Myriad symptoms and conditions

I have been reading all of your Simvastatin experiences with high interest and would like to share my adventures with all of you as well. My story began seven years ago when I was relatively healthy and enjoying life. My doctor prescribed Lipitor for my elevated cholesterol and two months later I found myself in the emergency room after having a severe bout with vertigo for the first time in my life. I have since spent the last seven years fighting this debilitating illness which continues to haunt me after having seen every top neurologist in my area and having taken every neurological test available. It would be as difficult to convince me that I was not somehow "poisoned" by Lipitor as it was for me to convince my doctor.

I was eventually prescribed Simvastatin 40MG and seemed to stabilize for a few years even though my dizziness problems persisted. Suddenly I began experiencing bouts of upset stomach and severe lower abdominal pain. I allowed my doctor to order basically every nasty test known to man in an effort to discover the cause of this new problem, but all have come up negative so far. Eventually I began to experience total exhaustion in the middle of my work day, not to mention the back, neck, and muscle pain that has been described so vividly in this forum. Basically, I have become a 53 year old man who feels much older, has absolutely no energy, and rarely has a day when I can honestly say I feel alive and well.

I am not a doctor and I can't honestly prove that Simvastatin is the cause of all of my problems. However, I do have common sense and after reading all of your thoughtful comments on the subject I would be foolish to at least not suspect that the drug may possibly be making me less healthy and not more healthy. Thank you all for opening my mind to this possibility and I certainly plan on discussing this with my doctor very soon, who may no longer by my doctor should he continue to insist that I take this nasty drug.

I have had the Mirena since Feb. of 2007. I still have heavy periods that last approx. 10-12 days and my cycle is every 26 days. I do have the bloating and extreme fatigue as well as the "lazy" feelings. I have no cramping, no back pain, or headache. It was a piece of cake to have inserted...it was done during my 6 week post partum pap smear and it was painless. While it sucks to have my period for ½ the month (which does nothing for the sex life) and it sucks to be bloated and feel tired, and it sucks when we DO have sex that we can both feel it for the first 30 seconds or so, AND it sucks that I can't wear a tampon with it...I'd much rather have this than have to take a pill (I'm not a good pill taker) and it does prevent pregnancy, and it doesn't have NEAR the side effects of estrogen based BCP's. That being said...I am almost 42 years old with a 3 yr old and an 18 month old and that in itself makes me extremely tired. Also, to bond...I didn't think they would put the Mirena in someone who had never had children??? At any rate...I have really had no problems with it, but I am considering having my husband get a vasectomy so I can get this out of me and maybe the fatigue will leave, and hopefully the periods will get shorter and less heavy. I am also considering an endometrial ablation as well...but knowing my luck, I'll probably still have periods considering I'm in the 10% of Mirena users who still have a period after a year of use. Girls, you just have to accept the fact that we are women with crummy hormones that will give us headaches, and hot flashes, and back aches, and acne, and cramps, and bloatedness, and tender breasts, and a myriad of other symptoms for our entires lives. It's just the way God made us.

Anyone having these side effects? Spotting, dizziness, foul smell "down there"?

Prescribed Avelox after previous antibiotic could not clear up sinusitis. Avelox cleared it up within three days, but I feel worse now. Extreme agitation/anxiety, tremors, twitches, no appetite, boughts of depression, dizzy, lack of coordination, accelerated heart rate, leg shake, cold extremities, very strange, vivid dreams. Doctor told me to stop taking and side effects should clear up in a few days ( I hope). This is nuts. I feel like I am going insane. I could not go to work for three days due to side effects.

My son is 11 years old. He has been on Singulair for about six years. Ihave taken him to see a psychologist twice because of his terrible mood swings. He was diagnosed with depression last year. I am very concerned about this drug now. He has also suffered from migraines for two years. I also pulled him out of school and started homeschooling him because of the stress of school was causing three migraines a month. I also have a 19 year old boy who is not on singulair now. He took it for 8 years and was diagnosed with ADHD. He also went through depression as a child. I am making a appointment for my son to go back to his allergy doc tomorrow. Also I am not blaming my sons illness on singulair, but I am terrible concerned that it could have harmed my sons.

Hello, told my doctor today of leg cramps, facial rashes and numbness in feet....and specifically asked if they were related to Synthroid? He said no, I have been on it for 2months...and just upped script to .50mcg....and cramps are worse....I am going off the meds. I am in excellent health @ 64 and only went to this Doctor because of back pain.....was tested for a myriad of things...I had none of the symptoms for hypothyroidism.....what natural remedies are there for this . E.

I've never responded to a site like this, but now feel compelled to. I had my Mirena fitted 13months ago, after a friend recommended it on the strength of her excellent experience with it. I was on anti-depressants already, so haven't felt an overwhelming sense of depression, but have been thinking for the past 10 months or so, that I get way more tired, have an overall achy body often, painful joints and swollen ankles. All stuff I never experienced before. But the thing that really did it for me was the weight gain. I was only slightly over normal weight at the time of insertion but have been gaining weight steadily. Initially I thought it was just a bit over over-indulgence, but after weighing myself last week, I've made the horrifying discovery that I've gained 13kg in 13 months!!!!!!!! I've never fluctuated more than about 4 kg in my whole life, eat healthily and am normally active. Nothing has changed to what I was eating/doing before. I specifically searched the internet today to see if weight-gain is a problem. It's not listed as a major side-effect on the 'official' sites, yet I see it on many of the postings on this one.
And for those of you who are into alternative therapies, I had myself checked with a kinesiologist for dietary intolerances/allergies that could have caused this weight issue, and what came up is that the problem is progesterone. When she checked if my Mirena was a problem for me, it came up VERY positive. When checked if I should have it removed, the response was equally positive.
It's a pity, as I had none of the other problems mentioned and it's such a convenient method of bc. But in my case it's coming out, before I have to come out as a seriously obese 41 yr old!!!!!

Hi, I am 25. I have taken omeprazole 20mg. for 4 months for my GERD, and after the fourth month, I started having these abnormal heartbeats. I am really worried if these are side effects of omeprazole, and if this medicine may cause permanent damage to the heart. So I decided to see my PCP and requested a change in medication, so he prescribed me 6 month-refills of Aciphex 20mg. It’s my second week now, and I feel this weird itchy feeling inside my chest. I feel like I am always tired, and breathe hard than usual. Id this a side effect of Aciphex? Should I stop taking Aciphex? And does achiphex damages the heart muscle, or cause CAD?

My jaw dropped after reading all of these posts. I started on Yasmin 3 weeks ago. I've never really been on BC's before, so I thought that my headaches, numbness and fatigue were just because of school. I finally connected the dots and looked on the internet to see if it was the Yasmin or if i was just crazy. I am so thankful to have found this website. I wish it was in the paper or advertised. Doctors should not even be able to prescribe this drug.

Unfortunately, as with all drugs, including the lowly aspirin, there are a myriad of side-effects. There is not a single drug on the market that has no side-effects and almost all have multiple side-effects. Additionally, Western medicine is designed to treat symptoms, rather than treat the cause of the underlying problem. The Western medical establishment, and pharmaceutical industry in particular, profits from illness and has no incentive for patients to receive proactive care or treatment. With that being said, there are often many holistic, homeopathic or ayurvedic treatments for many of society's ailments. This is the thorn in the side of the big pharmaceutical corporations, such as Pfizer, Merck and others. They are working hard to have herbal and other supplements regulated by the paid-off FDA. The big pharma companies spend billions per year in FDA fees and enforcement activities to protect their investments and to prevent others from cutting into their market share--this is why they are so determined to regulate herbal supplements or even have them banned from the marketplace altogether. The other problem is the absurd scare tactics used by the FDA, FBI and the big pharma companies. What they fail to tell uneducated Americans is that companies like Cipla, Ranbaxy and Dr. Reddys have FDA-approved facilities both in the U.S. and in India. Furthermore, these companies supply a vast amount of American drugs, both generic and brand name. These drugs are not "counterfeit," but they may be "misbranded," under certain conditions. Think about it--India is a country with 1 billion people--more than three times the U.S. population. Do you think a multi-billion dollar company like Cipla would compromise its quality or even exist if their drugs were of inferior quality? This company thrives because of stringent quality control which produces superior products that surpass even those of Pfizer's or Merck's.

Originally diagnosed with PMR and was taking prednisone in high doses for 2 years with ok results, except that as I lowered the mg of prednisone the PMR symptoms returned. New doctor diagnosed RA instead and put me on Remicade. After 4 infusions I am having severe muscle pain in my upper right leg. And on occasion the beginning of the same problem in my upper left leg. Affectsmy mobility and I am taking large doses of tylinol & motrin for the pain. Doctor says this is not a side effect of the Remicade. At first I believed him, but now am having doubts. Anyone else have this side effect?

Some of you may well have Lyme disease. Sounds like Herxheimer reactions in many of you. Basically it is a worsening/onset of symptoms, after taking antibiotics.
As Lyme spirochaetes die off, Toxins are released causing myriad symptoms. Then when you quit taking, symptoms remain, as Lyme disease needs many weeks/months of AB treatment to kill. Also take pineapple juice and acidophylus supplements/yogurt, for digestive issues. Totally quit alcohol and sugar.

Hello, I started taking Singulair last summer and after three months of thinking I must be dying I decided to look for a website that wasn't connected to formal medicine and I found this website and one other and was so relieved to read the postings I found. I am a retired R.N. and while working I saw more than my fair share of negligence and outright malpractice. I watched as the "helping professions" of medicine become yet another lucrative venue for the big businessmen. Drug companies are the worst. Do not expect or trust the drug companies to perform long-term testing of new drugs before releasing them to be prescribed. It doesn't happen the way it had before when there were strident ethical standards in force. It truly is about money. Something that really frightens me more and more is how the doctors and nurses believe what the drug companies have documented about their drugs as gospel. If a possible side effect isn't listed in the pharmacology manual they truly think it can't exist. These are intelligent people for the most part, but thinking can become institutionalized and narrowed along with their medical vision. Then here we have patients coming to the doctor or nurse practitioner complaining of a host of symptoms caused by a drug like Singulair and since these side effects are not listed in the Physicians Desk Reference the patient might be sent for a myriad of anxiety provoking tests, the patient might be improperly diagosed and improperly treated possibly with more medications that will do more to harm the patient. And here is this poor patient ,dispirited, because she is probably still experiencing these side effects and the real cause is being bypassed altogether due to a misplaced trust in a drug company. Who needs this and who needs an added problem, the wasteful and expensive expense! I stopped taking Singulair due to the people who were willing to share while looking for answers themselves. Your sharing has helped so many. I thank you. Singulair has helped with congestion that I would otherwise have gone to my PMD for an antibiotic. It clears the congestion along with a regimen of nasal douching with colloidal silver and oil of oregano just fine. I have asthma but it is rare for me to have an attack. My sinusitis is the reason Singulair was prescribed for me. I was alternately relieved and angry last year when I realized the things I was experiencing were from the Singulair. I was about to throw my presription bottle out when I decided to keep it just for the times of extreme sinus congestion. Three weeks ago my father died and I cried a lot and that gave way to congestion and so I took Singulair for two weeks and it happened all over again. I'm fifty five and forgetful, anyway, and now I had the added thick brain fog making me feel like I had dementia, so, I was forgetting where the arthritic stiffness and pain was coming from, the weakness in my legs and feet, the fatigue, the anxiousness, anxiety, the gastrointestinal pains and rumblings (I thought I had an ulcer), palpitations, chest pains, fears of choking when eating, (I had largyngitis for six weeks last year while on this horrible drug), depression, dizzyness (I was at a shopping mall to buy Father's Day gifts and was sure I was going to pass out or have a heart attack) , headaches and weird pressures felt in my head and numbness and tingling in hands, arms and feet and legs. I stopped taking it yesterday and I can say I feel about 50% improved. I know when the diet is examined and changed to a vegetarian diet excluding dairy products including eggs and drinking pure water and no carbonated beverages or alcohol that asthma and sinusitis can be greatly reduced and many times eliminated. I would welcome the dosage and schedule of the quercitin/bromelain regimen and any other alternative approaches...please email me at ****** If your doctor gives you the fisheye when you tell him that Singulair is killing you, and if he patronizes you thinking you do not know what YOU are talking about...remind him of this...remind him/her of all the doctors who believed hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) to be the answer to preventing heart disease and breast cancer in women...and how it was found that HRT actually was causing both Heart Disease and Breast Cancer!! Then you can appeal to him to use his gift of discernment giving up his blind faith in drug companies and their hype. Thank you

Hello Ladies!

I can't believe that it has been almost 4 months since I stopped taking Yasmin! I originally posted back in April with a myriad of side effects and problems that I was having being on this Hormone+Anti-Inflammatory combination pill. The first month off was rough, and I still felt weird at times. The second month was better, and now after 3 (almost 4) months I feel 100%. I attribute my feeling of 100% to drinking lots and lots of water (about 2 Liters/day) and working out several times a week. Since I'm not on Yasmin anymore, working out is much easier because I don't suffer from all of the muscle pain and fatigue that I did before.

I made a choice to not go back on hormonal Birth Control Pills ever again. Of course, this isn't a choice that everyone can make for themselves. It is a lot of responsibility being in a monogamous relationship and not being on a hormonal form of bith control. But, it's easy to rationalize being careful and taking the proper precautions when you know that you are Healthy and Happier not pumping your body full of artificial hormones.

My practitioner agrees that hormonal pills are not for me- and even appologized for allowing me to suffer as I did. Because I brought this to her attention, she said that she is sure to ask each one of her patients on hormonal birth control specific questions about how they are feeling. I guess I just thought that I felt "normal" after a while because I didn't know any better. Afterall, I had been on some form of hormonal birth control since about 16 years old, so for the past 8 years of my life I had grown accustomed to feeling like shit.

The worst is over for me, and I'm just happy to be able to let you all know what happened to me and alert you of my progress. I hope that you all take care of yourselves- and remember to not suffer silenty like I did, and many do, for far too long.

Much Love!