in patients with cough variant asthma.Kawai S, Baba K, Matsubara A, Shiono H, Okada T, Yamaguchi E.
Division of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Department of Internal Medicine, Aichi Medical University School of Medicine, Aichi, Japan.

Background. Cough variant asthma (CVA) is characterized by chronic cough without apparent wheezing; its pathophysiology is considered to be similar to that of classic asthma. Objective. The clinical effects of montelukast, a cysteinyl-leukotriene receptor antagonist, on cough variant asthma were assessed, and the activation profile of airway mast cells was examined. Methods. Montelukast (10 mg/day) was given orally to 36 CVA patients (25 women and 11 men; median age, 37.5 years). Before treatment, the patients' bronchial mucosa underwent a biopsy with a fiberoptic bronchoscope. The biopsy specimens were double stained with anti-CD63 antibody and anti-human tryptase antibody. Results. After 2 weeks of montelukast treatment, cough symptoms improved in 22 patients (the effective group) but did not improve in 14 patients (the ineffective group); in the ineffective group, the symptoms disappeared 2 weeks after they were switched to fluticasone propionate (400 mug/day) inhalation therapy. In the effective group, the time interval from the onset of symptoms to the initiation of treatment was significantly shorter than in the ineffective group. The bronchial mucosa biopsy specimens showed that the proportion of CD63-positive cells in tryptase-positive mast cells was significantly higher in the effective group than in the ineffective group; although the total numbers of mast cells were not different between the two groups. Conclusion. There is a subgroup of CVA patients in whom leukotrienes are closely involved in the pathogenesis of their chronic cough; activation of airway mast cells may be an essential feature in these patients.

PMID: 18415834

I have already posted on Friday about my granddaughter. But I want to say that with all of the stories about Singulair being so similar and so heartbreaking that organization is the key. Merck and the FDA are so closely allied that the truth may never come out in scientific terms.I an only hope that with the deaths that have occurred and forced this out into the open that parents and children who have been so scammed and victimized will have a voice. Nothing is worse than harming a child and these companies knew about these side effects(by their own admission) but marketed them to the doctors and the public anyway. How is it that a few doctors knew the dangers and others didn't? That's bizarre, unless most doctors get rewards from the drug reps for prescribing this drug. Did the reps tell them , "Oh it works great on allergies but turns your 9 year-old into a sad, depressed, suicidal and bipolar child?" Even if they didn't there's enough knowledge out there given to doctors at conferences, journals, etc to inform them. That's their job. I am writing to the governor, my congressman, my Senator every day until they hold hearings on what us parents and our poor children have been through with this drug. Please do the same.It may fall on deaf ears but it's a small price to pay for the damage this drug has done.

I have been taking Lipitor 20 mg for 4 months. Six to eight weeks ago I developed exema, allergic conjunctivitis and burning/swelling of my lips. I saw a PA at my doctor's office today and we are stopping Lipitor for 10 days to see if it is the culprit. Has anyone else experienced these problems while taking Lipitor?