Risk symptoms and conditions

I started taking Lipitor in April 2009 and my Dr prescribed 10 mg per day. As I usually have negative reactions to medications I compromised & agreed to take it every other day. I am a healthy 56 year old woman and the only medication I take is hormone replacement therapy. I am also in pretty good shape physically. At the end of July I herniated two disc's in my lower back, the L6 & L7, after a day of normal yard work. I could not move for two days and experienced the worst pain of my life. At the time I did not make any connection between Lipitor and this event. The recovery was slow and painful. In Sept I also began to experience sharp pains in my thigh. I read the side effects again regarding Lipitor and determined that this drug is most likely the cause. I decided to stop taking the drug and after three to four weeks the thigh muscle pain disappeared and my back pain significant decreased. Just to make sure I was not imaging the whole thing I took Lipitor twice in the past week and my back pain symptoms returned and I experienced the muscle pain in my thigh again. I was so bad it woke me up. After reading more about Lipitor and the effect it is having on my quality of life I am done with this drug. Although it did reduce my cholesterol I will find another way to control the LDL's & HDL's.

I began taking this pill in August 2009, to prevent pregnancy. I am nineteen years old. In the first month, my sex drive increased, I had no "breakthrough bleeding" or spotting, no mood swings that I could tell...everything seemed fine. My doctor put me on this pill because I told her I wanted a pill that wouldn't make me go crazy. This is the first bc pill I've ever been on, and hopefully the last. Let me put it this way: before I got on Loestrin 24 Fe, I actually WANTED to have sex. I had a sex drive. I have absolutely NO SEX DRIVE now. Sex is a chore. What's the point of taking a pill that enables you to have sex without the risk of being pregnant, if you completely lose interest in having sex anyway? I'm extremely frustrated. Over the past two months (I'm now on my fourth pack) I have been extremely fatigued, depressed, and especially anxious. I also have a blistering headache 90% of the time, I kid you not. Additionally, my blood pressure has gone way down, which makes no sense, as I am a very active and healthy person. This pill is literally deteriorating my mental and physical health. I refuse to put these pills, or any bc pills, in my body any more. I would much rather deal with the terrible cramps and heavy periods that I had before. And I still experienced bad cramps while on the pill anyway. I'm sticking with condoms.

Are there any meds that are safe? I was taking 10mg norvasc. I started taking 20/25 mg lisinopril. I was doing ok on the norvasc but the added lisinopril has almost killed me. They had cut my norvasc down to 5 mg then to 2.5 mg when I started the lisinopril. 4 days ago I stopped the lisinopril and added back 2.5 mg norvasc. Back to 5 mg. The side effects seem to be letting up. Now im wondering is all of my meds are killing me. I can't live without them. My BP sores. Im so scared of what I should do. Im afraid of all my meds.

Hello everyone! I am a 28 yr old male, and I have now been taking this drug for about 1 1/2 yrs. What is so overwhelming to me is that I have been having some of these side effects, but it never occurred to me that they may have been caused by this medication. My side effects are not major, but they do really affect my self esteem and I think have some what depressed me a bit.

None of us have direct physical evidence that this medication is the cause, but I don't think this is a big coincidence. Below are what I believe may be side effects of this medicine:

Unlike before I now feel:

-Anxiety (im always nerves, and was blaming debt for it)
-Decrease in sexual drive (also blaming my financial problems)
-Joints popping all the time (blaming my gaut)
-Bigger forehead because of minor loss of hair (blaming age)
-Problem falling asleep (blaming financial problems)

and again im always scared, even if everything is ok (ive been holding together because on the other hand, since i was born, I have always been a very strong minded person). This is really depressing because two years ago, nothing would be scare me, I mean nothing, I was afraid of nothing. No matter what time it was, or what situation I found myself in, my buddy down south would be ready for action, now when im going to have sex, im all worried hoping that it works!, (dont get me wrong, it works like 90% of the time) but before it would work 200% of the time, i mean i was turned on by a damn broom, and now its not the same. This really *ux!

I have been blaming everything on my financial ruin that I am currently in, but am having second thoughts on what is causing all of this. This site has really opened my eyes and given me a whole new theory and even hope.

I once asked my doctor that if I went home and got on a diet, exercised and did all that was necessary, would he consider taking me off the pill or lowering my dosage and he immediately said NO. I mean he almost didn't even let me finish asking. He told me that If i wanted to go in a pine box to stop taking it. So he scared the crap out of so I have not stopped taking it. I can afford to go to different doctors because i don't have insurance or money to pay for the visit. I wonder if this doctors has advised me based on his financial convenience. I mean is it possible that a doctor may lie? I never thought doctors would lie. Im afraid of just getting off the pill, im afraid that all the doctors are going to tell me not to get off of it. my bp is usually about 130/85 some times up to 140/90.

I would appreciate peoples thoughts on what I should do?

Thanks everyone that takes part in this blog! it is really helpful for people like me that have no money to get advice.

Hope everyone makes the right decision!

Regards!

ive taken all three Vaccine for the Gardasil. Yes I'am losing my hair. I take beyond excellent good care of my hair, its my favorite body part, at 4"11 my hair reaches my bottom. I never dye, over heat, add chemicals, but since this shot my hair is no longer on my head, its in the shower drain. What am i too do? continue to let my hair fall out? its not growing back. Nioxin is expensive and my life is in risk if i don't take the shot.
Something should be done about this.
- C. S.

I am 32 years old and began taking Yasmin in 2002. I get SEVERE migraines every month and have gained 50 pounds. I want to get off Yasmin but am scared of getting pregnant. I'm married, but we just cannot afford a child right now. Any advice? Has anyone recently quit Yasmin and had any bad side effects from it?

I was taking 20 MG of Lisinopril for approximately 1 month, getting a bp reading of about 155/95, so my doctor increased the dosage to 40 MG. About 2 weeks after that, my BP is up a lot, to about 190-200/95-110. Anyone have a similar reaction?

I loved alesse when i was on it i has no problems, but then the pharmacy gave me the generic alesse (aviane) and i have had every problem you can think of while on mainly headaches and very, very nausea.

I am a few days away from my 19th birthday and i've been taking Yasmin since the age of 11. I was diagnosed with PCOS when i was 11 and Yasmin has been what's keeping my period regular and more or less pain free since then. In May of 2008 i was switched to the generic version of Yasmin called, Ocella and started to notice more and more symptoms and side effects. My stomach pain in the mornings grew greater by the day and when i was on my sugar pill i would gain an unbearable migraine. Thinking it was just part of being a woman i ignored it and went about my life. It wasn't until December of 2008 while out with a group of friends i came into some serious stomach pain. thinking it was just a typical stomach ache that i normally got i ignored it. when i came to be about 4 am and the pain hadn't stopped i started to worry. first thing in the morning i went to the doctor who referred me to get an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed that i had gall stones and that i should have my gall bladder removed before more complications were to occur. Being a college student only a week away from returning to my second semester i opted to wait until spring break to have the surgery. During the 3 month wait i experience extreme diarrhea whenever something was put in my mouth, extreme stomach pain, heartburn, nausea, headaches, sore muscles, the list goes on and on i felt like i had been hit by a truck every day and i still had to go to class. in March of 2009 i had my gall bladder removed thinking that the symptoms would finally stop i returned to school only to find that nothing got better. It's been 7 months since my gall bladder has been removed and i'm still having the same symptoms as before and now i've added depression, stress, lack of energy and interest and many other things to the list. I'm still taking Ocella because i've never been advised otherwise but the symptoms are taking over my life. I am a sophomore majoring in electrical engineering at college and it's just become harder and harder to focus on my work or to enjoy the aspects of college that i should be with the frequent trips to the bathroom or having to opt out of a fun activity because of stomach pain. I was wondering if anyone can help me, maybe point me in a direction where i can get better and get back to enjoying what a 19 should be. Thanks.

I just turned 35 and I have been on YASMIN - not YAZ, since I was 28. I have had no problems whatsoever. My only regret is that my OB/GYN started giving out YAZ samples and had none of YASMIN. I took YAZ one month, thinking they were identical products - Big mistake. I felt horrible after taking it just that one month. I told my doctor to change my Rx back to Yasmin and have been happy ever since. Periods are only 3 days and light. Only side effect is that when I am on the sugar pills, I end up getting migraines, but that is because of the steroid withdrawal. I feel these two products have nothing in common...I totally agree that YAZ is a horrible drug, but Yasmin has been around a lot longer and fortunately, I have not had any problems. Like with every drug though, not everything works the same for everyone. Every drug out today has some type of side effect...it is a risk with every drug taken...even with Tylenol and aspirin. I like the way I feel now much better than when I was not taking the Yasmin, so it is a good thing for me....but, to each his own.

Started taking the Zocor generic Simvistatin just 2 days ago. My legs hurt so bad that I can not sleep. My right knee is swollen to the point I have very limited range of motion and can barely walk up stairs. It is after midnight and I can't sleep. Also having some angina and my little toe on my right foot is somewhat numb. I will be contacting my physician about this tomorrow. My cholesterol was 105 and this doesn't seem to be worth it to me!

I chose to have the Mirena inserted in August of 2009. I found this site because I have been bleeding for three weeks straight, and the doctors were unavailable to advise me (holiday weekend). I see now that my experience is a side-effect of the IUD. I have also seen a diminished sex drive, fatigue, loss of energy, and constant cramping.

I was very hopeful for the Mirena. Five years without having to worry about birth control, wow! My first complaint is the pain involved with insertion. I was told to eat a big breakfast or early lunch before the procedure, and to take a few advils prior to the appointment. I did - however, I was still not prepared for the process. First, they measure your uterus to make sure that it is the right size, with an instrument similar to the IUD. I was in tears the entire time. I wished someone had told me to bring a friend or my partner with me to hold my hand. It hurt so much! The nurse was as understanding as she could be, but said that once the package has been opened, I would be charged the full amount. I went ahead with the procedure, wondering how I would reschedule during a period and with a busy work week. I was in pain the rest of the day, and felt extremely uncomfortable for a few days after. The pain and bleeding still did not go away, and after a week I made an appointment to check on the IUD's position, if there was any preforation of the uterus; etc. The strings were there, and they just told me that the cramping and spotting is normal. To me, it felt like the doctors tell you the best case scenario, and as you approach more and more of the side-effects, they confirm those as a possibility.

Before the Mirena, I have used DepoProvera, the NuvaRing, and Ortho-Tri Ciclen. I didn't like the weight gain from the Depo, the NuvaRing is somewhat expensive through my insurance, and the traditional birth control bills, like Ortho, are a hassle if you happen to miss a day. I thought that the Mirena was the best solution to my situation.

Be aware. I have been through childbirth, and this was a painful experience for me! I wish I would have read the comments on this site before opting for the Mirena... at least I would have been a more informed & educated consumer.

I had my Mirena in for a little over a year and had if removed on August 18th 2009. I suffered from most of the side effects that are listed on Mirena's website. I have also noticed, that between the time I got the IUD inserted til now, they have included many more side effects on their website. Good for them. However, I just read something on their site that I wanted to point out to all of you ladies using or thinking about using this form of BC. Here is the link if you want to read what all they have to say. I am just glad they are putting more and more side effects on their site to inform women.

******

What if I become pregnant while using Mirena?
Unfortunately, no birth control method, not even tying your tubes, is 100% perfect. If you do get pregnant while using a birth control method, there can be risks to you and your baby. Here we talk about the risks of getting pregnant while Mirena is still in place.

About 2 in 1000 women using Mirena for one year may become pregnant. One risk of getting pregnant using Mirena is called ectopic pregnancy, when the pregnancy is not in the uterus. It may occur in the fallopian tubes. Signs of ectopic pregnancy may include unusual bleeding or abdominal pain. Ectopic pregnancy is an emergency that requires immediate medical attention and often surgery. Ectopic pregnancy can cause internal bleeding, infertility and even death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you think that you're pregnant.

There are also risks if you get pregnant while using Mirena and the pregnancy is in the uterus. Severe infection, miscarriage, premature delivery and even death can occur with pregnancies that continue with an intrauterine device (IUD). Because of this, your healthcare provider may try to remove Mirena, even though removing it may cause a miscarriage. If Mirena cannot be removed, talk with your healthcare provider about the benefits and risks of continuing the pregnancy.

Ladies:

I needed to post this warning right away:

I visited my gyno today (was able to get in for an ASAP visit), and she told me to get off of Yasmin IMMEDIATELY when I told her that I have had facial numbness etc.. She was very concerned, and here is why:

I have been experiencing migraine headaches with what are called "auras". I know it sounds weird, but you can look up "migraine auras" and you will find plenty of information.

I know that many of us have had these symptoms and not known what they were- numbness and tingling, visual disturbances, strange smells etc. This is what those symptoms are- migraine auras.

****According to my gyno, if you have auras you need to stop taking Yasmin or any other birth control right away.****

Getting these symptoms and continuing to take the pill, according to my gyno is (and I quote) "ASKING FOR A STROKE". They are warning signs that our bodies send out and it is extremely dangerous to keep taking ANY hormonal birth control, ESPECIALLY the combination pill.

If you had any further doubts, stop now. Please. I am not trying to scare anyone, I am just concerned and wanted to warn those who are experiencing these side effects.

Best of luck to all of you and hugs.

M.

I've been prescribed Prednisone since April and just recently experiencing hair loss (I'm Female)

I want to thank all of your ladies posting your Mirena side affects. I am 15 and just had my daughter August 3rd, after her c-section i contracted staph in my uterus, which gave me sepsis and pneumonia, which they said they have never seem before and recommended i get an IUD to prevent having any more children for at least 2 years. After reading about the risk of uterine perforation, i found this site, I cannot believe the number of side effects you can have from the IUD!! I am just shocked.
I want to thank all your ladies, I am calling the OB and canceling the Mirena order and just sticking with good, old birth control.

You really need to be able to recognize the onset of tendon injuries. As you can see on the board here, thousands have developed serious tendon injuries including tendon ruptures and severe tendinitis. Take a look at ****** -- there's lots of literature and studies showing that many takers of fluoroquinolones have suffered terrible side effects after just single uses. Let's get out the word so doctors and patients are fully aware before undertaking the risk fluoroquinolines pose. People need to be aware of this so they are able to take action (like getting to a doctor) before major damage sets in. Hope this helps.

Hello,
I just had my Mirena taken out two days ago after a week or so of pain that got so bad I went to the ER. The doctor in the ER checked for infection, did not find any but advised the removal. I had the device for nearly two years.
Funny that apparently the device was slowly descending after I had made up my mind to get rid of it. Why? I was slowly but surely loosing my sense of self: bad mood most of the time, libido almost extinct after nearly 2 years, gain weight in the mid-section, something that had never happened to me before. For sure you don't risk having any more babies since you don't have sex any more: no kidding, sex was becoming like my marital duty so that my husband would not feel too frustrated: but for me, no feelings whatsoever, hardly any sensation.
After removal, the awful pain disappeared almost instantly. I'm bleeding today, not sure it is my periods starting again (seems a bit fast) but it sure does feel good. My mood is dramatically improving, yesterday I was dancing and laughing so hard with my daughter, my husband is saying he's starting to see my old self again. No more Mirena for me, I'm not even sure I want to be on the pill again. I'm taking a few weeks without contraception, just to find myself again and to leave my body find its natural cycles again.

hi, i've read through this several times, and it is now 3am and i find myself reading them again.

i was on both effexor and wellbutrin (generic versions of both) for quite some time, but didn't have full-on hair loss like I have now 'til about earlier this year when I was on wellbutrin only and was taking 150 mg twice a day. I got off of it because I have always had thin hair so I started to freak out when I noticed hair loss.

Unfortunately I became so depressed that I simply HAD to get back on it; and made the biggest mistake of my life by going up to the full 400mg dosage of the generic wellbutrin.

It killed me. I have very very very little hair especially on ONE side of my head, the left, and can no longer wear my bangs forward like I used to.

I went to the dermatologist (who I think was pretty bad, actually, because I went in for my HAIR and he didn't even do a strength test by pulling on it or anything!) and he said I had male pattern-ish baldness which is even more disconcerting because I can't hide the hair loss, I have a huge bald spot near the front of my head -- and I'm only a 21-year old female, people! This is beyond depressing, really. I'm beyond angry at my psychiatrist for always always downplaying the hair loss risk. I loathe him for it, in fact. But anyway.

I am going to start on biotin, and probably some prenatal vitamins, and maybe even tail Rx (******).

Thank you for posting your experiences, it has been a huge comfort to me (I wasn't lying when I said I read this thread many many times before and am reading it again now, at 3am!)

I was on Yasmin for 1.5 years. Ended up with chest pains, severe Vitamin D deficiency, B12/Folic Acid deficiency, elevated potassium and unbelievable fatigue/exhaustion along with muscle loss. I have now been off for almost 3 years and do not feel completely recovered. I'd encourage folks to google Yasmin/Yaz lawsuits as they are just beginning and I expect will eventually come off of the market due to finally, recognized increased risk of these pills with pulmonary embolisms, stroke, heart attack and blood clots. Also, if you google Yasmin Survivors, there is an international forum of women who have been sharing and contributing now for last 3 years as well.

I've stopped taking Yasmin a little over 1year ago. I went to the Dr. the day before my wedding because I had a large lump in my right forearm that was really painful. They sent me to get an ultrasound done because hey weren't sure what it was. Come to find out I had a blood clot. I was only 23 and it was the day before wedding. I had to self inject my self twice a day for 5 days with blood thinners and then take coumain for 6months. I wasn't able to go on a honeymoon. I felt like a human pin cushion, getting my blood tested twice a week. Taking Yasmin was the worst thing I have ever one for myself. No one should take this B.C. and if you are you should stop. IT'S DANGEROUS! Women have died from taking. I was lucky!

I have had Mirena in for about a year. I got it because after trying birth control pills, I was getting severe migraines all the time. My doctor told me I was at risk for stroke and should never take birth control pills again. Not wanting to have to use condoms the rest of my life, I asked for options other than the pill. My doctor strongly recommended Mirena. He said I would not get migraines with this. At first there were the normal symptoms of bleeding, severe cramps, etc. But after a couple of months I was pretty happy with it. The only thing that was really bothering me was that I was gaining a lot of weight. I was only 21 at the time and had never had a problem with gaining weight in my life. It was so weird. Over the last year I have gained about 20 pounds and am really upset. About 4 months after getting Mirena I got a large cyst on one of my ovaries, but it eventually burst and went away. All of those things I suppose I could have dealt with, though. However, after about 9 or 10 months with the thing I started getting severe migraines again. I got married in June and over the past few months I have had more and more frequent migraines. I have optical auras and often feel like I have tingling in my face and hands, which is similar to what I had when on the pill. I am concerned that this could be a serious problem. I like having Mirena because it is easy and I don't have to think about it, but I am not sure what to do. I can't be having migraines all the time, and I also would rather not have the weight gain and cysts. I'm not sure what else I would use, though. If anyone has any suggestions for me, please let me know. I am only 22 and don't want kids for a while.

Took Yaz years ago for some months. Do not remember many side effects. Starting taking it in July 2009 and within 2 weeks was hospitalized with pulmonary embolisms in both lung. Which means blood clots in both lungs. Doctor's could not find any other reason than Yaz. Please DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG. I was a healthy 37 year old with not history of clotting disorders and now I have to have see a hematologist, pulmonologist and take Coumadin for the next 6-9 months. I never thought that a medicine could destroy me in as little of a time as 2 weeks. I thank God for getting me through it and am writing to warn any future users. Don't take this med.

The Health & disability commissioner in NZ has received my complaint of criminal negligence re my former doctor. They have now asked my former doctor for a please explain his version of events. The police have written to me saying they are seeking medical advice re criminal/negligence/failing to carry out professional duties complaint. Whilst I agree with everyone's feelings on big pharma, it is my very firm opinion that the doctor is the "retailer" and it is the doctor's direct responsibility to us the customer/patient to monitor and inform us of all safety concerns. Big pharma in covering their butts have warned the doctors to warn the patients. Of the 8 doctors including an anesthetist I have spoken with socially and in consultation, not a single doctor could name any adverse effects with statins beyond mild muscle pain. Given the warnings from pharma on the labels that is wholly shameful & negligent. An effective way to help others avoid being maimed like us, is to fight back from the bottom. The FDA and CARM in NZ take no notice, litigation is expensive and drawn out so neither really helps future innocent victims. I encourage everyone where negligence is fairly on the table to take your complaints to your country's police and medical discipline bodies enough of these complaints will soon have the doctor's "reading & obeying instructions" which would go a long way to preventing more tragic victims.

I never thought I would ever be posting my experience with BC but I think this could be useful to other women worldwide. I have been using Yasmin now for a year and a half and I agree with everyone here at the beginning I felt great, beautiful skin, controlled short term periods, stable weight. My body changed in all the right places. My breast turned a cup larger (I was a 34B) my buttocks got larger and rounder. My boyfriend was enjoying the changes as much as I was!! I thought this was the perfect pill for me and I actually recommend it to all my friends. Things started changing for me about three months ago. I started to feel tired, I use to work out 5 times a week now I can't even work out one. My eyesight started to change, I started getting cramps in my legs at night, my legs started feeling heavy as if I was losing circulation, fast heartbeat, and the occasional migraine to top it all of. Then I found the commercial about the lawsuit on TV and I panicked!! I googled the lawsuit and I found this websi

te and after reading everything here I went straight to my Dr. this afternoon with all my side effects. I am 39 now 18 on diferent types of BC and up until now I have been a very healthy and active person. When I read everything here I was decided to get off thie pill inmediately. But here goes what my Dr. said: (I trust his opinons because he is a friend and has been my obgyn for the last 15 years) " first Yasmin is the best hormone BC on the market, very women has different side effects and giving me another pill wouldn't solve my problem. I could actually get worse. He gave my the option of going of the pills but asked me if I was ready for all the changes that would bring. Weight gain, acne, anxiety, depression etc. Another option he suggested I try was taking an antioxidant complex, omega 3, and lecithin. All natural supplements which he firmly believes will make me feel much better, help my circulation, and minimize the side effects. I will start this treatment tomorrow and stay on the Yazmin for at least another month. PS. My health is in perfect conditions after blood tests and sonograms. thank God!! I will keep everyone posted on my progress. And I hope this is useful to all you ladies. God bless!