Rheumatologist symptoms and conditions

I'm a 35 yr old stay-at-home mom of two who was diagnosed with mixed connective tissue disorder over three yrs ago. But since I was 18, I've had scleroderma & rheumatoid arthritis when I was 23. I never took any drugs for either one up until May 2008. Although the worst things I've gone thru over the yrs were weight loss, stiffness and limited flexibility. The most dramatic change was my facial features. I've had old friends from high school ask me if I had plastic surgery! Other than that, I was able to get pregnant twice and have two beautiful boys. When my rheumatologist diagnosed me with MCTD in 2006, two yrs after my first child, it was very upsetting to know that lupus and sjogren's syndrome was added to the mix, literally. She wanted me to take prednisone and plaquenil. I said no way. I told her I wanted to try for another child and didn't want any drugs to ruin my chances. She assured me that I could take both even while I breastfeed! So I left and ended up with my second boy in 2007. But admittedly, both pregnancies took a toll on my body, the first one with MCTD and then the second one, I had gestional diabetes. A few months after birth, I felt the arthritic flares and the fatigue and sluggishness coming on strong. Without doing any research about either drug, I did consider taking it after I stopped nursing my second child and thought okay, two children are it for me and now it's time to take care of me. I was given prednisone at 5mg daily May 2008 for that entire month. I was very scared but I did it. I just didn't do it consistently. I would skip a day or two..or three...or four days at times before I would take it again. The rheumatologist didn't give me any warnings about side effects, skipping the dosage or tapering off. After I ran out, I decided I couldn't go back on anymore. It did ease the stiffness in my joints and gave me more energy but the mood swings, faster heartbeat and more than normal anxiety did not help. In the next two months, I experienced serious cases of heartburn and acid reflux and a series of episodes when I would gag on a bite of food and had to jump a few times to get it down. I felt a rush of such fear every time it happened that I knew it was the absolute worse feeling I ever experienced in my life. Then the worst happened last August when I fell asleep one one night after having a chocolate chip cookie. I woke up and couldn't swallow. I started drinking water but it was coming back up and out of my mouth. I panicked and screamed for my husband to do the Heimlich on me but it wasn't working. We called 911 and I started downing another glass of water. By the time they got there, I felt the cookie go down. It was something I never wanted to go through ever again. I saw a holistic chiropractor who specialized in kinesiology and other little rituals. He discovered a problem with my adrenal glands and digestive system. Soon after, I saw a gastroenterologist, had an endoscopy and Barium swallow and the diagnosis was esophagitis. It significanty showed how thin it was getting and why I had trouble swallowing. As of last November I was scheduled to have a three hour endoscopy to have a tube go down my esophagus to widen it enough to be able to swallow again. I was too scared and so it didn't happen to this day. You see I like to go the natural route but it is an expensive one at that. It really is my gut instinct that tells me that drugs like prednisone are killing more people than helping people live. But I look back to the fact that I still didn't know anything about it, not like I do now, thanks to the internet and websites like this. Then here's an absolute doozy for you! I was fine for a few months, up until a few months ago in February. My knees were in pain and stiff as a board, my arms were not happy as well. I couldn't take it anymore so I actually went back to my very first rheumatologist in March, who I saw when I was 25 yrs old. He did x-rays and then pushed for the prednisone. I broke down and decided to take it again. This time at 10mg a day. Now I know this is nothing and so was the 5mg from last yr but being only 102 lbs at the time, my body was telling me that it couldn't handle it anymore. I took it consistently this time and for almost two months. The last two weeks though I started to skip again. I also decided that the RA was too old school for me so I went to see yet another RA at the end of April, the one who diagnosed me w/MCTD three yrs ago. I figured the first one never changed so maybe she got better this time around. She took me by surprise when I told her I was taking pred and that she wants me to stop!! She specifically said, "it's an immunosuppressant, that wouldn't work for you."! What a joke!! So she just said to finish it off and start on plaquenil, another drug I dreaded to take. Again, no explanations about side effects or tapering off, I had like three pills left and just stopped. As for the plaq, talk about short-lived. I took maybe three or four and that was it too! I was angry by all the RAs and how they operate. Just take this and don't worry about nothing else. I'll see you in a few months. Then you go home and forget about it. It is highly unlikely with what came next for lil ol me. The first week of May, a pain started in my right ankle. It was more like an annoying sore pain so I tolerated it. By the end of May, I was hobbling on a cane and watched my foot go from normal every morning to an inverted position, w/ the sole facing my left foot. It was swollen, painful and I couldn't put any weight on it. After thinking I was going through an arthritic flare, I said to myself that this was no ordinary flare I've had in the past. I thought of prednisone and how it started after I stopped taking it. The plaq was not in the picture since it takes months for it to take effect. THAT'S WHEN I FINALLY SAT MY ASS DOWN AND STARTED SURFING. After a good three sleepless nights of reading pages and pages of info about withdrawal symptoms, tapering off and stories much like the ones I've read here, I flipped out and went on a mental rampage. I put two and two together about the link between my esophagus and stopping the pred last yr. I have no doubt that the pred f'd it up! Now after seeing one orthopedist (who didn't deal w/the foot/ankle but didn't know), having an MRI which showed torn tendons and ligaments and then being sent to a podiatrist surgeon (BIGGEST MISTAKE TURNED INTO A BLESSING), who decided to take the conservative approach by having my foot casted in a straight position. It was a procedure that I had to be knocked out for since I couldn't bear the pain of anyone moving my foot. That was June going into July. Removal day was the 23rd and lo and behold, hello inverted foot again. Not only did the cast feel loose but I felt my foot turning in it! The blessing was that I didn't have surgery and I didn't have it w/ this damn doctor! He then felt I needed to see a neurologist to rule out whether I may have lesions elsewhere in my body that could be the cause of my foot inversion. I said sure I will see one but I'm not coming back to you! I went to see the doctor I was supposed to see in the first place, an ortho surgeon who specializes in the foot & ankle. But boy he threw me for a loop! Not only did he roll his eyes at the idea that prednisone was involved in this injury, but that MRI don't tell the truth and so I don't have anything torn!! Based on my autoimmune history, he wants me to see a rheumatologist to rule out arthritis as the culprit. He also thinks seeing a neurologist will be a waste of time. He also mentioned the possibility having RSD/CRPS. Google it, it's not GOOD! I honestly hope that's not the case since I'm not in any pain other than the stiffness and non weight bearing pain I'm already used to. This ortho is supposed to be one of the best in the nation and I don't know if I can trust him either! All I know is the prednisone should be BANNED. BLACK BOX THIS BITCH!!! If I had the power and money to go after the makers of this drug, I would run them down for every dollar. I have my 22 month old who was just diagnosed w/PDD recently and I get angry w/the memory of that RA trying to get me to take the pred and plaq before I got pregnant again! My almost five yr old is wondering why I have to walk around in crutches every day and that I can't go outside to play with them anymore. It's been almost three months of this ordeal and it's starting to really depress me, my husband is trying his best to take care of me and the boys as well as my mother and mother-in-law. I have a great support system but I still long for leisurely walks by myself and taking the boys out on my own. I can only go outside in a wheelchair after my husband carries me down three flights of stairs in a no elevator apt. bldg. Life has changed drastically! I'm trying to stay sane everyday for my boys' sake and for my husband's. I do want to mention one last and most IMPORTANT THING. A website: ****** I started taking it two months ago and it has helped me tremendously so far, regardless of my situation. I developed an enlarged thyroid nodule back in February which needed a sono guided biopsy to see if it was cancerous and it turned out to be benign with normal thyroid function as of last month. As for my foot, I don't know what I may have if it's not arthritis related but I hope that LDN is working on it as of right now. For all autoimmune disorders and some cancers, anyone here should take a look at the website and read more about it. Thank you for letting me share my story :-).

Was diagnosed with Lupus in 2003 and told by my Rheumatologist to get the Paraguard IUD for birth control. He said anything with hormones is off limits. So, I go to my OBGYN to get the copper iud and go on with my Lupus Life for 6 years which included severe joint pain in my fingers and shoulders, sun sensitivity, constant fevers of 105 degrees and infections that resulted in hospital stays and hair loss so bad that I had to wear wigs for 2 years, greenish discharge from my nipple, depression, severe fatigue and rashes. Well, I figured that if the Mirena was causing these same symptoms in women that maybe the Paraguard was too; so I made an appt to have it removed. Well, when my Gyno pulled it out, he freaked out because to EVERYONES SURPRISE, I WAS MISTAKENLY GIVEN THE MIRENA BACK IN 2003!!!!!!!!! SO, YES, WITHOUT A DOUBT, THE MIRENA ABSOLUTELY CAUSES SEVERE PROBLEMS BECAUSE IT'S BEEN OUT OF ME FOR OVER 6 MONTHS AND I FEEL PERFECT NOW!!!! My doctor's don't even think I have or ever had Lupus in the first place. They will retest me next month but they think I was diagnosed with Lupus too soon (after only one visit) then going right away to my quack Gyno and getting the Mirena instead of the Paraguard was what was causing all the problems. Will see soon what the bloodwork says but that Gyno who put the wrong device in me is going to pay for wrecking my life for the past 6 years!! My medical records even say he was supposed to insert the Paraguard. This experience has caused me to have zero trust in people because no one does their job right anymore. I could go on and on. . . Will take personal contacts if anyone wants to chat or vent about the poison that's inside of them. But, be ready for my response, GET IT TAKEN OUT NOW IF YOU HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS. Remember back in the 80's when women were getting silicone breast implants and getting Lupus? It's the same thing with the Mirena, our bodies are rejecting it! Good luck and God Bless you all ~ Teecee007

So here is the caveat, I am not sure these symptoms really are related to Lisinopril or not, but they all started about three weeks after taking 10 mg a day. Waking at night with rib pain, hip and low back pain. At first this was only at night, for several months (the pain was very intense). The pain would move from rib, to right hip, to low back (mid), left hip seeming to make no sense. I have had every test under the sun, MRI, CTSCAN etc. Now rheumatologist believes I have a thing called Ankolosing Spondolytis which is an auto immune disease in which the body attacks the large joints of the body (I tested positive for the HNLAB27 marker). I will be having a special MRI to test for AS.

So maybe Lisinopril has played no part in this, but I think it is very coincidental that this all started when I started taking the Lisiniprol. I am wondering if Lisinopril could have been the trigger for AS (if it is AS). Until this started I was in excellent health, 40 year old mom of 4!!

I have been on lisinopril for over 3 years - 5 mg/day. I am a 52 year old female in great shape and exercise daily. For over a year now I have had muscle aches, muscle weakness, heart palpitations, foggy brain feeling, insomnia, fatigue, some tingling in extremities. I also sometimes get these spells where all these symptoms come on at once. It's very strange. Been to numerous doctors including, PCP, 2 neurologists and a rheumatologist and after many tests they all come up with nothing. After reading posts at this site I think it may be the Lisinopril and with my PCP's permission stopped taking it 11 days ago. My blood pressure is fine - I am monitoring it daily. My symptoms still remain. Does anyone know how long these symptoms may continue? I am grateful for any additional information you could provide.

I'm 15 years old and i've been taking prednisone for a few months, and from what i've read i'm on a really high dose. i was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and another autoimmune disorder concerning my muscles at the same time. my doctor told me prednisone was my only choice; it was either that or i would lose the ability to walk. he told me there'd be side effects, but i had no idea it'd turn out like this or i would have fought harder for another course of action. i started out on 30mg twice a day, and since then was weaned down to 20mg twice a day and now i'm down to 30mg once a day. i've been looking up a bunch of information trying to figure out if there's a way to lessen the side effects or any hope at all that they will get better. apparently there isn't much. after reading a bunch of these stories i gotta say i'm not feeling great about this. i totally understand everything everyone is going through. i'm sure you can imagine what it's like being smack in the middle of high school with a huge puffy face, acne so bad on my face, chest, back, neck, and shoulders that wearing a bra could put me in tears, and mood swings so bad i've lost friends over it. everyone knows how brutal high school can be, where appearance and attitude are everything. and i try to tell my doctor about it and he literally looks at me like i'm a whiny teenager and says "you're just going to have to deal with it." and people like my mom and my closest friends don't get it either. nobody understands how beyond frustrating it is. i'll get into the worst moods and not have a reason for it, but i'll stay angry for hours or burst into tears over someone looking at me the wrong way. it'll get to the point where i have to isolate myself from other people because the abrubt mood changes get so bad. as bad as i hate to admit it, the pain from the arthritis is gone now and supposedly my muscles are doing better too. developing arthritis caused me to have to quit cheerleading, something i've loved doing for 6 years, because the pain got to the point where i couldn't get my arms above my head or bend my knees. however, i'd almost rather deal with the horrible joint pain than deal with the side effects of prednisone. if your doctor gives you and alternative method, take it. i've always been confident in the way i look and really outgoing and happy and now i sometimes catch myself thinking about suicide. that's shocking to me because i've got so much going for me, but this medicine makes me miserable. and when i complain about it, anyone i'm talking to just looks at me like i'm being a cry baby. my mom does too, she'll say things like "you just have to do this. i know it's not what you want but to be honest i'm sick of hearing you bitch about it."
i feel a little better knowing other people feel the same way - like nobody gets whats going on with them. the prednisone does give me days of really great euphoria and days when i feel like i could run a marathon, but waking up in the morning to the acne and huge face puts me to tears every day. i have to pee all the time, usually getting up at 2 or 3 am. i don't sleep well anymore and i do sweat all the time. which also sucks being a teenage girl. i'm always hungry, and when i eat i never feel full so i don't know when to stop. my neck and face have put on so much weight that when people see me in the halls or out and about they ask me what happened. mind you these are people i don't talk to, just ones i know from classes or whatever. and it's pretty bad when teenage boys i've never really talked to ask what happened to your face. kind of a blow to the ego, or whatever is left of it at this point.
i'd like to know if, as my dosage gets lowered, the side effects will diminish and when i'm off the prednisone completely if they will disappear altogether. any help there?
or if there is any way to help the acne or puffy face

my doctor just put me on something called methotrexate or something like that to help wean me off the prednisone, and does anyone know what those side effects will do? or if they'll affect the prednisone side effects?
i'm constantly obsessing over gaining weight and what my skin looks like and what i eat and how heavy my face feels and the occasional pressure in my eyes to the point where i just want to be put out of my misery.
and after reading other people's stories i really don't understand why this drug is still given out as freely as it is. but maybe all doctors are like mine, they just don't get it.
best of luck to anyone who's on prednisone, my heart goes out to you; i'm right there with you
sorry this became like a book it wasn't meant to be this long

They think that I have either crohns or ulcerative colitis. I have tried antibiotics, lialda, mesalamine enemas, with no improvement. After another colonoscopy they put me on prednisone at 40mgs, 30, 20, 10, then 5 decreasing weekly. Well the first week was okay. I had some of the side affects, insomnia, extreme hunger, and crazy. I could deal with that. But then when I decreased down to 30mg, my body flipped. I awoke from the middle of the night with burning pain in the knees. So bad I took 4 ibuprofen and threw myself in the tub with epsom salt. I thought okay that was weird because I have never had a joint pain in my life. I saw the gastroenterologist that day bc I was still having abdominal pain. He totally blew off the knee pain and said he had no idea what that was. I thought okay maybe it will go away. A few days went by and nothing. 3 days later and I awoke one morning crying in pain because of my legs. I called the on call doctor who also said he had no idea and go to the er. So I went crying hysterically for 4 hours. Even after 3 rounds of dilaudid I was still in pain. They suggested a Rheumatologist. So I went to one a week later who said I was going through steroid withdrawals. And there is nothing we can do but treat the symptoms of pain. I am now down to 10mgs have been out of work for 2 weeks and am absolutely miserable with severe leg pain, muscle weakness and fatigue. He also adjusted the drop down increments to 5 instead of 10. Anyway I will never take this drug again and I think they rushed to this one. Just wanted to share. I am glad I found this website because I went from a fully functioning physically fit 28 year old to a crippled crying crazy person. I think I was scaring my husband, honestly, until we both read some of your postings which were similar.

I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis at the end of 2007 and have been on prednisone since then. I started on about 105mg a week and am currently trying to reduce it but it is really hard as the moment the dosage goes down I lose all mobility and cannot even get out of bed. I am only 23 years old and really feeling the disease to the extent that I cannot even cope with my life. The prednisone has really taken its toll on me and the side effects are crazy! I just want to go back to my old self as I am finding it sooo hard to get through a single day. My side effects include:

Insomnia, tooth sensitivity, depression, anxiety, mood swings, moon face (my face is so swollen that I cant stand looking in the mirror anymore, dizziness, temper, feelings of uselessness, nightmares, night sweats, water retention, and to top it all off the arthritis is getting worse and I am in constant pain. Is there anything anyone can suggest then please help me!

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.

I can't believe that after months of searching for an answer to my daughter's health problems I may have found it! My daughter was a healthy, active happy child until recently. She is 17 and started experiencing joint, bone and muscle pain and swelling, unexplained rashes, migraines, tingling in her hands and feet and was diagnosed with neurocardiogenic synchrony (heart rate and bp out of synch) shortly after her first shot (she was 14).

We have been to a rheumatologist for the joint pains, they did blood work and there is a marker for some sort of auto immune disorder, but nothing specific.

I never connected the dots to the shots. In January of this year she started having severe diarrhea, stomach and intestinal pains. She has no energy, the most basic activities wear her out. We ended up at a gastroenterologist looking for a diagnosis (they thought it was Crohn's or lupus). All the tests have come back negative, they said she had gastritis and blew us off. She is on medicine for the intestinal pain, a prescription for an antacid for gastritis and an anti-inflammatory for the joint and bone pain.

She was a straight "A" student up to January and has had to finish her junior year at home. It has been a very stressful experience for all of us.

Hi...Am 33 years and had been on prednisone for 4 months till about a month ago. It was in June last year that I was down with Viral hepatitis along with pyelonephritis. I was eventually diagnosed with Autoimmune hepatitis and therefore administered this drug with an high of 40mg for two and gradually tapered subsequently.
Two months of medicines and I had this pain in my thighs especially when I had to get up after lying sedentary. After 1.5 months subsequently the pain worsened to now include all my joints including the leg muscles. Things have really become more painful now. The gastroentorologist who put me on this drug has advised me to see a rheumatologist. Now I am torn between trying to understand whether this is a part of my treatment or my ailment (rheumatoid arthritis is also an auto immune disorder) and only praying that it is a part of the treatment.
The Doctor's have not been clear on how long this pain will persist. Regular walking, getting up, getting out of the car, turning the cap of a bottle is painful and getting worse with my ankles and knees swelling.
The moon face, the hump, the acne are all ebbing. However this pain is killing. Anybody has any idea how long the pain will last?
Thank you and best wishes to you.

I am so happy I found this web site i literally thought I was loosing my mind
for the last six months to a year since being prescribed omerprazole I have been to neurologist for tingling in hands, arms, feet,face,head and arms . I have been to the rheumatologist for unexplained pain in my feet, back,stomach.I have made numerous trips to the emergency room for chest pain, lightheadedness only to be told by all of these health care professionals that nothing was wrong with me. I feel so relieved to know that I am not crazy
because that was my next stop the mental hospital

I was diagnosed with Crohn's back in the 80's finally, after suffering since I was 12 and being told I was a child with a "nervous" stomach...dad used to tease me because I had to use every bathroom I came across, not realizing there was a problem. I had a portion of my bowel removed in 84 - the ileum valve along with a portion of the upper and lower bowel surrounding it, which, at the time was the most diseased portions. Removing the valve means that I must inject vitamin b-12 for the rest of my life as that valve is the place - the only place in your body that absorbs and uptakes that vitamin for you. As with any inflammatory disease, other inflammatory problems can occur because of the high inflammation running in your body. For me, this meant a form of arthritis, rheumatism or whatever. Doc wants me to go to the rheumatologist, but so far I have gotten by without YET another diagnosis on my plate. Before the surgery I asked my internal specialist if seeing a nutritionist would help me. I was so, so sick at the time. He scoffed, looked disgusted and asked what do you eat that makes you sick? I said everything. He said, then what is a nutritionist going to tell you to eat that isn't going to make you sick? At the time, I was so sick I just wanted to die and accepted that as an answer. After the surgery and many courses of different drugs for Crohn's - all of them with side effects that kept me from living a "normal" life - all side effects seeming worse than the actual disease itself I did a tremendous amount of studying on the history of Crohn's.- Burrill B. Crohn (1884-1983) was the man to discover it. In one of the articles I read he prescribed a very low carb diet to his patients which seemed to help in the majority of them to keep flare ups at a minimum. I have found, through years of experimentation with different diets ranging from health food diets on down the line, that the low-carb diet keeps my disease in check. People are like kids though. They don't always do what they know is good for them. I love chocolate, breads and sweets. In some studies I have read that you crave what may be bad for you because the bacteria your gut harbors wants to live and makes you crave what it needs to live. So, when I yank carbs from my diet - after the initial withdrawal stage and cleaning out of the gut from having done so (much diarrhea), I begin to feel almost like a normal person again with energy and pain-free. I slowly introduce fruit back in - but, through a series of colonics I had some years back, the practitioner was able to determine many foods I was allergic to just by noticing what comes out in the movement that has not been digested. Apples I can have, but not the peel. Cantaloupes - no - watermelon - not very often, etc... you can mostly tell by looking at the stool what your body is rejecting. It is its way of telling you what not to eat. Like a kid though, I stray from what I know has been tried and true and when I stray too long, joint pain comes on with a vengeance. That is when I get slapped back on the steroids to get the inflammation to back off again. When I'm not on the diet the joint pain can be controlled with Celebrex, but, when not on the diet and not taking Celebrex, the pain is out of control and has to get reeled back in with a course of steroids. So, if I can stop being a stupid kid (I'm 50) and just friggin' do what I know I need to do, I'm 95% pain-free and medication free. I have stayed mostly med free now since I was diagnosed in 84 or so through the no-carb method. The only times I had to take meds for this was when I was stupid with food for too long and one other - I had a kidney infection that I didn't know I had. It threw the Crohn's out of remission big time causing me to have to be on heavy-duty antibiotics, steroids, etc. It nearly put me in the hospital. I thought I was having a Crohn's flare-up only, but turned out the kidney infection was there and caused the flare-up - inflammation - when it hits you anywhere in your body it can cause that Crohn's to rear its ugly head. It took them years to diagnose me and through my own trial and error, I have learned how to live nearly and mostly drug free with this disease. For me, the drugs and effects are worse than the disease itself. The drugs make it hard for me to work and live. I can live near normal without them and with the diet. Your doctors will tell you differently. Doctors are put through med school on grants from pharmaceutical companies, therefore, they only learn how to treat with meds - they get kick backs from the meds they prescribe too. They do not learn how to treat through nutrition, nor do they want you to know that either. There's big money in meds - look around at all the hospitals and the many, many people taking all these drugs - synthetic drugs that are created to mimic receptors in your body so that your body accepts them, only to have to work hard to throw off the toxic substances - the synthetics they are created with so they can be patented. It is the PRACTICE of medicine and they are PRACTICING on you. Do your own research and study and conduct your own trials. I'm not saying don't go to your doc and don't take the meds - get it under control, but once you have it under control, find a way to keep it there as drug-free as possible. Your liver that has to process the toxicity of those meds will thank you for it. Your entire body will thank you for it. When the bad flare-ups happen, get your juicer out and drink nothing but fresh juices for 3-4 days. Juices are pre-digested. Your body doesn't have to work hard to assimilate the nutrients in them. Did you know that your body never does anything MORE strenuous than digesting? You could run a marathon and the amount of energy your body expends would not even come close to the energy it takes to digest your food! When you are ill - pull the food so your body can free that energy for your healing. You won't believe how much better you'll feel. Once you get it reeled back in by only having liquid for a couple of days, make sure your starch and sugar intake are lower when you begin to eat again. The bacteria in your gut feeds on carbs - starches and sugar. A good read is Marilyn and Harvey Diamond's "Fit For Life" - it has a good explanation as to how the digestive system operates - how the bacteria works - how your body has different acids that are used to digest your foods and how some of the acids that digest some foods do not mix well with other digestive juices and how to avoid that combination. This has been my trial and error - I prefer to NOT have to see the doc for Crohn's often...I haven't been to a gastro guy in 9 years or so. I do have a regular doc that, if I have flare-ups, will put me on a course of steroids for a couple of weeks to reel it back in, but the fact that it has to be reeled back in at all is my own fault because I was a bad little girl and didn't watch what I ate. For me - that's the simple solution - the food. But, you have to get it under control first before you go that route. I take the drugs til I feel better. Then I get off them and mind the diet. By the way - the arthritis - when on the diet troubles me very little. When I'm high carbing and high sugaring - the arthritis KILLS me... hope this helps any of you... I have studied this disease and nutrition since my diagnosis in the 80's... if I had it to do over again, I would go back to school and become a nutritionist...

I have polymyalgia and the rheumatologist put me on 15 mg prednisone a day for one month then 12 1/2 mg 2 weeks then 10 for two weeks and now 7 1/2 for a month then down to 5 mg next month til next doctor visit. The only side effect I feel I am experiencing is not being able to loss weight. I have not gained any in the 3 month on the meds, but have been really watching my weight and can't seem to lose any. I do at times get a hot flash, not at night but in the daytime, but compared to the pain and stiffness from the polymyalgia.. I'm a happy camper. Before I couldn't get in or out of the tub or car the pain was so bad! Mornings were unbearable. I am 150 pound 54 year old female.
Does anyone else feel good about this drug and have had success with it. My doctor wants me off it in a year.

I took a 7 day dosage of Avelox. I went to the doctor for a sinus infection, and he inturn gave me a seven day sample pack out of his cabinet. How could Bayer be issuing these as samples at doctor's offices. At any rate, I took the full seven day dosage with the only side effect of being slightly dizzy. 3 days after my last dose, I woke up feeling like I had sprained my ankle. Within 2 days every joint, muscle and tendon from my lower back down to my feet was in extreme pain and almost totally immobilized. For 2 weeks I have hobbling around like a cripple in extreme pain and feeling like all my tendons are about to snap. I have been back to the doctor twice, and then to a rheumatologist, and I am going to an othropedic next week. I really hope this isn't permanent.Taking Aleve seems to help a bit instead of Advil or Tylenol, but I do not want to take harcore pain killers in the event that i could end up doing more damage to myself. I just hope this ends soon because it is driving me mad. This drug should be kept locked up in a cabinet to only treat people in extreme cases or taken off the market. I am young and physically fit, and now I feel like I am about 80 yrs on my last leg. Be very aware of what this drug may do to you.

I can't believe I didn't find this sooner! I was on the Nuvaring for about 4 years and just last month traded it in for the Mirena.

At first, I was thrilled to find the Ring as I have a very hard time taking pills because I've always had a sensitive stomach. The patch was messy and sticky so I was excited to find the ring. For the first couple of years, the only problem I had was keeping it in place (it would continuously fall out) so I just got used to having to push it back into place every time I used the restroom. Every. Single. Time. But it was worth it because it made my periods much, much lighter and more manageable (i usually am down for the count for a few days). I also did the ring continuously without taking a week off because I still had some pretty terrible periods.

About two years ago, I started gaining weight uncontrollably, became very depressed, lethargic and achey. One day I came down with a terrible case of bronchitis and was put on a heavy duty round of antibiotics and steroids. After, I started having terrible heartburn and IBS symptoms which lead me to a gastroenterologist. Every test imaginable was performed, but nothing was found. I was told I had a nervous stomach. Unsatisfied, I got some bloodwork done and had abnormal blood glucose levels. My diabetic husband gave me a glucometer and I realized my blood sugars were totally out of range. I ended up at an Endocrinologist and all tests came back normal. I was also referred to a Rheumatologist for my achy body and joints. I found a list of symptoms of hypothyroidism and was convinced this is what I have, so I was put on a very low dose of Synthroid. At the same time, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and put on a whole mess of anti-inflammatories and pain killers.

Unsatisfied with my diagnosis of Fibromyalgia and totally unwilling to admit this is something I have to live with for the rest of my life, I began working with a nutritionist who has helped me get off all the medications (except Synthroid). But still, I hadn't slept through the night in years (getting up 3-4 times a night to use the bathroom), I was terribly achy, irritable, nauseous, constipated and still gaining weight.

Recently, my insurance changed and I decided to get the Mirena. Within a few weeks, most symptoms have drastically improved, my family notices a major change. I actually slept through the night last week, only 3 weeks after using the Ring for the last time. I haven't lost any weight yet, but the fact that I even CAN exercise is monumental. More than anything, I'm thrilled at the prospect that everything was caused by the Ring, the one constant no matter what I tried, and maybe I won't have to live with Fibromyalgia for the rest of my life.

I can't say with total certainty that the NuvaRing caused all my problems, but it is absolutely astounding that all of us are experiencing the same terrible symptoms and none of our doctors have bothered to think that it could be the Ring. I'm angry about this. Why don't they know about these side effects??

Yes these side effects are listed in the package, but they're the same side effects from pretty much every medication... and I don't know about all of you but this thing came damn near close to ruining my life. I couldn't work, sleep, eat, exercise, clean my house, etc. etc. It's no heart attack or stroke, but definitely life altering.

I think health care providers need to be alerted to these symptoms and the possibility that the Nuvaring could be causing it all. It would have saved me thousands of dollars in medical bills and despair. Patients should be warned that the side effects are very real and can be debilitating. I'm almost sorry I found this so late (after I already got rid of it!) but I'm glad I found it nonetheless.

Good luck to all of you!

It is too soon to tell if YAZ has contributed to my daughter's problems but her doctor just recommend that she stop taking it immediately.

My daughter is 17, in the last two years she has had mono twice. It all started with spasms in her back and neck two years ago, then her neck lymph glands started swelling and she kept getting horrible viral sore throats. Next her blood pressure started dropping radically. 85/50 for no reason, next she started getting terrible stomach pains and then headaches,nausea, watery eyes, irritable bowl syndrome and then the glands in the area of her appendix swelled up so much the emergency room thought she had appendicitis.It was her glands, not her appendix. This was all over a 2 year time frame. None of the symptoms had any rhyme or reason and they all came and went erratically. However, they were making her miserable and me miserable because she was depressed, very moody and unhappy and sick!

The only thing she has ever taken during all this time was YAZ. I asked her doctor if the YAZ could contribute to the swelling of the lymph glands and he did not think so. That was a year ago. Yesterday, I took my daughter to a Rheumatologist and when he heard she was on the YAZ he told her to stop immediately and prescribed a low dosage of muscle relaxer and an anti inflammatory. I have no way to know whether all of these symptoms are going to clear up. I have started my daughter on a wellness plan of eating which includes lots of holistic methods. Hard to get a teen away from comfort foods when they don't feel well but she is resigned to the fact that her immune system is so compromised that if she ever wants to feel well we have to try drastic measures.

She has had almost all the symptoms described as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and I am told that's what she has now. It is possible that the YAZ had made all of this worse. She sleeps endlessly and only time off of the YAZ will tell, but as a mom I wanted her off this pill a year ago and I am upset that I didn't do more to get her off it. It took her missing 60 days of school consecutively for a doctor to say STOP and see if it helps. My feeling is she couldn't be much worse, well actually that's the direction this seemed to be going. I think that the estrogin has fed many of the problems my daughter has had, but I am not a doctor and it's just my mom opinion.

Only time will tell.

Has anyone experienced multiple pulmonary emboli (blood clots in the lungs)?

January 26, 2009
I stopped taking 20mg of Lipitor for the following reasons: arm and muscle pain, wrist pain, neck and shoulder pain, knee pain, foot pain, arm weakness when raising my arms, mental fuzziness. I
Withdrawal symptoms : headache, eye ache, increased neck pain.
My goal is to see if the dosage symptoms decrease within two weeks and maybe I will try 10mg of Lipitor and see if that amount produces the same symptoms. My doctor directed me to a Rheumatologist as recent blood work showed inflammation in the arthritis panel. I am waiting to see if being off Lipitor for two weeks might reduce my arthritis symptoms .
I had a stint put in March 2008 and I am on Plavix (75mg), Lisinopril (10mg) and Lipitor (20mg).

Is anyone experiencing confusion, trouble thinking, trouble concentrating, decreased cognitive function, mental sluggishness, trouble solving problems or situations which require logical thinking and sequencing, and memory loss? Would love to hear from anyone experiencing any these symptoms and if so, how long were you on the drug.
Thanks!

I am a 36 year old woman living in hell for 3 months now.

In early October of last year I was admitted to the Hospital with diagnosed bronchitis a possible pneumonia. I was given Avelox which is a member of the Fluoroquinolone drug family. At the time I was in sever distress, could not breath, and was extremely weak from the infection. I stayed in the hospital for 6 days while they gave me Avelox along with various other meds to treat my symptoms and was released after finally getting a clear chest x-ray. The drug had done its job. But it was a week later that hell started. I was re-admitted to the same hospital with sever abdominal pain. They told me that I had hepatitis due to a reaction from the Avelox. My Dr. Also suspected I could have Wilsons Disease so he prescribed a liver biopsy, to say the very least this was a painful procedure. The biopsy came back negative and the liver function began to return to normal just as the pain everywhere else began.

joint and muscle pain
headaches
insomnia
uncontrollable twitching
arm and leg numbness
neck pain/spasms
a mass on my left breast (further diagnosed after mammogram, CT and Biopsy as a side effect to the Avelox)

My internist, Rheumatologist and the liver specialist all suspect “Post infection pain syndrom”.

However, after hearing now 3 separate times from 3 seperate Dr's about the possible side effect of Avelox I did a little research and every single one of my “symptoms” are on the lists of dangerous side effects for this drug. Now none of my Dr.s can tell me if I will ever get rid of the pain I am in. None of them seem to be able to do ANYTHING but treat my symptoms. By treating the symptoms all they can do is pain management which means pain killers. I simply can not function day to day with most pain killers so I am forced to live with the pain.

More drugs than I have ever taken, Dr.s visits, time off work, stress and a standard of living that simply put is not living, not to mention the tremendous outlay of cash...to say the least I am frustrated.

My mother actually stumbled across this site and encouraged me to look into a possible connection between my severe joint pain and the Mirena IUD. I had the IUD inserted in July of 2007. For a few months following I experienced breakthrough bleeding but that did eventually end. I suffered from some mild bouts of depression and would completely fly off the handle at my two children. Always linked it to stress. My sex drive became nil. But no other real problems to complain of. But this past Nov (2008), I started having pain in my wrists and hands. I type all day so I assumed carpel tunnel. Then we began a kitchen remodel. After one particularly tough day of demolition, moving and climbing up and down stairs, I became really stiff and sore. Of course I didn't think much of it until a week later when the pain was getting worse, not better. After a few more weeks, the joint pain became so severe that I could not get up and down off the couch, off the toilet, out of the car, without wincing in pain. I felt 90 years old! My doctor had prescribed Naproxen (which wasn't helping at all) and gave me a course of Prednisone. The Prednisone made me feel like a million dollars. Problem is, you can't stay on it. That's when we found this site. I immediately called my OB/GYN and had the IUD removed 2 days later. Of course, doc didn't believe this could be the issue (Surprise, Surprise!). Once the course of Prednisone was over, the joint pain gradually came back, albeit not as bad as the first time. RA and Lupus panels were negative, no thyroid disorder, no diabetes. Going to see a Rheumatologist next month so we'll see. I can mention that I already see a difference in my moods. I feel more patient with my children lately and that alone was worth having the stupid IUD out.

Hello I'm a 41 year old female, and I took Lipitor 20 mgs for 6 months about two years ago. When I called my doctor's office to complain about side effects they told me it couldn't be the Lipitor because I had been taking it for a month already, and would have had problems before that. I eventually took myself off of the drug 5 months later. Here are some of the side effects I experienced:
Itchy fingertips, increased blood pressure, 30lb weight gain, shaky hand writing, acne, poor driving skills, poor memory, hair loss, "frozen joints", IBS, incontinence, low grade fever, itchy feet, numb toes, numb hands, foggy brain, joint pain, muscle pain, foot pain, plantar pain, dizzy, jaw pain, back and neck pain, week ankles and wrists, nasal allergies, skin rashes, migraines, heartburn, Increase in Astham, heart palpitations, knee pain, difficulty standing up from sitting position, difficulty climbing stairs, water retention alternating in feet, hands, arms and legs, almost constant taste of bile in my mouth.
These are only the ones I can remember. Two years down the road everything but the muscle and joint pain and weakness is gone. even those have improved a lot. I stopped taking the Lipitor and lost all 30lbs I had gained on it, without dieting, in a months time. I still have two toes on each foot that are partially numb. I have trouble climbing stairs, and getting up from a sitting position. I can do both, but I move slowly while doing them. The pain in my muscles and joints drives me crazy, but I'm grateful that the rest of the symptoms have cleared up. My doctor never believed me about my symptoms, and neither does my new doctor really. Went to the emergency room for asthma that was not responding to my inhaler, and they were about to let me go home when I mentioned to the doctor that I had been on Lipitor. Suddenly a huge battery of tests were ordered including a CT scan and a stress test. When I asked the doctor why he said that they just wanted to be sure that it wasn't something other than asthma. Why did they do that after hearing about the Lipitor? Do they know something? Are there doctors who believe that statins are killing and seriously injuring people? I'm so angry. Even as I sit here typing I know when I stand up I will have massive amounts of pain that I will have to "walk off". My quadriceps have not recovered, and remain ridiculously weak.
If I can stop one other person from going through this I will be happy. Thanks everyone for taking the time to list your symptoms. It makes me feel better to know that someone believes me, and knows what I am going through.

So happy to find this site. I never noticed My son never had an eye tick until last month, ironically we started giving him Singular on a daily basis about the same time. My son just turned two and is has also been waking up screaming 3 times every night. Have others reported this same problem...also he is on Pulmicort too, have you read that it is linked to Glaucoma and Cataracts? Do you think that this could be causing the tick? Please HELP! I want a parent's opinion before bringing this up to the doctor...they are so quick to jump to more drugs it makes me sick! Thank you! Any other children with eye "ticks" like really quick consecutive blinks?

My wife had 2 shots in Nov and Dec of 2007 and has all of the side effects listed here. She has seen 3 neurologist, 1 hematologist, 1 pain management doctor, and has an appointment with a Rheumatologist. No medical treatments seems to help (Cymbalta, Lyrica, Topamax, fentanyl for pain) the symptoms continue to get worse. Has anyone found anything to be helpful?

October 22, 1998 I had resp. failure (with intubation). My new pulmonary doctor put me on Singulair 10 mg once a day, a few weeks after. Within time, I started to have numbing and tingling in my face, arms, and legs. March of 1999 the symptoms worsened and started causing pressure in my face, arms, and legs, and anxiety started to kick in. I was told I had neuropathy and to take mobic. Symptoms getting worse, and went to a rheumatologist in June 1999, and he was suspect of singulair. The doctor thought that what I was experiencing was due to the singulair. He (the rheumatologist) discussed this with the pulmonary doctor and the pulmonary doctor did not believe this to be the case. Not forgetting, in March of 1999, I had a ct of the sinus area, and low and behold 1/3 of the cavity was and probably still is full of polyps.

As time went on, symptoms getting worse, and not one bloody doctor could figure out why I was feeling this way. In addition, at times, I was put on steroids for my asthma (not including my inhalers).

Two years ago, my body went into shock, leaving my left side very different than my right side. Affecting: my head, my face, my eye, my ear, my esophogus, my lungs, my arm, my leg.

I have been depressed and anxious not knowing what the heck was going on with me.

Recently ruled out thyroid, and lupus, and possibly ms.

Last weekend, I reviewed the letter from the rheumatologist (dated 1999) and the ct report from March 1999 (regarding the sinus/ polyps) and made copies to present to a pulmonary doctor that I have recently been seeing.

This past Monday the 10th, I had my appt with him. He knew of my situation from the last few visits (in addition, I had met him this past March for a pulmonary rehab program, and thought he seemed to be knowledgeable and compassionate). While waiting for him to enter the exam room, he had read those reports before entering.

The doctor looked at my hands (red as a beet and swollen) and said "You have Churg-Strauss Syndrome, and get off the singulair."

I had done my homework from a few weeks ago, where I looked up untreated polyps.
Untreated polyps, can turn into vasculitis. There are many types of vasculitis, to include Churg-Strauss Syndrome.

I then cross ref CSS and singulair, and low and behold, BINGO!

I have been suffering for ten years, physically and emotionally because of this drug!

There is also recent updates from the fda (fda.gov) regarding singulair, of which most recently includes anxiety and depression.

I suggest before taking singulair, be aware of the side effects. As soon as a side effect comes up, contact your doctor. Also, be aware of existing conditions (like me, sinus problems and asthma) for this could lead to churg-strauss syndrome.

This info is indicated on the actual disclosure (the paper insert that indicates studies, side effects, etc...) not the handout that is given with the drug.

By the way, I am now working with a new rheumatologist in Los Angeles (Cedar-Sinai affiliated) and a new neurologist.

mdklezmer