Low and behold symptoms and conditions

60 yr old/young female: I started generic toprol (metoprolol 50mg xr) yesterday (11/22/07). Took about 3:00 PM. The next morning around 6:00 AM, I had a hot flash that equated to one you would have if you had taken niacin. Body was burning and I was sweating. Looked in the mirror to see if I was flushed, because of the severity of the hot flash I thought my body would be totally red. It wasn't. I called my pharmacist to report this event. He researched and found no evidence of such. He did say that it did not rule out the possibility that it was caused by the Toprol. Asked me to keep him posted as his customers were the ones that helped him be able to report side effects to other. Well I found this site and low and behold I have read of the hot flashes and all of the other problems. I will not be taking this medication. I am not a pro medication person anyway and related that to my dr, but at some point you feel you have to have trust in someone. I don't trust medications. I know at some point in my life I will probably have to take something, but not Toprol. Sounds as though it will cause more problems than it will cure. Thanks so much for your input. It will prevent me from having to wean myself off this mess. Oh yeah, I was also feeling the depressed, anxiety mentioned. Not at a high level , but just knew I wasn't myself. That was after just one dose. I can't imagine how it would have progress. I feel very blessed.

After 3 months on Nuvaring, nearing the 3rd week, I experienced crippling lower back pain, like I've never had in my life. Muscle spasms to the point were I couldn't stand or walk. I had not injured my back or strained it. I couldn't understand it. Went to Dr. Was given muscle relaxant. Made no connection at the time. The meds. helped loosen the tightness and pain. Pain was gone 4-5 days later. Low and behold, 28 days later, it started all over again! Intense lower back pain. It was so debilatating, I took the ring out a week early, suspecting that it was the culprit. By the next day my pain had subsided and by the third day it was all but gone. I've also heard from another woman who experienced the same symptoms. I'm going to call the manufacturer and my Dr. and tell them. I urge others to do the same. Obviously, not everyone has this side affect, but I want to know what permanent damage, if any, it's had on my body!!!

I started taking Yasmin 11 months ago for PCOS. In addition to the Yasmin, I am taking spirolactine and metformin. I have all of the symptoms above....the depression, the anxiety, the unexplained insomnia, the lack of sex drive (I had a major sex drive before Yasmin...it's at ZERO at this point.) and extreme vaginal dryness/painful intercourse. At first I thought I had a yeast infection...and that's what my doctor chalked it up to. And finally I sat down with my boyfriend to find out if Yasmin was the cause of the vaginal dryness....because we checked out the other two drugs I'm taking...and low and behold I found ALL these horrible blogs referring to Yasmin and it's side effects. My question to all of you though...is whether you immediately switched to another birth control pill? And if so...what do you guys recommend? I used Ortho TriCyclen for a long time and don't remember any terrible side effects like this.
Thanks.

I posted 2 days ago about my story.. I was just wondering how long did it take people to feel better after stopping Yasmin. I have been off Yasmin for over a week now....i still have severe pain in my left leg and slight pain around my breastbone. But i feel different....and low and behold if all my symptoms stop....man oh man all of those doctors that i've been to and bills ...Ugh!!

allie

Wow....i never thought in all my life that i might be able to pinpoint all of my medical problems. I started Yasmin August 2005, come October of 2005 i started to get sick, like flu symptoms and headaches. My doctor just thought it was the flu. Come New years day 2006, i could barely even move. I had severe joint pain, headache, dizziness, pale, tired. This led me to months and months of doctors visits and numerous diagnosises. I've been to the ER twice with severe pain around my breast bone, left leg pain, headaches, and fatigue. I developed iron deficiency anemia, and right now i supposedly have viral arthritis. Ugh....the list can go on and on. Doctors thought that i has lyme disease, lupus, arthritis, depression, gastro problems, i could go on and on. Finally last friday my primary doctor decided to take me off Yasmin, due to my high blood pressure. Low and behold, i think that Yasmin has done all of this to me, and am sooooooo glad that there are other people that have gone through the same thing, and i am not really that CRAZY!! Is there somewhere that i can write to tell my story and warn others?

Hello. I was a long term Lisinopril user. I was taking 5 mg for several years with no apparent adverse effects, except for constant short coughing and scratchy throat. It lowered my Systolic pressure, but didn't lower the Diastolic pressure, so the doc upped my dose to 10 mg. Over the next several months, I began to get rashes, small pin-prick itches on my legs, sleepless nights due to extreme itching, fatigue, burning sensation in the chest, and excessive weakness. The Diastolic pressure still remained high so he upped my dose to 20 mg. Within a week, my hands swelled up and I got an extreme case of the hives all over my arms, hands, and legs. I never recalled ever having hives before and I didn't know what it was. I was terrified as to what was happening to me. The help counter at Walgreens Pharmacy told me I was having a severe allergic reaction to something that was causing a severe case of the hives. At that point, I still didn't make the connection to Lisinopril. The side effects continued to increase including burning sensation in the chest when I did the smallest chores, massive fatigue, dizziness, abdominal pains, headaches, rashes, and intense itching. I had 9 out of the 10 side effects caused by the drug. I research hives and found that I had the kind that would vanish after 6 weeks, because low and behold after exactly six weeks it went away. I kept complaining to my doctor about the problems that I was having, but he was of no help. After nearly 6 months on 20 mg of Lisinopril I became light headed even while lying down. I thought I was going to die. In mid-December, a year and a half ago, at 3:30 a.m., while lying down, I cramped up with severe abdominal pains, bloating, and extreme light headedness. I sensed that this was the end. I scrambled to my feet and tried to get upstairs to tell my family to call 911. I collapsed on the stairs and thought that this is where they would find my dead body. I made a second effort and struggled to my feet and made it into the dining area where I collapsed for a second time. My wife heard my body hit the floor. I saw the tunnel and light. She rushed out and called 911. When the paramedics arrived several minutes later I began to come out of it. My blood pressure was extremely low. After a short period of time, I recovered and felt relatively normal again. After that episode, I looked up the causes of light headedness on the internet and found a site that listed 10 medications that caused this side effect. Lisinopril made the list. I immediately stopped taking the drug. Within a few days, the light-headedness and rashes went away. I put 2 and 2 together and took my findings to the doctor. All he said was, "why didn't you tell me?" I had been complaining about these problems to him for the past several months. He switched me to a calcium channel blocker. Within a week I began getting rashes again and I discontinued the use of that drug. I now take a natural diuretic concoction of calcium, potassium, garlic pills, vitamins, other minerals, and a daily regimen of low dose aspirin. My strength and stamina have returned. I feel 90% better, but I think the experience has done permanent damage to my digestive system.

Jack - 2/28/06

Hey there,
I am 18 and took birth control from age 14---17. As a distance runner I had very little body fat and my periods (when I actually had them) were so bad I would pass out. Birth control is what a doctor recommened. I went on ortho tri and as a result I went from 105---139. At 5'7 it didn't look bad on me or anything, but my running suffered. To this day my doctor says the birth control didn't do it...low and behold I stopped taking it and I am 126 (and still loseing). I eat right and I am still running all the time. Here is the thing, the depression with getting off the pill isn't limited to just Yasmin. When I stopped mine I was massively depressed for a good month. It's just your body adjusting to the new levels of hormones. Just as when you first start pumping them into you. I have been off of the pill almost a year now and my periods are back to being aweful. My doctor recommend Yasmin so I found this site. I am just now going back to my proper weight and it took almost a year. I just don't know if I want to gamble my body away again and try this new birth control. I heard women lose weight on it but it sounds just like any other birth control to me.

I am a personal trainer and athelete.... I visited the doctor for the treatment of swollen lymp noids..I was prescribed a 10 day supply of 500mg of Levaquin..after taking this med for 3 days the tendon in my left leg and all throughout the joints had such severe pain I had never felt before...I could hardly walk without holding on to something for support..the pain was so excruciating I got up this morning(3a.m.) to research this drug and low and behold I came upon this site..amazing!! IF YOU EXERCISE REGULARLY,BE AWARE OF THIS DRUG!!! it will definitly cause joint problems..(P.S.) MY LYMP NOIDS FEEL BETTER THOUGH!!!