How I wish that I'd never been prescribed these horrid drugs. I've found them to be addictive and dangerous and I'm having a lot of trouble getting off them. I have joint and muscle pains, constipation, suffer a dry mouth, throat and eyes now I have raised liver function test results.
View 14 RepliesHave taken several forms of ppis over the past year on and off and for the past six months cimetidine. Now have gout lower back. You tell the doctor this and he doesn't want to accept it. I do not eat much in the way of acidic - bad diet - and this can be the only cause of it. Yet doctor tries to fob me off with how it is just some temporary thing - a month later it is still there. I have insisted on blood tests for kidney and liver as I know it is not some muscle strain and that would not last a month or have fatigue and
dizziness with it either. He had also told me that people do not get a lot of coughing from ppis. WellI go it and nothing else could have caused it. I only ever had the bad coughing when taking the ppis, it would stop when I came off and start again when I started again. I then found about 50 people online with the same problem.
There are many published studies that describe the various side effects associated with the H2 antagonist (PPI) products. When the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notifies doctors about the side effects, of PPIs, why would you put yourself at risk by taking them?
If a person goes to a Gastroenterologist with esophageal reflux (GERD), virtually every GI doctor will automatically prescribe a PPI, without doing any kind of testing. After taking the PPI for a while, the Gastroenterologist may refer you to a doctor that will perform an endoscopy or colonoscopy. These procedures, are not accurate enough to diagnose Hypochlorhydria (low stomach acid), Hypochlorhydria (high stomach acid), or Normal stomach acid. In either case, the patient will be prescribed more PPIs. Some doctors will do testing that involves surgically attaching a device to the wall of your esophagus. The device will remain attached to your esophagus for 24 hours, while the pH of the esophageal fluid is being monitored, by a recorder that you wear. At the end of this test the doctor, will tell you something you already knew!!! "YOU HAVE REFLUX" Worst case scenario, the patient may undergo exploratory surgery, which may result in "unnecessary organs" being removed.
Gastroenterologist and many other medical specialty doctors automatically assume that patients with Gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) are over producing Hydrochloric acid (HCL). Unfortunately in many instances this assumption is wrong. The symptoms associated with excess acid production (hyperchlorhydria) and low stomach acid (hypochlorhydria) are identical, making it very difficult to diagnose, without a pH diagnostic test. Both conditions will cause reflux, belching, bloating, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea and/or constipation, flatulence, etc.
Before taking any type of PPI or acid reducing medication, have your doctor give you a pH Diagnostic test, or Gastrogram. It will tell the doctor exactly what is going on in your digestive process. The test is accurate, and reliable without the discomfort associated with other procedures. It is done in the doctor's office, without the use of sedation. If you are actually over producing stomach acid, a natural medication, similar to the buffering enzyme that is produced by the pancreas, is available. If you are not producing enough stomach, a natural medication is also available to bring pH back into balance.
When it comes to your health and longevity, a pH diagnostic test, pH capsule test, or pH Gastrogram is one of the best investments you will ever make.
I've taken these things for ages and I've suspected they don't really work. Three months ago my doctor put me on Lansoprazole 60mg twice a day. For two months my reflux improved then slowly it started again. I've stopped taking them, just stopped completely and I'm no different, no rebound nothing different, just my usual reflux. I try and control it with diet control, no alcohol Gaviscon and some Ranitidine.
My question is this, have PPIs stopped working for you?
I've been on Proton Pump Inhibitors for years. A scan today revealed that I have gall stones. A quick search and yes, PPIs are implicated in Gall Bladder Disease. Yet another reason to get off the wretched things.
I'm now down to 45 mg in the morning, from 60mg and 30mg in the evening, from 60mg. Onwards and forwards is the only way.
Is it possible you can have normal liver function tests and a complete blood profile and everything comes back normal but still have liver problems?
View 1 RepliesI read that you can have normal liver function and ultrasound with early liver disease. If that is the case, how are you to find out in order to take corrective action?
View 1 RepliesI am a 30 year old mother of two and I've been a migraine sufferer since I was 16, where this used to be occasional a few months ago they became more frequent, occurring about 3-5 times a month with headaches in between. Up until this point in my life I never felt the need to be on any kind of medication for them, at this point I was desperate. I was popping Excedrin, Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Advil, whatever I could get my hands on just to function. After a trip to the ER to receive a nice little "migraine cocktail" to relieve my pain, I scheduled a visit with my PCP who sent me to a neuro.
This is my second trip to a neuro. Two years ago, I had an incident where out of the blue, my speech became garbled, I couldn't make any sense out of what I was saying and moments of my memory were erased. I was sent to a neuro then too (a different one) by the same PCP who did a quick little physical to be sure I hadn't had a stroke and sent me on my way. At this appointment, the doctor attributed my migraines to stress given I'm a single mother, prescribed me Topamax in addition to Imitrex to take PRN. She started me on 25mg to take twice a day for two weeks. After two days I started noticing weird side effects, tingling down my left arm and feeling like I didn't have full control of the arm. My index finger would move by itself, twitching (which is frustrating when you have to type for a living). The next side effect was my inability to form a sentence, again, very frustrating! I knew exactly what I wanted to say but for the life of me could not spit it out! I called the doctor's office, the doctor was out but they said they would relay the message and call me back. When they did they said she wanted me to stay on it but take it at night to reduce the side effects. Two weeks later it was time for me to double my dose, now I was taking 100mg daily.
I have now been on Topamax for a month and I am having tons of bruising on my arms, legs and hips with no explanation, hair loss and today I noticed my eyes are yellow. I went to E Care and they are running tests on my liver functions and have ordered me to stop the medicine cold turkey, hoping for no bad side effects of that because I can't take any OTC medications.
Has anyone else experienced liver damage from Topamax?
I am a 31 year old female who was diagnosed with POTS in 2008 at that time I had a normal stress test and has always been able to tolerate my heart rate going up however over the last month I have become short of breath and have been developing chest pain with minimal activities such as showering. I had another stress test on Friday and I was only able to walk 3 1-2 minutes and became short of breath and developed chest pain also my heart rate was 98 at the start and got up to 164 then it took 2 hours to recover that's right 2 hours not 5-8 min and they had to give me iv fluids then I was sent on my way. The report showed hyperkinetic LV and hyperdynamic LV systolic function. All the dr said was it was essentially normal.
View 1 RepliesI am being tested for Addison's Disease and just received the below test results. I don't see my endo until 12/4/13, and wondered what the results might indicate. Any thoughts?
Historically I presented with low Cortisol and High ACTH.
* After a Dexamethasone Suppression test my blood cortisol was less than 1mcg (whatever that means)
* 17 Alpha Hydroxyprogesterone was 849
* ACTH Stim test results:
Baseline- 10mcg
30 min.- 13mcg
60 min.- 15mcg
By way of background I have typical cushing's symptoms but my early labs including 24 hour urine were normal. So of course doctors have been dismissive. I had a brain MRI for tinnitus and convinced the radiologist to include the pituitary and a microadenoma was found. Now doctors are taking me seriously thank goodness. I had a an ACTH stimulation test a couple of days ago and these are the results posted online:
Base cortisol 42.0
30 min cortisol 26.0
60 min 49.2
Normal range for morning (test done at about 9 am): 6.2-19.4
At the end of December my blood work came back positive for hsv2. I haven't had symptoms or outbreaks. After doing research I found that result index levels above 1.1 are considered positive but below 3.0 are low risk and could be false. Mine was 1.2. I had a flu shot the same day as my blood work. Could this have given a false result?
View 2 RepliesI was diagnosed with pleurisy a few weeks shoot felt like was getting better but 4 days later it's starting to affect me again. Can pleurisy return like that or could it be something else wrong with my chest? My d diamond blood test I had to was high it was on the thousands. Has anyone else ever had this?
View 4 RepliesI am a 22 yr old male weighing about 165. I have recently been told I have an enlarged spleen. We have done chest x-ray, two blood tests, an abdomen CT along with a chest CT. Everything is normal, other than the spleen. It has been over a month of testing with no answers. They are now referring me to an oncologist, but why? Wouldn't my other tests show something significant? The pain is worse when I eat, but it is mostly a constant sharp pain that radiates to my chest. Now I am feeling leg pain as well.
View 1 RepliesI have so many Addison's symptoms, and in March my AM cortisol was 8.75, so low-normal. I was sure I would have a diagnosis after my ACTH stim test. Unfortunately, I've hit another dead end. Here are my results:
8am baseline reading - 12.82 ug/dl
30 Min after injection - 20.88
60 Min after injection - 24.44
I was stressed about the procedure to begin with. Then the nurse who drew my blood could not hit my vein and it was a very painful process as she continued hunting for it. It hurt so much I was almost in tears. This happened for the first two draws, and then I finally asked for a different nurse for the third draw. She hit my vein with no problems as most do since I have very prominent veins. I was so upset. Also, they had me walking back and forth between the lab and the waiting area after each blood draw.
Is it possible that my results were skewed by these factors?
I experienced an adrenaline rush shortly after being injected with the ACTH, and until about 5pm my heart was pounding pretty hard and I felt lightheaded. Is this normal?
I am 38 Year Old male, Have been an athlete and or worked out since the age of 12 (super active). For the last 10 years or so I have been super fatigued/tired, don't recover well from exercise, terrible reactive hypoglycemia, muscle twitches, tan year round (i used to be white/pail as could be, now I carry at tan year round) short temper, sleep like crap. I can't seem to handle heat or a ton of direct sun. I will get sick for a day or 2 nauseous/fatigued/headache (it is not water usually i will drink 2 liters of water while out hiking for the afternoon.
I have taken 3 different Saliva cortisol test and all 3 looked the same, cortisol was in the tank upon waking and slowing rose throughout the day. The complete opposite of what it should look like. I finally talked my doctor into doing an ACTH Stim test. I have only got back the Cortisol results at this point, But they are very interesting??
From all that I have read on intercepting ACTH results your baseline Cortisol should double at 60 minutes. According to this test is should be >18 at 60 minutes I only rose 8!!! Please see results below.
Baseline Draw- 19.7, Standard > 5
30 Minute Draw- 26.4, Standard >7 Above Baseline Result, JUST UNDER BY .3
60 Minute Draw- 27.7, Standard >18 Above Baseline Result, 10 UNDER THE BARE MINIMUM IT SHOULD HAVE RISEN!!!
I am a little confused on how to interpret these results?? Like I said I should have the rest of the numbers in a few days.
I was recently tested negative for all STDs except herpes type 2 which I have had for years and so wasn't tested. I forgot to tell the doctor I am on Valtrex 500mg daily for suppressive antiviral treatment. Can this have an effect on the results of the tests for gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, HIV, or hepatitis (hepatitis)?
Can I reply on the negative results or do I need retesting after coming off the herpes antiviral medication?
My husband was diagnosed with iron overload and had the DNA testing done for Hemochromatosis, he has been waiting 7 months now and was told it would be another 4 months til he sees a Dr. to discuss the situation. My question is with waiting this long and not knowing how long before that he had high iron, will this be affecting his organs in a detrimental way.
View 1 RepliesHas anyone experienced low BUN and creatinine blood test? How is it common in people who have cirrhosis?
View 5 RepliesMy mother is a 65 year old female, 136 lbs, and on peritoneal dialysis for 3 years due to End Stage Renal Disease. Last week, she began experiencing severe abdominal pain that was a burning/gnawing pain. She went to the hospital and a CT Abdomen was taken without contrast. All was normal.
Over the next four (4) days, the pain persisted, particularly during dialysis exchanges at home. She returned to the hospital who admitted her. Another CT Abdomen was taken at this time which showed "nodular contour on the liver", free air in transverse colon which appeared to be dilated. She was also constipated for several days during this period. The CT impression suggested clinical evaluation for chronic liver disease.
A standard liver panel was taken and all results were normal. Nothing even close to elevated. She has never had a history of any liver issues and never had anything show on a CT for liver. After a day in the hospital, all stomach pain disappeared, she was able to use the restroom, and all stool samples/GI tests were normal without blood. She is naturally anemic due to ESRD with low iron/protein. Her last ANA/autoimmune panel was in December, all clear. No history of any hepatitis.
An Ultrasound Right Upper Quadrant was performed and the impression was no biliary obstruction, moderate ascites (tends to be normal due to peritoneal dialysis fluid), and "heterogeneous liver." The impression suggested referral for cirrhosis evaluation.
She began taking Hydralazine (25mg/3 times daily) in the last 3-4 months. She also takes a host of other blood pressure medicines.
QUESTION: She is currently awaiting a kidney transplant and very worried about this. A blood test will be taken in a couple weeks by a specialist that is supposed to diagnose Cirrhosis. Given this presentation alone, what other causes could explain this imaging results? Should we fear the worst?
I had an abdominal ultrasound done for some abdominal pain and it was noted in the report as an impression that I had an echogenic appearing liver (such as non alcoholic fatty liver). My doctor at that time didn't tell me and just said my report was normal. When I went in for my Colonoscopy that was unrelated, it was mentioned again and when I did some research I realized what fatty liver actually was. I switched doctors.
My new doctor is considering giving me a CT scan but is checking with the GI department to see if they think its needed, etc. etc. But that there is no treatment for it besides diet modification.
Here's the thing. I don't have any of the risk factors. I am not overweight. I'm actually underweight slightly (BMI is 18, I weigh 110 lbs). I don't drink any alcohol, never did. And I don't have diabetes or hepatitis. The only thing I could do and what I have been doing is change my diet. I stopped eating processed foods, watched my sugar/carbs, and eat more vegetables than I ever have.
I'm a very anxious person and I'm not sure I want to know what the scan says. If it's worse than what I thought, I'm going to be so upset and stressed out. And I can't treat it anyway. It's not like they can give me a medication and make it go away. I think knowing the extent of it will just cause me mental anguish and I'm already stressed out about it as is.