Overmedicated and miserable

[cjean419]

Hello,

I am new to this forum and I am very excited to see all the interesting posts. I am looking for a way to get out of this runaway train of medication I've been stuck on.

I am a 37-year-old female who first got Gestational Diabetes four years ago when I was pregnant. A year after childbirth, I showed symptoms of Type II Diabetes so my GP put me on oral meds and has changed them over time until I am now on Metformin twice a day. In addition to this, he has given me Lovastatin, Benicar HCT, and Nexium. I later started showing signs of fatigue and muscle pains/cramps and weakness - and obviously showed signs of emotional distress so he decided I was clinically depressed and prescribed Effexor. I am also on birth control pills because I'm afraid of getting pregnant while on all these meds. In the mean time, I started to losing sleep because I was having restless leg syndrome, night sweats and massive muscle cramps at night. He sent me to a sleep clinic upon my request. I was diagnosed with RLS and given yet another medication called Mirapex (used to treat Parkinsons!) and was told to add Iron supplements because my Iron is low and that can also cause RLS. Now, I am on Metformin, Lovastatin, Benicar HCT, Nexium, Effexor, Mirapex, Tri-Nessa, and Iron Supplements. I gag every day on all these pills, and I already had damage to my throat due to acid reflux even though I'm taking Nexium (I am a singer and it's causing me to cough now every time I sing in my low range). I feel worse now than when I started on these meds, but when I try to discontinue any, I am told by my doc that it's not a good idea and once I feel withdrawal from them I freak out and am afraid to wait it out (Have tried going off Nexium and got chest pains, tried going off Benicar and my legs swelled up, and tried to stop Effexor and got dizzy, etc.).

My question is, has anyone on this board gone through the process of reducing meds and found ways to make the process better? Any suggestions on a specialist in the Charlotte, NC area who treats Diabetes patients without dumping a bunch of meds on them?

:hmmmm2:

[Diana]

Hi,

Im not sure what all those meds are used for, but I'll take a guess judging by similar Australian brand names. Are they for cholesterol, high blood pressure, reflux/ulcers? (The Lovastin, Benicar HCT and Nexium?). If so, have you asked your doc if there are any other options to help get everything under control? Diet/lifestyle options, etc? I wouldnt stop taking the meds without supervision, but maybe try talking to your doc about how you feel about it all and see what else they can suggest? If your doctor seems unwilling to review your medications, maybe it would be worth getting a second opinion.

It sounds as though you are not too sure about whether you should be taking the effexor? Do you feel that you have depression, or are you simply taking it because the doc prescribed it? If you feel that its not necessary, again, talk the the doctor about coming off it. You can slowly stop taking them under supervision, to reduce withdrawl effects.

Is the birth control pill bothering you? If so, there may be other contraceptive options that would suit you better - implants, injections, barrier methods, etc etc.

With the Mirapex, I guess its a case of weighing up which is better for you - taking the tablet, or the RLS symptoms.

I dont really have any suggestions about the metformin.. I suppose unless you wanted to inject instead there is not much option if diet alone is not working for you any longer!

If it is simply impossible for any of the medications to be cut out, there are other options to help you take them without gagging. Some medicines can be crushed or cut to help you swallow them more easily. Some, such as the iron, may be available in a liqud form. Others may come in an easier form to swallow, such as a capsule or dissolvable tablet. Do check with your Doc or pharmacist before crushing any tablets though, as some need to be swallowed whole so they release at the right rate.

Good luck, I think your best bet is to inform yourself really well about all the medications you are on and the reasons you are using them, and go to your doctor armed with that info. Remember, its your body, and you have the right to say what you put in it. You want to get the best outcome for your health though, so dont just stop taking the medications, as that could cause some real problems!

=) Diana

[Harold]

Muscle pains are a side effect of Lovastatin. Why he did not take you off of it when you complained of muscle pain and swelling I have no idea. Lovastatin is a cholesterol lowering agent and if your's are not high I would question the need. There are other statins that may or may not affect you badly. The only way to tell is to try them, and if your doc will not go along find another doctor. Find another doctor and get a second opinion anyway.

[ProudNanaof5]

I don't have any answers to your meds...But I sure would sure question your Dr... Tell him/her of your concerns. It's your body and you know how you feel. If you don't get satisfaction then there is more than one Doc out there... Oh BTW Welcome:wavey: Glad you joined our family...

[notme]

Hi cjean, I sympathize with what you are going through with all of the meds. I also decided that all the meds were not worth the side effects that I was enduring. I talked to my doctor about it. I now refuse to take statins as they caused me weight gain and muscle pain and depression. My blood pressure meds were reduced from three different pills to one called lotrel. I am type one so there is nothing I can do about insulin. However, I have reduced the Gabipentin (for neuropathy) to one pill a day.

Talk to your doctor. Tell him how you feel and that you want to reduce some of your meds instead of adding more for each symptom. My guess is they are masking symptoms of mediction with another medication.

Take control cjean. You have taken the first step by coming here and telling us. Now go tell your doctor that you want off some of these meds.

Good luck....and welcome to the forums. We are happy you have joined us.

[BlueSky]

I'm with Harold and Nancy on this. Try stopping the Lovastatin (without telling your doctor) for a couple of weeks and see what happens. If you get relief, discuss your options with your doctor, like stopping the statin completely or taking COq10 with it. Here is an excerpt of an article by a doctor on the subject.

It has been clear, in my experience with statin therapy, that statin-induced muscle pain occurs in the presence of normal CK. Stopping the statin reliably eliminates the symptoms, and restarting at the same dose usually restores the symptoms. Fortunately, a reduced dose often eliminates muscle symptoms, while allowing lipid goals to be achieved. Although most of the clinical trials regarding statin use have not identified muscle pain or weakness in the absence of elevated CK as a side effect of statins, practical experience leads to the opposite conclusion.

Besides overt muscle tenderness, patients have complained of nocturnal cramps, and muscle cramps during or after exercise that are improved or eliminated when statins are stopped. Some patients feel that their exercise capacity is reduced when they are taking a daily statin. This group of patients presents the common dilemma of fatigue with no clear evidence of an organic cause.

Statin Effects on Skeletal Muscle (http://www.cardiosource.com/Editorials/index.asp?EdID=15)

:)

[slipperyelm]

About the issue of gagging--- If it is the size of pills that makes you gag, you could find if any of them are available in smaller pills. Perhaps, for example, you could swallow two 50 mg pills with less problem than trying two swallow one 100 mg pill. If the appropriate dosages are not available on the market, you might still have a way to do it. A "compounding pharamcist" can do something like break up the pills, accurately measure out smaller amounts to go into smaller capsules. Of course this only works with certain medicines. Some cannot be broken out of their manufactured tablets without affecting how they are taken up by your body.

If the gagging is caused by taking so many pills all at the same time, talk with your doctor about alternative times to take them. (I, for example, often get nauseated taking a multivitamin, even moreso when I take it with a medicine. So I take it seperately from other tablets, and take only a half tablet at a time).

The coughing---Are you saying it is the inadequacey of the Nexium that is maybe leading to esophageal/tracheal/vocal chord irritation? Talk to your doctor again. Or your pharmacist for some info! Some blood pressure medicines can cause a cough. My husband stayed on one such med for more than a year and it ruined his voice. He did not realize that the med was causing his cough. He lectures as much as 6 hours a day and really needs his voice. Now, for singing, his voice is shot! His formerly smooth speaking voice is hoarse now. He is on another BP med now, but his vocal chords did not heal completely. If your BP med might be causing your cough, get it changed. There are a lot of alternatives when it comes to BP meds.

Yes, I think you need to tell your doctor about all your health misgivings and problems. S/he might be able to offer you more acceptable alternatives.

[otep]

If my grandma would take that much medication I don't know how will she react. Try to ask if there are any contraindications for each and every pill you take. My friend's mom has a heart problem and she has this medication she takes and its working for her unfortunately its a double sided blade, it helps her heart but takes down her kidney. Maybe you should try asking your doctor for this kind of stuff. I am no doctor and sure knows nothing of this but with what i see from my grandma (she has diabetes). I sure am being enlightened bit by bit with meds and terms. Hope you get out of that train. Like my friend told me - try to reasearch on going natural. Meds according to him sure are effective but its not necessarily the ONLY answer or cure to the conditions / disease. There are other stuff that works (grandma's trying a supplement). Hope you find a way to lessen your meds as it sure is too many.

[otep]

Let me quote notme on saying

"Talk to your doctor. Tell him how you feel and that you want to reduce some of your meds instead of adding more for each symptom. My guess is they are masking symptoms of mediction with another medication."

I agree with her 100%. Too much of anything is also bad...

[Funnygrl]

The muscle pains can be a sign of a serious side effect from statins. You need to ask your doctor to do a Cytokine Kinase test.