Ever had a crazy/rare side effect to a common drug?

[Liberty Belle]

Don't know if this counts, but when I take Nyquil I dream of flying turkeys

Oh, the humanity!

 

[grafxgirl]

Nyquil gives me the jitters. No sleep for me!

I have an allergic reaction to Prilosec. My body gets itchy and my skin turns red. It looks like a sunburn.

 

[bumbershoot]

I can't take Aleve. Was diagnosed with "naproxen poisoning" after having several weird symptoms that were misdiagnosed at first (b/c I didn't think to tell the guy I was taking Aleve...his partner diagnosed me a month or so later when I remembered to tell him). Aleve is fairly benign for many many people...but not for me!

Oh, and I *can* take aspirin, which is odd...he said that aleve is on an aspirin base and that I probably have strange reactions to it, but I don't.

Ibuprofen is effective but makes me high as a kite. Even just a 200 mg pill does it to me.

when I take NyQuil, I cannot sleep! It makes me super hyper and I cannot sit still plus it makes my heart race. I feel very trippy

Most if not all NyQuils have HFCS in them. You might find it interesting to notice if you have that reaction to foods with it in them. Might not be the drug ingredient in it, but rather the thing that sweetens it and makes it syrupy.

 

[bookgirl]

I recently started getting *one* hive when I take Ibuprofen. Then I got the *one* hive when I took a Feosol iron tablet, and then the one hive when I take extra strength Tylenol. I am down to only being able to take regular Tylenol. I started out thinking I had an ibuprofen allergy, but I don't think I do. I've tried taking the children's liquid ibuprofen and I got the one hive on that one also. I then got the same hive when I ate a Peep last year. I can't figure out what it is.

Bet it's the suspension material. The nsaid I reacted to, turns out that the material they were using to hold the nsaid together was unrefined and IT may have caused the reaction. Some material in all those may be the source of the 'one hive'.

 

[KimR]

Ibuprofen is effective but makes me high as a kite. Even just a 200 mg pill does it to me.

You get HIGH off ibuprofen? Seriously? So what exactly happens when you take it?

 

[Christine]

Bet it's the suspension material. The nsaid I reacted to, turns out that the material they were using to hold the nsaid together was unrefined and IT may have caused the reaction. Some material in all those may be the source of the 'one hive'.

I figured it is one of the inactive ingredients but I can't figure out which? And it's happening in tablet and liquid form. It has not yet happened with a prescription medication though. It's not fun though because I keep thinking I have an allergy so I am avoiding it but ibuprofen is really the only thing that works on my headache. I just don't want to keep aggravating something and end up with anaphylaxis.

 

[Callie]

My doctor thought I had ADHD and put me on concerta, that stuff made me crazy. I couldn't sleep for days, and at times my heart would start racing. Thank god he stopped having me take it!

Also one of the anti-depressants I took made me sweat non-stop. IT was the middle of winter and my clothes were soaked. It was disgusting. Also caused insomnia.

Also after my wisdom teeth, whatever pain medication I was given made me so sick. I was throwing up all over my room (it came so fast I couldn't make it to the bathroom or the bucket). I felt like I was dying from nausea. I ended up having to take those meds you stick up your butt.

 

[locolala]

I take tylenol with codiene for my chronic pain, and have since I got pregnant since my other pain med wasn't safe. Anyhow, the meds make me really hungry for some reason, no idea why. Whenever I take it I HAVE to get food ASAP or I turn into a grumpy mom. I have no idea how I only gained 20 lbs during my pregnancy since I ate so much.

 

[threecheers9980]

I don't know if this is a crazy/rare side effect, but it was pretty weird...I had a staph dermatitis a few months ago and it was pretty tricky to treat. One of the drugs I was given to try was Bactrim. After about a week of taking it, my eyes and ears started to itch terribly and I started to get crusty, blistery, watery little bumps around my eyes and on my ears and the area around my eyes swelled up a little. So I ended up going to the urgent care clinic at a local hospital and I was told that it was an allergic reaction to the Bactrim. I was given Benadryl through an IV and after about 5 hours, they let me go home. I stopped taking the Bactrim and was put on Cephalexin and the blistery bumps cleared up within a couple days. But when I went to the doctor the following week, they told me that it wasn't an allergy, that the staph infection had just spread to my face. I still don't know who to believe to his day.

When my mom would take Nyquil at night, it would keep her awake. But Dayquil would put her to sleep.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I had steriod psychosis from steroids, plus other weird effects like an overgrowth of yeast in my disgestive tract.

I felt like I was going out of my mind, starving, and blown up like a Thanksgiving Day parade balloon. It was awful and it took a long time to get my digestion "right".

 

[clh2]

I have never been able to take plain erethromycin...tears my stomach up. However, that is a very COMMON side effect. As for uncommon....

Anyone else have a bizarre drug experience?

I refuse to take Abbott PCE, which is also a erythromycin product. The one time it was prescribed to me, I got sicker than a dog, and was SO bad, that the reaction was worse than the sinus infection I was being treated for. I puked for several days, and felt so bad, I forgot about my sinus infection. I was so sick, it never dawned on me the puking was from the drub, NOT for what I was being treated for. The NEW doctor I went to during that "episode" literally took that presecription from me and hauled it into the garbage. This was over 20 years ago, and I still remember that week vividly.

And for those of you wondering why a Dr. would rpescribe this for a sinus infection - it would be a whole different thread sort of starting out that the Dr. didn't believe my head was hurting...and he thought I had something else. If I knew then what I know now...I would have/should have walked out of that office...

Right now - on all my medical charts - it clearly says - allergic to erythromycin. (Whie I don't necessarily have an allergy, they said it would never get prescribed to me if an allergy was indicated.

 

[Nik's Mom]

I hallucinated on demoral and tried to pull the i.v. from my arm and get out of bed while in labor. I really freaked out on it.

I have also freaked out on laughing gas and steroids. The steroids took a few days before it made me crazy though.

 

[Bilberry]

The worst wasn't all that bad but it was odd. I was taking a statin and my joints would not pop. Hard to describe but it was an odd sensation that went away after I stopped taking the drug.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Oh, I forgot! Stadol makes me nuts. I don't know if this is a common side effect or not, but I couldn't tell if I was thinking something or saying it outloud, so after almost every thought I'd have to say, "Did I just say something?" Bizarre. Will never take it again.

 

[worm761]

Tylenol makes me sleep. So does Benadryl, even the children's. Like, out for 12 hours or more sleep. My old roommate almost called an ambulance because she could not wake me up.

My sister is Bipolar. One of the first meds they tried on her has a very very rare side effect of a deadly rash. You guessed it, sister got the rash! Another one of her meds causes permanent skin discoloration if you go out in the sun without protection. She found out the hard way and now has a large dark spot on her forehead.

 

[DawnCt1]

I have never been able to take plain erethromycin...tears my stomach up. However, that is a very COMMON side effect. As for uncommon....

I had a HORRIBLE experience at the beginning of the summer with Zyrtec withdrawals. Yes, Zyrtec. My whole body broke out in horrific hives for 3 weeks straight when I stopped taking it (had been on for a couple of months for spring allergies). I did some research and found a whole online group for people who have this problem. It was really fascinating. I followed the advice of everyone to NOT be tempted to take any other antihistamines, like Benadryl, as it only prolonged the misery. The theory is that your body's histamine levels freak out as they try to return to normal. Makes sense to me, but it was pretty miserable itching like mad in the heat of the summer! The only relief I had was when I would get in the pool.

Anyone else have a bizarre drug experience?

Unfortunately, I don't think your experience is so rare. I have read about withdrawal from Zyrtek, Claritin, etc. One of my DS has food allergies and the allergen is not always evident. He takes Zyrtek but if he eats the wrong thing, he has to take benedryl, which is very sedating for him. Zyrtek is OTC, unlike the Xyxal that he was on before, which makes it certainly affordable. After a while one wonders, is it the allergen or the antihistimine.

 

[ilovedisney1]

I took reglan and zithromax and I was in bed and all of a sudden my head started to itch. So I thought washing my hair might help well I started to itch on my arms so we went to the ER. To this day i am not sure what drug if not both I am allergic to.

 

[Mary•Poppins]

I got lock jaw from one dose of Stemetil an anti nausea drug.
tigercat

My jaw locked when I took compazine. Very scary when it happened!

 

[Callie]

Tylenol makes me sleep. So does Benadryl, even the children's. Like, out for 12 hours or more sleep. My old roommate almost called an ambulance because she could not wake me up.

My sister is Bipolar. One of the first meds they tried on her has a very very rare side effect of a deadly rash. You guessed it, sister got the rash! Another one of her meds causes permanent skin discoloration if you go out in the sun without protection. She found out the hard way and now has a large dark spot on her forehead.

Was it Lamictal? I was scared I'd end up getting the rash

 

[Liberty Belle]

My jaw locked when I took compazine. Very scary when it happened!

Yikes. When I was in college I had my first panic attack. I was working in a drug store as a cashier and we were super busy. All of a sudden I started feeling dizzy, nauseaus, and just really panicked. I called the manager over and hurried back to the bathroom which was right next to the pharmacy. The pharmacist said he thought I was coming down with the flu and gave me a compazine tablet. It kind of acted as a light sedative and helped me, but I can't imagine what would have happened if it gave me the side effects you guys had! I can't imagine that on top of a panic attack!