Saving grace symptoms and conditions

I was prescribed Niaspan ER, and the first night I took the 81 mg aspirin an hour before. So this was 11 pm. I tried to get to sleep, as I do usually have a hard time getting and staying asleep anyway.. BUT, four hours later, I had this severe face flush, I had burning in my ears, my face, my neck and as I was told I might have this, I tried to remain calm.. then the ITCHING started up, I wanted to rip off my skin, I itched so badly! I scratched my wrists, then my upper legs, my stomach area.. even ripped open a little sore there... this itching almost drove me crazy! I admit I got panicky.. and my heart started racing and I felt like my throat was closing up.. this is something I experience with my allergy to contrast dyes... I swore I'd never take another Niaspan! Scared the heck out of me. I don't know what else I will be able to take to lower my triglycerides and total cholesterol. I am 56 and just found out with an EKG that I have had a heart attack already. So this is all scary to me, but the burning and itching and rapid heartbeat don't seem worth it to me! Anyone else have this kind of experience? What did you do? thanks

i personally have had the best experience with my Yasmin birth control. I have been on it for 5 years now. Before Yasmin I was a wreck.Before i ever took any birth control i had my period twice a month, super heavy bleeding,10 days,and cramps so bad I would pass out. I even bled for 5 months straight on the Depoprovera shot. I found all of the tricyclic pills make me crazy and over emotional. I have tried so many different kinds of pills and birth control all with the result of bleeding for months on end and finally my doctor recommended Yasmin and I have been completely happy with it. I have not gained weight, I do not get migraines (and i did with other birth control pills), I am much more emotionally stable (although I will never be a hundred percent sane, but I blame genetics for that one) I have never gotten pregnant, I have not suffered any gastrointestinal side effects, I finally have regular 7 day periods and my cramps are less horrible, my skin has cleared up, i have a perfectly healthy if not over active sex drive, my breast are not particularly tender ever, I don't get any more yeast infections than before, basically it is my saving grace in my opinion. I must also add to this that I did stop taking Yasmin once for 5 months in these 5 years just to see how I am without BC and nothing crazy happened. My periods were heavier, i had worse cramps, my skin broke out. I expected all of that to happen. A month after getting back on Yasmin I was back to my happy ol self again. One last thing is that I did try the Ocello generic version of Yasmin and it was all bad for me. I once again bled for 2 months even though I only took it for two weeks, and i went completely nutso overemotional chick. Long story short, everyone is built differently, not every BC will be the right one for you. Try some different ones out. If you are on a pill and it is not doing the right things for you then switch it instead of taking it for 2 years and then blogging about how miserable it makes you. I will leave you with a wonderful quote from I don't know who but I live for this saying "More orgasms, fewer kids, copulate, don't populate!" HOORAY

I've had cortisone injections for my ruptured disk at L5-S1. They have been extremely helpful to me. I don't think I'd be around if they hadn't have helped me like they did. They are my saving grace. Although, it is important to note that not all doctors are the same at giving the shots. The first few I had never worked, then I went to someone else who specializes in the shots and has a great reputation for them and he has helped me every time.

I would always be extra stiff for 2 days to 1 week after a shot, and sometimes it would take me 2-3 weeks to feel the full effects.

I commenced Lipitor 14 years ago at age 47. At that time I was a regular tennis player, walker and generally fit for my age. No problem with Lipitor for the first couple of years until I began to experience hip and low back pain. My GP diagnosed arthritis. Gradually became worse and I started to gather injuries (over stretched ligament in right knee which refused to heal, plantar fasciitis twice) My back pain became far worse, I persevered with tennis believing that exercise would help. I began to "trip" on the carpet and going up stairs (foot drop). I was sent for a CT scan in 2002 which showed spondylolisthesis and root canal stenosisss. On advice from doctor I stopped tennis. Referred to a neurosurgeon who after several months carried out a laminectomy in July 03. Cleared to recommence exercise in December 03 which is when my nightmare commenced. I developed bursitis in one hip, stopped walking until it settled, then excruciating pain in feet, and then bursitis in the other hip and continuing foot pain. I developed rib/back pain, again diagnosed as arthritis even though I felt the pain was muscular. I had one session of aqua aerobics and woke the next morning with plantar fasciitis which continued for 3 months even with doctor, physio and acupuncture treatment. I was then referred to a Spots Medicine Dr who ordered bone scans/x-rays which revealed a stress fracture in my foot. In 2006 I began to notice that my right arm had a tense feeling all the time, I had a loss of dexterity in my right hand which assumed a claw like appearance and my normally neat handwriting became practically illegible. My physio recommended I see a Rheumatologist who said I had "no more arthritis than I would see in any 62 yo", he sent me to a Neurologist who after 5 mins diagnosed Parkinson's Disease. Within 7 weeks of commencing the PD medication I was experiencing Restless Leg Syndrome every night. The neurologist said that my condition had "progressed" and increased the medication - twice. I was then getting RLS DAY AND NIGHT and getting no relief OR SLEEP!!! Finally after 12 months misery my GP suggested that I try coming off Lipitor to see if that was causing my body pain. Within 6 days I felt better, my muscles became less stiff and relax. I went back to my Neurologist who refused to accept my claims, he insists I still have atypical PD (because I do not have tremors). I told him the cure is worse than the complaint and against his advice I weaned myself off PD medication and Lipitor. It was hard going but I NO LONGER SUFFER FROM RLS AND MY DEXTERITY IS SLOWLY IMPROVING. I still have dexterity problems with my right fingers but the tense feeling in my right arm has gone and my "claw" hand is starting to relax My muscles feel bruised all the time. I am still taking my blood pressure tablets and 150mg of Co-Q10 a day. I have been off Lipitor 9 months. It has been a painful journed for the last 8 years and a nightmare for 12 months. My GP has marked my records as "allergy to statins" but says she just doesn't know if I have Parkinson's. I know that I will never take this awful drug again. My cholesterol has skyrocketed but I will have to try and lower it naturally and take the risk. I constantly feel like I have worked too long and hard in the garden, all my muscles are so sore. I really need to know if this damage is permanent and if this drug has caused Parkinson's Disease itself or just PD like symptoms. I guess I will just have to wait and see. I don't think doctor's believe us when we say Lipitor is doing damage to thousands of people. They love it!! When we are aging we are not surprised to get diagnosed with arthritis and this is why we take this medication unwittingly for so long.

Hello all.. I had posted after being on Yasmin for about a week and now I am into my second month. Last post I reported no side effects whatsoever and now I can say my first period ever on birth control (20 yrs old) was perfectly manageable, 5 days and pretty well painless. Still no weight gain or loss and no change in personality, if anything I'm a little happier because I am not so constantly irritated by my own menstrual unpredictability lol. The only thing I can say that has changed since taking the pill is the appearance of cystic acne... I used to encounter one of this type now and again but in the past few weeks they've been coming in the night, 2 or 3 at a time, usually chin and forehead. Yikes. Definitely a major annoyance but for anyone else who is experiencing this.. I have always found my skin's saving grace to be TEA TREE OIL!!! Love it. I wash every day with a bar of soap called Thursday Plantation and it is amazing (especially if you leave a bit of soap on as a kind of spot treatment overnight). Anyway it continues to be extremely helpful in managing this annoying side effect so that I can enjoy the benefits of a regular period and no pms or cramps, oh and no babies. lol. Good luck to everyone, and remember do your research but don't let all the negativity scare you away from something that could be good for you, because everyone is different. Glad to see some positive posts here this time tho! I will return again myself if anything changes :) xo

Eczema, severe dry skin & hair growth out the wazooooooo, extreme facial hair growth, and i now shave my legs everyday instead of once a week. I also suffer from insomnia and hot flashes.
Now the good part I am pain free and anything is worth being rid of the pain from endometreosis. I have suffered with endometreosis for 19 years. This is really a saving grace.