Natural medicine symptoms and conditions

I found this site by searching for depression and any of the medications I take: synthroid, metformin, glimepiride (amaryl), and lisinopril-hctz. And here's the culprit - lisinopril! I've been taking it for only a couple of months now but it feels like my world is closing in on my and I'm bouncing off the walls in my mind. I'm considering retiring having hit 62 and I thought it would be a happy time but instead I feel locked in a prison, with walls of debt, depression, loneliness, hopelessness, etc. closing in on me. I'm even very close to losing a boyfriend because I've become so clingy and emotionally needy.

I must say that I did stop taking an anti-depressant around the same time that I started with the lisinopril. However, the anti-depressant (Lexapro) was originally prescribed to combat anger and not depression. So I cannot say for sure that Lisinopril is the culprit here. But having read everyone's stories, it is very clear.

Thank you all for telling your experiences with this drug. God bless you all.

I was on Lipitor for less than a week 2 years ago and the muscle pains were so bad that moving my head was painful. I called the doctor's office and was instructed to stop taking the medication; which I did and felt 'back to normal' within a few days. I haven't had my cholesterol checked since that time, or if I did before surgery, no one mentioned anything negative about it. However 6 weeks ago I had a heart attack. Apparently my cholesterol was twice what it should it have been, and my potassium was incredibly low. So I'm now on Lipitor (standard procedure after having a heart attack and high cholesterol seen as the cause of it) to ensure that another blockage does not occur.

The only problem is I'm now bloated even though I've changed my diet drastically (no more junk food or soft drinks, no 'white' flour products, no dairy products with more than 5% M.F and lots of veggies and fruits). I've lost 3 or 4 pounds but my pants are too tight around my waist, and now I have a my upper abdomen bulges over the waistline. Besides that, I get muscle 'kinks' in very places and after sitting for more than 10 minutes I limp when I take the first few steps.

People have told me to 'keep taking Lipitor and Plavix' but exercise more. The only problem with that is that I have a brain aneurysm and the neurosurgeons don't think it can be operated on 'without it being a very high risk procedure'. The first one ruptured 10 years ago and since then I've managed to control my blood pressure. However the meds I took for that was what lead to my potassium being so low that my electrolytes were imbalanced. That combination of low potassium and high cholesterol is what lead to the heart attack.

I'm 54 and feel as though I'm losing control of 'how' I feel. Between Lipitor, Plavix and diuretics and medication for hypertension I'm not sure if it's one drug in particular that's making me 'ache, limp and look like a blimp' or if it's because of the interaction of all of them. How do I decide 'what' to stop? What's more important to look after first - my heart or my brain?

I started taking Yasmin at the end of July due to abnormal bleeding of the uterus. At the time that I started the pill, I had been having a period for two weeks so I was relieved when it stopped. However, I have been extremely tired to the point where it is hard for me to keep my eyes open especially right after taking the pill. I have also had extreme tenderness in my breast to the point where I can not sleep on either side of my body. I have always had cramps but this time they lasted throughout my entire period, and they were the worst I have ever experienced.

My symptoms are not as bad as some of the ones you all have posted, but I want tot stop this pill before things get any worse. My doctor said it would also help me with my weight loss, but I'm too exhausted to even take initiative. I called my doctor to make an appointment so I can get my meds changed. Wish me luck.

I am diabetic, and was put on Lisinopril to protect my kidneys. Keep in mind that I am of healthy body weigt, and walk 5 miles a day almost every single day. Since I started this drug (20mg once daily) my sugars have skyrocketed. I have never had a fasting much over 90, and now I am waking up in the 140's and 150's. I also have a dry hacking cough is about to put me over the edge. I am frustrated to say the least. I want to try natural medicine, but am scared. I have 2 small children, and want to be around for a long time.......

Be very wary of this drug! My son was on it for a year and a half ...the last six months were a veritable nightmare for him. Severe anxiety issues (had to be hospitalized at one point ) and depression. Doctors kept saying it was not the medication but when I googled the drug side effects and stumbled on a blog about singulair problems , I told my son and off the medication he went. Within a month he was back to his normal self .
Thank goodness he was old enough to tell me how he was feeling ( 17 years old at the time) but what about very young children on this drug...how can they voice their problems when they don't have the vocabulary or knowledge of what is "normal"?

@guest 12599:

You wrote, that you think agnus castus might help very good for moodiness and so on. I was put on Agnus Castus a month ago because since getting off Yasmin in Feburary I only had one regular period around easter and then no more and I'm completely bloated and pumped full with water and so on! But I still don't feel any big changes in my symptoms, caused by the hormone imbalance after Yasmin.

Did you take Agnus Castus, too, and if so, then how long did it take for you to feel an improvement??

Most doctor's say, that it might take about 2 or 3 months taking Agnus Castus until you feel a change in your symptoms (well, after all it's a natural medicine), but I've already gone through a very very hard and long time WITH horrible symptoms brought on by Yasmin so I don't have much patience to wait any longer getting my hormones back in balance and feeling like my old self at least!

Would be very helpful to hear from you again!! Thanks!!

Hi everyone, Okay its day 6 of taking prednisone, I am feeling so light headed and awful that I decided to get a second opinion on my Bronchitis and all the cortisone that my Doctor has been giving me. Twice a day on Cortisone nebulizer and 40g of Prednisone a day. I am calling another Doctor I trust that I used before I moved State, tomorrow. I want to get a second opinion about how to wean myself off this Cortisone. I have then decided to go an see a Homeopath that helped me with my 35kg weight loss. She is brilliant. She is far from me to drive but after going through the side effects of this Prednisone I will drive anywhere to get better medical treatment. So no more chemicals in my body from now on I want natural medicine, it may take longer to heal but at least its going for the root of the problem and not the symptom. Wish me luck! -

to guest 12318:

You're not alone with the weight gain problem. I'm here, too!!!

After all this shit I'd gone through WITH Yasmin, this problem is now depressing AFTER Yasmin!! It's horrible!! I don't feel like my old self at all, especially when I look in a mirror.... Sometimes I don't like to go out of my house because I feel so ashamed about how I'm looking now!! All this weight came up in only a few weeks and without eating more or doing anything different than before, I swear!!!! It's a nightmare!!

But my family doctor told me that in his believe all this gained weight will go away as soon as my body is totally recovered from all the symptoms of Yasmin and the hormones are back in balance again. So there seems to be a little hope for us!! Don't despair!! It's day 62 off for you and that is not very long. So there will be better times ahead for all of us.

I too have to take some (NATURAL!!) medicine to get my cycle back in balance, because I didn't have a period after getting off Yasmin, too!! So that seems to be a common "after Yasmin problem".

Stay in there!! We'll be back to normal some day, and if not tomorrow but in a few months!! I'M sure!!!

All the best to you out there!!

Greetings from Germany
Silke

@ fairsjk:

It is DEFINITELY not enough to be off that Yasmin shit for 6 weeks to fully recover!!!

I've been off that drug now for 5 months (!!) and I'm still not really back to normal!! Especially the mental symptoms take much more time to get back to a normal level!! I know what I'm saying!! But at last there are very good days between the worse days. Well, but everyone should give it much more time that a few weeks or months.

My research in the internet and talking to my family doctor brought out that it might take nearly a YEAR to be back to 100% normal. That depends on how good your hormonal system is working. Therefore ( and unfortunately in my case...!) it may take a pretty long time until the hormones are finally back in balance again and all the symptoms brought on by Yasmin may disappear.

Just stay strong everybody, there are better times ahead!!!

I'm now taking a natural medicine called "Mönchspfeffer" here in Germany (other name: Agnus Castus) which should help to get the hormones back in balance a little bit faster and lighten symptoms of PMS, such as depression, water retention, headaches, and so on. I've been on it just for a week so that I can't already really say if it works. It's a natural medicine, so it may take about 3 months to see it it's really effective and working good for me. Maybe it's just a little hope for some of us.

All the best to you out there!!