Lupron

Short and Long Term Consequences of Lupron for Precocious Puberty

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As a child, at around age 5, I started experiencing severe pain in my legs and back. I had migraines from hell that made me feel as if my head were going to explode. I had hair in places that no five-year-old should and I needed a bra for kindergarten. I looked down on all my peers because I was a good 12 inches taller than most of them. I always had to be the mom when playing house in kindergarten. My parents struggled to find help for me because no doctor could explain why I hurt and felt the way I did. Finally, after being hospitalized for over a week my parents had answers. I was diagnosed with a hormone imbalance. The doctors in the area where I lived had no answers about how to treat me, so I was sent to a specialist in Augusta Georgia. He then called my diagnosis precocious puberty, a hormonal imbalance. After more needles and tests, he decided to start me on Lupron.

I took Lupron as a child from 1989 to 1994 for my hormone imbalance. I received a shot once a month in my thigh and sometimes in my butt cheek. I can remember the burn of the Lupron going into my body like it was yesterday. The injection always took me a week to recover from. I experienced soreness in the injection spot and redness every time I received Lupron. I could not run and play as a child. My legs either hurt or my mind would make me feel as though I had no purpose. From the outside, the Lupron shots were a success. The shots slowed my abnormal hair growth in private places and stopped my breast from growing, but on the inside, where it counts, what was the Lupron doing to me?

After being on the Lupron for half a year, I had lumps in my thighs where I received the injections (which I still have today). One time it crippled my legs, leaving me on crutches for two months when I was 7 years old. Yet still, I guess my doctor felt it would be more beneficial for me to continue my treatment with the Lupron because I received injections for 3 to 4 more years.

While on Lupron, I struggled daily to focus. I had blurred vision. I battled depression and I hurt daily. I couldn’t be active in sports due to my low bone mass and what kid feels like playing ball when her body feels like it’s been beaten with the bat already? By age 11, I finished up my treatment. I saw my doctor a handful of times after and then I was written off as cured, and I did feel good and enjoyed life for a few years.

At age 15, I began to battle depression. I struggled to remember things. I was diagnosed with asthma. My sight was getting worse and I had an eating disorder where I never wanted food due because my stomach felt like someone was squeezing it with all their might. I fainted several times because I was dizzy. I struggled to stand and I would walk holding onto things. My legs, arms, fingers, and toes would tingle and go numb. My doctor at the time seemed to always just prescribe me Lortabs for the pain and never dug any further to figure out why I felt the way I did. At age 17, I overdosed on Lortabs not trying to hurt myself but only trying to find relief from the pain. I didn’t realize that my body couldn’t handle all the medicine I was putting into it. My mom found me in my room and rushed me to the hospital where my stomach was pumped and I had to drink this disguising chalky drink. My pain seemed to decrease shortly after I turned 20. I looked and felt like the average healthy person. I had my first baby at 21 and my second at age 22. I had healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. I had my third baby at age 32 and again I was a healthy mama and had a healthy baby.

For the past two years, however, I have been experiencing a pain that is all too familiar. I feel as though my body and mind are failing me. I cannot pinpoint why all of this is happening to me. I am now 34 years old and experiencing horrific body aches and pains. I’m searching for answers as I struggle to hold my baby and even get out of bed due to the pain I feel. I hurt in all my joints, my back, my neck and I have leg pains that put me on my knees and unable to walk. My feet and ankles swell, my arms, fingers, and toes tingle with pain. I sometimes drop things because I can’t squeeze my fingers together to hold them. I am experiencing night sweats, hot flashes, nausea, and abnormal weight loss. I have dropped 90 pounds in 15 months. My stomach hurts every day and I never feel hungry. I have so many other symptoms, I feel as though I’m falling apart. I am working with my doctor now to try and find answers. I want to find quality in my life again. I want to feel good when I wake up and not have to lay in bed for at least an hour (waiting for pain meds to kick in) before I can move. Most importantly, I want to be able to pick my baby up out of her crib and hold her and not cry because it hurts my body so bad.

I am in the beginning stages of trying to figure out why I feel this way. I have had blood work drown which was good and I have a CT scan this week. It never even crossed my mind that all of this could be the side effects of taking Lupron as a child until I started reading other people’s stories. Please help?? What test do I need to take to help find answers? What meds are helping restore bone mass? What are other past Lupron patients experiencing and what is working to help them find quality in life again? Thanks in advance for your help!

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More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

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This story was published originally on June 18, 2018. 

Recovering From Medically Induced Chronic Illness

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Unexplained or Medically Induced Chronic Illness?

Unexplained. That’s what doctors call chronic illness. Conventional medicine says, ‘learn to live with it.’ Rather than offer a true treatment or cure for these debilitating conditions, they suppress the immune system and offer more drugs for depression and anxiety – none of which are effective. I’m here to tell you that common wisdom is wrong. I know, because my own lucky story proves we can heal from chronic illness. Pharmaceutical insults created my disabling illnesses  – Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, estrogen dominance, adrenal fatigue, POTS, Graves’ Disease, Hashimoto’s, Bell’s Palsy, infertility and more. I share my journey to offer hope. The doctors were wrong. I have recovered and am once again, healthy.

Early Clues and Pharmaceutical Insults

My childhood had some clues – things I now know predict chronic illness. My lymph glands swelled when I was otherwise healthy. Mosquito bites turned into angry 3” welts. Childhood bunions and hyper-mobile joints suggested leaky gut. All these issues correlate with chronic illness and, seen in hindsight, hint at the difficulties that awaited me in adulthood.

My immune system may have been awry from the start, but pharmaceuticals tipped the scale toward chronic illness. As a teen, I took birth control pills for heavy periods and cramps. When vague symptoms appeared in my early twenties, I asked about pill side effects. The gynecologist laughed at the idea, but I trusted my gut and finally stopped the pill. I felt better in some ways but developed new symptoms.  Sleep became difficult. I was hypersensitive to noise and light and struggled with unquenchable thirst.  The doctor suggested my extreme thirst stemmed from hot weather and salty foods. This explanation didn’t add up to me, but I was young and so was the internet. I had no resources to connect the dots. Today, I recognize that 10 years of hormonal birth control created nutrient deficiencies (folic acid, vitamins B2, B6, B12, C, and E, along with magnesium, selenium and zinc) while also raising my risk for future autoimmune disease.

Recurrent UTIs, Fluoroquinolones, and New Onset Graves’ Disease

A few years later, recurrent urinary tract infections led to many doses of the fluoroquinolone antibiotic, Cipro. Cipro now carries a black box warning and is known to induce mitochondrial damage. My mid twenties also brought pre and post-menstrual spotting and bleeding for 10 days each month. Doctors did nothing for my hormonal imbalance but diagnosed Graves’ disease (hyperthyroidism). Everything about me sped up. Food went right through my system. I was moody. My mind was manic at times. I was unable to rest and yet physically exhausted from a constantly racing heart.

The doctor said Graves’ disease was easy – just destroy the thyroid and take hormone replacement pills for the rest of my life. I didn’t have a medical degree, but this treatment (RAI, radiation to kill the thyroid) just didn’t make sense. Graves’ disease is not thyroid disease. It is autoimmune dysfunction, where antibodies overstimulate a helpless thyroid.

As I studied my options, I learned that RAI could exacerbate autoimmune illness and many patients feel worse after treatment. It was surprising to find that the US was the only Western country to recommend RAI for women of childbearing age. Armed with this knowledge, I declined RAI and opted for medication. The endocrinologist mocked my decision. I was in my 20s and standing up to him was hard, but it marked a turning point and spurred me to take responsibility for my own health, rather than blindly trusting doctors. Recent reports suggest RAI treatment increases future cancer risks. My Graves’ disease eventually stabilized on medication, although I never felt really well. I pushed for answers for my continued illness, but doctors refused to test my sex or adrenal hormones.

IVF and More Damage to My Health

Things turned south again when I was unable to conceive. The supposed best fertility clinic in Washington, DC could not find a cause for my infertility. I’ll save that story for another day, but the short version involved a few years of torment and four failed IVF attempts. The fertility drugs and the stress worsened my overall health considerably.

Our last try at pregnancy was with a specialist who practiced functional medicine. Labs and charting uncovered a clear progesterone imbalance, and also explained my spotting. This simple diagnosis was completely missed by the conventional fertility clinic. A brief trial of progesterone cream resulted in two naturally conceived, healthy pregnancies. Isn’t it remarkable that several years and over $100,000 failed to produce a baby with IVF and $20 of progesterone cream on my wrist did the trick? This could be a cautionary tale about profit motive in modern medicine, but that, too, is a topic for another day.

Years of Conventional Medicine: Thyroid Damage, Autonomic Dysfunction, and Profound Fatigue

I weaned off thyroid medications and felt fairly well after my babies, but my system took a big hit when life brought an international relocation. The move was intensely stressful and my health sunk after we landed half a world away. I had no energy, gained weight, and lived in a fog. The tropical heat and humidity of Southeast Asia felt like a personalized form of torture.

Perhaps the stress of our move left me vulnerable to the reappearance of autoimmune and adrenal dysfunction, as my next diagnosis was Hashimoto’s Disease and adrenal fatigue. Doctors ordered functional medicine tests (hair, organic acids, stool, saliva cortisol and hormones) that identified nutrient imbalances, but their treatment ideas fell short. Despite replacement hormones and supplements by the handful, I remained very sick, with profound exhaustion, brain fog, sleep disruption, pain, and terribly imbalanced sex hormones.

Taking Matters Into My Own Hands

If setbacks have a bright side, it is in the drive to get better. I started studying when my doctors ran out of ideas to treat my illness. Fibromyalgia was the best description of my pain, but I knew conventional medicine offered no help for this condition. I dug into the topic and found the work of Dr. John C. Lowe, who used T3 thyroid hormone for fibromyalgia, and Paul Robinson, creator of CT3M, the circadian method for using T3. CT3M and high daily dose of progesterone cream improved my quality of life in the short term. Near daily bleeding eventually regulated back into a normal cycle and my adrenal function improved greatly.

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) was the next bump, bringing a very high heart rate, very low blood pressure, heat intolerance, and extreme sweating on the lightest activity. By this time, I didn’t even ask the doctor for help. My research pointed to salt and potassium, and so I drank the adrenal cocktail and salt water daily. POTS symptoms vanished quickly with this easy strategy, as did the nocturnal polyuria that plagued me for many years.

I steadied after this time. I was not well but functional, despite some major life stressors, including another international move and a child’s health crisis. Even though I managed the daily basics, things like house guests, travel, or anything physically taxing required several days to a week of recuperation.

The Next Step: Addressing Nutrient Deficiencies

The next step in my recovery came thanks to a B12 protocol that includes co-factor nutrients, developed by Dr. Gregory Russell-Jones. Addressing the deficiencies connected to B12 helped and things progressed well until I had a disastrous reaction after eating mussels, which I hoped would raise iron levels. I vomited for hours and stayed in bed for days. I kept up the B12 protocol, but just couldn’t recover. Largely bedridden, and napping 4 hours at a stretch, I got up in the evening only to drive to a restaurant dinner, too exhausted to prepare food or deal with dishes.

Debilitating exhaustion lasted for a month, and then two, with no relief. It was an awful time, but hitting rock bottom proved a blessing in disguise, as desperation turned me back to research. Slowly, I pushed through brain fog and started to review studies on chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. This led me to a promising Italian study using thiamine for these conditions.

Studying thiamine, it seemed plausible that the allergic reaction to mussels drained my B1 reserves, making it impossible to recover. Inspired by the research, I started on plain B1 at very high doses. To my surprise, I felt better right away. The first dose boosted my energy and mental clarity.

I continued to learn about B1’s benefits, thanks to this website and the text by Drs. Marrs and Lonsdale.  Two weeks went by and thiamine HCL seemed less effective, so I switched to lipothiamine and allithiamine, the forms recommended in Thiamine Deficiency Disease, Dysautonomia, and High Calorie Malnutrition. WOW. What a difference! Virtually overnight, my gears began to turn, and I felt better with each new day. In a single month, I went from bedridden to functioning well 2 out of every 3 days. I had ideas, I had energy, and I could DO things. The setback days were mild and disappeared entirely after 2 months on thiamine.

At the 2 month mark, I had to travel for a family emergency. My pre-thiamine self would have needed at least a week of rest following this kind of trip, and I expected pain and fatigue as I stepped off the plane. But to my great surprise, I felt well! I remember walking through the airport late that evening and thinking it felt amazing to stretch my legs. Maybe that sounds like an ordinary feeling, but years of chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia conditioned my body to stop, to sit, whenever possible. It was entirely novel to FEEL GOOD while moving! The next day came and I did not collapse, I did not require days to recover and was able to carry on like a normal person. It was a remarkable change in an unbelievably short time.

Recovery From Conventional Medicine’s Ills Came Down to Thiamine

Getting better feels miraculous, but it’s not. The real credit for my recovery goes to experts like Dr. Marrs and Dr. Lonsdale who spread the word about thiamine. Despite years of illness and dead ends, I believed I could heal and I kept trying. Tenacity eventually paid off when posts on this site helped connect the dots between my symptoms and thiamine deficiency. More than anything, my recovery is a story of tremendous luck, as I finally landed upon the single nutrient my body needed most.

The difference between my “before thiamine” and “after thiamine” self is beyond what I can describe.  Birth control, Cipro, and Lupron created nutrient imbalances and damaged my mitochondria, leading to multiple forms of chronic illness in the years between my 20s and 40s. Replacing thiamine made recovery possible by providing the fuel my damaged cells so badly needed. At this writing, I am 7 months into high dose thiamine and continue to improve. I have not experienced any form of setback, regardless the stressors. My energy feels close to normal, the pain is resolving, and brain fog is a thing of the past. My sense of humor, creativity and mental functioning are all on the upswing. I owe thanks to the real scientists who dare to challenge wrong-headed ideas of conventional medicine, and who provide hope for these so-called hopeless conditions. My wish is that this story will do the same for someone else.

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More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

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This article was published originally on February 6, 2020. 

Lupron Induced Osteoporosis?

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Women who suffer with endometriosis do not have many options for treatment. As a result, many women try Lupron because they are desperate to be pain and symptom free. I was one of these women. In 2011 and 2013, I tried Lupron for a total of three doses and wish I knew then what I know now.

In 2010, I was diagnosed with endometriosis laparoscopically. After that, I tried everything from many different types of birth controls and pain medications to depression medications that can also be used to treat pain. Nothing worked. My doctor at the time suggested Lupron to me and I was desperate. I felt like I had already put my life on hold long enough because of this disease and just wanted to be out of pain. However, now I feel like I am suffering the consequences and it didn’t even get rid of my pain.

In 2015, I was diagnosed with osteoporosis. Prior to this, I had never had a bone scan done, not even before being administered Lupron. In 2009, I was diagnosed with Vitamin D deficiency and have been taking a supplement ever since. Three months before being diagnosed with osteoporosis, I stress fractured my knee and was told at my age, it should not have happened. In 2014, I had a hysterectomy because of endometriosis; I couldn’t take the pain anymore and had disease on both ovaries.

Before this, I had never had bone problems or been told that I could. I blame Lupron and strongly believe using it as a treatment for endometriosis led to me having osteoporosis. At 27 years old, I am still trying to work with doctors to determine if there are any treatments I can do because people my age having osteoporosis is rare. Many medications women use for osteoporosis could negatively impact my bones even more because of my age. If I don’t use any treatment, I could suffer from even more fractures or bone breaks the older I get. Right now, my average T-score for my left hip is -3.6 and was -3.3 when I was first diagnosed. I have no idea when my bones became so brittle. In my case, I wish I would have never tried Lupron as now I know this is one of the many side effects of this terrible treatment for endometriosis and something I will have to deal with for the rest of my life.

There are not studies done on medications for osteoporosis in my age group because there are not enough people with the disease to study. The medications my current doctor wants me to try would be a daily injection I would give myself in the abdomen for two years. They are known to possibly cause osteosarcoma, a bone cancer. Based on my history, I don’t like my odds. At this time, I don’t know how I will try to treat osteoporosis. I am planning on looking into natural ways of treating the disease and see how that goes.

As a result from my knee injury two years ago, I had to have an arthroscopic surgery. My doctor repaired my torn meniscus and removed scar tissue. It is taking me longer to heal than I anticipated and I wonder if it is because I have osteoporosis.

If doctors use Lupron for patients, they should be required to give these patients bone scans before their first dose and do follow ups yearly. It is a known fact that Lupron should not be administered in more than 12 doses over a patient’s LIFETIME. I wonder why this is?

I hope my story helps someone make a decision that is best for their body and raise awareness about Lupron. I am not a doctor, nor do I claim to be, but I am a patient that continues to live with the outcomes of having endometriosis.

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More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

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Share Your Story

If you have experience with Lupron or other GnRH altering drugs, please share your story.

Image credit: Laboratoires Servier, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

This article was published originally on December 13, 2017. 

Lupron, Brain Function, and the Keto Diet

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Reproductive senescence, the time in a woman’s life marked by the slowing and eventual cessation of reproductive function, frequently coincides with an increased risk of a host of neurodegenerative disorders from memory impairment to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers have long postulated that the loss of ovarian hormones was responsible; estradiol, in particular, but likely others as well.

This begs the question, what happens to the brain when we abruptly and artificially derail ovarian hormone synthesis in young women using drugs such as Lupron (leuprolide) and the other GnRH agonists and antagonists or by removing the ovaries altogether as in surgical oophorectomy? Is it the same damage we see in aging, only expedited and perhaps magnified, or does it run a different course? Along those same lines, though perhaps a topic for another day, what happens when we chronically supplant endogenous ovarian hormone production with synthetic hormones such as those used in hormonal birth control or menopausal hormone replacement therapies? I suspect, and there is evidence to back up my suspicions, that in all cases brain function is altered, and not for the better.

Estrogens and the Brain

The mechanisms by which estradiol and other steroid hormones influence brain function are myriad and complicated. Beyond just reproduction, steroid hormones influence all aspects of neurological function, with estrogen, androgen, glucocorticoid (cortisol), and mineralocorticoid (electrolyte balance, blood pressure) receptors located throughout the brain. Steroid hormones produced in the body, because of their fat solubility, easily cross the blood-brain barrier where they bind to their receptors and regulate all sorts of processes. Perhaps even more remarkable, the brain has all of the machinery to synthesize its own steroid hormones and so when body concentrations fall, at least for a time, the brain can compensate. Eventually, however, brain synthesis declines and that is where we begin to have problems. Fortunately, natural reproductive senescence occurs later in life and the risk of neurodegenerative diseases is just that, a risk, not a foretold conclusion. This suggests that other variables are at play, ones that we may be able to modulate to improve health, offset and/or reduce the severity of the natural neurodegenerative processes. Again, however, we must ask, what happens when we induce reproductive senescence in young women? By all accounts, the effects are often devastating, leaving many to wonder if they will ever recover.

Estradiol and Mitochondrial Energy

Among the myriad of functions mitochondria control, perhaps the most important is energy production. That is, mitochondria take the nutrients supplied by diet and convert them into adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy currency that cells use to perform all of the functions that keep us alive. The loss or diminishment of ATP is deleterious to health and can ultimately be deadly, by invoking a series of complicated processes

Estradiol is a critical component of that process and directly impacts mitochondrial energy production. That’s right, estradiol is part of the mitochondrial bioenergetic machinery such that when estradiol wanes, so too does energy production or ATP. As one might suspect, waning ATP is deleterious to brain health. In previous posts, I detailed the research showing how the loss of estradiol deforms mitochondrial morphology essentially disabling mitochondrial membrane potential while turning the mitochondria into misshapen donuts and blobs ripe for a slow, messy necrotic death; a process that evokes all sorts of deleterious reactions.

The Lupron Brain and Ketosis

Just recently, I stumbled upon research showing yet another mechanism of damage. In the absence of estradiol, brain glucose transport diminishes significantly. This effectively starves the brain for energy inducing severe bioenergetic deficiencies with all of the concordant neuronal damage one might expect. The reduction in glucose affects the mitochondria severely. Recall that glucose is one of the major fuel substrates of the brain, particularly where the Western diet predominates. The decline of glucose transport, therefore, is significant, and alone, without any other changes to the mitochondria, elicits a cascade of deleterious reactions. Oxidative phosphorylation and associated enzymes are downregulated, ATP production wanes, and ultimately may initiate the deformation of the very shape of the mitochondria, as observed in the research cited above. The ensuing reduction of ATP starves the brain of critical energy but also induces a state of hypoxia with the mitochondria incapable of utilizing molecular oxygen. With that hypoxia, inflammatory pathways are initiated further cementing mitochondrial death spirals and associated neuronal damage.

Interestingly, this reduction in aerobic activity coincides with the emergence of a ketogenic phenotype. That is, with the loss of one fuel substrate, ketones become the dominant source of fuel and the associated enzyme machinery is upregulated. Unfortunately, the Western diet is highly dependent upon carbohydrates and so a woman experiencing this loss of estradiol is not likely to consume sufficient fats and proteins to effectively weather this shift. Nevertheless, it does provide an opportunity for recovery. What if women who have lost the ability to produce sufficient estradiol either because of surgically (oophorectomy) or chemically (Lupron and other GnRH analogs) induced menopause adopt a ketogenic diet? Could we maximize the preferred energy source of the post-menopausal brain and reduce the neurological symptoms? I do not know the answer to that question, but given the severity of the suffering with surgical and chemical menopause, it seems worth the try.

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More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, and like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

Yes, I would like to support Hormones Matter.

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This article was originally published on November 15, 2018.

Lupron, Estradiol, and the Mitochondria: A Pathway to Adverse Reactions

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Leuprolide, more commonly known as Lupron, is the GnRH agonist prescribed for endometriosis, uterine fibroids, cysts, undiagnosed pelvic pain, precocious puberty, during infertility treatments, to treat some cancers, and a host of other off-label uses. It induces a chemical castration in both women and men. In women, Lupron stops menstruation and ovulation and crashes endogenous estradiol synthesis rapidly and completely, inducing menopause and menopause-associated symptoms like hot flashes, sweats and osteoporosis, to name but a few. In men, where it is used as a treatment for prostate cancer, it prevents the synthesis of testosterone, pharmacologically castrating its users and evoking a similar constellation of symptoms.

Lupron for Endometriosis: Questionable Research

Lupron’s widespread use for pain-related, female reproductive disorders, such as endometriosis or fibroids is not well supported, with little research indicating its efficacy in reducing pain and no research delineating its effects on disease progression. Conversely, evidence of safety issues have long been recognized, especially within the patient communities where reports of chronic and life-altering side effects are common. We have many case reports on our site alone. Although, class-action and marketing lawsuits have arisen, Lupron continues to be mis-prescribed regularly to diagnose or treat pelvic pain disorders like endometriosis, generating over $700 million in revenue in 2010 and 2011 for the manufacturers and an array of serious and chronic health issue for its recipients.

The reported side effects of Lupron are staggering both in the breadth of physiological systems affected and the depth of symptom severity experienced (a partial list). Indeed, everything from the brain and nervous system to the musculature, skeletal, gastrointestinal and cardiac systems are affected by Lupron, sometimes irreversibly. This is in addition to  thyroid, gallbladder and pancreatic side effects. How can one drug evoke so many seemingly disparate side effects? Is it possible that the magic of chemical castration is not as safe as we were led to believe; and that hormones regulate a myriad of functions beyond reproduction? It is.

Beyond Reproduction and Reproductive Disease

A major fallacy in medical science, and indeed medical research, is the total compartmentalization of physiological systems and by association an insoluble marriage of hormones to their respective reproductive organs, functions, and gender. Lupron, and drugs like it, were developed based upon this fallacy; that somehow suppressing estradiol and the other endogenous estrogens would affect solely the reproductive system. If only human physiology were that simple.

Hormones, even those inappropriately designated sex hormones, like estradiol and testosterone, regulate all manner of physiological adaptations in every tissue and organ in the body and they do so in conjunction with other hormones and by decidedly non-linear trajectories. That is, the dose-response functions are curvilinear where both too little and too much of a particular hormone can evoke serious negative consequences in body systems totally unrelated to reproduction. Chemical and surgical castration would fall into the ‘too little’ category.

Hormone Receptors are Ubiquitous

Hormones mediate these reactions via hormone receptors. Estrogen and androgen receptors are located throughout the brain and the nervous system, on the heart, in GI system, in fat cells, in immune cells, in muscle, the pancreas, the gallbladder, the liver,  everywhere. When hormones bind to these receptors, whether they are membrane bound, nuclear, or other types, the hormone-receptor complex activates or deactivates what are called signal transduction pathways, essentially message lines. Those messaging lines tell the cell to do something. Too much or too little of any one type of hormone sends mixed messages, skewing cell behavior just slightly at first and when there are only small changes in hormone concentration, but with more chronic or more severe hormone changes, the signals become increasingly more deranged and the compensatory reactions, meant only for short term, become more exaggerated and self-perpetuating. This is where problems emerge. Even if estradiol or more appropriately, estrogens (there are many estrogens) feed endometriosis, tanking estradiol concentrations is dangerous and sets into motion complex reactions that we are only now beginning to understand.

Hormones Influence Everything

Since the hormones and receptors are broadly located throughout the body, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that if we kill off one or more hormones completely, as Lupron does with estradiol, there are going to be negative effects globally, and they are likely to be pretty serious. So, even a surface level evaluation of the safety of drug like Lupron, would suggest a strong possibility of negative outcomes in regions of the body not associated with reproductive function. And with just a little bit of endocrinology under one’s belt, it should be clear that negative outcomes would compound over time, as additional reactions meant to compensate for short term changes in hormone concentrations, become increasingly entrenched and self-perpetuating, and in many cases, increasingly damaging to the health of the cells – but it isn’t. Despite the range of serious side effects, Lupron is a commonly and cavalierly prescribed drug and newer versions of Lupron like drugs are expected to take the market by storm.

Estradiol Is Critical to Human Health

While the pharmacological mechanism of action for Lupron and drugs like it is clear, they override pituitary control of the tropic hormones that signal the ovaries or testes to synthesize new hormones, how these drugs induce the array of side effects, many of them long term and even permanent, has not been explored as seriously as it should be. Certainly, one can hypothesize the effects of estradiol elimination on different systems based upon receptor distribution within each tissue and the signaling pathways therewith, but the effects are diverse and sometimes contradictory or highly tissue specific. One has to wonder if there might be a final common pathway by which the elimination of estradiol could disrupt multiple physiological systems in a predictably discriminate manner. Indeed, there might be.

Estradiol Regulates Mitochondrial Function: Mitochondria Regulate Everything Else

If you’ve read any of our articles over the last year, you’re aware that we have become increasingly interested in mitochondria, particularly how drugs and nutrients or nutrient deficiencies, impact mitochondrial functioning. Mitochondria take nutrients from food we eat and convert them to the biochemical energy required to power cellular life – ATP. Without appropriate cellular energy all sorts of things go wrong. Energy is fundamental to life and so functioning ATP pathways are critical for cellular and organismal health (and so is proper nutrition!). A number of disease states emerge when the mitochondria are damaged or inefficient at producing ATP, from chronic fatigue, muscle wasting and autonomic system dysregulation to name but a few. Estradiol, and likely other hormones, (most of the research focuses on estradiol), influences mitochondrial functioning and the production of ATP via a number of mechanisms.

Estradiol Is Needed for the Production of ATP

Though not a component of what is called the citric acid or TCA cycle or the electron transport chain (also called the mitochondrial respiratory chain), estradiol appears to be intimately involved in up – and down-regulating the enzymes and other proteins within those energy production cycles. Estradiol directly and indirectly modifies the types fuel used to produce ATP (glucose, fatty acids or proteins) and impacts the efficiency and flexibility with which ATP is produced. Essentially, estradiol impacts the substrate inputs and keeps the cogs in electron transport chain cycles moving. When estradiol is eliminated, fuel sources shift (by tissue) and those cogs, called complexes, begin to slow, become less efficient and send off more damage signals (reactive oxygen species – ROS) than can be effectively cleaned up. Since functioning mitochondria and sufficient ATP are required for cellular health in all cells, where energy demands are greatest, symptoms emerge: the brain and nervous system, the  heart, the GI system, muscles, and bone formation/turnover.

In the brain, we see serious cognitive deficits and derangement of mood and perception with damaged mitochondria relative to estradiol elimination. We also see autonomic instability that impacts mood (flipping between depression and anxiety) but also heart rhythm and balance.

In the heart, the estradiol directly impacts mitochondrial fuel preferences and availability by regulating cardiac glucose and fatty acid metabolism. Without estradiol, the machinery within the mitochondria are not as flexible in their ability to switch between glucose, fat or proteins for precursor fuels to make ATP. The lack of flexibility, particularly during other physiological stressors, leads to impaired cardiac functioning and increased inflammation in affected tissues.

Bone formation is particularly hard hit as estradiol is required bone growth, maturation and turnover. Estradiol deficiency leads to increased osteoclast formation and enhanced bone resorption – destruction of bone or osteoporosis. Proper bone formation is also highly dependent upon vitamin D concentrations. Vitamin D deficiency leads to bone loss. Vitamin D activates estradiol synthesis, while estradiol activates vitamin D receptors. Lupron tanks estradiol and by association vitamin D, a double hit to bone health. At the level of the mitochondria, the third hit, reduced ATP, further damages bone health.

Estradiol is an Antioxidant

Antioxidants scavenge ROS. Antioxidants are needed to keep ROS concentrations at bay as too much ROS, though a natural byproduct of ATP production, will damage the mitochondria and initiate a damaging, self-perpetuating cycle. The body has a number of anti-oxidants to temper ROS. Many nutrients are included in this category: Vitamins C and E, CoEnzyme Q10 and glutathione are among the most well known. It turns out that estradiol and progesterone are potent anti-oxidants as well. So chemically or surgically eliminating estradiol reduces the body’s ability to detoxify and eliminate damaging ROS, evoking further mitochondrial damage.

Estradiol Modulates Mitochondrial Hormone Synthesis

That’s right, the mitochondrial estrogen receptors impact what is called steroidogenesis – steroid hormone synthesis – for multiple hormones, not just those pesky ‘female’ hormones. Like a thermostat that turns on or off when the temperature changes, mitochondrial estrogen (and other hormone) receptors sense hormone changes and up or downregulate the synthesis of pregnenolone (and the use of cholesterol to make pregnenolone). Pregnenolone is the precursor for all steroid hormones. So when Lupron or ovariectomy tank estradiol, not only is the synthesis of estrogens affected, but so too is the synthesis of other steroid hormones.

Estradiol Tempers Mitochondrial Ca2+ Homeostasis

Ca2+ balance is a complicated topic, a bit beyond the scope of this paper but is an important function modified by mitochondrial estrogen receptors. Ca2+ influx into cells is excitatory and turns on the cellular machinery. As one might expect, too much or too little Ca2+ activity could be damaging. Too much Ca2+ is cytotoxic or neurotoxic (if in the brain), killing the cells. The mitochondria are largely responsible for controlling the influx of Ca2+, sequestering Ca2+ when there is too much in order to save the cells. So when mitochondria become damaged or inefficient by any mechanism, Ca2+ homeostasis becomes an issue and cell death, tissue and organ damage become very real outcomes. Estradiol influences the mitochondria’s ability to sequester and temper Ca2+, so that the cells don’t become too turned on or over-active and die. (This is an interesting mechanism because estradiol itself is an excitatory hormone, increasing the activity of the cell when bound to the cell membrane or nuclear receptors but when bound to receptors on the mitochondria, estradiol tempers that excitation.)

Estradiol Regulates Immune Function

Estradiol bound to the estrogen receptors on immune and other cells activate and deactivate a number of signal transduction pathways that turn on/off inflammation and other immune responses. The mitochondria also regulate immune function via ROS signalling. Depletion of estradiol, particularly at the mitochondrial level, guarantees disrupted immune function and hyper inflammation by way of mitochondrial structural damage, derangement in function, and the loss of estradiol mediated anti-oxidant abilities. So by multiple mechanisms Lupron, drugs like it, and ovariectomy, damage mitochondria and initiate cascades of ill health.

Lupron, Maybe Not Such a Good Idea

Estradiol bound to mitochondrial receptors, controls a whole host of functions in the mitochondria, which then control cellular health throughout the brain and body. Without estradiol, the mitochondria become misshapen and dysfunctional and eventually die a messy death (necrosis), but not before inducing mutations in next generation mitochondria (mitochondrial life cycles include the regular birth of new mitochondria and the necessary death of old and damaged mitochondria). As the damage and mutations build and the ratio of healthy to damaged mitochondria shifts, cell death, tissue/organ damage and disease develop. Lupron, other drugs that tank estradiol, and ovariectomy, initiate mitochondrial damage. The mitochondrial damage represents a possible final common pathway by which Lupron induces the myriad of side-effects and adverse reactions associated with this drug.

A question that remains, is whether this damage can be offset by supporting mitochondrial machinery by other mechanisms. This is particularly important since millions of women have been exposed to Lupron and/or have had their ovaries removed. Other hormones and a myriad of nutrient factors are necessary for the enzymes within the mitochondrial machinery to work properly. Could we offset the damage evoked by too little (or too much) hormone by maximizing the efficiency of the other reactions. I think it is possible, at least theoretically and at least partially. That will be addressed in a subsequent post. For now, however, I think we ought to reconsider the use Lupron, other GnRH agonists, antagonists and the surgical removal of women’s ovaries. The damage evoked by eliminating estradiol is likely far greater than any potential benefit in an ill-understood disease process like endometriosis.

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More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

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This article was first published on January 16, 2015. 

Lupron: The Cycle of Negligence

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My pelvic pain first started at age 13 with menses, but I was blacking out at 28-day intervals from the age of nine. I was told it was normal by both my grandmother and mother because they experienced the same thing. The abdominopelvic symptoms got severe after the birth of my daughter when I was 33 years old. I didn’t get a diagnosis for another 14 years at the age of 47 years. It has been nothing but a steady stream of dismissive and abusive doctors with absolutely nobody offering an explanation. The only solutions that I was offered were a hysterectomy and Lupron. Neither helped and in fact, made everything worse.

Physician Abuse

When I was 44, I had a hysterectomy, and adenomyosis was found but I was told everything was removed. Four months after my subtotal hysterectomy in December 2014, I was still having the same pelvic pain symptoms. My gynecologist didn’t know what else to do other than to use Lupron for 3-6 months to see if it would diminish my pelvic pain. If the pain persisted, she said the ovaries would have to come out. She told me she was using it as a diagnostic tool and if I didn’t try it she “would drop me as a patient.” More accurately, she screamed at me, started frantically waving her hands above her head and hit me with her pen. There were times I wish I had a witness to some of the behavior I was subjected to over the years; this was definitely one of them. I took the prescription home but didn’t fill it. I was not only shocked by her behavior but also, a little leery about being souped-up on yet another medication with horrible side effects.

Worsening Symptoms While on Lupron

I held off until Sept 2015 when I decided I couldn’t stand the pain anymore.  My first injection was in October and I seemed to handle it quite well. I had relief from my pelvic pain within two days and a bit of mild dizziness that went away after about a week. The reduction in pain allowed me to go out for walks 2-3 times per day, which is something I hadn’t experienced for quite a long time—it was great to be walking again. Then I started noticing some strange symptoms every two weeks after the injection.

The first time it happened the symptoms were so mild I brushed them off as a minor cold bug: body aches and pains, sniffles, lungs slightly congested, watery eyes, my hearing was off and my eardrums felt plugged up. I thought maybe my daughter brought a cold bug home from school but these same symptoms happened exactly two weeks after the Lupron injection and every time the symptoms kept getting stronger. When I was due for my 4th injection I knew something wasn’t right. My regular gynecologist wasn’t in and I’m glad she wasn’t. The one I did speak to about my symptoms told me to not take it anymore. He looked up my symptoms in a large pharmaceutical reference book; Lupron was listed as having “flu-like symptoms” in its trial phase but had no further information. I was told to go home and just let the effects “wear off.”

From December 2015 to February 2016, I had 11 visits to the ER for worsening flu-like symptoms that included: strong body aches and pains that felt like I had been hit by a train, congested lungs, and coughing up greenish-yellow fluid. The same gross mucous was coming out of my eyes and ears. My lungs were so congested I was gasping for air and I was terrified! They tested for bacteria, throat and nasal swabs, and full blood work—everything came back negative and it wasn’t pneumonia. I didn’t even have a fever. The last ER doctor I saw actually called the drugmaker to see what to do. He told me they have something similar to a WHMIS or Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System on all their products in case of adverse events. Well, guess what? They didn’t! The representative told him they knew about the severe flu-like symptoms in their trials with Lupron but they did not follow those patients to record their outcomes. In other words, there was no due diligence before releasing their product to the public. They don’t even know if those patients are still alive.

I was given an IV to prevent dehydration and placed on oxygen until my vitals improved; even then I was sent home without any concrete advice on how to deal with the side effects other than “it should wear off” and “if it gets worse don’t hesitate to come back”—like now isn’t worse. I asked the ER doctor if he is filing an adverse event report to Health Canada or the FDA and he said “that is for the patients to do but in your case, I wouldn’t worry about it. We don’t know if that is what is causing your symptoms. It could just be a viral thing.” I was about ready to flip my lid!  He told me earlier if it was viral I would have a fever because that is what your body does to fight off infection and viral infection symptoms build up, peak and then you start feeling better. These symptoms occurred two weeks after each and every injection.  I felt like I was talking to a brick wall. Do you know it took another four months for that damn Lupron to wear off?  The entire time I was terrified. I was gasping for air while this green mucus is pouring out of my ears, eyes, and lungs. I would panic, cry, and then have to calm myself down because crying would congest my lungs making it harder to breathe. I have never been so scared in all my life.

Lupron Side Effects and Gynecological Ignorance

I did go back to the gynecologist that prescribed the Lupron and she had the nerve to tell me it was not her problem and to go see my GP. My GP told me since she didn’t prescribe it that it was the gyn’s problem. I went back to the gynecologist to tell her what my GP said and she threw another hissy fit because, apparently, I wasn’t on Lupron long enough to satisfy her 6-month requirement. My husband didn’t believe what I was telling him so I had him call the office to rebook an appointment so that we both could talk to her. At this next appointment, she placated my husband and refused to look me in the eye while she was speaking. I reminded her of everything she said previously;  that it is her problem because she is the prescribing doctor; that my pelvic pain symptoms did improve while on the Lupron; that my adverse effects were directly related to the drug as my worsening symptoms occurred exactly two weeks after each and every injection; that I was tested at the ER and it was not viral or bacterial; that the ER doctor called the drugmaker and they had severe flu-like symptoms listed during their drug trials but never not followed up. I informed her I filed complaints with both Health Canada and the FDA.

She got up to check on my ER visit reports. While she was gone even my husband noticed she wasn’t talking directly to me, only to him and that I did meet her requirements—Lupron for at least 3 months, if the pain is relieved then it means the ovaries need to come out. My husband was ready to have it out with her when she came back.  She kept trying to placate us, saying things like “I don’t know what to do”. I kept pushing for an answer—what was causing my pelvic pain if Lupron was the diagnostic tool—what was she using it to diagnose?  She never mentioned “endometriosis”. I asked her if it could be cancer–no answer. I finally said, “If you don’t know what to do then send me to someone who has more experience dealing with complex gynecological issues. I want a referral to the Women’s Health Sciences Centre in Halifax.”

I hate to think of what would have happened if my husband wasn’t there to keep me centered; even he was getting frustrated by this gynecologist. She finally agreed to send a referral to Halifax.  As we were leaving, she told my husband she was retiring in a couple of months so do not bother contacting her for any further concerns. I found out just a few days ago she is still working as a gyn—so she basically lied to my husband. What a piece of work!

I don’t understand how doctors can behave like this. There has to be some kind of benefit, either monetary kickbacks or endorsements, to blindly stand behind a drug like this and totally ignore what the patient is telling you to your face.

Recovering From Lupron

It took four months for the Lupron effects to “wear off” and for my lungs, ears, and eyes to return to normal. It was a terrifying experience that I don’t wish on anyone. I realize I was one of the lucky ones to walk away from this experience whereas others haven’t. To this day, I keep asking myself why I was put through this Hell in the first place. Why are doctors so ignorant in prescribing this drug as a diagnostic tool if they know about the adverse effects? We trust that drug companies are performing due diligence with regards to adverse reactions in trials and long-term follow up and they are NOT!  How is it that the drug maker can get away with this? Why are there not more strict checks and balances before releasing a drug and when problems are being reported afterward? It is absolutely insane that this drug, with all its reported adverse effects and deaths, is still on the market. Why are the FDA and Canada Health dragging their heels and not banning this drug?

Two years after the hysterectomy and Lupron, I was still in excruciating pain. I had a cervical cyst removed and pathology indicated that I had endometriosis. My ovaries were removed in 2017 and both were completely “disintegrated”. Once again I had to fight to get my diagnosis. The surgeon had the nerve to try to hide the biopsy report so I wouldn’t have proof.  Luckily, the medical records clerk did some searching and found it, but she also told me she could have lost her job because of what this doctor did.

My NP, although supportive in the beginning, has now resorted to telling me “this is your new normal, you’re just going to have to get used to it.”  I am at my wit’s end trying to get help dealing with what is left of my health. I am not able to work or enjoy any quality of life anymore. I’ve been given the run-a-round by 5 GPs, 1 NP, 11 OBGYNs, and 35+ ER doctors. I don’t have any faith left in our health care system. My only alternative is to seek legal advice, but I really don’t know how to move forward in a system that is so dismissive and corrupt in how it treats women’s health issues. I’m beyond whatever “disgusted” is.

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This story was published originally on June 8, 2020. 

Healing From Lupron and Endometriosis With Thiamine

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I was diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis in 1996. In 2017, I was ready for a hysterectomy. I had two children and was finished with childbirth. I was having a lot of pain on my left side where my ovary was located. My Veterans Administration GYN refused to do a hysterectomy without first giving me Lupron shots assuming that my pain was due to the endometriosis. I was trying to hold down a very demanding government job and missing a lot of work from the pain. I had two laparoscopic surgeries in 1996 and 2001, respectively. Both were to excise the endometriosis. At the time, I was required to take Lupron in order to have a hysterectomy, I was 46 years old. I was denied a hysterectomy after my son was born in 2000 because I was considered too young at 30 years old to have a hysterectomy.

Endometriosis in the Colon and Lupron

After the injections of Lupron, a colonoscopy confirmed a diverticula pocket in that spot that was painful and others on my large intestine. The laparoscopy and excision in 1996 confirmed that my endometriosis extended to my large intestine. The colonoscopy found that I have so many pockets of diverticulosis, a resection surgery was not possible. Basically, if I were to become septic due to an endometriosis/diverticulosis flare, they would need to remove all of my large intestine. My options were very limited. My GYN wouldn’t perform a hysterectomy and laparoscopy under the assumption that the pain I was having was due to endometriosis. He convinced me to start the shots to see if they would help the pain because he assumed the pain was due to endo. I didn’t research the Lupron injections much prior to receiving them. I fully trusted my GYN. He mentioned hot flashes and suppression of symptoms with estradiol.

Immediately I noticed a difference. I don’t take prescription drugs of any kind unless I am really sick. I had nothing for any preexisting conditions. I could not tolerate the injections and function at work. I had severe hot flashes every few seconds 24/7 for three months even with add back estradiol. Worse, the estradiol made my migraines flare and so I was a hot mess. After stopping estradiol, my migraines continued to flare and still do without supplementation. I was also having diverticulosis flares every month sometimes twice a month. I had terrible gas and severe IBS symptoms. My work leave, FMLA and advanced sick leave were dwindling from all the visits to the various doctors. Within three months of my last Lupron injection, I was forced to retire or be fired for not being able to work. I never fully recovered from the Lupron.

Finally, a Hysterectomy

My GYN finally agreed to the hysterectomy in 2018 where they found my left ovary and left fallopian tube in one mass of adhesion scarring with my large intestine. The GYN removed the left polycystic ovary, left and right fallopian tubes along with my uterus, which had fibroids, and cervix leaving me with just my right ovary. Prior to the hysterectomy, I began noticing some numbness and cramping or burning in my feet at work that was much worse at night. I had the same kind of cramping and burning in my lower back too. I would later learn that these are symptoms of thiamine deficiency. Trying to keep it together at work with all of this was a nightmare.

Around this time, I also began having severe nausea and pain in my stomach. The GI doctors did an upper GI scope to confirm duodenal ulcers. The digestive issues, especially the diverticulosis should disqualify anyone from having Lupron as Lupron causes major digestive upset according to the FDA fact sheet. My digestive tract was inflamed from mouth to anus post Lupron. I had an inflamed esophagus and ulcers, diverticulosis flares, IBS with constipation and diarrhea and hemorrhoids that I couldn’t heal with meds. The low FODMAP diet helped though.

No More Pharmaceuticals

In 2019, I finally stopped taking all pharmaceuticals. No pharmaceutical made me feel better. Every medication I took for GI issues and neuropathy made me worse. I only took one for one or two weeks at a time to log all my side effects from each so I could have them added to my growing list of allergic reactions. I did have some sensitivity issues with prescription drugs prior to Lupron, just not as bad. I have the MC1R redhead gene. Redheads are more sensitive to pharmaceuticals and have more adverse reactions. I struggle with topical solutions as well. I couldn’t use estradiol patches because I’m allergic to the adhesive. Thankfully, my primary care physician also has endometriosis and suggested herbal supplements and remedies. All of this ,surprisingly, is from the veteran’s hospital. I was ordered by her to stop working. This was a final attempt to heal my ulcers, as they would eventually kill me if I could not find relief.

How I Healed Myself With Thiamine and Diet

I decided to try high dose thiamine after researching it via Drs. Lonsdale and Marrs and Elliot Overton. I started with 100mg daily for 6 months. Then 500mg for 3 months and currently 1000mg (500mg 2x daily). The thiamine works as well as the acupuncture with EMS. I also take Alpha Lipoic Acid and Dandelion root daily. The increases in thiamine are proving to be a significant factor in recovery. If I miss one day of supplements I’m sick for several days so I’m convinced that it is working.

To help myself heal, I no longer work a 9 to 5 job. I follow a low FODMAP diet with modification for diverticulosis and supplement with elderberry or dandelion for inflammation and immunity, turmeric, prebiotic + probiotics, magnesium for bone loss, palpations, anxiety, alpha lipoic acid for neuropathy, high dose thiamine for neuropathy, fatigue anxiety and brain fog, b vitamins and D3+K2 for b1 uptake regulation and delta 8 CBD for fibromyalgia pain and fatigue. I have regular chiropractor adjustments of my neck and lower back. Acupuncture and light therapy on my feet helped with the burning and cramping.

Where I Am Now

Currently, I have no endometriosis pain, only some lingering PMDD. I have no ovarian cysts and the migraines are not as frequent. Now only a couple a month versus weekly. I still have some burning and cramping in my legs and feet, but it is tolerable. Before thiamine, I was bedridden. The back and neck pain I had previously has improved with thiamine along with physical therapy/yoga and regular chiropractic care. I no longer experience diverticulosis flares with the new diet and supplements for inflammation like dandelion root, turmeric, and elderberry. I switch out the dandelion and elderberry because they work about the same. Depends on what is on sale.

I am able to stand for longer periods of time. My anxiety is significantly reduced, my palpations are gone, I can remember things, and my ADHD flare ups are minimal. In 2022, I only had two mild diverticulosis flares. Prior to the diet changes and supplements, I was having them once a month. I went from being bedridden completely to cooking (I still need to sit some), cleaning with short breaks, gardening with a sit on garden cart, and walking about a half mile every few days. I still have numbness in both feet. I am hopeful that lowering my A1C will resolve this. It may be permanent. Only time will tell. I’m going to the VA this week for a checkup and requesting more PT to see if it will help. They did an EMP on both legs with normal results. That was pretty painful but I felt nothing in my 3 little toes on both feet. Overall, I am doing much better with the higher dose thiamine and have much more energy.

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More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

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The Catastrophic Effects of Polypharmacy and Medical Incompetence

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Polypharmacy and Iatrogenic Injury: More Common Than Recognized

My life should never have taken the catastrophic negative turns that it did. I am well educated, was a minivan driving soccer mom and a devoted wife. I enjoyed a successful career as a pediatric audiologist working in a variety of fast-paced medical settings. I was well liked, a loyal friend to many and an active member of my community. My very vibrant and blessed life was obliterated by a perverse cascade of errors from a broken medical system. This affected my loved one’s lives as profoundly as mine. Had medical providers looked for, and addressed root causes, I’d still be driving that minivan.

It has taken me a long time and immense research to piece together and understand what happened to me. I would like to share my story for whatever understanding can do to ease the pain, and for whatever help it could give to prevent others from experiencing what our family did. First and foremost, however, I want my husband and children to understand the truth of what happened to me.

I did not suddenly develop perverse mental illness out of thin air. I was a victim of repeated misdiagnoses, unrecognized adverse drug reactions/drug toxicity and profound polypharmacy.

This is described in the literature as “medication induced iatrogenic chronic health syndrome, or iatrogenic injury.” It is more common than one would think and it unnecessarily destroys lives.

The First Hit: Toxic Mold Effects Misdiagnosed as Depression

The circumstances which led to my catastrophic outcome are cumulative. It was no one thing, but several hits to my system.

In the late 1990’s, my husband and I were a happy, newly married couple enjoying a carefree dual income lifestyle. We had successful and fulfilling careers, great friends, and loved life; the world was our oyster. Despite all this, however, we both found ourselves incredibly tired all the time and experienced frequent brain fog. My husband also began having recurrent sinus infections. I developed unrelenting headaches, fibromyalgia, dry eyes, vision issues, G.I. disturbance, frequent urination, skin rashes, excessive thirst, irregular menstruation, and disorientation – I was getting lost going to familiar places.

When seeking medical attention for this cluster of symptoms, we were both told we were suffering from mild depression and were prescribed an anti-depressant (SSRI). Neither one of us actually felt “depressed,” though. Yet, we trusted our doctors knew best and so took the anti-depressant medication as prescribed.

It’s absurd that we were given a psychiatric diagnosis given the physiologic symptoms we were experiencing. More unbelievable is that we did not even question the doctor. I would later learn that the constellation of symptoms we had is consistent with toxic mold illness, a subcategory of biotoxin illness known as Chronic Inflammatory Reactive Syndrome (CIRS). I was, in fact, subsequently diagnosed with CIRS.

We unknowingly lived in a home with hidden toxic mold, where up to two feet of water collected in the crawlspace underneath the home seasonally every winter. The root cause of our symptoms which doctors diagnosed as “depression” was completely missed. We did not need antidepressant medication. We needed out of our water damaged home and treatment for mold illness/CIRS. Instead, we got put on an unnecessary neurotoxic medication with serious adverse health risks including the effects “medication spellbinding.”

The Second Hit: IVF Treatments Lupron and Synarel

When we decided to start our family, I experienced infertility. My husband and I utilized in vitro fertilization (IVF) to conceive our two children. During this process many different pharmaceuticals are prescribed for women. The doctors assured us the medications were all “safe”.

I was given Lupron and Synarel as part of my IVF treatment protocols. Both are antineoplastic agents, meaning they are cancer chemotherapy drugs, used off label for fertility treatment. Like all antineoplastics, they are harmful to both cancerous and non-cancerous cells — particularly to pregnant women and developing fetuses. It’s incredibly scary that it is actually used for conception, isn’t it? They are neurotoxic and can induce systemic damage-CNS, connective tissue, mitochondrial, immune, etc.; damage that unfolds over time.

Equally disturbing is that I was advised to stay on an antidepressant throughout pregnancy for a depressive disorder, it turns out, I never had. When I requested to be tapered off of the SSRI before attempting to achieve pregnancy, I was told that the risk of harm to the baby of a mother with untreated depression was greater than any potential adverse effects of in utero exposure to an anti-depressant medication. Really? This made absolutely no sense to me in my circumstance; the only qualifier for my diagnosis of mild depression was unrelenting fatigue. Yet, the doctor instilled such terror in me that I would be irrevocably harming my child if I did not not stay on an antidepressant during pregnancy, I reluctantly followed his advice. Prenatal exposure to an SSRI can be damaging to a developing brain and nervous system. Both my children were born with severe nervous system dysregulation and have developmental and immunological issues.

Toxic mold exposure and SSRIs can both cause various hormonal issues. My infertility was due to anovulatory cycles likely induced by the antidepressants that were inappropriately prescribed for the toxic mold. I had also been on hormonal birth control for many years prior to our attempts at conception. Suffice it to say, I was not healthy. Despite my compromised health, the fertility doctors added more toxic chemicals to my body to initiate conception.

The Third Hit: Fluoroquinolones

My children were both born via Cesarean section-my daughter due to vasa previa, my son due to failed VBAC, failure to descend. In each instance, IV Cipro (drug class fluoroquinolone) was given prophylactically.

Fluoroquinolones are associated with prolonged (up to months or years), serious, disabling and potentially irreversible drug reactions affecting several, sometimes multiple, systems, organ classes and senses”. Fluoroquinolone toxicity can lead to a subsequent systemic health cascade.

Within a couple days after receiving IV Cipro, I experienced acute onset of significant arm weakness and severe wrist pain, requiring the use of wrist guards for several months. I had difficulty physically caring for my children after their birth because of this. I also experienced photosensitivity, hyperacusis, drenching night sweats, constipation/G.I., hair loss, hyperactivity, brain fog, short term memory issues and fatigue. Additionally, I had irritability, emotional blunting, and personality changes after my son’s C-section. All of these symptoms were much more severe after my son’s delivery and they did not ever resolve completely.

After my son’s birth, I was prescribed multiple consecutive courses of oral Levaquin plus steroids for persistent pneumonia I developed during the second trimester of my pregnancy with him. The concomitant use of steroids with fluoroquinolones exponentially magnifies the damage to the body.

Levaquin and Cipro belong to the class of medication known as fluoroquinolones. They are essentially chemotherapy drugs, that negatively impact the immune system, CNS/ANS/PNS, alter DNA, cause mitochondrial and connective tissue damage as well as severe neuropsychiatric/cognitive issues.

“Fluoroquinolone adverse-reactions are categorically different from allergic reactions, rather, fluoroquinolone toxicity is a syndrome of multi-symptom, chronic illness that does not go away when administration of the drug has stopped. Fluoroquinolone adverse-reactions are similar in symptoms and scope to autoimmune diseases, fibromyalgia, ME/CFS, POTS, psychiatric illnesses, neurodegenerative diseases (like ALS and Parkinson’s), and other chronic, multi-symptom, illnesses that involve multiple bodily symptoms. Like many of those diseases, fluoroquinolones adversely affect gut healthmitochondrial healthliver healthneurotransmitter balancemineral homeostasishormones, and more. Fluoroquinolone toxicity is a multi-symptom, chronic, syndrome, that, for many, is incurable.”

Following the fluoroquinolone exposures, my health declined significantly and systemically over the next several years. Extreme fatigue, fibromyalgia, persistent headache, head pressure, G.I. issues, recurrent infections, cognitive issues, muscle wasting and visual disturbances. I also began to develop multiple chemical sensitivities, food sensitivities and electro-hypersensitivity. I have been told by physicians and researchers this is all consistent with fluoroquinolone toxicity which can lead to a progressive health cascade. However, this went unrecognized and, instead I was given large doses of antidepressants which only exacerbated my declining status.

The Fourth Hit: Multiple Viral and Fungal Infections and More Medications

Next, I was diagnosed via lab testing with neurological Lyme disease, bartonella, erichliosis, parasitosis, babesia, CIRS, systemic fungal infections, Epstein Barr and other chronic viral infections (2010). As my health had been decreasing for many years, I was relieved to finally have what doctors thought was the “root,” and I was eager to address it. I was a compliant patient and followed their complex protocols. An utterly insane amount of pharmaceuticals were given over the next six years (listed at the bottom of this post) for treatment, including more rounds of fluoroquinolones (Levaquin, Avelox) and their “second cousins” -Mepron, Malarone, Flagyl. The years of aggressive treatment proved disastrous.

Very well-intentioned doctors missed the pre-existing fluoroquinolone and SSRI toxicity. No regard was taken for the growing burden on organs, most notably the liver and brain. My G.I. system was decimated by dozens of antibiotics. Aggressive “Lyme” treatment involving years of polypharmacy only served to poison me more, further impairing my CNS and immune system. My health status continued to decline.

The Fifth Hit: Sedatives and Anticonvulsants to Quiet the Immune System

After years of Lyme treatment and with medication toxicity already through the roof, the next approach was to add Ativan, a benzodiazepine, and Gabapentin, an anticonvulsant. This was to calm mast cell activation and aide intractable insomnia that had developed. Both were used for off label purposes. Fluoroquinolone exposure can trigger mast cell activation. Toxic mold exposure can also trigger mast cell activation.

I suffered an immediate adverse drug reaction to Gabapentin in February 2015. Within the first day of beginning this medication my handwriting changed. I could not walk straight and began dropping things. I had an obvious and immediate decrease in executive function and short-term memory, along with hyperactivity, twiddling my fingers and other symptoms that I would later learn fall under the umbrella condition called akathisia. According to the Akathisia Alliance for Research and Advocacy:

“[Akathisia] …is an extremely distressing neuropsychiatric syndrome with symptoms including severe agitation, inability to remain still and an overwhelming sense of terror implicated in many suicides and acts of violence. It is a medication side effect.”

I reported all this to my doctor who instructed me to stay on the medication and that my body would “adjust with time”. These were not harmless “side effects” that would fade. This was a serious adverse drug reaction which went unrecognized as such and led to more polypharmacy.

Progressing Neurotoxicity: Let’s Up the Doses of the Contributing Medications

Over the next several months, my cognition and proprioception continued to rapidly decline. Additionally, I experienced the onset of deeply troubling new symptoms – an extreme fear to be alone, intense inner restlessness, confusion, blurry vision, severe headache, hand tremor, worsening insomnia, terror, and derealization/ depersonalization. Repeated changes were made to my Lyme treatment protocol with the assumption that these new symptoms and decline were related to that chronic health condition. The gabapentin and ativan doses were also increased. Changes were made to the SSRI. The adverse drug reaction and increasing toxicity was missed completely and, in fact, additional pharmacy worsened it.

Something was very, very wrong; I just kept declining. In no way did this feel like it was simply an exacerbation of Lyme. By the fall of 2015, things had deteriorated to the point to where I had to stop driving for safety reasons as my vision and motor skills had become too impaired. We had to hire household help and childcare because I had become essentially non-functional. I was acutely aware that my decline was negatively impacting my children and I wanted to make sure there was a capable adult in the home at all times with them. I tried hiding in the bedroom away from their view because my presentation and behavior had become very disturbing…and, I knew it. I would later come to understand that all the new symptoms beginning with the adverse reaction to gabapentin were consistent with medication induced akathisia.

Confirmation: It Was the Medications All Along

In December 2015, after ten months of searching for answers to my abrupt and progressive decline, I finally got confirmation from my doctor and own research that indeed I was experiencing numerous, severe negative medication effects and not solely an exacerbation of Lyme disease.

“In summary, the benzodiazepines can produce a wide variety of abnormal mental responses and hazardous behavioral abnormalities, including rebound anxiety and insomnia, psychosis, paranoia, violence, antisocial acts, depression, and suicide.” Dr Peter Breggin

I also learned that a supervised slow taper off of these psychotropic medications was required for my safety. I was referred by my doctor to a psychiatrist for a guided taper.

I was not “addicted” to the medications, rather my brain had become dependent on them and cessation had to be gradual and monitored.

The psychiatrist advised me to crossover from Ativan to Valium because it has a longer half-life to reduce inter-dose withdrawal effects. Then, once stable on an equivalent dose of Valium, taper slowly off of that. She also wanted to add in other medications to counter the negative side effects of the withdrawal process.

Crossing over to Valium was extremely problematic for me. I experienced an immediate adverse reaction to it with increased agitation and pacing on the very first dose. (It turns out I cannot metabolize Valium properly). Upon reporting this to my physician, she told me just to “go slower” with the process and things would “even out” over time. Despite following her instructions to slow down the crossover, nothing “evened out”. I experienced ever-increasing negative and disturbing symptoms. I now I understand that I suffered multiple drug-to-drug interactions and adverse drug reactions, drug toxicity that went unrecognized for what it was. I had developed medication induced akathisia.

Even So, Let’s Add More Medications

To counter these growing negative effects, the doctors continually changed dosages of existing drugs and added many new ones, all trial and error, with no discernible rationale. This only worsened things, causing even more frightening and violent new symptoms – rapid pacing, twisting dystonia, severe depersonalization, disinhibition, myoclonic jerking, derealization, panic, agitation, aggression, severe insomnia, paranoia, vocal tics including profanity, mono-phobia, agoraphobia, rage, stuttering, disequilibrium, severe confusion, heart palpitations, visual disturbances, air hunger, motor slowing, oppositional behavior and more. My environmental sensitivities also escalated.

The tapering protocol involved adding Valium to cross taper Ativan according to the Ashton Method recommended by my physician. I had a severe adverse drug reaction to Valium which the doctor failed to recognize, escalation of negative symptoms increased. At one point low-dose Seroquel, an antipsychotic, was prescribed to me in an off label use for the extreme insomnia that developed on this cocktail of drugs. Off label use of low dose antipsychotics for insomnia is NOT recommended.

After Seroquel was added, I developed vocal tics, suicidal ideation, extreme terror, delirium, the pacing and other movements increased dramatically. Despite reporting this immediate negative side effect of feeling intense agitation and rage, the doctor denied that a low dose of Seroquel could cause this and told me it must be underlying or emerging psychiatric illness. They continued to add and abruptly remove many other medications.

I lost my sense of human connection and self. I felt completely lobotomized. The collateral damage on my children and husband was and is INHUMANE.

Despite my reporting the immediate negative side effects with the addition of Seroquel, doctors denied that a low dose could cause them and told me it must instead be symptoms of an underlying or emerging psychiatric illness. Really? How do you suddenly develop severe psychiatric illness out of nowhere?

Prior to being put on Ativan and Gabapentin and the subsequent polypharmacy, I had NEVER before experienced suicidal ideation or the other extreme negative behavioral and cognitive changes. I was repeatedly told that my very classic symptoms of akathisia were not akathisia and not related to medications. The Barnes Scale, a standardized tool to assess drug induced akathisia, was never administered.

The very behaviors that were unfolding right before the physicians’ eyes and that I was reporting are known and dangerous medication side effects, included on manufacturers’ warnings. So why then did so many doctors fail to recognize this?

Spinning Out: Let’s Go Cold Turkey. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

My physical/cognitive/mental health continued to spin out of control with the medication merry-go-round. In August 2016, I was admitted to a psychiatric unit from the ER due to severe confusion, pacing akathisia, and dystonia. The uninformed doctor there forced an abrupt discontinuation of the polypharmacy cocktail I had wound up being put on (in the name of “safe” tapering). Cold turkey off of four psychotropic medications overnight. This severely shocked my CNS. Over the next few weeks, I experienced what I felt were seizures, difficulty forming words, severe vertigo, worsening cognitive function, visual disturbances, racing heart, auditory hallucinations etc. Fearing for my life, as I spiraled into mania, psychosis and suicidality from this abrupt cessation, I sought reinstatement of some of the medications six weeks later. I was accused of “drug seeking” for this decision. It’s not that I wanted to be on any of these poisons ever again; I was simply trying not to die.

The partial reinstatement did stabilize me a bit.

Then, only one month later, I was again rapidly tapered off the polypharmacy cocktail at an outpatient facility. Originally, I understood, the program was completed over 15 days. I have since learned from my medical records that my rapid detox was longer and more intense than the prescribed protocol. According to my records, I received 23 days of treatment with the administration of daily six hour infusions of IV NAD+ with B complex and amino acids (December 2016). My dose was significantly greater than the maximum standard dose of 250 mg, provided at too fast a drip rate and over a treatment course that was many times longer than is typical. I also learned that it was done without proper methylation support.

From what I have learned, this treatment is purported to protect the brain and ease medication withdrawal syndrome. However, this was not at all what happened for me. I had a severe negative response to it, utterly catastrophic, inducing permanent profound physical disability. During the IV administration, I experienced extreme brain burning, increased heart rate/blood pressure, auditory hallucinations, seizures, extreme agitation, terror, tremors, fever, hypomania, worsened akathisia with pacing, violent dystonia, hand clawing, delirium, jerking and twitching, homicidal and suicidal ideation. Most horrifically, the severe adverse reaction caused an impulsive akathisia induced suicide attempt.

With pre-existing mitochondrial issues, a suspected underlying connective tissue disorder and years of cumulative toxicity (medication and environmental), it has been suggested by physicians and researchers that NAD+ would increase the cytotoxic effects through reactive oxygenation species. This seems to have accelerated my mitochondrial dysfunction leading to catastrophic connective tissue damage and a progressive musculoskeletal collapse.

There is a genetic/epigenetic researcher, Bob Miller, whose work focuses on Lyme patients and others with complex chronic diseases. He discusses NAD+ in an interview where he mentions that while for some it can be a miraculous molecule, improving many things metabolically, for others it can have serious adverse effects. He believes this could be caused by something he coins the “NADPH-steal”, where NADPH starts acting like a free radical due to other compromised enzymes stealing away the NADPH (excess of sulfites, glutamate, histamine, things like that). With the compromised methylation and Kreb’s cycle that I have, treating all those things prior would be necessary to not to overload the system and cause serious damage. No provider recognized this serious contraindication with their recommendation of NAD+.  In fact, they blindly touted the opposite claiming it to be neuroprotective for all. An interview with Bob Miller’s latest research and perspective can be seen here and here. Another researcher, who specializes in drug neurotoxicity, confirmed the negative effects of NAD+.

The Results of Polypharmacy and Failed Treatments

I have experienced profound progressive connective tissue destruction since the IV NAD+. At the age of only 54, I am now non-ambulatory, bed-bound requiring full physical care in an assisted living facility. This has left me unable to bathe or dress myself. I have difficulty feeding and swallowing. I have very limited use of my hands; my manual dexterity is poor. I have profound autonomic nervous system dysfunction and cannot tolerate even supported sitting. It feels as though my entire spine has collapsed, bone on bone-discs and other supportive connective tissue severely compromised. My tendons and ligaments feel too lax systemically throughout my body, head to toe-my feet now literally curl and bend in ways that they should not. My upper palate has fallen and my lower jaw swings so much so that it often feels like I’m being choked. Speech articulation is difficult because of the laxity in my oral cavity. Systemic collagen and cartilage loss. My internal organs don’t feel supported and I’m experiencing prolapse.  I am right side lying 24/7, propped up at an angle and need assistance repositioning my body. Toileting is difficult. My vascular and lymphatic system have been severely affected. I have full body tissue swelling, like an exploded baby diaper.

It feels as if the structural integrity of my connective tissues, the glue that holds *everything* together, is gone…like chewing gum on hot pavement or stretched out pantyhose. I quite literally feel as if I’m melting from the inside out. Additionally, I have constant severe acid burning sensation throughout my body and deep bone pain, head pressure, central vision and auditory processing issues.

And Yet They Insist It Was All In My Head

It has been a grueling 35 months since that IV NAD and rapid taper of toxic medications. During this time period, my mental and cognitive state has steadily and dramatically improved. I no longer have any psychiatric symptoms and my personality has fully returned. I am once again gentle, kind, funny thoughtful and empathetic. Doctors kept insisting that the extreme cognitive and behavioral changes I experienced, beginning with that original adverse reaction to Gabapentin, was an emerging, intrinsic psychiatric illness. It most definitely was not. Rather, it was severe psychogenic effects of drug toxicity that they failed to recognize as such.

They wanted me to continue on various psychotropic medications and strongly recommended I seek treatment in a long-term inpatient psychiatric facility for the severe mental illness they thought I had. If they had been correct in their assessment, I would not have experienced the dramatic return to a healthy mental and cognitive state that I have despite declining their medication/treatment.

I NEVER had emerging severe psychiatric illness that the doctors said I had. Rather, the perverse neuropsychiatric manifestations were actually CAUSED by repeated misdiagnosis and careless polypharmacy. The medications caused these problems.

Misinformed doctors told my family I became perversely mentally ill versus I suffered extreme adverse drug reactions and toxicity. Because of their ignorance, my family believes I abruptly lost my mind at the age of fifty. When I rejected the false diagnoses of emergent psychiatric illness and refused further treatment (i.e., re-starting psychotropic medication), I was labeled non-compliant. This caused my family to believe I didn’t care enough about them to seek “treatment”. In fact, it is because I love them so deeply that I refused treatment. I knew my decision would appear non-compliant, but had I gone back on the poisons that induced this catastrophe in the first palace, I would not have regained my mental and cognitive health. I may have lost my life.

Without an authentic understanding of what happened to me, how are my children supposed to process this trauma? I absolutely did not just lose my mind one day. I was successively and cumulatively poisoned.

In today’s modern world, physicians are grossly misinformed regarding the very real dangers of pharmaceuticals, especially the grave dangers of polypharmacy and adverse drug reactions. Our medical system does not look for root cause. The healthcare system is dangerously broken. Patients are dismissed and gas-lighted when reporting negative side effects and misdiagnosed with psychiatric illnesses instead of recognizing medication toxicity.

I was systematically poisoned into oblivion by modern medicine and labeled with perverse psychiatric illness that did not exist prior. My children deserve to know the truth of what happened. This absolutely never should have happened to me, to my husband, nor to my children.

Over the last 6-12 months, I have had multiple objective tests completed that verified my cognitive, psychological and physical status. As a result, four separate doctors concluded that my past decline was due medical error and polypharmacy. While this is validating, it does not change the fact that my family is now gone and I am left permanently physically disabled due to a fatally flawed medical system and its love affair with prescription drugs.

What They Prescribed

These are most of the medications I was prescribed for the complex umbrella of Lyme disease, co-infections, CIRS, etc. with no regard for toxicity to the liver, brain or organs. Many of these were extended courses, long-term, and given concurrently. Looking back, I cannot believe that I survived. This is what medical polypharmacy looks like. It is not one or two drugs, it is dozens.

  • Macrobid (nitrofurantoin)
  • Ceftin (cefuroxime)
  • Cephalexin
  • Moxatag (amoxicillin)
  • Cefdinir
  • Minocylcline
  • Doryx (doxycycline)
  • Cedax (ceftibuten)
  • Tindamax (tindazole)
  • Minocycline
  • Clindamycin
  • Biaxin (clarithromycin)
  • Rifampin (rifampicin)
  • Augmentin (amoxicillin and clavulanate potassium)
  • Deplin/Duleek-DP (l-methylfolate)
  • Fluconazole
  • Ketoconazole
  • Itraconazole
  • Voriconazole
  • Rocephin (ceftriaxone ) – IV via Hickman catheter
  • Azithromycin – IV via Hickman catheter
  • Mepron(atovaquone)
  • Alinia (nitazoxanide)
  • Malarone (atovaquone/proguanil)
  • Biltricide (praziquantel)
  • Nystatin
  • Bicillian (penicillin G benzathine) – IM injection
  • Albendazole
  • Mebendazole
  • Stromectol (ivermectin)
  • Bactrim/Septra (sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim)
  • Vancomycin – IV peripheral
  • Cortef (hydrocortisone)
  • Testosterone/progesterone (BHRT)
  • NAD/B complex – IV
  • Meyers cocktails – IV
  • Glutathione – IV
  • Phosphatidylcholine – IV
  • Cholestyramine (CSM)
  • Ketotifen
  • Hydroxyzine
  • Vitamin B12 – Subcutaneous Injection
  • Low-dose naltrexone (LDN)
  • Cipro (ciprofloxacin) – IV
  • Levaquin (levofloxacin) – Repeated and extended courses
  • Avelox (moxifloxacin) – Repeated and extended courses
  • Valtrex (valaciclovir)
  • Medrol (methylprednisolone) – Given concurrently with fluoroquinolones
  • Symbicort (budesonide/formoterol)
  • Synarel (nafarelin acetate)
  • Lupron (leuprorelin)
  • Vioxx (rofecoxib)
  • VSL-3 (bifidobacterium, lactobacillus, and streptococcus probiotics)
  • Singulair (montelukast)
  • ProAir (albuterol)
  • Xopenex (levalbuterol)
  • DuoNeb (ipratropium/albuterol)
  • Alvesco (ciclesonide)
  • Prednisone
  • Promethazine/codeine
  • Chloestyramine
  • Probalan (probenecid)
  • Ursodiol – Given because of rocephin
  • Ferrous gluconate (iron)
  • Nexium (esomeprazole magnesium)
  • Xyzal (levocetirizine)
  • Allegra (fexofenadine)

…And HUNDREDS of oral herbal medicines and supplements

The cascade into unnecessary and catastrophic psychotropic polypharmacy:

  • Celexa (citalopram)
  • Lexapro (escitalopram)
  • Zoloft (sertraline)
  • Remeron (mirtazapine)
  • Buspar (buspirone)
  • Benzodiazepines
  • Ativan (lorazepam)
  • Valium (diazepam)
  • Clonazepam
  • Antipsychotics
  • Seroquel (quetiapine)
  • Risperidone
  • Zyprexa (olanzapine)
  • Antihistamines
  • Benadryl (diphenhydramine)
  • Hydroxyzine
  • Anticonvulsants
  • Gabapentin
  • Lyrica (pregabalin)
  • Baclofen

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This article was published originally on: November 13, 2019. 

 

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