Mechanisms symptoms and conditions

I had Mirena inserted about 3 months ago and have been consistently gaining weight since then. I initially wrote it off as anything else besides this drug because the pamphlet is very clear that weight gain is not a side effect and I talked to 2 gyns and they insisted the same thing. So I had my thyroid checked and started eating better and increased my exercising, I am a personal trainer so I already do these things pretty intensely, but I have stepped it up to slow the weight gain. I am up 8 pounds in three months which makes me crazy. Yet I am hesitant to get it out since it was so insanely expensive and not knowing for sure that it is the mirena. So any of you who have had it removed could you comment on if your excess weight that you did put on has come off or not. Besides this frustration, I have loved it, but it makes it difficult to build my business as a personal trainer if I am gaining weight.

I think it's terrible how some doctor's give some info and others give different info, it is hideous - they should all be trained to fully inform their patients. After my Mirena fell out I did some research on all IUD's and bc pills and was shocked at what I found. I did find a lot more info about the IUD's and the BC pill causing abortions. For those who are against abortion, all of these IUD's cause abortions that the woman is not even aware of if a fertilized egg happens to make it through. This was explained by my doc and I did do further research on on the net. All you have to do it google "do iuds cause abortion or do bc pills cause abortion" and you will get more info on it. Here is a summary - Mirena and all bc pills have 3 mechanisms- 1) inhibiting ovulation 2)thickening the cervix mucous making it hard for sperm to travel to the egg, and 3)thinning and shriveling of the uterus to the point that it is unable or less able to facilitate the implantation of the fertilized egg. The first 2 mechanisms are contraceptive, the last is abortive. The Paraguard is only slightly different in that the copper disables the sperm, but again if one should make it past and fertilize an egg, the copper creates such a hostile environment that the egg can not attach. It does depend on your opinion on when life begins - whether it is at the moment of conception or when the fertilized egg attaches to the wall of the uterus. Only when all 3 mechanisms fail will you get pregnant, that is why they have such a high success rate of 99%. So again, google this if you want to know more because if you take any of these methods, you could potentially have an abortion and not even know it. Some Dr.'s will not even insert the IUD's for ethical reasons because they know it causes unknown abortions. You could end up having one once a month, once a year or luck out and never, but the risk is there. If you need proof of this you can call Dr. in Federal Way, WA at ****** and ask if he does the Mirena or the Paraguard and you will be told he doesn't do either for ethical reasons. If you are serious about getting more information, I can forward it to you. I urge everyone looking for a good birth control to not only look up the name of the product, but check out negative side effects and ask if it could potentially cause abortions. I am sitting on the fence to whether life begins at conception or begins when it attaches to the wall of the uterus, all I know is that I am sick of all the hormones messing me up, changing my moods, and ruing my sex drive among other things. If you would like more information, please email, serious inquiries only. I believe it is wrong to give a woman a form of birth control and not make it very clear all of the side effects especially the abortive side effect when they don't even know if their patient is pro-life or pro-choice. I have a website that explains the bc pill part of it and would be happy to forward to anyone who is interested. My direct email is ****** One more thing, the Depo shot works the same. All I hope to do is educate women about what I have learned in the last 3 days. Please give this information or post on any site you see fit to get this information out!!!!!!!! IF ALL YOU DO IS GOOGLE IT, YOU WILL SEE WHERE i AM COMING FROM IN MY MESSAGE.

I had my Mirena removed a month and a half ago and I feel GREAT. I am a MOM again. My kids aren't afraid of me anymore which was the worst part of the side effects. I am starting a new job this week as a nurse (I got my license 2 weeks ago) and am GLAD that the Mirena will not affect my attitude at work.

I have noticed a huge difference at home. The sex drive is still non existent but it wasn't there very much even before Mirena. I am more willing to do more and be there more often. Things are so good, that I don't plop my kids in front of the TV so I can go off to my room or the table to be online. Tomorrow, I am calling Verizon so that they can shut off our TV, Internet, and Phone services. We have cell phones, the library has computers with internet access, and we have a DVD player attached to the TV.

I am so EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!

I was “poisoned” by Levaquin -- resulting in acute tendinitis in both Achilles tendons.

Background:
I am a healthy, athletic male in his mid-50s who has never had an Achilles tendon problem. In early July 2008, my doctor (general practitioner) prescribed Levaquin for an infection. I took the medication for 14 days, as prescribed.
Sudden onset of acute tendinitis in my Achilles tendons occurred near the end of the medication period. The tendinitis occurred in both Achilles tendons simultaneously. Nothing related to my lifestyle would have caused the tendinitis.

Symptoms:
Symptoms included the following at one time or another:
1. aching
2. sharp pain
3. feeling of heat/burning
4. tightness
5. pins and needles in small areas (micro tears?)
6. weakness at rear/base of each heal.
7. When I woke-up each morning my tendons and the back of my heal pads felt sore, weak and tight.
At the height of the problems, I had extreme difficultly walking and negotiating stairs, and I thought there was a risk that my tendons would detach from my heal bone.

Doctors’ Advice:

My general practitioner’s and my podiatrist’s advice was to: (a) not run, cycle, hike or otherwise exercise my legs in any manner other than easy walking and swimming, (b) gently stretch, (c) take ibuprofen, (d) ice regularly, and (e) use heal lift shoe inserts made by my podiatrist. Their advice was based on the view that the damage that was done is more like damage cause by an injury than damage caused by an insidious drug. My readings on the subject indicate that little is known about the mechanisms behind this fluoroquinolone-specific toxicity. It is believed that the tendon’s collagen fibers become disorganized and infiltrated with small blood vessels -- resulting in weakness. And there are no specific treatment plans for this problem.

After 2 months of living with these symptoms, I decided to change course.

My Approach to Healing:

Because I never believed my pain was the result of inflammation, I stopped icing and taking ibuprofen. Because stretching seemed to further weaken the tendon and set me back, I stopped stretching. Because I believe that the body heals itself best when used, I started cycling at an easy pace. I then worked-my-way-up to cycling more aggressively, and to walking in the neighborhood. That’s where I am today. Two days ago I had my first day without discomfort in 3 months. Yet, I have a long way to go. I am not yet hiking or running. It’s a slow healing process with occasional setbacks when I push my tendons a bit harder than I should, Given the progress I have made, I am hopeful for a full or nearly-full recovery in another few months.

Other things I have done in the past month:

1. Taken L-Lysine (1000mg daily), which is believed to aid collagen formation.

2. Taken Magnesium (250mg daily), which some believe may help leech the fluoroquinolone molecules from the tissues because of the affinity of these antibiotics for minerals.

3. Taken Fish oil pills (3000mg daily), which improves circulation

4. Used a heating pad, which improves circulation

5. Started regular Acupuncture (first time for me), which improves circulation

What you can do:

1, Be easy on your tendons until you get a handle on the problem. Don’t over-use tendons when they are in a weakened state.

2. “Listen” to your body and take steps you think best to help the healing process.

3. Tell your friends to beware of potential side effects from fluoroquinolones.

4. File a MedWatch report with the FDA at fda.gov.

5. Share your findings/advice on this forum.

Good Luck

Hi,

I have hot flushes (feels like my body temp is out of control, with profuse sweating).
Morning aches and stiffness in joints).
I used to have sexual dysfunction before I started testosterone decanoate injection.)
I also used to have horrible fatigue and apathy.
I still have depression.
Since methadone has a negative effect on the various endocrinal mechanisms in the hypothalamus and pituitary, it makes sense that it would interfere with body temperature homeostasis.
I am on 100mg a day.
APC.

Hi ladies! I started Yaz in June 08 after taking Ortho-Tricylcen-Lo for 6 years (It wasn't treating my cramps or mood swings anymore). The first month was bad. I had mood swings, breast tenderness, lower back pain, anxiety, weight loss, and no sex drive. I didn't attribute this to the pill, I associated it with a very, very emotional and difficult experience that was currently occurring in my life. By the second month, I put 2 and 2 together, and realized it was Yaz. I am a pharmacist, so I am well aware of the types, mechanisms, and incidence of these side effects. I knew that these side effects usually disappear with time after the body adjusts to a new/different form of progestin. By the third month, all of the side effects had subsided, except for the inability to gert aroused, which is very unusual for me! It wasn't so much the lack of interest, but the lack of physical arousal ("getting wet"). I almost got off the pill just because of that, but I decided to tough it out just to see what happens. By the fourth month everything is back to normal and I feel great. I lost a little weight, my breasts don't get swollen and tender during the third week (like a tricyclic pill), a don't have unusual mood swings, and my period is average in length and heaviness. It was a bumpy road, but that is to be expected when you mess with the body's natural balance. It takes time to recalibrate hormones, during which time you will not feel yourself! Weird stuff will happen! I think Yaz is a good drug and patients should stick with it for at least 5 months ( or at the digression of your physician of course), unless you experience a side effect that alerts you to a serious problem (severe leg cramps, difficulty breathing, or suicidal ideation). As for the fact of it being "new and unstudied", that's not completely true. Yasmin is a higher dose of the same drugs as Yaz and it has been around practically forever. This is an excellent forum, but don't be scared off or expect a cure-all from a low dose hormone. Good luck!

Singulair, montelukast, contains a chloroquine in it's molecular structure. I am praying that the FDA takes this investigation seriously. Other countries are concerned about the neuro-psychiatric side effects of these categories of drugs for some very good reasons.

"In summary, we have used a combination of electrophysiology, ligand binding, homology modelling and simulated docking to define the mechanisms by which quinine, chloroquine and mefloquine inhibit the 5-HT3 receptor response. Our observations further extend the number of receptors known to be affected by these compounds and the growing diversity of targets may account for the broad spectrum of side effects that have been reported by patients receiving them (Luzzi and Peto, 1993; Palmer et al., 1993; Taylor and White, 2004). Inhibition of the 5-HT3-mediated current could have wide-ranging effects in the nervous system, as 5-HT3 receptors can modulate a variety of neurotransmitter responses such as those to GABA, dopamine and cholecystokinin (Thompson et al., 2006b)."

******

Clinical trial of montelukast in the Netherlands.

I noticed two things:

1. The researcher states that sides effects are 10%.
2. The researcher will not allow patients to also take drugs which are metabolized by CYP2C8 because montelukast inhibits that as proved by in vitro (test tube) studies. American studies in vitro said yes montelukast is an inhibitor but in vivo (in people) that it didn't happen. I was always confused by that and would still like to know more
.
******

One of the most important questions we should be asking as parents is:

How does Singulair - a leukotriene receptor antagonist (blocks the receptors) affect the normal function of the mast cell?

The mast cell is the FRONT LINE DEFENSE against invading micro-organisms. When Singulair was invented, there was limited knowledge regarding the mechanisms by which the mast cell performed it's function. In my opinion, the focus was very narrow - those interested zeroed in on how the leukotriene receptor performed a role in the cause of asthma attacks and how ashma attacks could be prevented. Well, that's good preventing asthma attacks. But what happens to the mast cell if that receptor is blocked on a long term basis. I am not suggesting that blocking the receptor is bad but what if the long term effect is different than what we are are lead to believe-which is this is a safe medication with no known long term effects. What if the leukotriene receptor was just blocked short term a week or two to allow the body to clean up the mess from the last attack?

I seriously question what is going on with all of these infections. Are they related to crippling the mast cell? Parents should be allowed to question. If Merck doesn't want to answer questions regarding what happens to the mast cell (including are the numbers of mast cell decreased on Singulair), then something really BIG is missing. If by any chance (unknown at the moment) that the mast cell is significantly changed and therapy by montelukast is proper on a short but not long term basis, so freakin' what if Singulair is not a huge money maker any more.

Parents deserve every answer possible when decisions regarding their child's growth and development is on the line. I hope that we get some answers.

Of course, what was there in 2002 were new questions-not necessarily answers about the mast cell. Did anybody apply this to Singulair studies?
May 2002

From Journal of Clinical Investigation

Pattern recognition receptors on mast cells
The Toll-like receptors (TLRs) fit the definition of pattern-recognition molecules, which were originally postulated to allow the innate immune system to detect the 'molecular signatures' of various infectious agents. Although the innate immune system has no memory, it shows a degree of specificity, in part because the various TLRs recognize different sets of pathogen-associated molecules. Dermal mast cells are usually associated, not with the innate immune system, but with atopic dermatitis, but Supajatura et al. have found that these cells also express TLRs. They report here that TLR4, which binds the gram-negative product lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and TLR2, which binds peptidoglycan (PGN) from gram-positive organisms like Staphylococcus aureus, induce distinct mast cell responses. Staphylococcus is known to exacerbate allergic dermatitis, but it has generally been thought to act by inducing antibacterial IgE's, which trigger mast cell degranulation by stimulating the IgE receptor. Interestingly, the authors show that the interaction between PGN and TLR2 can provoke mast cell degranulation directly, sidestepping the need for IgE receptor engagement.

I just got a very condescending private message from a doctor on this site who said that while my articles from Europe are very helpful that I don't know what I am talking about and that I could mislead the public. Then I see how many parents and patients got a condescending attitude from their own doctors.

Well the public has been mislead but it is not my fault. I don't see any experts in this field stepping up to the plate to acknowledge that these side effects exist, have been reported by authorities in other countries, and that these experts are interested in learning why they are happening. This is an extremely widely prescribed medication that involves the lives of millions.

Merck's research director was quoted as saying that they know of no mechanisms by which these side effects could be related to psychiatric adverse drug reactions. That was a flat out LIE. So what if I quoted you a research article from China that was very complicated and yes, could possibly be misinterpreted by somebody? I just needed to give you an example. The only expert so far that had the guts to give you a truthful statement was Dr. J. Douglas Bremner. Thankfully, he corrected a misunderstanding about saying that it was "unclear."

I hope that we will all hang in there and something will be said by somebody, anybody on this site that will make the FDA listen and investigate Singulair (montelukast) all the way back to the very original studies done in test tubes not on people. And, then take a new look at it from the standpoint of what we now know about human genetics. I guess I will keep repeating myself about one size does not fit all.

I would also PRAY that all clinical studies on Singulair (montelukast) would be suspended until the FDA decides why these side effects occur. And that they would issue a statement to doctors to make conservative decisions regarding treatment with Singulair until the results of the investigation have been reported.

I hope that nobody thinks that I am trying to mislead anyone. The answers are either unknown or being hidden by Merck. How would I know the answers? I don't work for Merck. How many other people are out there trying to translate articles in foreign languages to see what's going on? American doctors are calling Merck and being assured that there is nothing to these claims.

I wonder how many experts there are that just don't want to be another Jeffrey Wigand or don't know what is wrong?

I know that I am ranting but somebody should do it.