Physical therapist symptoms and conditions

I am absolutely ecstatic to have found this webpage, although I feel like I have lost YEARS of my life to this drug. After reading the online article from The Plain Dealer (newspaper), my mom urged me to stop taking this medication.

I am 25 years old and have been on this medication since I was 12 years old. Over the years I have had NUMEROUS problems including migraines, chronic vertigo, anxiety, severe insomnia, irritability, urticaria, hives, eczema, and all sorts of GI issues ranging from GERD to diarrhea.

I have seen an allergist, a neurologist, a GI specialist, a family physician, a physical therapist (for the vertigo) and have had countless medical procedures ranging from MRI's to endoscopies.

I am horrified that ALL of these problems have stemmed from this one drug. I will NOT be taking my prescribed dosage before bed tonight and will be calling my allergist in the morning to inform them that I am going to quit taking Singular.

Thank you all for your support and for sharing your stories!

I was given Avelox by my Allergist three weeks ago because I had yet another sinus infection, she had me come in and pick up some samples she had with 5 days worth of 400 strength Avelox.
The night of the third dose I was awakened by numbing and tingling and pain in my right arm from the elbow down to my hand, I had never had this before. I called the nurse the next day and she said to stop taking the drug which I did. I figured now that I stopped taking the drug the symptoms would go away.
A few days later I was out shopping and within a few hours of walking around I began to have so much pain in my right foot/ankle/heel that I had to come home, I could not put my foot down.
Then within the next few days my knees began to hurt, behind the knee and in the side. It has been 3 weeks now and the foot pain is better but my hand,elbow and knees are bothering me so much I can't sleep. The other symptom feels like nerve pain in my legs, hands and fingers. I am really troubled by this, I am a very active healthy 62 year old Woman, I have not been able to exercise all of this time.
I went to see my Allergist who prescribed the Avelox and informed her of all of these symptoms. She said that this was a rare side effect and that I was particularly sensitive. I asked her if the symptoms would go away soon and she gently said that it would take time.
Then she said that she had prescribed Avelox to her husband a few months ago, she said he had the same reaction as me (how does this translate to a rare occurrence?) and that he was slowly improving. She thought I should go to a Physical Therapist or a Rheumatologist, I told her I can't afford that.
At this point I am scared I won't get back to how I was before. I have had knee surgery in the past but my knees were doing fine until this.
Have other people slowly recovered as my doc has suggested will happen?
I don;t know what I should be doing at this point. Help!
S.

I have been on Diovan HCT 160 for several years. The other day I woke up with joint pain in my hands. The next day it was in both ankles and arches of my feet, also both elbows and my right knee felt swollen and painful. I am a physical therapist and am
In tune with my body. I know this is atypical joint pain and not from physical activity. I was afraid of rheumatoid arthritis so I am shocked and a bit relieved to read others with same effects. I am going to my MD for full blood work and a new BP med for sure. I will post any new info if it might help others.......

Hi, my name’s M. and I posted my story on here about a month ago. Unfortunately, I’ve made no progress. I was hospitalized again mid-October for numbness and tingling sensations in my legs, which is a symptom of guillian-barre syndrome and supposedly needs to be treated very carefully. I had an mri of my brain again, this time including my spine to check for possible tumors. I was sent home the next day, negative for guillian-barre, but having received no answers. I was crawling up the stairs by this time, and was too weak to walk without holding on to furniture to support myself. My legs felt like cement blocks, and the neurologist specifically said, “I don’t know why you can’t walk.”
Since then, I’ve developed acute mononucleosis, which increases my fatigue and muscle pain, and causes me to sleep about 15 hours a day. Recent blood work also showed I was positive for an autoimmune disorder called Myositis, which is a painful disorder that causes the body’s immune system to attack its muscles and connective tissue. I was referred to a rheumatologist, who was the least sympathetic person I’ve met in my life, and told me my physical exam was perfect, so she felt the Myositis must have been a false positive. She re-ran the blood work, and the Myositis was negative. This is of course a relief, but how we’ll ever know which test is correct, I don’t know. The rheumatologist did notice the weakness in my legs and my difficulty walking, and suggested physical therapy to help gain my strength back. She also prescribed an anti-inflammatory medication that took away almost all of my pain. Thank God, something finally worked for me. We then saw the physical therapist who said, “We can probably make you stronger, but I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
I’m seeing an osteopathic specialist who is convinced my illness is directly related to Gardasil. Through ancient medicine methods, she introduced a vile of Gardasil to my system and noticed an immediate weakness. I’m not sure if I totally believe in her practice, but the fact that she noticed a rejection to Gardasil the minute she introduced it is enough to convince me. She believes that my immune system was basically poisoned by the vaccine, which is causing it to fight off things I need. She also said it probably doesn’t recognize the mono as an infection, and decides not to fight it. For a normal, healthy person, mono can last up to 3 months. For someone like me, no one knows how long it could last. It was my immune system’s weakness that allowed me to develop mono, and it was the Gardasil that weakened it in the first place. So thank you Merck, for yet another thing I have to deal with.
And that brings us to today. I’ve missed about 30 days of my freshman year, so I’m assuming summer school will be necessary. My high school won’t provide a tutor, so I can only take my core curriculum classes, and am having difficulty keeping up with just those few. I’ve gained some strength in my legs, and it’s a little easier to walk with the anti-inflammatory, but I still can’t walk very far without resting. I’m also taking an anti-depressant to help me focus-hopefully it’ll lift my spirits. Since I received the vaccine, my periods have been painful and irregular. The constant nausea, headaches, and occasional stomach pain/joint pain continues, along with extreme fatigue.
The doctors make me feel like a crazy person who faked this to get out of school. How could I possibly fake nausea for thirteen weeks straight, and pain that kept me up crying almost every night? How could I fake my difficulty walking while it’s causing me to miss both of my volleyball seasons? Before this, I had hardly missed a day of school in my life, and refused to stay home whenever I got the flu because I hate falling behind. I’ve played volleyball tournaments with sprained ankles and chipped elbows, I can handle pain, and I’m not a baby. If the doctors would take five minutes out of their time to try to get to know me, maybe they would see that. And the few who actually take the time to be pleasant don’t listen. They tell you they know, that they understand, but they don’t. They won’t drag themselves out of bed in the morning feeling nauseous and half asleep; they’ll be able to walk into their office without feeling like they want to collapse, and they’ll go home to the people who care about them and will actually be awake long enough to enjoy their company. No one will tell them they’re insane, and the worst part is that most of them won’t take the time to realize how blessed they are just to have the ability to do those things. How can the doctors not have sympathy when they’re the ones who put this poison inside of me?!
I know I’m very lucky compared to girls who have experienced more serious side effects, and am thankful that we were able to make a connection between my illness and Gardasil after the first shot. But I’m living proof of what just one stupid shot can do to you-how can you put yourselves or your daughters at risk of what I’ve gone through? The benefits are not just worth the risk..
My 15th birthday is coming up in just a few weeks, and all I want is to be normal again.

EVERYONE PLEASE READ!!!! GARDASIL HAS DESTROYED MY LIFE! I am 24 years old and a year and a half ago I was graduating college and planning to be a professional dancer and go to law school...I was perfectly healthy and energetic! In February of 2007 I received my first Gardasil shot. After a few days I started to feel as though I had a Urinary Tract Infection and was also feeling more tired than usual. The doctor gave me an antibiotic and sent me on my way.

In May of 2007 I received my second Gardasil shot and yet again, a few days later I started to feel like I was getting another Urinary Tract Infection. I went to the doctor numerous times between the second and third shot...all for bladder and urinary tract pain. For months I was on different antibiotics and they were not making the pain go away. After visiting a number of urologists, I found out that the urine cultures had all been coming back negative - showing no sign of an infection, so the antibiotics were pointless. All tests that I had run, both blood and urine came back normal. It is not standard procedure for a doctor to call you if your test results come back normal, but there was clearly something wrong, so I searched for a urologist who would believe me that I wasn't making up the pain I was in.

In August 2007, I had a cystoscopy done (they took a scope and went into the bladder to look in the bladder wall) and they concluded that I have an incurable bladder disease called Interstitial Cystitis. This is a condition where there becomes a defect in the bladder wall causing it not to have the protective mucus layer inside of it. The pictures of inside my bladder show red, raw skin, obviously showing the severity of my case of it.

There is no evidence as to what causes Interstitial Cystitis, and there is no proven successful way of treating it. The initial signs are exactly the same as a Urinary Tract Infection (painful bladder spasms, painful urination, body aches and back pain). The main difference is the fact that it is not an infection. There are thousands of people with Interstitial Cystitis who are misdiagnosed as having chronic Urinary Tract Infections.

I received my third Gardasil shot in October of 2007 and that is when EVERYTHING fell apart. The bladder pain became constant and there has not been one minute in a day since that shot I have not been in unbearable pain. This is when everything else in my body began to crash down as well. The other health problems and side effects from the Gardasil that I am having are constant sore throat, vicious migraines, vision changes, back pain, body aches, joint pain, sinus problems, vomiting, constipation, dizziness...I could keep going on forever!

I have tried all of the conventional treatment for Interstitial Cystitis and have gotten NO relief from the pain and other side effects. The doctors didn't know what to do, so they put me on OxyContin and a diet consisting of no acidic foods. That has now posed its own set of problems seeing as now my body is addicted to the narcotic, and I have gone from 5'6'' 125lbs to 100lbs over the course of a year due to the diet. I am extremely malnourished and have to take B12 vitamin shots once a week due to the severe anemia. I am 24 years old, and feel like I am 100. I can not live a normal life, I am going to lose my job from numerous absences, I lost my fiancé and am not able to have an intimate relationship anymore, I am extremely depressed, I have to have my family clean my apartment because I am too sick to do it, I can not do social activities because I am too tired and in pain. This vaccine has DESTROYED my life! I am desperately seeking out someone else who is having bladder problems due to the Gardasil so that I can contact an attorney. This needs to be OFF the market a soon as possible so that it does not run any other lives! Gardasil has caused some deaths, but in my mind, I'd rather die than live with the pain I am having. I did notice there are some posts regarding girls getting urinary tract infections... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE have your urine cultured because there is a good chance it may be Interstitial Cystitis!

I am desperately looking for someone who is having some of these symptoms so that I can go to a lawyer and get something going before things like this happen: Numerous states are pushing to make it mandatory that girls receive the vaccine before they enter the 6th grade. We can not let this happen! We all need to stick together and somehow fight this and get out lives back!

Let me know if you are IN - and also what you thought about my post!

You can email me at ******

Bless All of You!

*~Amber~*

I was prescribed Levaquin by my Dr. for a sinus infection. There were 10 pills and I was to take one a day. No one mentioned any of the side effects or drug interactions except to not take antacids within 2 hours of taking the meds. During the coarse of me taking the medication I began having substernal chest pains which I thought was just horrible heart burn, but it got so bad that I woke up screaming multiple nights from the pain. I also started having pain in my ankles, legs and especially my knees. The pain in my knees gets so bad that I think my knee caps are going to shatter when I walk especially when going down the stairs. I didn't know any of the drug interactions and my father in law who is a physical therapist has always advised me to take ibuprofen for muscle and joint pain so that's what I did, but little did I know that was only increasing the effects on my central nervous system. I am also experiencing bouts of nausea, confusion, light headedness, difficulty sleeping, anxiety and I actually thought I was having a mental breakdown.. I was freaking out on my husband and very depressed even having suicidal thoughts. It wasn't until my mother randomly mentioned that she had heard about the FDA issuing the Black Box warning that I connected the dots and had already finished the meds. I called my doctor's office right away and was told that the symptoms I am having are not side effects of the medicine. Maybe the Dr. doesn't listen to the news either.

I was diagnosed at age 46 with osteopenia and being post-menopausal (altho I never had any symptoms). I was put on Fosamax 1X/week. After a couple of months I developed a painful locked left shoulder. X-rays revealed nothing, and the doctors could not give me any cause except "getting older." I was unable to hook my bra, raise my arm above my head, take an item down from a cabinet shelf, pull a shirt over my head, or put my hair up. I was referred to a physical therapist, and after four months of daily exercises with tension bands and light hand weights, most of the pain subsided and mobility resumed.

Now, a year later, I have developed terrible pain in my right shoulder along with pain in the upper arm, difficulty sleeping due to the pain, and recurring pain in the left shoulder. The right shoulder is not locked as was the left, but it is more painful.

I started doing the shoulder exercises on my own and found that the pain would be better for a few days, then resume with a vengeance--usually on the weekends. After reading this website and many others--voila! I have been taking Fosamax on Fridays. I've been off it now for two weeks and the pain is definitely better.

A few other things that have helped are a good massage to loosen the muscles around the shoulder joints, nighttime application of a heating rub (BenGay), and sleeping with a small pillow tucked under the armpit on the painful side (like holding a baby) to take the weight of the arm off the shoulder joint.

I have also been losing clumps of hair every day; I don't see any thinning or bald patches, but I am amazed at the two handfuls that come out every time I wash my hair. I feel so much weaker, especially in my arms, than I ever have in my life. I have always been quite strong for my small size, able to life heavy things, run long distances (three marathons), and have great physical endurance. Now I feel like a weakling; I have trouble getting up or down if I am seated on the floor or laying down, trouble lifting anything over my head, and trouble relying on the strength in my arms for ordinary tasks such as lifting or throwing.

I will check back on this site often and post an update if I see any significant changes after being off the Fosamax for a while longer. I want my shoulders, my hair, and my strength back!

I had been taking Lipitor for well over six years to help lower my Cholesterol count with no know side affects. A problem developed about two and a half years ago with nerve damage that gave me excruciating pain in my shoulder and arm. After an MRI and three cortisone shots I was referred to a neurologist for help. He had no idea what was causing the problem.

About six months after many doctors could do nothing for me, and referring me to a physical therapist, my wife showed me a story in a magazine, which I can no longer find, that talked about problems with Lipitor that had not been properly documented. The article talked about exactly the side effects I was having. The article said there was a problem with nerve damage. It had been well documented that some people had muscle problems, but it was not know there could also be a problem with nerve pain.

I contacted my doctor and stopped taking Lipitor. Two months later, the pain just disappeared. The very day the pain ceased, I had a visit from a good friend of mine who is a Radiologist and who had studied Lipitor because of a problem he was having.

He explained that Lipitor was doing the job it was supposed to do, namely keeping the liver from producing all fats. The problem I was having was that I had injured a nerve and Lipitor was keeping the liver from producing a particular fat needed to help heal that nerve. It seems that the myelin sheath around the nerve needs that fat to help the nerve heal itself, and Lipitor was preventing the production of that particular fat.

Once I quit taking Lipitor it took about two months for the healing fat production to do it's thing. Recovery of the nerves in that arm has been very slow, but they do seem to be healing now.

I thought this was such an important finding that I notified all the doctors I had seen about this problem. To my great surprise I heard from no one. Not even a thank you. I guess that since they didn't find the solution, they just were not interested.

I hope this discussion helps someone else. Thanks for listening.

Hello,

I have 3 friends who have liked the Mirena, so on their testimony and after talking to my OB/GYN, I decided to give it a try. I have a history of a J Pouch surgery when I was 19, and I'll be 37 in June. My husband and I luckily have one little girl, but it's doubtful we'll have more due to multiple reasons, and I was doing this so that we could finally have spontaneity. We've been together for nearly 18 years.

I had it in for only 5 days. I suffered things I've NEVER suffered: raging hormone headache, bloating like I couldn't believe, anxiety, a panic attack, not just crying jags - SOBBING jags that would come on in a panic, a "doom" feeling and this horrible feeling of loneliness. I was jittery... I don't drink caffeine, but this felt like I'd just had 15 espressos... I had all this nervous energy, but no focus.

After just 5 days, I went in and had it removed. After removal, I continued with the headache for 4 days, these were headaches unTOUCHED by any pain meds, bloating that finally abated and fatigue like you couldn't believe. I never nap, and I spent one full day on the couch without any motivation to do anything, and I also napped everyday and slept at night for 10 hours three nights in a row.

My doctor and nurse were understanding. They said I might have been "Hormone Naive," as I've not been on any kind of birth control, but whatever... it was a horrid experience and I'm so glad it's out. My doctor said I was in the minority of people with this kind of experience to birth control, but she didn't deny its existence, nor did she persuade me to try to "give it more time," and for that I was thankful.

I am a 46 year old male prescribed Lipitor by my doctor for cholesterol above 300 and high triglycerides. 10 mgs for approx 5 months. During this time have developed muscle pain and weakness. Thought I was just getting older. Left shoulder pain started, I have never had shoulder pain in my life (avid weight lifter). Strength and muscle deteriorated rapidly, wasting of shoulder and upper arm. Got extremely tired and confused. Started having short term memory problems, could hardly get out of bed in the morning to come to work...became depressed and despondant. Took myself off two days ago, no improvement yet. Right hip has been aching badly, have been walking with a limp. Just a miserable experience, wish i had known about all this ahead of time, never would have agreed to take it. This has been a humbling and dibilitating experience, feel the life just being sucked out of you. Look forward to relief at some point. If anyone is thinking about taking it....dont!

My last entry was under guest 35975.
I don't look at this site very often, because even though that i find it helpful, I also find it frustrating and somewhat depressing. We are all suffering at the hands of greed in the pharmacuetical, and medical worlds. This pill should have never pased the FDA. I myself have spoken to 5 very reputable law firms about a lawsuit, or class action suit. The problem is we need clinical data, or something close to it. I hope to get something set up where we can all check off our side effects during and after Yasmin usage. I will put it on the link site and on this one. When I will do this I can't say. I have been off this pill for 2 years now, and yet I still suffer from physical problems which cause me to have life issues, one being I find it very hard to get anything accomplished. I went from being a very active self suffiecient, busy equine physical therapist, who ran 3 miles a day and worked out at the gym, to someone who has not been able to adequately exercise in 3 years, and who has gained 25 pounds, and who has been unable to resume a rgular work schedule due to the Fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue symptoms, mixed with all the other stuff. I do thank God everyday that I am getting better, slowly, but I am better.
As for the question someone asked on how I found out I had anemia? Well, I had been complaining to the DR.'s that I felt tired all the time, this was about 3 months after the GI bleed. I eat well, and as I said I was very fit. They told me I was probably just getting out of shape, from lack of exercise, and that I should go exercise. I went to the gym, and got on the treadmill, and pushed myself as I always did. This time I felt like my chest was caving in, so I quickly stopped did deep breathing and a lot of praying. Eventually the heaviness went away, but the irregular heart beats didn't. So I requested an EKG, and ECHO and a CBC, IRON and FERRITIN test. My Iron was at 3% saturation, and my Ferritin was at 3, my Hematocrit was 12, and hemoglobin, in the 30's. I could have died! I had the start of what is called a anemia induced heart attack. The red blood cells were to tight in size to carry oxegyen, and I was short of them.
I urge everyone number one to get off this pill, and get a CBC plus Iron, Ferritin, liver panel, electrolyte panel, crp, and a folate test. These are all blood tests. Then I would also get a saliva test done to check your hormone levels and your Crtisol, and DHEA levels, these control your Adrenals, which are tied to your hormones and vica versa. My horone levels at last check, which was summer 2006, were worse then a POST-Menopausal women. I have aged tremedously because of this, and gained the weight. I barely had any Test. Prog., or Estrogen. The doctors seemed totally unphased and uninterested in this fact, and yet I am ony 42, and I have been battling all this since I was 38. Actually first battle was wghen I was 34. Make sure you get a copy of all your blood work and all your tests, don't take their word that all is okay. Do research, ask questions and be persistent, it is your right to see your medivcal records.
I have since been dropped by my insurance due to all the severe problems I had. I don't go to the Doctor any more, except for a blood test and a yearly GYN visit. Still my past medical expenses during the 3 year Yasmin nightmare, make me look like a bad client.
I urge all of you to change your diets to a more vegetarian diet, it has been shown that balancing your ph is helpful in overcoming most medical problems. The ph Miracle, by Dr. Young is a good book. Eat Organic! All the added hormones in the food today, can cause more hormonal imbalances. Be pro-active in your own health care. Times have changed, pharmacuetical companies and insurance companies run medical schools, and the medical feild now. The Mayo clinic is the only Western Medical place I found that had doctors who seemed to be interested in taking the time. Sadly they like most other medical practices know little about hormones. Ladies we have been Guinea Pigs long enough.
We can be a loud voice if we organize and speak together. This site and the others are good places to learn and vent, as I said I hope to soon have a place where we can start calculating data on our side effects, then maybe a law office will take on the makers of Yamin and shut them down, and bring awareness to what all these pill companies are doing to women.
You know that they linked Premarin with breast cancer, this is another hormonal drug.
Let's not lie down to big medicine ruining our bodies any longer.
By the way has anyone else suffered GI bleeding, or other excessive bleeding?
Or Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue, Adrenal Fatigue?
Also the info on Magnesium is very good and important, Floradix is a great product for naturally and safely raising iron and B vitamins, also take the Omega 3's like UDO's Oils or Nordis Fish oil, and Bcomplex, and C. Don't forget to get your blood work insist on it. God Bless you all! Tricia

After one week on lipitor the muscles in my knees gave out. My doctor sent me to a physical therapist...no help. I'm going off of this medication today and hope I can walk again without pain.

this is for my mother, im VERY worried about her. she has HORRIBLE leg pains that come on all of a sudden, it hurts her so bad she literally crys. Her back bothers her alot so she was sent to a physical therapist, she has depression also. the doctor here seems to think its just side effects of tamoxifen, but she is on her 3rd year of taking the drug, why is this happening to her now? she didnt seem to have problems in the first two and a half years. does anyone know what could be the problem?

Great reduction in cholesterol levels! But suddenly I felt absolutely without any energy to perform daily tasks, and, simultaneously both knees were swelling and it was difficult walking. I immediately stopped taking Zocor and went to my heart doctor. He agreed that I had done the right thing. I had also been taking Vioxx for lower back pain for a while. Don't know if there was any interaction.
My heart doctor sent me to a rhumatologist. He said there were no real problems with the knees except some expected osteoarthiritis, indicating a slightly greater wear in the cartledge on the inside of the knee joint versus the outside. He took some fluid from one knee and only recommend I get some physical therapy. I waited about four months before following up on the therapy. The physical therapist told me immediately that my problem was only mechanics...the way I walk and that if I would practice walking properly then I would be OK. I suspect there is some truth to this but the real cause of altered walking in my opinion was the pain from taking Zocor.
Please let me know if you have found solutions to this. I am 58 and otherwise quite healthy.

I'm a 58 year old male in good health. Was riding a bike 5 to 6 miles each day and no problems or arthritis. In January I got a Urinary tract infection and was put on a Sulfa drug which gave me a rash so I was switched to Levaquin.

Started taking Levaquin 24 Feb.
Started having lower back pain and heat in two days.
28 Feb went to Physical therapist to see if she could do something for the pain and the heat in lower back. She could not find anything wrong and sent me back to my Doctor. He checked me out and said the infection was gone and not to lift anything over 10 lbs.

1 Mar. pain almost unbearable.
2 Mar. by evening could not control my back and was laying on the floor.
3 Mar called doctor and told him I couldn't get out of bed and he called in a prescription for a muscle relaxant and recommended heat and ice. Called my therapist and she recommended ice 20 min every hour and to come in as soon as I could get out of bed.
5 Mar finally able to get out of bed and went to therapy.
6 Mar took last Levaquin.

Continued therapy and things seemed to be getting better but kept injuring joints when I used them too much.
Since then it has been all downhill. Symptoms include aching in all joints. Unable to sit or lay on my back. Anytime anything touches my back it gets hot. One Rib has gone out of place twice. My back continues to go out of control. Unable to sleep due to the pain. Knees weak. Sometimes have hot spots on legs and arms. Doctor has taken blood tests and had Xrays thinking I had Arthritis which isn't the case. Any physical exertion compounds problems. Had to quit therapy as it causes more pain. Doctor has me on muscle relaxants, Vioxx and pain killers. He doesn't believe this ailment was caused by Levaquin or if it was the effects would already be gone.

It's over two months since I took the drug and no relief. Seems to get worse every day. Tried to go to a Neurologist and he needed me to have a MRI and so far the insurance company has denied it.

Tried going to a Chiropractor but any manipulations cause more pain.

If anybody has suggestion on how to get over this and back to a normal life please let me know.