Visual disturbances symptoms and conditions

Ladies:

I needed to post this warning right away:

I visited my gyno today (was able to get in for an ASAP visit), and she told me to get off of Yasmin IMMEDIATELY when I told her that I have had facial numbness etc.. She was very concerned, and here is why:

I have been experiencing migraine headaches with what are called "auras". I know it sounds weird, but you can look up "migraine auras" and you will find plenty of information.

I know that many of us have had these symptoms and not known what they were- numbness and tingling, visual disturbances, strange smells etc. This is what those symptoms are- migraine auras.

****According to my gyno, if you have auras you need to stop taking Yasmin or any other birth control right away.****

Getting these symptoms and continuing to take the pill, according to my gyno is (and I quote) "ASKING FOR A STROKE". They are warning signs that our bodies send out and it is extremely dangerous to keep taking ANY hormonal birth control, ESPECIALLY the combination pill.

If you had any further doubts, stop now. Please. I am not trying to scare anyone, I am just concerned and wanted to warn those who are experiencing these side effects.

Best of luck to all of you and hugs.

M.

IF YOU FEEL/EXPERIENCE ANYTHING ABNORMAL FOR YOU OR DO NOT FEEL QUITE YOURSELF SEE YOUR G.P./NURSE AND SERIOUSLY CONSIDER GETTING THE MIRENA COIL REMOVED
This medication may be suitable for some people but if you experience any of the following, I urge you please, please please, 'demand' that you want the Mirena removed. My symptoms were noticeably worse around my time of ovulation. I've also found out that people previously treated for/suffering from depression should not be prescribed this medication. (I've been on Prozac in the past). I had it fitted in Aug 2007 to combat very heavy periods and severe PMT at the recommendation of my G.P.and had it removed Sept 2008. Symptoms I experienced :-

Dry/furry mouth
Headaches (over time these became migraines)
No concentration
Poor memory
Lethargy (constantly tired and drained)
Smelly discharge (still noticeable straight after washing)
Very heavy legs
Numbness in my legs
Joint pain and clicking (mainly in my shoulders and knees)
Developed facial hair (mainly under chin and jawline)
Hair loss
Weight gain around my stomach (without increasing my food intake)
Feeling constantly bloated.
Spotting randomly for duration of Mirena being fitted. (Brown spotting)

Panic Attacks ( awoken in the middle of the night with them) escalating to the following:-
Palpitations (for no apparent reason)
Clammy/sweating palms and feet
Aggitation ( during an episode if someone was talking to me I wanted to really yell at them 'Just shut the **** up! You're doing my head in!)
Feelings of madness (actually wanted to run away from my own mind)
Pins and needles/Tingling in my hands and feet
Electric shock like surges going through my body (my nerve endings were obviously suffering)
Muscle tremours/shaking (mainly arms and legs)
Eyes became extremely light sensitive
Heightened awareness of sound

Insomnia
Terrible nightmares
Depression
Feelings of detachment from the real world.
Visual disturbances
Episodes of blurred vision

These symptoms did not appear straight away but appeared gradually and with more veangance the longer I had the coil. The more concerning episodes I experienced happened after about 3 months and very erratically. I could not predict when or what time of day I was going to have an episode or pinpoint any reason for bringing on an attack. I had no control over the effects, was absolutely petrified when I experienced a panic attack and just had to ride it out.
All my G.P. did was prescribe me anti-depressants to which I reacted badly. Blood tests also failed to show anything abnormal.
I even tried herbal medicines as an alternative and experienced similar reactions to the prescription drugs. I've now become very pill-phobic and would rather ride out and get over symptoms myself. Paracetamol & Ibuprofen being the only medicine I trust to take now. I had a horrendous year and everyone suffered. Not only my family, but I was signed off of work for 3 months. It was a very worrying time for my husband and my children, who all had to keep an eye on me and witness the effects of my symptoms. On looking back now, I don't know how I managed to function at all and even do my job. Most of the time my energies were spent concentrating on trying to appear normal and held-together to the outside world.
Although I feel 100% better in myself, I noticeably experience more migraines and headaches than I ever did in the past, along with palpitations, usually during my week before. Two days before it I often really feeI like I'm losing the plot! I also really bloat up now a week before my period, feel sick and have a feeling of being ' very full', so am hungry but don't really want to eat. One of my big toe-nails has gone black over the past few months and not through injury. This has just been sent away for analysis. The one on the other foot is raised/ridged/thick/yellow, but normal growth has resumed half-way up now, which I feel co-incides with the state of my health on having Mirena removed. The nurse I saw recently explained that it is true that nails and hair show the history of our health so, for me, this would seem true.
I wish I'd been made fully aware of all possible side-effects of this medication and am now actually concerned that the effects I've suffered may have left some permanent damage.
In spite of all this, it's so good to be me.

I have been taking Synthroid 25 mcg for a year now, and here is a list of side effects that I have experienced. Appetite has gone nuts, Gained 15 lbs, ringing in my ears has gotten louder, here is some scary stuff-constant visual disturbances, and now moderate to severe vertigo of which I have never had before the medicine!

My mother has been experiencing visual disturbances, seeing people that she knows are not there. We have tracked this back to where, these disturbances began soon after she began taking Advair twice daily. This has been very difficult for the family and her to deal with, until we figured this out last evening. She is not taking one more dose of ADvair~~!

I stumbled onto this website just today looking for information on another drug. Little did I know what I was going to find and so happy I did. I have been taking Zocor for nearly 5 yrs. now. My health has taken a spiral downhill. I too, have been experiencing almost every symptom that has been mentioned. Rt. shoulder pain, hand pain, pain and tingling in hands and feet, leg cramps, muscle weakness, numbness, memory loss, itching, fuzzy headed at time, can't concentrate, and trouble breathing. My doctor has told me my cholesterol is just fine the last two times I've had my checkup, but has never suggested I come off it. I guess I will be calling him tomorrow.

I find it very interesting about the possible link between Singulair and visual disturbances. My daughter had been told (about one year after being on Singulair) that she had damage to a nerve in one eye. She had never received any type of head trauma and the Doctor could not figure out how this happened. He told us that eventually her headaches would get so bad that she would have to have her eye removed while they tried to repair the nerve, and then they would replace her eye. I would be interested to hear if there are any other stories similar to this.

I'm a 52 year old female and have been taking Zocor for about a year. During the past few months, I've noticed increased muscle pains in my upper legs. It's to the point that I actually hurt when walking, even for short distances. I have also gained about 15 pounds in the past year. It could just be "middle age spread" but I can't help but wonder if this drug is the cause of it. I've also had some visual disturbances in the past month or two, like something that just won't clear out of my eye.....like a film across my eye. Anyone else with similar symptoms? I go back for a physical in a few weeks and am going to ask my MD about another medication. I have genetically elevated cholesterol and low cholesterol diet has not helped previously.

I had my Mirena removed 6-25-08. I only got it in March. I have had one problem after another. I had a weird bulge under my breasts that stuck out further than them when I decided it has to go. That bulge disappeared the day after having it removed. I also had MAJOR hair loss, fingers twitching, joint pain, migraines, my face looked greasy an hour after washing, and visual disturbances where I actually felt like I was seeing through drunk eyes, especially at work. This thing should be off the market. I feel 99.9% better than I did a week ago. Oh, I'm also not a turbo bitch to everyone anymore either. I am actually pleasant to be around. It was the best decision ever made to get this beast out of me. What a waste of money though!! Good luck to everyone else.

I was put on Prednisonsone for Uveitis, inflammation of the eye. He started me on 20mg at 9 pills a day, then each week it was lowered to 6 pills then now i'm on 3 pills and then next week it will be 1 1/2 pill and i'll be off. I got the puffy face, my feet swelled, everytime i hate my stomach bloated and hurt, my face and neck turns red, i stayed hungry although i fought the temptation of eating for not wanting to gain a lot of weight, which I don't think I've gained any. But now I wake up in the middle of the night and severe knee pain, it feels like my knees they are in some kind of device that is crushing my bones they hurt so bad. i caught a bad cough and it's been around now for about 2 weeks and won't go away, i told the nurse about it and she says, i probably just got what everyone else has gotten, just a bad cough, well what's if it's some kind of infection? I look like a chipmunk, my face is so puffy. When i get off these prednisone in another week I WON'T BE going back on them, no matter what the case. I'm in more pain being on them and have more side effects while on them than the problem i was having with uveitis. I think some co workers thank I'm over reacting, but they're not here they don't see all the pain and frustration i'm going through while on this drug. The leg pain just started this weekend and i Know i can't deal with waking up everynight like this in severe pain. Everyone just makes me feel like i'm over reactin and it's nice to know that somebody out there is going through the same thing. Any comments will be great.

Hello.

I was started on Prednisone on Saturday (3/15) for Bronchitis. So far I have taken 40mg, 40mg, 30mg, 30mg, 20mg, - I am to take 20mg for two more days than 10mg for three days. I also just finished a Z-Pack of antibiotics and am taking Mucinex and Ventolin HFA...

I have head pressure, dizziness, and weird visual disturbances. The problem I am having is my breathing feels WORSE on the Prednisone??? Is this possible??? I feel like I am losing my mind. I have insomnia and am extremely jittery. I have never taken Prednisone before - but want so badly to breath better - but it is not helping and in fact seems to making the problem worse?

Has this every happened to anyone? Please help I am so frightened.....

Thank you

I weigh 118lbs and I am 30 years old. I took one dose 250mg. of Levaquin yesterday and developed severe side effects, confusion, dizziness, irregular heart beat, muscle numbness and weakness in my hands and arms, panic and visual disturbances. Does anyone know hoe long it takes to get a 250mg dosage of this God forsaken drug out of your system?

38y.o F taking toprol 100mg once a day for hypertension x 15mths History of Hypothyroidism which is controlled w/ synthroid and closley monitored w/ lab work.
Experience weight gain, unable to lose weight w/ diet and exercise including w/ a nutrionist and personal trainer. Hairloss, lack of libido, chronic joint pain, swelling in hands and ankles/feet, back pain and/or muscle aches, lack of interest in everything, no energy. Major swelling after high sodium intake. Ear drainage, tingling of extremities especially in feet and fingers, visual disturbances. Blood Pressure is okay.
Has anyone experienced an improvement since they've stopped using toprol?

I took a 500 mg pill last Friday and Saturday. Saturday evening I began to feel very strange, sweaty, disoriented, dizzy, weak. This came on quite suddenly, a few hours after taking the Levaquin. I went to lie down and asked my husband to sit with me because I felt so strange. I had throbbing pulsations in both legs and felt like the bed was moving underneath me like a wavy waterbed would, pushing up on my legs and eventually my whole body in different places in a rhythmic way. I kept thinking maybe I was just imagining this and tried to lie still to make it go away but the more still I was the stronger the sensation became. Other sensations came, like feeling something biting my foot or feeling a bug on my shoulder or side. I was twitchy and anxious because of this. It made me feel sort of nauseous. Then I began to have visual disturbances - things didn't look different in any way I can explain, but they seemed strange, shocking, weird. Things I look at every day in my room seemed disturbing, like numbers on a book or the pattern of a dress or even my sheets. I also began to feel I could hear things that were very far away and everything seemed turned up loud. It was like all my senses were on high. After some time it occured to us to check the Levaquin side-effects. I was relieved to have an explanation for what I was experiencing (not just going crazy) and laid down to wait it out. Next morning I still had some foggy, pressure sensations in my ears that affected my hearing, which went away after a while. Since then I've had lots of achiness and extreme fatigue off and on for the past few days. The congestion that sent me to the doctor in the first place is still there but much less. I presented with a slight fever on Friday but it was long gone by Saturday.

Searching my medicine cabinets I see that I have been prescribed this medicine at least once before and I think probably several times. I am a basically healthy person and I work out, but every so often I get a respiratory virus that seems to hang on forever. The respiratory symptoms go away but the extreme fatigue and pain hang on for maybe a month or two. Now I suspect that these last symptoms might be related to Levaquin if in fact I have been taking it at the end of these viruses. What typically happens is I go to the doctor after 10 days or so of a virus and he prescribes an antibiotic, assuming I guess that I have a secondary sinus infection. So I take the antibiotic and then just struggle with what I've been calling fibromyalgia for a few months. I haven't been paying attention to what antibiotic it was until this last experience.

I called the doctor's office to report my reaction to a secretary, but no doctor or nurse has been interested enough to call me back. Also, no one mentioned that I should avoid NSAIDs while on Levaquin, in fact we discussed my taking 800 mgs of Advil and he encouraged me it was okay to take that much. That was Friday, the day he prescribed the Levaquin.

Could this be the cause of the fibromyalgia? Should I file some kind of report about would happened to me? Does this stuff build up in your system? I don't know how many times I've been prescribed it but it might be 5 times in the past couple of years.

Thanks! M

Hi,

My son has been on a very low dose of lamictal, 15mg for bipolar and the other day woke up extremely lethargic, said he felt very tired. He went to school but after an hour I had to pick him up, he was extremely tired at this point trying to sleep on a chair in the doctors office and he fell twice. He then said that everything seemed very dark and he complained of visual disturbances for two hours. We ended up in the emergency room and he had an EKG done and blood sugar checked, all was normal at this point in time. He is coming off his lamictal and I have been told he has had a rare side affect, anyone else experience this, I would love to hear from you thank you.
concerned Mom

I used Tazorac YEARS ago for bad acne. After starting it (along with Doxycycline), I started feeling "spaced out." I can't really explain it... it felt like I was "floating in a fog." I also was having visual disturbances... kind of "snowy" vision. I discontinued the antibiotics, thinking they were the culprit, but the neurological symptoms continued. When I stopped the Tazorac, the symptoms stopped as well. I had even made an appointment with a neurologist, but didn't actually see the doctor since the nurse assured me that something I used topically could indeed cause me to have neurological symptoms. I was in denial though... thinking that maybe the Doxycycline just needed a while to get out of my system. So I tried the Tazorac again and once again the neurological symptoms reappeared. Needless to say, I got rid of it.

I stopped Yasmin 16 days ago because of visual disturbances - blind spots, severe light/ glare sensitivity, headache, some aura...I'd been using it for 2.5 months. Last 10 days later, my blood pressure shot up to 144/104...I've always had blood pressure well within the normal range. Now, I'm having tingling sensations all over my body - kind of like drug withdrawal...has anyone else experienced this? I've also seen an eye specialist who said they've found some bc pills to cause migraines that have lasting effects on the eyes! Does anyone else know what more I can expect after coming off this pill and for how long??? My docs have suggested non-hormonal methods from here on.

I just thank God I found this website...I literally thought I was losing my mind until I started to read all the horror stories associated with Levaquin. After only 3 doses of 500mg levaquin over a 3 day period, I literally thought I was dying. I was given this drug for a sinus and ear infection. Almost immediatly I experienced chest pain, headache, severe nausea diarrhea, and visual disturbances. I continued to take the medication in hopes that these symptoms would subside after my body got use to it, but unfortunatly that was only the beginning. What followed was extreme fatigue, muscle spasms, numbness in my hands and toes and probably the worse feeling I have ever experienced in my life. I called my doc and told him I stopped the medication and thankfully he prescribed another antibiotic for me. After 5 days of not being able to get out of bed, I finally am able to function somewhat although I still am experiencing some muscle weakness. I am sure this drug has worked for some people, but if I had my way, it would be banned. It was the scariest expereince of my life..and what is most troubling is that we are at the mercy of these drug companies. Someone should have told me that these side effects were possible....the cure shouldnt be worse then the illness. Good luck and good health to all of you...I hope you all will be well again soon.

Was given 7 days of Levaquin 500 mg by doctor in early July 2003 for a stubborn sinus and bronchial infection that was not responding to Erythromycin. First dose was early evening, and I quickly experienced rapid heartbeat, anxiety and insomnia. I called my doctor the next morning, he prescribed Xanax for the insomnia/anxiety. The second day I began to feel pronounced joint pain in my left hand. Symptoms grew to include: anxiety, extreme dizziness and fatigue, a sense of "lifelessness", like a vampire had sucked the blood out of me, some confusion, visual disturbances and nightmares. I decided to return to doctor 3 days after starting treatment to ask for another drug. He urged me to finish taking the Levaquin since I "only had a few days left"of treatment, but I could cut dose in half. On the drive home from the doctor, I nearly passed out, and I have never fainted in my life.

Two months post treatment, I continue to experience anxiety, some insomnia, joint pain as well as muscle twingles/tremors in left hand, and occasional "sprained"sensation in right ankle. My memory has been poor and I often seem scattered. I attribute these lingering symptoms to the Levaquin, as I had none before taking this drug.

Note that my physician at no time warned me of any side effects of the drug, nor did he tell me not to take it concurrent with NSAIDs (such as Ibuprofen, Advil) or steroids (such as Advair Diskus, which he prescribed for my bronchitis).

I hope to minimize the recurring side effects by taking the right kinds of nutritional supplementation, by avoiding caffeine and alcohol (which I enjoy on occasion!) and sugar. Someone please tell me that these side effects will eventually disappear..........