Smile symptoms and conditions

Has anybody had a problem with their gums thickening. It's actually the area behind my upper teeth not the gums around my teeth. As a result, my teeth are being pushed forward making me self conscious of my smile. I'd like to get off this medicine but the other medications seem just as bad. Has anybody had any luck finding alternatives to medication?

I took reglan in 1990 for the treatment of escophagitis (sorry if spelling is wrong). Had severe life threatening reaction (acute dystonic) and was rushed to hospital. Basically, it started the day after taking it. My face was stuck in a permanent Joker-like smile and it was painful. Thought I was going nuts, I was only 18 at the time, and then took another pill as prescribed. Later, my face stuck in an open mouth gaze position, I could not shut my mouth, it would spring right back open. Then, I lost my speech and spoke like a baby. At that point, my parents realized there was something seriously wrong (they had previously thought it was just me being nervous or something) and called the doctor. I was rushed to the hospital, and on the way I couldn't breathe. My bottom jaw shifted to the right, and my top jaw shifted to the left, and the pain was excruciating. I chipped my front tooth right off. My face was all twisted.

This went away after I was given Benadryl in the ER but I then developed the facial tic associated with Reglan, on the left side of my face. I am 36 years old now and a trial lawyer and singer who is always in the public eye. Luckily, the twitch is slight and only affects my left side, and mostly when I speak because it involves muscle movement. I was prescribed this drug 14 years before it was approved by the FDA. I would tell everyone I know never to take this drug, not even once. Its so dangerous and if I knew of the side effects I would have ever agreed to take it. Its very, very embarrassing to have this twitch. No one ever told me how dangerous this drug was. Hope this post may help someone. Thanks for reading.

IS THIS SITE AN ANSWER TO OUR PRAYERS?

A little while ago less than two hours, after a very emotional, difficult battle with my daughter, we had yet another heart to heart to try to do better. At the end of our talk WE PRAYED for guidance to know how to help the situation. So I'm here looking for a link to her behavior fron the ADHD medication and I see someone had posted about Singulair side effects. I was floored! I have never thought that Singulair was not a safe drug. No doctor has ever mentioned any negative side effects to me regarding it. The more I'm reading about it the more in shock I am. Have I and her doctors been doing this to my daughter? My 12 1/2 yo daughter has been on Singulair for probably 10 years. She was a 28 week preemie and had severe lung issues so it was a needed medication. Her behavior has worsened the older she has gotten. Because of mostly anger issues and problems in school about a year ago she was started on ADHD medications. We are currently trying to find "the right one" . I feel so awful. Could all her misery have been caused by this little pill that was suppose to help her? Why has her pulmonoligist continued to give it to her although she has not had any serious asthma problems in years? I think I will stop all medications and see what happens. My daughter has also been on amytriptylin for about six months also for severe migraines. What do you think? Should I stop all of them cold turkey or gradually decrease one at a time? I would GREATLY appreciate any advise.
Thank you

I have a 16 year old daughter that has always been extremely healthy, very out going, very happy and energetic...until YAZ! My daughter was put on Yaz for irregular periods, it was nice that it helped her (very) mild acne. The first couple of months were fine, but then she started having a lot of symptoms...hair falling out, heart palpitations, bloating, depression, anger, crying, down mood all the time, I have rarely seen her smile in months, leg/joint pain, anxiety/nervousness, I can see her shake a lot, wanting to be by herself (which is totally not like her at all.) This medicine has helped her acne and period cramps, but totally destroyed her personality and her happiness! Is it worth the price...absolute NOT! I AM TAKING MY DAUGHTER OFF YAZ TODAY!!! Honestly, I do fear what this medicine could do to her life if she is not taken off of it ASAP. How sad this medication is even available, much less being prescribed to 16 year old! I only wish I would have known about this before my daughter took this evil pill! I am so sorry for those of you that have gone through all of this as well.

I started using lipitor from my doctor, it lowered my cholesterol all around but I started to have lower back pains. At first I thought it might be prostate cancer, but after having to MRI's done they found no cancer, thank god. But I went to an orthopedic surgeon to see what the problem was. He looked at the mri's and saw lower dics hitting my nerve endings. He also thought that it might be muscle problems so he gave me 3 epidurals and that helped for a while took away about 50% of my pain, but I still have the pain, It is hard for me to get comfortable when I sit or even when I am sleeping. I don't want to think that it is the lipitor that is doing it to me but after talking with others I feel it is time to talk to my doctor about it. My doctor said that lipitor is the safest one that will do very little harm to my liver. I am not a doctor so I would not know.. My cholesterol level was 246 at one time now it is 175. I am now facing possible spine fusion to help correct my disc problem. But will also ask doctor to prescribe something else.

Alan

I was put on Loestrin24 Fe to control bleeding until such a time as I could have surgery. I took the first pill and started experiencing a sever mood swing right away. I became angry and depressed. My breast were tender. after a month the Anger and Depression were out of control. I was as hateful as I have ever been. My relationships were effected by my extremely negative attitude (which is completely out of character for me) and my sex drive well there was none. I suppose that is one method for birth control.... I started to notice fatigue, couldn't get out of bed had no energy, tightness in the chest and shortness of breath. Blood Clots...NOT FUN... NOT SAFE...

I noticed my old self returning almost immediately after stopping the pill. I don't think I cracked one smile the whole time I was on them. I am glad to be off and I will never take birth control again.

Please please if you are having sever symptoms. Shortness of breath and chest pains. DON'T WAIT to be TOLD to get off of them.... GET OFF OF THEM and GO to the ER immediately. YOU are talking about your LIFE...

My daughter was on Singulair for about 4 weeks this spring. She went from an outgoing talkative 15 yr old to being withdrawn and sad. Her symptoms were feeling hopeless, headaches, stomach pain, constantly tired. She was sleeping 9-10 hours at night without feeling like she had slept at all. She would fall asleep in class (not her normal at all). Her teachers noticed that she had stopped participating in class and seemed "sad". I took her to her pediatrician and she ordered blood work and an ultrasound of the abdomen-all of which came back normal. I toyed with the idea that maybe she was becoming clinically depressed. I researched her symptoms and came across others who had similar symptoms while on Singulair. I took her off Singulair and have noticed an improvement in her mood. Her teacher commented yesterday that it was nice to see her smile again and being happy. She told her that she noticed that she had seemed "sad" these last few weeks. I hope that they take seriously these potential problems with this drug. I will never allow my daughter to take this or any other related drug.

An element of the side effects of Singulair that are listed here are musculo-skeletal symptoms. Quinolones such as levaquin are known to cause those issues. Singulair is a quinoline, while not the exact same category, their roots are similar. It makes the possibility that the symptoms have a common cause worth pursuing.

Here is an example of some poor rats in Tokyo that were selected to prove that the symptoms in humans were real. Maybe we should tell the levaquin board that at least some of their problems have been known since 1997.

1: Toxicol Pathol. 1997 Nov-Dec;25(6):635-43.Links
Toxic effects of quinolone antibacterial agents on the musculoskeletal system in juvenile rats.Kashida Y, Kato M.
Drug Safety Research Laboratory, Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan. JDN07402@niftyserve.or.jp

Quinolone antibacterial agents have adverse effects on the musculoskeletal system in humans, consisting mainly of myalgia and arthralgia, and additionally of tendon disorders and rhabdomyolysis. The present study was conducted to examine the toxic effects of quinolones on the musculoskeletal system in juvenile rats using light microscopy, 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy. Single oral administration of 900 mg/kg pefloxacin (PFLX) or levofloxacin (LVFX) was found to induce lesions in the muscle + fascia, tendon + sheath, and synovial membrane, in addition to articular cartilage in the fore- and hindlimbs. Articular cartilage lesions were not necessarily associated with changes in the muscle, tendon, and synovial membrane, or the reverse. Among all lesions, the ankle and elbow showed the highest incidence and severity. Changes were more severe in the PFLX than in the LVFX group. Lesions in the muscle + fascia, tendon + sheath, and synovial membrane were similar and characterized by edema and increased number of mononuclear cells, many of which were positively stained with BrdU, as well as vascular endothelial cells in the Achilles tendon sheath and synovial membrane in the ankle. Electron microscopic examination revealed an increased number of fibroblasts and macrophages and collagen deposition in the matrix of the synovial membrane and tendon sheath. Capillary endothelial cells were hypertrophied, increased in number, and stratified. These results suggest that quinolones have toxic potentials in the muscle, tendon, and synovial membrane in addition to articular cartilage, and that local vascular hyperpermeability may contribute to the development of these lesions.

PMID: 9437810

My name is Bobby and I've been dating a girl who has been through some tough times. She took my advice and started taking an antidepressant, Celexa, 5 weeks ago. 3 Weeks after starting the Celexa, we began to have the relationship I always knew we could. I love her so much and for one week I was the Happiest man in the world.
Unfortunately, against my advice she started taking Yaz a week after beginning the Celexa. I told her that beginning two new drugs at once will eliminate the ability to identify which drug is causing which affects whether they be positive or negative.
After 3 weeks of Celexa and 2 weeks of Yaz, my girlfriend started acting alive and excited about life again!! She even started losing weight because of her beautiful new-found energy and zest for everything. She was playful, she was laughing, she was sexual, she was the girl of my dreams and we fell more in love than ever.
One week later (After 4 weeks of Celexa, and after 3 weeks of Yaz) a monster emerged who no longer can stand the sight of me. She doesn't want me to touch her, hug her, or even kiss her. She doesn't sleep at night. She screams and yells at me for being annoying when I'm doing things that once made her smile with love in her eyes.
I found an apartment today and decided to move out... I have never been treated so poorly by anyone in my life before. She's aggressive and verbally abusive. She's been complaining that people are talking about her and she seems paranoid. I made the mistakes of taking steroids a while back and I can tell you she is the monster now that I was then and both Yaz and steroids affect hormone levels and I'm telling you I just can't believe how many relationships this drug must be ruining.
Tonight I took the Yaz and threw all of it out. She got mad at me because she's afraid that she'll stop losing weight... I mean she's just completely lost perspective. I showed her pictures of us happy together and she still chose losing 3 more pounds over our relationship. I'm losing my mind... Just a few weeks ago she reminded me again that she wants to marry me and give me babies. Where has my future wife and future mother of my children gone??

I'M LIVING IN FEAR THAT SHE WILL FIND A WAY TO GET MORE YAZ B4 SHE'S BEEN OFF LONG ENOUGH TO SEE WHAT IT'S TURNED HER INTO.

SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP!!!
******

A two days off of singulair my son started with a sore throat and headache that didn't go away for 5 days., three days after that started he ran a low grade fever for two days. I've read about others who had the same thing happen, so if your just getting off the singulair you may feel like your getting sick.

My daughter is seven years old. She was diagnosed with asthma when she was around two years old and, for years, suffered with the night cough associated with childhood asthma.

When Singulair came along, my initial reaction was that of joy. My husband and I could not believe that we no longer heard coughing throughout the night. However, while on this drug, we also noticed that she underwent a change. Sometimes, she seemed terribly sad and withdrawn. Other times, she became angry and even aggressive. We rarely saw her smile. It also seemed like she was in some sort of fog much of the time. About a week ago, I found her on the floor of our office. She had just gotten out of the shower, and I was getting her pajamas for her. The towel was not around her and she was shaking violently and crying. She explained that she had the chills, but it was clear that she didn't even comprehend that her towel was not around her. We all know our kids, and, I'm telling you that this scene was frightening. This was not at all my daughter.

In addition to the mental/emotional changes, she also had physical symptoms including sudden and frequent headaches, fatique, stomach pain, and bed wetting. A day after her "breakdown" in our home office, my husband called me from work and told me that he had just been reading MSNBC and that there was an article about the negative side effects of Singulair. When he listed things that matched what our daughter had been going through since on this drug, it was both comforting and horrifying. I am relieved to know that there is nothing wrong with my daughter psychologically, but I am furious that she and so many others have been treated like guinea pigs. We took out daughter off Singulair the very same night that my husband came across the article on Singulair, and she hasn't had any of the mental or physical symptoms that she had been experiencing...the change was that drastic. Currently, we are only using her inhaler and Benadryl at night. She has a doctor's appointment next month, and I will tell the doctor about our experience.

I have my little girl back, but I can't help but wonder how many families are going through this and do not have a clue that Singulair could be the problem. Other than reporting this to our pediatrician, is their another agency I should contact?

I have got to share my great news with anyone who will listen. My daughter has been Singulair free since Friday of last week. She has no idea that we are not giving her this pill at night and we haven't discussed any of our recent findings in front of her. In other words, she has no incentive to behave any differently than she ever has. The changes are so dramatic that at times it's hard for me to believe. On three different occasions today she made note of her positive change in mood (keep in mind she is 7). Right after school when she was going over some of her graded papers she pointed to a smiley face on her paper. She said, "Mommy, that's how I feel today." I replied, "That's great honey. Is there a reason why you are so happy today?" She stated, "I don't know why, I just am." Then a few hours later I overheard her talking to her younger brother at dinner say, "Will, I haven't cried at all today." Of course he didn't have much of a reply. Then at bedtime, she said, "This has been the best day ever!" These are all statements that quite honestly I have never heard her say before. It warms my heart to know that I do have a "normal" child in there. She's been on Singulair since she was 3, before she could verbalize many of her feelings. All we have known are negative, grumpy feelings and emotions.

But these are not the only changes we have noticed. I have had to wake her up for school the last two mornings in a row (hasn't happened since she began school). She has always been such a terrible sleeper and seems to never really get as much as she needs. She hasn't been so obessessive in the last two days about playing with her best friend. She actually asked if she could play cars with her younger brother instead of going to the park. She has eaten about half as much as she normally does. She has developed such a ferocious appetite that weight has become a huge problem. She has handled disappoints in stride when the same trigger would have totally set her off a few days ago. The list really does go on and on.

I can honestly say that the only thing that has changed is the absence of Singulair. I pray that I continue to discover more of my daughter's great qualities.

I have wondered so many times over the last few days, "What if I hadn't been listening to NPR?" I would have had no other reason to look into the matter further. All of our stories need to be told to the greater media. There are millions of children on this drug and based on this message board, millions of children sufferring negative side effects. Please join me in this crusade!

I am devastated!! Everything that I am reading about your children is describing my son. He has been on Singulair since "06 and was hospitalized for 10 days in '07 for suicide thoughts and possible attempt. Before '07 and singulair he was happy,popular and class favorite. He was very charming and played well with others. After '07 and the singulair, he became very angry and defensive towards everyone. He isolated himself and had a bad attitude. We longed to just see a smile and guess what? We saw one last night! He has not been on Singulair since friday night. 3-28-08. I can see a difference in him now. Thank God for all of you sharing your experiences and lets all pray that they will not have longterm problems from all of this. God Bless you! Reecesmom

OK heads up heard from doctor,for him to report the torture my son . has endured on this drug,he needs documented proof that it stopped when we stopped taking singulair,our word is not enough.The road blocks are going up the hoops you need to jump through are getting high.Bring it on i say mr merck hope you are reading this,you have messed with the cub of a very mad lioness and as in the wild i will chew you up.Document everything every smile every twinkle in the eyes every good nights sleep

I posted on Thursday about my 10-year-old son's personality and mood changes on Singulair. He has now been off the medication for 4 days. Here is what I have noticed: He has been much less explosive as far as his anger outbursts - only one or two since Friday versus 1-2 an hour prior! He is much more tolerant of his sister. In addition, last night he went to bed on being asked the first time versus taking 1-2 hours to get him to bed. This morning he was a bit easier to get up but he is 10 and wanted to sleep late. That is understandable, I wanted to sleep in too. No big deal here. He came home after school with a smile on his face today, something I have not seen in a while. This was a difficult day for him as his favorite teacher is leaving on Friday due to a health problem and will not be back for the rest of the year. This would have sent him into a hysterical crying fit before, but he has been understanding and very able to handle the situation at hand. A few more things that we have noticed are that he came home and did his chores being asked 1 time versus multiple times with threats and punishment to follow. He also practiced his guitar without being asked!! This has not happened for months on his own. Tonight I asked him to help get the food on the table for us to eat while he was on the computer and he jumped up and came quickly. Prior to being off the medication this was similar to a nuclear meltdown with crying, screaming and slamming things with him having to leave for a time out.

I am so thankful that we were able to do away with the medication without major problems. I am so hopeful that many other parents will have the same results that we have when going off the medication. Please if you have any question or doubts do not hesitate to contact the prescribing physician and talk things out. May God bless you!!

Dear Howard, just like to let you know that you may be in the 10% category who suffer from the adverse side effects of Singulair, but such is the ignorance of educated men like yourself who take what is given by a physician and swallow it down with a smile, I'm sure you would be very familiar with the saying knowledge is power, so empower yourself and read up on the side effects of any other drug that you may be taking. Further more I would suggest to you to ask your doctor about Symbicort, its only one inhalation twice a day(an oral steroid) very potent and powerful with an excellent safety profile, you normally taper that drug down to one dose a day or when you need it. Next time Sir College Educated Professional, report the event to the drug and safety of the company or the FDA.

I am a 35 year old male, college educated, professional. I started on the Singulair for Asthma three months ago. At first I thought this was a miracle drug, making my Asthma almost disappear. After 3 weeks I noticed a sense of paranoia, always wondering if persons were speaking about me, how my co workers perceived me, worried about my wifes perception of me, my bosses opinion of me, almost totally unbearable. This carried on until I read this sight.

I have been off the drug for almost two weeks, I am beginning to feel better now. Thank you all for the information. To any parent that has a child on this drug: take them of it! As an adult I was going crazy, can't imagine how a child would be.

I have been off Singulair for 10 days and I feel great. I am actually myself again!!!! I wondered why I had turned into such an irritable old grouch the last couple of years, because I have always been pretty calm, cool and collected. I am sleeping wonderfully well now and I wake up like I used to with a smile and a kind word instead of growling at the dogs and smirking at the husband and cussing all the cars in my way to work.

Thanks for this site.....I have always thought that I knew the meds I took well, but this one fooled me for sure.

My son has been on Zyrtec for the past year - he is now 4. He the sweetest disposition one minute and is a monster the next hating us and wishing we were dead. We assumed that it was his age and possibly a behavior disorder until I read the other entries. We took him off immediately and he is back to the kid we lost last year. This needs to be taken seriously. When I researched the side effects on the drug website they do not mention behavior issues as a possible side effect. My son will live with a runny nose and a smile on his face.

I have mixed feelings about Advair. Quick history-at 30 I was dx with Asthma, at 32-COPD. I went on Advair after the COPD dx. Primarily-it certainly helped my breathing-gloriously. I have since gone on and off Advair periodically. Before last year (Pneumonia)-I had not been on the Advair for more than four months. BUT the Pneumonia combined with the COPD reduced my lung capacity by 25%. I allowed my Dr. to prescribe it indefinitely. However within a year I had gained thirty pounds. I started reading more, and found out that the AMA recommends only a six month duration of Advair therapy. My asthma symptoms had worsened over the last three months of that therapy. My untrained hypothesis is that if you exceed the recommended six month treatment-you will suffer the above outlined side affects. I simply quit it. Granted, my asthma symptoms increased for about three weeks-so I kept my handy little inhaler nearby, and gave myself one month to see if the asthma symptoms would decrease. They did. The long term-I have now been off of the Advair for nine months, and I rarely use my inhaler (knock on wood). The long term benefits of the extended Advair use has been a decreased problem with SOB- yes upon exertion(that is one of the symptoms of COPD), it is still present, but I can usually ride that out with patience, and rest. In conclusion-I would not hesitate to go back on the Advair upon my next COPD exacerbation, but I will absolutely stay within the six month suggested period. And, this time I will eat a lot of lo cal foods. Smile. It is always nice when people with chronic illness can smile over their disease. This has been my experience over the last five years that I have been introduced to Advair. One more suggestion-see if you can get your doctor to try you on the 250/50 before jumping right on the 500. The 500 is noted to have the side affect of increased SOB, and Asthma attacks-more often than the 250. One more note-although your doctor might forget to mention this-Advair is a steroid- and, steroids are known to cause weight gain. What can be done to reduce this affect-I do not know-Prednisone will do it too,now a combination of the two-which I have, of course, utilized a half dozen times or so in the last five years of my dx- is almost a guaranteed weight gain. If you manage to find out how to avoid that particular side affect-please let me know, and suggesting a vigorous work out to a patient with COPD in a bit insensitive, but if you have any other plausible ideas-I am anxious to hear them.

WOW. This is crazy to read all of these testimonials.

I started taking Yasmin on two weeks ago. I have had many of the same symptoms as everyone else on here. I have been depressed, lethargic, angry, frustrated very easily, nothing can make me smile, and so on. I feel extreamly overwhelmed and all I can do is sit on the floor and stare, feeling like I want to scream, but I cant even do that. Everyone I love, including my husband irritates me right now. I just caught myself standing in the bathroom, staring in the mirror, hating everything I saw, and feeling angry at all that I have to do (my usual things I do). Thats when I decided to get online and look up my BC side effects and this was the first site I found.

I THOUGHT I WAS GOING CRAZY!!!

Until I read all of these testimonials. I am stopping to pill today, and I hope I get to feeling better soon. I have a huge x mas party to go to tonight, and I don't want to talk to anyone!

thank you everyone.

I took Toprol for almost 2 years then in Aug generic came out Metoprolol and I switched over. I was taking 25mg. After a few weeks, I noticed numbness in my index finger and middle finger. Then it happened in other hand. Doc said I had tendinitis in one hand and slept wrong on the other...I was also depressed and having panic attacks. From the onset of taking Toprol my sleep was disturbed,but thought it was age related. Once I went on Metoprolol insomnia set in. Then my feet went cold and numb and my arms were so heavy and tingly and my joints hurt. My right shin hurt to touch as well. Vision was cloudy and had trouble adjusting to light changes. Finally it dawned on my that the changes occurred about the time I started the generic. I went back to doc and he pretty much told me I was crazy, prescribed Xanax and a session with a psychiatrist! He switched me back to Toprol and I felt no better then he switched me to
Atenolol with same result. By this time, my chest was on fire and I had extreme difficultly breathing. Called doc and he told me to stop cold turkey. I did and thought I was going to die one day. Throat closed up blood pressure soared. He stopped me on Nov 11 or 12th. I have been on nothing. Blood pressure is not leveled. When I first sit down it is like 140/93. If I wait a few minutes it goes down to 120/80 or a little lower. I was expecting to feel a lot better by this point in the game. I still have numbness in my pinky and ring finger and in my toes. If I take Advil it lessens to where it is not so bothersome. Anyone know how long this stuff takes to get out of your system? I am shopping for a new doc since mine know things I am a hypo. I am a 39 yr old female with no other health issues. Was originally put on for stress related palps.

I was on both the sucker and the patch and this drug is great to take pain away BUT at what cost,I have lost all of my teeth ,I'v gained 80 pds ,I can't work now.because i can't face and talk to anyone face to face .because of all my teeth are gone.I was very depressed on that drug, I could'nt catch my breath sometimes,I really thought I was going to stop breathing ,I won't leave my house anymore ,I use to smile all the time and laugh ,That happyness is gone & so is my life.

Hi there... I have just found this site and I'm very grateful to everyone who has taken the time to sit down and tell us their story mine is very similar. BELIEAVE me I feel like I am pushing my family away and I'm losing my relationship with the one person who used to make me feel like I was the most beautiful woman in the world.
I'm a 40 yr female have or maybe had a great job that I loved... On April 12 I noticed a small red rash on my lower right leg no big deal went to the Dr. gave me some cream and sent me home well I went to work and by the afternoon things just seem to get bad my legs began to swell and little blisters started to pop up so I went to the E.R. they had no Idea what was wrong with me got me an appointment to see a skin DR. so I went home but the pain from the swelling was so bad I could not walk any longer went back to the E.R. they gave me some pain meds and called in some other DR. things had gone from bad to worse my feet had gotten to big I could not put on shoes and I had bruised completely across the bottoms of my feet they put me on 30mg of PRED. and it seem to be under control sent me home after 3 day in the hospital things were good for about a day or so I thought I would go back to work well that was not a very good idea.... My sister had to come and take me back to the ER where they did 2 biopsies and still have no idea what is wrong with me. so now they put me on 60mg of PRED the rash has gone, lots of scaring on my feet because of the blisters once they broke and dried out but I can live with that....
It's the side effects that they don’t tell you about,
MOON FACE I can't look at myself cause really that’s not me anymore,
WEIGHT GAIN I have always been thick but I can't handle the extra 30lbs I've gained,
MOOD SWINGS are unbearable,
PAINFUL JOINTS, CAMEL HUMP, BLOODY NOSE, BRUSING, SORE TEETH/GUMS, DRY EYES, FAITIGE, and worsted of all
I don’t have a support systems in my life so I'm fighting this by myself everyday, I have 3 kids that I have tried to explain all this to but they don't get it and well my boyfriend he tells me he understands that its the meds pushing him away but if I can't figure away to control this I will lose every thing including my job. I cant even get the energy together half the time to make it up and down the stairs which also comes with the pain of just trying to lift each leg up to climb the stairs, I also have the camel hump which I find very painful, The acne and the hair growth that I have to get wax off once a month cause I feel like a man I feel like a loser and as of the last couple of days I just want to give up I am now down to 20mg per day but I find that I am feeling so sick I cant think straight I hope and pray for each and every person out there that has to take this MED that you get better and I do hope that my symptoms wont come back. Thanks for being here and I’m glad I found this site. I know now that I’m not losing my mind completely. Elizabeth.

I've been on TOPROL-XL( 50 mg) for about 18 months now. Gained 25 lbs. Lack of interest (consistently) in getting much done. I had an aortic valve replacement 12 years ago and they were recently concerned about an enlargement of the aorta-so they wanted the Toprol to reduce the blood pressure further. Its keeping the pressure steady but not a huge decrease. When I discuss the side effects- they smile beningly. I'm having difficulty with digestive tract issues, also, which seem to be connected with weight gain. Other than fluuid retention- anybody know WHY this cuases weight gain? Anybody had any luck switching to other medications??