Pharmacies symptoms and conditions

I TOOK THIS MED FOR STREP AND SWOLLEN GLANDS. TOOK ON FRI AFTERNOON BY THAT NIGHT I WAS ABLE TO SWALLOW, THE NEXT DAY I FELT LIKE I WAS FLYING ON CLOUD NINE COULD NOT WALK STRAIGHT. BY THE THIRD DAY I ASKED 2 SEPARATE PHARMACIES AND BOTH TOLD ME TO STOP ASAP AND GO THE NEAREST EMERGENCY ROOM. MY SKULL FELT LIKE IT WAS CLOSING IN ON MY BRAIN.THE PHARMACIST TOLD ME IT WAS THE NEXT STEP BEFORE A STROKE. 1 MAJOR PROBLEM IS U MUST DRINK AT LEAST 10-15 GLASSES OF WATER TO DISTRIBUTE THIS MEDICATION THROUGH OUT THE BODY.I;D NEVER GO NEAR IT AGAIN, MY SKIN CRAWLS WHEN I HEAR THE NAME AVALOX

I finally stopped taking Topamax because of the side effects. But the worst was getting kidney stones from it. I only drink water and drink a lot, but I still got stones. The first time I was in so much pain that I could barely stand it. The second time, I had the pain and with it a kidney stone that was too big to pass. I could barely urinate. Had to have emergency lithotripsy to remove it. The doctor did a CT scan recently and it showed I still have many stones in both kidneys. I can't take another one of these attacks because they are so painful. My neurologist gave me a natural remedy for migraines called Petadolex. This stuff works! It has made my headaches much less severe when I have them which is not very often and my daily low level headaches are gone. This stuff is made in Germany and can be found in most health food stores and pharmacies. It also cost a lot less than Topamax.

When the generic Topamax (topiramate) came out, my insurance company wouldn't cover the real Topamax and it was costing me $400 a month if I wanted it over the generic. The generic was the worst drug I have ever taken. It is NOT the same as Topamax. I got so ill off of it that I had to get back on Topamax. I am finally off of Topamax completely after decreasing the dosage over many weeks. I was on 200 mg a day. I had all the side effects too like tingling hands, cognitive impairment and depression along with some others. This drug is poison and I am so angry the manufacturer didn't state all the possible side effects when they knew damn well it had them. There is a class action lawsuit against this manufacturer for not disclosing some of the horrible side effects.

I recently read where pharmacies are changing women's yaz rx to a drug called ocella that is notorious for these symptoms. You might want to check into that possibility.

*****For those of you posting in the future - and even those who have posted and are now reading this - could you please be specific on whether you are taking Wellbutrin or bupropion and what mg. Would be interesting to see if there's a noticeable pattern!*****

So glad I found this site. I too have had marked hair loss on this drug, with the exact symptoms most of you describe. I was on 300mg of Wellbutrin (the brand name) and had no problems. I switched to the generic (bupropion) and my hair starting thinning and falling out until you could easily see my scalp. For other reasons (I didn't put it together until recently), I went down to 150mg of the bupropion and my hair started growing back in. I went back up to 300mg and it fell out again - so I am now 100% convinced it is this drug. I too ruled out - with tests - all other causes: hormones, vitamin deficiencies, side effects of other meds, etc.

Here's my focus now: it seems to me, and many other people have noted this, that it is the generic (bupropion). When I was on the Wellbutrin, I had no hair loss. However, I noted several people said they had hair loss on "Wellbutrin" - so even though this wasn't the case in my experience, I'm so freaked out right now about the amount of hair loss that I decided to go off completely. A shame because I was doing really well.

I'm wondering ... when people are saying "Welbutrin" - is it really Wellbutrin? Most pharmacies will automatically switch it out. Maybe some of us think we are taking Wellbutrin, or are just calling it Wellbutrin, but really are taking bupropion. Generics and brand names differ in "ingredients." I noticed a definite difference in the "feel" of the Wellbutrin vs. bupropion - but it was a $50 vs $7 co-pay! It would be great to sort this out because those of us doing well on bupropion but have hair loss could switch to Wellbutrin - albeit a more expensive route.

Maybe its both? Either way I'd like to know. The doctors are no help. I love my doctor and brought this up to him several times. He did not think it was the meds. If he had simply gone on the Internet and typed in "Does Wellbutrin cause hair loss?" - like I did, it's impossible to totally dismiss it!

Thanks so much for sharing and letting me share. Oh - and please note, at least for me, even when I went down to the 150mg on the generic, my hair totally started growing back in. So, at least in my experience, hair regrowth starts immediately after reducing/eliminating the drug. And my hair loss was (and now is again) really bad.

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 feel like such an idiot. I'm usually so careful about new things. When I was prescribed Alesse 3 years ago I researched all the side effects, but I never had a problem. About a year ago, my pharmacy offered me Aviane, and since the pharmacist told me it was exactly the same as Alesse I figured I might as well save a few bucks. I trusted the pharmacist, and never thought to research the side effects since I believed it was the same. Now I know I was so wrong. I never connected the side effects until recently. I have noticed thinning hair around my temples for about 6 months, and it wasn't until I googled that expecting to find that its a normal part of aging (even though I'm only 25) that I came across so much about Aviane. Then reading everyone else's experiences, I realized I hadn't connected all the other side effects to this generic brand. I had rapid weight gain the first 3 months and have been unable to lose it no matter what I do. The depression, low sex drive, acne, and practically constant yeast infections I think now are all connected to Aviane. After reading this yesterday, I went straight to my pharmacy and switched back to Alesse. Even though it cost me $25 with my health plan (2 years ago it only cost $6 so I wonder if my plan pays less because of the cheaper alternative) I don't care, I just want to be healthy and sane again. Thanks for sharing your stories, they made me realize there was a problem and I can't wait to start my new pack tomorrow and see what happens.

*JENN*

I was given Singulair about three months ago. The first few months I hadn't noticed anything extreme as far as side affects. However gradually my moods began to change. I became sullen and agitated at first. I thought perhaps I was coming down with something. Then as time went on I began to hate life. Everything was irritating me. I had unusual outbursts. I began to feel as if I just didn't want to live anymore, but really didn't have any type of justified reason. I even had begun planning things, what I'd leave to my family, how I should go about it, etcetera. My husband even commented a few times that I just didn't seem like myself. I know he had no clue as to just how bad it had become. After an extreme outburst targeted toward my 6 year old grandson I knew something was NOT right. I took myself off the Singulair and am beginning to feel like my old self again. It may work fine for some, but for me, I'm afraid much longer and I may have truly ended my own life.


Good luck with your story.
Keep us posted!

Have been on simvastatin on and off for 15 months now. First of all 10mg came off for a while - cholesterol level up to 7.6 again so was put on 40mg. Very nauseous and came off the 40mg. Went back on to 10mg in Nov. and since then no nausea at all. At present I am getting terrible pain when laying down in my right leg from my hip into my buttock right down to my foot. It is similar to cramp in leg but it lasts sometimes for a couple of hours. Cramp usually disappears in a few minutes but it is the same sort of sensation. Also needle-like pains in my hand and foot. Above symptoms only since going onto Simvastatin. Would be interested in any others have these symptoms too. Trouble is damned if you take them and damned if you dont. Current research does show however that there is no benefit to women over 60 taking these wretched pills - everybody reading this should try and get or borrow the book by Dr Malcolm Kendrick entitled The Great Cholesterol Con (Dundee UK GP) written in 2008 who also is of this opinion. I am not advising not to take Simvastatin but please do research and read this book and reach your own decisions.

I have severe Fibromyalgia, as well as several spinal injuries. I have been taking Celebrex for six years now, and have experienced none of the problems described in the side-effects sheet provided with it from the pharmacy. It relieves my pain for several hours, and helps with the inflammation that keeps me from being a productive part of society. Without it I experience difficulty in doing even the simplest of tasks, because my pain level increases so drastically. My only complaint about this drug is that it is so expensive my welfare insurance constantly fights me on it; insisting I take generic forms of it which do not work as well, and DO cause me many side-effects that are not only unpleasant but are also unacceptable. While sympathetic to those who have experienced difficult side-effects, Celebrex has my vote; though I wish wholeheartedly someone would speak to them about the outrageous price tag they attach to it. I have worked in pharmacies, and know they more often than not charge $200 and upwards on many popular meds for which their cost is in the less than $20 range. Shame on them for this. And shame on the government for allowing them to do so. No wonder people are buying drugs outside the USA. But I digress. Celebrex is a very good and effective drug. I just wish I did not have so many problems keeping it in my medicine cabinet. Thank you for listening.

y story is but an echo of many of the others so there is no use to repeat what is being said. I do believe there is due cause for a class action suit. I hold the FDA and those responsible for its poor performance as well as the drug manufacturers and the pharmacies responsible. I just found out about the recall of metroprolol today when I went back to my local Walgreens to pick up a refill of my prescription. I was told by the pharmacy that four days ago that they had to obtain a new authorization from my doctor to refill it. Today a different pharmacy technician told me they had to send their supplies back to the factory because met-succ was no longer made by tthat company. I thought that strange, and I asked why the recall. I was told it wasn't really a recall, but the company wanted the meds returned to it. In answer to my "what is wrong?" I was told their was nothing she knew of, that the medicine was fin, the company just wanted it back and that I should talk to my doctor for a replacement.

After reading the comments hear I believe we all have been given the runaround. It sure seems like our pharmaceutical companies are trying to copy the Chinese. It looks like collusion between manufacturers of generic drugs and insureance companies. I do not think the doctors were privy to this.

Yes, I'm mad as hell. I hope I live long enough to see a good resolution to this matter.

H. R.

I'm taking no more of that poison

I took Alesse 3 years ago with no problems, Aviane is horrible. I've been on it for a week, thought I'd tough it out. Forget it. Anxiety, increased heart rate, irritability, depression, negativity, intense nausea and heartburn, weight gain, increased hunger, insomnia, bloating, dry eyes...you name it. The only issue is that I can't find brand-name Alesse anymore, pharmacies say it hasn't been produced since 2007, is this true? Anyone know if or where it's available? Some of you are writing in 2008 and seem to be taking Alesse, any help is appreciated!

I have been on Effexor for about 5 years. I had to stop using it suddenly when I became pregnant and the withdrawal was HORRIBLE (the inside of my eyelids felt like sandpaper and I actually heard my eyeballs scratching against it). Immediately after I stopped breastfeeding my son, I started it again. Within a few weeks, I felt so much better, my house was cleaned regularly, I stopped biting my nails, I lost and kept the pregnancy weight off and my libido did not suffer one iota. Unfortunately, my medical coverage lapsed and I cannot afford to refill the prescription. The sandpaper eyelids came back, my nails are bitten down to the quick, and I have no desire to take care of anything. The pharmacies are giving out free antibiotics ... but people who cant afford much needed medication have to suffer. I would rather have the flu than deal with not having Effexor.

I have been taking budeprion for the last 6 weeks along with Zoloft to increase my libido and reduce the depression. It seems to be working, even though I am not sure if it due to the increase in dosage of zoloft (previously 100mg/day to 200mg) along with the addition of budeprion.

I am experiencing for the last 1 week complete lack of taste, especially "salt" and "sour". The food tastes so bland that I have lost appetite. I want to know if any of you have experienced this side effect with budeprion. I have stopped it for the last 2 days and will check if my taste will come back.

Omg! thank you all so much for stepping up here! I was supposed to have mine inserted on Nov 4th. I just got a call from a friend and her boss was on the this IUD and she lost so much hair she looked like she was going through chemo!! she ended up cutting it really short. I wonder if the doctors are aware of just how bad these side affects ARE.

I don't know about anyone else here but I am so sick of doctors and pharmacies messing with us like we are test rats! For people that don't know, doctors get major kick back from pharmacies for pushing these drugs on us. I am talking not just wined and dined but all inclusive vactions and such! Friends of mine are doctors....so yes I learned this straight from the horses mouths!

My 18 yr old daughter has been on singulair for several years and has complained this week of numbness in her feet and toes. I have told her to stop the drug. Is this a reversible side effect? Does anyone know if there is anything else to do?

I am taking Adalat XL 60 mg. once a day.. as far as BP went was working fine.. They found I needed a stent in my heart... specialist put me on metropol 12.5... after the operation i went back to him.. BP was 80/53.. wow, no wonder I was feeling tired.. he advised me to stay on it.. NO WAY.. just my Adalat XL is working fine.. BTW.. and for the Gladys1948.. a few days after i started the metropol (lisiopril) I noticed a floater in my right eye... was disconcerting.. but is slowly leaving since stopping the drug.

I have been taking Femcon FE for almost 3 months and I am glad to say I am not going insane. Up until last night, when I read every posting on this site I truly thought I, whom never suffers from a moment of being irrational thought I would go and see a doctor. Almost every feeling of hatred, depression and irritability that I had been feeling of late (the last two months) was described exactly here. Whew. I saw a posting that one person believed that the pharmaceutical companies actually gave kickbacks to the physicians. Well, as a former member of the woman's health care facility here in my town, it is true. Nice dinners, bottles of this and that, new cars, vacations and so on... Ortho McNeil pharmacies (No, I don't work for them) is the ony company, that it seems to me, that can say that side effects are not the norm. Warner Chilcott, the makers of FemCon FE have many women up in arms over the Loestrin 24FE and FemCon side effects. I paid no mind to this but the more and more I am exepriencing these effects and are hearing of them the more and more I am believing that perhaps these brands should come come with a warning on the side of the box on a big white label that says,"May ruin all of your relationships, may cause you to unnecessarily check yourself into a nuthouse and may cause severe mind and mood altering effects.Please buy stock in a sanitary napkin company before using."
Now the first month was great but for the past 2 1/2 months I have been bleeding every eight days. Now this is not "normal bleeding" but clots. So horrible. Oh, were you thinking of having a lovely romantic dinner? Muhahah, with Warner Chilcott FemCon Your breath will be great but pregnancy will never come between you and... oh wait, you are going to have your period forever...

Hi,
I'm a 38 year old woman who went on Singulair in September of 2006. By December of that year I started experiencing heart palpitations,dizziness,and nightmares that stayed with me in my waking hours. By January of 2007 I was having full blown anxiety attacks. My doctor ran every test under the sun and I went to several therapists. By the end of January my doctor had me on Effexor, and several other short term aids such as atavan. The summer of 2007 I started experiencing stomach pains and sever diarrhea. As much as I loved my 20 pound weight loss, it was not a lot of fun. Again every test under the sun showed nothing. This spring I heard of the concerns of Singulair and immediately went off of it. Within a few weeks I felt like my old self. I am still weaning off of the Effexor and my asthma is not as good as it was on the Singular, but it is worth having my health and my life back. I feel that Singular almost ruined 2 years of my life. It should be taken off of the market.

I have founded an advocacy group called Parents United for Pharmaceutical Safety and Accountability. The activities of this group will include supporting Kate and Dave Miller's efforts to initiate change in the adverse event reporting system and failed system of updated drug info notification to physicians and pharmacies, and to educate the public and motivate them to demand change too. Another activity will be to educate the public about the dangers of Singulair and how to spot adverse reactions. And finally, the biggie: putting pressure on the FDA to AT LEAST "black box" Singulair.

I personally wonder how many people out there have experienced adverse reactions to Singulair. At some point, if the FDA lets us down, I want the group to conduct its own study to determine this and maybe identify new adverse reaction?

Hopefully the website will go live next week. Anyone who wants to volunteer or give input is invited to sign up via a private message to me at this site. If you provide your email address I will contact you when the site goes live. If you would like to speak to me directly, send me your phone number and I will call you.

I have already contacted some of you directly, and if I have not yet gotten back to you, forgive me, I will.

Thanks in advance for any support you can give!

Jenna M.

I am a 52Yr old male and was diagnosed with T2 Diabetes 2 1/2 yrs ago ....The doctor prescribed me simvastin a few month later 20mg once a day all had been fine till about 6 months ago when I developed tinnitus and started feeling very tired...My concentration started to lapse especially when driving as i found i couldn't remember driving down a stretches of the road etc ie passing speed cameras etc ...my memory also seems to have slowed down and i have problems recalling recent conversations or things i have done etc...just recently i have been getting severe itching on the soles of my feet almost becoming painful i have pains /aches all over and now especially have pain in my left arm right knee and fingers...when i get up in the mornings i feel like i have run a marathon the day before as i ache especially my neck and shoulders...needless to say i have now stopped taking the tablets after reading this forum and i am seeing my doctor next week initially i put all this down to getting older ...
Steve

so i posted on here a week ago to see if i was going crazy. turns out i wasn't. i have had this horrible mirena for a month now and the side effects are not getting better so i called the doctor today and said i wanted it out. the girl that answered the phone put me on hold went to talk to the doctor and said the doctor was going to call me and she scheduled me a day to get it out. the doctor called me this evening asked me what was going on and i told her that i was feeling really depressed, having a hard time sleeping, horrible back pain that my kidneys hurt and that i was sick of this bc and want it out. she told me that the mirena should not be causing these side effects that that it had to be something else. i told her that i have never had these issues before getting the mirena. i don't see why all these doctors think we are the ones that are going nuts. what is the big deal in wanting it taken out if its not right for you? she finally agreed to take it so i have an apt thurs so we shall see if i go back to being NORMAL after its removed. i will keep you posted.

also does anyone know of any other bc that does not have a risk for blood clots? that was the whole reason for me being put on mirena cause there was no risk for that. i have had them in the past from and IV and no doctor will put me back on normal bc.

I was prescribed Prednisone along with an H2 Blocker and an Antihistamine for a severe chemical reaction to using old lotion in a tanning bed. I only laid 2x, but I am severely paying for it now. I was only prescribed Prednisone for a 9 day treatment. By the 3rd day I had the acne. I suffered with Acne all of my life until I was 18 (I am 27 now) ... and haven't looked back at that terrible part of my life since... well, now I am faced to stare right back at it. Literally. I have only been off of the prednisone for 2 days, but I can not WAIT to get my life back. If I could take back the last 2 weeks over something so stupid and cosmetic as tanning, I certainly would. I have never had any previous problems with any of this, and this is the first time I have really had an allergic reaction to anything.... typically, Benadryl would have cured me. Although this time incurable with Benadryl and Cortisone, I regret the Prednisone. Severely. I hope this goes away within at least three weeks.. as my husband is coming home from Iraq and that is not the welcome home I want him to have (even if he is much less superficial about it then I am). Sigh.

I have been on Norvasc for some time,but was switched to the generic form a little more than a year ago. I have been very unhappy with the quality of the pill from Mylan Labs. It dissolves in my mouth, tastes horrible and sticks in my throat. Last month, I had it go down my trachea and was coughing it up for 2 days, which included alot of burning. I asked my doctor to prescribe the name brand but she refuses, stating state drug laws as her excuse. I know it really has to do with my insurance company's formulary and she just doesn't want to go to the trouble of getting it approved by them. I tried calling all the local pharmacies to see if another company's version was available ,but they all only carry Mylan's version. I take a lot of prescription drugs for several chronic health disorders, and several supplements and vitamins and can swallow a handfull of pills at one gulp, so I know this problem is not my pill-taking technique. I also started to experience swelling in my feet, ankles and hands about the time of the switch to generic, which I never correlated to the generic Norvasc until now. I told my doctor I will not take the generic from Mylan and am awaiting a call back from her as I sit writing this. I am having surgery in about a week and can not afford to be playing around with my meds, but this is important to me. No one should have to accept an inferior product. By the way, I'm writing to Mylan, too.

Last Christmas (07) I was diagnosed with pneumonia in the the right lung and x rays ordered. Xrays revealed an "unknown mass", or so they thought... they decided to redo - confirmed them and ordered CT scan... mass was gone, but there was PE in both lungs... so started the coumadin. I am type 2 diabetic as of Jan 07... have been managing my diabetes with healthy diet and regular exercise (A1C 7.4 to 5.4 in 9 months) ... no drugs... so the prospect of coumadin for life bothered me. However, my doctors all made a great case about how safe it is compared to other drugs... I lost 35 lbs in 07 after changing my lifestyle... and felt great. I am here today because I gained 20 lbs in 4 months of coumadin therapy (no change in how I was living), have aching muscles, chest pain and shortness of breath, and thinning hair.

After 2 days on the web I find only doctors and pharmacies say no side effects, but the hundreds of testimonials of actual coumadin guinee pigs like myself are finding a lot in common. For me, Im off it tonight.