Psychosomatic symptoms and conditions

I have bipolar, and for a year I was willing to attribute my symptoms to that illness. I started the lisinopril when I moved and made a bunch of life changes, so I didn’t connect the onset of the symptoms with the med. Every night, though, I would get sick around 5 or 6 PM (I took lisinopril in the morning): nausea, headache, body aches, extreme lethargy, shortness of breath, fluttering feeling in my chest. These symptoms were so bad that twice I went to the emergency room. (Unfortunately, I presented as a bipolar patient with anxiety, so my treatment was less than comprehensive.) I swapped out all my bipolar meds to rule out drug interactions, but never touched lisinopril because I thought of it as a “safe drug”. My PCP (who prescribed the lisinopril) referred me to a cardiologist who did a battery of tests. I stopped the 30 day heart monitor after 3 weeks because every time I had cardiac symptoms, I checked out fine. The only option left seemed to be that the symptoms were psychosomatic, which scared me because I had no idea how to tackle that. I finally decided to investigate lisinopril and found this site by accident. It was amazing to read all the posts that were similar to my experiences. The day I discontinued the lisinopril in the morning, that night I did not get sick. I waited until I had been well for a week before concluding that the symptoms were indeed side effects of this med. It’s been a couple of months since I discontinued the lisinopril. And I have not been sick once, though I do struggle regularly with the bipolar. (I do monitor my blood pressure regularly: there’s a reason why everyone tells you to do that!) I feel stupid for not suspecting lisinopril earlier (I’m the kind of person who has a PDR and quizzes doctors on pharmacological modes of action) but I just thought that someone would flag it if there could be a problem.

I think those of us with a chronic illness tend to try to make symptoms fit within the framework of our known disease models. I’m writing a book and would welcome input on any aspect of bipolar or about dealing with chronic illness in general.

This site is a blessing. Congratulations on finding it!

I just started the Nuvaring 4 days ago. For the first two days I was wicked paranoid and believed my boyfriend was cheating on me. I didn't think much of the paranoia at first as I have had similar problems with other birth control products.

Now however, I have woken up the past two days with a crippling migraine, extreme dizziness and shortness of breath. I can't even walk up a flight of stairs without getting dizzy and winded. I keep in pretty good shape but the past four days I have felt like total crap. In addition, I have been having intestinal troubles with everything that I eat and my hunger has actually decreased. I have to force myself to eat and then I feel nauseated afterwards.

I don't know if this is from the Nuvaring or if it's psychosomatic, but after reading all the testimonials here I am wondering if I should just take myself off of the ring. It's only been a few days so hopefully it won't cause any major side effects.

I took Lipitor 40 mg q.d. for a few years. Then I started having unbearable leg cramps upon awakening in the mornings. They were practically debilitating! I also started having another kind of leg pain, the kind which is very hard to describe. My leg or legs would feel kind of dead, not crampy, but pain inside the leg near the bone you might say. That was worse than the leg cramps, because I could usually get up and walk around and eventually the leg cramps would go away for the rest of the day. This dead but extremely painful feeling in my legs would go all the way up into the thigh area and I would just have to lie there until it went away. Thank God it did always eventually go away, but not before my vowing to have my legs amputated if the pain continued. My doctor had no idea what could be causing this, and I got the impression that he thought the symptoms were psychosomatic. As a last resort, I stopped taking Lipitor and within 24 hours the leg pain (both kinds) stopped. After one year of blessed relief and no Lipitor the doctor tested my cholesterol and it was very high again. So I tried going back on Lipitor, only I cut the dose in half. The doctor also gave me 300 mg of gabapentin and 325 mg of quinine to take at night about three hours before bedtime. To date, my cholesterol is down to below normal levels and I have not had any more of either kind of leg pain. But if I forget the quinine or gabapentin even one night, the pain comes back. I hope this helps someone else who is suffering as I did.

On my first IVF cycle I took lupron. I took a microdose formulation twice a day for about 10 days. Even though the dosage was small and of short duration, I had very severe night sweats where I'd wake up drenched every single night. I had mild headaches and severe irritability and stress.

I'm on my second IVF cycle and just took my first shot of lupron today. It's too soon to know how the reactions will be, but I just had a major blowout with my mom, so it's either working already or I'm having a psychosomatic rxn. Yikes.

I started taking Lisinopril-5MG on 1/9/06. I did not notice any side-effects immediately as I was also recovering from double ear infection, cold and cough. The general, miserable feeling gradually became worse within a week. I was also on TOPROL XL 50mg and HCT 25mg. I later ditched the Toprol due to feelings of depression and nightmares and was switched to Benicar 20mg. Well...2-3 wks. later, I suddenly noticed I was coughing more than I did when I was ill prior to starting my medications. The incessant coughing is painful and very annoying. It later caused me to feel nauseated and I would vomit one to twice a day due to so much coughing. There is that constant salty taste--the phlegm and mucus tasted salty. Ick!!! My throat is still sore! I feel like I have a papercut injury from the hacking cough. That "tickle" in the throat really feels more like pin pricks!!! You cough so hard your head hurts and start leaking urine. That's another thing....I inadvertently developed stress incontinence from forceful coughs. Great...now I should be in diapers too :P

I never felt so MISERABLE in my entire life. I am glad to have found this board and read other people's experiences. I, too, have suffered the same side-effects. I thought my symptoms were psychosomatic. I didn't want to complain to the PA too much, so I thought I should grin and bear it for a bit longer until my body gets used to the meds. I've been generally healthy all my life except for 3 pregnancies in which I would later develop preeclampsia. My bp went back to normal after delivery. I'm 37 and now my bp seems to be up and down, which is why the PA prescribed the meds. I probably should have tried to bargain first :) I could have gone on a diet and lose some wt. Maybe the HBP can be controlled. (pipe dream, lol) My only consolation is that my cholesterol is good (160). That's one less risk of heart disease.

Anyway, I should have stopped taking these NASTY pills two weeks earlier but I thought I'd give it another chance....plus, I just refilled my Rx because we went on vacation! What a waste, but I finally wisened-up and stopped taking Lisinopril last Sun., 2/12. But from what I gather here.....it seems like the symptoms can linger a lot longer than a few weeks. I wonder too if there are any irreversible damage done. The PA told me to call back in two weeks if the symptoms persist. She previously offered to give me rx for codeine, but I refused. I tried otc cough suppressant but that didn't solve it. I just can't fathom taking any more new drugs at this point. I FEEL WORN OUT! I hope my bp will continue to stay normal with just HCT and Benicar.

To my fan fare;

Guest, #12328

"U have to be an idiot to write things like that to people like us who r really suffering because of pred. Obviously u have found the wrong website. Now go find yourself a SHRINK."

Thank you, blatent insults obviously show superior
intelligence and mental stability.
Far be it that anyone post a question or point of view based on their own experiences or independent thought that just might not "follow the crowd" so to speak.

ericgoberman,
"So Jules, 5 mg a day for a few weks and you're the expert ?"

Just so you know, I have taken as much as 60 mgs a day off and on throughout my life.
My daughter was on life support for almost a month due to asthma/pneumonia and was given 500mgs of prednisone a day.
I have sincere gratitude to prednisone for helping her survive.

And most importantly, psychosomatic DOES NOT MEAN IMAGINARY!!!
"Psychosomatic denotes a PHYSICAL DISORDER that is caused by or notably influenced by the emotional state of the patient. The word "psycho" comes from the Greek meaning breath, spirit, soul, mind. "Somatic" refers to the body, or "soma" in Greek, referring to the physical."
Soma in biology refers to the body of an organism.

To all those suffering from the horrific side-effects and those that were offended, I sincerely apologize. I should have re-worded my post.

Where I was coming from;
I could literally post hundreds of studies that show the reality of the power of mind and the power of suggestion alone on the side-effects, healing, and survival of hundreds of people.

During my 3rd year in Pre-med, many of us students started having chest pains, arrythmia's, perfuse sweating etc....guess what we were studying at the time????

While I applaud reassuring others that they are not alone in their side-effects and suffering, I personally feel that there might be certain individuals, like me, that are just starting their drug therapy that might be terrified or dissuaded in taking it because of some of the posts here. (I had a terrible time even swallowing my whopping 5 mgs.)
And yes, I even personally believe, and I repeat, PERSONALLY believe that reading about terrible side-effects of any drug can trigger the placebo effect, or side-effects that can be psychosomatic.

ALL DRUGS HAVE SIDE-EFFECTS!
For me; What it all boils down to is; the risks of any drug versus the benefits....ie...chemo has terrible side-effects, but what are the profound effects of the disease without it??????

To my fan fare;

"U have to be an idiot to write things like that to people like us who r really suffering because of pred. Obviously u have found the wrong website. Now go find yourself a SHRINK. "

Thank you, your blatent insults obviously indicates superior intelligence and mental stability. Far be it that anyone poses a theoretical question or thought based on their own experiences.......

'So Jules, 5 mg a day for a few weks and you're the expert ?'

Just so you know, I've taken doses as high as 60 mgs a day many times in my life.
My daughter, who was on life support for a month, was given 500 mgs a day. I owe a higher power and the prednisone, my sincere gratitude for her survival.

I never stated that "anyone" has psychosomatic side-effects or "the placebo" effect here. Did anyone bother to notice the ? at the end? Did anyone stop to think that I might be posting a serious question/concern I had?

To those that are suffering from the horrific side-effects and I offended...my sincere apologies. I wasn't trying to dismiss your suffering, only trying to point out the positive side of the drug, and to open some peoples eyes to the reality of "possible" placebo effects.

Where I was coming from:

During my 3rd year in Pre-med, several of us students began suffering from chest pains, arrythmias, perfuse sweating, etc...guess what we were studying at the time?

I could list thousands of studies showing the reality of psychosomatic/placebo effects. I could also post harvard/mayo etc. studies that show the ultimate power of mind and the positive/negative effects that peoples suggestions have on our healing, side-effects and survival.

Posting the horrific side effects of ANY DRUG might offer reassurance that were not alone in our side-effect suffering but it can also have some really negative psychological effects on certain people and ultimately affect their decision in taking it...ie...my mother had penicillian anaphylaxis, and none of us would touch it with a ten foot pole for years.

Some of the posts here are terrifying and I personally feel that people should think about the impact it is/could have on people just beginning drug therapy.

In my opinion, when taking any drug, the bottom line is weighing the risk versus benefit, ...ie...chemo has terrible side-effects, but does the disease it's treating have any less profound effects?????

So Jules, 5 mg a day for a few weks and you're the expert ?

You need to read the posts here a little closer. Some of us had aninitial dose of 1000 mg.. then anything from 30 to over 100 mg per day. There are side effects ! As one other said: we sought out the information AFTER the side effects were noted. Perhaps some are convenient like the voracious appetite (oh voracious means unstoppable just in case you needed to know.)

The point is the majority of side effects are known, are not psychosomatic (that means imaginary), and certainly NOT for you to criticize. That you had little or none you can thank a higher being. To criticize those who are suffering ... that is beyond cruel.

(I for one like the extra facial hair!!)

Fact is, so many feeling so badly can't be so wrong. There's smoke you can be sure there's fire.

BY THE WAY. To continue my tale of pred !!

I've been on 5 mgs per day since early July and nearly all of the effects have diminished. The fatty deposits are nearly gone (finally) the buffalao hump is just about gone. The sugar is better, blood pressure is down, the appetite is under control and the acne is different .. but better. Truly different than just a few weeks ago. Perhaps not as obvious to others but I certainly knew that it wasn't my face staring back at me. The old one is now back !!

There is hope !!!

Came down with whooping cough 7 weeks ago.
Took antibiotic after antibiotic, nothing touched the shortness of breath or the wheezing tight whooping cough I had.
My dogs vet heard my cough and couldn't believe the 3 doctors I had been to see hadn't started prednisone yet.
Started on 5.0 mgs that same day. Cough is almost gone and I can actually breath again.
Thought I had a few side effects, blurry vision, sweats, etc. Told myself it was all in my head from reading articles and peoples experiences/side-effects from the stuff.
Just like that, side effects gone. Has anyone thought about the placebo effect? or Psychosomatic side-effects?
Personally, I think this stuff is a wonder drug. But then again, I value being able to breath! Bet the asthmatic community's would agree with me.