Marathons symptoms and conditions

Oh!!!! I thank God for finding this site. I have been so down and out for the last 4 to 5 months. I'm 48 years old and had my Mirena put in March 2009. It was very painful for me but I quickly got over that with minimal spotting. Since the insertion I have gained at least 10 pounds. I don't weigh myself but I go by how my clothes fit. I consider myself an athlete who is a decent runner. I've completed 12 marathons to date. I know how to work out and how to eat. But for the life of me I can't get rid of this. My breasts feel like they did when I was pregnant - tender and larger. Then I started having stomach problems. Terrible bloating and pain. I went back to my OB and they did a pregnancy test which of course came back negative. I went to my family practioner who put me on prescription Zantac for my stomach issues. With all this going on within a 7 month span, I knew something was wrong but until this morning I didn't know what. I called my OB and talked to the nurse and she said that the weight problem I'm having is just because I'm getting older. HOG WASH!!!! She can't tell me that what I'm feeling is normal. I can't live like this anymore. I will just have to use some other birth control.

Thank you all for sharing your feedback here. Reading this has come as a true relief. I've had the ring almost 2 weeks now, my gyn gave me one after i mentioned i was interested in other options besides the pill. I started the pill almost 3 years ago because my period cramps were so bad. I always use a condom and use the pill as backup in case theres an accident. I hated having to remember it, so she popped in a ring before i could really say OK I GUESS. I was not sold on it because i knew there were different side effects, but she insisted that it was "just like the pill".

Lies.

Today almost broke down crying for no reason in front of all my coworkers. I have been really depressed, to the point where its affecting my work and friendships and i can barely do anything. The first week of the ring i was so tired, i took 3 hour naps in the middle of the day...

I am 24, exercise regularly and take very good care of myself, and from the first day of having the ring i was weary. I have been having so much discharge that i have to wear a liner, the discharge has an odor that's totally embarrassing (i told my gyn and she said there was no way it was the ring, probably an infection, just see if it goes away). I've never ever had a yeast infection...though I bet I will now that I have read everyone elses statements.

I feel disgusting, im so bloated i look pregnant, all i want to do is eat, i have no motivation to exercise which is a real problem as i do races and marathons. I know I have gained weight....weight that I have worked very hard all summer to get rid of...that i have gained in not even 2 weeks...

i have absolutely ZERO sex drive. I never thought I would care about that last one, but I feel like i have become a passionless robot from Brave New World or something. It SUCKS. nothing turns me on. I thought it was my last boyfriend that was the problem, but I'm dating again, and I have no desire. its becoming really sad for me.

i always had a little acne break out on my chin, but i have had a bunch of breakouts nonstop.

thats it in a nutshell. i already told my gyn i want to go back to the pill, because of the discharge alone being enough of a nuisance. she said wait and try it a while. I'm talking to her in the next couple days and insisting a switch back to the pill before i am due for another ring. i cant wait to get the thing out. i don't really think its a good idea to have a plastic thingy shoved up in there anyways.

i wish we didn't have to get all hopped up on hormones that throw our bodies off so much.... :( i hate it.

How can I describe my thanks to this site and everybody telling their stories? Thank you oh soooo much!!!

My not so short story: Im on my second Mirena, in total now for just over 8 years. The first Mirena was all joy, periods stopped, no side effects whatsoever. Then I got the second Mirena after I removed the first after over 5 years (my gyn recommended keeping it in for longer but I didn't want to take the risk).

And for the past 2 years my ACNE problems started, first only one or two cystic acne once a month or a couple of small ones here and there. Nothing major. But for the past year, my skin / face makes me feel like a freak. So I went to the derm, got put on Accutane, more meds with a yard long list of side affects. Had to go of Accutane cos my right eye's sight deteriorated so bad I couldn't drive home at night. Went to my house doctor, he wanted to take me of the Mirena asap and refered me to a new gyn, cos mine moved away and I was stuck. But the new gyn did not want to take it out, but rather put me on a retinoid cream, cos it wasn't the acne that caused the acne.... yea right. So 5 months I gave this retinoid cream... I feel like a freak with my face, both cheeks inflamed red bumps under the skin, large cystic acne everywhere... sigh.

But during this 5 months I found a web site acne.org and here I made friends and read stories and hoping and praying, even believing things are getting better, but they weren't. If I look at pics I took of myself 5 months ago and now... sadly things are worse. My self confidence is gone, and I don't even want to have sex with my husband with the light on!!! And then last week somebody posted on the acne site some posts regarding zinc supplements, and I read and researched more on zinc and acne and found that your skin needs zinc to be healthy and having no zinc could be because of to much copper or copper toxicity. So then I researched copper toxicity and found some web sites with references to birth control.... and a bright light went on... and I found this site...

I am glad to say I saw my normal trusted house doc again last night, and made an appointment to have the thing, Mirena, removed first thing Monday morning. I have stopped using any meds like the retinoid cream for my face and cant wait for Monday. I just hope my face returns to normal quickly.... time lines anyone? I had no trouble with acne ever until now.... and Im 35!!! Udult acne my @#$ :)

My right eye now needs laser surgery to remove a layer or something, Im seeing an eye specialist soon, and this was caused by the accutane drying up my eyes so much! :(

I will report back to let other ladies know how it went and how I am progressing... thinking of taking a daily photo of my skin for reference purposes.

Pray for me please, I really need it....

C.

Well lets see i had my Mirena placed 7 weeks after I gave birth to my daughter. She is my 3rd child in 14 years so. Anyway, I thought I was over worked we own a veterinary hospital and we are very busy with kids and work and such so I thought maybe I was tired I am so GRUMPY my kids and employees never know f they should talk to me my poor husband is a saint but he says I am angry all the time. I can't sleep, I have had tingling in my arms and legs, back aches for no reason,I slur my words and have trouble making sense. No bleeding this month but My mil suddenly came back and I have breasts that were small 2 months ago the size of my head. My skin is so dry it is like the desert and I feel like crap. I went to my doctor she did a full blood work up I am fine Apparently that would include the extra 15 lbs of me that have arrived in the last 2 months. I seem to either be bloated or just rounder everyday. I used to run 1/2 marathons now I don't want to run anywhere. My sex drive is a thing of the past and ladies let me tell you I lve sex that is my favorite thing. Now I would rather sleep or try to but that never happens. I called my doctor tonight and left a message for her. we are friends so Hopefully she will get me in and get ths damn thing out. I can't deal with this anymore I feel like a beached whale. Anyone know how ling ot will take till I am back to normal UGGGG!!!!!

I began having right hip pain a month after the mirena was inserted. I assumed it was from running. All the doctors I have seen for the past year stated I strained a muscle. They ordered MRI's and physical therapy. I have completed all, but still have the same hip pain-over a year now. Has anyone had hip pain due to the mirena? And did your hip pain stop completely after your mirena was removed? I am considering getting it removed. Although the doctors tell me they are not connected, I can't help but think there is a coincidence.

I was a competitive runner with a number of sub 3 hour marathons under my belt before I was prescribed statins for elevated cholesterol 2 years ago. The first go round was 40mg zocor but muscle soreness and loss of strength started within 2 months. Switched to NIASPAN but couldn't tolerate it. The last 7 months have been on 10mg of Lipitor and now have intense pain in my legs, soreness in my wrist and thumb and swollen feet. I can still run but much less than before and much slower. I regularly go to the gym but have seen a steady decrease in the amount of weight I am able to lift. I have a blood test in a couple of days and will be looking for myalgia again. I have discontinued the statin and don't plan to start again. I was healthier before the DR decided to "help" me with my cholesterol problem.

I am a 43 year old male in good health that decided to get off lipitor about 3 days ago due to the advice of my physician. I have been on it for 3 years at 20 mg daily. I am an avid runner completing 3 marathons in the last 4years, but lately haven't been able to run more than a mile or so without feeling tightness in my abs, legs, hips, and most recently my hands and elbows have mild to moderate pain. I've been noticing this over the past few months or so. I always thought it was due to over training, but I am convinced these are not normal muscle soreness/strain and I am eager to share my results as to how I feel in a few weeks/months. Today, which is day 3 without the drug, I have INCREASED pain in my hand, and an overall fatigue feeling. Has anyone else noticed this upon stopping the drug? God help all of us. This can't be doing mankind any good other than making the drug companies rich, and unfortunately, most physicians believe that these statins are wonder drugs, and prescribe them like candy.

I have been on Micardis for years and have had no side effects at all. Ran in two marathons and worked out daily. Now I have been on Lisinopril-HCTZ 20 MG. and have not been able to work out without feeling dizzy, seating and cannot remember the last time I got a good nights sleep due to persistent coughing. The best moment was today finding this website and reading everyone elses comments. I plan to flush my remaining pills down the toilet and paying full price for Micardis since my insurance company will not pay.
This has to be thek worst pill available! If I knew today what I knew when this pill was first prescribed I would have never taken it. Hopefully it will not take long to get this out of my system and I can get my life back.

I was diagnosed at age 46 with osteopenia and being post-menopausal (altho I never had any symptoms). I was put on Fosamax 1X/week. After a couple of months I developed a painful locked left shoulder. X-rays revealed nothing, and the doctors could not give me any cause except "getting older." I was unable to hook my bra, raise my arm above my head, take an item down from a cabinet shelf, pull a shirt over my head, or put my hair up. I was referred to a physical therapist, and after four months of daily exercises with tension bands and light hand weights, most of the pain subsided and mobility resumed.

Now, a year later, I have developed terrible pain in my right shoulder along with pain in the upper arm, difficulty sleeping due to the pain, and recurring pain in the left shoulder. The right shoulder is not locked as was the left, but it is more painful.

I started doing the shoulder exercises on my own and found that the pain would be better for a few days, then resume with a vengeance--usually on the weekends. After reading this website and many others--voila! I have been taking Fosamax on Fridays. I've been off it now for two weeks and the pain is definitely better.

A few other things that have helped are a good massage to loosen the muscles around the shoulder joints, nighttime application of a heating rub (BenGay), and sleeping with a small pillow tucked under the armpit on the painful side (like holding a baby) to take the weight of the arm off the shoulder joint.

I have also been losing clumps of hair every day; I don't see any thinning or bald patches, but I am amazed at the two handfuls that come out every time I wash my hair. I feel so much weaker, especially in my arms, than I ever have in my life. I have always been quite strong for my small size, able to life heavy things, run long distances (three marathons), and have great physical endurance. Now I feel like a weakling; I have trouble getting up or down if I am seated on the floor or laying down, trouble lifting anything over my head, and trouble relying on the strength in my arms for ordinary tasks such as lifting or throwing.

I will check back on this site often and post an update if I see any significant changes after being off the Fosamax for a while longer. I want my shoulders, my hair, and my strength back!

I have been on and off BC for almost 7 years. I started taking the Pill when I was only 16. From then on I fluctuated between a normal teenager and young woman to a crazy, depressed, bloated she-monster. I went off all hormones for about 11/2 years, and I tell you, it was like someone had lifted a veil. I had the sex drive of a 13 year old boy. I ran two marathons and felt like i was on top of the world. Recently, with a new boyfriend, I had a pregnancy scare and so I decided I'd jump on the BC bandwagon again. WRONG IDEA!! The instant I started the pill, those old depressed crazies came back. So, what did my doctor do? Told me to go on the NuvaRing. HAHA!! Not even three days into it, I'm already feeling exhausted, limited sexually and I have a rash on my face. Enough is enough..Hormones are the worst things to mess with, especially when you are so young. This country needs to stop being chained to the pharmaceutical companies and start opening up their eyes. There are reports of animals being affected by BC. Seriously, check it out. It's scary!! I'm going to go to my doctor and demand a change. I'm looking into IUD's. Take a look for yourself. And not Mirena...that still has hormones. I'm talking the old fashioned piece of plastic "T" that will last for 10 years!!! Ladies, do what's best for you, but honestly enough is enough. Don't be a slave to the worst group of people since the Railroad Barons of the 1800's!!!

As an endurance athlete and having used these eye drops for 15 years, I am now experiencing an inability to even jog because my heart rate will not rise enough to compensate for the effort required, I then get chest pain accompanied by visual fainting changes - then I stop and walk! On suspending the eye drops for a week or more this symptom disappears. A cardiologist assures me that my heart is sound. My resting pulse is in the 40's, and BP 90/60. I am in my late 60's and have completed over 60 marathons.

I have always been extremely active. I surfed every day, was swimming, I worked out at the gym several times per week. I am now 34 years old. In my 20’s I used an inhaler maybe one every few months if I got really sick but never ever needed it as a crutch to live. When I was 30 after going into a doctor for bronchitis I asked for an inhaler but they prescribed Advair in addition to an inhaler. They said this would help me to heal faster and stop the symptoms. Well I started taking Advair twice as prescribed. It did relive my shortness of breath but now I felt shaky, couldn’t sleep well and 3 weeks into it I started feeling dizzy all the time. I never had a asthma attack before. If I was sick I might use an inhaler but never did I feel my life threatened until now. After feeling dizzy I stopped the Advair. Well one day later I had such a bad attack I ended up in the hospital. Advair undeniably has made my problem much much worse. I noticed ever since I started Advair if I stop taking it my breathing gets so bad I can barley walk across the room. I never ever had this problem before taking this garbage. Its now 4 years later and I still take it but it took me 4 years to wean off this crap. I only take it when I feel really bad but then discontinue as soon as I can. I should also add I take my inhaler every day now. Never used to take it at all. I feel Advair put my system over the edge where there was a small breathing challenge burst into a full fledge illness after I started on Advair. I must ad in the 4 years I have been eating about 80% raw organic foods, taking lots of vitamins and supplements. I feel this is all I can do to start to live a normal life and hopefully be off Advair all together.

I would like to give you all hope!! I, too, was on lisinopril for about 2 weeks and it was horrible. It lowered my blood pressure, but had so many horrible side effects, not to mention the cough which I still can't quite get rid of 5 weeks later. I am 43 years old, and have run 5 marathons, 6'1" and weighed 195 and ate decently. Like the guy a couple of messages earlier, I went on the dash diet and added a multivitamin and magnesium supplement and it has changed my life. Normal blood pressure, no meds, and I lost 10 lbs, without trying to. There are many books and articles with the dash diet, so I don't think it's too important which one you get. I hope this helps some of you.

hi everyone-

i feel very bad for all of you who are having such bad experiences with yasmin. i have been on it for 5 months now and have also experienced problems, though very different than what you have described here. in general i am very skeptical of sites like this since it is obvious few people are experts in medicine, endocrinology or other clinically relevant topics, but i will share my experience in the hope that others have found solutions.

to preface i will say that i have been through nearly half a dozen bcps (levlite, alessa, lessina, etc.) and have not been happy with any of them. my main complaint however has been spotting, which is only annoying. the first thing i noticed on yasmin is that my periods became much lighter, shorter (1-2 days!) and my spotting stopped completely. but within a few months i also developed pretty severe acne, increased body/facial hair, gross spider veins in my legs, fatigue, and have recently been experiencing severe cramping during or after intercourse. i'm 26, workout 5-6 days/wk, run marathons, eat very healthfully and drink 2-3 liters h20/day. i don't deserve this!

i hadn't tied these symptoms to the yasmin until i remembered i had symptoms like this the very first time i went on bcp, 9 yrs ago!! then i was on orthocyclin. the main similarities between the 2 problem pills have been the higher estrogen dosage and similar progesterone dosages. ironically, both of these pills were supposed to HELP acne, and even though i have never had it in my life it got worse!

fed up with bcps i went to my ob/gyn and she recommended mirena, the newest iud. upon reading about it i'm concerned the progestins may be what is causing my acne and hair growth, and that is what is in the iud, though in smaller doses. i really want to stop estrogen b/c the spider veins bother me most of all, but i'm afraid of upsetting my hormonal balances yet again! anyone out there with similar symptoms?

thanks,
reads too much

I have been taking Lisinopril for 2 years and my side effects have been lower BP and improved athletic ability. When I started taking it, my 5K (3.1 miles) race time was 26 minutes. I immediately incurred a significant improvement, reducing this time to 24 minutes and less after 3 months of meds. I have also run 4 full (26.2 mile) marathons during the past 2 years, all of which were more comfortable than previous ones, when I had high BP before Lisinopril. (Marathon times were 4 hours). I am 60 years old, 5'11'', 180lbs. BP is 120/65 (had been 150/85). Resting pulse is 52. Lisinopril is the only medication I take (or have ever taken). I eat a healthy diet, get plenty of exercise (run 6 days/wk, about 30-40 miles), walk 1 mile at 10 am (coffee break) and another mile at 3pm every day, as well as the running. I was told that Lisinopril was the BP med for people who are athletic, or at least do some moderate, regular exercising. Perhaps future people posting could include their weight, height and exercise regimens. I would be interested to hear if other athletic people have any negative side effects. Mine have been only positive.

I have been on Lisinopril for about 1 month now, 10mgs daily. I am a keen cyclist and play football every week. Suddenly i feel so unfit. I get so breathless and tired really quickly when exercising. I feel like i am letting my team mates down as I have become a far less useful player. Could this be related to the Lisinopril?