Occasional insomnia symptoms and conditions

I have just taken my sixth and FINAL Lupron shot. I was unaware of many of the side effects, like IBS. I am a lot different than most women. I was born with a birth defect called cloacal exstrophy. I am 41 years old and have lived my life with no bladder or rectum, due to extreme reconstructive surgery at birth. I have a permanent Colostomy and urinary diversion (ileal conduit). I do not have a very large amount of intestine, which creates an absorption problem of certain things, one of them being Calcium. I have also had severe orthopedic reconstruction since birth.

In December of 2008 they found a mass on the right side of my abdomen along with a hydrosalpinx. The hydrosalpinx was drained and I was then urged to start a 6 month cycle of monthly Lupron shots. There is a long history of endo in my maternal family. I have been advised that because of existing scar tissue from so many past surgeries a hysterectomy was not possible. I can not even have a laproscopy to determine that the growth is actually endo.

3 months into the shots I started to suffer extreme diarrhea, lasting from 1 to 3 weeks at a time post the Lupron shot...it was blamed on overgrowth from past surgeries, etc. It has become a terrifying experience for me. Due to my inability to absorb calcium well I now have several calcium kidney stones that must be broken apart with a laser. I have no idea what will happen with the GI symptoms or if they will continue once the Lupron "wears off".

I have no concerns about fertility, since having children has NEVER been an option for me. My concerns are surviving my life longer without additional risk to it from taking this drug.

I have had the usual symptoms of sweating, night sweats, fatigue, Hair loss, loss of appetite and occasional insomnia. Again, the most concerning to me are the kidney stones and GI problems I have been experiencing, including "sludge" in my gallbladder.

I am severely disheartened by the lack of looking at the whole picture, at least midway through this treatment. This is compounded by the fact that my treatment stems from one of the country's "top 10 Hospitals", which is a direct affiliate of the Children's hospital that did an AMAZING job of successful reconstruction in 1968. It is 2009 and I have fewer options to improve this situation than I did the issues from the original reconstruction in 1968.

I feel I never should have been put on this medication and am deeply concerned about my survival from here. If I could go back 6 months, as informed as I am now.....this IS NOT the path I would have chosen. I no longer know which Doctor to trust, what decision is best for me or how much more I can take.

If there are any AMAZING Dr.s reading this, please feel free to contact me...I am desperate, I do not feel that this should affect my survival rate and am willing to listen to alternative solutions IN THEIR ENTIRETY.

Anyone with a shortened GI tract, absorption issues, or previous health conditions should WEIGH ALL OPTIONS and do AS MUCH RESEARCH AS POSSIBLE before agreeing to this treatment. I placed trust and confidence first, not one of my better decisions concerning my health. I will not continue treatment with Lupron.

I have been on prednisone for 8 weeks, the first two at 40 mg., then 30. I have sarcoidosis and had a cough for several years, then shortness of breath, a fever for three weeks, very low energy, headaches every day, vision problems, mental fuzziness, fatigue, leg cramps, weight loss, a host of symptoms that were impacting my life. With the prednisone, I have had some jitteriness and occasional insomnia, though not bad. I have had increased energy, clearer mind, no cough, the sarcoid symptoms have almost disappeared. I do have increased appetite and have gained maybe 5 pounds. I occasionally have a day when I have low energy and am depressed, but most often, my energy is a lot better since taking the prednisone. So, for me, prednisone is most definitely NOT a devil drug. In fact, I believe that thinking of it this way is very harmful both to the person thinking that way and to others who come to this site looking for help. It is helpful to know that there are other people having similar problems to yours. But focusing on all the negatives without acknowleging the vast array of positives can only hurt. When I take the pills, I remind myself to be grateful that there is something that can help me fight the sarcoid. When I start being fearful of the side effects (from reading these internet sites), I remind myself of all the many people who have taken prednisone and gotten better and lived a long, good life as a result. My sister-in-law took it years ago for Crohns and loved it. My friend's daughter took it and had a few side effects, primarily the moon face, but it helped her and she now is as thin as ever and doing well. Focus on the positives, people! Where your mind goes, your body will follow. Be aware of the possible effects and work to offset them. Exercise, eat less, find reasons to laugh and be with people. It sucks to have any disease that would cause you to have to be on prednisone, but we are lucky to have medicine and people to help us. Be thankful for what is good in your lives.

hi everyone, i'm a 36 y.o. male and have been on and off of prednisone for 25 yrs. my experience has always been more positive than negative with taking this drug. it has helped me to breath better and has made me to feel extra healthy and even physically stronger. but i have my suspicions about this drug also. it has given me a false since of good health and i feel like i want to keep taking it just to feel better. i have only taken the drug after an asthma attack for about 5-7 days. early on the only side effect was increased appetite and occasional insomnia. but the last time i took this drug the doctor increased the milligrams and a VERY UNUSUAL side effect occurred that never happened before. I HAD HALLUCINATIONS! i have never had these side effects before and on the leaflet of possible side effects that came from the pharmacist for the very first time i saw hallucinations listed as a possible side effect. the hallucinations were damn near demonic in nature. the experience went like this... i woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and on my way to the bathroom i passed my dresser mirror and in the mirror was writing on the mirror in a mist! just like it would be when you get out of the shower and take your finger and write on the mirror. THERE WERE LEGIBLE WORDS ON MY MIRROR! mind you this is in my bedroom and the shower was off! at that point i refused to read what i saw in the mirror! it was weird enough what i saw i didn't need to read it. i refused to be fearful at that point cause i realized i was hallucinating and not getting a haunting. when i woke up later i went back to the mirror and of course no writing in the mirror. IF THERE IS ANYONE WHO HAS EXPERIENCED THIS PLEASE TELL ME YOUR STORY PERSONALLY! MY EMAIL IS ******! i would like to know that i'm not alone in this. to make it easier for me to see your response please type prednisone in the subject box on the email cause i receive a ton of emails and spam. and i would really like to hear other stories and experiences of taking this drug with very weird side effects!

August 5, 2008

Thank you for this website. These testimonies has confirmed by suspicions of Advair's side effects.

I am 52 years old and was diagnosed with adult onset asthma 10 months ago. My physician prescribed Advair (500) and Albuterol inhaler. I was instructed to take the Advair 2 times/day and Albuterol 3 times/day. During the last few months, I have noticed a slight weight gain, fatigue, hoarseness, dry mouth and occasional insomnia. The hoarseness has resulted in 2.5 weeks of losing my voice. Also, I have noticed that my recovery from a prior illness, such as cold, was very slow.

As a result, I discontinued the Advair and use the albuterol as needed. My voice began to returned to normal in two days and I am feeling much better.

Now I am wondering if I am experiencing drug withdrawal symptoms due to discontinuing Advair five day ago. The following symptoms are: dizziness, and needle-like tingling in hands, feet and side.

Again, thank you gals for sharing you'll experience with Advair.

I started taking Lamictal about six weeks ago for epilepsy. Now keep in mind, I was on Dilantin which worked great for 17 years and then suddenly stopped working. I have been in medication hell since then. First Topamax made me dumb as a rock. I would space out all the time. Worst drug ever. Then Keppra which was better in that my memory/ability to speak came back but I had these intense ups and down. I had rages constantly. Now I'm on Lamictal. So far, it's better than the Topamax and the Keppra, however the dreams are very intense as are the night sweats. I'm also experiencing much hair loss. Fortunately I have a full head of hair but I'm afraid I will eventually lose it all.