Palp symptoms and conditions

I started on Yasmin a year ago because I believed the TV advertising. I had no noticeable side effects for several months, then began heart palpitations, anxiety attacks in the middle of the night, crying for no reason, severe headaches, and my blood pressure, which has always been low, skyrocketed to as high as 160/130. I asked my gyn if Yasmin could be the cause and he said maybe, so I took myself off it. I had to go on blood pressure medication, but I'm hopeful that after that poison pill is out of my system I can get off the meds. The doctor's office called yesterday to say my cholesterol was so high they wanted me to go on medication for that. I last had cholesterol checked in Nov, and it was fine. I've been off yasmin for two weeks and already feel more hopeful and less anxious.

I am a 41 yo woman in good health. I started Toprol xl about 3 years ago for a heart palp that would happen maybe once a day, and occasional racing heart beat. I did great for a long time on 25mg once a day. Then about 6 months back I was switched to generic due to insurance issues - they only want to pay for generic.

It took me a while to figure out what was happening, but several problems started happening over the last few months that I am sure were from this generic drug. Suddenly I was having vivid dreams - fish swimming on the ceiling, cats with heads 5x too big! Worse yet, over about 3 months I gained 20 pounds with no difference in diet. And I was getting more and more tired. I started looking into what could be causing these crazy effects - I was only on Toprol and birth control pills.... well, it was not the birth control!

So, I decided to wean myself from the Toprol. I decided I prefer a heart palp and occasional racing heart to this!! I gave myself a couple of weeks of lesser doses, then 5 days ago I stopped it altogether. I am having some horrid "rebound" or withdrawal effects! Numb/tingling hands and feet, headache and - surprise! High blood pressure! I never, ever took this med for HBP, and I have never had HBP! I always had a nice, low blood pressure, even when 9 months pregnant! Now it's running around 135/93 - I work in a medical office, so I got one of the nurses to check it on Tuesday...she sort of freaked! She said she has seen much higher, but mine is not normal. So we have been checking daily, and it's staying up there. I am so mad to think Toprol could have damaged my body in some way so that my blood pressure may not stay messed up for life. I have read online that the rebound effects can last up to a month, even with a fairly low dose like I was taking. Does anyone know if a month is about right? If my blood pressure keeps this high, I suppose I will have to seek treatment at some point. Ugh!

On the plus side, I don't feel so tired. No vivid dreams since I stopped the Toprol, and much better sleep! I feel "clearer" mentally. I just wish the tingling hands and feet would stop - and the high blood pressure!

I started taking Toprol XL seven years ago to control palpitations. Side effects I have experienced include loss of hair, coldness in my hands and feet, probably due to the lower blood pressure, and, believe it or not, palpitations. I am somewhat, but not entirely, certain that the palpitations that I originally suffered from were from poor exercise, stress and a bad diet. The new palpitations I get are from squatting, reclining in certain positions, raising my legs up in a certain way which I attribute to side effects from this drug. I am trying to cut down on this drug, but it is hard. My heart has grown accustomed to it and it acts up whenever the dosage is reduced, no matter how slowly I do it. I want to get it down to 12.5 mg. I take about 18-19 mg now (I cut the 25mg in half and take one of the halves and cut it in half again). Some things about this drug: take it consistently, e.g., same time with same amount of food. It will give you some harmless, but scary, palps if you do not keep a regular pattern. Indeed, I can usually tell when a palp is Toprol-induced. Another thing is to be wary of doctors who have you double or quadruple a dosage at one time. Years ago my doctor told me to go from 12.5 to 50 mg after I complained of some palps that I now know were Toprol related. I thought he was nuts because my pulse was already way down due to this drug. I envisioned myself fainting. being a bad patient, I upped it to 25 instead. Later, after looking at a Holter monitor readout, the doctor calls me and says lower my dose to 25 because my overnight pulse was getting to a point that if I took anymore Toprol the pulse would be dangerously low. I never told him I did not listen to him. But I have to say I have not suffered all of the side effects listed on this site such as depression. The drug was and has been effective in controlling the palps that were driving me crazy. My palps were very bothersome and this drug gave me peace of mind. But, looking back, I think I could have brought about the same results with a healthier lifestyle. I am very cautious about taking myself completely off of it entirely and will do that with the guidance of a doctor, not the one mentioned above of course. But they are hard to find. Most of them will tell you beta blockers are the greatest and if you take dosages as low as mine there are no problems whatsoever.

I had a sore throat. The first doctor said mono. The 2nd doc. said no mono or strep --must be viral. Third doc says viral and puts me on predinsone, levaquin and darvocet because my uvula was swelling from infection. White count was elevated and had low grade fever. That was Friday..............................The Monday after that I had severe pains in my left side. After teaching went to ER they said gas after 2 minutes. Next day level 8 pain same side went back to ER. They said skeletal prescribed me 4 more drugs and told me it was viral too. Went to internist on Wednesday had to miss teaching he scheduled CT on Thursday morn. Level10 pain almost passed out on Thursday eve missed school/teaching. Friday admitted to ER at different hospital beyond any level of pain I have ever had, blood pressure through the roof, heart palp, they gave me morphine and phenagrin and muscle relaxer for spasms.

Here I am a perfect state of health get a sore throat and the next week I am in the hospital because of the 2nd ct saying that I am full of poo. 4 weeks later I am still in pain, missed 12 days of teaching and now they say i have ibs. I miss my active life before. I believe the combination of these drugs caused this. I am young no children and very healthy. Ultrasound,s blood works, 2 ct scans with dye, colonscopy, xrays show no probs. Which is great but still in pain. Anyone PLEASE HELP the doctors are taking their sweet time while I have lost weight and stay in bed which helps the pain. Bending over, lifting, eating, pooing, sneezing, coughing, hiccuping can make it worse. It is intense SHARP pain. I have cut out everything med wise except for Miralax and now I have diarrhea and joint pain.

They want me to take Dicyclomine and IMIPRAMINE, MIRALAX and Levisin sublingual and Diflucan.

I am a physician and have prescribed levaquin to many people. I have had some of them complain of what they thought were serious and variable side effects but mostly I attributed their problems to anxiety and hypochondiasis. I now know differently. I took levaquin, and for over a year I have had serious CNS anxiety, insomnia, joint and tendon pain, and widespread peripheral neuropathy. It has been an awful time and since realizing that the effects are often long term I have been able to identify many other patients who have developed serious long term problems with anxiety, depression, arthropathy and tendonopathy, neuropathy and possibly endocrine effects like gonadal failure and worsening of diabetes. There are no long term studies done post marketing to identify these effects and to unify all of these problems into one syndrom of fluoroquinolone toxicity. This is a big problem and I believe thousands of patients have been adversely affected by the use and misuse of levaquin and probably the other fluoroquinolone antibiotics. I have other colleagues who are beginning to recognize the long term consequences of levaquin and the fluoroquinolones. More research and study needs to be done. In the mean time I am sure that Johnson and Johnson, Ortho- Mcneil, will continue to refute that the incidence of serious adverse reactions is much higher than they report.

Hey all,
Just to update those of you who want to know how long it takes for yasmin to completely flush out of your system. There is no real answer to that. Just like each persons reactions to yasmin cannot be compared to someone elses, the same is with detoxification. Some of you got better within days or weeks, and then there are those who still struggle after months.
I for one am now 3 months post yasmin. Whilst on the pill my reactions were relatively minor. However since I came off it i've been cursing the day I went on it. I mentioned on another post that initially I started to take it to regulate my period as I had an eating disorder.....like in not wanting to gain weight.
I was very advanced in recovery when I stopped yasmin and shoot..........i gained 8 lbs in water weight within 3 days. No period for 3 months thereafter and I keep being congratulated upon my pregnancy...lol...
You could imagine what this does to my ego and let alone recovery. I just slid back to all my old habits.
Also I'm still experiencing heart palp every night/low libido in bed and it deprives me from my sleep. So at night it's the palps, by day its the water weight so I have neither night nor day.
Whoever has any hesitations of starting this pill, true not all bodies are alike, but after seeing so many people suffer immeasurably, why become another victim when there are so many other options out there!
This forum is great ladies. At least I have where to vent my frustrations and I hope you all have a speedy recovery soon.
Me-at my wits end.
Take care,
Sherry