Chemical balance symptoms and conditions

Ladies,

I hope you don’t mind a male posting on this forum but I do have a reason for doing so. I am a Coroner’s Officer in England. I will not at this time disclose whereexactly I am based as I need to protect the identity of the family. I would however like to use you as a sounding board in the hope that you can help me, help the family and perhaps, just perhaps, I can help you.

Sadly I am dealing with a suicide. The lady in question, who has taken her own life is in her 40’s, married and has children (all over 11 years). The lady has no history what so ever of any form of depression during her life.

The lady has described her life as being perfect with a family that loves her and who she loves in return and as the Investigator I believe she is truthful in that comment. She states she has been extremely happy until last week. She makes comments of - I am just very ill, cannot sleep, feel dizzy, cannot concentrate, sometimes lose my vision, feel sick all the time and sweat at night. She cannot understand, but it makes her feel bad. I am not myself, something has made me ill which means I can’t be my normal positive, active busy self. I can’t bring myself to do anything that I normally love, like gardening, cooking etc. I am losing my memory badly going fuzzy in the head.

Her final comment, which is the one that has prompted me to post on this forum (with the permission of the family) is ‘I just don’t understand this – I’m so sorry . I can’t understand myself or what is wrong with me or what I’m doing so sorry. Just remember I’m not myself somebody else has taken over – I don’t know if it is all the anti-histamine pills that has mixed up my chemical balance along with the Mirena coil or is it just me’.

The mention of the Mirena coil has therefore prompted me to investigate it. I am not, by any means suggesting that this is responsible but it would be wrong of me to discount it after having read the posts on this forum and other places on the Internet.

The lady in question had the coil inserted in 2004/5 and it would appear that there were no problems or side effects reported.

I am therefore looking for some help from you. Some comments on what I have posted etc. Some advice on where to obtain expert advice (although I am trying some avenues of my own).

I may also ask, depending on what help you can give me if you would be willing to identify yourself to me.

Thank you

P.

I've been on Paxil for the last year and every so often I check around on the web to see if anyone has anything GOOD to say about this medication ;-)
For a change I thought I'd throw in my input too to help anyone who may be contemplating using this drug.

I have to say that I think paroxetine hydrochloride (Paxil's generic name) is really a wonder drug in the sense that it completely re-balanced my neurotransmitter chaos and intense panic attacks I experienced last year when I was completing my PhD. Yes, there were changes in my life and my body--easier to gain weight, delayed orgasm/climax (but honestly I would say I have an increase in sex drive, not a decrease), occasional tingling in my fingers or some tension in my jaw, and those absolutely psychedelic dreams. But all in all it's really all positive, not negative. I've experienced a lot more pleasure in my life, calm, mellowness. I have more space around things that used to really bother me intensely. I no longer obsess about this and that. And together with acupuncture, massage, exercise (hot yoga is great), good therapy sessions, and a total restructuring of the way I approach my life, I feel quite confident to come off the drug now.

For those of you worried about withdrawal, you should get the book "The Antidepressant Solution" by Joseph Glenmullen, which is a very clear, methodical guidebook to coming off these powerful medications. His point, as a neurologist and psychiatrist, is that basically our bodies wonderfully adjust to the influx in serotonin by calibrating to the new chemical balance in our blood-- and this takes time--usually a month, for us to biologically come up with the exact "mix" appropriate to our own body. The Paxil starts working the day you take it, but it doesn't produce the desired effect until your body has balanced it out and integrated it.

And the same is true when you withdraw, because your body has to gently adjust again. For reference, I'm down to 5mg from my original 20mg and I feel great. I have had no side effects in withdrawal except for sleepiness and wild dreams, and maybe a touch of dizziness here and there, but I understand these all to be side-effects, and so I'm just gentle with myself and take my time-- I'm tapering off the drug over the course of four-five months, by the way.... The people who complain of all the zaps and the crazy horrifying withdrawal symptoms are people who don't do the tapering gradually enough and don't realize the mechanics going on in their bodies. Stopping cold turkey is never a good idea-- It's like attempting to run a marathon without building up your body first or even stretching.

Your body needs to adjust to the new chemistry bit by bit-- that's all. So long as you observe this and listen to your body every step of the way, I think Paxil is a very trustworthy and friendly tool to integrate into your therapy regarding anxiety, depression and panic. But it's just a tool, and that cannot be stressed enough.

I was on Yasmin from the day it hit the market a million years ago and absolutely love it. Absolutely no side effects (other than my skin looked amazing and I could eat whatever I wanted without gaining weight!). I loathe Ocella, the generic version. I was on it for four months and am now trying Yaz (which, for the time being, does not have a generic so my insurance will cover it). If Yaz doesn't give me the same results as Yasmin, I'm going to just pay the penalty and get the brand name Yasmin...I love it that much! For everyone complaining after 2 days or 2 weeks on the pill (any pill), you need to remember that any transition is going to mess with your chemical balance. We're talking about something that chemically moderates your natural chemical composition. You really need 3 months to fully adjust.

First of all, I want to say that I'm sorry for all of you having physical discomfort in your lives right now. I feel for anyone who is experiencing such problems.
With that said, I have been on YASMIN (not YAZ - those are two different things people!!!!) for 8 years and have NEVER experienced any problems despite experiencing problems on other pills. Pardon me being frank... If you are one of the women who BARELY started this pill in the last 3-6 months, you may have not given it enough time. You must remember that by taking any medication you are changing the chemical balance of your body and it will take time and adjustments. Bottom line, you need to carefully monitor your problems and discuss them with your ob/gyn and possibly general physician. You may just need to try other pills. This is TRIAL and ERROR, there is NO way for a doctor to be able to know how each person's body will react to any particular drug. Be open and pay attention. If you search about any birth control pills, you can find there are side effects for all of them. Second of all, some of you may have these existing problems, but never noted them until you started taking the pill, or as I said before, you have not allowed time for your body to adjust. For example, when you have a headache or indigestion, you take medication and it takes time for your body to adjust to the meds. Please ladies - don't bad mouth or assume, without first allowing for the already published side effects to come - and most likely, pass. And if they don't - talk to your doctor!!! Seriously!!! The makers even say to talk to you doctors if any of the published side effects happen. I do apologize for being harsh, but I must insist on being practical and reading the material provided. I do hope that each of you stay in good health and have no lasting problems.

Please can anyone who has suffered anxiety/panic/depression/suicide on Doxy tell me how long after stopping taking it this went away???

My 3 year old son had severe asthma and had been hospitalized several times. In May of 2007 he was given Singulair for his asthma. It seemed to work well and after his release he was taken off the meds. In October he became ill again and I told the doctor about how well the Singulair had worked. He started Singulair the first week he seemed to be doing great. But by the second week I started having aggressive behavior and became very restless. He was constantly acting out. This was a child who always was so sweet and kind. I started to question his behaviors, but because the medication seem to be working so well with the asthma- I dismissed it. Well by the end of the second week my son got very aggressive with my mom and collapsed and starting having a very violent seizure. He stopped breathing and ER was called. At first we thought the seizure was due to him being sick. He was sent home. The following week my son again had two seizures within 6 hours. This happened again the following week. No one could figure out the problem. I started thinking what had changed in his life over the past few weeks. The only new thing in his life was the Singulair. I started asking about the Singulair and the doctors agreed because the seizure's seems to come within a few hours of him receiving the Singulair medication. Singulair was stopped and the doctors and my family all agreed he was allergic to Singulair. Although the medication has stopped my son is still having the seizures and is now on two seizure medication. I know my son's situation maybe a little more severe than others on this site. I just think that this medication may not be good for children. It seems that it is doing something to the chemical balance in these children's brain. I am no doctor-but I do believe that this medication really needs to be further reviewed. Especially in the use of small children. I am just happy that my son is still alive. Everyone please do your research and be careful and ask questions before placing your child on any medication. Because each person reacts differently to drugs. It's just unfortunate for my son that he went from a child suffering from asthma. And now he is a child suffering with asthma and seizure disorder. And I firmly believe that this medication caused my son's problems.