Late afternoon symptoms and conditions

Have been on Welchol for IBS for many years. It stopped my IBS symptoms but does cause constipation. I try to eat healthier in order to help with that. About 3 months ago, I began having pain in my fingers. I thought it was probably due to carpal tunnel syndrome. In the last two weeks, the pain intensified and spread to all the knuckles on my hand; I also had swelling and redness. The pain then spread to my toes, the rest of the bones in my feet, wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees, and ankles. Next came stinging and burning and then sporadic numbness. By late afternoon, the fatigue was incredible, and I would become dizzy. I went to the doctor, and he ran every blood test available. Everything came back normal, which was great, but my doctor couldn't pinpoint what was causing my problems. He said none of my medicines would cause such symptoms.

My boss asked me if I was taking any cholesterol medication, and I told her I took Welchol for IBS. She said she had read article upon article connecting cholesterol medication to joint paint and encouraged me to check online to see if I could find any answers. This site was one of the many I found where other people mentioned symptoms very similar to my own. My boss suggested I mention this to my doctor. I was thrilled at the prospect of finding such an "easy" solution since my other medications are not easily replaced.

My doctor instantly said that there was "no way" that Welchol could cause these symptoms since -- as so many of your doctors have told you -- that it is not absorbed into the bloodstream. However, he approved my stopping Welchol as an "experiment". I noticed that many of you mentioned it took a few weeks or more for the symptoms to reduce. My doctor warned me again that this was not the solution and that in a couple days, he wants me to consider taking Neurontin or going on a sedative for stress. He thinks, since all the tests have come back negative, that stress is the real culprit.

I know that stress can cause many health problems, but it just seems too coincidental that so many of you have experienced the same symptoms I'm facing. Do you think I'm making the right decision? My symptoms are difficult to cope with at times, but they are not incapacitating. I would really like to try staying off of Welchol and see if it helps in the weeks to come instead of adding yet another medication to my list.

I would appreciate your advice and thoughts. Thank you for your posts -- they have given me real hope for a solution.

have to agree with Mrsbarrett's post right below mine...I have been a lurker on this board for the past couple of months and thank God for it or who knows how crazy i'd be right now!! Here is a list of my side effects and pertinent information:
DOI: October 2008
Side effects were gradual and most evident around the Christmas Holidays:
Dizziness
Weird eye/vision disturbance where i'd lose focus for a moment and then be okay.
Constant spotting of "old blood" nothing much but did require pantiliners 24/7
Anxiety
Hypertension (more than ever, like when I was pregnant, 150-170s/100)
Panic Attacks
Face Dryness
ZERO SEX DRIVE
No "natural" lubrication, but who cares when you have no drive, are spotting all the time, and it hurts to have sex
Vaginal Odor
Mood Swings
Depression
FATIGUE to the point of wanting to stay in bed despite having to care for my 7.5 year old.
Chest pains (kept thinking maybe I had heart trouble, had cardiac workup that came up PERFECT and bloodwork was perfect, Thyroid test was perfect)
Nausea (morning sickness type, would get slightly better in evening but not so much)
IBS symptoms (diarrhea)

DOR: January 23, 2009
2 days later heavy bleeding for a couple of days.....had somewhat of a "crash" the first week where I was still not better. By the 2nd week post removal I was still nauseated in the morning but improved in the late afternoon and got energy boost in late afternoon.By the 3rd week I was totally back to normal!!!!! (well what's normal for crazy me! hahahahha)

My husband came with me to the doc, and she had no problem with removal. I went back for a follow up this past Friday and she saw how normal I am and that I have lost several pounds as well. She realizes I am extremely sensitive to hormone changes but says i'm the only one that she has seen like that. (how many have problems that don't think it is the Mirena...that's what I want to know???)

Anyway, that's my story and i'm sticking to it!!! If anyone would like to chat or share please let me know. I will also add that I have a Masters in Physician Assistant Studies (just not practicing since becoming a SAHM) and so I looked up tons of information to figure out what was wrong with me, I really am thankful to have found this site....medical mumbo jumbo is NOTHING when you have your body telling you something and all you fine ladies......Thanks again!
~G

I was prescribed Toprol for an irregular heart rhythm (eventually diagnosed as premature ventricular contractions) that developed suddenly when I was 54, despite an active lifestyle, low-normal weight (110), low stress levels, and low blood pressure (100/60). I felt as though my heart was skipping beats, and the "catch-up" beat was so strong my entire chest seemed to vibrate. The Toprol stopped 98 percent of the PACs virtually immediately. But within days I noticed occasional numbness in my legs, and my hands and feet turn icy cold for no obvious reason. I'm also quite tired till late afternoon (I take the Toprol around 10 p.m.), and I just feel "blah." No suicidal, but generally unmotivated. I am often sleepy--at least until around 1 or 2 p.m, when the Toprol starts to wear off. I'm not ready to stop taking it yet--though these reports are sobering--because the PACs made a normal life impossible. But I'm going to be cautious, and if other side effects appear, look for other options.

I have been taking the XR 30s for about 10 months. I get the right eye twitching, but this is just started recently. Also, the crash I experience in the late afternoon when I am coming home from work is unbearable. Before that, I was taking the generic Adderall tablets (they were blue) and they didn't work very well. Before that I was taking the peach Adderall (not XR) a couple a day that amounted to about 30 mgs and tht seem to work the best. I am going to ask my doctor to go back to those I think. You are correct, they do work in helping you to stay focused, but there do seem to be a lot of side effects. I did not get these side effects when I first started on the medicine.

I first posted back in January, after having been on Toprol XL for 7-weeks. It's now been about 8-months and some of the side affects are still there, although lessened. My BP, as of two weeks ago, was 114/68. My pulse averages about 68 BPM, lowest in the AM (as low as 48 at times) and as high as 78 in late afternoon. After hard exercise my pulse will hit 110-120, but rapidly drops to 75 or 80 within 5-minutes.

After taking my dose (25 mg), almost predictably I have weird chest pain and gas in the afternoon and some muscle cramps. The symptoms subside after a few hours. Other than that all other nasty symptoms have gone away. I still have extremely vivid dreams, but most are very interesting and the nightmares are all but non-existent. Here are some things that helped me. 1) Take the Toprol immediately after a meal and with a large quantity of water. 2) Take it at the same time every day. I tried several different times and for me with lunch works best. 3) Try to stick with the brand name. I switched to the generic version ($8.00 vs $39.00) and the side affects worsened. Anyone that says that a generic is equivalent to the "real thing" is full of crap. 4) Meals with a higher fat content seems to lessen the side affects. Not sure why, but I experimented with this and it works for me. I'm not promoting fatty food (I'm not overweight). 5) EXERCISE if you can. Even moderate exercise will help. I work out 30-minutes each day and this has helped tremendously.

I am 30 years old and have been put on Depo Lupron after a laproscopy to help with endometriosis. I am 2 months into a 6 month course (one shot every 3 months) of Depo Lupron and my life has drastically changed. I started feeling life altering hot flashes and night sweats two days after the first shot and nearly drown myself in sweat 24 hours a day. I experienced a little postpardum depression after giving birth 6 years ago but have found myself sunk into a sinking hole of depression and anger like I've never felt before. I bawl at McDonald's commercials and become enraged if the dishwasher isn't loaded properly! I am ecstatic one minute and severely depressed the next. I have even had thought of suicide since being on this shot. I am normally a very outgoing, athletic, cheerful, happy person - but since taking this shot, I have become a stanger in my own head. I tell my family all the time that I need to "go stick my head in the freezer" to cool off because of the horrific hot flashes. I have to carry a handheld fan with me 24 hours a day and sleep with ice packs to keep cool. Since the shot started 2 months ago, I have lost all sexual drive, am thoroughly exhausted by 9am and find myself crying at my desk at work by late afternoon because I am so tired. My family thinks I am going crazy and I've never fought more with my husband. My daughter has gone to grandma's for awhile because I'm just so tired and irritable that I feel like an awful mother. Migraines have also come full circle since the onset of the shot as well as blurred vision and shaky hands. I'm a little achy throughout the as well. I know that everyone responds to medication differently, but I'm finding a lot of people with the same side effects as myself and have to wonder why the doctors don't warn patients about these types of problems before prescribing medications such as Depo Lupron. I don't think I'll be going back for the second shot. Could it get any worse?

I am a 56 year old woman and my doctor started me on 10 mg Lisinopril in March. Within 24 hours of starting it I developed a very annoying cough. At my next doctors visit she told me my bp was not down enough and wanted to increase the dosage. When I asked her if the cough could be from the Lisinopril she gave me some samples of Benecar HCT. The only problem I had with that was muscle weakness and some palpitations that went away after a few days. When I got the prescription filled I found that my insurance didn't cover it and it was quite expensive so I called my doctor back and she wanted me to try the Lisinopril again at 20mg and see what happened. That very same night the cough came back with a vengeance, along with dizziness. I decided to try to tough it out but after ten days now the cough is so bad it's unbearable. It keeps me up at night and I cough till I gag and cry. On several occasions I have coughed until I vomited. I couldn't take it any more and stopped taking it two days ago. I called my doctor today and she told me to stop taking it and now we're going to try Norvasc.

My 70 yr. old mother started taking wellbutrin on March 26 2008. just to quit smoking. 150 mg. in the morning and 150mg. in the late afternoon. she did not quit smoking. I was noticing she was starting to kind of stagger when she walked almost as though she were drunk. and she would shuffle her feet and almost trip over them. keep in mind my mom is a very active, walks everyday very fast and looks 50! On April 17th she woke up in the morning and told me she felt very tired and just wanted to sleep. this worried me because this is not her norm. so I let her sleep. well she kept on sleeping. I went to work..came home and she was still sleeping!! I woke her up and she said she felt very panicky and was shaking very bad. I looked into her eyes and they looked jittery. She even said her left eye was very blurry. something was not right. I took her to the ER. They kept her for 3 days. did every test imaginable. every test came back perfect. no stroke,, NOTHING wrong!! she was sleeping the entire time in the hospital. They released her and said the only thing they could find was a slightly elevated thyroid. we have an appt. for that may 4th. so..as her heart is pounding and she is still very weak and can barely walk..they release her. she comes home and forces herself to walk to regain her strength. still on the wellbutrin. hospital still gave her it because we had no idea that wellbutrin was the problem. she had taken it many years ago and it was fine. she sometimes forgets to take it and she remembered yesterday that she had not taken her wellbutrin for a couple of days. so she took one. a couple of hours after that she began to shake again..her eyes looked weird again. she was very unsteady in her walking. very scared. well. today she is sleeping again. I am on here reading ALL THESE SIDE EFFECTS!!! I told my mom to gradually stop taking this pill!!! I really think this is what is causing all her problems. NO MORE WELLBUTRIN!! I will let you know how she is doing as she gets off this pill.

I have been on it for a lil over a week now for anxiety

The 1st day I had a headache I usually never ever get headaches!!
I still have dry mouth
very tired & also YAWNING attacks sounds funny but I'm dead serious It lasts for maybe an hr once in the morn & also once in the late afternoon I'll yawn like 20-30x my jaw even gets tired but I still feel like I have to yawn more :o

don't know if I'll stay on it I'm hoping the longer I'm on the better the S/E's will get?? I'm on 10mg right now it does seem to be helping somewhat for the anxiety though so we'll see?

In response to all the brain research theories, I just wanted to say that when my son (at age 6) was on Singulair there was a noticeable relationship between food and mood. Although his weight was not affected noticeably he would almost predictably have meltdowns if he skipped a snack or we had dinner late. And I remember that I would do almost anything, including spoon feeding him like a baby, in the morning, knowing that, after a few bites he would become 100x more manageable.

I mention this because even though one could argue that this phenomenon happens with many kids and adults it really was sharply apparent in my son - and of course his behavior was more extreme. Like the mother who mentioned a hypoglycemic-like reaction, I felt that my son's explosive behavior and intolerance at these times quickly improved after eating.

By the way, he has been off more than a year now and does not have this problem any more. Also he is much less lethargic.

I've been yasmin for about 1 1/2 years now (I'm 21). Going to the doctor tomorrow to see if I can switch to something else. I feel horrible. I used to be pretty happy, pretty active. For the past 4 months I've been depressed. anxious, paranoid, upset, and it just keeps getting worse and worse. At first maybe I thought I was just having mental stress. But I feel bad for my boyfriend now. I've been very down and hard on myself, and I just can't stop. I thought I would be able to control it, but it doesn't work that way. I know it's yasmin because it was something that finally clicked. I also noticed that my hair as thinned out a lot in the past year.

I was taking Dipyridamole with Simvastatin and suffered extreme headache and vomiting.Thought it was Simvastatin that was the cause and stopped taking it.The headache increased until I was crying with pain.Admitted into casualty at High Wycombe.In hospital from early hours Sunday morning to late afternoon Tuesday 5th February 2008

A couple of days after switching from Wellbutrin XL (which was effective for me, with no side effects) to Budeprion XL, I began to experience feelings of panic, a choking-like tightness in my throat/neck area, and extreme tension throughout my shoulders and neck. (I have never had a panic attack before.) My doctor said that my symptoms sounded like anxiety. Neither of us made the connection to the recent switch from Wellbutrin to Budeprion. These Budeprion XL side effects began each day in the late afternoon and continued for at least two hours, sometimes longer. Nothing relieved them. I tried relaxation breathing, yoga, meditation, and even Ativan! After several days of this torture, in desperation for some relief from the panic/tightness/tension, I drank a glass of wine when the symptoms set in. The symptoms grew even more severe. It finally occurred to me that the Budeprion might be the source of this frightening problem, and I insisted on being switched back to the Wellbutrin. Ta-da. No more freaking afternoon attacks. A few months later, while experiencing some lower back pain, I took a Budeprion by accident (I found a single tablet in my desk drawer and I mistook it for a codeine-based pain tablet that has a similar appearance...I know--a dumb thing to do!) Hours later, the original side effects returned: extreme panic with neck/shoulder tightness and tension. I have not taken Budeprion since that day (about three months ago), and I have never again experienced those side effects (or any similar symptoms). The name brand Wellbutrin XL is working effectively for me, with no side effects. Because of these experiences, I am convinced that Budeprion XL's contents (or composition) are very different from those of Wellbutrin XL. They may or may not have the same chemical formula, but they certainly do not react the same way in my body.

Thank god for the internet-I don't know what I would have done if I had to feel the way I did from taking Yasmin any longer without knowing why. I took Yasmin for two months. In the third week of my second month I suffered from severe anxiety and panic attacks along with irrational fears and obsessing on random thoughts that wouldn't normally bother me. When I would somewhat calm down, I would then feel so depresses because I didn't know why I just couldn't go back to feeling like myself. I am a worry-er, I admit, but never to this extreme. I was so nervous, I had no appetite and the anxiety really began to take its toll on me physically. Now that I look back on it, I was more nervous than usual in my first month, I have lost my sex drive, I have had small dizzy spells and blurred vision, random pains in my left lower abdomen area, but I never put these all together. When I found not only this website, but tons others with women writing about all of these side effects, I already started feeling like myself again. It's been 4 days off the pill and I still get a little anxious, but nothing like it was last week. I can't wait for this stuff to get out of my system. I did take the pill at 7:45 every night and I do notice I'm more nervous in the morning when I get up and by late afternoon, I start to relax and feel more like myself. Synthetic hormones are not natural and I really feel like we shouldn't put this stuff in our bodies. We are messing with scary stuff. God only knows what would have happened if I had to endure any more of that physical and mental pain!

When I first stated the pill I was experiencing weird eating habits. I would feel incredibly hungry, but when I attempted to eat I could only eat about 3 bites. I had no appetite until the late afternoon when the hunger would strike. Along with this, I'd wake up with nausea, and sometimes would vomit. That lasted about two weeks in.

About a week into starting the pill I started to have a bit of spotting for about two and a half weeks. I didn't know that that was normal, so I went to the hospital. Come to find out that I had developed bacterial vaginosis.
That's caused from having un-protected sex, however having un-protected sex was nothing new when starting the pill. Perhaps the pill could have some effect.

I am now on the un-active pills of my very first pack and things are normal. Tonight was my first time taking the placebos, so I wont know how they go. I stopped spotting about two weeks ago. However, is it okay to not take the active pills every night on the exact hour? Sometimes I forget, leaving about a 3 hour max delay every once in awhile? For example, I've arranged to take them every night at 10:00 P.M, and one night I forgot and took it at about 1:30 A.M. I mean, is that little bit of time going to have a significant interruption with the pills process?

I've been on it since last July and take 3- 75 mg a day. I take one late afternoon around 4pm and 2 at bed around 10 pm. After having terrible pain down both legs and lower back pain for the last 20 years it has been so good not to have that pain everyday. I have gained 10 lbs and that is the worse side effect I've had that's been long term. At first I felt drunk and could hardly walk but after a couple of weeks all that went away. I sleep so much better and have a lot more energy than I've had for years. I love this drug except for the weight gain. Guess I'll have to use the treadmill more often!

September 30, 2007
I took Flomax for three weeks and stopped using it due to its side effects that were totally unacceptable. After my first week of use, I experienced significant back pain over the lower left and right side of my back. The pain would linger throughout the day and dissipated by late afternoon. I also experienced a subtle chest pain along with significant joint pain in each elbow. The elbow joint pain lasted well into the afternoon too. The subtle chest pain would disappear by Noon. What really concerned me was a general weakness in my arms, hands and legs. I couldn't grip, push or pull as I could before, and my legs felt weaker when exercising. In fact, my right arm (I'm right handed) felt much like a limb just "waking up from being asleep". I did not have a tingling sensation, but a heaviness and weakness that was a great concern to me. The urinary flow with Flomax was not great, but OK. After the first week, my doctor wanted me to take two 0.4mg Flomax tablets. I tried two tablets for two days. Two 0.4mg Flomax tablets doubled the intensity of my side effects. I immediately went back to taking one 0.4mg Flomax tablet. I stopped using Flomax after 21 days. Enough was enough. For me, as a 59 year old man, this drug caused more pain than help. I am now on Terazosin and this seems to be working out OK.

I was born without a thyroid gland so I can't compare the way I feel now to the way I would've felt with a thyroid. I've been on Synthroid my entire life (22 years), and I'm up to 112 mcg now. I am very skinny (5'5", 104 lbs) and feel constantly fatigued no matter how many hours I sleep, what I eat, and how much exercise I get. I periodically get pain in my hip joints, heart palpitations, and intense mood swings. My thoughts race but I have very little physical energy. I feel restless and gloomy almost all the time for absolutely no good reason. My doctor tells me I'm depressed but I honestly have no reason to be depressed and I wish she would see it as a symptom instead of a diagnosis. I graduated from a good college, I've got a job I like, I have friends, I enjoy life and my hobbies, yet I feel overwhelmingly sad. This does not seem like depression to me.

I find that after I do aerobics I get a tightness in my chest, which makes me worry about my heart, but again my doctor doesn't seem to think this is cause for concern. I have been irritable/fatigued for YEARS and I suspect I'll feel this way for the rest of my life. The worst of it started when I hit 16 years old and started the 112 mcg. My tests are always normal and it frustrates me that my doctor disregards my symptoms. I've tried other doctors, but they always send me away with my 'normal' test results. Can anybody help?

When I first started taking Adderall, it seemed amazing. I had no problems with it at first, except for coming home after school and falling asleep, but it didn't bother me much. After I had taken it for a few months I started to get severe crashes in the late afternoon. It was like, when I was on Adderall I was awake, happy, confident and outgoing, then I would come down from it and be the exact opposite. I would experience things like feeling very depressed and abandoned randomly and I was often the downer of the whole group, putting everyone in a bad mood. I started getting upset with my best friend for the littlest things and feeling like she had suddenly turned her back on her good friends.
Looking back now, I realize how rediculous and off-base my fears and insecurities were. After a while, I was just pushing my friends away by feeling unloved. That's the thing, Adderall takes away your ability to feel natural love, success, happiness, energy, and motivation. It puts up a block in your mind from the real world. Nothing you feel is real anymore.
I stopped taking it completely one day. I realized how much it had destroyed my life. Stopping was hard, but worth it. I remember the first time after stopping that I actually felt happy and tired at the same time. When I did Adderall, the feeling of being tired was tied to coming down from the drug, so I lost the ability to be tired and happy, because tired meant unhappiness was coming.
Unfortunately, I had to recently start taking it again, for it was the only thing I could think of to help me with school. With about four weeks of school left I'm currently facing four failing grades out of six classes. So far it has been extremely hard, and I still despise this drug. This will be the most challenging next couple of weeks I will have ever experienced, but I have to.
I can tell you that I can't wait for summer vacation when I can rid this of my life forever. Even though the high still makes me feel unbreakably energetic and happy, I know that this happiness is not nearly as good as real life happiness. I'm just lucky I have some amazing friends to stick by me this time, so that when I come out of this in four weeks, I wont come back to a life abandoned by the people I pushed away unknowingly. I can't wait for the day that I can actually live and feel my own life, and my own happiness.

I have taken short courses of trimethoprim in the past with no obvious problems but this time was prescribed a longer course of tablets. In my case it was the effects on mood which were most scary, although after five days (-having just discovered this site and decided to stop taking the drug early) I have a very sensitive mouth and tongue- and have also experienced a feeling of fullness and congestion in my sinuses and throat similar to that described by others. The effects on mood were unpredictable but occurred about an hour after taking the morning does and seemed to then wane by the late afternoon. I had feelings of aggression (road rage) anxiety and paranoia. I developed the shakes and cried. I also felt generally depressed for the first time in my life and as though I could not be bothered to do anything. I didnt mention this to my GP when I went for a check up as I thought it sounded ridiculous but will call him asap to report what I experienced and also what I have read on this site.

My 16 year old daughter is taking Topamax (50 mg. in the a.m.) along with 15 mg. of Adderall as a mood stabilizer because the Adderall makes her agitated. The Topamax made her even more aggitated and guess what? The doctor increased the Topamax to an additional 25 mg. in the late afternoon and told me I need to try this for two weeks. Now my daughter has a "meltdown" every 15 minutes and can get quite violent. Topamax worked well on her before puberty, since then, it's a nightmare!

Can this drug cause a rash on my shin?

I am a 69 year old female and have always been in good health and very active. I have been taking Lipitor for years and the side effects have been gradual. After my daughter gave me an article on the side effects of Lipitor, I could not believe what I was reading. I have so many of the same side effects that are in the article -- weakness in arms and legs, dizzy most days till late afternoon, my hands have become shakey and I recently have been falling a lot. My hand writing is getting worse and I can't seem to remember things. I have bad pain in neck and back and I feel fatigued almost all the time. I don't enjoy doing things I used to do as I just do not seem to have any energy. If I had my way, I would stay in bed most of the day. People that have know me for awhile say that I have not been the same person for awhile. I have an appointment with my doctor and plan on discussing all of this with her.

I've been on Lamictal for 3 years after a brain tumor removal. I was intially on Dilantin but the side effects made me crazy. My face constantly tingled and was numb, I couldn't speak well and the dizziness was debilitating. My neuro put me on Lamictal. I started off at 100mg, once in the morning and once at night, and had another seizure. I finally figured out I was having my seizures in the late afternoon and deduced the drug was wearing off around that time. My neuro put me on 150mg 2x a day and 100mg at lunch time. I've had no seizures for 2 years and 3 months so I think we have the dosage problem licked. However, I am really dizzy in the late afternoon and if I get excited like when I'm at a party. Shopping makes it much worse and I think that is due to moving my eyes around so much. Grocery shopping can be a tough task. I don't slur my words but I frequently cannot 'find' the right word. I'm slower in everything. I cannot take a walk looking at the horizon because I lose my balance and get dizzy again. Sometimes my head tingles. Heat makes it worse and when I get hot flashes (yes, I'm over 50) makes the dizzy much worse. Sometimes my fingers don't automatically go to the home key on the computer keyboard. I have to really concentrate on things that used to be automatic, like knowing a stop light is red. I used to be able to 'see' that and react appropriately. Now I have to concentrate on those red lights so it is irritating. I feel like I'm getting old. However, I will stay on this medication. It works and though the side effects are tough to live with, I'd rather stay on a med that I know works, rather than try one that might work. I lose my driver's license every time I have a seizure. I guess that is the worst side effect :-( I'm hunting for something to combat the dizziness and am using mybraintrainer.com to see if brain training exercises will help me become faster again. It can't hurt and so far I've had a little bit of success. I'll just keep going.

I was perscribed this medication for a bacterial infection. I have only been on doxycycline for 3 days (1 dose of 100 mg in the AM and another in the PM) and each morning with or without food I am nausiated until late afternoon. I have also experienced a loss of appetite, headaches, acid reflux, and severe hot flashes. The doc says to keep taking as perscribed unless my side effects get much worse. I can't wait until I am normal again!