Lupis symptoms and conditions

This is a great site for learning more on this subject where we can get the real facts from real experiences.( Vs. the deception from drug companies who are in the business for profit.)

Lipitor is pure poison, and Dr.'s hand it out like candy. All cholesterol reducing drugs that contain statins can trigger dangerous side effects. Not many of us are informed about the real danger of statins when we are handed the perscription. Inappropriate prescribing of medications will continue to be one of the leading causes of death. And we, the patients,do not always receive enough info. from our Dr.'s about the dangers and side effects from prescription drugs.

I'm 48 yrs. young. Female, small build, (was) healthy and active, happy, and an empty nester! My husband and I had moved to another province and hence had to find a new Dr.

I was prescribed lipitor 10 mg. daily after a routine check up by my Dr. because my cholesterol was a little high.

I started taking it in the winter 2005. I stopped taking it in mid June 2007... My side effects were progressive , drug induced, and it escalated to near disabling.

I knew something was terribly wrong. Was it A.L.S., M.S., West Nile, Lupis, Alzhiemers Disease, or a new designer disease? I did not suspect that the drug lipitor was the cause until much later.

At first, my Dr. said it was menopause. I should mention; since I've quit taking the drug 3 months ago, I have no symptoms of menopause !
At least my Dr. has acknowledged and diagnosed the cause of these profound symptoms." Myopathy as a result of statins."

Signs & symptoms I experienced are as follows;

Severe stomach pain.
Muscle pain, aching , weakness, stiffness, tenderness esp.to the lower extremities. Eventually, I could only shuffle to walk.
Pain in the palms of hands.
Stiff neck, shoulders, arms and lower back.
Trouble getting up from a seated position, and climbing stairs.
Extreme fatigue.
Hot and cold sweats
Night sweats
Fevers. High and low grade fevers.
Ringing in the ears.
Difficulty swallowing, and fear of choking.
Pain in the esophagus.
Memory loss, difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness.
NO appetite, yet a lot of weight gained around the abdomen area.Bloated.
NO taste buds.
Speech affected, slurring words and mispronouncing. Tongue felt swollen.
Trouble breathing at night, would wake up coughing ( and I was not smoking then).
Trouble sleeping.
Loss of balance and coordination.
Blurred vision esp. in the morning.
Sharp shooting pains in the Rt. thigh.

Most of the symptoms have now subsided. I still have some foot pain and leg cramps and muscle stiffness... and poor concentration. Putting this together has been done with great difficulty, as I seem to pause a great deal and forget what I was trying to say. The recovery process is slow but at least it's progress. My Dr. has not prescribed any more medication. I've done my own research, after the fact, and started taking coQ10. and I've noticed a big difference!

Quality of life? Well, I'd rather have high cholesterol and die from that, than be poisoned again by statins. What quality is there, to live an extremely painful, useless and unfulfilling life? We were all guinea pigs, and we paid a terrible price for this! I hope we all can recover from this with no long term side effects.
If you are considering taking cholesterol lowering drugs do some careful research on statin drugs before you take them, and read the testimonies from those effected by them.
sj.

Unfortunately I also experienced such side effects from Levaquin to the degree that I feel I was poisoned. I was prescribed Levaquin April 2004 and a week later developed a 2" x 1" oval rash on my front hip area and had severe muscle aches and joint pain. My doctor prescribed a fungus cream for the rash (what???) and ran extensive blood and urine tests. The rash began multiplying daily until it covered half my entire body.
More tests (scared me to death -testing for Lupis, HIV, Hepatitis, etc.)
After all negative, he suggested I see a dermatologist and an allergist.
Rash worsened, could not sleep at all, not sure if it was from constant itch?? Non of the prescriptions from the dermatologist worked but a sample packet of "sarna or sarno?" helped dull the itch. Now it was a month since I started the Levaquin. A friend drags me to the ER. They actually get a cop in there to ask me if I have been beaten...um, no...I did it to my self..All the itching has caused me to scratch myself to the point of bruising all over. They ran a few tests and came running in with 2 doses of benedryl shots...said my eosinophils level was off the charts and that I had been having an alergic reaction to "something". Ah!! (duh!!) So I go home and search the internet... severe red rash, itching, insomnia, muscle aches, joint pain, allergic reaction....what comes up...levaquin levaquin and more levaquin. How did my own doctor who prescribed this to me not realize that this was an allergic reaction??? Most of my symtoms subsided 6 weeks later (after filling the scrips from the er for benadryl, prednisone and something else) but it was truly 6 weeks of hell and for a while there, I did not think it was ever going to end. Hope this info helps anyone who thinks they may be having a reaction to levaquin.

Took Levaquin for UTI for 10 days. After about 2-3 days, began to have symptoms of sciatica; severe pain from lower back, down the buttocks, backs of the legs, into the knees, ankles, and feet. The bottoms of my feet, my heels, and my ankles ache constantly. Especially painful to stand, walk after sitting just a few minutes. Forget what it feels like to get out of bed in the morning. I was in such pain, that bt the end of the day, my legs, knees and feet hurt me so bad.
I also was very anxious, worried, angry, biting people's head's off, not very patient.
I felt as if I'd been doing rigorous exercise and was paying for it was muscle and joint pain. But I had not. Instead, I had been sick with the UTI. I also had halucinations at night, to the point where I sincerely thought something was in my room...saw flags waving in the air, streamers coming down from the ceiling. They were so real that I'd reach up to touch them, then they'd fade away. My husband says that I shouted in my sleep, and would begin frantically tossing and turning as if being shaken.
Also, I take other medications like Lipitor, Synthroid, Celexa, Ditropan, Vioxx, and thought (and still think) that Levaquin, combined with these other medications, caused this serious side effect. I have never in my life experienced this kind of ongong pain.
It has been at least 3 1/2 months since I took the Levaquin. I have had 2 blood tests to check for autoimmune diseases like Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupis. One test came back positive, so another further test was done. It then came back negative for autoimmune diseases. I thought why did these symptoms all of a sudden appear out of nowhere? I know I couldn't have pulled any muscles to cause this much pain. It has been a constant 24-7 aching pain, from my lower back down. I have had no relief from any pain medication to date. I am now taking Feldene for inflammation. What next? Possible MRI to check for a bulging disk says my neurologist.
I feel that as patients we need to be our own advocates and learn all we can about any medication prescribed to us, BEFORE we begin to take it. Do not take your doctor's word and "WISDOM" for granted, do research first. Then decide to take the medication or not based on the listed side effects. DO NOT MESS AROUND WITH YOUR LIFE! I'm not even 40 years old yet, and I feel that I am an OLD WOMAN, and that I should'nt have THIS much discomfort. I'm 99% sure that this sudden onset of symptoms is not arthritis, etc. but merely a side effect of Levaquin. PATIENT BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!