Natural remedies 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.

To the best of my knowledge I never had any of the 'immediate' symptoms.
My problems are probably due to the fact that I was prescribed Cipro 3 possibly 4 times from Aug 06 - Dec 07 and then finished up Dec 07 with a round of Levaquin. My father is over 60 and was recently given Levaquin and had immediate and serious problems. He is seeing a doctor recommended by the CDC today. Yes, he is even working with the CDC on
this one. Due to all he is being told he is convinced that the medication is behind my medical decline as well. Since taking these medications (symptoms started slowly in 07), but after taking the Levaquin at Christmas time I never got up from the couch. My thyroid gland has quit working, my adrenals are shot, I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, blew out 3 disks in my back, vision is deteriorating rapidly, and really so many things I can't list them all. I had a complete physical
in Oct 05 and was given a perfect bill of health. Through Aug 06 I was riding my bicycle 33 miles per week. I'm still trying to figure out what hit me??
What my father has been told is that in some individuals Levaquin will attack the glands (like the thyroid) and will compromise the immune system. This damage appears to be permanent. All I know is that I went from being extremely healthy to terribly sick. If in a day's time I have enough energy to load and unload the dishwasher it is a banner day. I can
not work and seem to get worse instead of better as each day passes.

My husband also had pneumonia at Christmas and took Levaquin but does not seem to have had an problems. I suspect it was possibly the cumulative effect of having basically 4-5 rounds of the antibiotic in a years time. According to the people at the CDC that have spoken to my father the symptoms that I have can all be traced back to the medication. One never knows what effect a medication will have. Just please be careful when taking this medication, and limit how many times you take it.

I had a sinus infection and my doctor handed me samples of Levaquin, 5 doses at 750mg each. I took it for the first 2 days, couldn't sleep, forgot to take it on the 3rd day because I finally was able to catch up on the sleep that I missed from the 1st and 2nd day. Took the third dose and noticed that my shoulder (left shoulder) was starting to hurt, I thought I had slept on it the wrong way, until I started looking at the side effects on the 4th day after I took my 4th dose. After I read the side effects I threw the 5th dose in the trash. I love my doctor and he has always helped by giving out samples, but what the samples don't tell you are the side effects. Needless to say I have been off of it for 2 days now. I am sleeping slightly better, but now have to adjust the way I sleep because I can't raise my arm any higher than level to my shoulder with out horrible pain. I am 28 and very active but now I fear that I may have to worry about rupturing my shoulder. I think I will head back to my doctor to see what I can do.

Yes, I have been taking Vytorin 10/40 for about 10 months, and it did reduce my cholesterol and triglycerides to 'normal', however, I slowly developed (initially) some 3 months back, problems in my left solder, diagnosed eventually as 'rotator cuff' ligament damage, however, it came on slowly and progressively worsened. I had not done anything strenuous to develop such a condition. It became so bad that I was basically redd to using my right arm. On top of this, the muscles in my lower arms became sore and felt strained even lifting a glass of water was painful. My Doctor was informed of increasing on-going muscle problems, did an emzine muscle test, which turned out to be 'clear'. And I also lost my sexual drive gradually.
I went off taking Vytorin a week ago on my own gut feeling, and my arm muscles and left shoulder have improved. I am also hoping no permanent damage. I am moving to a much higher exercise regime to 'burn' cholesterol and reduce triglycerides, and in the mean time look for 'natural' solutions as well.
I am not impressed with the medical responses I got, along with miss-diagnosed muscle / tendon supposed 'rotator cuff' serious problem that developed in my left shoulder, which I suspect may never be the same functionally. I recommend looking at other alternatives and natural remedies, this is my course of action. MM

Hi ummmm im kinda new at this sort of thing.......have never taken any sort of birth control pills in my life well then again im only seventeen. Anyway....ive not seen my period since march.......and this is now September....but recently my doctor told me its a great possibility that i might have pcos and she wants to put me on Yasmin but after hearing all you guys criticize it........im not so sure if i should what should i do???!!!???

HELLO EVERYONE....IM SITTING AT WORK AND JUST DECIDED TO RESEARCH THIS DRUG LISINOPRIL...BECAUSE I AM REALLY BORED....WHEN I GOOGLED THE NAME I CAME ACROSS THIS SITE.....OMYGOSH...I THOUGHT I WAS GOING CRAZY...I HAVE BEEN TAKING Lisinopril FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS NOW....I ALWAYS READ THE INSERTS THAT COME WITH THE MEDICATION BUT I NEVER SEEN THE SIDE EFFECTS THAT WE ARE HAVING ON THE INSERT...I SING IN THE CHURCH CHOIR AN I ALWAYS WONDERED WHY MY VOICE WOULD BE SO HORRIBLE AND MESSED UP..I AM SO HAPPY I GOOGLED THIS DRUG...DOSE ANYONE KNOW HOW LONG IT TAKES BEFORE YOUR BODY GOES BACK TO NORMAL AFTER STOPPING THE DRUG....

Back again Oh my am so confused on what to do.. I was taken off this med(LISINOPRIL) at my extreme constant complaint- and put on another--well either I have atypical reactions to all these drugs or am still having side effects from the Lisinopril-- I am taking diavon now-- I feel even worse-- rash is back head hurts so bad I could cry and I am weak all the time.. I could pull every hair that is left on the top of my head right out! I now have that rash around my neck and upper legs- was told before it could be the shingles hey I never had them before,, never.. my nerves are shattered I cry a lot and am hesitant to change again-so I stopped this is day 2 and my headache has subsided
What are we to do I am at wits end.. I know I need something but what today I am at 140/90 going back up,, any suggestions? I started taking Zinc yesterday was told that I am experiencing LOW ZINC LEVELS DUE TO THE LISINOPRIL(HAS ANYONE ELSE BEEN TOLD THIS?)

I'm 21 and have been on Yasmin for 3 and a half months for bad acne. I was originally on Dianette but experience such severe side effects I honestly thought I'd be hospitalized, so I asked my doctor for Yasmin. All was fine for the first 2 months, but I'm now getting horrible pain in my right leg which won't go away no matter what, coupled with a pins and needles type feeling in my feet. I'm also developing spider veins on my legs, It's got to the point where I'm scared to look at my legs now in case any more have shown up! I've decided I'll come off it in a month or so, but don't know what to do to keep my acne at bay. Does anyone know of any natural remedies? I don't wanna keep messing around with drugs and hormones in case I cause long term damage!
Also, has anyone else gone to their doctor about these side effects, only to find the doctor says 'its nothing to do with the pill' when clearly it is! I saw 3 different doctors about my dianette problems, none of them believed it was down to the pill, but when I stopped taking it, my problems disappeared :/

I'm a 57-year-old male. I have been on Divovan 160 for about 3 years now. Several months ago I started to have back pain and it has been increasing. The doctor took x-rays and cat scan and the reports said that while I have some disc degeneration in my lower spine, the films are virtually unchanged since they were taken 5 years ago. In other words, I should not have back pain - but I do!
Lately, the pain has gotten worse - so bad that I can hardly get out of bed in the morning. It is located on the left side of my lower back. I also have incredible gas and despite diet and exercise, which is now impossible due to the pain, I could not lose weight no matter how hard I tried.
In the last 6 months I have slowly transformed from feeling pretty good for my age and capable of an hour a day on the treadmill to feeling like a 90-year old man. Today the pain was so bad I had to book off sick from work.
I went to the doctor and told him about all the negative stories on the Internet about Diovan. He looked up in his medical journal and decided to take me off the drug. Instead he prescribed a new drug, Rasilez (aliskiren fumarate).
Last month I tried stopping Diovan for 4 days and experienced a significant reduction in pain. I had to go back on because my pressure shot up again. I hope this new drug works without side effects.
Would appreciate responses from any of you who have had success with drugs alternative to Diovan and also success with natural remedies.
Best wishes to you all.

Hello all,
I'm a 45-yr old Air Force Major (Male) recently diagnosed with asymptomatic chronic Atrial Fibrillation (As in I have it and was walking around not knowing it). When I went to see the cardiologist, my B.P. was only 120 / 74 (Which, until they changed the rules, used to be normal)and he puts me on Diovan 80mg once a day plus Coumadin 5mg. Well the Diovan almost made me faint and I had numbness in both arms, plus a funky rash, kind of like chicken pox showing up on my arms and thighs.
I went online and read horror stories of Diovan so I stopped taking it immediately (I had only taken four doses and never had any horrible symptoms until after I took the meds!). Then the Dr. put me on an Event Monitor and it showed I was indeed in A-fib all the time, plus at night, my heart was racing briefly to 200 a minute while I was sound asleep. So he puts me on Toprol XL 100mg once a day.
Immediately I had trouble sleeping (Which I never had before, ever!) with crazy dreams and tossing/turning. My B.P. dropped to 88/65 and my fibrillating heart rate was 64!!! I was so mad because I actually felt better before the meds. I found this site and saw what everyone was posting and immediately took myself off the Toprol XL.
The day after stopping the Toprol I had slight chest pains (Like angina or gas bubble) but they went away on their own. I slept fine the next night.
I'm having an Electro-Cardiversion done on the 21st July to see if I can stop the A-fib and get in normal rhythm. I know the Dr. is going to be mad at me for stopping the Diovan and Toprol, but I'm sorry, I'm convinced there is a better way to beat all this (Namely exercise and eating right). Being in the service means you have to be Mr. Physical and Mental "perfect" all the time. I cannot afford to be diagnosed with depression in my line of work! Thanks to all on this website and I wish you the best.
PS. for those who think I'm being ignorant of my medication, I have a nice fat insurance policy and Power of attorney for my wife and kid in the event I keel over!!! I may be medication intolerant but at least I took care of my family.

Wow, I can't believe how common my side effects are now that I've read these posts. Ironically, the drug "claims" to have very seldom side effects, but I feel like I've finally figured out what has been driving me crazy: Aciphex! I'm a 26 yr old female, teacher (medium stress, but now on summer vacation!), healthy - teach health and p.e., don't smoke, do drink and eat spicy foods occasionally. I'm not on any other meds.
I think I've been on aciphex for about 3-4 years now, and have taken it continuously. I was told to take it this way by my GI, even though I've read on the label recently that the med should improve your symptoms within two months. What are the long term effects I wonder? It's been around since the 70's, but that doesn't explain how it's affected me and others. Last night I took my first dose from a new refill around 5pm (usually take it in the am) and woke up with severe panic/anxiety around 12:30. I was thinking random thoughts that made me feel like I was gonna die! My heart rate increased, I felt itchy all over, my mouth was SUPER dry, and I had terrible insomnia (watched two movies, didn't sleep until 4 am). I also had a ringing in my ear/fuzzy sound like the drug was too strong. It was whack... This was the worst experience I've had from taking it and I KNOW it had to be the aciphex. The weird thing is, I've been taking it for all these years, but have only really suffered from anxiety about 5 times off hand (never pleasant). I used to think it was my birth control pill, but since I've been off it, I still experienced the anxiety/nervousness, so I'm attributing it to the aciphex.
I'm going to make changes to my diet and try acidopholus and other natural remedies to see how I feel. If I don't get these attacks anymore, I'll know why. I hope this is what it was so I know I'm not just losing it!! :) It's not worth my mental health, that's for sure.

I am sitting hear reading these replays and crying because I am suffering the same symptoms. I have been on lipitor for over 5 years and have had repeated bouts of leg pains, head fogginess, dizziness, pain in thigh, hip, and back. I recently started having pains so bad i could not walk. The really sad part is that I am a nurse and should have known it was the lipitor. I had x-rays, ct scans, etc all negative. And today a light finally went off when I said maybe its a side effect from lipitor. And sure enough, looking at the stories here validates my late conclusion. I did not take dosage of lipitor today and will try some more natural remedies. I have scheduled to see my doctor on Wednesday to discuss this issue. Unfortunately I can barely walk without the usages of crutches. Sitting can be just horrible, i wake up in middle of night tossing and turning trying to find a position that the pain will stop in. I cry like a baby at times because of pain and maybe a little depression. This is horrible. Lipitor is an awesome drug in lowering your cholesterol but the side effects are just unbearable. I will continue to update.

Finally after a whole week of not eating because of the pain swallowing and the burning in my chest, I am able to eat again! Doctor gave me Omeprozole, 20mgs a day which calms acid, and it seems to be kicking in. They diagnosed Esophagitis, caused by the Doxycycline. I will never take anything again without reading the leaflet and considering alternative more natural remedies!!! Just wanted reassure anyone having problems after taking this - you will be able to eat and swallow it will take a good few days. I took advice to try take down only soft, gentle foods (was all I could do to eat a mouthful of mashed potato or scrambled eggs) and I drank lots of water. Thanks to everyone who showed support via this webpage. : )

has anyone took their child off of singular for more than 2 weeks and has the child had any breathing issues since being off?

My four year old son was put on Singulair about a month and a half ago for allergies/very light asthma. I was told that it would help him to possibly outgrow those conditions, and that we would re-evaluate in six months. At first I wasn't very consistent with giving it to him, but for the last two weeks or so he has had it every night before bed. For the last week he has not been himself. Whining a lot, upset about very little things, much more aggressive towards his sister, hitting, kicking, throwing fits. Twice this week his day care center staff pulled me aside and said he has been acting horribly. Upset about little things, angry, kicking, not listening, being very defiant...in short not acting like himself. Same as what we are seeing at home. It's like his behavior has regressed back to a two year old or worse.

I made an appointment for him today because of these behavior problems, plus he seems to be suffering a possible ear infection and bronchitis again anyway, which is what we started on the meds for in the first place. A co-worker remembered that we had recently started medication, and inquired about whether or not I thought that could be causing the behavioral issues. I did a search on google and came to this site. Reading these stories is like a light bulb switched on in my head! I feel horrible, why didn't I think to ask about side effects, why didn't I think about the meds being a possible cause of his behavior? No matter what the doctor says today, I am taking him off the Singular immediately. I will be in search of natural remedies to treat his allergies.

I've been having ringing in my ears (tinnitus) which started at about the same time I started taking Lisinopril. Has anyone else experienced this side effect?

I have a 3 year old son that was diagnosed back in December with allergies and was prescribed Zyrtec and Singulair, after taking them for a while we noticed that he became very belligerent so we called the Allergist and they took him off the Singulair and put him on Clarinex. We weren't real good at giving him the medications very regularly, but recently I've gotten better and he's becoming very belligerent again. I was wondering if anyone has had any problems with moodiness with either Clarinex or Zyrtec, I know the problems with Singulair and am very thankful that he is off that med, but now I'm concerned about the others...

My beautiful 11 year old daughter was on Adderall XR 20 mg per day for 4 years. After about 2 years she started to develop some minor facial tics. After 3 years the facial tics were worse along with severe head shaking and she also started to develop trichotillomania (obsessive compulsive hair pulling). The hair pulling continued until she was almost bald. Her grades began to drop and she withdrew herself from her friends and family. Finally, we took her off the medication in October 2007 at age 12 and she immediately stopped the tics and hair pulling. We have found 3 other families whose daughters have developed these same symptoms after being on this medication for at least 2 years. We have filed a report with the FDA as our own doctor had no idea that this medication was causing the hair pulling. Now 5 months later her hair is growing and the tics are approximately 97% gone. We have taken her to a homeopathic doctor and she is doing absolutely great now. Marks have gone up and she is smiling and socializing. I am so happy we have our daughter back. The side effects of this drug was definitely not work it.

I recommend treating your allergies with an acupuncturist and his natural medications. This has worked great for all my family.

I wrote into this forum on February , 2008 about my son who was taking Advair hfa 115/21 . On Thursday, February 14, 2008 I called his asthma allergist in Forth Worth, Texas after reading all the side effects here and seeing similar and more symptoms in my son with the use of Advair .Needless to say, I talked with my sons asthma doctor that day for at least 40 minutes and told him I was not comfortable with the Advair and told him that my son was having such bad tremors all over his body at night that he was shaking uncontrollably in his sleep and I also told him that my son was having such bad fevers and was super hyper and was very irritable after his medicine( Advair) . The doctor convinced me that this was not from the Advair and continued to tell me that he was convinced the medicine was safe. I was not after my son experienced these symptoms. Well, after talking with my sons doctor, I told him I wanted my son to be put on Asmanex twisthaler. He finally called in the prescription to my pharmacist here in town , but it was hard to convince him the medicine isn't good for anyone especially for all the bad and terrible symptoms that accompany the medicine. The doctor said I could switch my son right over to the Asmanex from the Advair . The pharmacist had to order the medicine cause they didn't have it . I didn't give my son his Advair in the following morning cause I was switching him over to Asmanex . Anyhow, to make a long story short, I took my son to the doctors in the morning without having given hin his Advair and let me tell you what happened. It was like watching someone coming off of a bad drug addiction. He was uncontrollably hyper and more irritable than before and he couldn't sit still for a second and my son is normally a calm and well-behaved child. We took him to the store and he was screaming at me and my husband like he couldnt control his emotions and he was really really really angry for on reason at all like hitting angry and I really was so surprised he was acting this way . I knew it was the downside from Advair cause my son has never acted like this ever before . When we got home , about 8 o clock that evening I gave him his new prescription of Asmanex 220 mcg twisthaler and in one hour he was calm. his breathing had returned to normal, and in two hours he was in bed sleeping so deep and peaceful with no tremors at all, no muscle spasms , no rapid heart beats , no skipped heart beats. I believe this is the first night in four weeks that my son has slept so well without having his whole body shake. I am so glad I did the research I needed to save my son from all the horrible symptoms on Advair the doctors refuse to admit to . I had stayed up all night researching many many many pages on the internet for safe medicines for my son . And at 4:30 am I went to bed after I had found out bout Asmanex and was assured I was finally doing something I knew was good for my son in order for him to fell better and to be safe . While in my search, I came across a website which I would love to share here about a natural medicine I will be adding to my sons asthma treatment to also try and alleviate asthma symptoms as best as possible.***
While researching the internet I also read about new asthma drugs approved by the FDA for kids ages 4- 11 and found out that Asmanex is trying to get regulated for children in a dosage for 110 mcg to come out later in the month of February this year, 2008. My son is finally sleeping all night for a change and breathing so so so well . yeah!!!!!!!!!

I was prescribed 750 mg of Levaquin for a skin infection after a minor burn. On the third day I noticed flashing lights in my right eye and the next day I felt as though I was looking through a black lace curtain. It has now settled into a large thread like floater that is in my central vision. My eye doctor said it is a large vitreous tear which is permanent. I also had tinnitus and burning on my lips and tongue which stopped after I stopped the medication. Two weeks after stopping the meds, I was biking and lost my balance. I turned my ankle, not violently, but it resulted in ruptured tendons all around the ankle. Three days after that, my right shoulder began popping in and out of its socket. Each evening, I had a low grade fever and chills. I'd wake up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat. I also had a rough eczema-like rash on my elbow and neck, however that has gone away. I'm sleeping better now and last night I did not have a fever or night sweats. My ankle is improving and I can now get through the day without having to take Advil. The shoulder is still popping when I extend my arm, but I'm hoping that will improve with time. So far, the only permanent damage seems to be the eye floater. It's annoying, but I'm adjusting. I'm planning to go back to the gym today, but honestly, I'm feeling like a ticking time bomb and I worry that new symptoms will continue to pop up. Has anyone out there been completely symptom free for any period of time? Has anyone discussed their case with an attorney?

Hi, I am still taking Prednisone. I have been trying to get off of it since September and am now down to 2.5 mg. a day. Yes, I agree with you it does NOT take massive quantities of Prednisone to do internal organ damage. I can no longer eat normally anymore since September 14th, 2007. (I can drink all the water I want, however) I am slowly starving to death, I think. IF I don't completely lose my brain functioning first?! If I eat anything like dairy or any carbs like pastas or breads of any kind or simple sugars, juices of any kind, or candies or cookies, crisps or the like, I go into massive withdrawals and brain fog!! Any holiday foods I must stay away from. I can no longer eat tomatoes or Mexican, Chinese, Italian, pies, ice cream, coffee, tea with sugar or milk, etc etc....The list of 'no no's are endless!! And this thing won't let me cheat! It knows if I eat the so-called 'wrong foods'. My Neuropathology doctor says I now have "Leaky Gut Syndrome"!! What the he** is THAT?!
I feel like my brain power is melting away to nothing and I am going through daily life in a haze. This is a very real and frightening feeling for me to experience!! I tried "jumping off" the 2.5 mg Prednisone on Tuesday the 11th and was in full horrible withdrawals by Thursday afternoon! I cannot even begin to tell you what horrible symptoms I experienced!! I had to reinstate the 2.5 and my Doctor said I just could. NOT 'COLD TURKEY what I had left, but must taper the final 2.5 over a period of the next several weeks!! I don't know whether I'll have a brain LEFT by that point or I may be a dithering, slobbering idiot by that time?! When I go to sleep and then wake up, I notice that I have MORE brain-fog than ever!!! Not to mention I have constant diarrhoea all day from drinking magnesium (Natural Calm) in the mornings to keep from pacing and being a nervous wreck?!
HELP ANYONE?! Am I ever going to get my brain back to normal?! And be able to eat normally again?!
Shaun

55 year old who had been taking Toprol for over 4 years with no side effects to speak of UNTIL switched (due to UniCare health insurance) to the generic, which is making me soooo sleepy daily, so I had to find another answer, and I did...

I am also an herbalist and I have finally found some herbs that keep my BP down, so soon will be off of it all. Contact me if you are interested in getting your BP down naturally. These drugs are not good for us. You can make this herbal infusion at home. Contact me if you need help of information. I always rely on natural remedies and herbs, why not for BP - it is known to work, well, and it does!

My daughter has been on Yasmin for almost a month and the side affects for her are terrible. She has experienced major depression and pms symptoms. I'm relieved to know that these symptoms are "normal" for this type of BC. We will probably switch to something else.

I have not been diagnosed with MS yet but have had 3 bouts of Optic Neuritis and this is the second time they are putting me on 3 day iv 1g solumedrol. I had to taper with prednisone last time and it caused a lot of pain in my knees and alot of anger/crying. I'm on day two of the solumedrol and feel very anxious, strange, crying, leg pain, crazy? I wish I could find an effective way of lessoning these side effects...i'm trying Chamommile tea & vitamins B's at 3am hopefully it will help.