February 10th
2009
12:07 PM
Wow! I must be the latest in a long line of Lipitor users and apparently pain sufferers. I have been on Lipitor for over a year. I am 56 years old, active and healthy (thank God). Around November 2008, I noticed a "twinge" in my left hip while sleeping. This has gotten progressively worse over the months and I thought it was due to arthritis (which runs in my family). But after reading these blogs, I am not so sure. If anyone has anything definitive regarding this, ie: tests, studies, etc., I would really appreciate a point in the right direction for more information. I was thinking (until today) that I was headed for hip surgery or something equally drastic. Now that I have a clue that it may be the Lipitor, I want to investigate further and then, if necessary, change to another medication that won't break me down like this. My heart goes out to anyone that has suffered through hip pain. It is a miserable, painful condition that saps your energy and your desire to even move sometimes. I appreciate any help you can offer. God bless all of you. - L. B. ******
-- By rednael | Reply | (8) replies | Private Message me
February 9th
2009
1:17 PM
I was diagnosed with SLE (lupus) when I was 14, I'm 21 now, and I've had to be on prednisone all this while. The dosages alternate between 60mg (the highest) and 2.5mg (the lowest), I just went for a routine check up today and found out that my protein level in my urine is at an all time high. So the doctor is pushing me back up to 30mg of prednisone. Its 2 am, and I am sitting in bed crying because I don't want to have to go through everything again; the weight gain, the moon-face, everything. I know I may sound shallow, because ultimately, the medicine is keeping me alive, but the side effects are terrible. Very few people understand that its not fat that you're gaining, and the remarks that I know I am going to get are enough to drive me insane.Is there anyway the water retention or the weight gain can be stopped or decreased?
-- By tiffanyt | Reply | (5) replies | Private Message me
October 29th
2008
6:22 AM
My son 35yrs old was given Prednisone for an allergic reaction. He has a history of Bi-polar disorder. His family doctor prescribed this. He went into total psychosis , destroyed his own home, and is now sitting in jail on charges of Criminal Mischief.....When is someone going to put a black box warning on this drug?
-- By soninjail | Reply | (3) replies | Private Message me
October 28th
2008
5:57 PM
On 7-15-08 I had a total abdominal hysterectomy and was given Levaquin thru IV while I was in the hospital.3 weeks to the day later I had a abscess next to my bowel that had to be removed and again was given Levaquin thru IV while I was in the hospital,both times I got very sick right after I was given Levaquin and when I was discharged on the 2nd.trip I was sent home with Levaquin 500mg pills.After taking 2 of the Levaquin pills I again was so sick and could not keep anything down so I called my DR.and explained to him what was going on and I was told I had to keep taking the Levaquin.After a few more days had passed I went into the office to see the DR.and again told him how sick I was and that I was unable to go to sleep,again I was told to continue the Levaquin and that my hormones were out of balance and that was why I was unable to go to sleep.On 9-2-08 I finally went back to work after being off for 7 weeks. I still was suffering from insomnia and was only getting 2-3 hours of sleep a night but was feeling better.On 9-30-08 I had a follow up with my primary care DR.my blood pressure was 211/160 and my pulse was 177 and also had a bad cough with wheezing and was sent straight to the ER.I was admitted and for the next 6 days was given Levaquin thru IV and the more I got the sicker I was to a point I thought I was dying.I ended up with a rash all over my face and finally on day 7 a Lung DR.came into the room and took one look at me and said "oh my god,we have to take you off of that antibiotic")
I was sent home on day 8 and after being home for 3 days all of the Tendons in both legs,ankles,arms,hands and right shoulder were inflamed to a point where the DR.was afraid that they were going to rapture so I was on complete bed rest for 3 weeks.I am now suffering from both ankles swelled and ache all the time along with all of the minerals in my body have completely bottomed out along with the calcium and potassium and also now I have several inflammatory markers in my blood and have to go see a Rheumatology & Arthritis DR.My lungs have also been damaged from Levaquin and I am now using 3 different inhalers and I have never had a breathing problem previous to this.Now for those who have commented that we should have researched the drug before taking the meds in my case I was unable to do so being as though I was given it in the hospital ! I still have no idea how much damage I will be left with and what will be permanent.I will post again when I find out more on the damage that this drug has done to my 44 year old body.
September 4th
2008
12:06 PM
My daughter began taking Singulair in 2003 for asthma and allergies. I slowly watched her deteriorate from a lively, intelligent, and outgoing young woman to a depressed, withdrawn and self-mutilating person who said that she hated herself and everybody else in the world. She was an athlete, a straight A student who had received an academic scholarship to college, she was fluent in German and had been teaching herself Japanese, and she was a staunch supporter for equal rights for children with disabilities and gay and Lesbian teens. On February 3rd, 2007 my daughter hung herself after working at the local community center. I no longer recognized who she had become. I have a degree in psychology, my father is a retired police officer, and my mother is a retired R.N. We were all trained to recognize the symptoms of depression and suicidal thinking, but we were never able to connect it to the medication that she was taking.We must all ban together to prevent other people from suffering the way that our loved ones have! Educate everyone that you know about what Singulair can do to you. They are still prescribing this drug to people without any notification of what the side effects are.
-- By sarahsmom | Reply | (6) replies | Private Message me
July 23th
2008
12:14 PM
on may 31 i wrote the symptoms my mother had from 4 doses of levaquin over a 4 day period.....on june 2nd she died from levaquin induced myosistis
it was a horrible ordeal and i hope this website saves a life. luanne
June 30th
2008
8:52 PM
My wife started taking Reglan last year one week before she committed suicide at the age of 57. She had never been diagnosed in her life as depressed, but obviously she was at the end. Two years previous she had a hysterectomy as part of treatment for uterin cancer. Five months previous to her suicide she got sick and after many weeks was diagnosed with acid reflux. She was given Nexium for this, but continued to suffer from the reflux. I believe somewhere in this time she became depressed though she continued to deny it right up to the day she took her own life. I really do not know if the Reglan or the Nexium was behind her suicide, but I believe it is quite possible. I should be mad as hell about this, but for now I just can not get beyond the grief. I am putting this out here just to say you may want to be very careful with Reglan!!!
-- By bobbycurtin | Reply | (2) replies | Private Message me
June 15th
2008
11:12 PM
I was taking it for two days. I was trying to change the channel, but I couldn't. I looked down and screamed because my hands were literally coming at me. They were crippling inward and so were my feet. My abdomen became severely painful. I couldn't stop vomiting and started vomiting bile. I was rushed to the hospital, they placed me in the 'security' emergency private room and strapped me down because they said I was out of my head. My whole body was yellow (jaundice). The doctor told me while the nurses tried to stick ivs in me that my digestive system has failed and your liver is failing. He told the nurse to stand by my bed period to keep me awake. I remember him shaking my face telling me 'johanna you have to stay awake, if you don't, you are not waking up. you have to stay away.' I was released later on. I had to eat liquid foods for two weeks, then baby foods for two more, then I slowly had to eat mushy to solid foods. The doctor said I had to reintroduce my body just like a baby due to the failure. That was my experience and if that nurse didn't keep me awake I would not be here right now.
-- By stormieej | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me
June 10th
2008
5:55 PM
PRAISE GOD for all of the stories shared on this site. And I've only read page one. My husband called me back today to say that he "googled" Singulair and found some interesting things (to say the least). While we were on the phone, my three-year-old was in the throes of another meltdown, kicking me, hitting me, throwing whatever he could get his hands on. My older two boys, 8 and 12, were ordered, once again, to lock themselves in their rooms to avoid being hurt by him. He will throw stuff, bite, hit, kick, and, at times, spit on us. This disturbing behavior is rather constant lately. He is like a mad man. Very scary.
Caleb has been on Singulair since about age 1, when he was diagnosed with chronic sinusitis and allergic rhinitis. Unfortunately, we initially equated his rages with the onset of "terrible two's" and dismissed his behavior to a chorus of "oh, he's just a boy!" My husband felt, at times, that I was just not disciplining him properly. I intuitively knew, having raised two other boys, that this behavior was abnormal, even for severe tantrums. We received a variety of suggestions from his pediatrician, caregivers, and grandparents, all to no avail. We have several calm days but things always deteriorate back to insanity. He is VERY unpredictable.
Last Thanksgiving, Caleb (age 3) was kicked out of his daycare setting for biting and hitting. Once I witnessed him run as fast as he could into a group of playing children, falling on them, kicking them. He would walk up to sweet little girls half his size and push them down as hard as he could. It was a nightmare. My husband had to take 3 weeks of leave to stay home with him while we prayed and searched for new care. We had him evaluated and he was staffed into the "developmentally delayed" program in our school district (for poor adaptive skills and personal/social behaviors). We recently had his tonsils removed, hoping that some of the sinusitis symptoms and behaviors would improve. They really haven't. This past week we have been looking into the Feingold diet. We have been PRAYING for answers. The last time we spoke with his developmental neurologist, he recommended a trial of Risperdol (sp?). We feel like more meds would be like a band-aid, not a solution. But his rage is becoming unbearable.
So, that brings us to today. I was so moved by your accounts. Unlike so many of you, we don't have much of a "before" to go by. But his "after" sounds VERY much like what you have all described. It's probably the pure rage that I see on his face that is the scariest part. And at the same time he seems desperate and vulnerable. He truly seems to snap. If we had pool chairs, I can just picture him throwing them (citing another post :).
We are going to throw the Singulair away. He will never, ever have it again. Even if this isn't the cause of his problems, I certainly don't want to exacerbate any behaviors with this toxic medicine. I will post again just to let anyone who's interested know if this changes his behavior. I am praying that my entry will help someone else, just as all the other postings have helped me. I have renewed hope.
I have copied many of your comments to a Word document. I will be sharing it with a high ranking officer at the medical clinic/hospital on Keesler Air Force Base. I hope that he will discuss this with his staff and that perhaps we can at least make a difference here. I, too, will be filing a report with the FDA. I can only pray that this medicine has not permanently altered his developing brain.
-- By calebsmom | Reply | (4) replies | Private Message me
April 4th
2008
6:17 AM
7 days off singulair. What to say ,the days just keep getting better the smiles the hugs the happiness is just undeniable.I dont really have a specific moment but it is a knowing, a knowing that probaly only a mother knows.I look in his eyes and he is looking back at me.He has been absent for so long in a dark scarry place that nobody should ever have to visit.Falling asleep is still not coming easy,but when he is asleep i see a peace on his face that has been missing for so long,the last 2 mornings he has awoken by himself,i cant remember the last time i didnt have to wake him and wake him several times before he got up.I feel this is a new beginning, a rebirth so to say.difficult times may lie ahead ,but considering were we have come from,i feel sure it will be a cakewalk.My best thoughts and prayers to all of us.times they are a changing .Good luck Goc Bless
-- By flindy | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me
March 30th
2008
3:33 PM
My son started Singulair in the 7th grade and his personality changed but I never attributed it an asthma medication. He was on it and off of it for the next five years. On it again last year, he committed suicide on October 2nd, 2007. I consider his suicide a "side effect."
-- By kate60 | Reply | (4) replies | Private Message me
March 27th
2008
7:17 PM
My beautiful 11 year old daughter was on Adderall XR 20 mg per day for 4 years. After about 2 years she started to develop some minor facial tics. After 3 years the facial tics were worse along with severe head shaking and she also started to develop trichotillomania (obsessive compulsive hair pulling). The hair pulling continued until she was almost bald. Her grades began to drop and she withdrew herself from her friends and family. Finally, we took her off the medication in October 2007 at age 12 and she immediately stopped the tics and hair pulling. We have found 3 other families whose daughters have developed these same symptoms after being on this medication for at least 2 years. We have filed a report with the FDA as our own doctor had no idea that this medication was causing the hair pulling. Now 5 months later her hair is growing and the tics are approximately 97% gone. We have taken her to a homeopathic doctor and she is doing absolutely great now. Marks have gone up and she is smiling and socializing. I am so happy we have our daughter back. The side effects of this drug was definitely not work it.
-- By rhondap | Reply | (10) replies | Private Message me
February 29th
2008
8:42 PM
Wow. Thank god for this Bulletin! I was diagnosed with hypertension at age 28
and tried a variety of drugs with no control over the BP. So, about 2 1/2 - 3 years ago, I was prescribed 100MG of Toprol XL which seemed to control it well, but with debilitating long term illness. I had no idea until today that Toprol XL was causing similar grief to others. The horrible symptoms that I have been experiencing now for several years are Extreme Chronic Fatigue, Profuse Cold Clammy Sweating, Dizzy spells, weight gain, seeing specs of light and thousands of eye floaters, severe depression, muscle aches, headaches.
After reading about others with similar side effects, I am confident that it's from this medication. I have had all kinds of testing done including T3 & T4 Throid levels and a full array of blood work with NO LUCK! Regardless of the consequences, I am going to quit this damn medicine today because it appears to take 5 weeks or so to get it out of the body to notice a difference. I am so desperate for change. It is ruining my life because I can
't wake up, I'm always tired even though I get 10-14 hours of sleep. My wife and kids are bummed because I have no energy to do anything, EVER!
If you have any other suggestions or would like to comment about this.
Sincerely,
Sean
-- By seand777 | Reply | (6) replies | Private Message me
October 6th
2007
4:52 PM
My little boy who is now 4 has been off the Reglan for two years. I really thought my husband and I were doing the right thing by putting him on the Reglan at 8 months because he was vomitting blood. The gastric doctor said he had to be on it plus prevacid .Well I WISH WE HAD KNOWN THE SIDE EFFECTS. Now my son is in the process of going to a Neurologist next week because they think he might have Tardive Dyskinesia . He has the symptoms of it on and off for a year now and the doctors have said it is from stress not possible because all of the stress therapist we have taken him to say he is not stressed. I would like to say one thing do not put your child on this drug because it could be the biggest mistake of your life . This is a disease that can not be curred.
-- By eg48 | Reply | (3) replies | Private Message me
May 10th
2007
7:40 AM
I have only been on it for 8 days, but it has been wonderful for me. I suffer from nearly daily migraines. My migraines are brought on by strong smells like smoke, or perfume. The first day I was on Singulair, I went on a field trip to a farming community with my daughter. This is usually enough to have me in bed with an aching headache for a week, but instead I got a mild migraine late that afternoon. My imitrex knocked it right out. The next day, I cleaned house all day, no headache even with cleaning chemicals. Now 8 days later, I haven't had to take any migraine medicine at all. Three nights this week, my neighbor has burnt grass (a major trigger for me) and still no headache. I may get side effects later, but for now, this has been a godsend to me. It has my allergies under control and I can now go out to dinner without fear of smelling smoke, or too much perfume. I can work in my yard again.
If you are having side effects, try something else. I have had terrible side effects from medicines before so I know they do exist. I wish you luck in finding the one that works for you.
July 1th
2006
7:12 AM
I too have been affected by this so called medicine, I feel like I am being used as a quinea pig. The second day after taking it (for a kidney infection) I felt like I had some strange flu because of the aches and pains. I felt as I continued to take Levaquin like I was getting worse and I feared something was really wrong with me. I started to suspect it was the Levaquin so I mentioned it to my chiropractor and he looked it up and he told me the side affects and told me to immediately stop taking it and call my primary doctor. After my chiropractor adjusted me I felt a little better so maybe that can help some of you.
Next, I tried to call my doctor and did not get a call back, that was odd to me. Doctors are supposed to help us not use us for testing. I am swollen and I have aches,itching,electric shock sensations, & I feel out of it. Who knows what tommorrow will bring. My advice is drink a ton of water to flush it out of your system and take lots of vitamin C.
I hope all of you begin to feel yourselves soon. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of you. May the Lord bless us that we may be able to endure this and that we can find help for us & others.
November 7th
2004
3:48 PM
I'm so glad I found this site. Was put on tapering Prednisone dose for sinus infection. Wasn't much, starting out with 24 mg, then 20 mg, 16 mg, 12 mg, 8 mg, lastly 4 mg then stop. Oh my goodness!! The first 3 days I thought I was literally going to die of something! I felt so anxious, almost panicky. I couldn't sleep at night-really irritating with 2 little kids waking you up when you do fall asleep. I also had muscle twitching. I had a lot of heartburn, which is now subsiding with the smaller tapered doses. As a RN for 23 years, I can't tell you how many times I have given this stuff, aware of the side effects, but it really feels real when you take it yourself. There were some good things...I haven't had an allergy attack in 5 days, and I haven't breathed this well in months. The anxiety is gone. My thoughts and prayers are with all those who have to take this stuff. It is a very good drug, especially in such severe illnesses, but it is very potent. Most doctors do give careful consideration when prescribing this.
Gail ***
Overland Park Ks
Singulair (5) Levaquin (4) PredniSONE (3) Reglan (2) Adderall XR (1) Warfarin Sodium (1) Lipitor (1) Toprol-XL (1)
July 8th
2009
4:43 PM
Hi, I am a 47 year old woman and started Warfarin and Lovenox June 29th as a result of blood clots in my left leg from knee surgery. I was able to go off the Lovenox July 4th (Yay!) because my INR levels were above 2. I thought the Lovenox was the cause of the nausea I experienced, but apparently that is not the case. I keep telling the clinicians at the Anticoagulant Clinic about the nausea and their response is that they haven't heard of it as a side effect. Thank you all for posting to this website, there is some comfort in learning you are not alone with these strange side effects. I also experience dizziness and have difficulty finding words. I think I will switch from Warfarin to Coumadin to see if the side effects are less, though many of you have written about weight gain ~ yikes. For those of you bruising with Lovenox I was told if the needle is dry when it goes in there is much less bruising. And to everyone my thoughts and prayers are with you. Oh yeah, I also have nerve pain in the bottom of my left foot, the compression hose do help website is ******
-- By goawayclots | Reply | Private Message me