Chemical imbalance symptoms and conditions

i have a friend who went after her husband in a ctalsudden rage after starting the Lamital, she loss huge amounts of hair and it conytinues to fall out , was put out of her house,broke up her family and is a complete mess. She was on adderall, suboxone and the n the dr gave her this,i was trying to figure out what was going on with her and i looked up the newest of her drugs lamital and found out what was going on . Mt advice to all you bipolar people find GOD no one is ever happy all the time and we all go through really hard times . I am sober and take nothing for the last 20 yrs. When i first got sober doctor tried to tell me to take antidepressant, I said ," the difference between us is when all else fails i go to GOD and you go to meds"" YOU wont break. We live in a society run by drug companies that you are not allowed to have emotion, they flat line everyone.and when it doesn't work they give you more drugs till you are a blob of a person. Get off everything{ except if you need it for ceisures } It could take a yr to completely detox, be patient and go to na meetings

I am on day 5 of Loestrin 24, I do not read the "pamplets" that come with medicine simply because if I read it I will get it, power of suggestion is what my doc calls it. My boyfriend noticed almost immediately my mood swings, I thought I had the flu, I cry all the time and last night, after 4 days of no sleep I planned out my own suicide in my mind, even what I would write in the letter to my parents and my new niece. I layed beside my boyfriend and convinced myself he was cheating on me, he was seeing someone else and I got up, woke him up and started throwing his clothes in the backyard. I have full blown anxiety attacks and cry all the time. I am sick on my stomach but starving at the same time, my head is splitting wide open and I am waiting on a call rom my doctor right now. I called in to work "crazy" today, thank God my boss is very understanding and I will never take this pill again in my life. This is scary and as I sit here now I'm still not sure how long this feeling will last

Hi Everyone, I took my Mirena out myself 3 days ago. I have made a couple comments on this site about it, but now I have my own questions. When I first took it out I was thrilled for it just to be gone. I still am, only I feel lousy. My head hurts, and I'm cramping, which is probably because I started bleeding yesterday... first period since insertion (unless you count the month of bleeding that followed that). Anyway, my head is killing me, I'm exhausted and today I woke up and all I want to do is cry! Maybe it's just what they call the "hormone crash" or maybe it's my period. I'm also experiencing stomach aches and lightheadedness. I don't feel like myself! I am so tired and my back is still killing me. How long does THAT take to go away?? When am I supposed to feel like myself again?? If anyone out there has answers, I'd appreciate hearing them!

Is anyone experiencing confusion, trouble thinking, trouble concentrating, decreased cognitive function, mental sluggishness, trouble solving problems or situations which require logical thinking and sequencing, and memory loss? Would love to hear from anyone experiencing any these symptoms and if so, how long were you on the drug.
Thanks!

I had the Mirena inserted six months ago. Since then I have noticed a huge change in myself. I am very moody and irritated all the time. I feel depressed most days and want to lie around all day. I have no motivation or real care for the important things (ie, laundry, dishes, housework). I feel like I'm on really bad hormonal rampage 24/7. I wake every morning with a headache. I have no interest in sex. I don't feel turned on and could care less if I ever got it. I have not experienced any weight gain, thank goodness. I am easily overwhelmed by the tiniest things. I have three children and it's all I can do to tolerate them each day, which is so unlike me. I do not have ringing in my ears, but I am very sensitive to loud noises and get easily aggravated by toys that make noise and loud laughter. (Not good for a stay at home Mom) I have thoughts of throwing and breaking stuff due to my frustration and I have no idea what I'm really frustrated at. I am definitely a different person since the Mirena was put in. Also, I have been having really bad pain in my wrists. They almost feel sprained. I am having it removed ASAP. I miss the old me. It's been so long, I've forgotten how to be happy and have a wonderful sex life with my husband and have fun with my children. I will be having a tubal. Bad periods, to me, is way better than a chemical imbalance due to hormones. The headaches alone are enough to make me go insane. I have done lots of reading on Wild Yam. For all you ladies that have bad periods and are using the Mirena to fix it... look into Wild Yam. It's suppose to lighten the flow and symptoms of a period and boost your natural sex drive. Most importantly it's NOT a drug.
Good Luck to you all!

I had been treated with Depakote, Lamictal, Lithium, Fluoxetine and more (I do not even remember all of them...).
I have been depressed most of my adult life I guess.
My depression caused me to destroy many relationships, loose friends, making me unable to build a carrier and ruining my marriage too. Wasting years of my life feeling always an unworthy mistake. I have had many suicidal thoughts too.
Then this past August I started to loose A LOT of weight, suddenly and for no apparent reason... I would also be so terribly tired and unreasonably nervous (but you know...being a dark depressed looser... that was usual and "normal"), feeling week and exhausted. Being summer and having always had low blood pressure I did not pay too much attention to all that until I did by chance some blood tests...
I AM HAVING BIG TIME THYROID PROBLEMS!
...I am not crazy! My depression had an actual physiological problem and I have been always treated with medicines that would actually make the thyroid gland worse!
I hated Depakote, it made me sick even while I was sleeping, waking up dizzy and nauseous! And I hated all the rest!! These medicines poisoned my liver, my memory and intelligence!
Check this out... to any of you that my have a thyroid problem instead:
*******
That's my experience and I hope it might help you. If it doesn't... good luck. I do understand the pain of being ALWAYS "under the weather"....
(PS. You'd might like to look at this too if you do not already know M. T.... IT DOES HELP! ****** )

I have been on Depakote 1000mg x2 daily for 2 months now. I am experiencing really itchy skin so bad i can break the skin.Also my appetite has increases loads and i'm tired a lot of the time.
I take it for personality disorder and i think i have noticed a slight change in my moods, i'm more stable and not so impulsive and don't feel the need to self harm so much.

I was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2007. I had the surgery, and then started the shots. I suffered depression during my 6 months of the Lupron shots. Not too bad, but I didn't feel like myself. Kind of emotionless. I had no motivation to do anything. I have no history of depression. When I got off the shots, it got worse. I had terrible panic attacks to the point where I felt paralyzed. It was awful! My Doctor never told me that it was a possible side effect of the shots and the progesterone pills I was on. I found that out when I started researching myself. I am now seeing a counselor, because it was really scary to feel that way. I am doing much better, but I will never take Lupron again. I found out that going from no hormones at all (on Lupron) to all of a sudden having a period again can really screw with you. It can cause a chemical imbalance. While I was on Lupron, I also had headaches, terrible hot flashes, night sweats, achne, and gained about 18 pounds....not fun! Good luck to all of you taking this medication. Just keep a good relationship with your doctor. I went in to this with no information. If I would have been more informed, the outcome could have been different for me.

Didn't have bad side effect but kept a constant look out for what they listed on the paperwork. But I was in so much shoulder pain that I needed this too bad. (I've used it before (5 yrs) so I knew people had bad experiences).

Hunger pains were the worse but I kept food in the house and with me so that I could eat (protein) when the SHARP hunger pains happened.

I am soooo glad I found this website!! Please read further!!!! I had a horrible experience on the NuvaRing. Can't even begging to explain, but I want to express my knowledge to anyone that is on this site. I think doctors should ask every patient that requests the NR if they have had or have symptoms or have been diagnosed with depression, or at that, any mental illness. With women most mood disorders are somewhat hormonally linked along with some kind of chemical imbalance. The ring has a very strong hormone in it that can cause all sorts of problems for women in this category. However, it is probably great for some people. I was only on it for 2.5 weeks and I was screaming at my fiance for no reason then I would lay in bed and just feel hopeless and cry for hours. I know I have suffered from depression for a great deal of my whole life, but I had it under control until I put that little devil inside my vagina. We, my finance and I, thought it would be great to not have to keep forgetting pills and having a pregnancy scare once a month. We didn't link the two together until I told my therapist that I started the ring and he told me to immediately take it out!!! He said DEPO and NuvaRing are a big "no-no" with mentally frustrated patients. So, to all you ladies out there, the ring is good if you have never been to a psychiatrist!!! If you are on any type of SSRI or Benzo's then you obviously have a mental thing going on....stay away from these type of BC's because they are just simply toooooo strong. I hope this helps doctors and patients.

Why the brain function is impaired due to Singulair????? Maybe.

Here is the last chapter in a theoretical reason why Singulair affects brain function thus causing anxiety, depression, agitation, aggression, ADD/ADHD, and in extreme situations maybe seizures. I presented the study of the Chinese researchers that show a direct link between the cysLT1 receptor and the astrocyte in the brain. We don't really know how the cysLT1 receptor interacts with receptors that control astrocytes under all circumstances. We just know that there is an important link.

So last night, I had a dream about astrocytes. I don't really have anything to do but sit on an island, look at the Caribbean and fish so mental stimulation is actually welcome.

The last part of the "chain reaction" is probably the astrocytes role in glyconeogenesis. In other words, when the brain does not get proper nutrition, it sends signals to the liver to do something about the problem. The liver in turn releases glycogen which is turned into glucose to be released into the blood stream. A very unhappy brain becomes a very relieved brain. Obviously, we can't be eating all day long to keep our blood sugar up so the liver has to store energy and release it at the correct time.

Here is a diagram of that. Astrocytes are the only cell that produce the proper chemicals for this process to happen.

http://www.nature.com/jcbfm/journal/v27/n2/fig_tab/9600343f5.html
FIGURE
Quote: All credit to the authors, of course.

Energy metabolism in astrocytes: high rate of oxidative metabolism and spatiotemporal dependence on glycolysis/glycogenolysis
Leif Hertz, Liang Peng and Gerald A Dienel

BACK TO ARTICLEFigure 5.
Next figure | Previous figure | Figure and tables index

Glucose utilization pathways that provide or consume ATP. (A) Schematic of key aspects of the glycolytic pathway of glucose utilization for energy metabolism and major branch points that can divert carbon for other uses, including NADPH generation, storage of glucosyl units in glycogen, neuromodulator, and amino acid and nucleotide biosynthesis. The most important reactions for generation of energy are glycolysis (pyruvate/lactate formation from glucose), shown in light brown and occurring in all cell types, and glycogenolysis (pyruvate/lactate formation from glycogen), shown in light green, which occurs only in astrocytes, due to the astrocyte-specific expression of the enzyme glycogen phosphorylase, which releases a glucosyl unit from glycogen as G1P. The energetically most important biosynthetic reactions are synthesis of glycogen from glucose (glycogenesis) shown in brown and green and from pyruvate/lactate (gluconeogenesis) shown in pink, brown, and green. Gluconeogenesis is also astrocyte-specific, because only astrocytes express fructose-1, 6-bisphosphatase, which generates F6P from fructose-1, 6-bisphosphate (F1, 6P) and PC, which generates oxaloacetate (OAA) from pyruvate. The latter reaction is followed by formation of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) by decarboxylation of OAA; this sequence is necessary to form PEP from pyruvate, an energetically unfavorable reaction. Biosynthesis of serine/glycine (shown in olive) is also an astrocyte-specific process due to preferential expression of 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (Yamasaki et al., 2001). Both neurons and astrocytes form alanine and ribose-5-phosphate (R5P), the latter in the pentose shunt pathway (upper left corner), linked to NADPH production needed for operation of glutathione peroxidase and oxidation of monoamine transmitters. The MAS, indicated by red, transfers malate formed in the cytosol from oxaloacetate during conversion of NADH to NAD+ into mitochondria. PDH-mediated formation of acetyl CoA, which is also shown in red, initiates oxidative degradation of pyruvate in the mitochondria. Red and blue text for ATP indicates energy production and utilization, respectively. (B) Major reactions and net ATP yields or net ATP consumption of major pathways derived from the glycolytic pathway are indicated in color-coded boxes that correspond to the color-coded pathways in panel A. For simplicity, the scheme indicates the energy yields (ATP) and NAD(P)H production or utilization based on metabolism of 1 glucose to form one ribulose-5-P, two lactate/pyruvate, or 2 serine; a similar representation illustrates the energy and cofactors required for gluconeogenic conversion of two moles of lactate into one free (G6P) or glycogen-bound glucosyl unit. Glc, glucose; P, phosphate; G6P, glucose-6-P; 6PG, 6-P-gluconate; R5P, ribulose-5-P; GSH, reduced form of glutathione; GSSG, oxidized form of glutathione; F6P, fructose-6-P; F1, 6-P, fructose-1, 6-bisphosphate; GAP, glyceraldehyde-3-P; DHAP, dihydroxyacetone-P; 3PG, 3-P-glycerate; 2PG, 2-P-glycerate; PEP, phosphoenolpyruvate; Pyr, pyruvate; Lac, lactate; Ala, alanine; OAA, oxaloacetate; 3P-HyPyr, 3-P-hydoxypyruvate; Glu, glutamate; KG, -ketoglutarate; 3P-L-Ser, 3P-L-serine; L-ser, L-serine; D-ser, D-serine; Gly, glycine; C1, one carbon fragment used for methyl donor reactions.

This is quite interesting because should the connection between the cysLT1 receptor and astrocyte be established and explained, it shows that there is a very direct link between the immune system and metabolism. That should be intuitive because when we get seriously sick, then we are laying in bed and the body should try to conserve energy so that we don't just waste away.

So what happens if we cause changes in the cysLT1 receptor to cause the astrocytes to believe that we are sick, the normal connection between the brain and glyconeogenesis then doesn't exist. We would have to be causing some kind of periods of extreme stress on the brain because we are out moving around and doing not home sick in bed.

Maybe we should award the Chinese researchers the nobel prize? Maybe they established the connection between the immune system and metabolism? Is there also a link between the immune system of some individuals and depression? Some how, this makes perfect sense. So we have to find out and help as many people as we can.

I think that it is time to call the lawyer-biochemists to find out if this can be proven to be true and if Merck knew or not.

I had severe stomach pains for 2 weeks when I switched to ER. However, I was able to regain control of the epilepsy when the depakote stopped working so well after 15 years.???
I have gained 80 pounds on depakote and ER over the past 20 years but I cannot fairly blame the drug for that. I have also had bouts with depression-like symptoms (never sought help) but again, who is to say that can be blamed on the drug? While I have lost hair, I still have more than many 40-year old men.
When first going on Depakote 20 years ago I slept for days it seemed. I have never felt as though I had the same energy level as before starting the medication but it has been so long and I am so thankful that I can lead a normal life without seizures by using the med.

My son started on 5mg Singulair in 1999. Later that year and the next at the age of 10, my husband and I realized he seemed really depressed. I took him to his pediatrician, who talked to my son at length about anything that might be bothering him, if someone had try to touch him, etc.,etc. Nothing. He had been a really happy outgoing child. Now he was not. The next year in 4th grade he seemed to be worse. We kept an eye on him. There were no warnings whatsoever about Singulair causing emotional problems, depression etc. at that time. Shortly after he started 5th grade, we moved to another city with almost no air pollution in the area we picked to live, and he was still "down". But a few months after we moved, even though we left long time friends, etc., I took him off the Singulair, as he was not really having asthma. The kid got happy again--he was was my happy cheerful boy! I don't believe this is coincidence. Then when he started Middle School in 6th Grade, his school was old and dusty with no doubt mold problems and he started having breathing problems pretty bad again. We started him on Singulair again, for the next three years that he was at this school. He tanked emotionally. Hated himself. Was so depressed it was scary. I kept telling him it was adolescence and it would get better. Then he started a new high school, and was off the Singulair for 6 months, and he was happy again. Then he got flu and bronchitis and was back on it and emotionally tanked again, and never really came out of it. Though out these episodes a few times he told me he thought the medicine was making him feel weird. He last took the 10mg Singulair in 2006, the beginning of his sophomore year when he was sick. His depression exploded and he became suicidal. He was diagnosed with depression in April of 2007 and went on Zoloft. He was not on Singulair then. Then he became suicidal again in August of 2007. His depression medication was changed. He got worse. We found a psychiatrist who was able to help some, but could find no background reason for depression. There is some depression in the family, but none of these relatives became depressed until adulthood. He became suicidal again in November of 2007 and went through outpatient care at the local children's and psychiatric hospital. He came out somewhat better, with skills to help monitor himself. He had more med side effects and has changed meds again. Now he is on 40mg Prozac daily now and doing a lot better, and since we saw the news about Singulair a few days ago, he is extremely better. He is almost back. I would rather go the emergency room 5 times a year then go through this again. We were not given a choice. What are the long term effects of this drug for someone who has been on it through adolescence? No one knows. How can a drug with this sort of side effect for children be allowed on the market? I feel blindsided by the FDA and Merck. If his Dr. in 1999 knew about this side effect she would have never put him on this drug, nor would I have allowed it. I say sue the bastards.

MY GOD PEOPLE WAKE UP ! HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT LOOKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX AND SEEING WHAT THE REST OF THE WORLD IS DOING ! THEY ARE GETTING RID OF THERE MERCURY FILLINGS AND CURING THEMSELVES ! 50% OF SILVER FILLINGS ARE MERCURY> HENCE THE SAYING MAD AS A HATTER ! FLUSH YOUR BODY WITH A GLASS OF GREEN JUICE EVERY DAY. YOU CAN BE LAZY AND TAKE A PILL AND AND JUMP OFF A CLIFF WITH EVERYONE ELSE OR YOU CAN LOOK AROUND AND SEE PEOPLE ARE WAKING UP AND CURING THEMSELVES ! IF YOUR CHILD IS YOUNG AND SPASTIC MAYBE IT WAS THE MERCURY SHOTS THEY GAVE THEM OR YOU CHILD JUST CANT HANDLE THE FLUORIDE ! LOOK OPEN SEE THE TRUTH OF ALL THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE SAVED FROM THESE DRUGS THAT KILL YOU !

I have been taking Wellbutrin 150mg 2x per day since 1996. It has been an absolute lifesaving experience. Yes, I do have some memory loss, but not enough to alter my life at all.

The one serious side effect, and a great one at that, is the heightened feeling of ecstasy during an orgasm. Oh my God, prior to Wellbutrin, I was a 28 year old male, who totaling lost interest in sex, and had almost no pleasure whatsoever when I orgasmed. Now, when I orgasm, the feelings of pleasure are so intense, at times, I honestly think I am going to have heart failure.

It is by far the most incredibly gratifying sensation I have ever had. I stopped Wellbutrin several times over the past 11 years, and each time I was back to my old self with 48 hours. One other positive side effect for me, it has cured my "lactose intolerance". I have been eating all the dairy I could ever want without any problems or discomfort whatsoever. However when I stopped the Wellbutrin, my lactose problem returned within 24 hours.

As I told my doctor, if he were to tell me I would live to be 90 without Wellbutrin and old to 60 with Wellbutrin, I would chose the 60 years. Thats how much more enjoyable life has become for me. I would not ever want to stop taking it. It has saved my life. One last thing, I forgot to mention, it has treated my depression incredibly well also. Again, it saved my life.

Everyone is different. I believe that if you are experienceing bad effects from the Wellbutrin therapy, then you probably don't have a chemical imbalance at all, or you may be taking too much and sending your chemicals out of balance in the otther direction. One must carefully considering perhaps reducing or increasing their dosage depending on their personal situation. Always discuss it with your doctor of course, this drug is nothing to mess around with. I think it is very powerful, and a Godsend.
Best regards to all.

I have been on Wellbutrin XL 150mg for 5 days now and have noticed that I am very short with people and experiencing anger. I tend to lash out. Will this go away?

Singulair is bad!! I have posted this before in October but just noticed the posting is no longer there??? My son is 4 and had horrible side effects. He has been medically cleared by 3 different physicians and everything leads back to the Singulair. We have a happy loving home, no stress than normal everyday stuff. He does great in his catholic school setting. He literally was as almost as a picture perfect kid as you could get. He was only on Singulair. About 2 months ago things started to happen. Unexplained fevers of always 102 or higher, severe headaches, seeing colors, joint and leg pain, stomach aches, sleep walking, night terrors, bad nail biting habit, depression, extremely emotional, chronic sinus infections, poor appetite, and weight loss. He just simply looked lethargic all the time. He missed school, fun activities and simply started to loose interest in things. I too knew something was wrong. The pediatrician thought I was too a hypochondriac. Then one night he had an emotional break down. He said things no 4 year old should ever think let alone say. Like he wanted to hurt us with knifes, he didn't love anyone, he hated Jesus. All along while crying because he did not understand why he felt this way. He wanted to die he said! I was so devastated. His teacher and our family could not believe the night and day difference in him. He was so happy and such a nurturing child to others. Now he simply had no emotion. You could look right through him. So after several doctors and psychiatrist they have concurred that the Singulair has thrown his Serotonin off. So he now has this chemical imbalance that we are working through with a psychiatrist who our insurance does not cover but is the best. All the other physical symptoms have subsided, he eats like a horse now, and no more nail biting, headaches or fevers. HMM coincidence... I think not!!! I have tried very hard to get the word out. I have had so much response just via private email that my friends have forwarded and so on. This is not isolated incidences. We are just the lucky ones to have discovered this website. Imagine those kids and adults that are still suffering. I work on an ambulance and i can tell you we had a 4 year old boy have a seizure out of the blue with no recent illness or history. Guess what med he was one??? Write every health official, contact the FDA, attorney general. Seriously this is the only way things will change!!

I am so so FURIOUS with Merck and Singulair! No child especially the innocence of a 4year should be ripped from them from the damn drug companies. Do you know Singulair is one of the biggest money makers for them. Not fair!! I wonder how they would like to pay for my sons mental health bills now!! at $175 a pop because I am not sending him to any old psychiatrist. His pediatrician said it can take up to 6months for Singulair to clear your system. However the Serotonin imbalance that it may create may not. You may need to be put on depression meds, as I am afraid my 4 year old, yes my 4 year old may be put on. And for those of you who wonder. He comes from a very happily married loving home, and no problems at his catholic school. He had no reason for his ugly symptoms of wanting to die at 4 years old. He has been medically evaluated for everything, including a CT and MRI and was cleared!!! It was the Singulair!!!!! Thank god we have all found this website. I wish you all luck and please inform as many as you can. I do not want to see anyone suffer anymore from this. Innocence has been lost. God be with the poor family who lost their 17year from suicide due to this med!!!

I am 28 and have lupus, I was put on 10 mg of methotrexate last week weekly. Im expierencing some really weird side effects, atleast I think there side effects. My lower abdomen became very sensitive, I couldnt even touch the area where my uterus is, and now my breast have enlarged by a whole cup size and become very, VERY sore. Like the sore you get when you first get pregnant but I had a tubal ligation 6 years ago so pregnancy is out of the question. My heart beat is irregular and caffene seems to realy make it worse. I am soooo tired too, omg. I can't believe how tired I have become. And my hair is falling out, every time I shower it falls out in handfulls. Has anyone else experienced any of these symptoms? If so please share!

Hi everyone-
It has been a few months since I posted so I thought I would give you an update. I am YASMIN-FREE for 6 months now. My period is somewhat regular, 29-31 days, with it getting off to a very slow start then 2 days heavy and 1-2 days light. But, during my period (and often during ovulation as well) I have terrible trembling throughout my body sporatically during the 5-7 days it lasts. But, the brain-shocks have totally stopped, thank GOD!!! My Blood pressure is slowly coming down as well. No more 170/100 or 150/90 anymore. I also take fish oil and flaxseed which I think helps with the BP.
I have stopped taking the Xanax but I am still taking 37.5 (lowest possible) dose of Effexor once per day. I will be weaning off of it by Christmas accoriding to my doc.
This has been so hard for me and dealing with the side effects of Yasmin. I appreciate this forum in knowing that I am not alone, unfortunately. My husband and kids see such a difference in me now that I am off of that poison. It caused a total chemical imbalance and I am just starting to see the extreme side effects subsiding. It has taken 6 months. So, be patient ladies.
As always, I encourage all of you who had side effects (especially bad ones) to CALL Berlex and/or the FDA and REPORT IT! Their toll free number is on line.
Stay well ladies.
Hang in there and keep posting.
SILKE - how is everything? I am sorry that I lost touch for a few months!

My experience with Prozac has been for a period of 7 months . It took at least a month to feel the effects. It has helped me tremendously I had obsessive compulsive thoughts before and I was diagnosed as clinically depressed. As my therapist once told me people confuse sadness for depression for example "I broke up with my boyfriend I am depressed" This is not so you are sad yes but depressed no. Depression seems to be an overused word and in that case people who think they should be on this drug don't really need to be on it and thats why it has no effect on them at all. Those people need to let time do its work on you.
As for those of us who really do have depression in a very serious way a chemical imbalance yes it does help. And for those of you debating will I gain weight or won't I this should not really be an issue of why you shouldn't take Prozac. Is peace of mind not the best choice. I am very happy with Prozac yes I do have the side effect of less sex drive but I am willing to continue with this path because I feel great emotionally and the Obsessive compulsive thoughts have disappeared. And before I couldn't sleep much with everything running through my head all the time. Now I sleep like a baby.

It has been over two years that I have been taking Yasmin. I would say about 6 months after being on it I noticed that I was "moody" every month for either 1 or 2 weeks before I got my period. I have been with my boyfriend since I've been on it and I always took things out on him and became very angry at him or would cry my eyes out. I figured it was PMS. However, as each month went by things got worse. I started to get to the point where I never knew what kind of mood I was going to wake up in. I started questioning whether I had a chemical imbalance or not. Also, my vision is a little blurry and I'm always tired now. I don't cry anymore, but instead I "flip out" on people, especially my boyfriend. I am a teacher and work with kids and I've been yelling a lot too. I am going to go off it for good after reading the side effects from real people. Any suggestions?

Ugh, I feel you on that. My doctor STILL won't admit that my depression and migraine headaches (that I had every day for two months) are caused by the pill.

I was put on Lexapro last weekend for my depression and I feel that it's helped me a lot.. my anxiety is gone, and I'm feeling a bit happier lately. I think that my problem was due to a chemical imbalance though.. it wasn't just hormonal. Birth control pills cause certain chemicals in your brain to be depleted, like serotonin, which will make you become depressed if you have low amounts of it.

I don't really like having to take YET ANOTHER pill.. I just want to be free and natural for pete's sakes. But I think I'll give the anti-depressant a few more weeks, just in case.

It's a damn shame how much birth control can ruin someone. We want it to give us confidence in our sex lives (along with getting rid of cramps and such) and it comes with so many side effects that end up damaging us in the end.

I have been in and out of psychotherapy at least 7 times over the past 20 years for panic attacks and depression. The only thing that has ever worked is medication, and Paxil in particular. The benefits for me of taking medication considerably outweight the costs, bar none. Having tried everything under the sun, and having a Ph.D. in psychology myself, I know that I am not covering anything up, nor am I resistant or anything else. I have a chemical imbalance that is responsive only to medication.

Having said that, I had a drenching night sweat last night and would like to know if it is related to my taking Paxil. I take 20 mg of Paxil and 25 mg of Lamictal. Has anyone else had night sweats with Paxil? Thanks.

I am 27 yrs old. I took OrthoCept for 9 years. Off one year and on Yasmin cuz doc says its the "best".
Started in Jan.
In perfect health, never been sick, hospitalized or have any illnesses, nor taking any additional medications.
Started with mood swings, anxiety and up and down. Blamed it to the 3 month "adjustment period".
9 months later, still "adjusting".

I have experienced alot of the side effects. I have felt as if I were depressed, but have NOTHING in my life to be depressed about. High Anxiety. Very scary panic attacks (never had one ever until this past 6 mths, have had 8) increase in breast size, breast soreness and tenderness when not having period, headaches (never had one before this yr either)NO SEX DRIVE (not even for pocket rocket) cramping, constipation (serious) I tried changing diet, fasting etc, nothing works. Lots of bloating.

I have layed in bed at night with my cell in my hand waiting to call 911 because I was certain I was going to have a heart attack.

Panic attacks have ruined my life. I do not go out. When I have one, my heart pounds and my mind races. I cant think or breathe and just feel like I am a freak.

I have seriously thought I was crazy. I have wondered how long it would take my friends and family to commit me. I am unable to focus on anything and I feel like I am shaking inside. I often feel like I am walking through a fog as if my life were not real, just a dream.

My relationships/friendships have desperately suffered. I have lost many friends because I have lost all interest in pretty much everyone and everything.

I have nothing to be depressed about. But yet I am not living.

Often when I sleep, my limbs fall asleep, this also never happened before in my life.

I quit Yasmin one week ago and entered therapy cuz I was convinced I had a chemical imbalance or an anxiety disorder but after reading this board, I am pretty sure I may be okay.

I have been having really bad headaches though since I went off and I was wondering if anyone else had experienced this? I read on a health board it was common but I was wondering if anyone knew how long it lasts? How long before all the Yasmin is out of your body? If you want, post here or email me please at ******

I think I am going to let my body be for awhile. Let my hormones do their own thing and feel normal for awhile. TROJANMAN......