Menopausal symptoms and conditions

l only had FOSAMAX 70mg for three weeks, and l had enough. Terrible chest pain along with shortness of breath, palpitations, mild cough, dizziness, fatigue and general body pain mainly in my feet, neck and back. This is a poison that may be killing people quite soon! Stop from taking it! l"m 53, and since being menopausal, l was confusing the symptoms, but NO, this pain along with what l feel is completely new and different.

Wow. I have an appointment to go get my blood work done, because I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I feel the way I do. Until my friend asked me if it could be the Mirena... duh. I've had it now for almost a year. (It was put in after my second baby.) It hadn't even occurred to me before that it could be the culprit. I wake up every morning feeling like I just got hit by a bus. Anything but refreshed! I can be happy one second and then TICKED OFF the next. I never ever in my life would even THINK of swear words in my head. Now, it's a rare occasion when I DON'T freak out and kick walls and say every swear word I know. My vision is blurry. My neck is super stiff. My lower back always hurts. I get so depressed. People who know me are starting to notice that I'm not the same old me. My husband calls me crazy. My kids pray that mommy will stop being grumpy. I keep wondering why I hate my life, when everything is just what anyone would ever want. Hmmm.... something isn't right.

I just finished my first month on Le 24 and I am only taking it to regulate my periods (I am peri-menopausal). Unfortunately, I have now had break-through bleeding that I guess turned into a period (all of it HEAVY) for 14 days straight. My nurse-midwife assures me that it takes 3 months to allow this pill to work well and to let the body settle down, but I am tired as a dog and I am sure anemic at this point! Not to mention the zits! I do like the perkier breasts and my tummy is flat. Lots of blood but no cramping. I don't get it? I am getting a little depressed and this is KILLING our sex-life! I am going to keep reading this to see what other's experiences are and If things don't improve soon, I am looking for a better answer!

I am 54 I took lipitor 20 mg for one day and 14 hours later I couldn't void so I went to the Dr. for sx of a uti. Was told keep taking the lipitor sent home on an atb. A week later started getting acne thought it might be a reaction to the atb, so I kept taking the lipitor. All along I started with muscle pain but everyone I knew taking lipitor had those side effects. My pain increased but I thought I must have to get used to it. Day 13, I started with heavy menstrual bleeding, now I have not had a period for three years so we ladies know this is not normal. The female Dr. did an
ultra sound and it showed I was menopausal and everything was normal no cause for the bleeding and yes it couldn't be the lipitor. I had stopped it on day 13 but I still do not feel any better so I found your web site and I hope we all feel better soon and I wouldn't reccommend this drug for anyone.

Funny (not ha-ha) how one drug leads to another leads to another... My dr. started me on Lipitor for cholesterol, then Lisinopril for borderline high bp. Both drugs increased after six months - Lisinopril up to 40 mg. a day. I started to feel constantly fatigued, irritable, depressed and no sex drive at all. I thought I was going menopausal, but estrogen levels were normal. So I went on Wellbutrin to combat those symptoms. Seemed to help at first, but gradually less so - even at increased dosage. Dr. never suggested there might be other side effects to these drugs other than "dry cough" with Lisinopril, which would probably just "go away". Ever notice how side effects are minimalized by doctors., if acknowledged at all! I started to feel toxic with all the medicine in my system and decided to look into side effects. Now I am not taking these meds anymore - am watching my diet and will go to check ups. If doctor is unhappy with me I will look for different doctor!

I am a 51 year old female that has experienced several side effects from lisinopril, especially when I started going into perimenopause at the age of 48. I am now menopausal, but I thought I was doomed to having hot flashes/night sweats, sleep deprivaton (wake up every hour or so every night), depression, forgetfulness, lack of concentration, bloating for many years to come. I discovered that the lisinopril was causing this when I went on a cleansing diet for a week in January and noticed that some days I felt great and other days I felt like crap. I realized the pattern was directly connected to whether I remembered to take my lisinopril. I started taking 20mg/day 7 years ago, was upped to 40mg/day 3 years ago and have stopped taking it for now so I can function normally, especially for my analyst job. I've been making some lifestyle adjustments (losing weight, deep breathing (I tend to hold my breath frequently), next I need to quit smoking) to lower my BP somewhat, but I am going to ask my doctor for an angiotensin receptor blocker (DIOVAN since some peope have mentioned here that they have been successful with that) when I have my appointment in 2 weeks. Uncontrolled HBP can cause more serious problems down the road, so I have to try to control it with meds for now while I continue my lifestyle adjustments.

Has any woman ever experienced side effects that could be confused with perimenopause or menopausal symptoms?

I started on Levoxyl about 3 months ago. I noticed my hot flashes (I'm menopausal) get worse, then I started getting horrible irritable bowel, nervousness, tingling, headaches, and mood lability. I have been off it a week. The symptoms are a little better but still persist. Anyone know how long these might last? I will not use it again, for sure. If anything, I will use Armour Thyroid or something more natural. Any suggestions.

I have been taking Lisopril 10 mg. for only 4 days. Already I have felt terrible. The first 2 days I had so much fatigue and aching in my body - I felt like I had the flu. I spent almost one whole day in bed. Today I was feeling depressed and like I was menopausal again - with heat sensations. Now I notice a red rash on my chin and chest. I am not taking anymore of this medicine! My question is this......I had previously been taking Mavik 2 mg for almost a year. It too is an ACE inhibitor, but I never noticed any side effects with it. The reason the doctor switched me to Lisinopril is because the cost of Mavik is so expensive...even with insurance. Does anyone know, about Mavik? Also, I have taken Atenolol for many years, and if I have side effects, I'm not aware of them. Will I need to ween myself off of the Ace inhibitors? I'd appreciate your comments.

I am taking Topomax for migraines. I always start everything at a really LOW dose since I have a lot of probs with side effects. Started at 15 mg and went right away to 30mg (15mg twice daily) the second week because I was dying from headaches. The other antidepressants prescribed for constant daily headache prevention all of a sudden weren't working. I didn't want to take my abortive med for migraines every day (Amerge) so I was curious if Topomax might help my daily headache pain. Possibly my daily headaches had become migraines... so hard to tell one from the other anymore. I teach exercise for a living and so much of my headache pain is exercise induced. I found that while on topomax, all of a sudden 2 Advil would take away a headache I would get after exercising which never happened before. I would take two Advil before doing some of my hardest exercise to prevent a headache and for the most part that worked too... and that never worked before. I had tried all kinds of NSAID's before and after exercise at the advice of my neurologist to no avail. I did have one diffuse headache yesterday that might have been a true migraine and I took Amerge because Advil didn't help. I have been on the 30 mg two week now. But, now the downside. Since on the 30mg I feel like my chest is heavy a lot of time when I do water exercise... I am exhausted a lot doing my usual routines... I feel edgy, can't sleep well at night. I HAVE to have a two hour nap after teaching in the morning or I can't function mentally or physically. I sleep well for that nap time. Seems like I have thermoregulation problems. I teach water exercise and if the water is a little cold it bothers me and it never used to. Then in the pool awhile I feel hot. Same when I sleep.. I need a lot of covers, then I throw them off. Then they are on again. No I am not menopausal yet. My brain is hazy on topomax as well. I take bellydance lessons and sometimes I realize I can't remember what my teacher just told me. Now people reading this, don't think that just because this happens to me, it will happen to you. I know people who LOVE topomax with zero side effects. They don't tend to write in to posting boards. Also, sometimes side effects go away. Be patient if you want to give topomax a shot. I am thinking I am going to go back to 15 mg again... and see how I tolerate that. Because I teach exercise, the hardest thing is to feel the heaviness in the chest and the lack of ambition. This is not me. It is great not to have the headache pain, but I don't know if this is the drug for me. I was excited about the "losing weight " side effect , and I could see how skinny people who lose their appetite easily might be affected, but it takes a lot to stop me from eating LOL darn! I did read in another chat some poor chap had sinisitis for months and took TONS of antibiotics before finding out Topomax gives sinisitis type side effects in a small amount of people. So if you get sinisitis, don't take antibiotics before checking out if topomax is the culprit.

My heart goes out to every person out there trying to find the magic bullet for their headache, siezures, whatever... ADVICE.. .start with SMALL doses... you may be able to get used to side effects if you work up slowly in ALL drugs. In many drugs that didn't come in small doses, I took out 3/4 of what was inside just to get a mini dose. Ask your doc if you can mix one capsule or one pounded up tab of your med with juice and store it in the referigerator. You can drink say 1/8 cup a day of the juice to get 1/8 of a capsule. It is a lot easier than chopping up a tab into eighths. Also ask your doc about childrens doses that come in liquids with droppers. Topomax makes taking smaller doses easy with the sprinkles.. you are encouraged to open the capsule and sprinkle as little as you want on food. Good luck all. L.

My thyroid was destroyed in Sept. 1987 by radioactive iodine. What I know now, I wish that I knew back then. I have been hyper most of my life up until this date. Was always able to go into any store buy clothes without trying them own, knowing that they would fit perfectly; lots of energy, raised two boys by myself and even worked on a college degree. Was very active. Had to go in for surgery for my gallbladder; 24 hours later, they didn't know if I was going to live. Put me on the gieger counters to test my thyroid, was so hyper that I broke every piece of equipment in the hospital. After my thyroid was destroyed, I packed on 60 pounds and have not been able to lose it to this day. Am extrememly tired. My whole system is so messed up that I am looking to alternative methods to see if I might get some help there. Told my doctor about my problems with weight, tireness, and bowel problems (which the medication has effected), he looks at me as if I am nuts and don't know what I am talking about.

Now that I am menopausal, the sympthoms have been amplified. I know of several people that have had problems with gaining weight and others that never had any problems with the medication. GO FIG!!!!

I really have a question? Can Levoxyl affect your glucose level?

@ flowerbabies:

Well, it seems to be pretty normal to have a totally screwed up cycle after that Yasmin nightmare (I'm also only 32 and sometimes feel really menopausal!!!)... I didn't get my period at all for about 1,5 years after stopping Yasmin!! Then, about 5 weeks ago, I finally got my first normal period after Yasmin and now I'm awaiting it again... A few days ago I only had a little spotting and thought it was my period coming on. But after about 2 - 3 days everthing was gone again... Don't know what that means.... Holy sh..... I hope that this nightmare someday will have an end and I'm really back to 100% normal again without waiting for my period months and months and feeling like an old menopausal...... Sorry ladies, I'm a bit down at the moment again because of all that agony Yasmin brought into my life.....

What I wanted to say is, that I think it's pretty normal, that our bodies need some time (in some cases A LOT OF time...) to get back its own balance...

And all of you, ladies: forget those doctors or nurses that try to tell you, you HAVE TO feel better after about xxx weeks or xxx months, otherwise it's all in your head. There's noone who can say how long it takes especially for YOU to feel better or to be completely back to normal again. That depends on so much things...... your metabolism, your weight, your age, your hormonal state before Yasmin, and so on!

For some women it only took about a few months to feel normal again, for other women over a year. There's definitely NOT only ONE rule for everyone of us! In my family for example there's been hormonal problems over generations, so that's the reason, why it takes me that damn long to get back my normal hormonal state again.....

So all of you out there, still in Yasmin recovery, stay patient!! That's so important!! Give your body the time it needs, even if it might be months or years!! It's not just a little cold or the flu we're all going through, it's a real heavy hormonal chaos, that Yasmin has caused in all of us and such things need time!!

Flowerbabies: I completely agree with everything you wrote (about the vitamines, etc.)!! That's the only things that really might help!!

@kendra:

That sounds as if I had written it about 1,5 years ago!! After such a short time without Yasmin those symptoms are pretty normal, believe me! It's your body trying to get back its own balance and put on its own hormonal production. After getting off Yasmin I felt so bloated, none of my clothes didn't fit anymore. And some time later everything went away again, especially the weight, I had put on after Yasmin, is going down month by month, without changing anything in my habits!!

All you need is time ladies!! Just keep that in mind and don't quit, stay strong and hang in there! You will get better!! I promise!!

All the best to everyone out there and god's bless!!

Silke

Hi ladies, Lisa, 2girlsmom, Sherry, and everyone else!

GOOD NEWS from Silke:

I FINALLY GOT MY FIRST NORMAL PERIOD after stopping Yasmin in February 2005!!!!! It's taken me the whole of 1,5 YEARS to get here where I'm now!!! I really was about to think I'm already menopausal in the age of 31.... And I'm so proud that I stood this 2,5 years lasting Yasmin-agony without any medication or antidepressant or anything else...

So ladies, my story is the proof:

Please give your body the time it needs after stopping Yasmin to get back its own balance!! Your body can heal ITSELF; if you were healthy before Yasmin you also WILL be AFTER Yasmin, all it needs is time and VERY MUCH patience!!!!!

I refused to do anything to my body after the nightmare with Yasmin, my gyn told me last year, that he could give me "something" to get my period and I REFUSED to take that stuff!! And I'm so glad, I did!!! God knows what this stuff perhaps would have caused again to my hormone balance....

I feel so happy and delighted ladies, I can't tell.... Well, I got a little cramping, I feel nauseous, got a little headache and a little dizzy, well, just normal things during your period, and nevertheless feel HAPPY!!!!

My weight is still going down month by month without working out more than before or eating less... My whole system is healing itself, I felt it and now I also can SEE it!! :)

So again this goes out to every Yasmin victim:

Get OFF that stuff, as fast as you can, midpack or not, throw it away!! And then be patient and WAIT for better times. Take a little magnesium and/or Vitamin B to help your body, drink lots of water and eat healthy. That has been my plan for the last 1,5 years and it helped!!!

The hair loss after Yasmin is completely normal!!!! That happens due to the hormonal changes you're going through. That even happens to some women after pregnancy!! And taking the pill is something like a "false pregnancy"!!!

After getting off the pill I also had dizziness, nausea, and many other things, but I always kept in mind: It's just the hormones trying to get back in balance; every few weeks those symptoms got worse and then better again (well, always around ovulation and then again around the time my period SHOULD have started) and BINGO: that's what it was!!!

Ladies, that was a very hard time for me, as you know if you've been reading all of my posts since 2005 and now I'm back again!! Sometimes I thought, I couldn't bare all that anymore and nearly was about to give up my life, I swear!! Trying to put me on antidepressants in January 2005 just made it worse and I'm so glad now, that I stopped taking that stuff after one week and never touched it again!!

In my worst times I only had some valerian with me, which isn't knocking out totally out but just calms down a bit. And it worked!! And since around May 2005 I even didn't take valerian again.

Ladies, YOU CAN GET OVER THAT agony by yourself, even if it needs a lot of power. Believe me: I KNOW it!!!

Best wishes to you all and god's bless!!!

Silke

Hi Guest 25816!!

It seems that Yasmin brings every body, or better, its metabolism extremely out ouf whack. And I think it's pretty normal, that after 2 months everything isn't yet back to normal!!

I don't want to discourage you, but I've been off Yasmin for over 1 year now and still didn't get my normal period, yet... And during the last week I surfed the web and searched for my symptoms, which I still got (though not at all as bad as WITH Yasmin!!! Everything has gotten 80% better than around one Year ago!) and all I found were sites about menopause....

But I also think (and I really BELIEVE!!) that in our case (we're really not old enough to get menopausal, I'm 31) it's just a hormonal imbalance, which will be gone if only we have enough patience. And you also should remember, that every person ist different and in your case your body might recover much faster!! I don't know how long you had been taking Yasmin, in my case it were 5 long years, without realizing, what that poison was doing to me... So I think it's very normal, that it takes my body longer than others to get back to where it was before Yasmin!!!

Stay strong and always believe in better times and remember to be patient and not to give up!! I'm sure some day you'll have a sweet baby in your arms and that Yasmin-nightmare will be completely forgotten!!

Best wishes!

Silke

I'm not sure if what I'm experiencing is a side effect of Ambien...or not...but, I've been taking Ambien CR 12.5 mg for a couple of months due to menopausal insomnia...and starting around 3 weeks ago...I have a "wandering numbness"...with a very slight "burning" feeling on my right side...especially my right arm...my right ankle feels slightly swollen and numb also. My husband, who's an M.D., said that it sounds neurological. Could this be from the Ambien????

I have been on Wellbutrin (generic) for over a year now, and I have also been being treated for severe hot flashes and it has been determined that I am not menopausal. I stopped taking the med yesterday and today and the hot flashes have greatly diminished. Can anyone tell me if they have had similar experiences or is it just a coincidence that I am feeling different?

Please email me if anyone has had the same thing happen and what medication did you take after stopping the Wellbutrin?

Jacquie

Actually, I am trying to find out if Lisinopril could possibly cause night sweats. Since no one else has mentioned it, it would seem that I will have to continue my research. I have weaned myself off Paxil successfully, thinking that it was the culprit, but no luck. Stlll having the night sweats. The only other med I take is HCTZ. I haven't had an uninterrupted night's sleep in a few years. I'm 74 years old, so it's not menopausal. Thanks for the soapbox.

i took ambien for 7 years at the advice of my doctor for menopausal sleeplessness. i came off it with great difficulty in may. i had terrible headaches, acid reflux and allergy type symptoms as well as the brain fog. i still have trouble sleeping but generally feel so much better off it--it is habit forming.

what a relief! i am not crazy (well...) like many of you, i first thought it was a miracle drug (my nose was clear for the first time in years and it really helped the asthma) but after a few days got the nightmares, rash on chest, severe dizziness plus started running a slight fever, headache and shivering in the afternoons. my doctor asked if i was menopausal! never mind the inset warning about immediately discontinuing for flu-like symptoms. hideous drug. took a month for the rash to go away and to find a new MD - but it reminded me: always trust yourself! bless you all

I have been menopausal since 1999. I had 80mg of Kenalog injected in my lumbar region. 12 days later I felt like I was getting my period and have had vaginal bleeding ever since. I have cramping and bright red blood bleeding. Anyone else had this effect? The doctor and nurse practicioner laughed at me when I said I thought the Kenalog caused it.