Physical therapy symptoms and conditions

Hi

I just started taking 20mg of Prednisone for a shoulder injury. So far I have all but loss my appetite, which sounds strange to me since my doctor told me to expect to gain weight very quickly. I have also loss my need to sleep. I was up from Saturday 11:15 am morning the first day I began Prednisone and wasn't able to get to sleep until Sunday night around 10:00pm. I'm sweating like I'm constantly being rained on, it is so darn annoying. I also started to lose my voice last night and then again today, is that normal with is drug? I'm so full of energy all I do is clean our house, work out in my flower beds, etc. I'm kinda of scare of this drug and I'm glad I will be off of it next Tuesday unless my shoulder isn't better when I start physical therapy tomorrow. I wish you all the best while you are taking this drug.

Keep us posted on how you are doing.

Marlene

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 have just finished taking Levaquin for a 10day treatment for pneumonia. In the last 5 days or so I have noticed stiffness in my achilles tendon (no pain) until I get moving. I have also notice a tremor in my hands and no muscle weakness and shaking in my triceps and quads. Of course I hadn't read the precautions to this drug before noticing these symptoms. I contacted both my pharmacist and physician and neither seemed concerned and told me if I was really worried to go to the emergency room. I am wondering if these symptoms will disappear since I am no longer on the drug, how long it will take, and how long I should worry about tendon damage----is the possibility of rupture forever???

Hi all, I was amazed to find this site. I too have had a rough life for the past eight years! I am going to be 39 in a few days but this story starts back in August 21, 2000. The day that put me in HELL for the next eight years and still going through it. Prior to this day, I had a lot of UTI's and Pneumonia and several times prescribed both Levaquin and Cipro. I did develop Achillies tendinitis but I thought this was due to my active life style, see I was an LPN and a firefighter. So I went for treatment to fix the Achillies tendinitis. This was a foot Dr that of course gave me a cortizone shot in it. I cant remember how much earlier this was that this took place and I am still not sure if this is what did it but as I am thinking back these are the things that come to mind. On August 21, 2000 I was on a fire call and my right Achillies tendon popped off the bone! They took me away by ambulance. The Dr in the ER said to go home with an air cast on, eat or drink nothing and come back in at 10:00am and they would possibly do surgery. Well, I did just that. The orthopedic Doc said oh yeah it is achillies rupture will have to go in and tie back all the little fibers. So away to the operating room I went. They gave me a spinal and just knocked me out. I was awakened suddenly by my Dr. voice loudly saying " Holy shit it peeled off the bone!" And another nurse saying let me see! I came up on my hands and they grabbed me put me back down and knocked me back out! (I still have night mares over that!) Anyway, I spent the next 3 months in a cast. During this time, I was told from over usuage of my left foot, I now was developing tendinitis in my achillies tendon in the left foot! Which this sent me to a wheel chair. They took the cast off in 3 months then I was still no weight bearing for another month. Then i had physical therapy for about 6-8 months with little improvement. I complained to the Dr about the left achillies tendon and he said he would not do anything about it unless it too popped! So now many Dr later, and many many medications tried and many surgeries later, and now diagnosed with Lupus, Sjogrens, and Fibromyalgia, the most my rheumatoligist says is I have a connective tissue disorder, and taking cancer medication (Methotrexate) I am now disabled at 39! My life taken from me. I have situational depression, panic attacks, sleep trouble, Suffer from post traumatic stress, nightmares, basically my life is a mess and it is over. On July 1, 2008 I had to go to the ER cause I was sick. I had been run down and feeling bad and sleeping a lot, disoriented, couldn't stay awake. They found I had another UTI and a sinus infection. The Dr Says we will put you on Levaquin and that should take care of both problems. So he left, it took me a while for it to sink in that I should stay away from that drug, so I caught him and told him, he said to me that this was only found to be in kids while they are young and developing that it causes tendon rupture, and besides he said, one dose will not hurt you. I took 5 pills, one a day. Since then I have been in so much pain all over my body it is unreal! It still took me days to figure out that it was the Levaquin doing this to me! I feel like at random someone is sticking a knife in different muscles in my body! I felt like I had done Tie bo for 24 hours straight! Even my butt muscles hurt so bad to sit here and write this email! I have days when I cant even use my hands! Write my name with a pen. I am not sure if this is all due to these drugs, but I am most miserable and not a bit better. I may have just made it worse by taking this last round of them. Has anyone else had this kinf of symptoms?

In response to Wewe's post, I've been wondering the same thing. Since taking my daughter off Singular almost 2 months ago, I'm seeing a different almost typical kid. Four years ago about 2 months after starting Singular my daughter was diagnosed with anxiety. As her condition got worse she was diagnosed with depression. We started to see OCD and tics so they were added as a diagnosis It was determined that it was related to strep infections so she was diagnosed with PANDAS. She was started on Zoloft and klonidine. The Zoloft made her worse. Her fears of hurting herself got so intrusive she was hospitalized. Her cholesterol was high too. The Zoloft was discontinued and Prozac was started. She's had therapy all 4 years. She also neede physical therapy due to muscle and joint pain. Now she's doing better, off Singular. Does she really have PANDAS, OCD? I don't know. She's still on Prozac, we just did a slight decrease this week. Is this medication the trigger for underlying conditions. Learned behaviors can be unlearned, but are there lasting physical effects? If a gene has been turned on, can it be turned off? I wish we knew the answers to help all of our kids.

My jaw dropped after reading all of these posts. I started on Yasmin 3 weeks ago. I've never really been on BC's before, so I thought that my headaches, numbness and fatigue were just because of school. I finally connected the dots and looked on the internet to see if it was the Yasmin or if i was just crazy. I am so thankful to have found this website. I wish it was in the paper or advertised. Doctors should not even be able to prescribe this drug.

I have been on lyrica for over a year for the treatment of RSD (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy). The biggest side effect that I have had has been weight gain. I have gained approx. 55lbs since I was first diagnosed 3 years ago-- At least 30 of those have been in the last year from the lyrica. No matter how healthy I eat, or how much physical therapy I do I still can not seem to shed the pounds

After approximately six months of Vivelle-Dot - .05 mg experienced increasingly severe back, calf, ankle and foot pain to the point where I could barely walk or stand. Vivelle-Dot only medication.
• Numerous orthopedic appointments for back and feet;
• X-rays;
• MRIs
• Treated for Achilles tendinitis;
• wore light boot at night for several weeks;
• wore lydocaine patches;
• wore heavy boot during the day for six weeks;
• Physical Therapy;
• PAIN, pain and more pain

Researched Vivelle-Dot on internet. GYN suggested going off patch for a month. Stopped using Novartis VIVELLE-DOT (.05 mg) patches (Estradiol transdermal system) May 11, 2008. All symptoms related to my legs vanished within several days.

Trying to figure out if my back pain is like others. The pain is in the lower left side and groin area of both hips. I have trouble reaching my feet to put on shoes and socks. Ive been on Lipitor 20 for about 5 years and have never had a problem before. This started about 6 months ago and even with heat and stretching it seems to get worse. It hurts when I stand for any length of time. It hurts to walk or run. It hurts very badly if I try to straddle something like an ATV or a horse. When I sleep (if I can) I sometimes have to put a pillow between my legs and lay on my side because it hurts a lot to bring my legs together. Feel free to email me at ******

I am so relieved to come across this forum. I have been on Yasmin for about 3 years. After reading several postings here to my husband, we were both horrified to hear that I wasn't the only one having strange issues without a clear cause. I too have had heart palpitations, anxiety attacks, uncontrollable mood swings, inability to concentrate at work or deal with normal work stress, back pain, trouble falling asleep, low sex drive, and most recently, horrible depression. I have been to psychiatrists, allergists, chiropractors and physical therapy - all to try to find the cause. I have just gone off the pill, and have noticed improvement so far, and am very excited to see it hopefully improve. Hopefully I will be able to find a hormone-free birth control, instead of dealing with this. I can't believe doctors do not discuss these possible symptoms with their patients. I never would have thought bc pills would cause anxiety, depression, etc. A huge thanks to all of you for your candid comments... and helping me find an answer to my life-altering side affects!!!

I quit Lipitor (40mg) five weeks ago. I believe I was on a trajectory to disabilty within a year.
The unbelievable left elbow pain has gone (maybe the cortisone worked!). My left knee feels "normal" again, not perfect but nearly like it used to be. Within a couple of days of quitting I had severe pain in my right thumb along the bone, then in the middle of my right hand, then between the first and second fingers in my right hand. I currently have minor pain in my right wrist (this is new) on the pinkie side and minor pain in my left shoulder where the arm joins (this has been intermittent for a couple of months). I am feeling much better - but would not be at all surprised if pain appears in another part of my body before this is all history! There is also plenty of joint clicking going on.
I believe I first reported pain to the assistant doctor to the heart surgeon two weeks after I had the stent put in and was put on Lipitor. I was also on various other medications. I had tingling on the ends of my fingers and toes at random - hard to describe but it was as if a fairly sharp object (like a ball point pen, say) was being pressed progressively harder from the end of the finger/toe and towards the rest of that finger/toe: and as the pressure increased it would suddenly become painful. It was not a tingling/numb sensation but more a tingling which increased sufficiently that it hurt.
I am only being so specific because when I described these "symptoms" the doctor shrugged. If anyone has had similar - and I have seen tingling mentioned here - please make contact with me as I do want to report my experience back into the medical community but find, an exact description difficult. Things never needed to have got so bad if this was the first warning.
I since asked my family doctor if my knee problem was Lipitor related and she thought not: I was referred to Physical Therapy. I also told the physical therapists (who thought my knee should recover much sooner, and were surprised that I had zero mobility pain) that I also had serious elbow pain.
The orthopedic surgeon I saw did not connect the elbow problem to Lipitor.
The heart surgeon (stent insert) could perhaps be the only person who I did not tell of the pains - I don't remember - but I may be so grateful to be alive - that he may be someone to whom I did not voice a complaint!
On the positive - five weeks later I am feeling significantly better.

I posted my experience with Levaquin back in January 2008. It's been three months since my initial reaction to Levaquin. I was in terrible pain then and I could barely walk. It has been three months now and I am still in a lot of pain and the pain in my lower back is worse. However, I can walk better now. I have yet to find a doctor who can help me or who even believes that Levaquin caused this. If anyone out there has a physician who believes that Levaquin can cause this damage and who is competent to treat this problem, PLEASE email me with his or her name. I am willing to travel to wherever I need to travel to to get some relief from this. If nothing else it would be great to have a doctor who understands the problem. Thanks. My prayers are with you all.

Chris

I'm 17 and I took Levaquin back in November and still have to use a wheelchair to get around. I ended up having to go to the Mayo clinic because there were so many factors to my case, and we were not getting anywhere with my doctors at children's hospital. i also have mono and west nile virus and so all that viral activity made the reaction so much worse. They discovered Levaquin caused severe tendinitis in each and every tendon, but my hips mainly affected causing them to be extremely fluid-filled. I also have a permanent peripheral neuropathy from it. They discovered an autonomic syndrome called POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) , however that can logically be attributed to either the mono or the reaction.
I go to physical therapy every week now for my hips and my ability to be ambulating well enough to go to college in 6 months is being questioned.

I was on the way to work about 5 months ago and i was rear ended at a stop light. I was a little sore but since I work at a doctors office I signed in as soon as i got to work just to get an x ray of my chest from the seat belt. Thank Jesus I was fine but a a month later I was still having pain in my left shoulder blade. One day at work a provider there saw me rolling my shoulder around as if I was in pain, he offered me an injection repeatedly stating that it would sting for a few seconds and then I'd feel like a new woman. I put aside my EXTREME fear of needles to get the injection because I knew I still had several hours to work. After the injection my back never stopped hurting that night i just tossed and turned. People at work make fun of me because my chair sits almost completely forward but i try to tell them it is my back. well it is now 3 months later and 2 days ago i saw a different provider at my work for depression and anxiety problems. during the end of the visit i made a comment about my back after looking at it one time she had 3 other doctors in there with us all gasping at what they saw. My office manager promised to take care of all of my copays and deductible for plastic surgery and physical therapy to repair the crater in my shoulder blade. But is that enough? I mean to my knowledge they can make it LOOK better but I will always have pain and i can never regain that muscle back...its scary. I mean I'm only 21 years old! Any to all of you I have my "consultation" with my plastic surgeon on the 31st so i will keep you updated and let the ones of you that are curious if it is worth it or not. Thanks for listened.....

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.

I had a 10 mg. shot of Kenalog for my neck and shoulder pain.I got the shot in the left shoulder My face has been red and burning. I sweat really bad .and have a very bad headache.I would have rather suffered from my pain then go thru this. I wasn't given any information on this medication before i was given the shot.Or i wouldn't have had it with these known side affects.Does anyone know how long my face will stay red and burning i can't stand it. I will go for physical therapy from now on.

I have been on 40mg/day of Lipitor for 5-6 months and this is how I feel: totally drained - no energy at all - horrible lower back pain - I've been in physical therapy for the past 6 weeks. My neck muscles, back muscles and hip muscles were in constant spasms. Right after beginning Lipitor I woke up with vertigo and still have the dizziness. I was convinced that I must have some horrible disease and was dying at age 47. I stopped taking Lipitor 3 weeks ago and starting taking fish oil, vitamin c, coq10, b vitamin, daily vitamin - the muscle spasms are a little better - still have lower back pain, brain fog, some dizziness. I am so tired all the time - it's so difficult to work a full time job right now. Has anyone else had these same symptoms? Does anyone know how soon I should start to feel better?

On 20 MG of Prednisone, also taking Nadolol for High blood pressure. noticed that I have brown spots in my underwear where urine leaks out. Don't know if this is blood or a side effect of the Prednisone.?? Anyone else get this?? Thanks for your help..

Kenalog Warning! Please think twice before letting Anyone inject this drug into you!! I am a new nurse, I had only been working as a nurse for 4 months on May 31st of 2007 last year when I let my NP of 7 years give me a Kenalog injection to my Left elbow for severe tennis elbow brought on my 16 hour days of charting by hand as a new nurse. As with any drug, we should always be on guard and informed, and I feel twice as dumb for being a nurse and letting this happen, but I was so busy and in demand that immobilization of my dominant arm at the time simply was not an option to my employer.

By October of 2007 I had a literal "crater" in my elbow. I went to an ortho doctor and when he walked into the room he looked at me and said I was the worst case he had ever seen. I still didn't believe him until he sent me for xrays and an MRI. I have NO fat left on my elbow. I have total muscle necrosis and wasting away. Basically the Kenalog shot ate away all but 2millimeters of my elbow muscle and the xrays showed so much inflammation and irritation that the doctor was afraid that the bone had become infected as well. So I had to endure a bone biopsy of the elbow 3 weeks ago before he would even agree to do the elbow muscle transfer which I have to have done this Friday.

I was a new nurse and did not even get to work for a year on the floor before loosing full use of my arm and being forced to give up my nursing job. This elbow muscle transfer requires 3-6 weeks of immobilization, then 4-6 months of physical therapy, then another 4-6 months before you can expect your arm to be back to pre-surgery condition.

Basically I can not work as a nurse for a year, and will not be able to type, write, sign my name, use my cell phone, drive a car, wash my hair, or even pull up my own pants after I go into surgery this coming Friday.

And no, Doctors can Not be sued for an improperly delivered Kenalog injection if the intention was good and the shot was in the right place and did not hit the bone. I have been turned down by 3 lawyers.
Please be careful and try physical therapy, ice and immobilization first!

I'm a 47 year old male and have been on 20Mg Daily Lipitor for about 4 years. Everything was mostly fine until about 1 year ago when I started experiencing severe hip and groin pain. I played hockey regularly up until that time and assumed the problem was a hockey related injury, though never remember any specific incident that may have been directly responsible. I told my doctor I thought it was a sports hernia because the symptoms and suspected cause held a close resemblance. X-Rays, MRI and Bone Scans were all negative. Physical Therapy was a useless waste of money. I was in agony for over a year and barely able to walk some days. Could no longer participate in hockey or other sports. Even coaching youth sports was a challenge due to the pain that greatly limited my mobility. The maddening part of it all was the doctor's had no explanation and just wanted me to continue with Physical Therapy. My wife casually suggested to me that maybe it was the Lipitor as she had heard some recent news on TV related to Lipitor and muscle pain. I told her she was being ridiculous and that's when I started to do some internet research and came across this site. It's all starting to add up. I've been off Lipitor for a week and the pain on my left hip is almost completely gone while the pain on the right side has shown significant improvement. While I am seriously happy that I think I have found the cause of my pain, I am incredibly angry that not a single doctor (I saw a total of 3) even suggested the possibility that the problem might be the Lipitor. They all new I was taking it. I know the drug has had highly positive affect on most people and saves lives but I feel that I've lost a year of my life to it.

I took 500 mg Levaquin daily for 5 days during the first part of Oct. 07. Tendon pain developed on the third day. Today, after four and a half months, three doctors and a dozen sessions of physical therapy, I still can't walk more than a few feet without a walker. Any thoughts regarding how I might proceed will be greatly appreciated.
David M.

My mother was put on Prednisone 3 weeks ago because of severe muscle pain (15 mg at first and increased to 60 mg). After she starting taking it she began to have weakness in her muscles/joints and was unable to walk by the end of the week. She also had severe water retention and could not catch her breath. Most of all she was very weak all the time and could not seem to sleep at all. She wound up in the hospital and was classified with a type of Congestive Heart Failure due to the excessive dosage given by a pain doctor. She had to be admitted to a Rehabilitation Center where they have now cut her down to 10 mg a day and she is trying to take Physical Therapy to walk again. She is fighting with depression and overwhelming feelings of anxiety. She still cannot sleep and wonders if she will ever by back to normal again. Just a month ago she was living a normal life and because of the pain, was given this medication. I wonder if the benefits outweigh the horrible side effects she has experienced. After reading some of the responses above I see others are having similar side effects.
Any encouragement from someone with a positive long term outcome would be beneficial at this time to her. She feels very helpless in her situation.

I was put on Levaquin for 21 days to treat chronic sinusitis and I am only 17 years old. After about the 3rd day I was having great pain in my hips and knees and we called the doctors office to say we were having some of the side effects you're supposed to notify your doctor for, and they told me to keep taking it because all medicines have side effects and not to freak out. By the fifth day I had to be rushed to the ER because of serum sickness and i finally stopped it. Now, 2 and half months later, I still walk like a 95 year old and have to use a wheelchair to get around. I've also developed hypersensitivity to cold and touch and my limbs go numb randomly.

I have been taking Vytorin for about 10 weeks. During this time, I have experienced aches and pain in my neck to the point of tears. Hands get numb, lower back, now....knees, joints, fingers, hips, EVERYTHING HURTS. At first I thought it was due to the fact that I just started work (bar tender/food server) which requires a lot of lifting, reaching, stretching etc. As far as I know all that motion would make me healthier. Right? Common sense tells me......hmmmmm if I've been working for a month and I still HURT and it's getting worse....what the????? The Dr who prescribed the Vytorin then suggested that I go to physical therapy; The PT told me that I had strains in my back from working. What the? Then I'm told that I'm experiencing aches and pains because I'm in recovery????? What the????? I'm in so much pain when I wake up, my hands are stiff, I can hardly move my entire body. This is like it's a drug induced fibromyalgia. I'd rather go home to the Lord from high cholesterol than live with this pain. Today I am stopping the Vytorin. I had one of those AH HA moments that was posted on this site. It's really sad that I had to do the research on what has been the cause of my aches and pains; when the first thing any doctor asks.....what medications are you taking? BOLD LETTERS......VYTORIN!!! I'm going to take a nap, try to rest the next two days off work being that I have a doctor's excuse to do so after marching myself to the medical facility where I live and BEING ANGRY and letting them know........I should not have to have had to diagnose myself. WE ALL KNOW OUR BODIES....I kept insisting that I hurt so bad and it wasn't from "work" or being in "recovery". So, I certainly can relate to all the posts. I'm going to be 50 on 12/19 and I feel as if I'm 80. Thank God (lol) I "look good". A sense of humor goes a long way......but it's so hard to not be a little grouchy when we hurt, right? You are all in my prayers.

I suspect Advair is responsible for my having come down with pneumonia,stabbing chest pains( which the Dr. at the ER suggested was Pleurisy) and severe back pain in my lower back. I haven't been able to sleep in bed for at least 6 weeks and must sleep in a chair with my feet propped up on an ottoman.I have used Advair since July 2007, first 250/50 then 500/50 and now back to 250/50 in order to reduce hoarseness. The pneumonia is gone after 5 days hospitalization; the pleurisy pain has just subsided with pain killers and anti inflammatory meds . But the severe lower back pain is still there; my orthopedic Dr. has recommended physical therapy which I plan to initiate. However, stopping the use of Advair may be exactly what I need to end the back pain. I would like to mention that I did experience Thrush upon using Advair and I found that it completely went away when I started drinking pure Pomegranate juice.It doesn't taste great but it was recommended by friends during the time I had pneumonia, and lo and behold, it seems to have done away with Thrush. The Advair along with Siriva does seem to help my asma but these suspected side effects are very debilitating.