Dopamine symptoms and conditions

I just started taking the generic Wellbutrin SL 150mg last month. I was on generic Zoloft and felt like it had not been working for a few years (well, actually not working since I went on the generic form due to the high cost of the name brand.) My dr. told me to wean off Zoloft (cut pill in half) for a week while taking Wellbutrin. After the first week of this, I was scared. My heart was racing, I was out of breath just climbing the stairs (which I do a lot every day holding a baby...never a problem before), hot flashes, dizziness, a heart burn feeling in my chest, etc. I called my dr. back and she said to continue taking Zoloft for another week. I felt better once I began it again. I gave myself another week taking both drugs and then stopped Zoloft for the last time. Since then, I have had horrible mood swings with bursts of anger and constant crying fits. I rarely feel good and am waiting for the energy to come that I read in other people's postings. Instead of energy, I am experiencing severe tiredness. I have just been tested for Celiac disease, which could explain the tiredness, mood swings, etc., but not to the extent of what I am currently experiencing. Since being on Wellbutrin, I feel like I am in a nightmare. My husband and kids don't know what to expect from me day-to-day. I want to get off this drug, but know I need to be on something This one works well for my brother, so I thought I would give it a try. I'm ready to go back on Zoloft and forget trying to find something that works better for me. I can't handle the mood swings and crying. At least with Zoloft, I was more mellow - just no energy.

Singulair, montelukast, contains a chloroquine in it's molecular structure. I am praying that the FDA takes this investigation seriously. Other countries are concerned about the neuro-psychiatric side effects of these categories of drugs for some very good reasons.

"In summary, we have used a combination of electrophysiology, ligand binding, homology modelling and simulated docking to define the mechanisms by which quinine, chloroquine and mefloquine inhibit the 5-HT3 receptor response. Our observations further extend the number of receptors known to be affected by these compounds and the growing diversity of targets may account for the broad spectrum of side effects that have been reported by patients receiving them (Luzzi and Peto, 1993; Palmer et al., 1993; Taylor and White, 2004). Inhibition of the 5-HT3-mediated current could have wide-ranging effects in the nervous system, as 5-HT3 receptors can modulate a variety of neurotransmitter responses such as those to GABA, dopamine and cholecystokinin (Thompson et al., 2006b)."

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We have all been saying that our issues regard not being informed about all of the possible side effects. And, we know that Singulair works well for some people. Nobody wants to take a good drug away from those for which it probably performs miracles. People who have toxic side effects have a right to know up front.

My observations about montelukast's chemical structure are either general or not quite 100% correct or could be quite vague - so forgive me. I do not claim to be good at organic chemistry. But from doing a little work, I have come up with some observations.

1. It would seem to me that montelukast might work quite well for people who have developed mold category related asthma. I observed that chloroquinolin, a component of montelukast, is a good fungicide effective against Aspergillus, Alternaria, Cladosporium, Penicillium and Candida. Dust mites can only digest if helped by aspergillus so they go into the mold category. Molds produce millions of spores so anyone who lives in contact with mold would be chronically sick from their presence. Then people get hypersensitized to that.

I am probably wrong but I could imagine that montelukast is: 1) a ligand that binds to an empty cysLT1 receptor for a period of time 2) 7-chloroquinolin-2-yl which either acts intact or breaks down into a quinoline fungicide so that it kills the chronic mold/fungus infection and 3) a sulphur/methyl anti-inflammatory component that tells the t-cells that they are not needed so they will die. Wow, that would be great for mold asthma if it was completely non-toxic. It would be also great under controlled circumstances for many people who are mold-miserable. If I am wrong, I better go out into my garage and start inventing such a drug.

This is my visualization to try to explain the side effects of neurotoxicity. So adverse reactions could be to the quinoline component as an allergic reaction or dose related so that it just built up to a toxic level over time. There are many signs that t-cell populations are significantly reduced by montelukast. The fact that the Italians can do it in the test tube might be that it's a chemical component of montelukast designed to cause the t-cells to die.

Montelukast is a large molecule so Artie says it cannot penetrate the blood brain barrier. That would be an argument if nobody was complaining about neuro-psychiatric side effects. The neuro-psychiatric side effects are identical to quinoline and quinolones. When I read about Lariam, it just sounds like a more extreme version of Singulair side effects. Chloroquinolins were used before they invented Lariam, which is stronger. The malaria Plasmodiums became immune. Hallucinations, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts are completely consistent in all of the quinoline/quinolones. If montelukast breaks into sub-molecules then quinolines easily penetrate the blood brain barrier.

I find clinical evidence that montelukast may act as more than more molecule. And, that there is a rational for the existence of the chloroquinolin and evidence that it may be the source of toxicity.

I am glad to risk being called crazy. That is what the internet is for. We can present our ideas and discuss. So, just take this with a grain of salt. If I am close to the truth, this post will find it's proper home.

I am a 26yr-old, another victim of Yasmin.

My story's gonna be a bit long, but hope you can bare with it.
Please also forgive me for my incorrect grammer as English is not my mother tongue....but I hope I can get my message across to all of you.

Here it goes!

Ever since I had my first period at a late age of 18 (I was anorexic and severely underweight btw the age of 14-15 when I was supposed to start my mensus had I been healthy,,,,), my mensus had never been regular.

I only had about 3 full-fledged mensus per year, with occational spotting.
Apart from that, I was a happy, bubbly, cheerful lady.
Nevertheless, worried about the side effects of "not shedding", I made my first visit to the gyn.

The Dr. ultrascanned me.
Both my uterus and ovaries were normal in size.
She ran a blood test for my hormones and thryroid level.
They both came out fine.

So then she recommended me to take Yasmin, which will help to regularise my cycle and "shed" all the accumulated lining.

I was quite happy during my first box as I lost my water weight, and my skin cleared.

But then the nighmare began......

Half-way thru my second box, I suddenly became sooooo depressed.
Sure, I did have some ups and downs prior to taking Yasmin, but the ones I'm experiencing while on Yasmin is just beyond anyone's imagination.

Prior to taking Yasmin, I was confident with myself, which I believe made me an attractive person.

HOWEVER, ever since the onset of depression, I seem to have lost all the confidence in me.

All that "self-esteem" I used to possess is now GONE.

I feel so insecure about myself, and don't feel good about myself even when I'm in my favourite outfit.

Before Yasmin, I was so easily "turned-on" !: listening to my favourite tune turned me on, watching drama with my fav actors turned me on, thinking about what to have for dinner turned me on.... just about any thought was enought to mass-produce dopamine in my brain.

But these days, none of these make me happy.
Nothing makes me happy, but anything can make me go DOWN.

I've been off Yasmin for 5 days now.
I do feel slightly better than 5 days ago.
But I'm suffering from elevated heart beat around midnight, which is making me insomniac.

But my biggest concern is ;

WOULD I REGAIN THAT "GLOW" IN ME?
WOULD I REGAIN MY CONFIDENCE?

Also,

Is taking Evening Primrose Oil beneficial to regain my peaceful hormonal level?
Can I start taking EPO directly after stopping Yasmin?

By the way, I notice that I look older (as in aged) ever since taking Yasmin. Does BCP make you age faster? Or am I just imagining things out of depression?

PLEASE HELP....

Thank you for spending your time to read my story,,,,,,

I am a 34 year old and have been taking Yaz for almost a year.

I had some minor side effects until this past month when everything came apart at the seams. I do not know if yaz is the culprit - but the number of women with the EXACT SAME SYMPTOMS as me listed here SCARES THE HELL OUT OF ME.

My "minor" sude effects were the following:

* No period for 5 months
* No sex drive (was not the case before taking Yaz)
* Panic attacks / anxiety (no history fo this. My doc has now put me on Zoloft.)
* Bloating / weight gain
* Brown blotches (like age spots) on one side of my face

This is NOTHING compared to the last month of my life. Basically my life has sucked for the last month. Roughly a month ago my symptoms started with a red rash on the left side of my face and pain in my left ear that led to a migraine that has not gone away at all. (The pain level goes between a 5 and 10, but never lower than a 5.) The rash went away in 2 days, but my ear still hurts today (a month later).

My vertigo began roughly 5 days after the onset of my rash and ear pain and has been non-stop since. I've taken phenergan, valium, etc. - but they are not working. I get spinning/dizzy every time my head moves (up, down, left, right) and with up and down eye movement. It seems like my migraine pain intensifies when my vertigo hits me. If I lie completely still - I have no vertigo - but my migraine is still there. To make matters worse, I have become very disoriented, like I am in a fog all of the time. I am only 34 years old and feel like I am losing my mind. I cannot remember simple words at times and have a tough time completing sentences.

All of these symptoms coincide exactly to the day I began a new packet of the birth control pill called YAZ (Yasmin). I had taken this brand of pill for a year, and though it has worked (not pregnant) I have had some minor side effects up until the last month. The biggest side effect is that I have not had any period at all for the last 5 months. I have also had anxiety (no past history) and have no sex drive (not my normal self.) I stopped taking the pill about a week ago - after reading literally thousands of people with the same side effects I am experiencing on a website called medications.com (My neurologist also told me to stop taking it.)

I am NOT having ringing in my ears or loss of hearing. I mention this because I know other ailments have these as symptoms.

I have already been seen by my dentist, physical therapist, ENT, 2 neurologists and a gyn. So far - they are not helping. I have even been hospitalized for 5 days and all they really did was try and dope me up to sleep and had me take a very potent anti-migraine drug called DHE that must be administered over a 36 hour period via IV. Guess what? It did not work.

The most scary thing is that even though I get severe vertigo any time I move my head (even to the point of waking me up while I sleep) - NOT A SINGLE DOCTOR EVEN MENTIONED I MIGHT HAVE BPPV ( BENIGN PAROXYSMAL POSITIONAL VERTIGO) and they did not test for it at all. They were all interested in treating my month-long migraine with anti-migraine drugs. They all swore up and down that my vertigo was related to my migraine. They also said my fogginess was because I was "tired and sick" and many migraine sufferers are that way.

After my husband and I searched the internet and found dozens of websites, we are pretty much convinced that I have BPPV. We are going to get in front of a vestibular specialist ASAP.

So you know, I have been through a CT scan, two different MRIs, basic blood work on my white cell counts, thyroid levels, potassium, etc.

They have ruled out a sinus infection, brain tumor, pituitary tumor, stroke, blood clots, etc. They have simply treated me with anti-migraine medication - and it has been worthless. I have taken Topomax, Frova and DHE (the drug mentioned above) and my migraine is still there. These drugs have not helped one bit. My neurologist swore that the DHE would do the trick. Guess what? He was wrong.

I discharged myself from the hospital yesterday and am now at home.

I just want my normal life back. I cannot drive, work, take care of my family, etc.

My two biggest questions are:

DOES ANYONE KNOW IF BPPV CAN CAUSE MY MIGRAINE? The reason I ask is that the doctors all think that the migraine is causing my vertigo. All along they have been treating my migraine (with zero success) and have been giving me valium and antivert to simply mask my vertigo (no success there either.) No one has tried to really diagnose and treat my vertigo. Is it possible if I get my vertigo fixed my migraines will disappear?

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT BIRTH CONTROL PILLLS CAUSING BPPV? I saw woman after woman on medications.com have the same symptoms of vertigo, migraines and brain fog while taking the birth control pill Yasmin. I also know that my avalanche of symptoms eerily coincided with my first pill from a new pack. If they are related, I am most interested in what to do to get my hormones back on track in an effort to stop my vertigo.

This is all driving me crazy. A month ago I was absolutely normal. Now I am 100% disabled. I just want my life back.

Please help!

I took Yutopar from week 32 to week 36 when pregnant with Daughter #1, who was born at 37 1/2 weeks. Effects on me: heart pounding, couldn't sleep.
She is now 18
She has suffered from: never consolidating a nights sleep, then daily night terrors from age 5 until medicated at age 8, sleep screaming, sleep walking, rages, ODD. Refusal to go to camp. late to walk, ride bike, fear of stairs. also is very bright (verbal and math theory); teen years-- depressed, conduct disorder, but also can perform in plays and musicals. Treated with various ssris and norephenphrin and dopamine managers, with some effect, but not success. other symptoms are appearing--pathological lying. fails in school due to inability to function. Has ceased having fun.
Daughter #2: preterm labor (due to fibroids) treated with ehelated Magnesium supplements. Baby was a calm sleeper and an easily habituated baby, also very bright and sensate, but no problematic, out-of-range-behaviors.
Where are studies of evey child treated in utero with this drug???

hi anna,
you asked if anyone had had thyroid problems whilst on yasmin???? i had a hypothyroid before i started taking yasmin due to autoimmune hashimotos. my levels had been the same for 2 years before i started to take yasmin,with 8 months of taking yasmin i needed my dose upped twice so there is definately a link. thyroxine is a hormone so i suppose that it stands to reason that all our hormones may well be affected not just the estrogen and progesterone levels in our body. birth control pills also seem to affect the neurotransmitters in our brains that control seratonin,dopamine and melatonin,that would explain the depression,anxiety and emotional instability a lot of us suffer from too.

sarah.

Hi Everyone

Iam still doing not well went back to ER today I know they are sick of me have been 5 times in 6 weeks cant help it the effects are so horrible and scary

I took a quarter of the Lexapro yesterday and a quarter today it scares me too
If any of you knew how holistic I was prior to this
I never took anything at all and was always telling everyone to stop taking what they were taking and go to the health food store.

I dont know what made me takt the BCP.
I think I was weak from the anemia and wasnt thinking clear

Yes I have had my blood drawn 4 times now just today again my iron is up to 12.8 was a 8!
Ferritin is kind of low doctor told me to continue iron daily

My stomach is so nauseated though its hard for me to tolerate it now
Couldnt eat and still losing weight I cant sit down to a meal just biting here and there

Its so scary I have lost my slepp my appetite

The Lexapro is terrifying to me but no one has discussed the serotonin in the brain. Dejay therapist and cotor told her that the serotin and dopamine were altered by the BCP.
Iam not sure how that all works

I dontlike fooling around with chemicals but Dejay said we made that mistake when we took the BCP

Iam making myself sick about the Lexapro and that I took it I felt so jittery from it last night and today
Iam terrified to get hooked on it

The doctor and pharmacist said I can stop it at anytime I feel better in a month or whenever

Iam scared of it scared of not getting better scared of never being the same scared of missing these days of my life scared of losing my mind

Weight yes I too lost so much weight my rigs and chest bones are poking out

My side effects were short-term.....just a few weeks. They included slight nausea, headache and loss of appetite. I occassionally have violent dreams and night sweats, but this drug is a miracle to me. I was suicidal with very severe depression and now I am my old self again. Happy and productive. I've tried others like Prozac ( I refer to that med as the demon med) and had AWFUL side effects.....severe weight gain and a feeling of anxiety at all times, not to mention the zombie it turned me into. I was informed by my doctor that Wellbutrin may cause seizures so he's got me on an anti seizure med also. It's called clonazepam......no bad side effects at all. In fact, it gives me a feeling of calm. I think the reason I've gotten such positive effects from this drug is because it actually works on the Dopamine part of your brain, releasing "feel-good" enzymes into your bloodstream. No other antidepressant drug works that way. That's what my doctor told me when I asked what makes Wellbutrin so different from the others. I take 300 mg/day and I weigh 120 pounds (lost 18 pounds with no effort after coming off Prozac). Good luck to all who try Wellbutrin. Hope you have the positive experience I have.