Pharmacist symptoms and conditions

I THINK IT IS VERY SAD THAT EVERY TIME SOMEONE GETS UPSET OR MAD THAT THEY THINK PILLS ARE AN ANSWER. I STARTED TAKING GEODON THREE YEARS AGO BECAUSE OF SEVERE ANGER. IF MY DOCTOR WOULD HAVE ACTUALLY PAID ATTENTION TO ME SHE WOULD HAVE REALIZED THE ANGER WAS FROM GETTING DROPPED ON MY HEAD AND YELLED AT FROM MY FIANCE. ONCE I GOT A HOLD OF MYSELF GOT AWAY FROM THE BOYFRIEND AND GOT MY S#*% TOGETHER I SLOWLY AND I STRESS SLOWLY WINGED MYSELF OFF OF THE GEODON. WHEN I GOT DOWN TO 20 MG AT NIGHT I STARTED HAVING CHEST PAIN AND THE PHARMACIST TOLD ME THAT IT ALTERS THE WAY YOUR HEART FUNCTIONS. YES YOU WILL FEEL CRAPPY FOR A LITTLE WHILE BUT THIS DRUG IS SERIOUSLY DANGEROUS. IT IS FAIRLY NEW SO NO ONE ACTUALLY KNOWS WHAT THE LONG TERM EFFECTS ARE BUT IF THEY ARE WORSE THAN THE SHORT TERM(HEART ATTACK AND MUSCLE DISTORTION) THAN THEY NEED TO TAKE IT OFF THE MARKET.

I have been on Yaz for almost two years. The first year was convinced it was a miracle pill because all my PMDD symptoms disappeared. Since April of this year I have been walking up around 5 am and throwing up. I am on day six of my January pack and have had diarrhea or vomited in the morning. I know 100% I am not pregnant because I use the Yaz as directed and condoms. However I since bc convinces your body your pregnant I think I am experiencing morning sickness. I have talked to several doctors, a nurse, and a pharmacist about this issue and they all think it is highly unlikely I could be experiencing a side affect after having none for so long but I think they are wrong. I have a big training event a t work coming up in February and don't want to go off bc or start another because I'm scared of the PMDD getting bad. HELP!

I had a mild case of laryngophrayngeal reflux (reflux into the larynx) with no heartburn. My PCP prescribed 20 mg Omeprazole to be taken once a day. I experienced terrible muscle numbness, nausea, gas, burping, fatigue, lightheadness, anxiety and depression. I stopped after 6 days. The symptoms continued. After another 6 days, I had a panic attack and went to the ER. It has been over 20 days since I stopped this awful medication. I still cannot eat normally. I now experience heartburn after almost every meal. I still feel light headed and disconnected with the world. I tracked down the manufacturer of the Omeprazole that I took by asking my pharmacist. The manufacturer's rep wrote up a side effects report for the FDA with my consent. I urge everyone to do the same. You can also contact the FDA directly. This is the only way that we can force the FDA and the drug industry to retest the safety of this drug. Best wishes to all.

I took flagyl twice in one day and that night my eyes became very itchy and irritated, when I woke up the next day both of my upper eyelids were completely swollen. It was like I had been crying for days, what a weird side effect! But I talked to a pharmacist and they said that is one of the possible effects so....? weird!

I started taking Levoxyl about two months ago and since that time I have suffered from an internal shakiness that won't stop. I was told that Levoxyl has no ill effects, but the handout from the pharmacist shows that nervousness and trembling can be one of the side effects. My blood pressure has also been all over the charts since I started the medication and I feel chest pressure every once in a while.

I was so glad to find this. Since insomnia is not listed as a usual side-effect, I had no idea why I could not sleep. When I saw the entries and called the pharmacist, she verified it for me. I have been on 500 mg twice a day for a week and I have another week to go. I originally had a bad cold for 2 weeks which developed into a seriuos sinus infection. Amoxicillan did not work and I cannot take sulfa antibiotics or Cipro so I think I am stuck with it for another week, but have called to ask the Doctor for something to help me sleep until then. I have been so tired and worn out probably due to lack of sleep. And I agree that taste in my mouth, especially in the morning, is awful. I am also still congested but it is better than before.

I'd be thrilled to skip a period. Heck, that's why my doctor prescribed Seasonale. The pharmacist, however, gave me Quasense instead. Let's see. It's 2am on Christmas Eve. I have basically been bleeding since HALLOWEEN. This is beyond ridiculous, and I really can't see myself "hanging in there" and waiting for it to stop. If I'm not all-out cramping, then it's just annoying, brown spotting. On top of that, my face has been breaking out since like, the second week of starting it. The insane thing is, I'm on Wellbutrin at the moment-- that pill is noted to decrease appetite and increase sex drive. I'm pretty sure Quasense is canceling THAT out entirely; I'm always hungry, and if I never had sex again I'd probably be thrilled. Worst. Birth Control. Ever.

I've only been on topamax for about a month and a half and already I'm feeling some interesting side effects. In the first week of taking the medication I had such pressure behind my left eye I thought it was going to pop. It eventually went away and has not come back (thank the Lord). I also experienced some pretty nasty numbness, tingling, and uncomfortable pins and needles in my fingertips and toes/sole of my foot. The tingling in my hands usually lasted a few hours and the tingling in my feet only lasted for a couple of minutes. This tingling is never predictable.

Eventually the tingles went away and I was tingle free for a while. But in the past few days they came back. It actually coincided with my PMS. The tingles came back and with intensity about three days before my period started. I was wondering if it was common to have a side effect return or increase in intensity around your menstrual cycle? My hormones are pretty nutty and the reason I'm on topamax is to stop severe migraine auras and slight seizures that are tied to my menstrual cycle.

The feet tingles are the worst. It feels like I'm being jabbed with needles and I hate when it happens while I'm sleeping because it wakes me up and I can't fall back asleep again until they go away... they are that irritating. The hands I can deal with because I'm used to my left arm going numb when I was having the auras.

My sleep patterns have been disturbed because of topamax... I'm not too peeved about that. I still manage to get enough sleep. However there are times when I'm out with friends or having conversations and I'll know the word I want to say and I'll just bust out the wrong one. Like for example saying symphony instead of sympathy. My friends have gotten used to it and know what I'm trying to say. It cracks them up when my word salad produces sexual innuendos on accident when I really mean something else. BUT it's really messing up job interviews at the moment. I'm a bright and articulate person who is getting her BA in Anthroplogy and Archaeology, minor in History and am trying to get research assistant jobs at museums and universities. It's really hard to get a job when you are sitting there sounding like an uneducated moron high on crack.

I haven't had problems with memory, thank the Lord. Even though I've got the word salad going on (and it's strange... the word jumbles are only when I'm speaking... I'm super coherent when typing) I'm not forgetful. I was able to make it through finals week perfect, while juggling a full work load. I hope I don't start losing my memory.

I haven't lost any weight (AW SHUCKS!!!!!). I was looking forward to that one. How soon should I expect to lose weight by, if I do in fact lose weight? I'm a difficult duck when it comes to weight loss. I've been at a stable weight since I was 13. I'm an athlete so my body is my temple sort of thing. But in the past two years I've put on a little bit of unwanted weight in certain areas when I stopped hitting the weight machines :( My question is, if I haven't lost it yet... will I lose any?

I'm also classified as type II bipolar, obsessive compulsive, and anxiety disordered. I've noticed my mood has stabilized. I'm not as all over the place as I used to be. My highs could get pretty high and when they would get up there my obsessive compulsive would almost go on a little joy ride. And when I was low, I was super low and my anxiety would take the depression out for a spin. But now I feel a calmness and a zen that I never felt previously. It's not an apathy I can certainly tell you that. I feel like I am in control of my life. I thank topamax for that.

Reading all of these posts I just worry that the honeymoon period of my medication maybe over. I worry about other side effects cropping up. I think that I can deal with my tingling extremities and that I can manage my word salads. I don't want the pressure in my eye to come back. I also don't want to start exhibiting the other side effects. What is the possibility that I will start exhibiting more side effects or are you generally stuck with what initially presents in the first month or so? My doctor also does NOT intend on increase my dosage. He thinks 50mg once a day will do me just fine. Oh and one last question, anyone else experiencing the side effect increase coinciding with PMS?

Sorry for the super long post! All replies are welcome!

I got a Kenalog injection a few months ago for severe allergies. My period showed up a week earlier than it should have, and I have now been bleeding heavily for over a month. Nobody at my doctor's office warned me of this side effect. I need to make an appt. to see someone about my bleeding because it just continues to get worse. Had I known this would happen, I never would have agreed to getting that injection!!

I have taken cipro before with no obvious problems and am now starting on it again for 2 weeks (1pill a day). This drug is one of a few that people who are allergic to penicillin and sulfa drugs can take to kill bacteria that penicillin normally does. This is considered a 'last resort' drug for us also. I've had a sinus infection as a complication from a dental surgery that refuses to go away for long enough for my mouth to heal - since July 10 (it is now 19Dec). I was prescribed Avelox for the first time yesterday which led me to this website while trying to find pricing info. $168 for 12 pills? at a Walmart? absurd. So I had the doc switched to cipro. They want me to try this 'type' of drug since the others haven't been able to completely eliminate the infection. I will keep in mind everyone here's side effects but I definitely have plans to do a heavy duty DETOX the minute my mouth is healed and I am off the drugs whether I have problems or not. I concur with the constipation though, all antibiotics seem to give me that problem while taking them. Another good reason to do a detox.

My 84 year old mother took the prescribed dosage for the prescribed amount of time and on the last day of her 7 day course she developed severe muscle control problems. She has been off the med for 4 days now, and just regained enough strength to walk in her home without assistance. Her pharmacist told me that Avelox had a RARE side effect of attacking ligaments, doesn't look so rare on this site. Anyway, does anyone know if the damage done to the ligaments will be repaired with time? Will she regain what was damaged?

After taking generic Keflex for 13 days;500mg3xday; i developed a severe skin rash on legs,arms, neck,back,face,eyes,ears,and nose.Was taking med for a serious infection on top of my foot;(same foot bit by brown recluse spider in 2002).Also feel weird all over. Foot infection getting worse and DOCTOR knew i was allergic to penicillin and so did pharmacist.DON'T PLAN ON TAKING THIS MED ANYMORE!!!!! gk65.

I have had to take Levaquin twice. Both times were for a post surgical infection. The Levaquin worked great on the infection, so I stuck with it even though it made me feel terrible. The side effects I had are: ringing in the ears (tinnitus), agitations/anxiety, dizziness, headache, inability to think straight, nausea, stuffed up nose. They were worse in the few hours after I took the Levaquin. I would take it at dinner, so I could sleep through most of the effects and not have to go to work feeling so bad. Fortunately, I did not suffer the insomnia some have had. After 5 days on it, I also got pain in my finger joints which took 2 weeks after stopping the Levaquin to go away. The pharmacist told me these are unfortunate side effects, but not dangerous enough ones to stop taking the drug. I really don't like this one at all, but I can say it does kill the infection.

This is an update on the problems I had while on lisinopril that I posted Nov.12. It took 2 more weeks off of the drug before my rash completely disappeared. The stomach and chest pains also took this long to stop. Lisinopril was definitely the cause-probably because of my severe sulfa allergy (which my doctor was aware of). It was my pharmacist that told me about the connection between sulfa allergy and lisinopril reaction. My doctor had no idea about this. He said wheezing would be the usual reaction to lisinopril! I'll always check with the pharmacist concerning allergic problems before I start a new medication. I do feel great now!

I found this web site while searching side effect of Singulair. My Son - 7 years old is experiencing same issue - Severe random leg pain in both legs or 1 leg as mentioned by few others. He can not walk when it happened and I have to carry him. The pain disappear in 2-3 days or sometimes it takes 5-6 days.

We did X-Ray and doc could not find anything wrong.

Others..who are facing same issue...I would appreciate if u can send me an email to ****** so that we can talk in detail.

I am 52 and took levaquin (the doctor described as a very high dose needed for what he felt was a generalized infection he couldn't pinpoint). Within 2 days I began feeling very weak. I also had moved to a new town and couldn't return to the prescribing doctor. I felt so very weak and felt actual pain in my heart I became very scared and went to a friends because I was afraid to be alone. I called the local pharmacist and was instructed to stop taking the levaquin. The following day I went to a new doctor in my new town and my nightmare began.
The new doctor stated "you have a very large heart murmur". I told him no doctor ever told me this before and he insisted they must have, I just don't remember. He decided to do an echo and diagnosed aortic stenosis. He stated it didn't require surgery, yet but would in a few years.
Fast forward to now, 2 moves for my work and changing doctors. Also, to be frank I think a firm denial on my part that I could not have heart trouble diagnosed under the age of 50.
I have received a variety of "borderline" diagnosis'. From COPD, Hepatitis and an inability for my heart to pump proper blood flow to my lungs. While I have had "many" diagnosis there isn't anything concrete and no caused determined or resulting changes to be made to improve my general health.
The one symptom I have, that seems to have worsen as time passes is that what I do seems to build up over time. Energy used and strength used (to carry something while walking) seems to build up to the point of exhaustion and inability to even get out of bed. I have been hospitalized for chest pain 4 times in the last year. The last one being after a business trip, where I took a train and needed to roll and/or carry a very large suitcase. the first night I began to feel weak. The second night my face swelled to a cartoonish state overnight and I began to feel very congested, coughing continually. I didn't go to the hospital because I didn't want to be in the hospital away from home. I Stayed at the conference and returned at the end of the week. A friend took me to the hospital and I was in Congestive Heart Failure. Once released from the hospital, I began to arrange to move back to my home state, to be closer to my family. Now I am here and if I do much of anything (even heavy housework) within days I am too weak to do anything. I am barely managing because I am not working, but I must return to work because I am fast becoming broke. But, how can I take a new job if I know that I can't work long-term. I haven't found a new doctor yet, because most here are not taking new patients and I am just not sure the type of doctor to go to. I am also afraid that they are just stabbing in the dark. Diagnosing borderline "everything" and the treatments for not knowing what is going on could make things worse.
If you have read this far..thank you. If you could reply with suggestions, please do. I feel like my health has been ruined and I don't know what to do to get it back. I only took levaquin for 3 days and all this time later, I still feel pain in my heart. Which is the strangest thing because "before" levaquin I "never" actually felt my heart at all.
Any suggestions , I would be the most grateful.

Thank you so much for this site and your posts. I am on my 4th day of doxy. and I had a panic attack today and anxiety--I was doing fine until now. I would consider myself a calm person so this caught me out of the blue. I called the pharmacist who thought I was nuts, I'm sure. She said it was not a side effect of the drug!! I also noticed some nerve pain over my body. But my infection is lots better so I don't want to stop, but I don't want to have panic, either or get sicker.

I also get the stomach queasiness when taking a dose and always eat a slice of bread with it. I have noticed a worsening of reflux and I make sure to sit upright for at least an hour after taking the medication.

This is an update. I have experienced "some" problems trying to get Doctors to believe that my muscle problems are Lipitor related. I was sent this by a nurse. It is not the full page.

"2005 Mosby's Nursing Drug Reference (pg.155)

atorvastatin
Lipitor

Uses: As an adjunct in primary hypercholesterolemia

Interactiions:
*Risk of possible rhabdomyolysis; azole antifungaals,
cycloSPORINE, erythromycin, niacin, gemfibrozil, clofibrate".

Guess what? I have been using an azole antifungal intermittently for the entire time I was on Lipitor. It is not a medication I "take". It is used topically for a fungal nail which refuses to clear up. You may have been using it for athletes foot.
Now one pharmacist says a topical application cannot cause this interaction and another pharmacist says it is almost certain that the azole antifungal gets into the blood stream and will interact with the Lipitor. I have to laugh.
Next week I start Physical Therapy on my left elbow.

Yeah I don't know why physicians just put us on this Aviane because its "cheaper" than Alysse. Mine told me it was basically the same thing but it's obviously not because I've been breaking out in zits like crazy ever since I went on it. I also got harsh mood swings, intense fits of anger (broken furniture can attest to this) and it comes completely randomly; one tiny thing can set me into a fit of rage. I had previously been using Alysse since I was 16 (I'm now 22) and it worked perfectly - didn't have harsh breakouts, my moods were normal, didn't gain weight. I've been taking Aviane for more than six months now and the zits (which are often huge and painful) haven't gone away :( I wash my face day and night, haven't changed my diet at all... So I can only assume it's because of hormonal changes - which only leaves Aviane.

I'm definitely switching back to Alysse - hell I'll pay the extra five dollars if it means a clear complexion and my/my boyfriend's sanity!!!

I took Cipro for a UTI and from the first pill I took I felt like I was going to die. My head hurt so bad that I thought it was going to explode. I thought maybe it was just fighting the infection so I kept taking it. The more I took the more I felt sick my tendons in my legs hurt so bad and my neck and shoulders hurt like nothing I ever felt before. On day three I phoned the pharmacist and he told me that side effects from cipro never happen and that if I was really concerned go to the doctor and get a new antibiotic which I did. I was so mad when I went online and read the side effects of this terrible drug.
I stopped taking the Cipro and felt much better within a day but it took weeks for my muscles to feel better.
I will never take this drug again nor will I let my kids. I tell everyone I know to ask for a different antibiotic if given this one.

I messed up my own Amoxicilin prescription (I kept missing the third dose since my brain is wired to take meds 2x only). So I took all of the pills but they weren't as effective and of course i relapsed and got put on Avelox.

Now, during the Amoxicilin mess, I was told to increase my prednisone from 2.5 mg to 20 a few days later is when I get the Avelox. The first two doses went on without a hitch but I just took the third one about 3 hours ago and I can all ready feel the tremors throughout my body. My mom says its medication induced low blood sugar and I should be fine if I get a glass of juice and go straight to bed.

But I have an auto-immune condition and am now worried about whether or not all of my meds do in fact go together - and yes there are a lot of them. I've decided to go to bed and see if the symptoms are still there in the morning. So now I'm even more anxious about taking dose number four, especially since I'm supposed to go back to work on the day of the last dose.

And, yes, I asked the pharmacist about why prednisone was on the precaution list and he assured me that the side-effects would be minor if anything at all.

I posted several months ago on this string and wanted to update. I had bloodwork done for the 1st time since I quit the 20mg of Lipitor in August. LDL went from 123 to 210. Total Chol went from 191 to 285. HOWEVER all shooting pains I had been experiencing in legs, feet, and chst are GONE! Went back to my Dr. today, told her that same result and my serious objection to taking any kind of statin and she prescribed CRESTOR while telling me it was more potent than Lipitor! WTF!!!

I refuse this course, am drinking 30 - 40 ozs. of water each day now like I should have been, doubled my CoQ10 to 200mg/day, finally getting back into the gym to lose weight and get the HDL up from the level of 36 it is now. also started to drink the new yogurt type "shot" of Promise for cholesterol that provides 2 grams of plant sterols per day.

I will not take statins ever. I WILL find a natural way to keep my Chol under control. I've also been convinced that you don't have to be at or under the 200mlg of total chol to be healthy. Look at your C Reactive Protein and Homosiytes (sp?) If they are in range you should be good.

I know Lipitor was the cause of my rupturing each of my Achiller tendons a year apart while playing tennis in my late 40's Muscle pain soon followed.

I had been on Yasmin for about 2 years and it was great. I had no adverse side effects. My periods where shorter and lighter and I did not have the horrible cramps I had before getting on the pill. I loved it. Then about three months ago the pharmacy switched me to the generic, Ocella, which the pharmacist insisted was exactly the same, but beware it is not! I have gained about 15 pounds, I had to go up a whole bra size because my breasts are so swollen, my breast are tender and ache most of the time, and as of right now I have been bleeding badly for two weeks and I have never bled when it wasn't time for my period. My OBGYN said the generic was most likely the cause. I know the generic is cheaper but do not take it. Yasmin is well worth the extra money. I am getting back on it immediately! A lot of people do blame the pills for stuff that would have happened anyways. So do not be scared to take Yasmin. Everything isn't for everyone but it was good for me. It's done it's main job which is to keep me from getting pregnant and isn' that the reason most of us take birth control for? So put up with a few side effects, at least you don't have a baby to deal with!!!

I was really happy that a little light went off in my head and I decided to research Aviane and Alesse. I have suffered from depression in the past and that is why my family physician had prescribed this low dose birth control. As I am approaching menopause years this was intended to level out hormones as I was beginning to experience increased troubling and symptomatic times of the month. I am only half way through my second packet and I have just experienced the worst week I have had in a long time. I didn't want to get out of bed, I am desperately sad, anxious about the future, crying uncontrollably, and have had an outbreak of pimples the likes of which I have never had in my life. Oh, did I mention hot flashes? I thought the tightening waistband was the depression and inertia, and I thought the depression was due to the regular suspects this time of year; lessening daylight hours, ANOTHER birthday on the way, dysfunctional Christmas to mention a few. This was no regular bout of seasonal depression I realized while crying last night for Will Farrell's hard luck in Taledega Nights.

I've just returned from the pharmacy and the pharmacist agrees with my decision to stop taking the pill immediately and contact my doctor first thing tomorrow. I hope there is an alternative pill, but after the week I just had I think I can put up with a day or two or bitchy rather than an entire month of being a fat, cranky, pimply, curled up ball of useless.

Thanks for having the information available, it seems like there are more stories than not about what I have experienced.

I have been taking the generic for Allegra (180mg), Fexofenadine 180mg, for about 2 years -- ever since I moved to middle-Virginia. I thought I had a cold that would not go away. The doctor put me on Allegra, and it did help, yet didn't stop, the horrible runny nose, watery eyes, etc. Around that same time, I started having horrible leg/feet cramps at night...so bad that my sleep is constantly interrupted with having to jump out of bed multiple times to walk off the cramp. My doctor prescribed Requip and, even on the strongest dose, the cramps would not go away. A pharmacist suggested I try Highlands Leg Cramp pills (w/quinine) and that helped reduce the severity and number of leg/feet cramps for a while. Now the cramping is back, full-strength, and I just began a desperate research of side effects for all the medications I am taking. Lo, and behold, I just read that others who are taking Allegra are experiencing this same symptom. Unfortunately I took my morning dose this a.m., but I will begin tomorrow not taking Allegra and hopefully that is all it takes to end these leg cramps. And, oh yes, I too have regular stomach cramps and diarrhea and have lost 20 lbs. without dieting. I'm now wondering if Allegra is also responsible for all of these unexplained "other things" going on with my body. I hope I won't be bombarded with bad side effects by going off the Allegra "cold turkey." However, anything is better than the leg cramping!