Soft drinks symptoms and conditions

I lasted a whole week with Topamax! Side effects I experienced were flat, bitter tasting soft drinks, minor tingling in hands and forearms, some dizziness, and some decreased sensation during sex. But on day 6, shortness of breath set in. I wasn't aware that this was a side effect of topamax until I searched the internet. I'm so grateful for all of the posts here. On day 7, I took my last 25mg topamax and expected my breath to return to me. That was 6 days ago and I'm still waiting.... I've read that it takes 6 days for topamax to clear your system, but I'm eager to hear of accounts as to how long it took for side effects to disappear. Can anyone throw me a bone?? I keep telling myself that tomorrow it will be better, but "tomorrow" hasn't come. All other side effects are gone.

I was on 40 mg of simvastatin for 4 months with seemingly no side effects when my doctor said my cholesterol wasn't coming down quickly enough to suit him, so he added lovaza - had me taking both at the same time. Within 2 months I was noticing sore muscles but didn't relate it to the meds. After about another 2 months I was so bad I could hardly walk - extreme muscle and joint pain over my entire body, severe weakness, shortness of breath. Then I found out that both of those drugs can cause these side effects. I wish I had tied it together sooner. I have been completely off of them both for about 3 months and still have some pain in my feet, shoulders and elbows, along with severe pain in my hands, and I am still weak and short of breath. I don't know how long this is going to hang on, but I certainly hope it isn't permanent. I can't stand to think that I might have to live with this pain for the rest of my life. My hands are so close to useless, and I am so weak, that it's about all I can do to take care of my job and make a living. I haven't been able to work around the house for months. I want to work on my cars (my hobby). I have 2 antique cars that I enjoy working on and driving, but I don't think I'm going to be able to do very much with them this summer. My hands just won't let me. And the beauty of it all? My cholesterol numbers did not come down any great amount. Since I stopped taking the meds I have brought the numbers down by changing my diet - eggbeaters instead of whole eggs, less beef (venison is very low in cholesterol) more chicken & fish, oatmeal, plus I'm taking vitamin C, D3, garlic and cinammon for cholesterol and B complex for muscles, msm and glucosamine for joints. I also bought a hot tub, which helps with the pain and stiffness. This has definitely not been a fun thing. I just hope it goes away some time soon.

I was on Lipitor for less than a week 2 years ago and the muscle pains were so bad that moving my head was painful. I called the doctor's office and was instructed to stop taking the medication; which I did and felt 'back to normal' within a few days. I haven't had my cholesterol checked since that time, or if I did before surgery, no one mentioned anything negative about it. However 6 weeks ago I had a heart attack. Apparently my cholesterol was twice what it should it have been, and my potassium was incredibly low. So I'm now on Lipitor (standard procedure after having a heart attack and high cholesterol seen as the cause of it) to ensure that another blockage does not occur.

The only problem is I'm now bloated even though I've changed my diet drastically (no more junk food or soft drinks, no 'white' flour products, no dairy products with more than 5% M.F and lots of veggies and fruits). I've lost 3 or 4 pounds but my pants are too tight around my waist, and now I have a my upper abdomen bulges over the waistline. Besides that, I get muscle 'kinks' in very places and after sitting for more than 10 minutes I limp when I take the first few steps.

People have told me to 'keep taking Lipitor and Plavix' but exercise more. The only problem with that is that I have a brain aneurysm and the neurosurgeons don't think it can be operated on 'without it being a very high risk procedure'. The first one ruptured 10 years ago and since then I've managed to control my blood pressure. However the meds I took for that was what lead to my potassium being so low that my electrolytes were imbalanced. That combination of low potassium and high cholesterol is what lead to the heart attack.

I'm 54 and feel as though I'm losing control of 'how' I feel. Between Lipitor, Plavix and diuretics and medication for hypertension I'm not sure if it's one drug in particular that's making me 'ache, limp and look like a blimp' or if it's because of the interaction of all of them. How do I decide 'what' to stop? What's more important to look after first - my heart or my brain?

I've been on Topamax for a year and a half now. I started with 50 mg. and am now up to 100 mg. I did have the usual side effects of the tingly fingers, feet and arms the first six weeks and then that went away. Food and soft drinks tasted funny for a while, but that too went back to normal. I did lose 15 pounds and I didn't really have it to lose in the first place, so I upped my workouts with weights to compensate. My migraines have gone from five a week to one, so it's helped me BIG time being on this medication. My eyesight, however, has suffered. I used to have 20/20 vision. I now need reading glasses. I'm sure it's because of this medication, but to be honest, I'll take the glasses over being in that severe pain five times a week.

A couple of years ago I tried Singulair due to problems with oral yeast infections from my inhaler. I'm a athletic, health conscious 46 year old woman with a high-burn hypoglycemic metabolism, and often have unusual and extreme reactions to food and medications. I hallucinate on Diet Coke, for example. I waited until the weekend to try Singulair just in case I reacted, and it was a good thing I did. I slept about 10 hours in three days, and when I could sleep I had bizarre dreams. I felt like an ADHD woman having a manic episode! My boyfriend noticed behavioral changes right away, and fortunately he did all the driving that weekend! I stopped the drug on Sunday, and was barely able to sit up at work by Monday afternoon. The next weekend I broke the pills into quarters, but had the same problems even with only a fourth of the dose. Once all the drug was out of my system, which didn't take long, I was fine. I went back to my Claritin and Pulmacort Turbuhaler, and I've been fine ever since. I'm both surprised and not to find Singulair causes similar reactions in others. I thought it was just my strange metabolism, but apparently not. This is a sad, cold comfort way to find out I'm not as freakish as I thought. My condolences and best wishes to everyone dealing with children and family members on this drug and/or going through withdrawal.
P.S. I never drink soft drinks anymore, or eat or drink anything with artificial sweeteners, either.

I was doing just fine taking 50 mg of Topamax but I was still having minor headaches. My doctor said to go to a neurologist because there may be a tumor to worry about. He doubled my morning dosage and added an evening dosage so now I am taking 200 mg. a day. I started the insanity on Friday. By Monday i went grocery shopping and couldn't remember what I was shopping for. Thank God i brought my husband with me...when I could remember that he was with me. And then when I remembered to ask him what we came for I needed to remember where it was. Upon returning home I offered to help my 7 year old grand daughter with her spelling homework. Do you how embarrassing it is to not remember how to spell first grade spelling words? Tuesday was Mardi Gras and we went to the movies so I was saved any further mind questions. Then along comes Wednesday and I returned to work. Well, I tried to get to work. I got lost. Here I was at Walgreen's trying to figure out what I was doing out at 6:00 in the morning. What day was it? The looks on other's faces when you ask them these question is not something funny. So, I get back in my car and aim in the direction I hope is work. Luckily, I remember where I habitually stop for breakfast. My memory comes back again and I make it to work. I am on time and all is well. Now, the day begins.

I haven't had a period since December. Here it is February. And no, I am NOT pregnant. I can't concentrate. I ate 2 chicken nuggets for lunch and am full (now that is a healthy lunch, huh?). I was addicted to Dr. Pepper and now can't even stand the smell of it. I can't walk and chew gum at the same time. I found a note that I wrote sometime yesterday that really scares me because I don't remember writing it. It says, " Headache @ 1:55 no known trigger jut sudden movement to pick up papers from bin over desk. Nausea as well. Need to go to sleep forever." Good feeling to have? Depression is kicking in.

I just called my doctor and he says decrease the medication down to 100 mg. Ummmm...How about I decrease it down to 0 mg and I take a Imitrex or 2 and a hot bath with a nap when I get home and live to see my grandchildren grow old! I think living with a migraine or 50 is far better than what I have been feeling this past week.

If anyone can tell me that it gets better in less than 2 weeks I will stay with it but 1 more week of this and I will be a patient in a mental hospital. I can't even play Nintendo with my grandson...NOW THAT IS DEPRESSING!

I have been on Topamax for a little over a year. I've had most of the side effects; tingling, numbness in the fingers, dry mouth, forgetfulness, and weight loss - love the weight loss. All the side effects have sort of slowed down as I've been on the medication longer. The weight loss has slowed and I've even began to get my appetite back- I'm afraid I'm going to start gaining weight now! I've lost about 40 pounds and I needed to lose it, so that was wonderful. I've had a very hard time losing weight all my life so this was wonderful.

I was addicted to Coca Cola and this med also helped me kick that habit because I lost my taste for the carbonation.

Does anyone know if the weight loss usually evens out after about a year or a year and a half? I need to lose about 30 more pounds and was hoping that I would continue losing weight!

Anyway, I was on the Topamax for headaches and it has completely helped that! It has truly been a God-send for me. Other than monthly hormone headaches, I don't get migraines hardly at all!

I am wondering about having my doc up my dosage for the weight loss aspect????

I have only been on topamax for a week and have not had any crazy side effects thank goodness. I went on all the websited before I started taking it and I thought I would bald by now or throwing up all my food! Anyways, I am a 22, F taking it for migraines. I, of course, have only been taking 25 mg since this was my first week. When my dose goes up this next week I am sure crazy things will start to happen! Ha hopefully not though. But, I just to write something NOT HORRIBLE about topamax on here. The only things that I have noticed is the soft drinks and beer, sadly, not tasting that great and I have a gross metal taste in my mouth. But I never drank soft drinks in the first place and I am a college student so I am used to Keystone beer, which doesnt taste that great, anyways! My migraine that I had for 6 days finally went away, so that was good. I haven't even had the tingling yet. Keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully all goes well after my meds are up-ed;) I just wanted to write something possitive on here for those about to start topamax because I know when I was reading things on here before I started it scared the hell outta me. Good luck. Think possitive.

I started taking some form of lisinopril (5-10 mg) ten years ago when I needed to lose 20-30 pounds, and had a mild BP problem. Now I need to lose 50-80 pounds, even though I no longer eat boxes of cookies, candy bars, packaged foods, salty snacks, crackers. No soft drinks (no diet either). Gave up butter, eggs, cheese last October. I also stopped baking cookies and cakes. I haven't lost 20 pounds yet. I too think my doctor is a quack and in cahoots with the drug pushers. They try to make you think every pain and discomfort is your weight and from what I'm reading, it's that %#@& snake poison. I forgot to mention the itchy eyes and the cough. I thought I was allergic to my house. I wake up reaching for the Visine. My doctor subscribed a tiny bottle of eye drops that cost $100. Yes, that's what I said. Once, about 5 or 6 years ago, I woke up and my head was the size of a prize winning pumpkin. Never did figure out what caused it, until now. Thanks for letting me vent. :-)

This thread is astonishing.
I have been complaining to MY doctors for months about ALL these symptoms and they told me it was NOT Lipitor.
In fact when I suggested that they fill out a side effect report I was told , " There is no point doing that as no one else has reported those effects.!"
I am constantly enduring what I can best describe as , 'an out of body experience'.
My wife found this forum and I am VERY glad she did. I will be giving a printout to each of my doctors.
So the drugs are ZILCHED pronto and I am going to try Chocolate and fizzy drinks instead instead.......after all I took those for over 50 years with only a fat belly as any side effect.

HI all,
Since I read the postings on this forum I tried to be more aware of the symptoms cause by Yasmin. I had previously posted some of the things I was going through and here is my self analysis so far:

I experienced moodinedd in the first week, but since my husband pointed it out, every time that moodiness sets in I remind myself it's nothing but yasmin and slowly it goes away.

Excess salivation I am afraid had nothing to do with it as since I have stopped drinking soft drinks such as cola and others and restrict myself to water only, this has also subsided drastically.

I read one lady's comment about experiencing almost menstrual cramps and I have had those aswell, esepcially in the beginning.

And the one that bothered me the most, NAUSEA and VOMITTING, this too has reduced a lot since I realised it's just a side effect, yes I am afraid this was very much a psycoligical more than physical effect, but also chaning eating habits slightly and drinking only water has reduced this too.

On the whole, I do think that Yasmin does play up with your system, but after all it's a hormone pack, but there is nothing you can't get used too.

Thanks for taking your time to read this and good luck.

I have been taking 100mg of topamax before i go to bed for the past three days. I take it for my migraines. When I drink any kind of soft drinks my throat burns slightly. My appetite seems like it has increased.

major change in taste such as soft drinks, beer, chips, even toothpaste