Mask symptoms and conditions

I used the nuvaring for 3 months about a year ago and I thought it was the greatest thing ever. This time around however I'm so disappointed. My feet have been swollen since insertion. To the point that they are bruised around my ankles. I sweat non-stop and am constantly hot. I also have the worst skin pigment issue on my face. It's almost like the maternity mask that you hear about pregnant women getting. My face has turned like dark tan but stops at the neck line. So it looks like I have the worst make-up line ever! I also starting loosing extreme amounts of hair and have had some weight gain. I seem to have a discharge like you get during ovulation but all month. I have taken it out. My feet are slowly reducing in size and my face seems to be returning to it's normal color. My hair is still falling out and the discharge hasn't stopped. I haven't had a period yet. I so sad because this is a really really awesome answer to mt birth control issues. I'm now thinking of getting my tubes tied. I read lots of your entries and didn't really find any with these types of side effects. Has anyone experienced anything similar?

I am switching from Lyrics to Neurontin. I have always had a weight problem and lost 50 lbs.on Weight Watchers and have gained about 10 of it back. I am switching from Lyrics to Neurontin, hoping to stem the weight gain. Opinions and experiences please . . . am I jumping from the frying pan into the fire? I CANNOT ALLOW THIS WEIGHT TO COME BACK ANY FURTHER !!!! HELP !!!!!!

LC - Ohio

I used Nuvaring for a couple years but quit using birth control (except condoms) a year ago. After about a year or so of using it, I would bleed during/after intercourse. This would occur a few days before and a few days after my cycle. Not pleasant. Over time though, it got to be a regular occurrence. The only time I didn't seem to bleed was during the middle of my cycle. So basically, my husband and I had a few days each month when we weren't worried about ruining sheets. After intercourse, I continued to spot for days. The other side effect was the "pregnancy mask" in which parts of my face would darken more than others when outside (even with regular use of sunscreen). Skin is better. Bleeding is getting better. (BTW, had a vaginal ultrasound and two gynecologists tell me they couldn't find anything wrong).

I have been on Loestrin 24fe for the past three years. The first two years were great; no period since Dec 06, it's very rare that I have any spotting. Since June 2008, my health has gone down hill. I have had extreme weight gain (20 lbs), retaining fluid, fatigue,terrible migraines, memory has gotten poor, lack of concentration, depression has gotten worse, very very moody and will cry at the least little thing. I have also experience eye floaters and eye twitching. My dr. wants to change my BC to Yaz, but the horror stories are the same. At this point, I really don't know what to do. I have been on BC for 18 yrs total. When I first started taking Loestrin, it was wonderful.....up until last year. I am still taking it, not sure if I should switch to another type or totally go off of BC to give my body a rest.

sinc eive used it, i used it as a mask as well and it worked. some of my acne on my forehead was gone in a day but after a while i kept using it i noticed that my face got really dry where it started peeling ,and for some reason i got tired more. i've never had any pimples in my face, only in my forehead but ever since i used that, i got pimples all over my face and its itchy. so today i bought neutrogena instead but my face is not the same anymore, its very dry, like when i feel my face its very rough, losing its color, its tight, and i have alot more pimples on my face. i recommend neutrogena not oxy.

I stumbled onto this site while trying to find a reason for these headaches I get sometimes for no" apparent" reason. Imagine my surprise to find your testimonies about your lives on warfarin sodium.At 38, I had surgery to repair a congenital defect of the aortic valve and had to have a hema-shield graph to repair an aneurysm of the aorta. That was in Oct.2002. Warfarin has been a part of my life since then. I was also put on anti-depressants because my family Dr. thought I was depressed since I repeatedly complained of not feeling well.(I took myself off the anti-depressants a couple of years ago.) Extreme fatigue , serious memory issues, thinning hair,dizzy spells and numerous other ailments continue to plague me.Add to that a large weight gain ...and, well, you get the picture. If anyone knows of an alternative to taking this "poison", PLEASE, PLEASE let me know. I just WANT MY LIFE BACK!!! I actually cried after reading this blog. As I explained to my husband, I suppose it was from the sheer relief of knowing I was not going insane!!!

I've also been prescribed Advair, two puffs, twice per day. What dose are you on? I was on 250 two puffs, twice daily and was actually told that this was not even the highest dose that you can be on. I didn't like the idea of taking more than the original dose I was prescribed and so my specialist told me to add in Flovent, which I did help. Even after all of this, I still do not like the drug at all and am trying to do my best to say off of it.

On another note, has anyone experienced severe asthma symptoms (very bad wheezing, coughing, chest tightness) BUT had a perfect oxygen saturation level? I have been in and out of the emergency ward for the past week and a half and am getting very frustrated with not only the medical system not treating me because of excellent oxygen saturation levels, but with their treatment plans for emergency. I can remember a time when I would walk into the emergency room and be seen almost immediately and be given a mask treatment as soon as I got in there. I'm guessing that treatment plans have changed as I have experienced three hospitals prescribing anywhere from 4-12 doses of ventolin.

Anyway, if anyone else has had similar experiences I would love to hear your story and what you did to get through it.

Thanks!

UPDATE: Our nightmare with SINGULAIR has not ended! After reading "conerned citizens" report discussing the possiblility of Singulair causing asthma blew me away. My son was put on this drug for food allergies not asthma b/c they thought of his two anaphylaxsis episodes in 5 days. 1 food related the other unknown (maybe outdoor mold?) He had no prior issues with breathing.

He has been off of it for almost 2 weeks however over the last week he has slowly developed some breathing issues. After getting off of it, he still has his ear infection from the second day of being on it and last Friday after playing some basketball began to seem like he was winded so I brought him in. He was having trouble breathing. I called the Dr. and he said it could be excercised induced asthma. He is a very active boy who runs non stop and has NEVER had breathing issues before Singulair! It seemed to pass after a few hours. The next fews days he coughed a few times when playing and I thought what the heck is happening to him. Monday at school they didn't go outside so he was fine b/c he didn't run around. Tuesday, they came to get me b/c he was having trouble breathing and one of his teachers whose son has asthma said I think you better give him an inhaler. I called the Dr. ASAP and he approved us to borrow another child's. He freaked out and wouldn't let us give it to him. After 2 epi-shots in the previous weeks, he wanted nothing to do with that. At school the next day, we made him take the inhaler if he wanted to go out to playso he did. He didn't cough but a few times. No excercise at all. Then last night, he got really bad. He started to cough and couldn't stop to the point of gaging and it seemed as though he had developed a ton of phlem and kept trying to swallow. We ended up in the ER where we were told that he has asthma! I am so furious! I don't get this at all! If this report is accurate and my son got asthma by going on it - this will be devastating. We kept him home today from school and took him into the Dr. b/c he continued to cough all night. He is now on Flovent, Albuterol and has an enebulizer. I'm probably the only one of all of us who child did not have asthma to begin with.

Has anyone who did not have asthma before singulair now have any issues? Please let me know!

Has anyone experienced hypersomnia with Topamax? My son just started taking it a couple of weeks ago and now I can't wake him up in the mornings. Not just tired... but literally unwakeable. Then he has sleep drunkenness once he eventually wakes up in the middle of the morning. I have taken him off it to see what happens.

My Mother was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis 30 years ago. She has been on prednisone at low doses since then. About 3 years ago she started imagining things, and hallusinations. About 2 years ago her prednisone dose went up to 60mg a day due to a stroke of the optic eye nerve. She has since been tapering down, now at 15mg a day. But tapering down makes her arthritis more painful. She has developed diabetes, loss of sleep, loss of apetite, loss of muscle tone. When she gets bumped, it's a big opened gash, rather than just a bruise. With the higher dose she was more moody & would get angry easier. The hallucinations & paranoia continue & are making me more & more concerned. I haven't read about this in any of the stories. Has anyone else experienced this side effect? I spoke with her Rheumatologist who suggest a psychiatrist to prescribe anti-psychotic drugs. She's already on 11 pills a day, does she need another?
Please let me know if anyone has experienced this as well.
Thank you.

hi guys! about four months ago my doctor switched me from ortho tri cyclen lo(which I had been on for two years) to yasmin. It was the worst experience I have ever had in my entire life. About a week into the medicine I started getting horrible headaches, terrible anxiety and suicidal thoughts. I was sooo scared from this medicine that I stopped taking it thinking that everything was going to get better! Well wasnt I wrong. I developed OCD really bad to a point where I would sit and worry that I would hurt someone I loved or that I would hurt myself. and I had disturbing thoughts in my head that made my anxiety worse. I have been off the medicine for like 4 months and I am now taking 50 mgs of zoloft for my OCD, anxiety, and depression. I am unsure that it is working yet it's only been two weeks! I hope and pray eveyday that I finally start feeling myself! It's been horrible! Has anyone had this experience from this medicine? and if so do you think that I should get a hormone test, because I am almost convinced from reading other posts that my hormones are wacky! Well thanks for reading! and I hope everyone feels better! :)

I started taking Diovan about 9 years ago. At the time my doctor prescribed it because the medicine I had been on (Lotensin) was causing me to hack and cough (which was keeping me up all night long).

I started out at 80mg & then 3 years ago my bp began creeping up. I was then prescribed a 80mg dosage with 12.5 diurectic. I am now taking one 160mg/12.5 & one 80mg/12.5 pill each day.

Since I have been on Diovan I have experienced significant, yet unexplained weight gain (approximately 150 lbs), drastic hair loss, insomnia, itchy skin and more recently, brittle teeth (2 of which have broken off).

Over the years I have been blamed by the doctors for not taking control of my weight. Yet with swimming 4-5 days a week, walking & using an elliptical machine, and changing my diet (and eliminating processed/bleached food) I could only get down to 220lbs.

At this point, I do not know where to turn for advice. The doctors use more meds to mask the side effects of other meds & I have yet to find one that doesn't play into that mindset.

I have a tendency for high blood pressure, and due to several major stress factors, I knew my pressure was high & I was having anxiety attacks & not sleeping & migraines. It was my pressure. It was like 137/100. My heart rate was fast. I'm 41. I started ToprolXL 25 mg & really felt better for a couple months. No more headaches. I did, however, always think I'm hypoglycemic or perhaps diabetic. I feel like I need to eat sugar with this med. My scary problem is that I decided to lose weight & started working out at a much higher intensity than my normal walking. I feel REALLY weird. It's like this med is fighting your heart rate when you work out & I feel like I need major sugar. I feel like my heart is swishy in its beats. I'm calling dr tomorrow to get in. The warnings do say that when you are diabetic or hypoglycemic, this med could mask it, but I feel like my blood sugar feels lower taking this med. I also feel like I still have racing heart, but I was under terrible stress & running around when these symptoms started like 2 or 3 days ago.

I HAVE PERMANENT SENSORY PRECEPTIN LOSS IN MY MOUTH, MY DR NOW WAS IN ON TESTS AT BEGINNING AND HE SAYS IT IS A SIDE EFFECT OF TOPAMAX, I WONDER IF ANYONE ELSE HAS HAD THIS SIDE EFFECT AND IS AFRAID TO TELL ANYONE BECAUSE PEOPLE WILL THINK THEY ARE CRAZY, MY DR THAT I HAD EARLIER WHEN THE SIDE EFFECTS OCCURED DID THINK I WAS CRAZY AND GAVE ME DRUGS TO MASK THE PROBLEM AND THEY MAKE ME FEEL CRAZY. I ALSO HAD ALL THE TYPICAL SIDE EFFECTS, WT. LOSS, HAIR LOSS, ETC.

I've taken metronidazole twice in the past year for intestinal parasite. 700 mg, 3x a day for ten days.

I have an awful metallic taste in mouth, dark brown urine, lost of appetite, fatigue, and headaches. Some days are better than others.

I have found that drinking beverages at room temp with out ice helps along with hot food. Something to do with the temp of the food brings out the metalic taste.

I also chew gums and suck on peppermint candy to mask the taste.

I have had migraine for 26 years, I took depakote for 12 years before taking topamax. Now the sensation of what I feel in my mouth is wrong. It helped with my migraine but now I have something that every doctor I've seen hasn't heard of. It made me loose 85 lbs., quit sweating, not sleep.... Doctors give me phych drugs to mask the mouth thing, but I'm allergic I'll take migraine over all the things extra this drug has given me also. I think it is dangerous because I QUIT eating I had to make myself eat. This is hard to do when you are absolutely not hungry. Has anyone else had the mouth sensory reaction?

I have Sleep Apnea. Upon the usage of the mask and machine, (CPAP) I have experienced great anxiety trying to get adjusted to the mask. My Sleep Consultant doctor put me on Ambien. The first time I took it, I couldn't believe I slept 8 whole hours! I have been plagued with insomnia since I can recall as well as working night shifts, so my body didn't know if it was coming or going. I started taking the ambien in mid-February and it was like a high for me, but I felt refreshed in the AM, and I still do to this day, HOWEVER, during the daytime, I can barely stay awake later in the morning (I am fine as I get up and go to work), I have had crying spells and severe mood swings for no reason, worst of all - NOT so sharp...I use to be a quick thinker on the spot...it's gone already. I have to think think and then I lose it or remember later. I am concerned that such a wonderful drug sounds similiar to the story of another "wonderful" drug that took away every ache and pain (which now has been pulled off of the market as people were dropping like flies). I am trying to stop taking the drug and am struggling. Who said it wasn't addictive? I feel like I am in a daze and I hope that I don't display too much of a negative mindset (memory) at work, or I will be in big doo doo. I see I am not alone. And to boot, add menopause in there...I know THAT is not impairing my brain....but to feel drugged all of the time is not good; as you never know when it will hit you. Sometimes when somebody asks me a question I just have that "deer in the headlights" look. We are not alone, but what is being done about this drug without explicit and thorough research? Shoot, rats can't talk!!!

Both my 2 & 6 year old boys were given this drug by their pediatrician. I was told not to worry as there were no side effects. I am not sure what planet he is on but let me tell you, i have never spent more time at the emergency room !
my kids went in distress breathing with no oxygen getting to their lungs. theirs throats automatically closed off . could not speak & if they did, it was so hoarse that you could not hear anything. irratic behavior & panic attacks with screaming non-stop saying they couldn't breath. rash, belly pain, mouth & throat pain, etc. Solution was to put them on the mask every 4 hours or rush to ER 2 OR 3 times for a stronger mask. this has gone on for over a week. 4 doctors have seen them & everyone was treating them for asthma & croup. not once was this drug questioned. it wasn't a concern until the side effects got worse as the days pass. After my husband & I did research in between the hospital visits, we discovered it was all from this drug. every side effects mentioned is what my 6 yr old has. today, I finally took the pills & chucked them . My son was just given pro-vent and went in to distress with his breathing. I am at the end of my rope as I don't know where else to turn. As a mother, I am now terrified of giving them anything else as I can't bare to watch them struggle anymore to breath. My problem with this is that no one would consider this drug to be dangerous & trust me it is. I am telling the pharmacy, all Dr's everyone about this site & so should you. we are our childrens keepers. god help us all.

My mother-in law was given Reglan after surgery to increase the motility of her bowels. After 4 weeks, she cannot speak, or swallow and she has a blank, mask look on her usually very expressive face. She is 78 and has a history of stokes, the loss of speach was originally atributed to more TIA's but the loss of use of muscles to swallow was so severe, they want to put a feeding tube into her stomach. The speach therapist researched the side effects of Reglan and found it could produce pseudo Parkinson's..which we are hoping it is the Reglan, and not a stroke. Only time will tell, but this poor woman has gone through hell for four weeks before any one had any idea it could be related to Reglan.