Rare side effect symptoms and conditions

my 4 year old son was recently diagnosed with pneumonia, and because he has asthma, prednisone was part of his treatment plan. after just one dose of this drug, my son turned from well behaved, loving boy, to evil demon child. he was speaking with a very scary voice and telling his mother and i he wanted to kill us as he hit, kicked, spit, and threw things at us. he tried several times to hurt his little sister and said he wanted to see us all bleed. we were distraught. the stupid doctors said that he was experiencing a very rare side effect and was hallucinating. why didn't they tell us of this side effect beforehand? anyway, he did not stop acting in this way for almost 36 hours, from just one teaspoonful. needless to say, we will never administer this devil drug to our children again.

Hi again
After reading thru some more posts I will add that I have also had cramps so severe that I fell to the floor. I would curl up in a ball trying not to cry until it finally passed.
I don't care what the doctors say, these are more than a passing, rare side effect. There are to many of us complaining about the same issues.
I have to many things going on that I am still probably forgetting some of them.
There is absolutely no need for all of us women to be suffering.
If I had know about these side effects I would have NEVER had the IUD put in.

My son now age nine went off Singulair two years ago. He was one it for about a year and was having terrible nightmares. I did not realize why until he went off of it. A year later the doctor put him back on it. I forgot and was not quite sure it was the Singulair so we tried again. About 2 months later it started again. I quickly remembered and took him off. When I asked the doctor I was told it is a rare side effect. I am happy to see this site so others know and can become aware. My daughter however has been on it for years and had done well. We are trying to take her off though because she seems very nervous and anxious (more than typical). I want to see if the medicine makes a difference.

I started taking Lisinopril for high blood pressure and 3 weeks after developed urinary tract symptoms (frequency, pressure, some discomfort, itching). The first time I went to the gynecologist to leave a urine sample, they prescribed me antibiotics, which I took for 7 days and still the symptoms continued (my urine had tested negative), so I went back and gave them another urine sample, it tested negative again, but had blood in it. They gave me a higher dose antibiotic for 3 days, the symptoms were still there. After that, there was nothing they could do, so they sent me to a Urologist.
By the time I got in to see the Urologist, a month and a half had gone by and I decide to quit taking the Lisinopril to clear my body of anything. I ended up getting a kidney scan, which was normal... and then a urinary tract scope procedure, which was normal.
After these procedures, I noticed that I started getting better and thought I might have just had "Acute urethral syndrome (also called noninfectious cystitis) causes symptoms that are similar to those of a bladder infection but that continue for longer periods. It is not an infection. No bacteria or other microorganisms are in the urine. The cause of acute urethral syndrome is difficult to determine. Possible causes include injury or irritation, allergies, stress, a disorder of the nerves, or problems with the immune system. You may be able to relieve symptoms of acute urethral syndrome by avoiding bubble baths and other irritants and not drinking citrus juices and caffeinated fluids."
So, I went back on Lisinopril, which was a few weeks after I quit taking it. After only 3 days, I started getting the frequency, discomfort and some itching... I could only figure out that Lisinopril had everything to do with my symptoms. This is still to be determined, but I feel like my urinary tract is feeling better every day now.

I was given Avelox by my Allergist three weeks ago because I had yet another sinus infection, she had me come in and pick up some samples she had with 5 days worth of 400 strength Avelox.
The night of the third dose I was awakened by numbing and tingling and pain in my right arm from the elbow down to my hand, I had never had this before. I called the nurse the next day and she said to stop taking the drug which I did. I figured now that I stopped taking the drug the symptoms would go away.
A few days later I was out shopping and within a few hours of walking around I began to have so much pain in my right foot/ankle/heel that I had to come home, I could not put my foot down.
Then within the next few days my knees began to hurt, behind the knee and in the side. It has been 3 weeks now and the foot pain is better but my hand,elbow and knees are bothering me so much I can't sleep. The other symptom feels like nerve pain in my legs, hands and fingers. I am really troubled by this, I am a very active healthy 62 year old Woman, I have not been able to exercise all of this time.
I went to see my Allergist who prescribed the Avelox and informed her of all of these symptoms. She said that this was a rare side effect and that I was particularly sensitive. I asked her if the symptoms would go away soon and she gently said that it would take time.
Then she said that she had prescribed Avelox to her husband a few months ago, she said he had the same reaction as me (how does this translate to a rare occurrence?) and that he was slowly improving. She thought I should go to a Physical Therapist or a Rheumatologist, I told her I can't afford that.
At this point I am scared I won't get back to how I was before. I have had knee surgery in the past but my knees were doing fine until this.
Have other people slowly recovered as my doc has suggested will happen?
I don;t know what I should be doing at this point. Help!
S.

My teenage daughter was taking generic Wellbutrin (manufactured by Watson pharmaceuticals) 150 mg. daily for about 3 weeks or so and started having serious hair loss on the top of her head. The prescribing psychiatrist told her to stop the medication and after about 2 weeks, the hair loss has stopped almost completely. I have read a number of blogs including this one that indicate that hair loss is a side effect yet the Wellbutrin trials only listed hair loss as a side effect for less than 1% of patients. Given the U.S. Supreme court ruling today that says that even if the FDA has approved a medication, a pharmaceutical company is still responsible for fully reporting side effects and can in fact be sued in individual states if they do not provide sufficient warning, I would be interested in hearing ideas of how we can put more pressure on the manufacturers of Wellbutrin and its generic equivalent so that they give better warning of this side effect.

My 84 year old mother took the prescribed dosage for the prescribed amount of time and on the last day of her 7 day course she developed severe muscle control problems. She has been off the med for 4 days now, and just regained enough strength to walk in her home without assistance. Her pharmacist told me that Avelox had a RARE side effect of attacking ligaments, doesn't look so rare on this site. Anyway, does anyone know if the damage done to the ligaments will be repaired with time? Will she regain what was damaged?

I have had numerous side effects with tramadol (nausea, heart skipping beats, restless legs at night) but I was too desperate and needed something so I just started taking 2 half pills a day (total of 50 mg). Well, now I've quit after about 2 years because I have sudden onset swelling and tendinitis in both of my achilles tendons. There was absolutely no trauma involved and tramadol was my only medication. After doing research online, I found that this is a rare side effect to some other medications but it hasn't been mentioned for tramadol. I truly believe this is a side effect that just hasn't been reported yet. Also, it can lead to both tendons rupturing. I just hope I stopped the medication in time so that it doesn't lead to that. It's only been a few days and I have a lot of pain and difficulty with stairs. I think this will take a while to get over -- like all orthopedic related problems.

I was on 80mg of Geodon for about 1 year. I started having uncontrolled eye and neck movements. I was taken off the drug. However, I've been left with the side effect of Dystonia. I have no control over my neck muscles, my head is in the backwards and to the left position. Trying to move my neck to the right is very painful. I have to get botox injections every 3 months in my eyes and neck. The shots stop the movement for a few weeks but do nothing for the positioning of my neck as the shots weeken the muscles. I've been told I will have this the rest of my life and the only other treatment would include brain surgery. I am in pain on a daily basis, and when upset or in public the movements are greater which only causes anxiety.

I work at a computer all day. I have just begun taking Wellbutrin and I have noticed that my eyes seem to be getting more and more sensitive to the light on my screen. A couple days ago, I was looking at a paper and then back at the screen while I typed and, my eyes just went out of focus. It was like I was looking cross-eyed. There were two of everything and it made me really dizzy. I have had inner ear problems in the past and I don't know if the Wellbutrin is triggering them or what. I am not using alcohol or other medications other that Benadryl at night. Has anyone else experienced this? This is scary.

I HATE MIRENA!!!!! I had it put in last December after the birth of my fourth child. In May, I developed intense ankle pain and was diagnosed with tendinitis. Never once did it occur to me that my IUD could be the culprit. I went for an MRI which was negative. The pain did not improve - it spread to my knee and then my lower back. After a back MRI, which was also clear, it occurred to me to start researching mirena side effects. I discovered that tendinitis was a rare side effect (though my ob claims it is not possible). When I went to have the thing removed, the doctor discovered it was embedded in my uterus. Had a procedure done to remove it yesterday and I am already feeling less pain than I have had in months. How insane for something to cause me so much pain and send me to so many doctors. I urge anyone on mirena with any bizarre symptoms to have the thing removed!!!!!

Awful, terrible, unbearable painful anxiety, panic and depression that just would not let up after a 7 day dose. Each day it got worse and I didn't realize it was the Avelox. It took weeks and weeks to get out of my system, with the help of a doctor. This was truly the scariest ride of my life. I wanted to jump off the bridge to end the suffering but I knew I didn't really want to die, I just wanted to feel better.
I've never been depressed in my entire life. It was an unfamiliar feeling to me. The thought of suicide never entered my mind until this antibiotic.
This experience was unreal and I was robbed of months of my life because of it. So were my boys and husband. I thank god for the peace I have now and that it's over.
Don't take avelox. Even though it helps some, you never know if you'll be the one that will have a rare side effect. Feel free to ask me any questions.

I have been on Femcon FE for three months. I noticed about a month ago I started having awful stomach aches that lead to diarrhea. Now after each meal I literally loose my stomach! Its awful. Does anyone else have this isolated side effect?

Sinus infection and chest congestion: doctor knew I was on HCTZ, a diuretic, as well as Zyrtec and Nasonex. The HCTZ I now known is an agent that should have triggered a modification of the treatment protocol. First night on the 400 mg Avelox, during conversation at the supper table, a black cloud of depression suddenly descended upon me like a curtain. Then I became extremely irritable and short-tempered. (Hard to blame on a drug, except that this came out of the blue right when I was feeling mentally and emotionally happy and relaxed, enjoying my husband's companionship. No reason for depression, irritability and short temper, especially to such an uncharacteristic degree. This was severe!) No sleep whatsoever that night due to shivering without getting warm, feeling like my whole body was crawling, feeling terrible frustration and anxiety and depression. Had taken the Avelox with my supper. Second night: unable to breathe through nose at all. Nasal passages so dry they hurt. I decided to abandon Nasonex and Zyrtic but never thought about stopping the HCTZ (the info insert from the drugstore never mentioned that). Insomnia and feeling electrified. Again, the feeling of total body crawling and restlessness. Irritable to the max. Frustration. Wound up sitting up most of the night to avoid waking loved one with my tossing and turning and misery. Third night, I took the Avelox early, at 5 p.m. Had been having to turn on the shower and steam up the bathroom to moisturize my nasal passages enough to bear the painful dryness. Also began using Ocean Mist to ease the pain. Despite the dryness, my nose was still too stopped up to breathe. Heavy sinus congestion and pain not any improved yet. Dozed some that night but a phone call came at midnight for my husband and after that I was wired awake again. I am desperate for rest. This is the fourth day and finally I'm coughing less and the congestion is coming up. But my sinuses are harder than ever to empty. Mucus extremely thick and sticky (sorry for the graphic quality of this post). One very severe side effect is that I am now incontinent. I never make it to the bathroom in time to urinate and so am wearing pads. Having to change them every time my bladder begins to fill. Leaking, dribbling and now gushing urine without any control whatsoever. I have just read the full prescribing info and wonder why on earth was I not given a safe antibiotic (I realize everything has some risks and side effects, but why was I exposed in this way to such a dangerous drug without a life-threatening disease to require its use?) This is an outrage. Now I"m stuck finishing the script or else my infection will be back worse than ever and then I'll be given yet another bad drug. I have only one clue to this question: I was asked what my Insurance company was just before the script was written. I cannot help wondering: what if I'd had no insurance, or another insurance? Would I then have been given a less-expensive and much safer, even safe drug? If you are ever asked just before the script is written what your insurance company is, ASK WHY THEY NEED TO KNOW. They will probably tell you it's so they can pick a Preferred drug. That would be a bogus answer, because after I told them what my insurance company was, they never went and looked for a list of preferred drugs! They simply swiftly wrote for Avelox! I was never told any of the bad effects. Now I fear getting the colitis, the tendonitis (no one told me not to exercise!). I even fear permanent incontinence. I also think that this depression, anxiety, and insomnia, and the horrible restlessness and whole body crawling sensation could be lasting and that really makes me feel very depressed. My husband has had to suffer with days and nights of my irritability and temper -- and he has cancer and I never wanted to ever be cross or complaining or to worry or burden him. This medicine is not worth it. THere are safer better options. DEMAND BETTER OPTIONS. I also wonder if the HCTC or Zyrtec or Nasonex taken on the same days could have damaged my kidneys or liver. I really think that antibiotic resistance is the ultimate bad side effect of this drug. What could be worse? Why is this being used for garden-variety sinus infections? Why is it not an option only for those who must have it or probably die of some life-threatening illness? This medicine needs more than a black box. This medicine should be available only to doctors treating patients who are in danger of dying of an illness. I have had doctors give me black box medicines before and I was spineless enough (and ill enough with severe, recurrent sinus infection) that I took the medicine. But from now on, never again. There are still better options and I deserve the safer options just as much as the next person -- no matter what my insurance coverage is! Doctors don't hesitate to use black box medicines anymore. Why do they hesitate so long to prescribe medicines without black boxes? They say it's because of the new resistance to antibiotics and the super bugs. Well now I'm susceptible to super bugs PLUS all these other severe side effects have to be endured. If anything else goes wrong, I'll come back and add another post. Meanwhile, I'm praying for each of you to make a full and speedy recovery.

I'm a 26 year old female and I've been on Topamax since March 2007. It has completely gotten rid of the debilitating headaches I experienced 3-6 times a week. It also got rid of my anxiety. I got my life back, my antidepressant kicked in at the same time. I experienced all the usual side-effects, tingling hands and feet, forgetting words, memory problems, loss of appetite, but was COMPLETELY pain-free. I still am. However, I never remember anything now, forget whether or not I did something, paid my bills, etc, lose things constantly, and I have lost about 20 lbs. Not good. I look anorexic. I have bones sticking out. Eating is hard. I forget to eat and drink all day and food is just unappealing. I feel fuzzy and stupid and slow. Not sharp like I used to be. It has killed my confidence and self-esteem. But I was wondering if any women out there got yeast infections while they were on Topamax. I've had one monthly since I started it, and my doc said it's a rare side effect. Oh yeah, I've had mild hair loss and mild to moderate acne now. This drug, it is such a 50-50. Living with chronic pain, those headaches were awful. But doubting yourself is awful too. Anyone have similar experiences?

In my case, Cipro tablets were prescribed for a potential prostate infection. The first dose was taken on 12/12/07. While taking this medication, I experienced "pens and needles" and shooting pains all over my body, leg pains behind my knees, right groin swelling to the point I could barely walk, and chest discomfort just below the sternum. The chest discomfort started after the second dose. My use of this drug was discontinued on about 12/17/07 (after 6 doses). I threw it away. Read the label BEFORE you start this medication. It's quite alarming after the fact.

I let my physician know about my problems with the Cipro and he then prescribed Levaquin, 500 mg, which is the same class of antibiotic. This was confusing to me later since I told them about the problems with Cipro. The doctor knows best...right- so I took 1 Levaquin per day from 12/21/07 until 12/26/07, again about 6 doses. My symptoms re-appeared after about the third day. Pen and needle pains re-occurred although they never entirely went away from the Cipro, severe swelling and tendon pain behind knees- especially the left knee, some chest discomfort, swelling in the armpits, and groin area. Swelling sensations were most prevalent behind both knees and the armpits. Shooting pains also occurred everywhere in my body, especially in the arms and legs. Shooting pains also occurred in my head and jaw with no warning but were less severe. The bottoms of my feet also hurt at times. Sleep was difficult to come by so extreme fatigue set in. I have been off the Levaquin now since 12/26/07 (5 days) and still have some shooting pains but some of the swelling has subsided. The symptoms have reduced but not disappeared entirely. I will never take a quinolone antibiotic again. My suggestion to others is to file an Adverse Drug Reaction report with FDA on their Medwatch website.

I again saw the physician on 12/27/07 and he said that it's "possible" I could be having a rare side effect. Another physician I know said I was having some type of hypersensitivity to the medication but that he had never come across such a case in his practice. Just my luck.

After using Topamax for a week and two days for migraine prevention, I pretty much went blind. I went from having 20/20 vision to -6 in a matter of hours. I was diagnosed with Acute Induced Myopia, a "rare" side effect of topiate drugs. It was prehaps one of the most frightening experiences of my life. While this side effect is widely documented online and in numerous neurolical and other health journals, my neurologist failed to mention the possibility to me. From what I've learned, this is a fairly common, yet reversible side effect, and is found mostly in women ranging in age from 25-50, if topamax isn't stopped immediately, it can result in permanent glaucoma. In 2001 the World Health Organization released a warning describing this side effect and urged medical professionals to discuss it with their clients prior to taking the drug. Apparently my neurolgist missed that memo. Now, three days later my vision has returned to 20/20- much to the surprise of my new opthamologist (never needed one before). I urge everyone who takes Topamax to pay very careful attention to their vision and stop taking the drug if any decrease in vision or blurrieness occurs. I'd hate to see anyone cause themselves permanent damage.

I'm having serious side effects currently. The onset of the side effects began after taking Lamictal for over 2 months. I started slowly on 25 mg and gradually increased to 200. I felt a great improvement in Bipolar disorder-mood swings- at 100mg but was told that is not the theraputic dose, so we increased to 200mg.

I had no side effects until the rash began to appear. At first only on legs, then arms, then neck, then face...and surprisingly in private areas. Unbearable itching. Rash continued to rage even after a pack of steroids. Swelling became apparrent in face and entire body. Slight difficulty breathing. Went to the ER and received another dose of steroids intravenously. The rash continues to improve but is still extremely itch. The swelling improved for a couple of days but is back. Had one day of severe headache. It has been 14 days and today I am experiencing blurred vision in the left eye, and new swelling in the tongue.
I sit at home with an Epi Pen next to me waiting to hear back from the doctor.

All of this is so unfortunate because I felt more stable than I have in years while on the medication. I'm feeling very concerned about my continuing side effects. Don't know what to expect.

I have been on singulair for 4 days. My ears hurt, my throat is sore and I have been getting SEVERE muscle spasms in my feet and legs when i go to bed. Taking med in p.m.____getting little sleep and feel very "fuzzy". I have asthmatic bronchitis and mild to moderate copd. Is anyone with these dx. on this med? any good effects with breathing? I can't take the pains and am stopping the med tonite.There HAS to be a better way!

My main problem with Lisinopril is the coughing. Coughing, coughing. coughing. I will be fine for 2 to 3 hours and then start with this awful cough. People will actually turn away from me if I am out shopping and a cough begins. I presume they believe it is contagious. Sometimes I end up vomiting and I cannot catch my breath. Coughing at night is really a problem because of lack of sleep. Doctors believe my cough is due to allergies because I have post nasal drip. However, none of the medications they have given me stop the coughing. I never had this problem until I began taking Lisinopril. Lisinopril is my first Blood Pressure medication.

I have not been back to this site since I posted in September. But after reading the recent posts I must remind you to BE CAREFUL with this drug. My little girl, now off the drug for four months, has completely changed. On the meds she was a complete nightmare. Unreasonable, fit throwing, paranoid, etc... Now she is a normal 4 year old, perfect, no, but so different than when she took singulair. If your "normal" child suddenly seems possessed by the devil, at least consider the medication. Rare side effect? I'm not thinking so now.....

My granddaughter, who's 8 months old, had been on Omnicef for eight days when the daycare called my daughter yesterday and told her that there was blood in her diaper. My daughter picked her up right away and took her to the doctor. After testing the diaper contents and noting that it was not blood, the doctor told her it was just a rare side effect to the Omnicef. Other than that scary incident, my granddaughter hasn't had any other problems with the medication and it seems to have cleared up her ear infection quite well. My suggestion would be for pediatricians to inform parents that this side effect, though rare, is a possibility. It was really a very anxious couple of hours for my daughter.