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633143 tn?1262133535

Side Effect Concerns- Tingling Left Arm, Limb Pain, Fatigue

Hi.  I'm writing for my younger sister.  She's 19 years old and was put on Sprintec about 2 months ago.  She doesn't smoke, doesn't drink, is in good physical health, and has no known medical conditions.  This is the the third or fourth pill her doctor has had her on since December.  She's been having an awful time with all of them, but the side effects were all just things like being overly emotional, being nauseous, or having cramps.  Her doctor put her on the Sprintec because it was cheaper.  Since starting it she has become extremely fatigued to the point that she is sleeping 12+ hours a night and is tired all day long.  She's horribly emotional (up and down constantly) and she's having issues with her contacts irritating her eyes. Then  she started to notice her left arm tingling and going numb.  In the past few days she said she's started to notice some tingling in her right arm as well.  She didn't tell anyone until tonight, but she's also had considerable pain in her arms.  A lot is in her joints and is achey, but some is in  her forearms and is sometimes sharp.  It's not constant though.  Her legs started to hurt last night as well.  At first we thought she may have just pinched a nerve because she has been having some pretty severe lower back pains, but then she looked up the side effects of her BC and these symptoms were listed under the serious (and sometimes fatal) side effects.  She wanted to call her doctor and/or go to emergency, but my mother refuses to even acknowledge that there may be a problem.  I don't know when, but apparently she stopped taking her pill and she said the very next day she felt less tired (it was in the last two days or so).  The pain and tingling hasn't gone away though.  She's freaked out, I'm freaked out... is this something we should be seriously concerned about, like a blood clot or heart issue?        
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Avatar universal
Did she get the Gardasil Vaccine?  My daughter is having all these symptoms and was just hospitalized.  If you read a bunch of the side effects could be a result of the Gardasil vaccine they are giving young girls.
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Avatar universal
From what i understand the doctors can tell if u have a clot by feeling. Does anything run in your family? Like arthritis? or anything that is related to pain? My older sister went thro ALOT of doctors and finally checked herself into a mental health clinic, because nobody could figure out why she was in pain. Turns out she has fibromyalgia. Think i spelled that wrong. If she is really worried tell her to go on a progestrin only pill or get the depo shot. Also i know its hard when there is pain involed, but tell her not to lay around. Did they give her anything for the pain?? Anti-inflamitories help. Advil, Mortrin, Alieve, etc...If they gave her something for the pain, check with the pharmacy before taking any anti-inflamitories. I have Endometriosis, and they want me to take BC to treat it. But i had a reaction after 1 pill. So i refuse to take estrogen. And when i ask about the depo shot they give me the run around. Again, tell her to stay calm and relax mentally. When we worry about things, it tends to make things worse.
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633143 tn?1262133535
She FINALLY went to see her doctor!  They did some bloodwork, blood pressure, squeezed her arms and legs a bit (according to her), and from that they determined that she does not have a clot.  I wasn't too comfortable with that diagnosis, but I'm not the doctor here (I would have asked for an ultrasound).  Her doctor said that even though it isn't a clot she is very concerned because the pain now seems to be in her joints/bones more than muscles.  So now they're running tests for Lyme Disease and Rheumatoid Arthritis.  We have to wait about a week, and every day her pain is getting worse.  Her whole body aches now and she has a lot less strength it seems (she says because of how much pain she's in) and she's still so tired.  The part of this whole thing that still bothers me is that those symptoms of a bloodclot that she was having (the tingling, etc.) were never attributed to anything else.  And now she was put back on another birth control pill that still has estrogen in it, just less.  My question is, how is that a good idea?
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Avatar universal
In my oponion since her symptoms are under the Serious side effects, call the doc asap!!!! Dont know what it could be, but tell her to remain calm (getting worked up makes things worse) and call the doc!!!!
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