Pieces of the puzzle symptoms and conditions

I have been on Lamictal 200mg per day for about 3 years along with Wellbutrin and Lexapro. Over the past few months, I have noticed numerous things happening to my mind and body and finally put the pieces of the puzzle together...side effects of Lamictal. Short term memory is gone which is the scariest. Difficulty putting coherent sentences together. Fumbling for words. Spelling is awful. Heaviness in legs. Trouble writing. Inability to communicate well with the spoken word. Slow thought process. Shakiness - Hands shaking - Tremor. Speech disturbance. Weight gain. Coordination problems. Dry mouth is worse. Back pain. Increase in sweating including night sweats. Irritability. Impaired concentration. Forgetfulness.

This is so embarrassing when I'm in meetings. I start to sweat and can't seem to get my words out. I am also in a master's program and it is getting really hard to concentrate enough to write the papers. I am starting a doctorate program in Aug. which will not happen if these side effects don't go away. I called my doctor on Friday and we cut the dose in half and evaluate in 2 weeks. I want off of this drug! I need all of the symptoms described above to go away, especially my short term memory loss. I am very scared at this point.

My nightmare began Feb 24, 2009 when I had the Mirena IUD inserted. Amazing how crazy we all are! I have an almost 3 year old daughter and my husband and I are pretty certain that we are just having one child, but just in case we changed our minds, we wanted a form of birth control that was not permanent. Before I had this IUD placed in I talked to my ob/gyn about the Mirena vs the Paragard, I decided to go with the Mirena because my ob/gyn explained to me that because of the low level of hormone that would be absorbed into my bloodstream, that I should be okay and not have any side effects and I would have a very light period. I have tried other birth control pills and the nuvaring and all of them have affected me from anxiety to headaches to cold sores.

I have experienced the same symptoms as all of you. dizziness, foggy brain, numbness on right side of body, anxiety, acne, irritable, moody, bloated, headaches, weight gain (although I do exercise 3-4x/wk I gained 5 pounds in 2 mos.), hives( I have a history of allergies which I have been able to control with antihistamines 2x/wk and then all of a sudden I could not control it--saw my allergist who switched my meds), GERD which I was diagnosed with 10 years ago and had successfully arrested the symptoms after treatment), spotting, period every 3 weeks, etc.

I called my ob/gyn a couple of months later to tell her about my symptoms especially the anxiety and was told that it was probably related to my cycle and for me to chart my symptoms and to let her know how I was feeling a month later if things did not improve. Well after putting all of the pieces of the puzzle together, I figured it out that it was the Mirena that has been causing me this hellish nightmare.

On June 15, 2009 I went to go see my pcp to address my GERD issue and to start meds again. I told her that I was considering having my IUD removed because of all of the side effects that I was having. I told her that I was going to go home later and call my ob/gyn to make an appt. She told me that she would be able to remove it for me and so she did.

I instantly felt better--it seems like all of my symptoms have lessend or disappeared, and I had a bit of spotting which my pcp I was a happy person again--I was nice to my husband and was actually laughing when my 2 year old was having a tantrum in the bathtub! About 2 days later I began to bleed heavily and began to feel lightheaded, heart palpitations, cold sweat, and I felt like my legs were going to give from under me. I was thinking that I needed to go to the er. This occurred at 11:00 pm. I called my pcp and spoke to the on-call doc and he told me that if the symptoms continued that I should go to the er; I also called my ob/gyn on call doc (answering service) that I needed to have the symptoms addressed by the doctor who removed it and not my ob/gyn ( I was livid because I have been her patient for 10 years). Anyhow today I called my ob/gyn and spoke to the np who I am not very fond of and she told me that only the bleeding is expected and that all of the other symptoms are related to something else and that I should see my pcp for those. I disagree with her and believe in my heart that all of the symptoms are related to the removal of the IUD. Unfortunately I was not able to talk to my ob/gyn because she is off today. Anyhow I feel like I am feeling better although I feel like it will be a slow recovery and hope that there are no long term side effects.

What makes me the most upset is that the drug manufacture does not disclose all of the side effects, which I am sure that they are all very aware of. There are thousands of women with the same complaints and yet this birth control is still allowed to be distributed to women. Shame on them.

To all of you considering the Mirena: DO NOT HAVE IT INSERTED

I have been making inquires as to how and if the fda will conduct investigations in to permanent damage left from this drug.Although on taking my son off this drug i saw a 90% improvement,i am still missing the final piece,is it that he lost 3 years to this drug or did it do damage that cannot be fixed,we as parents need to know.The FDA responded to my letter,they said if they see a trend in reports from medwatch,it may prompt an investigation .I am asking all who still have missing pieces to file a report.What has happened is a tragedy,we need to explore ever option for continued success for our childrens future.Good Luck to all,Keep Fighting

These stories sound all too familiar! What a nighmare this is for so many people. My son is 7 yrs. old and has been on Singulair for 5 YEARS! His dr. prescribed it for "cold induced asthma" which was a complication from RSV. Just about every time he got a cold he would develop pnemonia. The Singulair along with a nebulizer seemed to help his breathing. At first he was clingy. He wouldn't leave my side. We had to take him out of preschool because of it. Then, slowly his behaviors got really weird. He experienced severe anxiety, depression, self hatred, worried that me and his dad were going to die, sleeping problems, seperation anxiety, trouble focusing, stomach pain...etc. I too thought that I must be a horrible mother. My 9 yr. old isn't on any medication and he is a normal child. I thought I was doing something wrong with my youngest boy! My husband and I were seriously thinking about taking him for mental professional help. We have been to his dr. two seperate times to discuss his behavior problems and he basically blew us off! There are no side effects listed (from his prescription) that have anything to do with behavior problems. I always check the paper I get when I refill his prescription. I haven't given him this junk since March 28th as soon as I heard the news. Finally, all the pieces of the puzzle fit! I have seen improvement already! Last night he actually asked to go to bed. Before it was a terrible struggle to even suggest that he goes to bed. He did his homework tonight without any difficulty focusing!! That was awesome to watch! I hope he continues to get back to the sweet and happy boy he was a such a long time ago! He and his brother share a room and have bunk beds...right now I hear (for the first time in forever) him laughing with his big brother! Oh, what a beautiful sound!!!!!

Here it is almost 1 in the morning and my fiance and I are worried sick thinking that my soon to be mother in law was either having a stroke or heart attack...this site may very well be a life saver!!for us all. After going to varoius websites trying to narrow down my mohter in laws symptoms and her refusal to go to the ER .....we went to the medicine cabinet and began to look up side effects of her prescriptions...and wouln't you know it there is the bottle of Lisinopril....I am scheduled to go the Dr. with my mother in law tomorrow and I will be sure to take all this information and the bottle with me. Although, we are not 100% relieved I have some piece of mind knowing that she may not be suffering a stroke or heart attack!!!. The past three days she has been suffering from the chills. night sweats, numbness/pins nad needles in her arms, sever headache and nausea.....and she has been sleeping more than I have ever seen her sleep in my life!! and not to mention the coughing!!!After reading all the side effects that everyone else has posted the pieces of the puzzle are starting to fit! Thank you so much to everyone for sharing your information it has been most helpful and somewhat comforting....it just goes to show that as always prescriptions are a money making racket and drs will prescribe anything to anyone to make a buck!!!!
I am so happy to have found this site and all your postings!!!

Has anyone experienced further side effects after going off of Yasmin? How long did they last? I'll be 35 in April. I started Yasmin in 1996. I started having a lot of breakthru bleeding so my doc switched me to Orth-Tricycline. I didn't do well on that, so went back to Yasmin. I eventually went to the patch, but that kept coming off, not to mention other emotional side effects with that also. After reading all of the other woman's side effects, a lot the pieces of the puzzle are now coming together. I have suffered for years with a majority of symptoms. I was even hospitalized for a week in a specialty hospital in Chicago in October with excruciating headaches. Looking back over all my symptoms, it all makes sense. I stopped taking Yasmin in January. At the time I weighed 162. Today, I weigh 132. It has to be the Yasmin because I have not tried to lose weight. Sure, I lost fullness in my breasts and my butt has become a lot smaller......in other words, my figure has suffered, but a lot of fluid retention is GONE. I have been sleeping A LOT better too. Here were my symptoms for years:
Panic attacks
Depression
Heart racing
Lumps in breast
Psychotic
Leg pains
Spotting every month
Multiple periods
Cramping
Fatigue
Moodiness
Mean
Acne
Hair thinning
Discharge

Since going off, I have experienced acne like never before. I'm assuming it's the poison coming out of my system???
Also, my hair seems to be thinning more. I assume it's for the same reason. Was this stuff that TOXIC??? I still have 3 packs left, but I don't think I'll ever go back on it! I sure would appreciate to hear from anyone who has experienced side effects AFTER going off Yasmin. I'm curious to know if it's just me, or if it IS the toxins trying to leave my system...
Blessings to all!

I just got off Advair after being on it for 2 years.
Upon my perscription, I was told there are "zero side effects". (That is probably true of every drug upon its initial release.)
I didn't take note of my side effects for the most part - wt. gain, acne, depression - writing them off on my transitioning to college. I also noticed that my hair was thinning. I had almost two years of not being able to control my skin. I tried three different dermatologists, but nothing would clear up my acne, especially on my forehead. I was about to start Accutane, and upon studying its (horrifying) side effects, my curiosity led me to research Advair as well. This is when the pieces of the puzzle came together.
Testimony after testimony described my exact condition.
I immediatedly stopped taking Advair. A week later I had lost 10 pounds due to a decrease in appetite, my hair began to thicken back up, my skin was glowing, and I was distinctly happier in general. I felt and still feel like a new person. I love life more, cry much less, and repeat that I am much happier, and no longer depressed. The first week I had some difficulty breathing, but was so elated to have my skin, hair, figure, and mental state back that I didn't care in the least.
I regret wasting so much time on Advair. I wish only that the drug get the reputation that it deserves.