Package insert symptoms and conditions

I am a 52 year old female and my bad cholesterol is fine but my good cholesterol is low. I have been taking Lipitor now for a few years and have numb hands and feet to the elbows and knees. My feet are extremely sensitive, worse at night and now I'm getting sharp pains that feel like a bug just bit me. My tongue is also always numb and I do get migraines.I have insane stomach issues and food intolerance. I also take medication for high blood pressure, acid reflux, & thyroid. I have now been diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes but control that with diet so far. Until four years ago I had nothing wrong with me. I am slim and healthy. I had a lump in my thyroid which was removed and there was a trace of cancer. Then like dominos all the other conditions lined up. I have had MRIs and all the tests and doctors insist that I am not a severe enough diabetic to have neuropathy. I can hardly wear shoes now and it hurts when I wear runners while I walk and exercise. Does any of this sound familiar to anyone? I hate that my health has become so much a part of my daily life. Does anyone have neuropathy as a result of Lipitor and am I even taking the the right medication since I don't have high cholesterol?

i am on flomax 0.8 mg, for 1 month, and i have terrible knee pain, is this a side effect of flomax ? or rheumatoid arthritis. they only mention back pain in the package insert

I had my Mirena put in back in June of 2008 right after I got married. I, too, was lead to believe that the effects of the progesterone were purely "localized" to the uterus and would not cause any symptoms at all.

Since then I've experienced SEVERE migraines and dizziness, loss of libido, greasy skin and hair, weight gain (size 6 to size 10/12), numbness/tingling in my feet, crying, irritability, and SEVERE brain fog. For the migraines, I went to a neurologist who wanted to prescribe me topamax and said the only major side effect is cognitive difficulties! HA!!! I already have the worst brain fog, can't remember anything, am tired.... rather..... exhausted all the time, and can't function.

This Mirena surely works well as birth control, seeing as I have NO SEX DRIVE at all! LOL. But seriously, it's great not to have a period, but I knew something was wrong when I was needing medication (antidepressants for the mood swings, provigil for the fatigue, botox nerve injections for the menstrual migraines) for this medication IUD!

Since no OBGYN believes me when I say I think it's the Mirena, I've began to think I was crazy and this was all in my head. So I started on the internet and all my symptoms sounded like MS. So I had thousands of dollars in testing including a full body MRI/MRA. Negative. Had ENT see me for the vertigo. Lots of tests. Negative. Anemic? No. Thyroid? Normal.

HOW MUCH MORE DO WE HAVE TO SPEND ON HEALTH CARE TO FIND OUT WE ARE "FINE" WHEN WE FEEL THE WORST WE'VE EVER FELT???

Then I found this site!!! I think it's the Mirena now! So I want to get it out. But then on the other hand, I feel SO GUILTY that my husband paid $900 for it and I only kept it 1 year. That's expensive birth control! But then again, all the tests, doctor's bills, and feeling lousy cost more! (Not to mention that my doctor cut my strings too short so we can't "check" them each month so to be certain that my IUD is in place he makes me get an ultrasound every 6 months for $250!!!)

My ONLY FEAR is that I will have this out and the symptoms WON'T go away and it was NOT the Mirena after all. Then I will have gone through the pain of putting it in, taking it out, and the cost of "throwing one away" and then what am I supposed to do? I'm 29 but in school and can't get pregnant for a few more years. I don't want to go back on the pill because the mood swings were terrible. But I never had migraines or anything on those, so why is the Mirena causing problems?

Any feedback or encouragement would be helpful right now. I need advise!

Consumer Medication Information (CMI) distributed by pharmacies with prescriptions is NOT regulated by the FDA and may not contain a complete list of side effects from the medication's FDA approved label.

CMI is usually stapled to the prescription bag or inside it and is often produced by private companies that provide this information to pharmacies. It is different than a medication guide or patient package insert, which are FDA approved, published by drug manufacturers, and and required to be distributed with certain medications.

You can get accurate medication side effect information from the United States National Library of Medicine's DailyMed website.

I am 34 years old. I am a pharmacy tech. I have asthma and allergies. I have taken singulair pretty much every day since it came out on the market. I've had asthma since i was about 10 years old. I took theophylline as a kid. Steriods on and off especially during times when my allergies are bad. I still use Advair during the fall and spring. Every drug has a side effect. However breathing is pretty good damn thing. Do I have days when I feel low? Yeah. Do I sometimes have nightmares? Yup. Are "natural" products the answer. Not always. The fish oil that some of the posters are touting can also cause GI problems. Some of the natural products contain herbs and other plant derivatives that can be harmful for a child that suffers from allergies. Not proactively treating asthma can be deadly. Some of the parents are suggesting steriods as the answer - those can cause weight gain, growth suppression and can lead to a worsening of asthma.

Singulair has never made me feel like I've wanted to kill myself. I was more depressed and angry as kid when my asthma did not allow me to partipate in normal childhood things. I was sad and hated life when I couldn't keep up with friends at recces because I was having trouble breathing. You have to outweigh the costs with the benefits. I am more irritable when I have asthma flareup then I am on a normal day. For me, I choose to breathe. And singulair has been helping me for almost a decade.

I'm not saying the medication isn't causing these symptoms but maybe there is an underlying cause to your child's depression.

Any drug has a side effect. But without medical research and the medications that come with them - people would still be dying of simple diseases and we wouldn't have vaccinations. As a society, as a whole, we are a culture that looks to someone else to fix things and then blames the people who try to fix it. We need to stop being the "hot McDonald's coffee'" society.

Today is Christmas day 2008. And a Merry Christmas to me ha!!!!!!!! I was given a prescription for the drug Levaquin on the 19th of December for a suspicion of pneumonia. The x rays done at the hospital found no evidence of pneumonia but my doctor wanted me to take it anyway because since I have asthma and my lungs sounded so bad I was told that I was at risk for developing any secondary infection that was out there. My husband filled the prescription on the 20th which was Saturday, took the first one of a seven day supply 500 mg tablets. About 4 hours after taking just one pill was awakened by severe and agonizing pain in both of my feet and my knees that I was writhing in pain. Since I have nerve damage in my feet anyhow I know what the pain that I normally experience feels like and instantly knew that this was not normal for me. When I thought that I finally might be able to walk I hobbled into the kitchen and dug the list of side affects out of the garbage (stupid me had not read them first.) I discovered that it was one of the side affects. Called the on call doctor in the morning since it was on the weekend and he stopped it immediately and put me on something else. I only took that one pill and since Saturday night every night I wake up in agonizing knee pain and I have never had pains in my knees before. The pain is so bad that I feel like I am ready to go on a morphine drip, or cut my legs off above the knees. Six days now from one pill, how much longer can this go on? I really feel bad for the people that contined to trust their doctors and continued with the full course of the medication and I realize that what I am experiencing is minor compared to what others are going through. This drug should come with a handout that says: Take this drug at a risk to your health!!!!!! Last night the pain lasted all night and I cried all night. Have to get through this day am entertaining for the holiday and have had no sleep. Actually getting afraid to go to sleep at this point.............D.

DRUG: CIPRO FOR UTI. NOV 08. FEMALE AGE 52.

STARTED ON CIPRO FOR UTI ON 11/15/08. I TOLD MY DOCTOR THAT CIPRO IS A EVIL ANTIBIOTIC. I STOPPED TAKING CIPRO ON 11/18/08 WHEN I WOKE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT BECAUSE OF THE SEVERE PAIN IN MY JOINTS AND THE RIPPING AND BURNING IN MY CALFS. I FINALLY GOT OUT OF BED AND COULD HARDLY WALK. I DISCOVERED THAT MY TOES, FINGERS, ELBOWS, BOTH KNEES WERE SEVERELY SWOLLEN. AT THIS POINT I HAVE NOW EXPERIENCED ALMOST ALL OF THE SIDE EFFECTS AS LISTED IN THE "PACKAGE INSERT" THAT CAME WITH CIPRO.

BEGINNING MY FIRST DOSE ON SAT. AFTERNOON (11/15) I THOUGHT I HAD THE FLU ALONG WITH THE UTI AND THAT WAS WHAT WAS CAUSING MY FEVERS OF 102.9 WHICH I KEEP DOWN THRU IBUPROFIN. THE BLOATED STOMACH AND TENDERNESS WAS EXPLAINED FROM MY FRIEND WHO WORKS IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY AS PROBABLY CAUSED FROM THE INGREDIENTS IN THE ANTIBIOTIC THAT DESTROY OUR OWN BODIES "NATURAL ENYSEMS"
I ALSO WAS CONSTIPATED FOR 4 DAYS. (I HAVE BEEN DAILY ALL MY LIFE). EXTREME FATIGUE KEPT ME EITHER ON THE COUCH OR IN BED, I NEVER SLEPT SO MUCH IN MY LIFE. I LOSSED ALL MY APPETITE, WAS DIZZY, AND VERY SICK OF BEING SICK. I ALSO HAD PERIODS WHERE I WOULD JUST START CRYING (ONE TIME I REMEMBER OVER THE DOG AND NOT WALKING IT) EMOTIONALLY, I WOULD BEST DESCRIBE MYSELF AS HAVING SEVERE MOOD SWINGS. ALSO HAD HEART PALPITATIONS. , SHORTNESS OF BREATH, ODD TASTE IN MOUTH WAS ANOTHER "EXPERIENCE" WHILE ON MY JOY RIDE WITH CIPRO.

TODAY IS SATURDAY, 1 WEEK LATER - ANTIBIOTIC FREE FOR 4 DAYS. I STILL HAVE EXTREME SWOLLEN JOINTS AND FIND IT DIFFICULT TO MOVE AROUND ALTHOUGHT ITS BETTER. TODAY I CAME DOWN IN THE BASEMENT TO LAUNDRY FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE LAST SATURDAY. (I DIDN'T CARE ABOUT MY HOUSEHOLD CHORES ALL THIS TIME). RIGHT NOW, MY HIPS AND BUTT ARE SORE FROM SITTING - MAYBE BECAUSE LAST Night I WENT TO BED AT 7:00 pm AND WOKE UP AGAIN AT 6:00 AM OR IS IT BECAUSE OF THE SWOLLEN JOINTS SIDE EFFECT. I DO FEEL BETTER AND AM HOPEFUL THAT ALL OF MY ACHES AND PAINS WILL GO AWAY. I STILL AM NOT 100%, I STILL AM EXPERIENCING PERIODS OF WANTING TO PUKE, AND HEADACHES COME AND GO.

I WILL NEVER TAKE CIPRO AGAIN. WHAT I REALLY WOULD LIKE IS TO TAKE THE COMPANY DOWN THAT PRODUCES THIS DRUG. THIS DRUG SEEMS TO ATTACK A INDIVIDUALS "WEAK SPOTS" AND MAGNIFY THE SYMPTOMS. I AM PRAYING THAT ALL OF THESE SYMPTOMS ARE TEMPORARY.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR WEBSITE AND BLESS EACH ONE US WHO HAVE BEEN A VICTIM OF THE EVIL ANTIBIOTIC "CIPRO".

My mother is 74 and has been on Lipitor 5 mg for about 6 weeks now and has experienced her 1st TGA. She called me today to tell me that someone had come into her house and cooked a platter of bacon and moved a basket around. She couldn't find her purse and went outside and sure enough it was in her car, but the door was standing wide open and the purse was sitting on the seat. She remembers nothing! This evening she swore that our second child was born in a different house. This from a woman who can remember the tiniest minutia. This Lipitor is terrible stuff! She is now officially off of it. R.

Hi a little over a year ago i received a kenalog injection for allergies and have been having a lot of the same side effects you all have been having. I have a very large indentation on my butt. I have an appointment with a plastic surgeon to see about have the indentation fixed just out of worry that it will keep getting bigger because it has over the last 12 months. I have also had problems with my period. I have went from having extreme bleeding to 2 periods a month to now bleeding for 3 weeks at a time. I have also lost a ton of weight and am down to 115 pounds even though I eat all day long. A drug of this kind should not be on the market!!!! ON THE PACKAGE INSERT FOR THIS DRUG NONE OF THESE SIDE EFFECTS ARE LISTED. Somebody should be held liable. If any of you have any information on a class action lawsuit please let me know. Surgery to fix this is very expense not to mention just looking at it in the mirror and knowing that it could have been prevented if someone would have informed me that it could have possible happened.

Hats off to Dr. Engler. Patients need this type of support. He is a unique individual willing to tell his own experiences.

Singulair increases risk of Suicide? Don't just poo-poo the possibility

This analysis is solely the work of the author. It has not been edited or endorsed by GLG
.
Analysis By:David Engler, MD
Physician, The Allergy Clinic

Implications: It is difficult to imagine why taking Singulair would increase the risk that someone would complete suicide. After all, what does a leukotriene receptor antagonist have to do with mental health? I don't know. But doctors, ask yourself, have you ever had a Singulair patient stop taking it because it caused headaches? I have had dozens of them stop taking it because of headaches. When they attempt to try it again, the headache comes back. But the package insert says that the risk of headache is no greater than it is in people who took placebo. Try explaining that to the patient who got the headache--it's very real to them.

Analysis: The story about Singulair and suicide may be based on some cause-effect relationship. I don't know what that is, but I will tell you story of a patient I saw last week. She is a 19 year old college student, with the usual stresses of college. I have been treating her for asthma and allergies since she was 10 years old, and she had been on Singulair for about 5 years.

She was treated in the town's ER for an intentional Tylenol overdose; she took 15 of them for a headache that wouldn't go away. The usual charcoal to the stomach, with Mucomyst to protect the liver from the Tylenol went fine. While under evaluation, the ER doc also noticed she had been "cutting" her wrists and arms. She said that it relieved stress.

They asked her about the Singulair and she said it gave her bad dreams. Astutely, they stopped it. All this happened a week or so before the recent news headlines.

Is that cause and effect? No way....but remember that MRK is the same company that still denies that Vioxx can increase the risk of heart attack. Oh yeah, Vioxx. That drug would have been great as a niche drug if given to treat pain in those already at risk of a GI bleed. But, no, MRK was encouraging dentists to give it out for toothaches, and most patients in my practice who were on it had no history of GI bleed. MRK wanted Vioxx to be a billion-dollar blockbuster; had it been marketed appropriately, it may still be on the market.

So how will I change my prescribing habits? For patients who have a psychiatric history, including those who take antidepressants, I'll mention the story of this patient to those on Singulair and start asking questions to try to determine if they are brittle or fragile from a psychiatric standpoint.

This may be much ado about nothing, but what if it's not? I've learned to stop drinking the drug company Kool Aid without a few grains of salt.

Very interesting read, I started taking Lisinopril last year to help my borderline high blood pressure. After taking it, it seems that my sexual sensation has decreased dramatically. I thought I would wait to see if it would come back & it has not. I went to my HMO & the Doctor could not find anything wrong, he checked my PSA's & testosterone levels & they were normal but albeit at the near bottom of the normal range. So he prescribed Viagra. This has not helped, in fact I now have headaches, stuffiness, pupils constricted so much that it is hard to look out doors because it is so bright. The Doctor also told me that he has never read anything about what I am experiencing in any medical journal & just by looking at him & reading in-between-the-lines he thinks that it is all psychological. Maybe it is but I feel as if something is wrong. I do the treadmill at least two times a week up to 3 miles at a time & on a 5% incline & walk at a 4 MPH up to 38 minutes at a time.

OMG, I was prescribed 100/50 Advair today at the Dr. I have a cough with some "wheezing" that is because of severe allergies. The Dr. and nurses were adamant that this was going to help me. I read all the literature before I went to try it, but was suspicious because there was no side effects section on the package insert. I entered "Advair side effects" in a search engine and this is the first site that came up.

BOY AM I GLAD that I never tried this stuff. I am going to throw it out right now. I won't ever try it, so glad I never did. I want to sleep tonight, and I already have trouble with anxiety, thanks anyway....all of you people can't be wrong!!!

I am so upset just reading these posts! I started on a regimen of 500 mg of Levaquin on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 along with an Advair inhaler for treatment of a bronchial infection. On Thursday I started feeling twinges in my knees when I went up and down steps. By Sunday, I could barely bend my knees so I called the Pharmacist. She suggested it was the Advair so I discontinued using it but still called my MD in the morning. She prescribed massive doses of ibuprofen (800 mg) which in a 32 hour period did NOTHING to relieve the pain. If anything it has gotten worse. I spoke to a friend the same evening who said her husband had severe muscle/joint pain in his hands when he took Levaquin this summer. This morning I called my MD twice in tears (she didn't respond until 3:30 PM.) She still doesn't seem to think it's the Levaquin but told me to take Benadryl (after I told her that this is what my friend's husband's MD told him to do!) I am going in to see her on Thursday morning and I will go armed with these comments from all of you brave people who are suffering from the effects of this awful drug!

I do clinical research for a living. So the first thing that I did when I started having side effects from the ring was whip out the package insert. While they mention the "most common" side effects they don't tell you how they will severely impact you life. Not to be too gross but the vaginal secretion from using this thing made me gag. And I'm Monica clean especially about my "region". I was showering 2 or 3 times a day because I felt so gross. Even though I workout religiously, my breasts were getting bigger (which I did NOT need as I am already a STRONG D). Then I got online and read all of your comments. While I've only had the thing in for 2 1/2 weeks, the V.S. and all of the comments here were enough to make me take it out. I used to struggle with depression a few years ago, so the LAST thing I need is birth control that's going to send me back into that.

Thanks for the comments and the candor, ladies.

Interestingly, the side effects reported by other people here are mentioned in the Singulair package insert in France, which I found online in a 2005 edition on the manufacturer's French website. I don't think the same list is included in the American package inserts. The French distributor is "Laboratoires Merck Sharp & Dohme-Chibret" which appears to be a Merck-related entity. So if Merck has known about these side effects at least since 2005 and includes a warning in the French packaging, I think people should be asking Merck and the FDA why the French warnings are not given to U.S. patients and physicians. It may be that our laws need to be improved. Here's the info in French, then in English:

4. QUELS SONT LES EFFETS INDESIRABLES EVENTUELS ?
Comme tous les médicaments, SINGULAIR, est susceptible d’avoir des effets indésirables. Il a été décrit la survenue de douleurs abdominales et de maux de tête lors du traitement par ce médicament. Deplus, les effets suivants ont été rapportés : réactions allergiques incluant éruption cutanée, gonflement du visage, des lèvres, de la langue, et/ou de la gorge pouvant entraîner des difficultés à respirer ou à avaler, démangeaisons et urticaire, fatigue, fébrilité, agitation y compris comportement agressif, irritabilité, étourdissements, hallucinations, somnolence, rêves anormaux ou cauchemars, insomnie, fourmillements/engourdissements, convulsions, malaises, douleurs articulaires, douleurs musculaires, crampes musculaires, sécheresse de la bouche, nausées, vomissements, troubles digestifs, diarrhée, hépatite, augmentation de la tendance au saignement, ecchymoses et oedème, palpitations.

Si vous remarquez des effets indésirables non mentionnés dans cette notice, veuillez en informer votre médecin ou votre pharmacien.

4. WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE ADVERSE EFFECTS? Like all the drugs, SINGULAIR may have adverse effects. There have been reported incidents of abdominal pains and headaches during treatment by this drug. In addition, the following side effects have reported: allergic reactions including rash, swelling of the face, lips, tongue, and/or the throat, possibly including difficulties with breathing or swallowing, itching and hives, tiredness, fever, agitation including aggressive behavior, irritability, dizzy spells, hallucinations, somnolence, abnormal dreams or nightmares, insomnia, tingling/numbness, convulsions, faintnesses, arthralgia, muscular pains, muscular cramps, dryness of the mouth, nausea, vomiting, turbid digestive, diarrhea, hepatitis, increase in the tendency to bleed, bruises and edema, palpitations.

If you notice adverse effects not mentioned in this note, please inform your doctor or your pharmacist.

I'm having serious side effects currently. The onset of the side effects began after taking Lamictal for over 2 months. I started slowly on 25 mg and gradually increased to 200. I felt a great improvement in Bipolar disorder-mood swings- at 100mg but was told that is not the theraputic dose, so we increased to 200mg.

I had no side effects until the rash began to appear. At first only on legs, then arms, then neck, then face...and surprisingly in private areas. Unbearable itching. Rash continued to rage even after a pack of steroids. Swelling became apparrent in face and entire body. Slight difficulty breathing. Went to the ER and received another dose of steroids intravenously. The rash continues to improve but is still extremely itch. The swelling improved for a couple of days but is back. Had one day of severe headache. It has been 14 days and today I am experiencing blurred vision in the left eye, and new swelling in the tongue.
I sit at home with an Epi Pen next to me waiting to hear back from the doctor.

All of this is so unfortunate because I felt more stable than I have in years while on the medication. I'm feeling very concerned about my continuing side effects. Don't know what to expect.