Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I purchased this EPO in the hopes of quelling my hot flashes. I took the first pill five days ago and the next morning woke up with swollen lips. "That's weird," I thought, thinking maybe it due to riding my bike in cold weather, although still thought it strange since I've ridden in cold weather many times without my lips swelling. I continued taking one pill each night and each day my lips got worse, becoming dry and salty (odd) and feeling overly-full. Now I know what I would look like if I had my lips injected with fillers - not good. My lips were terribly uncomfortable despite constant slathering with every lip balm I have, including an old standby, Vaseline. Finally, last night, four days after starting EPO, I was in such discomfort I became frightened. I wondered if I was going to have to go to the ER for painful lips - how embarassing! In researching treatments I came across a suggestion of using zinc - thank goodness! I have a tube of zinc dioxide and slathered in on my lips and outside my lips. Quite a sight, but it helped! My teenager, having seen "IT", couldn't look at me. He said I scared him. :-) As the zinc wore off and I applied more, it stung like an SOB and I almost cried, but the stinging wore off after a couple of minutes. I changed my pillow case to a white one and slept with the tube nearby, applying twice more during the night. I didn't take the EPO last night, thank goodness. This morning my lips felt better though still tender and somewhat swollen. I'm still using the zinc. This morning I researched side effects for EPO and came across this on the LiveStrong site: "Some people may experience a hypersensitive or allergic reaction to evening primrose, although this is uncommon, according to the NIH. People hypersensitive to other plants in the Onagraceae family or to GLA are more likely to have a reaction to this substance. Signs of an allergic reaction include a rash or hives, facial or mouth swelling, and difficulty breathing. An allergic reaction to evening primrose oil should be considered a medical emergency. A person who is allergic to evening primrose oil also may develop skin irritation when using the oil topically." Bingo. Mouth swelling. I will have to find something else to help with hot flashes. I'm just so relieved that I'm on the mend. Scary! "What fresh hell is this?"