Prescription medicine symptoms and conditions

I have been taking LIPITOR for about 1.5 years and have been feeling the cotton head but thought it was allergies. for about 8 months or so I have been feeling pain on the left side of my chest and upper back by the shoulder plates. I've told my doctor and had several tests done incl. MRI, C-scan, etc. Once I even had to go to the emergency room thinking I was having a heart attack. But the doc. said the EKG was normal and that it might be muscular. I have not read that anyone else is having the chest symptoms. This is very scary to me. Lately I feel my neck getting stiff and I am also constantly tired and keep waking up at night and have a hard time going back to sleep. I don't seem to have the arm or leg pains that most people here seem to be suffering from but am now convinced it's LIPITOR since it is the only prescription medicine I am taking. I would appreciate hearing from someone who has had the same symptoms I've described above. I stopped taking Lipitor about 4 days ago and do feel already less tired but the upper body pain is still present.

The doctor prescribed Nitrofuran for my UTI. I took one pill and could not sleep the entire night. I had severe piercing pain in my stomach, felt short of breath, and started to sweat. That one pill made me feel terrible, worse than having the flu. I cried out of pain. The next day I got my doctor to prescribe me something else (Levaquin) and within a day the symptoms had subsided greatly, and by the following day I felt a whole lot better.

I started taking Singulair and the first two days I felt better, but by the 3rd day I started feeling like I was trying to get sick. By day 8 I was in the Emergency Room with a very rapid heartbeat (166 beats per minute), and a severe Upper Respiratory Infection. They did blood and urine work, chest x-rays, CAT Scan, etc. and found nothing wrong with me. I kept telling them that I was having a reaction to the Singulair, and even though they never actually admitted it, they did say it was possible. I KNOW it was Singulair. I will NEVER take it again. They need to take it off the market. I was in the hospital for 3 days because of this dangerous drug!

Can Statins Cause Chronic Low-Grade Myopathy?
Statins (hydroxymethyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase
inhibitors) are highly effective drugs for reducing serum
cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.
Clinical trials have shown that they also reduce risk for
coronary heart disease events, coronary procedures, and
stroke by about one third (1). Millions of people in the
United States and worldwide are being treated with statins.
In clinical trials and in clinical practice, statins have proved
to be remarkably safe.
The one notable side effect of statin therapy is myopathy.
A small fraction of patients who are treated with
statins will develop severe myopathy (2). In the worst cases,
severe myoglobinuria, acute renal failure, and even death
can occur. The incidence of severe myopathy is low, perhaps
1 in 1000 patients (2). Predisposing factors for severe
myopathy appear to include advanced age, relatively low
body weight, female sex, certain medications, use of multiple
medications, multisystem disease, and acute illnesses
or major surgery (3). If statins were avoided or used in low
doses in these circumstances, it is likely that the incidence
of severe myopathy could be greatly reduced.
Less severe forms of myopathy undoubtedly occur. In
some patients, fatigue and muscle pain and weakness develop
with moderately high serum creatine kinase levels
but not acute renal failure. In these cases, the myopathy
resolves when statin therapy is discontinued.
Still more patients report various muscle symptoms—
fatigue, pain, and muscle weakness—but have normal creatine
kinase levels. These symptoms probably are unrelated
to statin therapy in many patients. In middle-aged and
older people, muscle, joint, and tendon symptoms are very
common. Naturally, if a patient takes a medication that is
believed to produce muscle problems, symptoms are often
attributed to the medication. On the other hand, the major
controlled clinical trials have not detected a higher prevalence
of muscle symptoms during statin therapy versus placebo
(1). This failure of detection has generally led clinical
trialists to conclude that statin-associated myopathy with
normal creatine kinase levels essentially does not exist or
that, if it does exist, it cannot be detected above the “background
noise” of muscle symptoms in the general clinicaltrial
population.
Many physicians in clinical practice nonetheless believe
that they can identify a subset of statin-treated patients
who have a unique set of statin-related muscle symptoms.
Some patients clearly relate the onset of muscle
symptoms to initiation of statin therapy. These symptoms
may abate after discontinuation of therapy, only to reappear
when statin therapy is restarted. The number of such
patients is not large, and thus it may have been impossible
to identify them in large clinical trials.
In this issue, Phillips and colleagues (4) report on a set
of studies in four patients who had muscle symptoms during
statin therapy that resolved during placebo use. Quantitatively
measured muscle weakness also resolved during
placebo use. Muscle biopsies were performed in three patients
during statin therapy and then during placebo use.
Several pathologic changes were seen on biopsy specimens
obtained during statin therapy: increased lipid content of
mitochondria, fibers that did not stain for cytochrome oxidase
activity, and ragged red fibers. The authors suggest
that these patients had statin-associated myopathy with
normal serum creatine kinase levels.
Despite the study’s small size, we cannot dismiss these
observations as random variation in muscle structure.
However, these highly suggestive results are clearly preliminary.
The number of patients was small, and all appropriate
controls were not used. Nonetheless, this study is novel
because it used quantitative measures of muscle strength
and muscle biopsy to address the question of myopathy
with normal creatine kinase levels during statin therapy.
To be confirmed, the current data would have to be
extended to many more patients in whom muscle symptoms
are closely correlated with statin use. Reproducibility
of symptoms during therapy and symptom resolution after
discontinuation of statin therapy would be necessary. A
definitive study would have to be carefully designed and
executed. It would need to be double-blinded and placebocontrolled
and include sufficient numbers of patients to
provide a valid statistical comparison. In addition, investigators
would have to carefully consider the appropriate
selection of patients. The development of a registry of candidate
patients at multiple sites could facilitate a multicenter
study.
Is a carefully controlled, sizable study of this type
worth the investment of time and effort? To date, no evidence
indicates that prolonged statin therapy leads to permanent
muscle damage or progressive myopathy in patients
with normal creatine kinase levels. Controlled
clinical trials attest to the general safety of statins, and
symptomatic side effects appear to be limited to a relatively
small proportion of treated patients. In addition, no therapy
prevents or treats statin-induced myopathy, short of
withholding the drug. On the other hand, statins are being
prescribed to millions of people, and are usually continued
throughout the patient’s lifetime. It is certain that statins
cause myopathy in some patients. For these reasons, a valid
argument can be made for a more extensive study of lowgrade
myopathy in patients treated with statins.
In the meantime, physicians should recognize the great
benefit of statin therapy in high-risk patients and their
documented safety for most patients. For high-risk persons,
the proven efficacy for preventing cardiovascular disease
outweighs the unlikely possibility of permanent muscle
damage. Phillips and colleagues’ preliminary results
certainly do not provide adequate information on the spec-
Editorial
www.annals.org 1 October 2002 Annals of Internal Medicine Volume 137 • Number 7 617
trum, scope, or prognosis of myopathy with normal creatine
kinase levels during statin therapy. For these reasons,
prescription of statins for eligible patients should continue
despite the current results. Moreover, before discontinuing
therapy, physicians should carefully evaluate any patient
receiving statins who reports muscle symptoms. In most
cases, the symptoms will be found not to be consistent
with chronic myopathy, and often they will not be related
temporally to statin treatment. High-risk patients in particular
should not be deprived of major cardiovascular risk
reduction just because they display symptoms not clearly
documented to be closely related to statin therapy.
Despite these comments, the actions of statin on muscle
metabolism and structure deserve further investigation
to clarify the confusing area of low-grade myopathy apparently
associated with statin use in a few patients.
Scott M. Grundy, MD, PhD
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
Dallas, TX 75390-9052
Current Author Address: Scott M. Grundy, MD, PhD, Center for
Human Nutrition and the Departments of Clinical Nutrition and Internal
Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas,
5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Y3.206, Dallas, TX 75390-9052.
Potential Financial Conflicts of Interest: Honoraria (from Merck &
Co.; Pfizer, Inc.; Bristol-Myers Squibb; and Bayer); Grants (from Merck
& Co. and Pfizer, Inc.)
Ann Intern Med. 2002;137:617-618.
References
1. Executive Summary of The Third Report of The National Cholesterol Education
Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, And Treatment
of High Blood Cholesterol In Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III). JAMA. 2001;
285:2486-97.
2. Staffa JA, Chang J, Green L. Cerivastatin and reports of fatal rhabdomyolysis
. N Engl J Med. 2002;346:539-40.
3. Pasternak RC, Smith SC, Bairey-Merz CN, Grundy SM, Cleeman JI, Lenfant
C. ACC/AHA/NHLBI clinical advisory on the use and safety of statins (1)
(2). J Am Coll Cardiol. 2002;40:567-72.
4. Phillips PS, Haas RH, Bannykh S, Hathaway S, Gray NL, Kimura BJ, et al.
Statin-associated myopathy with normal creatine kinase levels. The Scripps Mercy
Clinical Research Center. Ann Intern Med. 2002;137:581-5.
© 2002 American College of Physicians–American Society of Internal
Medicine
Editorial Statins and Low-Grade Myopathy
618 1 October 2002 Annals of Internal Medicine Volume 137 • Number 7 www.annals.org

In 2001 my daughter started Singular for about 3 years to treat what the doctors said was childhood asthma. After being on the medication for a few months she started having nightmares and was terrified about going to sleep. Unfortunately, I did not relate this to the medication. We did extensive research on the Singular before starting her on the med.. No- where did we find anxiety, nightmares, or impulsiveness as a side effect. Two years into the med we brought my daughter to see a psychologist because of the nightmares, who diagnosed her with anxiety and impulsiveness. We didn't medicate her for either; however, we did use behavior modification. Although the behavior modification helped slightly with the impulsiveness, it did not do anything for the fear she endured when it became nighttime. She would not go to sleep in fear of the nightmares until pure exhaustion hit. After being on the med for 3 years it stopped working so we took her off. A few weeks after being off a friend asked if my daughter was still on Singular because the FDA just came out with information about it causing vivid dreams that could cause anxiety that Merck seemed to have held back as a side effect. A few months of being off the med and the nightmares went away. Unfortunately, she was on the med for so long and because she was so young I don't know if this caused any long term effects such as the anxiety and impulsiveness that has now became part of her personality. Being 3 years old and taking it for 3 years how can that not make an impact on a child's personality. They are learning things at that age about themselves and the way they rationalize things. Fortunately, she is extremely intelligent and hopefully as she grows older she will mature enough to deal with the anxiety and impulses.

I had mine taken out on Jan 8. I am so glad I got it taken out! It hardly hurt at all and I did not bleed, which I was expecting since I did when I got it inserted. I got my period about 2 days later. The first few days I had it out I was very emotional, but now I seem to be more stable. I have lost 6 lbs in the week since having it out without even trying. This only proves to me that Mirena caused the 45 lbs I gained in the last 7 months since having it in. I am going to actually try to lose the weight now and hope I'll be back to normal soon. The only problem still lingering is my insomnia. How long is it going to take before I can start sleeping normal again?

SINGULAIR is a prescription medicine approved to help control symptoms of asthma in adults and children 12 months and older.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION About SINGULAIR
SINGULAIR will NOT replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. Continue to take your other asthma medicines as prescribed and have fast-acting medication available. If your asthma symptoms get worse or you need to increase the use of your fast-acting inhaler, call your doctor at once.

Side effects are generally mild and vary by age, and may include headache, ear infection, sore throat, and upper respiratory infection. Check with your doctor if you are pregnant or nursing. SINGULAIR is available by prescription only.

My 8yo son has been on Singulair for his asthma for about 2 weeks and he has complained of a 'sick tummy' regularly, ending up in tears because he can't do things. We have had a long run of this, perhaps due to the 8 lots of penicillin for tonsillitis, and some tummy bugs going around the schools I work in. The doctor has been suggesting irritable bowel syndrome so we didn't think of the Singulair side effects until it has got so bad that he is not going to school.He has been unusually clingy and almost paranoid about small things that don't usually worry him over the past couple of weeks. We were trying these tablets as he has been on steroid based preventer since he was 3 and we wanted to get him off the cortisone stuff. After reading here he is off the Singulair today and we will report the side effects to the paediatrician.

I'm 27 yrs old, fairly healthy female and just was given Levaquin on Monday, Sept. 18th for an upper respiratory infection. I was given a 5 day regimen of 750mg pills. I took the first pill Monday night between 7-8pm. By 9-10pm I was very ill, my whole body was in pain, I had nausea and started vomiting like crazy. I ended up having to go to the ER that night. I was told at the ER that I had a bad virus in addition to the upper respiratory infection and was told to keep taking the Levaquin. The next day I went home and slowly started to feel better - so by late evening I'm thinking this Levaquin must really be working, so I took the second pill at about 8pm. I will sum up all the symptoms I had starting at about 10pm that night...nausea, horrible insomnia -- every time I would try to drift off to sleep my body would "jump" out of sleep. My mind started racing thinking about a million different things, I started hearing cracking noises, my knees became very weak, I got so hot that I had to turn the AC down to 60. My legs and feet started tingling...you name it, it was happening. I thought I was going crazy. So at 4am I decided to go online and look up the side effects of this medicine -- I was shocked/relieved when I found this website. I was shocked that so many others have had negative experiences with Levaquin -- many worst than mine but I was also relieved to see that Iwas not just imagining all this. I only took 2 pills of Levaquin and it had this effect on me --- right now my right knee is so sore that is hurts to walk up and down stairs. I believe it was the Levaquin and not a virus that sent me to the ER Monday night! I have contacted my Doctor but all she said is yes, this is what could happen and offered me another antibotic --- I'm not trusting any prescription medicine at this time! Good Luck to all and I will file a complaint about this pill as all you should, so that it can be taken off the market!

My sister's son (age 18) was given some adderall to "try" by a friend who has ADD. It was the first time he ever tried any kind of drug or alcohol. I'm sure he took more than a normal dose (he says he took 2 - a capsule and a tablet). He had gone to dog-sit for my brother, who lives 3 hours away when he took these, and had an "episode" after taking them. He heard voices telling him to get out of the house & he didn't belong there - he was totally paranoid. He thought the neighbors were out in the streets having a meeting about him and then he thought people were hiding in the bushes watching him. He called us & told us someone had come in the house and changed all the locks on my brother's doors. My sister, parents, & I drove down to see what was going on & as soon as we walked in the door he said he thought we were "wearing wires". He was very frightened and confused. He really believed someone was in the house & in bushes, & had chewed the side of his mouth so bad he had a bad sore inside his mouth. I don't know what this drug does to people with ADD, but I would never give this drug to my child or take it myself. It appears that this kid that gave my nephew this drug needs to learn that it is ILLEGAL to give someone else your prescription medicine.