Placebo symptoms and conditions

I started taking Loestrin24 Fe in July...At this point I'm on my 4th package....The first 2 months, I missed my periods (even though I had some bleeding but not when I was taking the placebo pills). I would usually get some bleeding on the 2nd of week of active pills. My third month was normal, I was so happy. Unfortunately, now I am on my 4th pack and 15th day onto it, I have some really heavy bleeding with terrible cramps (cannot deal without taking pain killers). Today is my 3rd day of bleeding and really bad cramps which makes me really scared.....Don't know what to do...Any suggestions???

I'm 21 years old and I have had the WORST experiences with Loestrin24 Fe. DO NOT TAKE THIS SATANIC PILL. Seriously. This was the first birth control I was ever put on. My doctor put me on it because she said the low dose of estrogen would help my bad cramps (but I really think she was just trying to promote this new pill...because when I started it it was still pretty new). I started this pill before I turned 21, this past March, and for the first few months the only things I noticed were spotting when I didn't take it at the EXACT time everyday (which I soon set an alarm for and did take it at 9 am daily) and also, my breasts definitely got bigger and I didn't have as many breakouts as I used to. I also experienced being really depressed and upset for no reason or being really angry for no reason. After a few months, I started to get headaches a lot more often, have vivid weird dreams that I would remember the next day, I had trouble going to sleep at night (insomnia)...and I looked these up to see if they were symptoms of this pill...and they are. The worst was when I PASSED OUT the day I started my new pack of pills 2 months in a row! I just went to my doctor and had several tests done and they said that they were not positive, but it is a possibility that the passing out was related to my birth control. I passed out the day after the 4 placebo/iron pills (that I did not take, which could have also been a factor) which was the day I started my new pack...when your estrogen shoots up. I take my pills at 9 am and I passed out around noon in both cases. I switched to another birth control last month, but now I am completely off of birth control because the new pill made me lose my appetite and I just do not want to deal with putting these things into my body. I do NOT recommend this birth control to ANYONE. This pill should not be prescribed, especially after reading about how a large percentage of women have such awful experiences with this pill. I'm so excited to be DONE with Loestrin24 Fe and done with birth control in general. To me, birth control is not worth feeling awful all the time and having weird side effects when I could be living problem-free otherwise. I just wanted to share my thoughts and experiences and I hope that perhaps others will have better experiences with this pill than most of us seem to be having!

I have been on this pill for 1 and a half months now. Shortly after I started taking the pill, I started my period! I'm not talking spotting, I'm talking full-blown period--severe cramping, cravings, mood swings, and all. The whole month (last month) I was on my period. Again, I WAS ON MY PERIOD FOR A WHOLE MONTH! I just got off of my period after I stopped taking the first month's placebo pills. Normally, when I'm not taking any birth control at all, I have VERY regular periods. The extreme side effects of the first month were incredibly shocking to me. I'm still having crazy mood swings; I really hope this gets better with time.

It appears to be, not quite all the facts in yet, but my cardiologist put me on a Lipitor hiatis to see if some of my arrhythmia issues, dizziness and light headedness may be associated with Lipitor.
After just 4 days, I am feeling pretty good! Could be placebo? I don't think so.
After being taken from work in an ambulance to the hospital and experiencing 48 hours worth of testing for a possible coronary, I asked my doctor to examine the possibility of Lipitor causing the symptoms.
I do not have a family history of heart disease. I eat well and am a moderate exerciser. When I was bumped up from 20 mg. to 40 mg. around 6 months ago, my symptoms started.
I have to decide now how much of an elevated cholesterol level I am willing to "live" with. My cardiologist said if it turns out to be the Lipitor, we'll try Zocor and maybe get a higher cholesterol level on my labs, but that's okay. How low does the low need to be??

I'm 22 years old and have been on YAZ for 1.5 years. I was originally on Yasmin and was fine but my Gyno suggested that for my body type and slight anemia I was taking more estrogen than necessary, so I agreed to try YAZ. I was excited at first, hoping it would help with my mood swings (which were not as severe as experienced with those who have PMDD). Everything was fine (clear skin, light periods, etc) until I noticed that in the past few months I was getting severely emotional (which is the complete opposite from the kind of person I am). For a while I thought it was just a phase and something that would pass but it has gotten progressively worse, to a point where I have become overly sensitive, crying with out reason and was experiencing anxiety. All out of the ordinary and very scary. Since I am an active healthy individual with no other medical concerns or on any other meds I realized that I may have been suffering side effects from the YAZ. The mood swings were particularly worse on days leading to the placebo pills and into the first week. I have been off of it for the past three days and will talk to my Gyno on Monday to either go back to Yasmin or try something new. Of course it will take up to a month for the YAZ to be processed out of my body.

Honestly it was a scary experience and it was good to know that my sudden bouts of sadness and anxiety wasn't all in my head. While YAZ may not be for me I know people who have not experienced any side effects while on YAZ. So if you are considering it I would suggest giving it a try but keep track of any changes in mood or side effects.

I have also noticed that people who were actually suffering from PMDD have like their experience with YAZ and women without PMDD have seemed to experience it while on YAZ, of course this is simply an observation and nothing else.

at the most minor--occasional nausea and heat flashes for me

reading all these postings scared the hell out of me at first...

As I did, later on, all these people should heed their dermatologists' and doctors' opinion and advice before this website's and others' posts and personal comments (not to defile this respectable website), because they dance around various circumstantialities (percentages and likelyhoods, drug interactions with others, etc, etc). Whether they are of coincidence or not, I believe these people scroll through these posts and feel amazed that they aren't alone in terms of side effects and experiences regarding different drugs that other people have had too...
In conclusion--whether this makes sense or not--these comments and threads gather people together to, analytically speaking of course, scapegoat a placebo for any or all various "common side-effects"

My 11 year old son started singular in March of 2009 for exercise induced asthma. Within weeks he started having symptoms of heartburn - which he had never had before. I brought him back into the dr. mid June- they said wasn't related to singulair and actually increased his does from 5 mg to 10 mg. Since increasing his does, he started experiencing, daily headaches, stomach pain, leg cramps, night sweats w/ shaking & overall FEAR. Last night he was in tears - he kept saying there is something seriously wrong with me - I can't stand feeling this way he was afraid he was going to die and didn't want to go to sleep.

Last night I did my own research and found this board. THANK GOD!
He didn't take his singulair last night & he never will again.

I called his dr. this morning to tell them I think he is having negative side effects from singulair. They actually told he it was "HIGHLY UNLIKELY" his symptoms were related to singulair and NOT TO STOP USING IT. They instead said I should start giving him pepcid. I told them he had stopped it - for good and that we need a plan B for is exercise induced asthma. Looks like my plan B is finding a new Dr. that isn't in bed with Merck.

Has anyone had any experience with a NATURAL approch to controlling exercise induced asthma?

I was prescribed Lamictal around this time two years ago (July '07) for Borderline Personality Disorder. At first I thought it was great and I felt like it'd been a miracle drug -- the drive back home from the psychiatrist's office that day was such a feeling of relief because I was going to get my miracle drug, finally. Later the next month I moved away from home and began college in the lower half of the state and stopped taking the medication because I noticed that I feeling any difference, or experiencing any change in my moods. Infact, I felt exactly the same as I had before. I looked up the medicine derivative drug and found out that it has a "placebo-like effect with highly addictive qualities".... which made me think that once again, my problem is all in my head. I still feel like I need to be on some kind of medication, but I am not willing to part entirely with my authentic self just to make some other people's lives easier. If they think my mood swings and attempts at self-destruction effect them negatively, just wait until you are the one having them and you can't control them! I don't want to become a zombie, I don't want to lose my hair, and I don't want to gain 30 lbs, but I feel like there's nothing else I can do. But then again, there doesn't seem to be any drug that can help without the drastic side-effects.

Sheesh.

adderall XR -is a time released drug.
must be taken first thing when you wake up... the effects thus will start to wear off around 4pm... and complete by 8 or 9pm. basically we piss it out of our system.
don't take on weekends.
taking less then 20mg is not necessary...cuz then you are abusing the drug. anyone who takes less then 20mg could be simply experiencing a placebo effect. adults are not to take less then 20mg since this is the starting point. yes, metabolism does effect everyone diff.
don't mix with caffeine, or allergy drugs like zyrtec D -this drug increases your pulse and so does adderall and then if you add coffee -you could be heading towards a heart attack or even worse like a stroke.
think about the tingling effects you all have reported.
i too have had those... and there was pain that kept me up at night. i had to go to a neurologist who prescribed laxipro (depressant) to calm my nerves that had gotten literally a tight hold on my finger's blood vessels and thus i wasn't able to feel them at times.
this drug helps you focus... and times, that is what "us" anxiety prone people need -simply the time to focus in order to do our job or study for a test, etc. but cuz we are with anxiety or prone to it -genetic, it can get the most of us when this drug starts to wear off in the day -since it's time released. our anxieties return and then we feel them even more then before.

easy to understand if you read a little on this drug.
i take birth control too -so estrogen causes anxiety on it's own.

so... read... and observe your body. eat accordingly to help your metabolism adjust your body's dealing with this drug.
drink water to avoid headaches due to dehydration -this drug makes your mouth dry to begin with...so water is best vs coffee. or simply make sure to drink lots of water with your coffee.
don't take the drug past 10am -otherwise, you'll have a hard time to sleep.

don't make your own portions of this pill. if you have 20mg don't break it down. these capsels have ingredients that help the time release process and thus if you break it down or up -the effects are not known.

i'd recommend a special doctor that monitors depression with a pharmacy background. they are out there. they can begin to test your metabolism with the right drug with the right dosage to help you achieve the most effective result.

good luck everyone!

Wow, who should I believe? Placebo controlled studies which suggest Avelox is a perfectly safe drug or a bunch of crazy people who like to TYPE every OTHER word IN all CAPS who are probably all middle aged women with psychological problems and/or fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, or other made up diagnoses.

Here's a hint morons: The reason why every drug in existence now lists every possible side effect is because of crazies like you. This way, the drug company can protect themselves from litigious idiots like the poster below who wants to join a class action lawsuit. This only compounds the problem, though, because then more crazies look at the side effect profile and when they see that "Oh my gosh, it says right here it causes x, y, and z" it just validates in there mind that this is somehow a dangerous drug.

I swear, if all of the pampered babies in this country were put to work in a rice field in Cambodia, there would be a lot less nonsense in the world. You would see what true pain and suffering is about.

I originally started YAZ about two years ago primarily to help with irregular or extended periods. I went off for about 8 months and had very light if any periods until about two months ago when my symptoms started back up. I went on YAZ for a month and my first week on the white or placebo pills the bleeding was extremely heavy. I'm sorry if this is graphic but I went to sleep for 5 hours with a tampon in and woke up soaked in blood. I freaked out and went to the ER and was told this is a normal side effect of this pill. Just prior to this I experienced:

terrible migraine headaches
brain fog
loss of focus
inability to think and communicate clearly
increased sensitivity to sound
terrible anxiety around people
mood swings- I didn't realize this until reading everyone else's posts

From my hospital visit I also learned my blood pressure was extremely high which could be a result of this pill.

I am so thankful to everyone on here that were so brave and kind to share their stories. I hope my post will be just as helpful.

thanks,

S

The studies published to date demonstrate that leukotriene receptor antagonists are sometimes more effective than placebo, are no more effective than nonsedating antihistamines, and are less effective than intranasal corticosteroids in the treatment of allergic rhinitis. The combination of a leukotriene receptor antagonist and an antihistamine has not been proven to be more effective than either agent alone. This review reveals several inconsistencies that require resolution. First, whereas leukotriene receptor antagonists are predicted on the basis of their mechanism of action to improve nasal congestion significantly, clinical studies reveal leukotriene receptor antagonists to be no better than antihistamines at improving congestion. Second, leukotriene receptor antagonists would not be expected on the basis of their putative mechanism of action or nasal challenge data to improve significantly sneezing, nasal itching, or drainage. However, some studies show improvement in these symptoms during treatment with leukotriene receptor antagonists. Considered in aggregate, the data available to date do not clearly support a unique role of leukotriene receptor antagonists in the treatment of allergic rhinitis whether or not it is accompanied by asthma.

Ive been taking this for almost 3 months im about to take my first placebo pills in 4 days. the first month was amazing, i had no problems and my boobs even got a little bigger which made me happy. Around the 2nd half of the 2nd month i started getting the brownish discharge and i have it every day...i don't have any problems with sex drive..and the discharge doesn't bother my husband because it seems to go away until a few hours after we have sex and it never seems to get heavier. Ive always been a little underweight no matter how much i scarfed down everyday.. and i gained a few pounds so i look much healthier. I used to take ortho-tricyclen lo and i had pretty bad mood swings and they seem to be about the same now..so maybe im just naturally a moody bitch sometimes. Im going to keep taking this for at least the rest of the year until i either balance out and get better or something gets worse and i cant take it anymore.

I am on my third month of Yaz, and I honestly don't know what to make of it. I has cleared up my acne for the most part, however, I still get new breakouts (which is obviously frustrating). It has helped with my cramps and backaches when I'm on my period, although I don't start until my 3rd placebo and I finally finish my period around halfway through my next week. Something that does trouble me though is that I have been feeling emotionally drained, constantly cranky, and just plain sad. A couple of days ago, I was in a really good mood, woke up the next morning, and felt like crying the entire day. Ever since, I've been in this low-down mood that I would do anything to snap out of. I hate it! I want to be back to my easy-going self...but I don't want to risk getting off of the pill and having my acne come back (which was the reason I started Yaz). I've tried everything else for my acne, and Yaz has worked the best. If I have to go off of it though, I'm afraid of the last resort: Accutane (not because of the birth defect risk, since I am not sexually active at this time, but because I have heard that it can give you chronic joint pain...something I honestly don't want). Anyways, I guess for now I'll just continue Yaz and see if I start feeling any happier...I can't be in a bad mood forever (right?).

I have been on the nuvaring since May of 08 to relieve my endometriosis. At first I loved it; less cramping, lighter periods, but then around November I started feeling stressed. Lots of anxiety during the first few days of every cycle to the point it was like I was paranoid. I'm not one to worry about what to do if my husband dies but with the Ring I was getting these feelings. I thought it was stress of work messing with me, maybe some winter blues. When I finally got around to seeing my Dr. he said it could be the ring and I needed to get off of it. He's putting me on the pill and I look forward to seeing if things change.

I had Mirena placed on Dec.31 and it was a painful experience,the cramping after was so bad I didn't want to mive after I drove myself home doubled over in pain.after 2 days of cramping it went away and everything seemed fine,until this week I have had extremely bad cramps .I have endometriosis so I didn't know if it was from that or the Mirena but it seems much more severe since Ive had the Mirena put in . I took a vicodin and it didn't help.I haven't gotten my first period since Ive had it put in but I am spotting very lightly off and on . I don't know if the cramps are due to the fact that my period is due and not coming or the endo or the Mirena .after reading this I think its the Mirena .Im not sure if I should wait it out or have it removed but I have an appt tomorrow .any suggestions or advice?

Science has NOT conclusively ruled out a link between Singulair and suicide. In fact, science DID reveal a link between Singulair and depression (a risk factor for suicide). In the clinical trials one montelukast participant dropped out and the investigator cited the reason as depression that was "drug related". Additionally, in the primary and Phase II/BIII Studies, 12 out of 1955 participants taking montelukast reported depression, vs. 5 out of 1108 on placebo, and 1 out of 251 on beclomethasone. This information is presented in the FDA's medical review for Singulair and is available on the FDA website. Depression was not only reported post-marketing as some would like us to believe. As the FDA explained in their update to the investigation, Singulair's clinical trials were not designed to measure neuropsychiatric events so some may not have been reported. Using clinical trial data to prove that Singulair cannot cause a particular symptom or outcome is as foolish as discounting post-marketing reports that show that some neuropsychiatric events associated with Singulair are consistent with a drug-induced effect.

I am 34 years old. I am a pharmacy tech. I have asthma and allergies. I have taken singulair pretty much every day since it came out on the market. I've had asthma since i was about 10 years old. I took theophylline as a kid. Steriods on and off especially during times when my allergies are bad. I still use Advair during the fall and spring. Every drug has a side effect. However breathing is pretty good damn thing. Do I have days when I feel low? Yeah. Do I sometimes have nightmares? Yup. Are "natural" products the answer. Not always. The fish oil that some of the posters are touting can also cause GI problems. Some of the natural products contain herbs and other plant derivatives that can be harmful for a child that suffers from allergies. Not proactively treating asthma can be deadly. Some of the parents are suggesting steriods as the answer - those can cause weight gain, growth suppression and can lead to a worsening of asthma.

Singulair has never made me feel like I've wanted to kill myself. I was more depressed and angry as kid when my asthma did not allow me to partipate in normal childhood things. I was sad and hated life when I couldn't keep up with friends at recces because I was having trouble breathing. You have to outweigh the costs with the benefits. I am more irritable when I have asthma flareup then I am on a normal day. For me, I choose to breathe. And singulair has been helping me for almost a decade.

I'm not saying the medication isn't causing these symptoms but maybe there is an underlying cause to your child's depression.

Any drug has a side effect. But without medical research and the medications that come with them - people would still be dying of simple diseases and we wouldn't have vaccinations. As a society, as a whole, we are a culture that looks to someone else to fix things and then blames the people who try to fix it. We need to stop being the "hot McDonald's coffee'" society.

i started the pill about 3 weeks ago, 2 weeks in i began bleeding, a few days after that started i began experiencing severe abdominal cramps, which i rarely had before starting the pill, and a couple of days ago, i developed a severe headache and nausea, the pain was so severe between the two that i was vomiting. now im still bleeding (should just be my normal period now, placebo pills) but the cramps are still there and still bad. should i get this checked out or is this normal?

I am 18 years old and have been on Loestrin 24 fe for over a year to regulate periods. I had not done much research before taking this and I wish I would've. At first everything was well besides the weight gain. My periods were short and I had no cramps. After a few months of being on this bc i was extremely moody and depressed. I was never like this before. I now find myself to be tired and exhausted even after a good nights rest. When I get to the brown pills in the end of the pack I get some type of period but not enough to call a flow or even to need a tampon. This is simply not the right bc for me. I'm glad i came across this site to see a lot of other people are experiencing the same side effects. I will be getting off of this nightmare in a pack just as soon as I get to an obgyn. Do the research before you start taking any type of bc.

I will never take this pill ever again. I have been on birth control for over 10 years and I have never experienced anything like this. I have been on at least 6 different types and this crap is insane. I have been on it for almost 3 months and have gained almost 10 pounds in my stomach and waistline, I have constant cramping in my stomach for the last month, I will not stop bleeding for the last month although my period is not due for another 2 weeks, i lost my sex drive completely, nausea, diarrhea, headaches, dizzy spells. all of the above basically. I started taking it because I skipped my period using my regular birth control. by not taking the placebo pills and starting a new pack. I've been doing that for over 4 years and I have never had this kind of reaction to anything. No one should take this pill. RUN FROM IT! if your doctor writes it down... say no... and ask for something else. Because it should be banned. I don't think they tested this one enough. The FDA needs to look again at this pill.

Ok, now the doctor said I have to keep on bc because of the endometriosis. He put me on Zovia. Anyone taken it?

First few months on this pill went fine. On the 4th month I started with the spotting. By the time the 5th or 6th month rolled around I would have my period it would stop for a few days and then start again at mid cycle. I was getting two periods per month. This month I started spotting on day 15 and now 9 days later I'm still bleeding. I need to be on some form of birth control pill to control extremely heavy periods. Ok so I don't have the extreme bleeding anymore but I have my period all the time. I could live with spotting but this is full on break through bleeding. My doctor wants to try something new but I feel like a guinea pig. I just wish there was some pill that came with a guarantee. :(

I'm writing in behalf of my 15 year old daughter who is trying loestrin24fe to get some relief from her back pain and migraine headaches (which she inherited from me). She had a full period after just 10 days and has had a non-stop headache since starting this pill that won't stop even with her migraine medicine. I know it takes time for bodies to adjust, each is different and the doctor says give it 3 months- but she is considering just stopping because her headaches are so bad. I'm just not sure she can hold out for 2 and a half more months to give it a good try. Her acne is a lot worse too. Moody- yes, this was another thing we were hoping the pill would help with but hasn't. I'm sure this site is biased for people having problems since if it's working okay- why look up information on it? In any case, 30 years ago the lowest dose pill made me depressed, I barely made the 3 month mark before I stopped and I thought it would be different now. I have spent years before and after having kids using an IUD, and for me, that has always been the greatest birth control!