Leg muscle symptoms and conditions

Been taking Lotrel (at least 5 years), then generic without connecting the dots. Constant back pain, easly fatigued, leg muscle soreness, occasionally a swelling in the inside of the mouth over a couple of days until a layer of skin flakes off and goes away (to return many weeks later), light spotted rash on topside of forearms, muscle weakness in arms with arms elevated, definite loss of sex drive, no endurance, easily prone to heavy sweating, back muscles extremely tight and rigid causing pains when exerting with repeated constant motion, blood work showing muscle damage, possible short term memory issues and ability to concentrate, periods of times with the feeling of constrictions on the body compared to a inflated balloon walls stressed with pressure. Exercise (walking) causes a drop in blood pressure to normal (110-125/68-84) compared to 140/90+/-.

First of all, a big thanks to all of you who have shared your experiences. I am a biochemist, with a background in pharmaceutical research...I chose the Mirena IUD after careful consideration of it's active ingredient, Levonorgestrel. The side effect profile seemed pretty acceptable...until I started to experience nearly ALL of them...I am 33 years old and had the Mirena IUD placed in October of 2008 after the birth of my second child in June of 2008. The initial reaction was to be expected...cramping, a little spotting etc...nothing to be alarmed about. I still have yet to have a period (which I really don't miss so no problem there) I never gave a second thought to this until now...for the past month or so (coinciding with the weening process, since I have been nursing the entire time, I believe the side effects were not as noticeable) I have been experiencing the following (that may or may not be related to Mirena as my OBGYN has so adamantly pointed out, but after reviewing your posts I'm willing to bet they're connected) and are in order of occurrence: Major, but temporary, hair loss after 2 months or so; Major respiratory infection lingering over a month with difficulty breathing, tightness and pain in the chest at around 6 mos; And in the past month, several instances of motion-like sickness/ nausea, dizziness, blurred vision, major impatience/ mood swings, loss of appetite (pregnancy-like symptoms...yep, I was thinking man I'd be pretty pissed if I was that 0.01% pregnant statistic), and as of this past weekend, my first aurora migraine with tunnel vision and serious nausea and vomiting, to the point where I went to Urgent Care...who referred me to the ER...who wants to perform a battery of tests including a head CT. I have an appointment with a trusted GP tomorrow to discuss possible root causes...but it is to coincidental that so many women are experiencing these same symptoms! I am certainly leaning towards having this removed. CAN THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE HAD THIS REMOVED PLEASE RESPOND IF YOUR SYMPTOMS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED OR WERE RESOLVED!!! THANK YOU!
These side effects seem to go well beyond a 5% rate of incidence according to all of you who have reported. I will investigate further and keep everyone posted. As someone who is highly experienced in the pharmaceutical industry, you bet your a$$ I'm going to get to the bottom of this! Good luck ladies!

Hi all! Well I got my mirena taken out on Wednesday. The Dr. was very sweet I told her my symptoms and she said lets take this out then! While she was down there she said " Hmm I'm going to look at a swab under the scope." She came back in and said that the mirena gave me a bad infection! I had to take some strong one time antibiotic that killed my stomach! I can't wait to start to feel better. I did notice I can see a lot better then I did, no more blurry eyes. The last 3 1/2 years have been utter hell for me. I've been in and out of different Dr. offices not finding anything. I was dizzy all the time, I started out small after I delivered my baby and gained 60 lbs since it was put in. I had a shooting pain on my right side, horrible anxiety attacks, blurred vision, fuzzy mind, head aches, ovarian cysts, lower back pain and bloated belly. I am so relieved I got this disgusting thing out of my body!!! I hope my life will go back to normal now.

I am a 65-year-old female. I was given Lipitor 10mg in Feb 07, which I appeared to tolerate, with the effect of reducing my high familial cholesterol. Because of a genetic enzyme problem, I am careful about my diet; having been a vegetarian for decades. I don’t smoke, and rarely have wine. By May that year my GP increased the dose to 20mg., but days later I was sent to A + E with cardiac concerns. The hospital adamant it had nothing to do with Lipitor.

By mid 2008 I told my GP of dizzy spells, and loss of balance, also swallowing difficulties, but after liver function tests I was reassured it couldn’t possibly be Lipitor.

Early October 08, saw me in hospital with a ‘stroke’, although the CAT scan and MRI were puzzling. I was sent home with no help or guidance after the Consultant insisted Lipitor was not a problem, and I should not reduce it, as it was already a very low dose. Unable to walk to the end of my street, my calf muscles feeling as though I’d run a marathon, and experiencing cardiac stress. Severe neck and shoulder pains, and confusion with words. Frequent muscle spasms in my feet, legs and hands, etc. etc. No energy for anything, and so difficult coping - living alone. End of Dec. a friend from out of town visited, and was alarmed, as she’d researched a web site for her brother, who was using a walking frame. I was astounded at the reports from users of Lipitor, so many suffering in the same way. Although my GP had arranged more laboratory tests for me, I was not prepared to wait.

On 6th January 2009, (almost 2 years later) I reduced my dosage to 10mg., and within days was experiencing improvement in many areas. By 17th January, I reduced to 5mg., (maybe a little hasty) and by 24th stopped it. By 28th my GP could see for himself, the considerable improvement generally, with a lower blood pressure reading.

By then, I could complete half, of what used to be my regular walking regime. To date, I am able to cover more than that, and hope I will eventually be able to cover the full distance. I’m hoping there will be no lasting damage, but am so thankful that my friend found this website. Its scary to think I had no quality of life, and doubt I would have survived more Lipitor. So I’m taking my chances with high cholesterol, and a near normal life.

M.

New Zealand

Wow! I must be the latest in a long line of Lipitor users and apparently pain sufferers. I have been on Lipitor for over a year. I am 56 years old, active and healthy (thank God). Around November 2008, I noticed a "twinge" in my left hip while sleeping. This has gotten progressively worse over the months and I thought it was due to arthritis (which runs in my family). But after reading these blogs, I am not so sure. If anyone has anything definitive regarding this, ie: tests, studies, etc., I would really appreciate a point in the right direction for more information. I was thinking (until today) that I was headed for hip surgery or something equally drastic. Now that I have a clue that it may be the Lipitor, I want to investigate further and then, if necessary, change to another medication that won't break me down like this. My heart goes out to anyone that has suffered through hip pain. It is a miserable, painful condition that saps your energy and your desire to even move sometimes. I appreciate any help you can offer. God bless all of you. - L. B. ******

1. Blood Pressure 180/120 resulting in an emergency room trip
2. Weight gain of 25 POUNDS! Most/all of which was water and came off within the first week of being off from Yasmin.
3. Bloating and extreme water retention. See # 2.
4. Severe leg muscle cramping and foot pain
5. A mental feeling of not caring and general fogginess
6. Complete loss of libido
7. Acid reflux (probably from the diuretic in Yasmin)
8. General weakness in my muscles (there were times that I could barely open a revolving door).

I was on Yasmin for a year. I have been off for one month. I am still on blood pressure meds, but they don't think the Yasmin is out of my system. Has anyone else gotten hypertension from Yasmin and if so, how long did you have to be on blood pressure meds?

Some of my symptoms are getting better after a month, and some are not. If anyone is reading this to decide whether or not to take Yasmin, please don't. You may not have any symptoms right away and you may think you feel great, but that is the scariest part. When symptoms come on gradually, you hardly notice them until you are in the hospital emergency room.

I am actually crying as I had no idea what was wrong with me. I have been on Lisionopril now for about 5 years at 40 mg/day.
During those five years I have been fatigued, suffered with GERD, dry cough. Of course my doc said to lose weight.
Last month I went on a diet and all hell broke loose. I lost 25 lbs and I don't know if the weight loss released all of those Lisionopril toxins or what but here goes:
Fatique, weakness, arm and leg muscle pain, absolutely no sex drive, rib cage pain, back pain, perceived shortness of breath. Heart palpitations, dry cough with mucus. I have a lump in my throat. It got so bad I went to the ER , they drew labs and my BP was elevated. They added labetalol to the lisinopril. I came across this site and I called my doctor and I told him that I wasn't taking lisinopril anymore. I feel as if I am having a slow death. I cant function, I cant work, I am panicky and nervous.
He said to monitor my pressure with 2x/day with the Labetalol.

I was on the maximum dose and I wonder how long will it take for this poison to leave my body. I can't believe what this medicine is made from. I am more than willing to lose weight and do anything to stop taking these poisons. I would love to hear your experiences. I need all the support that I can get.

I just don't understand the sudden exacerbation of all of the symptoms unless it is the weight loss. But my BP never went down even with the weight loss.

I have been on Lipitor for about 4 years. Now I have an arthritic right knee and the left knee has a little bit of arthritis. My arthritis started getting really bad in both legs my left leg was just as bad as my right leg. Muscle pain was tremendous and getting up and down stairs. furniture, and the car. Then the day before Memorial Day I could hardly move, I thought I was losing both my legs. I could only walk a little bit. No energy. I too had blurred vision with this drug but the doctor said that it probably was just my diabetes. I hurt from the shoulders all the way down to the ankles..It felt like every muscle group was involved. Earlier this year the doctor put my Lipitor up to 40 mg from 20 mg even through my ldl was only 93. My last ldl was 67. The doctors say your cholesterol cannot go to low but I am wondering with all the side affedts I had. I took myself off Lipitor on Memorial Day this year and I feel better. The pain is gone except for the arithritic pain but it is not as bad as what it was on Lipitor. Soo I am done with statins I will lose weight and exercise.

I had a Kenalog injection on March 24, 2008. It was given to me for allergy, hay fever problems. I am now experiencing constant leg muscle pain and leg and feet cramping. I truly feel this is from the Kenalog. Can someone tell me how long these injections last in your system? I am miserable and would never get this again.
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I was put on Yaz (same as Yasmin but with a smaller estrogen dose) due to irregular periods and a presumed hormonal imbalance. That was in September '07. Four month later, on Jan 1, '08, I went to the ER with breathing difficulties, and weakness in my arms and legs. I had been having muscle cramps/ charley horses in my right calf, but that was the only other health problem I had experienced. I thought I was having an asthma attack. So did the ER - at first. After I did not respond to the breathing treatments, and I became completely out of breath and exhausted after walking across the hall to the restroom, the ER doc checked my D-Dimer level to see if I was at risk for blood clots. He said if it came back over 500, he would have to do further testing for clots. It came back 4500!! I was sent immediately down for a CT Scan which showed mulitple clots in both lungs, mostly small, but several of significant size. I was immediately put on oxygen and a heart monitor, and an IV drip of heparin was started. I was in the hospital for 4 days, had to learn to give myself shots of Lovenol in my stomach until my pill form of blood thinner had time to kick in. I am now taking Coumadin blood thinner every day until July, when my D-Dimer will be checked again. Depending on the results, I may come off the Coumadin, or I may have to commit to it for 3 years. However, I was tested for all the hereditary blood clotting disorders and all came back negative, so my doctor feels as though the cause has to be the YAZ! Everyone tells me I was very lucky and that I could have easily died, especially when I was just thinking I was having an asthma attack and put off going to the ER for a few days. If you are taking Yaz or Yasmin, and you begin to have difficulty breathing, any kind of leg cramps, weakness, or tightness in your chest (I had also been having severe heart burn) - go have yourself checked out!!!!!

I am a 55 year old male. I have been on 40mg of Lipitor for 2 years after having a stent put into my heart. About 6 years ago I was on 20mg ov Lescol for a year but I stopped taking it because my knees became very weak and I could not walk up stairs without holding on. I am now experiencing severe lower back pain down into my left buttock, leg muscle and knee weakness, and I also have mild depression or a lack of motivation may be a better term. I am going to stop taking the statins and see if I have any improvement. Several years ago, when I stopped taking Lescol, my knee weakness and pain did not improve. Through research on the internet I discovered that some symptoms do not improve by stopping the medication. My goal now is to ensure it does not get any worse.

I am a 49 year old women, who has been taking Lipitor 10mg for about 2 years at first I was told by my Pharmacist to take before going to bed because this is when the cholesterol is released in our body's. I also took synthroid for a thyroid condition,& Blood pressure medicine, but always took these in the morning, so at first I would forget to take the Lipitor on a regular bases. I am being helped with my prescriptions by a program that sends me my medications directly from the Pharmaceutical companies at no charge to me. I was receiving 3months worth at a time and the were piling up so I thought I really should take these regularly since heart disease runs in our family. In these past 2 years I have been experiencing progressive muscle weakness ,restless legs and feet at night so much that I can't sleep I toss a urn so much I most of the time cannot sleep in the same bed as my husband. in this last 8 months things have gotten so bad I know something is not right I have been going to Dr. having x-ray MRI, P.T, I have told my Doctor my pain is gotten to the point that I needed something strong for pain because I have to work to survive and it was getting to the point the every movement I made was very Painful almost like a deep burning pain. I am now getting spasms in almost every major muscle in my body.At night I gett cramps in my legs and feet that seem to move all over my leg muscle with the painful "cramps " I have ever experienced and they are brought on by just the muscle strength it takes to turn in your bed, they always last for 20min. or more. I work as a nursing assistant for an 84 year old women who has Parkinson's Disease I take her to all of her P.T appointment and exercises along side of her she is 84 and I can only lift 10lbs more than her we joke about it to the effect that she is doing great, but in reality I am the one who isn"t doing so well.The past 4months I have been looking for answers myself because I am in pain 24/7and I know that just because I'm turning 50 next month doesn't mean I should have less strength the the 84 year old I care for daily, These past 2 weeks I have started experiencing extreme nausea and stomach and back muscles going into spasms. drinking fluids are what always are coming back up and since I sweat a lot when showering my patients, I have been starting to see signs of dehydration and being very thirsty if I don't sip it it has been coming right back up my appetite is also decreasing because of the nausea. I am so thankful I found this website. Because I do not need any more proof to know that I have a least 90% of the symptoms other have explained I am quiting Lipitor immediately. Good Luck to everyone taking this medication.

I have been on synthroid for about 6 months now. Some of the side effects I have been experiencing are numerous.I have hair loss, sometimes I get so ill that no one can stand to be around me, my weight has gone up about 30 pounds, my cholesterol levels went sky high so now I'm taking Crestor, I'm bloated most times, I have episodes where my face flushes and gets so red that it feels like its on fire, and now I've just started experiencing burning and aching of the legs, I'm tired a lot too! My doctor said I would lose the weight but every time I go for check ups and get on the scale it just keeps going up. I would like to know if anyone else out there is experiencing the burning and achy legs because I have been tested for everything and they can't find out what is going on. They of course say it's not the medication.It seems to never be. Does anyone feel me??

I am in tears reading everyone's Lipitor experiences because I can relate to so much of what you all are saying. I am a 48 year old female. Was on Lipitor for a little over a year, and stopped taking it about 6 weeks ago. My symptoms included excruciating neck and arm pain, leg muscle pain, knee pain, tingling arms and elbows, hip pain. I blamed my neck problems on a previous injury. I did chiropractic treatment, acupuncture, massage. All helped temporarily, but it always came back. I assumed it was something I would have to live with for the rest of my life.

Then i started having the strange leg muscle pain. It felt like a Charlie horse but in weird spots like my ankles, my shin as well as my calves. Then the knee pain started. I can not sit any length of time without my knee aching. I also have a hitch in my hip...I guess that's what you'd call it. I feel pain when I walk, but can usually walk through it. I was also tired all the time, day after day. Sleeping was miserable because of the neck, knee and hip pain. In combination with the tiredness and the aches and pains, I thought I was just getting old, maybe arthritic!! And this from someone who has always been active....walking, weight lifting, always on the go.

I started getting suspicious when I started listening to the Lipitor commercials on TV that stated "...report any muscle pain or weakness to your doctor as this may be a sign of a rare, but serious side effect..." or something like that. Maybe that's a new "warning" that they didn't use to say on the commercial? Well, I went off of it on my own and I could not believe how much better I felt after only a few days!!! My chronic neck pain has basically disappeared...I still don't have full movement like normal folk but the pain is gone! I have so much more energy, and my leg cramps are gone. I still have a problem with my hip and knee.

Since being off Lipitor, my cholesterol has gone sky high....actually higher than when I first started! My total cholesterol began a little over a year ago at 247, got it down to 190, now after being off the Lipitor for 4 weeks it's a whopping 298!!! My ldl started at 162, got down to 128 and is now 206!!!!

So in addition to all the problems I had being on the Lipitor, it appears going off of it has worsened by cholesterol!!

I am now taking ground flax seed - 2 T daily. I am also going to try cholesterol Off by Nature Made. I will NEVER subject my body and spirit to statins again.

I thank all of you for posting your problems with Lipitor. I wish you all luck, and maybe we'll get to meet each other someday....in court.

I am using Zocor 20 mg once day for the past 2 years. I am exercising regularly and seem to have no problem there. I often have leg muscle twitching in the evenings/nights that I am pretty sure is due to the medication.
Furthermore, recently I have a pain in my right ankle/calf when walking, that feels like a stretched or torn muscle or tendon, but there is no external redness or heat or swelling. I suspect it is due to Zocor as well.
Finally, I have nightly shoulder tenderness that might be due to the durg.
All symptoms started within the past 2 years.

On Lisinopril 20-25mg twice a day for more than 2 months: suddenly out of no where, continuous leg muscle and joint pain, severe libido suppression, joint pain and stiffness, etc.

WHY IS THIS DRUG STILL ONTHE MARKET???? My wife is in severe pain after taking just 2 days worth of 750 Levaquin. Fear of dying, legs trembling, vomitting, hips and back pain, headaches, and severe stomach pains! Does anyone know how long this willl last? It has already been 3 days since she stopped taking the pills! DO NOT TAKE THIS PILL!!!

In France I was very fit and active and supple. Just before I left in May 1980 to emigrate to Canada I had a stomach infection that was treated with cipro antibiotic by my Dr in France. I finished them in Canada in my first two days. In France I became very hot and ‘spaced out’ when I began the medication, ached like mad and went to bed for a day (very unusual). I thought it was the infection. On the plane and in Canada I felt like a zombie and ached for some years. 27 year later I find that it was almost certainly a reaction to a drug. Since that time I have often been prescribed cipro for a bad prostate starting in 1985, when I had an operation. It took years of working out and exercsing to get fit - but always ached. Since the 1985 operation my prostate has played up a lot and I have been prescribed cipro many times. I thought that reactions to look out for were a bad tum. I have had progressively worse muscle pains and have had to work out more to keep things under control. I had not realized these drugs can effect the brain and also cause muscles to rupture, as well as causing terrible leg and other body part aches. This year in February in USA I was prescribed Levaquin a member of the same drug family (fluoroquinolones). On way back I was unusually stiff in the car and had headaches and could hardly get out of it or bend my legs. I thought it was old age. Since getting back I have had quite awful leg aches, ‘odd feelings’ and some terrible shooting headaches (never had until Daytona) which have worsened when I have had some Levaquin here in Canada in last few weeks. It has made my legs and knees almost impossibly painful to move and my left leg muscle to seize up behind my knee, so I have to fight to get up off chair or bed. It is best to stand and keep moving. The way these antibiotics work is to kill off a certain enzyme in the chain that the bacteria need to reproduce the cells, so they die. Just lately researchers in the UK have found cipro kills plants, They investigated and are developing a new form of weed killer based on that. Just think about it. The reason is that for 30 years! No one knew that the particular enzyme is present in the ‘DNA’ of ALL plants. Because a very common side effect of these drugs is to permanently destroy the cells of cartilage, muscles, rupture tendons and change the brain and central nervous system of humans, in the same way as it kills plants and bacteria, I have a suspicion that maybe the enzyme or a close relative is present in some humans. If so there could well be a genetic connection. SO if you suffer from thee effects let you family know !

I've experianced a number of the side effects mentioned in these posts. Mostly the miserable cough and fatigue. My question is joint pain. I've been on Lisinopril about 6 weeks and shortly after beginning I started getting pain in my right hip. Can hardly walk in the morning. Could be coincedence but..........anybody else?

one night on singulair and I did not sleep all night and experienced vivid dreaming while still awake! Also had to jump out of bed 3 or 4 times with severe leg muscle cramp. After reading about other peoples experiences and looking at my own, I will not be continuiing with this awful mediication.

I'm 59 and started taking 20mgs Zocor one year ago, I have experienced a moderate amount of leg & muscle pain. I have tolorated these side effects because I feel the side effects of medications used in a heart attack would be much worse! (If You Even Pull Through It!).

My mothers cardiologist just put her on lisinopril about a week ago.To my knowledge she hasnt experienced a severe cough or any other symptoms you have listed above.The only symptom that she seems to be experiencing is lower leg muscle pain.But I am going to look into this drug further just to be on the safe side.Thank you for discussing this drug in detail.

I took Lipitor for 6 weeks. After 5 days I was catapulted into a terrible depression. I reported it to the doctor who convinced me to continue with the lipitor although I decreased the dosage from 20mg to 10mg. After 5 weeks I developed severe leg muscle pain. Four days later I discontinued the drug. Five months later I am still disabled. I feel like I have no muscle control in my left leg and foot and have severe knee pain. I also feel like my knee joint is collapsing. My doctor refuses to believe that this is due to lipitor and has diagnosed me with fibromyalgia. Any hope that this is going to get better?

Leg muscle pains.Shortness of breath after walking upstairs.

I have taken simvastatin 40mg for about a year over the past three months I have had very bad effects from this medication I was very very fit before taking this medication

I HAVE STOPPED THE TABLETS BUT I AM NOW HAVING TO HAVE HEART TESTS FOR SUSPECTED ANGINA

pains started in my right lower leg muscle, couldnt straigen it out , the pain was so intense, I screamed for help.ow I can even toch that musle as it hurts so much , then went to upper calf, then to the muscles in the back, then to the left leg, then to the bottom of my right foot , heel feels like iam walking on cocrete, with it, now Iam getting shooting pains down in my left arm bicep muscle, couldnt even sleep last night it was so bad., seen my cardioligist last fri, he couldnt believe the leg pain ? and answerrs??
tg joyce