Poison ivy symptoms and conditions

Today is 10/28. I am Weezie1 and I posted on 10/26 about my severe drug reactions. They have gotten worse since I wrote my first post. The fever and chills are gone. But now I have been dealing with a rash/hives over all parts of my body. They are worse where close contact to sleeping clothing are - back, chest, neck. The one side of my face that I usually sleep on is purple every morning, along with that same side of my neck. I managed to get myself back to the doctor on 10/26 and am now on a 6 day dosage of steroids for the rash/hives. The steroids have stopped the hives from getting any worse. But it is taking awhile to go away. Any heat, anxiety, frustration brings them out again. I see I will be dealing with this for awhile. I go back to the doctor on 10/29 for a recheck. I lost 2 days from work because of this. My skin felt like it was on fire with hundreds of bee stings. Now I feel like I have a severe case of poison ivy. I have found some relief using Aveeno's oatmeal powder to do a bathtub soaking at night. Then I follow that with Aveeno's rich moisturizing lotion. The doctor may want me on steroids for longer than first prescribed.....not a med you want to be on for too long. All because of an UTI last week that could have been simply treated with a regular antibiotic if my doctor was not able to prescribe this sulfa drug to me on 10/19. Next time I will go with my initial gut feeling and refuse to take a medication when I see its extensive side effect list. I wish I had done so last week. I am suffering much more now than I was last week with my UTI. I filed an online complaint at the FDA's website. They mention it at their phone number that Weezie1 reported in my 10/26 posting here. I, unfortunately, expect to see additional patient complaints here every few days when I check back at this great medications site. And now I see that someone has internal bleeding. What next? A death? My blood pressure and heart rate were both increased for several days due to this drug. I could feel my heart pounding when I was sitting still and laying in bed. Thankfully, my BP is normally on the low side, but all the numbers went up by 10. We have to band together to get this crap off the market and out of the hands of doctors and unsuspecting innocent patients. Our voices will be heard if we speak in large numbers. Keep talking!Good luck to all.

I just came across this site while searching online for photos that resembled what is happening to my body. I have matching large indentations above both butt cheeks, and after reading this I realize that they are in the same location where my dermatologist gave me "steroid" shots for poison ivy in Sept. of 2008. I have no idea if it was kenalog, but after reading this I'm afraid that's exactly what it was and will be calling his office on Monday to confirm. I too would like to know just how big these will get and if there is any way to correct them. It's all I can do to sit at my desk for 8 hours. I am in great discomfort, and very upset about the appearance of these large indentations.

I started taking lisinopril 20mg Nov. 12, 2008. I've never smoked poison ivy before, but that's how I describe the constant side effect. Sinus and upper gums, upper chest. A dull allergic feeling. Some days I am preoccupied with it, gets depressing. Does keep the BP down. I am weaning the dose down to stop. I know you're not supposed to stop taking them, but I am sick of feeling sick. I've told the doctor twice, I think he thinks I am imagining it. I don't have insurance, it cost me $300.00 out of pocket to see him for ten minutes. I hate felling trapped like this.

43 yo Male 5'9, I weighed 259 lbs 2 years ago. I am now 221 lbs. I want to be 200 lbs. Work out 3 times a week gym. Take vitamins. Diet is better than what it was.
Can't say I am not trying. But if all BP meds are like this, I will no longer take them, and just take my chances.

I have taken pred. on and off in the low dose packet thru the years, but for poison ivy and it works. I trusted it. I got bronchial pneumonia about 5 years ago and was given a higher dose, with no tapering period. Never even thought about it and just took until the prescription was gone. To make a long story short, I went thru severe withdrawals. It also caused a physiological destabalization due to a built up allergy over multiple uses. If you have any mental health history or family history do not take this. Do not let a family member take this. If there is any history at all ask your doctor on all medications, I'm sure there are others out there that could also have the same results. I had other side effects also, but they have been minor compared to having my life as I new it totally destroyed and having to take other medications for the rest of my life. Why this drug has not been pulled off the market is beyond me! Especially after reading all the other inserts on side effect.

For just over two years I suffered with chronic sinus infections and I could not understand what the cause of it could be. My doctors (two sinus specialists and also GP) did not even know about this side effect of Lisinopril. I was on antibiotics five times last year. The sinus specialists told me I must go for sinus surgery. I tried to remember when my sinus problems started and tried to link it to something else. Then I realized that I started taking Lisinopril in September 2006. Shortly after this I had my first severe sinus infection and I almost had pneumonia from it. Shortly after I recovered (after taking a strong course of antibiotics) it was not three weeks then I had it again. I had sinus problems the whole of 2007 and 2008. I decided to do some research on the internet to see if the infections are related to Lisinopril. I was shocked to discover that so many people reported the same side effects. I requested my GP to change my BP medication to a different group (Non-ACE Inhibitor). I cannot believe the difference. No more sinus infections! Also, I had flu once so far and I managed to recover from it without the use of antibiotics. This is a real breakthrough for me. I am just glad that I found this forum.
JM, South Africa

I took Levaquin for about two weeks, I started out with 500mg.. and went down to 250mg once a day. I had MRSA and that has healed up nicely.. but I developed the rashes.. on the backs of my hands and arms for some relief I put peroxide on then rinse with cold water, and pat dry then I put Calamine lotion on which is used for rashes, poison ivy and such.. the pink stuff.. It helps a lot with the itching and the pain from itching it. The rash on the back of my hands is almost gone now, I have been putting the calamine on my arms. The rash on the back of my hands ive had for about 2 weeks.. try the peroxide and the calamine lotion.. it really helps to relieve the itching.

As a fairly healthy 34 year old male, I went to my doctor for help getting over poison ivy mid-July 2008. I received the Kenalog 40 injection without being advised on any potential side effects. Within 36 hours I started having severe anxiety attacks with spikes in my blood pressure and vision problems (spotty, increased sensitivity to light). These attacks continued for 4-8 weeks during which time I underwent an MRI (head), stress test, and blood work to make sure nothing else was causing my symptoms.....conclusion: everything normal. My doctor prescribed me Xanax to help with the out of control anxiety. Started feeling more normal 60-90 days later. I started trying to run on my treadmill to get back in shape at the 90 day mark, and once again....symptoms returned. It's been a couple of weeks and I'm getting closer to being back to "normal", but I have no idea how long it will be before the Kenalog has completely metabolized out of my system, and I can get on with life. This has been a horrible experience and I would caution anyone from receiving this drug!

My hair is falling out too!! Since January I have had 2 kenalog shots for allergies and 2 shots for poison ivy. My side effects are hair loss, depression, headaches, bruise easily, swollen joints, weight gain, and a dent on my rear. These effects did not start until I had 2 shots, now it is so severe. I was so scared when my hair started falling out but knew that I didn't have Lupus or Diabetes which could cause the same side effects...I have been tested for both and do not have either.

Please let us know if there are anymore out there who have hair loss because of the Kenalog Shot.

I too received a Kenalog shot for poison ivy in my buttocks. The nurse informed me it may cause a little indent for a few weeks since I am thin, but will go away. I never asked anymore questions b/c I was so desperate to get rid of the poison ivy and she made it seem like it was nothing.

Well it's been 9 months and I have a HUGE indent where the kenalog was injected! AND it's gotten bigger and deeper with time. Luckily it is under my bathing suit bottom and most of my panties. But it's sore to the touch and sensitive.

After reading posts on this, I sent a complaint to the FDA. Has anyone who did this heard back from them? If there is a class action suit, I am in. It's amazing all the blogs I've found on the Internet with people in our same situation. It's about time something was done!!!

I would have NEVER got the injection if I knew this was going to happen!

This has happened to me as well. I too have a dent in my right glut that appeared along with a bruise a few weeks following the Kenalog shot for poison Ivy. If anyone knows how to move forward with a class action lawsuit, PLEASE let me know.

After reading previous postings, my experience seems so minor. I was on prednisone for about 2 weeks, starting at 50mg per day for 5 days, then 40mg for 2 days, 30 mg for 2 days, 20 mg for 2 days, then 10 mg for 2 days. I was put on it for severe poison ivy. I experienced sleeplessness, irritability, very quick to be irrationally angry and also had drastic changes in my triglyceride levels. I was hungry all the time, and extremely restless. 3 weeks before starting treatment my triglyceride level was 108, and cholesterol was 205. 5 days after treatment ended, my triglyceride level was 216, and cholesterol 214, all after being on a completely Vegan diet the whole time. It's my understanding that prednisone makes your body be in a state of alert while taking this drug, juicing you up to complete fight or flight status 24/7 while on it. Even 7 days later after being off of it, my patience is still limited. I will never take this stuff again.

I made an appt. with my gyno. about six weeks ago because my period was going on for two weeks at a time. Around that time my husband noticed a dent in my butt cheek, and since then it has gotten worse. I was looking up indentation on the butt and came across this information. I JUST called my Dr. and asked them when I was in there for poison ivy what they gave me for a shot, you guessed it KENALOG 80MG. This was five months ago. The indentation is getting worse. Will it ever stop, and what kind of Dr. do I go see about this? Will my periods ever regulate?

I was prescribed the 4mg methylprednisolone pack along with 50 mg tramadol for acute tendinitis in my wrist. I took the first 3 days of the prednisone and only 2 doses of the tramadol over the three days. For a total of 60 mg of prednisone.

The first day I had hot flashes and insomnia but attributed it to the tramadol because I had never taken it before and had taken the prednisone several years ago for poison ivy with no adverse reactions. I didn't take the tramadol the second night and then took it again last night along with my daily dose of prednisone. I had extreme difficulty falling asleep, heart burn, hot flashes; and tossed and turned all night trying to fall asleep. At around 2am, I began to have difficulty breathing, tightening in my chest, confusion, and racing thoughts. It felt as though my throat was closing up on me. My anxiety progressed to the point that I was pacing back and forth. I woke my husband up and told him to prepare to take me to the ER. After calling my insurance's 24 hour help line, it was recommended that I go to the ER. I had an x-ray, blood work, urine drug screen, and echocardiogram. Luckily, everything was negative. The ER doctor told me that I likely had a reaction to the prednisone and commented that some people will experience these symptoms when taking it. He stated that he had a similar reaction when he took it and it felt like he was climbing the walls, which is an accurate description of my experience that night. He recommended that I either stop taking it altogether or call my primary care provider and cut it down. He prescribed me xanax and administered some to me at the ER which greatly helped. The next day I stopped taking the pred but am still having dizziness, chest tightness, hot flashes, and mental dullness. I have decided to never take this medication again. Fortunately, I don't have any of the physical sx that some have experienced, and my heart goes out to you. I think the mental symptoms were traumatic enough for me and can't imagine having both as I would be a basket case. I have mood swings, some melancholia, and am very fatigued.

I think it is imperative to research any medication that is prescribed to you before you take it. Many providers will say that side effects are rare, but my experience is that side effects are more common than rare. My prayers go out to those of you who are going through what I am going through. I hope that it clears our systems quickly because this is no way to live. I'd rather put up with the pain of tendinitis or carpel tunnel than to have these symptoms.

I can't attribute this directly to my cortisone shot - however, I've noticed that the past few months I have been losing my hair. I can pull it out virtually by the handfuls anymore! I am only 24 - this doesn't seem normal and the only change I could point to is the shot. HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD HAIR LOSS THEY CAN TIE TO A CORTISONE SHOT?

I also noticed a change in my period. Nothing as extreme as I'm reading here - but I'm so glad to have read this - puts my mind more at ease to know have a cause for that.

I have tried other remedies - but the cortisone shot has been the only thing to actually work. Any other ideas?

Has anyone experienced a rash while using NuvaRing??
I started using NuvaRing for the first time 2 days ago and when I woke up yesterday I had a rash on my arm, chin, and chest, and today it has spread all over my one arm and has made it's way over to the other. I know it's not an allergic reaction to food because I haven't eaten any new foods and it's not poison ivy because I haven't been outdoors like that in the past few days. I also know that it's not an allergic reaction to anything else (except maybe NuvaRing itself) because I haven't used any new soaps, laundry detergent, jewelry, make-up etc. Also, I was very fatigued yesterday, I slept all day (went to bed around 12 the previous night and woke up around 5 in the afternoon) and when I got up I had absolutely no energy, and that is not like me at all, normally I'm a very energetic person. So far those are the only symptoms I have had, but I'm questioning whether or not I should take the ring out now before things get worse...

My son is suffering from psychosis because of prednisone. He had severe poison ivy and was given 10 day course of pills that tapered and a shot. Since then he has been in the psych ward for a week , released given respirdal and lithium. After 3 weeks we tried to wean him from the respidal but the psychosis came right back. ;He is 17 and never had any symptoms of psychosis or mania before. He has every symptom now. BTW his psychosis did not appear until he was finished with the prednisone for several days. Will he ever recover?????

I never knew I was allergic to PABA till I was 35 years of age. I can remember when I was a child and played outside, my mother would call me in to put sun tan lotion on me. When she did that and I went back outside I would get these red, very itchy dots all over my arms, it almost looked the start of poison ivy. She would yell at me because she said I had sun poising because I waited too long to put lotion on. I did want to put the lotion on because I would break out. I have so many little white scares on my arms from all those years. I went to see my sister in Florida and she told me to put sun tan lotion on before we went to the beach. I told her, I am better off not where any lotion because I break out in to a rash, that almost looks like chickenpoxs and it scares just as bad. She asked me if I was using sun tan lotion with PABA and I said yes, because it was suppose to protect you better. Well she took me to the drug store and we bought PABA free lotion and I have never had a problem since. Why am I allergic to PABA?

All that I can say is anyone taking this medication, be prepared. I am 24 years old and was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. I was in a severe flare up and was prescribe Prednisone. I looked like a balloon in the Macy's parade. Along with looking like I was 500 lbs in the face I was a woman on a rampage. I would blow up at the drop of a hat. I could not sleep, I was not the person to be around. Even after I was taken off of it, it took some serious time for me to be back to my normal self. This is an absolutely HORRIFIC drug and whomever invented it should be jailed for what it does to the people taking it.

UNTIL READING DIFFERENT REACTIONS TO BACTRIM, I THOUGHT THAT I MAY POSSIBLY HAVE A BRAIN TUMOR. I STARTED BACTRIM FOR POSSIBLE STAPH INFECTION AFTER HAVING POISON IVY AND SOME SPIDER BITES. AFTER TWO DAYS ON BACTRIM, I DEVELOPED A LOW FEVER AND HAD DIFFICULTY SLEEPING ALSO HEADACHE. I STOPPED TAKING IT ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH MY PRESCRIPTION AND DEVELOPED DOUBLE VISION FOR THE NEXT SIX DAYS OFF AND ON. THE WORST TWO DAYS FOR ABOUT FOUR HOURS STRAIGHT. I SAW A OPHTHALMOLOGIST WHO COULD FIND NOTHING WRONG WITH MY EYES AND SUGGESTED THAT MANY THINGS COULD CAUSE IT FROM MEDS TO A BRAIN TUMOR. I FEEL BETTER AFTER READING OTHER ADVERSE REACTIONS. I ALSO DEVELOPED HIVES ON BOTH THIGHS. NASTY MED.

I finally don't feel so alone. I got into poison ivy on June 1. On June 12th I finally went to my md to get something to take for it to go away. I had been treating it with calamine, topical stuff and taking Benadryl.... She gave me a shot which actually made it all go away within two hours. BUT, she also loves giving out pills, so she gave me the Dexpak. I took it for 7 days and my heart was beating uncontrollably. I didn't get REM sleep for 5 straight days. I took myself off. Cold turkey, yeah, I know you're not supposed to do that, but that stuff was killing me. So finally after having a meltdown in my office at home, my husband and I went back to her to see what she could do for me. She said oh, just go home, drink some wine and get some sleep.
I went home, drank two glasses of wine (which after doing research is NO combination with with high powered drug and she should have known better!!) Took a really hot bath, tried to get sleep. My husband took off work for three days to try to get me sleep.... finally we went to the ER because my heart wouldn't stop pounding so fast. The ER drugged me with some serious sedatives. I had a reaction to those and had a panic attack in the ER, so their solution: strap her down (bruised my wrist) and take her to a psychiatric unit for "symptoms of schzitophernia." So I was basically in a room with a bunch of people that can't control themselves. I did get 8 hours of sleep and regained all cohesive control. I was still groggy from the sedatives, but I knew what was going on. The nurses were the rudest people I have EVER been in contact with. No wonder the patients were in fits! After 5 hours of me and my husband (who was downstairs with my Mom) they finally released me. I talked to the discharge nurse and she said that if I sign a form releasing myself "against medical advice" that insurance might not pay for it. I said, are you kidding me? I would rather pay to get out of here than sit here one more minute with these people.

It was the worst medical experience I've EVER had. I have since fired my md. She doesn't know it though because she hasn't BOTHERED to call to check on me!! So, I am not going to a psychologist and my obgyn to make sure those steroids didn't screw up my brain or my endocrine system as we are trying to have a baby. Yeah, that was my first thought too... why would my MD who KNOWS we are trying to conceive do this to me?

Whew. Anyway, so my advice is to make sure you have someone around you at all times that can monitor your heart beat and write down EVERYTHING that happens in case you have a situation like mine. I journal all the time, so it was easy for me to explain to the shrink.

Okay, good luck out there!!!

I am in my second week of this pill and I suddenly developed a rash all over my face, mostly on my cheeks and on my eye lids near the bridge of my nose. Has anyone else experienced these side effects??

Does anyone have the side effect of reduced sensation of smell and taste?

I just got off of 7 days of 20 mg. Prednisone twice a day for severe poison ivy. I've always had the reducing dosages before but went to a new young doctor who said this was better. I experienced extreme insomnia for several nights. Last night I slept better, but today I'm feeling dizzy and have slight soreness in my back and neck. I'm really hoping this all clears up soon since my son is getting married in 12 days and I don't want to be dizzy and moon-faced at the wedding.

This website has been a blessing for me - a person who seemed to feel crazy for all the symptoms I was having. I had mirena put in place in March 2008 after the birth of my second child in December. I was so excited that I didn't have to worry about birth control - I could focus on taking care of my family and work, etc. I couldn't have been more wrong about it. All was fine at first until April of 08 (two months later). I started to notice a red, bumpy rash on the trunk of my body. It progressively got worse with each passing day. It began to look like hives on my legs (behind my knees) and then on the inside of my arms. It has gone all over my back and finally to my face last night. I looked at the mirena website and it said to call your doctor if you had a rash with hives. So I did and they assured me that mirena WAS NOT systemic and couldn't be the problem. They maintained that it was probably an outside source. Instead they offered an anti-depressant. I needed something to help with what I was going through, so I started on Lexapro. That has been the only positive thing that has kept me from falling apart. What's the use in calling them if they don't listen to you? I have finally decided to have the mirena taken out in two days. I am so ready to get back to feeling normal. I was wondering if there was anyone else out there with similar side effects with the rash. If someone would have told me that this was a possibility, I would never have signed up for this!!!!!!
I will post again once I have it out and give an update!!

I have been on prednisone for one week for poison ivy and I cannot get more than one or two hours of sleep a night. I have taken sleep aids, benadryl, phenergan and nothing is working. My skin still iches like crazy even though the poison ivy is gone. I also have substantial mood changes. I am extremely laid back and nothing bothers me. My company lost their entire customer database and orders and my response was "sucks to be you" normally I would be stressed and trying to fix it. I also drank while on prednisone because the bottle didn't warn against it. I don't think I need to explain how stupid I made myself look. Does anyone know how long it takes for this stuff to wear off?

I am also a victim of having the Kenalog injection administered over 8 months ago to alleviate poison ivy itching symptoms. Prior to having the injection, I was not informed of any side effects. Not only did the injection not alleviate the symptoms, but has resulted in a discolored and uncomfortable indentation in my left buttock area and psychological anguish because of disfigurement of my body. It is 8 months later and the indent appears to continue to deepen and lengthen. The dermatologist who administered the injection stated that there was nothing I could do to reverse such effects. I reported my case to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) Med Watch. I urge others to report their adverse event to the FDA--just click on this link and complete the form: http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/. The FDA is responsible for assuring safety of medications. Therefore, it is imperative that the FDA recognize the adverse effects to provide any credibility to a class action suit. Please consider forwarding your case to the FDA to force them into action and begin addressing these atrocities. Such documented cases and recognition by the FDA will provide leverage for attorneys in pursuit of a class action suit.