Spring and summer symptoms and conditions

I have been getting Kenalog injections on and off since I was a teenager. I am now 38 years old. I get these injections about once a year and depending on how bad my allergies get, sometimes twice a year. It is the ONLY MEDICATION that I have ever been able to take that has completely relieved my allergy symptoms. I to have got the "dents" into my skin at the injection sites, which over time have resolved on their own. My hips ache as well but fortunately only just sometimes. Exercise relieves the pain. I am a nurse and know full well the "adverse" side effects from this medication and am reminded by my physician every time I go for the injection. The misery of dealing with my seasonal allergies when nothing either prescription or over the counter helps makes me incredibly grateful for this medication. Everyone will react differently to every medication. People need to realize that it will not work for everyone and there are serious side effects. That is when YOU need to decide if the risks are worth the potential benefits. For me they are, every year I dread spring and summer and will dread it even more if the FDA pulls this drug.

I have been on Topamax for about two years for migraines, and was very pleased that after the first month or two, most of the noticeable side effects (dizziness, flat-tasting soda, etc.) disappeared, and the Topamax has been very effective in cutting my migraines in half. However, I've recently begun to question whether other health problems I've been experiencing are actually Topamax side effects and I just didn't realize it.

The first is intermittent stomach troubles that have been ongoing for the last year. Starting last January, I started experiencing diarrhea, stomach pain, and other persistent gastrointestinal problems, and through online research, I decided that it was probably either a spastic colon or Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I lost 15-20 lbs. in the spring and summer, but the problems would always recede before I took them to my doctor, then resurface just long enough to irritate me before disappearing again. It never occurred to me until recently that these could be Topamax side effects.

The other possible side effect that I assumed was an unrelated problem is interruptions to my sleep pattern. I have been experiencing some occasional bouts of sleep paralysis, and which researching this, read that in normal sleep patterns, one is supposed to enter REM sleep (when dreaming occurs) after about 90 minutes. I frequently enter into dream sleep in as short as a 20-30 minute nap, which does not seem to be normal. Again, researching this, the only two explanations that came up were narcolepsy, which I obviously do not have, and that my normal sleep patterns are being interrupted "by medication." So I'm back to wondering if it's the Topamax. Has anyone experienced similar sleep symptoms?

No side effects here - my 5 year old has been on Singulair since he was 2 1/2 and has showed no strange symptoms outside of those of a normal 5 year old boy. He has asthma and severe allergies - including a nut/peanut allergy. He also takes Zyrtec in the Spring and Summer seasons (heavy allergy time for him). Gets good grades in Kindergarten and has never had emotional/behavioral issues at school or at home. I am shocked to hear that people are having these extreme reactions! Although, it seems that there are always going to be reactions to ANY drug out there - go to any of the boards on any drug and you will find people with extreme reactions. Singulair has saved my sons lungs, and possibly his life.

I have been suffering from almost consistent sinus infections since moving to the Virginia area. I never had one before moving to this new climate, where I have been told there a more mold spores and other allergens in the spring and summer. Having no doctor here I went to a walk in clinic for some relief. I was prescribes a 10 day course of Levaquin. The course ended three days ago, and the sinus irritation is still present, now it is more like sinus pain.

Although the yellow and green mucus cleared up, I still have the sinusitis it seems AND side effects from the Levaquin including light-headedness, blurry vision, heaviness in my legs and stiffness in my joints/hands. I also for the past few night have not been able to sleep, waking up every few hours with nervousness or anxiety for no reason. I am only 39 and otherwise was healthy. I am taking vitamins, drinking alot of water and taking cod liver oil now hoping these symptoms will go away.