Upper respiratory tract symptoms and conditions

ive been on mirena since march 2008. at first i thought this was the best birth control product out there. however for over two years i have been riddled with allergies, sinus infections, upper respiratory tract infections, tiredness, headaches, joint pains, muscle aches, gastric and bowel problems, cyst like acne, mood swings tachycardia (rapid heart rate), anxiety. at first i thought all these were related to getting older (im 29) and work related stress so i wrote it off. but being a person who has never been sick in my life to all of a sudden being sick once a month is crazy. this has been the only thing i could think of that i could think the problem is. i hate to remove the iud because it is so convenient but i am sick of being sick. the doctors dont tell you of the not so obvious side effects like these. i just hope that no permanent damage has occurred.

I asked the doc to prescribe me Avelox 400mg because i have had bad side effects from Biaxin and Erythromycin. I get chronic upper respiratory tract infections from allergies etc. I figured my mother took this med with no side effects (and she is usually very sensitive to all meds including vitamins) so perhaps i could take it without side effects. I was wrong. I took my first pill at 2pm and about one hour later i was starting to feel on edge. Its 11pm and my heart is still racing, and my chest feels very strange. These feelings are from the drug, not anything else! The doc and pharmacist do not explain any side effects or concerns. when i took Biaxin i had no idea that this was the cause of panic attacks that i was getting. I thought i was losing it at the time. Tomorrow i will head back to the doc and get this prescription changed hopefully to a 'nice' antibiotic...if there is such a thing.

I've not experienced any of the horror stories listed here, but I've had two side-effects that I've isolated. The first is the upper respiratory tract infection. That's a known side-effect. The second I believe was caused by an interaction between Januvia and Splenda. I use a lot of Splenda in my oatmeal. I've been having to urinate in the middle of the night (not like me) and I've experienced urinary tract irritation. Since stopping Splenda I've stopped getting up in the middle of the night and my tract irritation is subsiding. But, all this could be incidental and I would like to hear if other people are experiencing these symptoms while on Januvia and using Splenda. It appears, APPEARS, that, while on Januvia, that I experience the published side effect of losing a little bit of my appetite (good!) but that I have an increased appetite (bad!) using Splenda while on Januvia. I did not experience these symptoms while using Splenda before I was on Januvia. Please write to me if you have similar symptoms and situation at ******

From 1998 in the US:

Out of 336 children age 6- 14 years old.

"The most common adverse experiences were headache, asthma, and upper respiratory tract infection. Eleven patients were discontinued from the study because of adverse effects."

INDICATION EFFECTIVE IN TREATING ASTHMA IN CHILDREN
Leukotriene blocker offers therapeutic benefit with few adverse effects
CHICAGO—The orally administered drug montelukast, taken once a day, is effective therapy for 6- to 14-year-old children with chronic asthma, according to an article in the April 15 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Barbara Knorr, M.D., of Merck Research Laboratories in Rahway, N.J., and colleagues studied 336 children at 47 outpatient centers in the United States and Canada to determine the effectiveness of montelukast on 6- to 14-year- old children. Montelukast is one of a new class of asthma medications known as leukotriene inhibitors, which block leukotrienes that are produced and released from inflammatory cells. The inhibitors cause narrowing of the airways in the lungs, mucous secretion and increased vascular permeability. Other studies have found that compounds which block leukotrienes can improve asthma control for adults and adolescents.

The children in this study had a history of intermittent or persistent asthma symptoms. Each had a forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) between 50 percent to 85 percent. All the children used short-acting inhaled beta-agonists, as needed, to treat their asthma. After a two-week placebo run-in period, 201 children received montelukast in a five-milligram chewable tablet, taken at bedtime. The other 135 children were given a placebo.

Asthma is the most common chronic illness of childhood, affecting approximately ten percent of children. Each year, approximately 2.2 million doctor visits are make by children seeking treatment for asthma.

The researchers found that montelukast significantly improved FEV1. Several secondary outcomes also improved. They write: "Patients treated with either as-needed beta-agonist alone or inhaled corticosteroids had significant improvement in their asthma control when they received montelukast. ... Though the magnitude of the changes observed appeared modest, they were consistent with those reported in other pediatric trials using currently available therapies."

The researchers found that treatment effects usually occurred within one day after the first dose of montelukast. They write: "Montelukast not only demonstrated a rapid onset of action, but its treatment effects were maintained consistently over time. There was no evidence of tolerance in this or a prior adult study, suggesting that montelukast continues to be effective in the long-term treatment of asthma."

Among other findings of the study:

· Montelukast demonstrated a significant improvement in daily as-needed beta-agonist use, and in the percentage of days and percentage of patients with asthma exacerbation.

The effects of montelukast were similar across age, sex, race and other subgroups.
Patients receiving montelukast reported significant improvements in the physical and emotional aspects of their lives.

The most common adverse experiences were headache, asthma, and upper respiratory tract infection. Eleven patients were discontinued from the study because of adverse effects.

The researchers conclude: "Overall, the results of this study suggest that montelukast would be a well-tolerated and effective therapeutic option to current asthma therapies in 6- to 14-year-old patients."
(JAMA. 1998;279:1181-1186)

Note: This research was funded by Merck & Co., Inc.

I have been having upper respiratory and sinus problems over the past few months and it all seems to line up with starting the Ring. The first month was alright and since then I have had this series of severe cold symptoms, my glands are swollen and I'm coughing all the time, I'm weak and run down. I was put on an antibiotic and that was during my off week. I was better by the end of the week and put the ring back in on Friday- started getting sick on Saturday and worse Sunday-Tuesday. I did take the ring out on Sunday, but my doctors seem to think it's just a bad cold season. However, I look at the package insert and see that Upper Respiratory Tract Infection and Sinusitis are listed as side effects. How would they be listed if there weren't other people suffering from this too?!? After finding this site and reading about other side effects, I'm taking a break from birth control pills/meds. I feel like I don't understand my body at all and I need to take back control from the doctors and their magic medicines.

I stumbled across this site after googling "NuvaRing side effects." I began having this horrible cough a couple of days ago, but I don't feel sick. I'm wondering if I have a Upper Respiratory Tract infection? Anyway, other than this cough I've mysteriously developed, I have no other side effects after being on the NuvaRing for about a month. I haven't experienced any weight gain, moodiness, no dramatic increase in discharge, no abdominal pain or headaches. Overall I've had a positive experience with the NuvaRing so far, I hope it stays that way :) Honestly reading these reviews makes me a little nervous. I'm going to research other BC methods to see if they have similar complaints...

The day after I put in my nuvaring, I got a sore throat which felt like strep, then a fever of 102.6, chills and flu-like pains. I could barely get out of bed to take care of my two month old. The next day I was severely moody, excessively hungry, the sore throat went away, but I got a runny nose, chest congestion, and head congestion as well. I couldn't be up and moving for more than 15 minutes before I fell back into bed again. The next day I felt like I had a head/chest cold and same with yesterday. My fever went down to about 100.5, but my nose would not stop running, my ears were hurting, my head was pounding, and I had stuff in my lungs that I couldn't cough up. I looked up side effects and saw that 5-14% of women get an upper respiratory tract infection, sore throat, fever and chills. I took the ring out and by the time I woke up, my head was not congested anymore and whatever is in my chest I'm having an easier time coughing up. My fever has finally gone down and I feel a lot better then I have for a majority of the week.

Hi everyone...

When I first heard of Nuvaring I thought it was a great idea. Except, the second month after I started using it I started to get flu like symptoms around my period.

I took out the ring last night and right now I have the chills, sweats, my throat is sore and scratchy and I ache all over. I had such bad abdominal pain that I was curled up in my bed sweating and popping the maximum dosage of tylenol allowed. Normally I would attribute this kind of thing to a poor immune system and the flu, but I rarely got sick before I started the ring.

I have been looking up side effects on other sites and have noticed that upper respiratory tract infections are common with this drug. From what I can tell I have all the classic sx of such an infection.

I have decided to go off the ring to see if these symptoms clear up or if they return in the same monthly pattern.

Also, my sex drive has dried up completely.

I'll check back on this site to see if anyone has had some of the same symptoms that I am experiencing.

I have been on Advair almost a month, and actually went this past month without an upper respiratory tract infection. But, I have horrible acne now, so I am coming off of it, after finally figuring out the med is the cause. I also have been having trouble clearing my throat, and severe chest pains. I just don't think this med is worth it anymore. Thank you to everyone for posting your experiences b/c they have really helped!!