Stent symptoms and conditions

my 85 yr old father had a slight heart attack recently. they put in a stent and a pace maker and sent him home with a slew of prescriptions- lipitor, plavix for 4 weeks, 2 BP meds, nexium for his daily baby aspirin.
he decided to only take the baby aspirin and a licorice supplement i gave him to protect his stomach instead of the nexium.
his doctor talked him into taking plavix for 14 days but he gave up on lipitor. he knew dad would never take it.

anyway, i talked to dad tonight and he stopped taking plavix after just 9 days. he didn't like the way it made him feel. he said it made him tired. he felt great before he started taking it and he's feeling better now that he's stopped

Now it makes sense why doctors were so eager to prescribe Lipitor. Pfizer has been hit with a 2.3 billion penalty for illegal marketing promotions of 13 drugs that includes LIPITOR. They were awarding doctors free golf, massages, and resort junkets for "pushing" Lipitor, Viagra, Zoloft and 9 other drugs.

I was prescribed Simva 30mg to replace Lipex which is no longer government funded 6 weeks ago. Since taking this medication I am waking up with tingling in my elbows and fingers blurry eyesight and what really worries me and no one seems to have mentioned is low body temp 34.2 and then a reading of 34.8 now averaging around 35.2

Please is anyone out there suffering from low body temp

Reading over some of these posts and wanted to share my experience w/Lamictal. Been on it over 2 year, 400mg/day. Sever bipolar with mixed & rapid cycling episodes. Oh YEA...I have side effects too: blurred vision that comes and goes, super klutziness, confusion, hard to complete sentences sometimes (just can't find the words sometimes for the simplest sentence!), dizziness, prone to broken blood vessels under the skin when bump into something or carry loaded grocery bag over my arm, jittery, short term memory loss, feeling really stupid like my brain isn't working sometimes. BUT...I will stay on this med because it rally works for me and the above effects are and bad, just frustrating. It took me a good 5-6 months for the meds to work as they should. Be aware that it won't make things perfect, mood swings and even moderate episodes can be expected. I am pretty much in a constant state of mild/moderate mania (2 hr sleep/night, hi energy, talk to fast, mind racing,etc), which is fine for me, as it really curbed the depression (maybe only 1 day every 2 months now and its NOT a BAD downer) I have found the drug is a good "stabilizer" keeping me mostly in a normal to moderate swing...never any severe swing. If the side effects are not unbearable, stick with the med, just be patient. It sure works for me. Learn to laugh at the klutziness and stupid moments and understand its the med and you. GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!

I am a 55 year old female. I had a heart attack in July -08. I had a stent placed. Since then I have been on Plavix, Lopressor, Lisinopril and Lipitor. I have been back to the Hospital 2 times since then. The first time they found nothing. The second time I had to have another stent place because the first one didn't work. This last time they did another catheter and found nothing. I have episodes every couple days of Light headedness, heart pounding, stomach upset, confusion , really bad burping and sometimes diarrhea. I am at my wits end. I have lost 30 lbs and am weak most of the time. I was very active before all this and can't get back on my feet. When I ask about the medicines, the doctors say I don't think it's that. Someone please help!

I am asking a question on behalf of my brother. He had a stent inserted about 5 years ago due to blockage in one artery. The doctor put him on 20mg Lipitor and Plavix. Ever since then he has been getting Afib. Twice he has had to go to the hospital to get his heart back in rythm and other times he's able to get it back on his own. He has cut back to 10mg Lipitor and takes 100 mg COQ10. Has anyone else had Afib with Lipitor? He seems to think it's the stent causing it and I'm convinced it's the Lipitor. By the way, his cholesterol was not high, only his triglycerides. Thanks for any input.

Had a heart attack in July and had a stent put in blocked artery. Prior to that I was taking Cartia for blood pressure. Cardiologist switched me to Lisinopril.
I've been having severe pain in my lower back on both sides and also around my rib cage. I'm in cardiac rehab and today my nurse/therapist told me they are increasing Lisinopril from 10 mg to 20 mg. After reading posts on this site, I'm a bit concerned.

I am taking Adalat XL 60 mg. once a day.. as far as BP went was working fine.. They found I needed a stent in my heart... specialist put me on metropol 12.5... after the operation i went back to him.. BP was 80/53.. wow, no wonder I was feeling tired.. he advised me to stay on it.. NO WAY.. just my Adalat XL is working fine.. BTW.. and for the Gladys1948.. a few days after i started the metropol (lisiopril) I noticed a floater in my right eye... was disconcerting.. but is slowly leaving since stopping the drug.

Have been taking Lisinopril for approximately 6 months. Was previously taking Benicar, but insurance company strongly recommended the generic form.

Have experienced depression, eye problems, extreme leg pain, mood swings, sinus problems tightness in my chest, and severe rash and sores over my entire body.

Went to a dermatologist for the rash and sores. She took a biopsy and the report stated I was allergic to something. Had to use 4 anti-itch medications and 4 pills to be taken internally. Rash never did completely clear.

After having a nuclear stress test, my primary care physician referred me to a cardiologist. My left circumflex artery was 90% blocked, so a stent was inserted.

So I should be feeling alot better with all this being done. NO!! Have had more problems since the stent.

Am going today to the dermatologist again for the rash and sores and am taking the Lisinopril so when the biopsy is done, the lab can check to see if this is the culprit.

Also, am going to my PCP today for the leg and back pain. Am going to let him know I will not be taking Lisinopril anymore. An alternative blood pressure medicine will have to be prescribed.

Thanks for all the information. I will update my situation as soon as I know what is going on.

Please let me know if a class-action lawsuit is ever filed against this Pharm Co because I will file a suit to get this dangerous drug off the market. Yasmin/Yaz almost took my life in January 08. My OB/GYN put me on Yaz in Oct 07 for bad periods and cysts on my overies. Within a month my entire personality changed and I started losing my hair. I experienced a complete loss of sex drive, became depressed and was either constanting crying or raging at someone. However, my adult acne did clear up. On 1/27/08 I experienced extreme pain in my calf that moved up to my thigh within 48 hrs. I went to the ER and was told that no only did I a condition called DVT (Deep Vein Thrombisis-blood clot) in my leg but that the clot had broken off and moved into both of my lungs and I had bi-lateral pulmonary embolism. I can't even describe how incredibly painful this was. I was admitted into the hospital for 1 week and was put on powerful blood thinners, which I will be on for about a year. It's now been nearly 6 months since I was diagnosed and the DVT and it is still in my uppper thigh. But am grateful to be alive. If you would like to contact me I would be glad to answer any questions regarding this situation and my email addy is ****** PLEASE DO NOT TAKE YAZ OR YASMIN OR LET ANYONE IN YOUR FAMILY TAKE THIS MED, IT COULD KILL YOU.

age 72 had MI angioplasty and stent.On lipitor for 3years but recently noticed increase in muscle and joint pains and then lightheadedness and walking unsteady and tending to go slightly from side to side.Also a tendency to have nasal congestion.I am an MD and will stop the statin and assess the progress.

I am a 55 year old male. I have been on 40mg of Lipitor for 2 years after having a stent put into my heart. About 6 years ago I was on 20mg ov Lescol for a year but I stopped taking it because my knees became very weak and I could not walk up stairs without holding on. I am now experiencing severe lower back pain down into my left buttock, leg muscle and knee weakness, and I also have mild depression or a lack of motivation may be a better term. I am going to stop taking the statins and see if I have any improvement. Several years ago, when I stopped taking Lescol, my knee weakness and pain did not improve. Through research on the internet I discovered that some symptoms do not improve by stopping the medication. My goal now is to ensure it does not get any worse.

Ever since I have been taking Coreg CR I feel tired and have less energy. I also will on occasion have shortness of breath going up stairs etc. I did not have these symptoms before so I feel worse. I am diabetic and recently had l stent placed in one artery that was 70 % blocked. Does this sound usual?
Mary Lou

I quit Lipitor (40mg) five weeks ago. I believe I was on a trajectory to disabilty within a year.
The unbelievable left elbow pain has gone (maybe the cortisone worked!). My left knee feels "normal" again, not perfect but nearly like it used to be. Within a couple of days of quitting I had severe pain in my right thumb along the bone, then in the middle of my right hand, then between the first and second fingers in my right hand. I currently have minor pain in my right wrist (this is new) on the pinkie side and minor pain in my left shoulder where the arm joins (this has been intermittent for a couple of months). I am feeling much better - but would not be at all surprised if pain appears in another part of my body before this is all history! There is also plenty of joint clicking going on.
I believe I first reported pain to the assistant doctor to the heart surgeon two weeks after I had the stent put in and was put on Lipitor. I was also on various other medications. I had tingling on the ends of my fingers and toes at random - hard to describe but it was as if a fairly sharp object (like a ball point pen, say) was being pressed progressively harder from the end of the finger/toe and towards the rest of that finger/toe: and as the pressure increased it would suddenly become painful. It was not a tingling/numb sensation but more a tingling which increased sufficiently that it hurt.
I am only being so specific because when I described these "symptoms" the doctor shrugged. If anyone has had similar - and I have seen tingling mentioned here - please make contact with me as I do want to report my experience back into the medical community but find, an exact description difficult. Things never needed to have got so bad if this was the first warning.
I since asked my family doctor if my knee problem was Lipitor related and she thought not: I was referred to Physical Therapy. I also told the physical therapists (who thought my knee should recover much sooner, and were surprised that I had zero mobility pain) that I also had serious elbow pain.
The orthopedic surgeon I saw did not connect the elbow problem to Lipitor.
The heart surgeon (stent insert) could perhaps be the only person who I did not tell of the pains - I don't remember - but I may be so grateful to be alive - that he may be someone to whom I did not voice a complaint!
On the positive - five weeks later I am feeling significantly better.

I had a mild heart attack 14 months ago (aged 56). A stent was inserted in an artery. I was put on four medications (Lipitor was at 40mg) so what caused what is up for grabs.
Friends told me I was slurring my words - which I experienced as an inability to find words and hence I could not talk at talking speed. The Metoprolol was reduced and I also started taking Co Q 10 as I had read that Lipitor reduces both cholesterol and Co Q10. The slurring reduced. I also had sudden pains as if a sharp object was being pressed hard on the ends of my fingers and toes at random. The doctor shrugged.
Since my heart attack my memory has been poor and I have been noticeably clumsy.
About 6 months ago I started to get left knee discomfort - I can relate this to water on the knee from an impact at age 11. It hardly ever caused a problem since. I went to Physical therapy and had ultra sound and it seemed to take ridiculously long to improve. And at that time I was becoming increasingly aware of a "bruise" to my left elbow (I am left handed). I felt like a complainer! I had bruised my left elbow but could it hurt 3 months later. I had an X-Ray and the elbow was fine. I was getting similar sensations on the other side of my body (knee and elbow) but at like 10% of the intensity so I dismissed it as nonsensical.
Then I awoke at 3.00 a.m. one night with incredible pain in my lower left arm.
The orthopedic surgeon I saw said I had tennis elbow and I got a cortisone injection. I was beginning to feel as if my body was decaying and getting torn internally.
I then read a blog and a disability insurance assessor said she always asks if people who have been diagnosed with tennis elbow are taking Lipitor. Ping!
I quit Lipitor. Two nights later I had unbelievable cramps in my lower left leg. I have had the pins in the end of the fingers and toes again and the inability to find words appears momentarily.
But I have far more energy. My biggest surprise is that I am breathing more deeply. Spontaneously I am taking really deep breaths. I started at the gym within a week of quitting. However I am being careful. I will take a cholesterol test in a month, and have gone almost dairy free, and am vegetarian every other day and will continue with CoQ10

I've had a heart attack at age 46 (2000) and had two stents put in. I have been on various cholesterol medicines. If my cholesterol went down my triglycerides went up, leg pains were horrible. In 2004 the Dr did another angioplasty my arteries looked clear. In 2007 I started having chest pains and went in for another angioplasty, I had two 90% blocked arteries and One 70%. I have been taking Vytorin for over two years, I started with 10/20, I had moderate cholesterol and a little high in triglycerides, and a little high in my liver enzymes. My doctor increased me to 10/40 since the angioplasty, yes everything dropped in to normal ranges except my liver enzymes which have now doubled.I have had very strange eye attacks, it is like my eyes go numb, anxiety attacks, depression, horrible lower back ache by my hips, shoulder pain coming on lately. The good thing is that this comes and goes, it is not constant, but when it hits it is bad. One thing I think I have been an example for, is Vytorin doesn't work any better than anything else, because if it did I wouldn't have had 2 more blocked arteries,
Now I am concerned about the 3rd one he did not put a stent in it and upped my dosage hoping it would keep it from clogging. I fear I am doomed...

I am 56 year old New Zealander, had stent inserted 1 year ago.
Was first put on Lipex, after 6 months on that would have welcomed departure. Came off it voluntarily and problems went away.
NZ is too mean to provide Lipitor with out a fight, so after much cajoling my doctor finally got permission to provide me with it.

At first it was fine, but slowly the same symptoms as with Lipex returned.
I have every single symptom I have read about here.
Joint pain, short term memory loss, nausea, swollen ankles and by association I am getting pretty depressed.

I had to come off beta blockers for similar reasons.

Finally this week I have developed kidney pain and have decided that that is it.
Lipids are out for the duration, I am told that half an onion a day will reduce your cholesterol naturally, so that is where I am going.

Thank you all for providing me with proof that these drugs do not work for all of us.

Have been on some form of statins since 2000 when I had a heart attack, Baycol until they recalled it then Zocor. Have had three stents since 2000, one in 2005 and one in 2006, a year apart all most to the day. Things got really bad after the last stent, was put on 40 mg. Then the Dr. was not happy with the cholesterol test after the 6 week checkup after the last stent, put me on 80mg, thats when things really went down hill , fatigue,eyes twitching,foot pain,joint pain, finally ended up in the e.r. with sever lower back pain. After morphine and muscle relaxer was sent home, when entering our house right leg gave out and fell, since then legs have been weak and can't stand to be on them for long periods of time. Have been recently told I have polyneuropathy. The Dr. don't think the statins have anything to do with all these ailments.Have since stopped using the statins and most ailments have been gradually getting better. I am getting to understand why they call it a wonder drug so many unexplainable side effects so many more $$$$.

You don't know how good some of your posts make me feel. I was placed on Lisinopril after having a stent put in. I am 45 year old male who smoked a lot before and cholesterol at 280. I was about 35 pounds overweight not that bad except for the other 2 factors. My heart races now without any reason, dry cough at times, and chess pain also with no reason. Guess what sports fans??? I have never had high blood pressure. Why are these MD's prescribing this poison??! They will swear up and down, "by taking this med it will reduce your chances of having a heart attack or stroke." This a bunch a hogwash. It is causing problems!

I've been on Diovan for about 9 months and I have all of the side effects everyone else here has mentioned! Weight gain, bloating, fatigue, mood swings, extreme muscle aches- especially in my lower back and legs, hunger, and more! These Drs. are sooo stupid!!!! They tell us to lose weight and then give all of us medications that cause weight gain. I am also diabetic and my Dr. also has me take Humalog insulin- which also causes weight gain! I would enjoy hearing from everyone who has had side effects from Diovan, and I would like to hear about alternative remedies for hypertension. Good luck and Best Wishes to all of you....Kim Q.

WOW!! I can't tell you how glad I am to have found this site and learned about all the side effects from lisinopril. I've been on lisinopril since about January of this year...12.5 mg. Been back to see the doc 3X since i've been on it. I complained about chest pain and coughing. I've had EKG done on me 3X (including the one done recently when I checked my self in at the ER at 2:30am) also did the treadmill stress test. I've also been referred to and did see a pulmonary specialist where they checked my lung capacity/function due to the shortness of breath. I've been friggin joggin' 7 days a week for 3 months (used to do 3X/wk) to combat the fatigue, shortness of breath, tickly & scratchy throat causing me to cough to try to clear it, tingly arms and legs, chest pain (kinda like pressure or cramping, real discomfort)...and yes, i feel like my days are numbered. It's been such a life altering experience. I'm stopping lisinopril starting today. I hope the chest pain will get better. Will post again in a few days and let you all know how I feel. Thank you all again for taking the time to post your experiences. God bless!

I have beenon lipitor for more than five years. I now have unbearable pains in my shoulders which are only relieved with antiinflammatories. I also have pains in my right foot which is sometimes very difficult to walk on. My Dr says ok go off lipitor but risk heart attack/stroke. I am getting to the point that the pain is so debilitating that Idon't care.

I have been taking levaquin for 4 days, after not having any sleep, severe hot/cold feelings, almost like being rubbed down with Icy Hot, shivering but sweating, leg cramps, metallic taste in mouth. Went to the Dr. and was told I was healing fine, (had 5 treatments to bust up a kidney stone with a stent inserted) and that he was at a loss for why I was feeling so bad. He made me feel aweful as though my sypmtoms were in my head. I am glad I found this forum, what a relief of mind!

All you are Hypochondriacs. If one person says this medicine is causing this, then of course; you all have the same problem "some how." Isn't this weird? It is called the "placebo effect." Normally all the people involved in the testing are given "Lisinopril" (or some other drug), then the placebo group is given a vitamin supplement, the group receving the vitamin supplement is being told they are receving "Lisinopril." Mysteriously?, the "placebo group" is all feeling better and their symptoms are gone. This is due to the fact that all these people in the "placebo group" have interacted with eachother and have told eachother "I feel better" than of course everybody feels better. So WEIRD!! So, my point is this forum is all your peoples "placebo group." If you guys never heard of these side effects from this forum you would have never experinced them. Hypochondriacs all of you are. This is a very good medicine that is helping all of you make up for your peoples lack of self-disipline to control your diet or exercise enough to lower your blood pressure naturally. So be thankful. Lets not complain about false side effects because John has them. I wonder what the side-effects of that cheese burger are that caused high blood pressure. It is funny, I don't see a forum for that. So deal with your so called "side-effects" that are associsted with "Lisinopril" or go on a diet people. Get over it!!

This may be long, but please bare with me. My mother married and moved away 14 years ago. Before that she had one bypass surgery, and then shortly after marrying another. Sometime in the late 90s she was put on the drug Lipitor. She told me at that time that the new medicine was effecting her memory. My response was stop taking it! Due to the long distance apart and caring for my family I forgot about it. She began experiencing more memory loss and cognitive deficits and we were led to believe it was the beginning of Alzheimer's. Then in 2001 I read an article by Dr. Duane Graveline M.D. who said that Lipitor causes memory loss and other symptoms. I became alarmed and called to talk to my step sister who was helping my Mom and her Dad though living apart, and who was seeing that my Mom took her medicines. She informed me that a new cardiologist my mom had seen recently then had taken her off the Lipitor because of studies done that he was aware of, so I was relieved, but her brain deficits worsened gradually. Now she is living with me (and her husband) and she has worsened so that she cannot function without guidance and directions in everything. I oversee her medicine now and have discovered she is on Metoprolol though she has not had a history of high blood pressure. She must have been put on this shortly after being taken off the Lipitor but by another doctor who put a stent in. Some possible side effects are in essence dementia symptoms and I am convinced that my Mom's Alheimer's/dementia is drug induced. I am very upset about this and hope to convince my doctor who will be her attending physician that this is a real possibility and that it may be reversed if she is weaned off this drug. I will keep you posted.