Have you ever had a weird drug reaction?

[Yeoman Randi]

About a year or so ago i was diagnosed with possible fibromyalgia. The Rheumo doc put me on Lyrica, which aside from practically numbing my entire body did something weird to my head. It was like turning up the volume on the radio. All of a sudden i had a running commentary of everything i saw, touched, tasted, smelled....it was AWFUL! I think i understood what insanity felt like! I had to go off the Lyrica....i couldn't stand the constant non-stop stream of thoughts!

Someone near and dear to me had been put on Cymbalta for depression. Within 6 weeks he was hallucinating, delusional, and drinking every night of the week (as opposed to just on weekends). There is more to the story but i'm going to stop here for now.

So my question, aside from the common weird drug reactions like a rash, have you or anyone you know ever had a strange reaction to a doctor prescribed medication?

 

[Deranged Nasat]

No, luckily. That said, I'm on medication for depression, but I was anxious about starting for a long time exactly because of possible side-effects. I like to avoid drugs wherever possible; when I'm ill, I never take drugs and just let it run its course (having never been seriously ill, I can do so). Even if a drug is safe and medically approved, and fine for the vast majority, there's just no way of knowing what unusual physiological attributes might cause it to have odd side effects on you. Of course, a good doctor is aware of that, I suspect. I discussed my concerns with my doctor, and she essentially said that while it was unlikely, it was certainly possible that I might experience odd side-effects and if so we'd stop the medicine and try something else.

 

[T'Baio]

I was prescribed lorazepam once. It's supposed to anti-anxiety, anti-seizure, sleep aid calming stuff. One of the possible side effects is that it does the opposite, and it did. I was bouncing off the walls all night!

I've only used what I had left recreationally ever since.

A doctor can't tell if you're going to have side effects. Side effects, at least the severe ones, generally only affect a small percentage of the population of people who use the drug, like 3%. That 3% experiences side effects simply because of genetic differences in synaptic transmission and such from the majority. So you won't know until you try.

 

[propita]

I was on carafate twice, for heartburn or possible ulcer. The first time, it turned my ... fecal material ... green. Green as a new leaf in spring. Not like I'd had grape juice (I hadn't), this was much brighter. Yeah. That was surprising. And not on the list of side effects.

The second time I was one it, I wasn't surprised at that side effect. Still not on the list of side effects.

And I found out I'm not so good with sulfa drugs (welts and weals and bright red from head to toe--glow in the dark red). Though some meds I take now have small amounts, with no problem.

 

[Misfit Toy]

The closest I have come to any "weird" reaction was when a scratch on my stomach (my dog greeted me a little too enthusiastically) just would not heal, even though I had cleaned it and applied Neosporin. It got worse and worse, even with me applying more Neosporin each day, until I finally went to the doc where it was determined that I am allergic to Neosporin!

 

[ancientone51]

Was on morphine drip for my hip replacement...made me sick as a dog. Apparently not an unusual side effect.

Hubby was on Cymbalta, low dose, for diabetic neropathy...he'd been in the testing for it...made him ditsy as a betsy big with bad dreams so he finnally said no more.

sorry can/type't spell under the best of circumstances and today isn't but I can't find the energy to care

 

[Kestra]

I had a lot of bad experiences with anti-depressants before I found one that works relatively well for me, with little side-effects. The other ones often made me very lethargic and even after a few weeks, that didn't go away. My current one doesn't have side effects that I notice but withdrawal is a bitch, if I miss even one does. I get "brain zaps" and more. It's really not something enjoyable, but as long as I take it regularly it helps me quite a bit otherwise.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

The closest I have come to any "weird" reaction was when a scratch on my stomach (my dog greeted me a little too enthusiastically) just would not heal, even though I had cleaned it and applied Neosporin. It got worse and worse, even with me applying more Neosporin each day, until I finally went to the doc where it was determined that I am allergic to Neosporin!

OMG! That's so ironic that it's funny!!! (although i bet it wasnt at the time)

Was on morphine drip for my hip replacement...made me sick as a dog. Apparently not an unusual side effect.

Hubby was on Cymbalta, low dose, for diabetic neropathy...he'd been in the testing for it...made him ditsy as a betsy big with bad dreams so he finnally said no more.

sorry can/type't spell under the best of circumstances and today isn't but I can't find the energy to care

When i had kidney surgery three years ago i had a morphine drip for the first time in my life (iit was my first surgical procedure ever). I was extremely annoyed that they didn't send me home with one as a party gift.

Re your husband on the Cymbalta...those bad dreams were another side effect that my son also had. That Cymbalta can be wicked for some people. Again, my condolences to you hon!

 

[TrekkieMonster]

I was prescribed lorazepam once. It's supposed to anti-anxiety, anti-seizure, sleep aid calming stuff. One of the possible side effects is that it does the opposite, and it did. I was bouncing off the walls all night!

I've only used what I had left recreationally ever since.

A doctor can't tell if you're going to have side effects. Side effects, at least the severe ones, generally only affect a small percentage of the population of people who use the drug, like 3%. That 3% experiences side effects simply because of genetic differences in synaptic transmission and such from the majority. So you won't know until you try.

I'm apparently one of the 3%.

I'm okay with basic stuff like aspirin and NSAIDs and sinus medication, but anything with any "kick" ... well, kicks my ass. All opiates and other strong "pain killers" make me sick as a dog; likewise general anesthetic. I actually had to have a surgery redone a year later because the pain killers they sent me home with made me so sick that I tore open my internal sutures from the violent vomiting (I didn't know at the time what was causing it). Novocaine takes forEVER to work on me. On the recommendation of my doctor I tried Benedryl a few times when I was suffering from insomnia, only to discover that instead of making me drowsy and relaxed, it wired me and made me feel like I had fire ants crawling all over my body.

I've learned to be very cautions and to take "test doses" of anything new. That, or just "tough it out" where pain killers are concerned.

 

[T'Baio]

Generally, sickness from opiates is a common side effect which many people experience. That wouldn't be the 3% I was talking about. I was referring more to drugs doing the exact opposite of what they're intended to do.

Your sickness seems pretty severe, however. Sounds like you might have a weird thing going on with your dopamine receptors, or something.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

When I was a kid, I was put on haldol. It caused a severe dystonic reaction, including trembling, muscle spasms, hallucinations, and psychosis. After that, they tried pimozide, which caused a largely similar reaction. After that, my parents just decided not to treat my Tourette's, because the drugs left available all had serious side effects, and I'd already maxed out all the safer ones.

Definitely not an experience I'd want to repeat.

 

[Amaris]

I was prescribed Tramadol for severe jaw pain. After about two hours of nothing at all, suddenly the room got brighter, the world got more cheerful and I was God incarnate on this little planet! ...then about 20 minutes later I started having palpitations, sweated profusely, became incredibly depressed, had multiple anxiety attacks, I became very lightheaded and dizzy like I was floating, the pain came back with a vengeance, the colors in the room started to shift, I had a conversation with Abraham Lincoln, I had nightmares where I felt like I was wrapped in Saran wrap and couldn't breathe. That lasted until the next morning.

 

[Crusher Disciple]

Well, I'm on Cymbalta but if I have any weird side effects I'll be sure to come in here and let you guys know about it.

 

[auntiehill]

When I was a kid, I had knee surgery, and they put me on straight shots of codeine. It made me so ill that my two-day hospital stay turned into an eight day hospital stay. My doctor said he'd never seen such a severe reaction to codeine---ever. Most people who are allergic to it just get a rash or feel sea-sick. I apparently lost consciousness one point, was hallucinating, etc. I don't remember because I was too out of it. I just remember the weird feeling of closing my eyes for a second, and then, when I opened them, about 12 hours had passed. It was freaky.

I tend to be very resistant to pain meds in general, so not being able to take anything even similar to codeine sucks big time. Novocaine wears off pretty fast on me; my dentists have always numbed me up so completely that I can hardly move--but as soon I'm up and moving, it wears off right away.

Hubby is completely resistant to morphine; it does nothing for him and he's so hyper that many sedatives have the complete opposite on him.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

A couple of years ago i had strep, so the doc put me on an antibiotic. The strep cleared up but then i got a sinus infection so i was put on another antibiotic. Well of course the two antibiotics one right after the other killed all the good bacteria in my intestines and so i was left with only the bad (that's in there all the time anyway)...but it ran rampant. I ended up with a god awful bacterial infection and had to be hospitalized. They put me on two meds. One i can't remember. The other was Flagyl.

I swear my tongue grew lint. It was the weirdest thing ever.

 

[RoJoHen]

NyQuil gives me really bizarre dreams.

 

[TrekkieMonster]

Generally, sickness from opiates is a common side effect which many people experience. That wouldn't be the 3% I was talking about. I was referring more to drugs doing the exact opposite of what they're intended to do.

Your sickness seems pretty severe, however. Sounds like you might have a weird thing going on with your dopamine receptors, or something.

Yeah, and I discovered after the fact that my mom is the same way.

The other was Flagyl.

I swear my tongue grew lint. It was the weirdest thing ever.

I'm sorry, but that actually made me laugh out loud.

 

[TheBrew]

I am fairly sure that I am Opiate-immune as morphine didn't affect me at all and when I was prescribed Vicodin for pain, I barely used half the bottle because it didn't help.

 

[T'Baio]

Generally, sickness from opiates is a common side effect which many people experience. That wouldn't be the 3% I was talking about. I was referring more to drugs doing the exact opposite of what they're intended to do.

Your sickness seems pretty severe, however. Sounds like you might have a weird thing going on with your dopamine receptors, or something.

Yeah, and I discovered after the fact that my mom is the same way.

Genetics...wonderful, aren't they?

 

[Jan]

I had a lot of bad experiences with anti-depressants before I found one that works relatively well for me, with little side-effects. The other ones often made me very lethargic and even after a few weeks, that didn't go away.

I had much the same reaction. Unfortunately, my Dr. took it to be worsening depression and kept upping the dose. It finally got to where I couldn't leave the house and when I ran out of meds, I came back to myself withing three days. I don't think I'll *ever* allow myself to be put on anti-depressants again after that. I pretty much lost a year and a half of my life to them.

I also have an odd reaction to the more common general anaesthesia drugs. The enzyme in the blood that breaks it down so you wake up--basically I don't have any. I woke up from a short outpatient proceedure 10 hours late. Now I carry a note from that doctor with my driver's license.

Jan