Strands symptoms and conditions

In 2007 I was diagnosed with HBP and enlarged prostate at the same time. I was working and had medical coverage with my PCP at Nova Southeastern University. The doctors there are very good. They put me on Terazosin for both. I quickly developed severe rash, hives, swollen face, neck, throat, etc and had to go to emergency. They took me off Terazosin and gave me Flomax for the prostate and Lisinopril for the BP. The Flomax works fine-noside effects that I can tell except decreased semen production. I am a 58 year old male. But I quickly developed a cough and the took me off Losinopril right away and put me on Diovan, which worked great with no discernible side effects. Then I lost my job and had to go to the VA for my medical in January of 2009. Because my medical history included my emergency visit for a severe anaphylactic reaction to Terazosin, they allowed me to stay on Flomax. But I had no such record for the cough caused by Lisinopril. So they insisted that Diovan was too expensive and I had to try Lisinopril. Despite my complaining about the previous experience they insisted. I was given a little pink pill which did cause me to develop a minor cough. But being a good soldier, I decided to live with it. Then in August I noticed that my refill no longer had a pink pill but a larger yellow pill. And that was when the problems started. I first felt like food particles were stuck in my throat and nothing could get them out. That feeling would eventually disappear on its own only to later return. I visited the emergency room several times with severe flu like symptoms, including a severe cough. I also discovered a yellow film covering the back of my throat. And my tongue had a thick yellow coating on it that went all the way to the back. In some places this had strands that extended above the back of my tongue for about a half inch. In addition there were bumps on the top of the back of my tongue. This stuff could not be scraped off. The emergency doctors would examine my mouth and throat, tell me nothing was wrong and refuse to take a throat culture. They scheduled an appointment with ear, nose and throat and then canceled it. Eventually they scheduled a CT scan, which showed nothing abnormal. Finally my PCP examined me and said I had a severe allergic reaction to Lisinopril. So a week ago she took me off Lisinopril and put me on Amlodipine. I'm actively researching the side effects of that and will get off if I see anything I don't like. But my goal now is to find natural substances to treat both the enlarged prostate and the HBP. The yellow coating on my throat is beginning to disappear. Still no difference with the yellow coating on my throat. I believe I have seen slight improvement in the cough, but not nearly enough for my liking. I worry whether I will ever be able to get rid of it. I do have more energy now. Any idea how long it will take to get rid of this cough?

I started the generic form of wellbutrin at the end of June. I went to the hairdresser a few weeks ago and she said I was shedding a lot of hair. I did not think much of it until a week ago when I noticed strands upon strands falling out. Then I googled hair loss and wellbutrin and came across this site. I stopped taking it two days ago and I am praying my hair stops falling out. I am a 31 year old female who always had thick hair and now have bald patches on my scalp. I went to the store and got biotin, hopefully it works.

Im a male 48 yrs old and took generic wellbutrin (bupropion HCL XL) at 300mg a day for 3 months.

I had thin and receding hair before treatment but hair loss on the top of my head after taking this has been dramatic. My hair went from thin on the top to the point where I could see 3/4 of my scalp on top. I now notice running my hand through my hair will pull one or two strands per pass.

I went on a strict weight loss program and dropped 30 lbs and wondered if that was the cause. In any event I developed ringing in the ears tinnitus so I have just discontinued taking bupropion. Too bad as it had been a great help with depression and ADD.

I tapered from 300 mg to 150 mg a day for one week and am now off it completely for 2 days - worlds easier than going off Effexor (horrible withdrawal).

My doctor recommended 5mg Biotin (Vit. B) to help with the hair loss. Like the rest of you I am left wondering if my poor hair will come back. I have always looked young for my age but no longer. I have grown a beard to keep my face from taking over but I do miss the hair on the top of my head.

I got off Mirena almost 2 months ago due to MASSIVE hair loss. It started when I started Mirena, but never stopped after I had the Mirena removed. Does anyone know how long it takes to stop hairloss? I am still losing in excess of 200 strands a day. Yes, I have begun counting.

Everyone should note which brand they are using: Wellbutrin brand name, Budeprion, or Bupropion. I recently started taking Budeprion and about 3 weeks into it, my hair started falling out; every morning after my shower, about 10 strands are in my hand. However, I have taken BUPROPION on 2 occasions over the past 10 years, and I NEVER had any side effects and definitely no hair loss. Walgreens decided to fill my Wellbutrin prescription with Budeprion because that's what they carry. I had to ask them to order BUPROPION from their warehouse (Same dosage, Same price). I am convinced that the hair loss I'm experiencing is from this other generic branch, Budeprion. So you all may want to try a different generic and see what happens. With Budeprion, I have also been having horrible headaches all day; which I don't remember experiencing with the BUPROPION. At any rate, this message board has been a relief and a big help on this issue (I bought some Biotin yesterday to try to regrow some of the hair I've lost over the past 2 weeks).

I had Mirena inserted in February 2009. Since that time I've had mild weight gain and acne. These were fairly tolerable, however, in the past 2 months I have had hair loss (I pull out 10 or more strands every time I run my fingers through my hair). I've scheduled an appt. to have it removed.

Please be sure to report the side effects of this drug at:
1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch

I'm 28, and I had my mirena inserted back in May, 2007. The initial insertion was uncomfortable, and I experienced pain and nausea for a few weeks afterwards, but those symptoms eventually went away. I was relatively happy with my mirena for the first year, despite the fact that I was extremely moody and had no desire to have sex (I was taking more than the recommended course load at university, so not wanting to have anything to do with anyone meant that I had more time for study - my marks certainly didn't suffer!). During the second year, however, things started to change. I found that my skin became incredibly greasy. I'd wake up every morning feeling like an oil slick. I started developing lots acne on my back, chest, neck and chin, and the acne on my back and chin was the cystic, painful sort that generally leaves scars. I began experiencing cramps and severe depression during the week leading up to my period, which I was still getting, even though I'd been told to expect that it would stop. Half the time I felt too big for my skin, especially around my thighs, and when this was bad it was so bad that wearing pants drove me crazy. I started getting a weird sensation in my chest every now and then, like my heart was missing a beat, sort of a tingly weird feeling, and for a second or two I couldn't draw a breath. I have no idea if that's what a panic attack feels like, or if it was some sort of hair problem. My hair, which used to be fairly thick at the back, started thinning out to the point where I started wearing clip-in hair extensions to mask things. The texture of my hair changed - instead of the occasional coarse, kinky piece in amongst the finer, smooth strands, almost all the hair growing from the crown of my head is kinky. I experienced cramps and discomfort every time I had an orgasm! My weight, which has hovered around 110-115 for my entire adult life, began climbing, despite little change in my diet and exercise routine (I'm now 125, and all that weight is around my waist and hips). This last winter I had no energy for anything, and slept ten hours every night, and napped between classes as well. In the last two months my breasts have grown more than a cup size, and feel swollen and tender to the touch.

I had my mirena removed yesterday, and I feel like it was a good decision. The removal was only slightly painful, no worse than a single bad cramp, and I've had no bleeding so far. The doctor was very sweet about it, agreeing that it just wasn't working for me. She had me count to three and then cough during the removal, a technique she said she'd come up with to make the procedure as painless as possible. I agree that it helped - coughing took my mind off my cervix = )

I held on to my IUD for so long because it cost me a lot of money, but I finally decided that the continuing decline in my self-confidence wasn't worth it. I don't know if all the changes in my body over the last two years can be chalked up to the IUD, but I'm fairly sure a lot of them can. I'll post again in a few weeks to share my experiences post-removal.

Wow... After reading some of these posts, I don't know what to do. I recently asked my gyno to prescribe bcp. I'm a regular irregular but it drives me crazy when I think it is coming and ends up being late. I've tried Ortho-Tri Cyclen and Ortho Evra (which I loved! Despite the weight gain, I didn't have to remember to take a pill every day) I've been off birth control for about 6 years now and my gyno said that due to the high risk of blood clots with Ortho Evra he didn't recommend it. He handed me a few samples of Loestrin 24fe but after reading almost all of your posts... I don't know what to think, especially because I've been experiencing almost all the same symptoms as most of without being on birth control. From the random headaches, weight gain, breast tenderness, severe cramping (like someone stabbing my lower abdomen), random spotting and even hairloss (the top of my head is clearly visible. It's so bad that I lose at least 5 strands just by running my fingers through my hair.) Part of me wants to try it out but I'm VERY scared that it will only worsen my symptoms... Help!Btw, nightmares? Really? Is that really a side effect? That's pretty nerve racking. Last thing anyone needs is to be afraid of going to bed after a long day of work...

I am trying to hold back the tears after reading all of this. Everything that is posted happened to me. I had my Mirena removed this morning after discovering that it may be the cause of my high blood pressure and weight gain. I had it inserted 6 months after my daughter was born (11/07). The doctor really promoted this method and had info posted all around the office. I chose this dr. after I had a major concern with my OB. She gave me the ring-while I was still breastfeeding!!! As a result of struggling to produce milk for my baby and knowing that I was possibly feeding with this unapproved method of BC for breastfeeding moms, I thought I was doing the right thing about choosing the Mirena with the new dr. Unfortunately, I could not find any thing on negative side effects or probably didn't look hard enough. At first, I thought that I was in heaven- no nausea or side effects like all of the other methods and I can even keep breastfeeding. Long story short, I gradually began to loose my mind!!!! I thought I needed to see a doctor for drugs ( moody, anxiety, irritable, confused, shortness of memory). Then all of my hair fell out. I have shortness of breath. I too could look in the mirror and see between the strands of my hair. And it continued to fall out and I now wear very expensive weaves and I hate it. I was loosing lots of weight and around the time my periods changed to just spotting for a day or two I gained 15 pounds. No matter what I did- close to starving myself, treadmill 5 x a week, no loss only gaining. I had cravings for sweets and I never did before. Almost everything that has been mentioned by others has happened to me. The headaches and dizziness caused me to go the doctor yesterday. She said that the Mirena works like Depro provera, (sp) aka the 3 month shot, and I used that almost 15 years ago but the doctor took me off after a year because of the weight gain. I could not believe I was using something similar. If I get back on an IUD I think I will use the one without any hormones or estrogen. Until that time, I will give my body some time to heal before our next baby, no BC for me. Please be careful with this drug and thanks to all for sharing.

I took Prednisone for about 6 weeks for Stevens-Johnson Syndrome brought on by an allergic reaction to Ciprofloxacin. My main complaint on taking it was extreme hunger--not for sweets or junk, but for real food. I was also very moody and I think I must have been really mean to my husband. At the time, I thought I was being reasonable, but looking back, I can see I wasn't. It kept me awake, as well. Without the Prednisone, I might have died, because the extreme, constant itching with the Stevens-Johnson would have driven me completely nuts. My main complaint is that almost two months after quitting taking the Prednisone, I continue to have a moon face, facial swelling, and holding water elsewhere to the extent that I can hardly tie my shoes or even breathe. I would have expected that to get better by now instead of worse.

I Just started the lupron injection 2 weeks ago. My side effects have been coming one by one immediately after i had my shot my whole right side felt sore like my arm down to my leg. two days later i felt really sleepy and kept getting headaches that would come an go through out the day.a week into it i had to leave work because i was vomiting constantly it was horrible a just felt so sea sick. i just want to know what else am i in store for? an i'd like to know how much hair loss is it going to be?

I started taking Lamictal about a year ago. When I began treatment, I immediately experienced really bad, vivid dreams. They got progressively worse and continue to this day. About 3 months after I began treatment, I began to experience severe hair loss. Several tiny clumps of hair (a hand-full of individual strands) would come out of my hair during washing, and when I combed it after showering. This has occurred every day, and continues. I've lost about 2/3 of my hair and spend more than 5 minutes each day teasing my hair in the bald spots so people can't tell, but the parts in my hair get wider every day. I can't swim in public, go dancing, or go anywhere that might lead to my hair getting sweaty and falling out of shape.

In addition, at the end of every day, I feel like I'm catching the flu. I have a fever of 100, feel achy and have the sniffles. It got so bad that I actually went to the doctor and he prescribed antibiotics for what he said was sinusitis, which is a side affect of Lamictal. I felt better for a few days, then went right back to feeling ill.

I've also experienced periods of intense anxiety and anger. Out of the blue, for absolutely no reason. Constipation is also a problem.

This is not what I signed up for. I'm talking to my doctor next week to get off this crap. There is no good alternative in this category of medication, either. They're all poison with multiple severe and sometimes life-threatening side effects. Screw that. I'd rather be slightly depressed.

I recently noticed my hair was thinning, long strands coming out in the shower, and extremely dry. I had thin hair to start with, so can't afford to lose any hair. I read all these postings where others have had hair loss from Lisinopril. I started taking it the end of August and in the past few weeks have noticed the hair loss. I put in a call to my doctor and am waiting for his return call. Lisinopril has been keeping my BP's almost perfect, but what a trade off. I'm wondering if taking extra Vitamin E or Nioxin which promotes hair growth would overpower the effects of Lisinopril. I've also felt a vibration in my left thigh that comes and goes and my thigh heats up once in a while and goes away. Anyone had that side effect?

I had my Mirena put in 1/07 and I had it removed 08/08 because my hair would not stop falling out. At first I thought that it was from just having the
baby but after 20 months it just wasn't that. The doctors tried telling me that hair loss is not a side effect from mirena but i beg to differ. My hair has stopped falling out and I am glad I had the Mirena removed before I went completely bald. Now I am taking Yaz which seems to be ok.

Was on Vytorin for 2 years & experienced no noticeable side effects during that time. It lowered my cholesterol to 179. Had a hysterectomy (complete) in Dec., 2007. In May, 2008, I began a sudden on-set of severe numbness in both hands (especially when lying down)--classic carpal tunnel symptoms and intense pain in all joints. When I move from a sitting position to stand up, I can hardly do it. This is what I thought I would feel like at maybe 80 years old--not 46 yrs. I thought maybe it was because I'm not taking hormone replacements, but my doctor said it could be the Vytorin & he took me off of it. I've been off for 2 months, but the symptoms are not improving. The carpal tunnel seems to have lightened up a bit, but the joint pain (especially hips) has not gotten any better. I wonder if it ever will????? Also experience fatigue, foot pain, & weak fingers.

I was on Cipro (daily dose 1500mg) for over a beginning June 08. I'm petite 5'2" about 98lbs.

My feet started to ache. My knee's ache so much it hurt when walking down the stairs. I lost my appetite and couldn't eat. I would wake up constantly at night. I would sleep for hours on hours but would still feel fatigue when I woke up. I would have vivid nightmares which also disturbed my sleep. I would have trouble remembering things also.

After stopping the med's sometime in July. Most of these symptoms went away. I still have problems remembering things.

Now a new symptom has occurred. My hair is falling out rapidly. Every time I run my hands through my hair around 15-20 strands come out. When I shower my hair clogs the drains. A bunch comes out when I brush it.

I'm scared and wondering if anybody else has had these issues. My doctor is referring me to a dermatologist but the next appt isn't until Sept.

I've never been on Levaquin. However I was on Cipro for over a month at 1500mg per day. I experience the sore foot, the aching knees, extreme fatigue (18+ hours a day didn't seem like enough), unable to sleep straight for 8 hours, Nightmares, unable to eat.

I've been off of Cipro for about 3+ weeks now and all of those symptoms have gone away. Just a week ago I developed a new symptom... my Hair is falling out rapidly. If I run my hands through my hair I get about 20 strands each time repeatedly. When I shower my hair clogs the drains. I just want to know if anyone has gone through the same thing as I have. I'm really scared right now... It has been a really rough last 5 months :(

I have been on Loestrin 24 for 2 years!! And I am finally getting off... and so happy to find this site! I have had to be put on Topamax because my migraines became so bad, which helped my weight gain (that I attributed to my own depression that I thought was my own fault!) I didn't even realize bc could cause depression but it all makes sense! I came on here to find out if Loestrin has been the cause of my SEVERE HAIR LOSS over the past year and a half! When I started taking it, I was also going through a stressful situation and thought that was the cause, but have now realized that my life is back to normal that something else must be causing it. I tried to get my Dr. to take me off of Loestrin about a year ago due to the EXTREME nausea, dizziness, headaches and fatigue that it was causing and he decided that I should just be put on Topamax because I was just a Migraine sufferer! What a nightmare. I can't wait to switch tomorrow!!

Hey Thx for the great posts..I am 23 yrs; got my Mirena last month on the 18th. When I last felt the strands it was way too deep...but today morning i can practically feel the strands outside......Is this normal?

I have had the Mirena for at least 3 1/2 to 4 years and I am a person that believes that everything happens for a reason. I know I came across this website because of the tremendous hairloss that I have had. Last year in 2007 all of my hair fell out in the sink, prior to that my hair had started to change drastically from thick beautiful hair to thin, fine, lifeless hair. I had breakage and shedding. I washed my hair one night and started screaming and crying to my husband because all of my hair was in the sink. It wasnt to completely skin bald but more to a mans short hair cut ALL the long strands of hair were gone. I was completely devastated and wore a wig for approximately 6 to 8 months and little by little I grew a full head of hair back, but not long, only enough to have a cute short cut. I have taken extremely good care of my hair ever since and am very careful with it. Only to find now a year later, that I am thinning and now have male pattern hairloss, the very top (crown) of my head has gotten extremely thin in an area the size of say a grapefruit, I have to take the somewhat longer parts of my hair and comb over the thinned part to hide it. Its ridiculous that Im in this situation again, but I never ever related it to Mirena, well I called for an appt. at my OB on April 4, 2008 to have this damn thing removed. I used to love it, it practically stopped my period. Recently over the past 3 months I have noticed a tremendous amount of back pain also. Unbelievable. There is no way this many women are having the same symptoms and this not be the cause.
I hope we all get the word out. It does work for some, but for so many it is heartache.
I hope we all get our youthful, thick, beautiful hair back ! WOW.

i had the mirena removed today. the doctor said that he has had a few people with the same side effects as mine and that i should see the mirena effects go away 2-3 months and totally gone by 6. he had a hard time getting the mirena out as the strands had curled under. I had some slight cramps and that was it. i am so happy to have this evil thing out of me. i hope the FDA looks into this further. Mirena should be listing more side effects than they do. i will let you know in 3 months how well this recovery went.

Hello Ladies, I am also a victim to Mirena. I am a married 30-year old women with three children and have been with my husband for 15 years. I have never felt the way that I feel today with the Mirena. Like most of you I didn't want to tie my tubes, but is very sure that I do not want anymore children. I figured I would try the Mirena for five years and then see what I want to do at that point in time. My list of symptoms are headaches, severe fatigue, bloating, cravings, acne, mood swings, dizziness, memory loss, painful intercourse, depression, nausea, vomiting, weight gain or loss (weird), thinning hair, severe backaches and cramping, pregnancy symptoms like not being able to brush my teeth without gagging and the feeling of a baby kicking inside my belly, lack of sex drive and last very little appetite for food. I thought I was going insane until I found this website. Thank you all for posting your symptoms you may have saved my marriage and my children from hating me. My mood swings are ridiculous, I mean down right MEAN for no reason. My husband and I have decided to have the Mirena removed and he will get a vasectomy. He said I have been through enough and God knows I didn't want to try anything else. So thank you all. Also for the young lady who works in the health field and has only had the Mirena for "I'm 21, relatively healthy, and never had children. I work in healthcare and see people react like this all the time-no tolerance to pain, and just wanting an excuse as to where some of their "pains" come from" discuss your issues if any after a couple of months. I hope you don't have any problems. But I know for a fact that before the Mirena I too was a healthy women who had never taken medication not even to have my three children. So I think I can handle pain very well. These symptoms are real at least for me. But good luck with you. To all the other ladies, follow your gut instinct. You are the only one who knows what your body is going through and can correct it. I will follow up once I have had the Mirena removed. Thank you all.

I've been taking Yasmin for 2 1/2 months now, and since I've started taking it, I wake up with incredible amounts of hair on my pillow, and whenever I run my fingers through my hair, I'll have 5-10 strands in my hand. On top of that (which is the worst side effect), I've been extremely depressed, I have NO energy, in the short time that I have been taking it I have gained close to 10 pounds when previously I was losing weigh very steadily, I have been experiencing what feels like growing pains in my legs, and patches of dry skin on my arms. The only nice thing about this pill for me is the completely cramp-free periods and my face clearing up, which are nice, but don't make this pill worth it for me.

I am going to be 42 in April. I had the Mirena inserted in 2005. Initially I was aware of the side effects. I did not linked all of the side effects together until coming to this site and searching for reasons for having extensive hair loss. I have experienced the back pain, the skin itching, horrible acne that looked like mountains forming on my face, night sweats, headaches, depression and nausea. I used pain medicine like crazy......Out of all of these the hair loss drove my search for answers. I made an appointment to see a dermatologists who proceeded to shoot my head with approximately 30 cortisone shots and subsequently provide me with cortisone cream to trigger hair growth. I could pull on my hair and end up with a hand full of strands. It was unreal! It has been two weeks since I have had the Mirena removed. It was not painful at all and I had very little bleeding. Just spotting. My body is now suffering from Hormone Naive. My stomach is bloated and I am craving food. I feel like I am pregnant. The good is: I am no longer suffering from the headaches, back pain, the acne is gone, hair breakage has slowed down a great deal, and my mind is clear. I can put words together that make sense. I recommend to all women to have the Mirena removed and want to thank you all for this site. I would have never put all the pieces together. It is not worth the damage to our bodies. Because of my age, being divorces and not wanting more children (I have two) I will be getting my tubes tied in the near future.

I started the NuvaRing in July and really liked the convenience of only inserting it in once a month. I would sometimes forget to take my pills and this was a good way of not worrying about forgetting my pills. Everything was fine at first,however, there were a few times where my periods were very irregular. One time I started my period 2 weeks early and it lasted 2 weeks long. My sex drive also decreased to the point where I just wasn't even thinking about sex. I thought the lack of sex drive was due to stress of planning a wedding, work, etc but I realized something was very wrong. I am only 30 years and yet I had no interest in sex. It wasn't my husband, I was just not wanting sex period. Then in Feb, I gained about 10lbs and now I can't get it off. I work out everyday religiously and eat really well and I cheat once a week and even then I watch what i eat. It's been a month and nothing gives. I did take the ring out 2 weeks ago and I don't plan on going back on it or any type of birth control. I am going to stick to the condom. This is the heaviest that I have weighed in the last 3-4 years, and the ironic thing is that I eat a lot better now than I did 3-4 years ago. Now my clothes don't fit and I feel like a cow. I also was experiencing hair loss I know losing 100 strands a day was normal but what I was losing wasn't normal. I also was getting really tired. Despite how tired I was, I still wake up at 4am mon-fri to work out. I am so frustrated, I can't wait till these hormones are out of my body completely. the last time I had this issue (not being able to get the weight off) was with Yasmin, luckily I wasn't on it for too long before I realized that brand wasn't working for me. Please let me know how long it has taken to get NuvaRing out of your system. I have been ring free for about 2 weeks and have yet to start my period, I think my body is screwed up..