Naturopathic symptoms and conditions

After 3 weeks on Fosamax, I had an attack of back pain that put me in bed for a couple of days. I wondered if it might be the Fosamax. I quit taking it for 2 weeks. I thought I would give it another try to see if it came back. This time after taking Fosamax for 3 weeks, my ankle is swollen and I am having gout like symptoms and feel achy like I have the flu. My podiatrist did some blood tests for gout. The results came back fine. Low uric acid levels. I do not have gout. He took a lot of fluid off of my ankle joint. The pain has been horrible. I am in athletic shape, working out at the gym 5 days a week, and bicycling. This has been torture. I am stopping the Fosamax. I had a horrible reaction to Lipitor a few years ago with pain from my knee into my back. I could hardly walk. I am the one that figured out what was up then and stopped the med.

Beware!!! I took this for years and those warm feelings in the neck, face, and shoulders now are persistent even after not taking it for over 2 years now.
THANKS DR. AND BIG PHARMA....I truly believe that this medication has damaged the nerves in my neck and cheeks...

I am waiting to see if others experience this...and hope a class action can be started...

AVOID THIS MEDICATION AT ALL COSTS...my first tip off was when my Dr. said she would wonder how my heart would be at 60..i said, WHY? Oh because of using Imitrex all these years! HELLO...no one ever said,oh by taking this you are increasing your risk of heart problems down the road..
I NEVER WOULD OF STARTED..

Seek alternate routes for migraine help..find a good Naturopathic Dr. and even a chiropractor...they can help a lot of headache sufferers..

REMEMBER...FLUSH THOSE IMTIREX PILLS>..THEY ARE BAD...
If I had even suspected this pain in my cheek and neck I would not of taken a single pill...
The headaches go away..this pain is here a lot...not every day, but more days than I got headaches..
THANKS AGAIN BIG PHARMA>....
You'll be hearing from me if a lawsuit finally comes around.

i have been taking Yamine for about a month and a half, after being on a generic pill for a couple years. I didnt know if these symptons i was having was caused by yasmine, but now i think it may be. I have been getting lightheaded, blurry eyes, shakiness, hot flashes..almost like a panic attack, and i have become very dehydrated, even though i have been drinking alot of water. I even went to the doctors for these symptons and they still don't have an answer, so i think it may be yasmine.my newest sympton as of yesterday is chest pain. also i feel like my heart is beating fast all the time, and i feel fatigued way too often, which is causing me to eat more, becauase i am starving way to often, and if i don't eat i feel like i am going to collapse. Also my sex drive has gone to non-existant- is that common? I workout all the time, and eat pretty healthy, so i don't know what else these symptons could be coming from. Is anyone else experiencing these sympons?

I was diagnosed with Colitis just over two years ago. At the time, I was having severe symptoms and my doctor put me on 40 mg of Prednisone for 3 days, 30 mg for 3 days, 20 mg for 7 and 10mg indefinitely. The 40mg dosage caused me to not sleep at night, severe nevousness and basically feeling like I was on drugs. I felt this way until I got down to 20mg. Initially, I had swollen ankles and overall swollen feeling in my body. After I had been on this drug for more than a few months, I began to notice my hair falling out, my finger nails breaking and a severe tooth sensitivity to cold (never had this before). Over the last two years, I have been on and off of Prednisone and have had the exact same side effects each time. Right now I have been on 20mg for the last 6 months. I am meeting with my doctor this week to discuss some naturopathic solutions to get off of this horrid drug. Any one heard of using ingestible aloe vera as an alternative to Prednisone?

Hi everyone,

I had posted a few days ago but wanted to follow up with new info. I have been off Yasmin for about 11 months now. I finally had my own regular period! Yeah! I thought it would never come back after these darn pills.

I had all the same side effects you all are describing. But I wanted to give you all hope that you will eventually come back to yourself! The first few months are horrible. I don't know why they still prescribe these pills to anyone.

Anyway, here are some things to try that have worked for me. I was so frustrated when I didn't get my period for so long, I thought I had really messed up my chances of ever having kids.

I was tired of all of these medications and wanted to try something natural so I found a local naturopath. You can find one online at naturopathic.org. (I am not affiliated with them, this is just how I found mine).

She had me start by trying to track my cycles (BBT), CM, so that we could tell if I was even ovulating or not. I now strongly believe Yasmin completely shut down my ovulation each month. Next, she had me take fish oil tabs, Vitamin B Food complex, and an herbal mix of phytoestrogen (for the first two weeks when of my cycle) and phytoprogest for the second two weeks of my cycle. Both are herbal compounds so no prescription needed! I also took a Calcium/Magnesium tablet each day because as someone else noted, Yasmin depletes your body of vitamins/minerals that our bodies need!

The first month, it seemed my BBT was a little off but seemed that my body was trying to do something. The next month, the same thing. Still no AF, but I was feeling much better with all of the vitamins. For the third month, she added two tablets of Vitalex (Vitex - you can buy it in a natural foods store - non prescription and there are many different brands). Tada! The third month I finally got my first AF in almost a year! What a relief!

Also, my eye twitching nearly stopped. It is most likely caused by the vitamin depletion caused by Yasmin. The lower abdomen stabbling pains others have had, I had too. Well, that also went away as did my anxiety and serious mood swings. My boyfriend was very patient to put up with my moods while on Yasmin. I was tired, my legs ached as if I were an elderly person. This also went away, thank goodness!

Anyway, girls, please believe me, it will get better. You have to take care of yourself and your own health. It is easy to get a quick fix and take another medication. But please understand that each medication has its own side effects. Take some time to get to know your natural cycle and body. I strongly recommend seeing a naturopath but whatever you decide, best of luck!

Hello All,
I'm responding to Silke's post(attached below).

Silke,

I found that "mainstream" doctors that I went to or spoke with were unable or unwilling to help me.Which is why I SPECIFICALLY did a search for a NATUROPATHIC endocrinologist. Please don't take this as a "blanket" criticism of all doctors. Some are more helpful than others. My current doctor has been incredibly helpful. I have had 2 periods since starting the hormone replacement cream 1.5 mos ago. I'm 49 and hadn't had a period in more than a year; I thought I was finished! As for the dehydration, it was explained to me that my adrenals were totally stressed out, and even though I drink a LOT of water, I was unable to retain in(even though I was bloated!) There are many supplements that can be taken to get your adrenal system under control; remember, they're hormones, too!

As for MY weight gain, he told me it won't come off on it's own, but with the continued supplements and hormone cream to get all of the hormone levels balanced out, it will start to kick in(soon, I hope!)

I simply did a search in my metro area for "Naturopathic Endocrinologist". Fortunately, this doctor was recently listed as one of the Top 100 Doctors in my region. I feel truly blessed to have found him. Write me directly and I will supply his website, which contains many helpful articles.

Blessings,
Rita
PS - I hope I answered all of your questions!

Hey Rita!!

Thank you so much for your post!! That sounds very interesting and could be a solution for many of us. But I'm really afraid of perhaps again not finding the right doctor, who finally admits that our problems (I'm off Yasmin for over 1 year now, and still not 100% back to normal life......) are connected and brought on by Yasmin...

Exactly as you told, my gyn told me last year around july (had a blood test done there) that my hormone levels are "pretty" normal, though they were at the edge of what's normal (totally low)..... But I know, that this is already enough (hormones at the edge of being too low) to cause severe problems!!

I feel a little encouraged now to go and search again for an endocrinologist who could perhaps help me, too. I also have to mention, that I still didn't get my period. I had only one normal period around easter 2005 after getting off the pill!! So there definitely IS a connection between my still lasting symptoms (sometimes dizzyness, a little anxiety, a little weakness and so on, though everything much lighter as it was last year!!!) and my hormone levels, which are obviousely still messed up.

Did your doc tell anything further about that dehydration and the effects of that diuretic in Yasmin?? I would be so thankful to hear, if he thinks that this stuff could have caused my very heavy muscle weakness and muscle aching during the last year (has eased up but is STILL not completely gone!!).

Well I think that the dehydration brought on by that diuretic is on the other hand causing a heavy loss of vitamines and electrolytes. That could be an explanation for the fact, that in my case (I guess many other women would say the same) the symptoms slowly increased over the years and always got a little worse while I had some illness like a flu or such or while I was working out (because of the sweating)...

Over summer 2004 I got weaker and weaker and after a heavy cold with fever and sweating over 3 weeks in october 2004 i broke down completely with muscle aches, weakness and dizzyness and many more symptoms......

Sorry, if my posts always get that long, but I'm still searching for reasons of my severe illness I've been going through and which has lasted for over 8 months (that were only the hardest months... There were another 12 months where I didn't feel really fit and already had problems....) and is still just very slowly getting better...

God bless you all!!

Silke

Hey Ladies,
I've been reading your posts of the last few days and feel compelled to write again((I posted last week). I have been working with a naturopathic endocrinologist for a little more than a week. He explained exactly what b/c pills do to your system; forgive me if this has been said before! Basically, the pills fake your body out into thinking it's getting PROGESTERONE, but in fact, it's getting PROGESTIN, which is a synthetic hormone. So, your body "thinks" it's getting enough, or possibly too much PROGESTERONE, so it begins making more ESTROGIN, which is one of the major culprits for many of our "ill effects" as he calls them. Yasmin, as you know, also has the diuretic in it, which actually dehydrates you and you really have a hard time catching up and getting rehydrated. I actually saw a "mainstream" female endocrinologist first and she said all of my hormone levels were NORMAL. When I saw my new dr., he said my levels were at the LOWEST end of what's considered normal, which is considered pretty bad by those that really understand these things. I encourage everyone still suffering to have your hormone levels tested; the saliva test is apparently pretty accurate, if not, a blood test works too. I' m now taking at least 15 supplements 2X/day in addition to progesterone cream to get my hormone levels back to normal. This is after having only been on the pill for 5 mos and OFF for 8 mos. The damage can be quick and unfortunately, long lasting without some kind of intervention. I'm feeling better already and the swelling and bloating is starting to go down. The weight gain is creaping downward but that's better than not at all! If anyone would like information on this send a general email and I'll respond personally.

Blessings.
Rita

Hello Ladies,
I haven't been able to get my emails through for quite some time so I hope this one does! I went to see a NATUROPATHIC Endocrinologist the other day who said it's amazizng that I'm even able to get out of bed after the "Ill effects", as he calls them, of YASMIN. I had seen a "mainstream" endo and she said all of my hormone levels were normal. NOT! I HIGHLY suggest that anyone still suffering, like me(only on for 5mos and stopped mid-July) that you see such a doctor. They will likely do blood work and saliva testing to see where your hormone levels are. Apparently, once you become "estrogin dominant", it's really tough to turn around. This is an ill-effect of almost all b/c pills he tells me. The difference is the extent of the damage.

Good luck!

Rita