Orthopedist symptoms and conditions

On Sept. 2, 2009 I had a cortisone shot in my back for L4, L5, C1 disc problems. The shot was painful but brief and I went out of there with no particular symptoms. It was done in a hospital by a neurologist. On Sept. 4th I woke up and the whole room was spinning. I threw up and this continued for awhile. I could hardly stand and went to the hospital emergency room where I spent the next twelve hours getting all kinds of tests. My blood pressure was 185 over 110. Finally, they told me they could find nothing physically wrong and dismissed me with meclizine for dizziness. This is now Oct.27th and I had these vertigo symptoms for seven weeks! I was sent to an ear specialist and underwent vesicular therapy for benign position vertigo several times a week at a rehabilitation center. I had brain MRI and a neck MRA which showed nothing. Last Saturday I passed out for a few seconds. Every medical specialist insists that the Cortisone shot had nothing to do with all this but I am still undiagnosed. Yesterday (Oct. 26th) the dizziness ended (7 weeks). I don't know if it is gone for good. I cannot believe that it is just a coincidence that all this happened two days after the cortizone shot. Does this strike a bell with any of you?

I am a 48 year old woman, 5'1" (now 145 pounds). I had Mirena inserted almost exactly 5 years ago, and am scheduled to have it removed in 2 weeks. I gained 25 pounds over the course of the last three years; prior to that, my maximum weight for my whole (non pregnant) life was 123 (I was at 120 when Mirena was inserted, four years after the birth of my second child). I have always been very healthy, never abnormal blood tests except during my two pregnancies was tested as pre-gestational diabetic and had to watch my carbs.

I never put it together with Mirena until just recently, when I started doing research on hypothyroidism after a friend told me that my symptoms could be due to that problem. Depression, hair loss, acne on my back, and the terrible weight gain. I went to see my G.P. who referred me for blood work. I hoped to see evidence of low thyroid function (actual TSH value, 3.12 -- I was told this is normal on a range of .4 to 4.5). I also discovered that I now have high cholesterol (269 triglycerides, 251 total cholesterol, 46 HDL, and 151 LDL). My fasting (14 hours) glucose # is 99 (I was told this is normal on a range of 65-99 mg/dL), and my vitamin D, 25-OH is 21 (also was told this is still normal but low on a range of 20-100 ng/mL). I tried to give blood six months ago, and was turned down because of anemia, so I've been eating a lot of spinach, greens, and more red meat than I normally would, so I was interested to see if I am still anemic -- the red blood cell count is 3.8 (told it was normal on a range of 3.8-5.1 mill/uL). I mention these specific results because although I was told they were normal (except for cholesterol), when I physically went to the doctor's office and requested a copy of the results and did some research online I see that my thyroid IS actually low-functioning -- according to guidelines revised six years ago, anything over 3.0 is considered hypothyroid and should be treated. Plus, isn't a fasting glucose of 99 pretty high? Yet my doctor's only suggestion: diet and exercise. Good grief, I've been on a diet since I had my first child, 13 years ago. True, I don't exercise regularly (I'm a teacher and mom of 2; I never seem to have the me time.) I guess I have an excuse to get a gym membership now.

Also, for the last year I've had increasing pain in my shoulder (I couldn't lay on my side, for example, and lately I can't reach behind me or over my head). An x-ray turned up mild bone degeneration, but not enough to cause the pain I've been having. I was referred to an orthopedist, who today diagnosed a shoulder rotator cuff injury (I've had no injury; he says it is a common degenerative complaint in the over-40 crowd). He gave me a cortisone injection and I'll be on PT for a while to see if the pain goes away. If not, I'll have to have an MRI and surgery to correct the tear.

I'm posting all of this in case it might be useful to someone out there who might be going through the same thing. I had a thyroid test done about six years ago at my OB/GYN, and it was normal then (though I don't have the number; I'll get it in 2 weeks at the OB/GYN). It will be interesting to learn whether my thyroid level has gone up since Mirena. Also, although my research suggests that the effects of these synthetic hormones do not wear off for some time, possibly even years, I will finally feel like there may be hope if my symptoms improve over the next few months when Mirena is gone. If so, I will share it with you.

If you are reading this, perhaps you have a similar story. I wish I had been more aggressive about checking out the possible causes of my many symptoms, but I let them go for years because, I guess, I just figured I'm a healthy woman who is no longer young. (Oh, one more thing: for the first year or even two years that I had Mirena, I had incredibly heavy periods. The blood flow was similar to that during the day or two after the vaginal births of my daughters. Don't know if that's significant, but it took a couple of years for my periods to get fairly normal on Mirena.)

My son (14 years old) was given levaquin for a sinus and ear infection
2 weeks ago. Around the same time he began practices for his high school baseball team. He complained about his legs being stiff and aching. We assumed it was the intense practices causing his muscles to ache. After a week on the drug, he could barely walk and his knees were swollen. We were very concerned and looked up the side effects of levaquin on the internet. We were shocked and angry when we found out that levaquin should not be given to children under the age of 18 because on the possibility of joint and tendon problems. Today we went to the orthopedist and he drained a lot of fluid off of both knees (it looked like about a 1/2 cup from each).The doctor thinks it has to be a side effect of the drug, because the symptoms began at the same time. He doesn't
think after examining the knee and having him perform certain tasks that he has damaged any tendons. He has all the symptoms of rheumatiod arthritis. He is very athletic and plays competitive sports and we are praying that his knees are not permanently damaged by this drug. Parents please research all drugs and there side effects before giving them to your children! Doctor's DO make mistakes!! The pharmacist failed us too.

Please, is the anyone who knows of a way to treat the dibilating muscle/joint pain experienced as a result of taking the antibiotic, levaquin?

I have posted here before when suffering the severe leg pain. I took pain meds for 2 months and it seemed to have subsided. Then, 10 days ago, right beneath my achilles tendon pain, on the side of my foot, under my ankle bone., started giving me severe pain. I could not understand what happened, it hurt as if it was bruised. When I looked at the area hurting me, there was no bruising but was swollen so badly I looked like I had a baseball under my skin! I am having difficulty walking now. I have an awful feeling that I may have a ruptured tendon! I am seeing an orthopedist on Monday afternoon. Has anyone here had a tendon rupture? How would you describe it to be? I'd appreciate if anyone with experience like my own would email me asap!!!

I started using Fosamax two years ago and after approximately 18 months of use I noticed some distortion in my right clavicle (which I named my “barnacle) and pain in my upper shoulders and neck. At the time I attributed this to perhaps the heavy luggage I had been pulling around on a trip and that maybe I had strained something. I mentioned this to my doctor who ordered an x-ray which indicated an asymmetrical clavicle. She then ordered an MRI and the result was that perhaps I had a touch of arthritis. I asked her if perhaps this “barnacle” could be a result of the Fosamax I have been taking. She was very doubtful about that. I then googled Fosamax and started reading some of the side effects of this drug – NOT GOOD!! I did not see any mention in the comments by others who have been taking Fosamax about bone growth, but I did read about bone and joint and muscle pains. I had never had a problem and I am certain that the sudden pain in the shoulders and neck is a direct result of this toxic drug. I saw the doctor again and told her that I wanted to stop taking Fosamax and told her about the comments that I had been reading about and I claimed that this distortion in my clavicle and pain in the shoulders, etc. was the result of this drug. She then ordered a bone scan and additional x-rays which indicated again an “asymmetrical” clavicle and the suggestion was that I see an orthopedist. She mentioned that she had once had a patient who had a similar distortion of the clavicle and was sent for all sorts of tests, ending at the orthopedist who did a biopsy which turned out normal. I told her I was not interested in going to see one. I said I would stop taking Fosamax and see what would happen. She did order a blood and urine test checking for cancer, both of which turned our normal. I have not taken Fosamax since the end of June and already I have noticed a lessening of the pain in my shoulders and neck. Hopefully it will stop completely once this toxic drug is out of my system. I am an otherwise healthy 64 year old woman, I exercise, and eat a well balanced diet. I will take my chances with brittle bones, etc. and advise others who are taking this drug to get off it immediately.

Follow up to my post earlier today...

I took the my son to the doctor this morning and he was somewhat dismissive of the recent reports on Singulair...says he's had a lot of kids on the drug and never heard a peep about side effects until last week when the report on suicidal tendencies showed up. He did advise that when these kinds of behavior changes happen after a new drug is started he would recommend that we stop taking the drug no matter what it was, but I still felt uncomfortable with his response to us.

I felt like he was accusing me of making it up or only coming up with it because of recent news and message board posts. In fact, I made the appointment BEFORE I saw the posts. I was worried about his behavior BEFORE I saw the posts. It's just that seeing the stories from everyone else basically confirmed my suspicions that it might be the drug causing the problems.

I feel like I definitely wasted OVER AN HOUR waiting for a doctor to spend five minutes making me feel small.

Last night was the last time my son will take the drug, and I don't care what the doctors think of me.

Hello Everyone ---
I just wanted to share my story and hope that it helps others. On December 20th I was prescribed Levaquin to help clear up a bad case of Bronchitis that I had taken a Z-Pac for a week earlier. I still had remnants and the doctor saw as fit to give me the Levaquin to help me get over what was remaining. I had a 10 day supply of the 500mg Levaquin prescribed to take once a day. After (2) two days of taking the medicine I noticed that I was having a slight amount of pain in my left knee, and by the 23rd of December it hurt to walk or stand or sit. The pain was just a dull ache however; it would also become sharp with any movement. Just to let you know I finished all of my 10 day supply, not knowing that the Levaquin was what was causing my problems. I am a healthy 31 year old male that has a 3 year old daughter, so I am always on the go. However, beginning the 24th & 25th of December the pain had spread from my left knee to my right knee, ankles, as well as hip bones. By the end of my prescription my pain was all over my body, it hurt to sleep, it hurt to move, however, taking 800 mg of Motrin every 6 hours seemed to help ease the pain but never seemed to knock it out. I tried everything from Tylenol to Aleve...however, Motrin was the best. Not knowing what had caused my problems, and getting tired of being in pain I went to see my family medical physician on the 7th of January. He ran me through the mill with test to figure out what was going on. Nothing out of the ordinary, I was a little anemic, however, that had nothing to do with my problems. We talked about the Levaquin, and he as most doctors dismissed the chance of that being the case. However, he did prescribe me 200 mg of Celebrex per day, and told me to take Tylenol as needed to help with the pain. After taking the combination of those drugs for 10 days, I called his office back and told him I was still having problems not as strong as before and I could tell I was getting a little better however movement was still bad, so he referred me to a Rheumatologist. I saw the Rheumatologist on Jan. 22nd and he seemed to help more than anyone else, he also did some blood work, however, nothing out of the ordinary once again, he also check for arthritis, and nothing came of that either. He believes that the medicine was the root of the problem, and until it is gone from my system nothing I am going to continue to have problems. He upped my Celebrex to 2 times per day, and told me to take Tylenol Arthritis 2 pills 3 times a day...this combination has almost knocked away all of the pain. I can still tell that I have problem areas such as my wrist when opening the car door; however, hopefully those will go away in time. Apparently, according to him there is a small amount of people in the world that is allergic to fluoroquinolone drugs and do not know it until they take one of these. I go back to see him again on the 12th of February hopefully I will be back to normal, however, I do have one burning question in my mind…what happens if I get off the Celebrex? Hopefully he will be able to answer that one for me. For anyone out there that is having these same problems as I have you might want to recommend for your Doctor to prescribe you Celebrex and see if will help you…

irregular period; flushed red face (first few days after injection); acne; bladder infection; indigestion (gas, burping)

I received an injection of 80 mcg of Kenalog in my hip joint to treat pain due to hip impingement. As is the case for most of the other women on this site, I received NO warning from my orthopedist of any these side effects. She said there were virtually no side effects for a single dose, only for repeated use. The only specific reaction she mentioned was the potential for infection at the injection site, which didn't occur. She gave me no information about which medication or dosage I'd received, let alone a handout with side effects.

A week after my injection, I got my period -- 2.5 weeks early. I was unable to speak with my orthopedist's office for the next 1.5 weeks because they were closed for the Christmas - New Year's holiday. I did manage to reach my gynecologist, whose office was also closed for the holidays, but she said she didn't think my early period was due to the steroid. Since I still didn't know which steroid I'd received, I couldn't do any internet research. I was worried because I have a uterine fibroid, which could potentially be causing the irregular bleeding. Also, I know there are other scary causes for irregular bleeding.

The period lasted 8 days, which is longer than usual for me. Almost immediately after it stopped, I started feeling PMS symptoms, like I could get my period again any day.

I ended up cutting my vacation short so I could see my gynecologist. When I finally got in touch with my orthopedist's office, they told me that I'd received Kenalog, which can cause menstrual irregularities. WHY DIDN'T THEY TELL ME THAT TO BEGIN WITH??? It would have saved me 2 weeks of needless worry.

Now that I've informed my gynecologist, she says it may take a few months for my menstrual cycle to get regular.

I have beenon lipitor for more than five years. I now have unbearable pains in my shoulders which are only relieved with antiinflammatories. I also have pains in my right foot which is sometimes very difficult to walk on. My Dr says ok go off lipitor but risk heart attack/stroke. I am getting to the point that the pain is so debilitating that Idon't care.

I just wanted to follow up to my earlier posting. (I have copied it below). Turns out the side effect was not from Yasmin. Actually caused by a nerve. I wanted to post a follow up should anyone be scanning this site.

I started taking Yasmin in July. I had taken other traditional birthcontrol pills for years. Decided to try Yasmin as my OBGYN suggested it may help with weightloss as I was having a really hard time losing weight despite diet and excercise and ruling out other issues. I have not had the side effects such as anxiety and skin pigmentation that others mention. It did make my periods heavier and more cramps. Cramps mostly went away with ibuprophin.

However, I have been having a symptom that I am wondering if others have had. I have been to my primary care doctor, orthopedist, nuerologist, vein specialist, and no one can seem to find the issue. I am now wondering if it could be a Yasmin side effect. Since mid July what started out as a tingling (almost numbness) in my upper right thigh. It sometimes feels like pins and needles, other times like a bruise, and other times like a sharp pain. Seems worse at night. But numbress is always there.

I am very interested in hearing what people have to say. I am going to make an appt with my OBGYN to try another pill.

I started taking Yasmin in July. I had taken other traditional birthcontrol pills for years. Decided to try Yasmin as my OBGYN suggested it may help with weightloss as I was having a really hard time losing weight despite diet and excercise and ruling out other issues. I have not had the side effects such as anxiety and skin pigmentation that others mention. It did make my periods heavier and more cramps. Cramps mostly went away with ibuprophin.

However, I have been having a symptom that I am wondering if others have had. I have been to my primary care doctor, orthopedist, nuerologist, vein specialist, and no one can seem to find the issue. I am now wondering if it could be a Yasmin side effect. Since mid July what started out as a tingling (almost numbness) in my upper right thigh. It sometimes feels like pins and needles, other times like a bruise, and other times like a sharp pain. Seems worse at night. But numbress is always there.

I am very interested in hearing what people have to say. I am going to make an appt with my OBGYN to try another pill.

Prescribed Levaquin from Nextcare doctor after severe bronchitis with cough and wheezing for 3 weeks was not helped by Azithromycin or Albuterol. 4 days into the 500mg daily dose, I could not walk on rt leg. Knee pain and snapping so severe. Next day lt knee began to go out and snap. I had to scream each time I tried to straighten or bend my rt knee. Concurrently, left index finger swelled 2x normal size with pressure and pain as if it would pop. Rt wrist so sore that if it is touched, feels like all the nerves are exposed and being stabbed. Next my back began to hurt. This all happened before I realized it was toxicity from the antibiotic. I called the pharmacist explaining symptoms and she said mostly women get them and just take the last pill.
I did not, and went back to Nextcare dragging my right leg. The doctor then said he was 80% sure it is a reaction to Levaquin as my chest xray and blood tests came out negative for pneumonia or Valley Fever. So he said just rest a week. My symptoms are getting worse, I am trying to get into an orthopedist and have discontinued all my daily activities for the 9th day now as my rt knee is so horribly painful. It is snapping at least a hundred times a day with movement. I WAS an avid tennis player and have canceled everything due to pain and immobility. I have no support from any doctor so far as the urgent care center just does not care for individuals with a problem that they cannot dx as a cold or some simple thing.
I am in fear for my life after reading www.fqvctims.com site.
Help us all that we are allowed to be given poisons like this.
Ortho-McnNeil knows, so do the doctors, but enough of us have not died yet I guess. I can only hope I will not be one of them.

I am a diabetic, an ailment reported to the orthopedist. I went to this doctor because of a pain in my right shoulder. The doctor gave me an injection of Kenalog to ease the pain. He did advise me, after the injection, that it will raise my blood sugar similar in effect to drinking a glass of orange juice. For the next three days, my blood sugar shot up, and it was difficult to lower it. Accordingly, I strongly urge diabetics to keep away from Kenalog injections.

My 15 yr. old daughter was given Levaquin at age 12, thats 3 years ago. After the first pill she started having leg muscle cramps and pain in her elbow. As the more of the 5 pills she was to take went on she continued with joint pain in knees and hips and her feet. Well its been 3 years of this and she is no better, the pain is not severe all the time but it is still there. What are you suppose to do. Why was she given this medicine when it plainly states on the package not to give to children under the age of 18, well the PA who saw her did not pay attention to this and the Doctor who signed his charts did not catch it either. I am sure the Dr. didnot even read the notes, but reguardless my daughter is left with these painful side effects and the Orthopedist we took her to right after it happened said oh give it time it will get out of her system. Well we are still waiting 3 years later. How much worse is it going to get? I have hired an Attorney but as there are no case studies on children he cannot do anything. There is plenty of case studies on small or young animals. A shame I didnt give birth to a animal isnt it. Please tell me where I can find my answer to the studies reported on children. We are desparate I want to know when this is going to stop? thank you mltbranch

In my opinion, Levaquin is a dangerous drug. In January 2002, I had a severe cold/sinus infection for which my Dr prescribed Levaquin. I had started a moderate exercise program, and was doing curls with 10 lb dumbbells. I developed SEVERE tendinitis in both elbows within 2 weeks, while taking the drug. I've had cortisone injections, tried stretching, medication, and forearm braces, and nothing has helped. I'm possibly looking at surgery in the near future. My orthopedist was quick to conclude that Levaquin was indeed the cause, combined with the light exercise, which, under normal circumstances, couldn't have possibly caused tendinitis. DO NOT exercise if you're taking this awful drug, and if you're reading this, please get off of it as quickly as you can.

After starting Advair last Nov. I suddenly had so much pain in legs and arms. Difficult to walk or lift anything. This pain continued until spring when I demanded a diagnosis. It was diagnosed as polymyalgia rheumatica. They do not know what causes it. I already had fibromyalgia. After prednisone for one day ALL pain and stiffness disappeared and I need to take prednisone for one year. I noticed others with fibromyalgia had much increased pain after Advair

I dont think these are new but I would like others to know before they take this medicine.I took levaquin for a prostate infection for 16 days -was supposed to take it for 30. I had many side effects including poor sleep,vivid dreams,muscle and joint pains,ringing in the ears,dizzines,fatigue,and most of all an overall nasty feeling-everything looked ugly.The medicine seemed to be working so I stuck with it in spite of these side effects.On the 16th day doing nothing more than just normal walking in my house I tore a muscle-ligament in my right calf.Now I am walking with a limp and severe pain and my urologist told me to immediately see an orthopedist as torn tendons are a possible side effect of this medicine.I wish I was told earlier.Take my advice dont take this medicine! You are just going to trade one problem for another.