March 15th
2009
8:37 PM
I have been on generic Wellbutrin 150 mg for 3 weeks for PMS. The first week I had some strange side effects: heart racing with light-headedness, constant yawning, weird sensation at the back of my neck. They all went away and I felt fine.
However, I stopped taking it 3 days ago because of the severe cramping and diarrhea. My doctor warned me I would have stomach issues the first week - and I did - but now I have it the day after I have an alcoholic drink. So anytime I have a drink, which is several times a week, I have to expect spending an hour in the bathroom the next day. Not even Imodium can stop what's coming.
Sorry, but alcohol trumps WB. Too bad too, because it increased my sex drive and suppressed my appetite.
-- By gagirl | Reply | Private Message me
January 17th
2009
1:26 AM
I had the Mirena inserted in May 2008 after having my 1st baby in March 2008. I felt confident in my decision after much research as well. The insertion process was definitely painful and I had a weird sensation in my uterus for the next few days. It was like I could definitely tell where my uterus was because there was this dull pain there. That soon went away, and I thought that Mirena was cool. In November I had an episode of something that looked like the stomach flu...It came out of nowhere and felt different than any stomach flu I've ever had. No-one else in my house got this mysterious sickness, so I was curious. Then a few weeks ago, the same thing happened and I ended up in the emergency room. They told me it was stomach flu. I told them that I had Mirena and that this had happened before and I felt like it might be related. The male ER doctor looked at me like I was crazy and sent me home throwing up. I am ready to get it removed because I feel like my natural rhythm has been interrupted. I thought no period sounded great, but I feel like I am interrupting my body's natural rhythm. I am glad to know that I'm not crazy and other's are experiencing weird side effects too. I am ready to go back to the pill, which served me well for over 10 years!! One more embarrassing side effect?!?! Hemorrhoid flare up?!?! My OB told me I didn't have these after my son's birth...but in the middle of all this they all of a sudden became a HUGE problem!! Also had my 1st yeast infection in over 7 years!!
-- By mendomommy | Reply | Private Message me
October 30th
2008
2:37 AM
I am a 35 year old female. Previous Dr. had been watching my BP for about 4 months and asking me to lose some weight - I am about 15 pounds overweight. Changed doctors due to insurance and new Dr. prescribed Lisinopril right away, 5 days ago. By the 4th day I was feeling tired, more than usual, and went to bed really early. Today, the 5th day, through out the day, I started feeling pressure on my chest, a need to breath deeply with some resistance, a weird sensation running from the heart across my chest toward my throat, anxiety thinking I was having symptoms of a heart attack. I feel slight pain running down my left arm. So, tonight before going to bed, thinking, do I have to tell someone what I am feeling? Should I go to the ER? I decided to look up side effects for this drug. And to my surprise I ran into this site. I am sooo glad to read that so many people are going through the same thing and have not had a heart attack. As I sit here, I have chest pain, and anxiety, and I was supposed to take the 5th pill tonight, but I am not going to. I will call my doctor 1st thing tomorrow and ask her to switch medications. Thank you for posting. This has helped me make a quick decision not to continue with this drug.
-- By quanb | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me
June 18th
2008
8:05 PM
I got Mirena put in on July 5, 07...never had a child but Dr. said since I was 36 and not planning on having children, Mirena was a good alternative to the pill which I had been on since I was 19. On the pill I had very light 2-3 day periods and with diet and exercise, could lose weight. Now, almost a year on Mirena...the only good think that has gone away from when I was on the pill is the migrane headaches that I was starting to get on a monthly basis...but, in their place...I have gained weight, tired, have acne, cramps erratically throughout month, never know when my period will show up...some months it does not, some months it lasts 4 days (like last month), and I always feel bloated - esp. in the abdomen. I've even wondered on occasion...am I pregnant?? why do I feel so bloated?? One other weird thing, since I started running this year, I get this weird sensation that I have to go empty my bladder...this also occurs while doing intense stomach crunches...but it is not incontenance..nope never have bladder problems...it is just this funky feeling - sometimes almost a burning feeling around my uterous. Have not seen anyone post this - but it did not happen before Mirena when I ran or did sit ups...now it does - doubt this is coincidence.
Some of these symptoms truely could just be simply the result of ovulating again - that is what my Dr. told me...that on the pill I never released an egg...so now my body was getting used to ovulating again. Well...if that is the case, I just can not stand it anymore...I get it removed June 26th - next week so hopefully I'll be able to post back that these symptoms are gone or have removed. Going to go on the pill again...which has its own side effects...but I sure did not have as many when I was on it. Husband has offered to go under the knife to take care of him...but I'll see how the pill does again. Hoping to reclaim my life and actually lose weight as I've been dieting and exercising while on Mirena to no avail!
-- By nc1 | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me
June 3th
2008
10:04 PM
I have been taking Topamax, 25 mg. for one week. Today was the first day I took 2. My doctor prescribed it for migraines, which I was having several times a month. The past few times I thought I was having a heart attack! I read about the side effects before I began the medicine so I have been waiting on everything to begin. So far the only thing I have noticed is I have a weird sensation in my mouth and sometimes in my throat. The only way I can describe it is if I have been breathing something caustic, such as smog or smoke, or a lot of dust. One thing I am going to try is a mouthwash called Biotene or Biotene. It is for dry mouth. Maybe it will help. Has anyone else experienced this and/or tried Biotene?
I read with interest what everyone has written. I drink soda all day and will be integrating more water because of one of the posts. So far though, my cokes taste the same. Is it only Dr. Pepper that tastes differently? I have also been getting winded easily and thought it was just me. The one side effect I am READY for is the weight loss. I gained 20 pounds in a year after I quit smoking. Anything to help with that is welcome.
So far though I have not had any migraines and I always have one with PMS. No increased anxiety but I have been on Zoloft for several years for depression. Maybe the Zoloft will offset the Topamax in that respect. I can be somewhat scatterbrained at times and as an assistant principal, I have to stay focused all day. Now that it is summer I will be able to relax a bit and it's ok if I am more absent minded than usual. Except that I have to work on a research project. But hey, does anyone really read that stuff??
Thanks everyone for sharing and I will check back in if anything changes. I am curious to see how things will go.
February 2th
2008
11:35 PM
First of all I would like to thank you foe sharing your stories... you have saved my life.
I got Mirena "the monster" in October 2006. For a while I thought it was the best thing ever. In the next few months I gained a few lb, my skin stared to scare after bouts of acne, I did not have the usual energy. I blamed the new job, stress and aging. It seemed like an accelerated aging but I have just accepted it, low metabolism, everyday stress, you name it.
In May 2007 we went for a graduation of a friend. When entering the auditorium I started the feel panicky... it was a weird sensation but I decided not to pay attention to it. I love crowds, I love people. I forgot about it soon afterwards.
During my annual the doctor told me that my thyroid is becoming hypo and I have the elevated number of antibodies.
Then in July 2007 I was returning from Europe I had a full blown panic attack (I know now what it was). I had to be taken to the emergency room where I was treated for tachycardia and ordered to see the cardiologist. The months between July and December I have spend trying to figure out what is wrong with me. I started to have the anxiety attack on the regular basis, insomnia, I lost half of my hair, I was just barely serving, living from day to day, unable to accomplish anything, I was just trying to attend to the basic needs of my family.
I went to the cardiologist, endocrinologist, ob, EarThroots doctor (In September I developed the strange sensation of a foreign object in my throat), my family doctor (several times). I was put on Beta blockers, Xanax , Lexapro. Nothing was helping. I was depressed and absent, could not remember a thing, my mind was under some gaze. I could not understand: I am happily married wife, mother with no worries, great financial situation, job and perspectives. No drama and trauma in the last few years.
But even though it did not make any sense, I started to look for a psychologist/psychiatrist. I hired the private trainer and started the rigorous program of exercising. I learn how to meditate and attended twice a week yoga classes. I read everything in the library on the subject of anxiety, I learned relaxing techniques, bought tapes, music, dvd's. Changed diet. Eliminated alcohol and caffeine. Got massages. Everything provided only a temporary relief.
I started to make notes... the most severe anxiety started every 28 days (for a week) and sometimes in the 14 days. This when I suspected that Mirena may have something with it. Then I found this site and several other sites. In December, after a month of researching I came to the conclusion that it is impossible that thousands women on different continents are hallucinating... and on December 22, 2007 I went to take The Thing out. the best Christmas gift ever!
12 days later I had the famous Mirena crash (thank you again for sharing!), with a mini depression, suicidal thoughts, full blown anxiety and a lot of crying. The period brought a huge relief. The side effects are still present but they are diminishing day by day.
As someone here recommended, just when I was about to start this month "the anxiety period"... I went to acupuncturist. I told him that I need help with anxiety. When on the table he told me that I am having hormonal imbalance, I have a lot of heat (?) inside and that the region that correspond to the liver is pretty swollen. He told me that he is going to help me in 5 session and that I will be able to take off myself and that my body in a few months will return to normal. I have had two sessions, I did not have acute anxiety this months, I almost feel like my old self.
I am off meds, I take occasionally the beta blockers for heart palpitation (one time in January), I started to supplement with vitamin B complex. I drink Sleepy Time Extra -- with Valerian (celestial seasoning) at bed time. If I need to make sure that I will sleep I take the prescription antihistamine (hydroxizinum).
I am sure there is a light in the long tunnel... courtesy of products of Mirena... well ... you could say that I owe them a lot of spiritual growth and learning... at the price of personal hell...
Please know if I can be of any help-- I will gladly answer any questions.
Have hope! Take the damn thing out!!!
-- By mimi72 | Reply | Private Message me
January 4th
2008
11:35 PM
I am totally freaking out while reading these Vytorin postings. I have everything listed plus more....I have never thought anything more than it was me 'aging' or what ever. I started working out almost a year ago, just to make me 'feel better' but continue to battle with bad health. About 1 month ago, I got pneumonia (2nd time in 2 years), 3 weeks ago I started having deep 'tennis elbow' type pains in my arms. I mentioned this to a lab tech friend and she flip replays 'sounds like a side effect from a drug you are on.' I am taking Vytorin (and only Vytorin) so I decide to look it up: As I am reading these other postings, I find a familiar string with ailments I have experienced and told my physician but have never been led to think any possible connection with Vytorin. I have had several problems including: shooting, electrical pains in my lower and upper back and chest, elbow pain, pneumonia, diarrhea/constipation flux, anxiety, strange visual thoughts and memory loss.
-- By amv68 | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me
October 30th
2007
8:23 AM
I am glad to see I am not crazy!! I started on advair a week and a 1/2 ago. My blood pressure went up and after 6 days of taking advair my bp was 140/99. Heart rate increased from 60's-low 70's up to mid 80's. I have always had really good bp before this and a good heart rate. I also had weird sensation in my arms and legs and a tightness in my chest that would come and go. I had a headache pretty much the whole time I was taking advair. I had horrible cramps in my feet and legs. I also had something strange happen to my face. I got a strange pain in my cheek that went up to my eye feeling like there was severe pressure behind it and then after making my eye water it went back down to my cheek for a minute and then disappeared. I was starting to get really creeped out by all these things happening so I bought a bp machine and monitored my bp. 48 hours after stopping advair my bp was excellent (106/66), heart rate back to the 60's, no more weird sensations, headache is gone, no cramps in my legs/feet, and my crappy mood has improved. All these strange symptoms are gone! I will never take that crap again!! It may work for some but it didn't work for me.
-- By jebjcjsh | Reply | Private Message me
October 1th
2007
5:44 PM
September 25th
2007
1:38 AM
I've only been on singulair for 6 days and it is now 4:23am. I just couldn't sleep tonight. I've been having the strangest dreams and I commented to my wife about them. We just laughed it off. Anyway, at this time of the morning, my EARS are "Hissing" so loudly, not ringing, however I do detect a slight pulsating tonal sound in my left ear, that I just couldn't sleep anymore. I've a history of Tinnitus but something has exacerbated my tinnitus dramatically, so much so it is keeping me awake. I think I'll be needing something to help me sleep now. Perhaps I will stay off the Singulair for now just to see if life returns to some kind of normalcy. Could it be a side effect of Singulair. I don't know but I felt like driving something through my head to stop all the loud noise. Has anyone else experienced elevated levels, or a new development of "Ringing in the Ears", commonly known as Tinnitus?
-- By wkb | Reply | (6) replies | Private Message me
August 6th
2007
8:18 AM
I've been on levoxyl for approximately 10 years thinking the side effects were from my hysterectomy 6 years ago and being on hormone replacement therapy. I am irritable, agitated, unable to stay asleep, having more and more trouble recalling people I've met through work and retaining information. Family and friends have teased me. It's getting worse. My most bothersome side effect is that every night while after falling asleep, I've been awakened by extreme hot feelings like I'm on fire inside, not the same as hot flashes experienced by menopause. I'm hungry all the time feeling like I can't stop eating, luckily, not gaining much weight but picking on food as much as possible. I'm waiting for a phone call from my doctor to see how to stop using levoxyl and what I'll have to replace it with.
-- By heshelb | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me
July 28th
2007
2:28 AM
Within five minutes of taking Yasmin for the first time, my throat swelled up and it was difficult to swallow. About ten minutes after that, my left arm began to tingle and feel numb. About 2.5 hours have elapsed and I am still feeling this weird sensation in my arm and throat. I almost went to the ER when I found this website, Thank you all for sharing your experiences. Your words have calmed me down a bit, I will never take Yasmin ever again!!! Good luck to all of you.
-- By melgon | Reply | Private Message me
May 5th
2007
2:11 PM
I have had this weird sensation of floating and rubbery. I have also felt drugged from Geodon, in a yucky tired kind of way. I feel zombie headed and warped. Everything is off kilter and it is hallucinagetic (spelling)? Everything is distorted around me. I feel numb to life. I have been on this stuff for a week and a half, the psychiatrist promises me that it will subside. I hope so.
-- By crystlas | Reply | Private Message me
July 10th
2006
8:26 PM
I was diagnosed with a quirky little disease called "Minimal Change Disease" - my kidneys decided that my body did not need any protein, and without any protein in my system, I gained 55 pounds of water weight, along with few other nasty side effects like having cholesterol in the 800's and blood clots in my lungs. At this point, I have been on the drug for a little over three months - 70 mgs for the first 6 weeks, the point at which the disease went into remission. The last 6 weeks, I've been tapering off - and will be off Prednisone by the end of this week. Ironicly, I had been taking a drug that causes water retention to fight a disease that causes water retension. Fortunately, after losing the 50 pound of water weight in less than three days, I didn't see any of the massive weight gain some have reported. I have gained about 8 pounds in the past 6 weeks that I've been tapering off the drug. The only other side effect I had was this euphoric, ethereal feeling I would have about mid-morning where my concentration was that of a 2 year old (I have experience in that because I have a 2 year old), and by mid-afternoon, I would race around the office in a flurry of activity - and get absolutely nothing accomplished. It was a weird sensation - kind of fun, but disconcerting - of being giddy as though I was drunk. I had to really sit down at my desk and force myself to behave and do my work. I also had quite a few nights in which I would wake up in the wee hours of the morning and to force myself to read the dictionary just to fall back asleep. Sure the drug has some nasty side-effects, and can really mess with your head, but so can being a 200 pound albino blueberry. And there were no Oompa Loompas around to take me down to the juicer. As to the side effects, I realized that the euphoria wasn't permanent, and I had to have a bit of fun with it when I could, and as to the weight gain, five pounds is nothing - though, there is much in my closet right now that I can't wear.
-- By hickfarmgirl | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me
February 21th
2006
5:26 PM
I was on effexor for a year to treat dysthimic depression and general anxiety disorder. My dose started low but was upped every few months until I was on 150 mg.
The side effects I experienced were:
- Dizziness
- Inability to sleep soundly at night (I would wake several times and have difficulty falling asleep again)
- Inability to stay awake during the day (probably as a result of the previous side-effect. this was so bad that i even fell asleep once while i was standing up!)
- A "fuzzy" mental state; everything looked cloudy, I had no concentration, poor attention span
- Frequent vivid nightmares
- This weird sensation that happened every couple of minutes. It wasn't quite like dizziness...it was more like my brain was doing a flip-flop in my head.
- I was ALWAYS exhausted
- My libido disappeared
The withdrawl affects of the drug were similar but also accompanied by twitching, nausea, increased dizziness, more frequent "brain flips", and occasional fainting or blacking out.
Worse was that I had to take the drug at the same time every day, or else I'd enter withdrawl almost immediately. If I took the drug at 7:00 AM every morning before school, and then slept in until 10:00 AM on the weekend, I would wake up in withdrawl, even though i was only a few hours late!
When I tapered off the drug, the withdrawl affects were almost unbearable for a couple of weeks, but eventually I returned almost to a normal state, except that it took over a year for my libido to return, and even though I've been free of the drug for a couple of years, I still have difficulties in that area sometimes.
-- By flossie_and_the_unicorns | Reply | Private Message me
Mirena (4) Geodon (1) Advair HFA (1) Januvia (1) Yasmin (1) Lisinopril (1) Levoxyl (1) PredniSONE (1) Singulair (1) Wellbutrin (1) Effexor (1) Topamax (1) Vytorin (1)
June 3th
2009
1:25 PM
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.
-- By sharkdisco | Reply | Private Message me