Rare occasions symptoms and conditions

I'm 52 and I've been on Warfarin for a year and a half after having a mechanical aortic valve replacement performed in China, with an American titanium valve. I went through some serious episodes of blood thinness, then moved from northern China to SE Asia. 10 months after being here, I continue to work long days, but my energy is all over the place. When thunderstorms come in (daily) I have migraines, but this may be due to head injuries years ago. The main problems for me are up and down episodes of energy, and when the energy is low, I go pale. Pain in my knees and feet when I don't walk enough (maybe an hour sitting), or walk too much (maybe an hour walking) and very rarely what I think is something like aphasia -- the right words don't seem to come out on rare occasions -- maybe too many languages crawing in my head :). I used to walk an hour and a half per day -- not any more. Blood is on the thick side -- surprising because the diet her is very low fat. I want to get back into walking, get my strength back. I also have heard of socks that help in blood circulation. If I had a name or a brand, I could probably find the product in Thailand. Any idea, thoughts? I'm very frustrated.

First, a huge THANK YOU to all of the women who have posted on this forum. You have been an incredible help! I know this is a long post, but if I can help even one person by sharing my Mirena story, then it's worth it. So many women have similar stories that I feel I'm being redundant, but here goes: I had the Mirena inserted 2 1/2 years ago after the birth of my second daughter. For the first two years I loved it and thought it was the greatest birth control ever invented, plus no periods! I was telling all of my friends to get Mirena (SORRY). About 6 months ago, it was like someone flipped the switch. I started gaining weight although I am a very healthy eater, not previously over-weight (even after kids) and I exercise regularly. No matter what I tried, I just kept packing it on - a steady 3-4 pounds a month. My stomach was so heavy and bloated that I looked about 6 months pregnant, my breasts were sore nearly all of the time. I had terrible back pain (have probably put my chiropractor's kids through college). I had joint pain in my fingers and wrists. I got funny little bumps and a sore scalp just above my temples, and my hair started to thin. There were times I felt pure rage. I was always hot (especially on my palms) and always thirsty. My skin was vrey dry. When we had sex, my husband always poked my cervix (never happened pre-Mirena). I was exhausted, forgetful and irritable all of the time, but blamed it on the daily stresses of having two kids and working full time. The symptoms got worse each month. I went to the doctor for a full blood work up and thyroid testing because I just felt old and sick (I'm only 35 but I felt about 80). Of course, all tests came back normal. My husband was at wits end with me, because I snapped at him all the time, and we never had sex. Sex sounded like as much fun as scrubbing the toilet, and on the rare occasions we did have sex, it was almost impossible to have an orgasm.

As an aside, this is why Mirena is GREAT birth control - what man wants to have sex with a fat, grumpy, sore-boobed, balding woman that is either going to cry or rip his head off?!?!?!

I certainly didn't think that all of my health issues were related until one night when I was getting really frustrated with the weight gain, I Googled Mirena Weight Gain and found hundreds of posts all over the web of women with very similar symptoms. I was so relieved to see that my health issues had a cause and that I wasn't crazy! Within 10 days I was able to get an appointment with the OB/GYN and get this evil thing out. Removal was quick and painless (easier than a pap smear). My husband was very skeptical that removal would help. Within 3 hours (I couldn't believe it was so fast!!) my breast tenderness was gone. On day 2 I got a very heavy, clotty period and was kind of crampy, but my mood started to improve and my energy started coming back. By week 2 I was exercising more, playing with the kids, cleaning house with a vengeance and actually wanting to have sex. Lost about 4 pounds, the weird bumps on my scalp went away and the back pain was gone. The best part is that I have been so happy!!! Relationship with kids and hubby is much improved. A few days ago my husband gave me a huge hug and said "It's so nice to have you back!!" Lots of good sex and much easier orgasms! Most of the joint pain is gone. On the down side, I have been unbelievably forgetful and spaced out, and I have random days where the anxiety hits. And now that I'm at the end of my third week post-removal I think I am getting my period and all the fun PMS to go with it.... bloating, sore breasts and killer headache like a hangover. And even though I feel happy as a clam, I get teary-eyed over everything and nothing. Thanks to seeing everyone's stories, I see that this is probably normal and will get better with time. I am taking a multi-vitamin, extra B vitamins and magnesium. I've been to the acupuncturist to see if I can get back on track faster. My acupuncturist says the Mirena hormones send the body into "estrogen dominance" and it takes a while to get all the extra estrogen flushed out and to get the body making its own progesterone again. She also recommended lots of exercise and drinking lots of water to help the body cleanse and regulate naturally.

My OB/GYN thought the symptoms I had sounded "weird" and were probably just from my body aging, not the Mirena. She said the dose of hormones released by the Mirena was too small to cause these symptoms. But she said she was happy to remove the Mirena if I wanted to try it (and she said I could always get another one!! LOL!) and that she was interested to see if my symptoms improved. She also said I wouldn't get a period until a month after removal and that it would be very light, getting heavier each month as I got back to normal. Strange that I got the heavy period 2 days post removal that so many other women experienced -- how can the docs be so wrong on all of this stuff? I see her again in 6 months and will happily share all of what I've learned.

Since discovering the downside of Mirena, I have talked to lots of women who have suffered through it, but had mild enough symptoms that they never sought help or answers. They all just assumed it was part of life, part of getting older, part of being a busy mom. So many are relieved to see that their birth control is to blame. SPREAD THE WORD!!!

I have been on Lisinipril for 4 weeks, having all kinds of symptoms,
anxiety, heart going slow and fast, dizziness often over all not felling well, not to mention the sweating and loss of balance.I have had my
thyroid check and full work up of my heart, eco,stress, evreything.
Any one else have "ice pick" head pains?

My 5 year old has been on Singulair for about a year now. I too thought it was a wonder drug as it has really kept her asthma under control. She only has seasonal allergy/asthma problems so she isn't on the meds during the summer. While on Singulair she has horrible nightmares. She wakes up 3-4 times a night sometimes she is climbing up the wall screaming. She slept great all summer long only waking up in the night on rare occasions. Now she wakes up constantly. I called & spoke to the nurse she told me she would discuss it with the doctor but didn't feel after looking Singulair up in her drug book it would cause that kind of problem. It has to be a very bizzare coinsidence or the Singulair. We had problems with her sleeping right from the beginning but we didn't connect it to the drug until now.

I have been taking Effexor Xr 75 mg three times in the morning for about a year and a half. At first I experienced some weird side effects like you were experiencing, such as being tired especially in the morning. I started graduate school recently and I am doing great. The only side effects that I still experience are sometimes weird dreams and on rare occasions nightmares. However, decreasing sugar intake especially just before going to bed have helped with that. You shouldn't lie to your boyfriend. Depression is a weird disease that is for sure. Get so info and have him read it. Good luck and just remember you have your whole life ahead of you.