Drink loads symptoms and conditions

hi kim123,
i think it is a combination of things that are making you feel anxious. the heart palpitations and racing are quite common,i used to get them quite often,in fact i still do around my period. it was always worse at night for me and would prevent me from sleeping. your hormones levels may be fine but chances are that you are very sensitive to the effects of the synthetic hormones which are stronger than your own. also due to the diuretic effects of yasmin you may be lacking in vital vitamins and minerals and electrolytes, the extreme stress that you are suffering at the moment is probably making your anxiety levels worse,make sure you drink loads of water and eat simple but healthy foods,stay away from tea and coffee and also things with lots of fat and sugar.especially high carb refined food as the sugar can make you feel more shaky and anxious. please please try to think positive thoughts,i know it sounds silly with the way you are feeling right now but with practice your brain will accept the positive not the negative. when your heart races instead of panicking just tell yourself that it is fine and it will pass,you are not going to have a heart attack. keep busy . if you are unable to sleep during the night don't lay there fretting and getting more anxious,get up and do something,anything but try to do something that you enjoy. you could try home hypnosis tapes to help you calm down a little. i'm so sorry that there is nothing i can tell you to do that will make you feel better instantly,but all the little tips will help i promise,unfortunately the only thing that will make all this go away is time.as you were not on it for long i hope you will start to feel better very soon. this may sound like an odd question but have you had a "normal period" ie not a withdrawl bleed when you stopped taking yasmin? it may be that you are feeling worse because of impending menstruation or ovulation? a lot of use feel bad for a while at this time of the month? just a thought?

sarah

hi kim123.
you mentioned that you have been given natural progesterone,i believe it can sometimes make you feel a little more anxious for a little while but that it should eventually settle,it's something to do with the receptors,if they are full of estrogen,when the progesterone is introduced it has to release the excess estrogen to be re-filled with the progesterone,i have not tried natural progesterone but i am so scared of playing with my hormones now that i have been taking a low does agnus castus capsule daily instead of trying the natural progesterone cream. our hormones are so complex it is really hard to know what is the right thing to take or do. you may be feeling more anxious if you are somewhere near ovulation or menstruation? look up pmsa. you may find many of your symptoms,i get virtually all of them so it seems to be a really exaggerated case of pms. pmsa is anxiety lead and pmsd is depression lead. you may find that that constant feeling under your skin is anxiety and that it will lessen with time as the anxiety itself will.magnesium is definately a good idea,i take it daily and i'm sure it helps me. eat a diet high in fibre and drink loads of water,the fibre helps to remove excess estrogen and the water will speed the process as it keeps your kidneys clear and aids digestion. i hope some of this will help you. as voicesi says,hang in there it will get better,please stay positive,remember the good things in your life and really push yourself to do the things you love,you will get stronger and more confident again i can assure you of that,this time last year i wanted to die,i felt terrified all day,everyday,i cried all the time,i couldn't eat,sleep, or care for my children. i thought i had suffered some kind of mental breakdown and was going to be institutionalised, now 8 months after i stopped taking yasmin i can go out again,i can enjoy my life and enjoy my children again,in a strange way this experience has shown me how wonderful my life was,i always thought it was dull,but i just took it for granted,i will never do that again,i think of every day as a blessing because the story could have been so different if i had not found this site and these amazing women that shared their experiences and gave me the help,advice and courage to find my way back to health again even though many were and still are suffering themselves,you will see me posting on here very frequently as i try to return the help and support that was given to me to other people,i may not always be able to help but sometimes it can help just being told that someone else knows how you feel and has been where you are now,it always comforted me.

best wishes to you kim123.

sarah

hi claudia, you poor thing,i really feel for you,i know exactly how you are feeling right now as i have been there. that kind of workbook does your psychotherapist have you following? how do they suggest you deal with the panic/anxiety attacks? that may be the best place to start,i know what worked for me but i searched for my own methods.please let me know what they suggest and i will see if i can give you some practical tips that will help. as far as cleaning out your system... i take magnesium daily,as well as a b complex and b6. stear clear of tea and coffee,drink camomille tea to soothe your nerves and to help restful sleep.you could also try nettle tea to cleanse the liver as the liver has to process all the excess hormones you need it to be working at it's best to rid you of toxins faster. eat a diet high in fibre as the fibre will also cleanse your system and will help remove excess hormones. other than that drink loads and loads of water as dehydration is an anxiety sufferers worst enemy. it will take time but you WILL get better,you really need to work on the mental aspect of the panic attacks with positive thinking techniques etc.as i said before let me know what treatments your psychotherapist has suggested and i will see if i can add to it. i won't say i don't still have a little anxiety about panic attacks happening but i have many great techniques that i use that have so far......kept me panic attack free. please get back to me and i will do all i can to help. i could give you some book titles that i read that really helped me if you would like,you can buy them on ebay for very little cost. also which country do you live in?

sarah

hi sylvia,
i am 32 years old. my symptoms also seem to be worse around 10-12 days before my period.....this is due to the natural change in hormone levels but as i am sure you have figured out our hormone levels are no longer normal after taking yasmin! i had all my levels checked recently and although they were in "normal" range they were all low end normal. i seemed to have developed hightened pms symptoms (i'm talking about the clinical definition not the ..ohhh i feel a bit pmsie type!) if you look up pms or pmdd you will notice a lot of similarities and i'm sure that as most of your other symptoms have settled down now you only really notice a major change during ovulation/menstruation. i never had pms before i took yasmin but now i do,in fact many of the symptoms i had at my worst time on yasmin are also similar to a really really extreme case of pms. Anxiety symptoms are also part of pms it is called pmsa if you suffer anxiety as a major factor in your monthly symptoms and pmsd if you suffer depression as a major symptom. i think that once your hormones get back into their natural balance you will start to really see an improvement. i have started taking a low dose of agnus castus to try to balance my hormones out...will post how i get on with it.

sorry for the marathon post... to the lady who says she has just been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and prescribed lexapro...i was also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder whilst on yasmin,i was given diazepam.they did nothing to help me. i have never tried lexapro so cannot comment on it. but i tried many congnitive therapies to try to improve my condition. of the many great things i learnt along the way here are a few tips that will help.
keep yourself distracted at all times,sing,dance,read a book,phone a friend,wash the dishes...whatever just keep busy.when your brain is busy it is not anxious.
drink loads of water,take a supplement of magnesium,zinc,b6 and b complex. don't give in to your fear, be bold,day dream as much as you can about happy things and think positively at all times,if you think a negative thought replace it with a positive.your brain will soon get the hang of it. it all sound a bit touchy feely but i promise it all works,i have tried everything to heal myself without medical intervention as i know the yasmin i was prescribed caused my problem because within a month of stopping taking it i was feeling much less anxious. yours could be due to your hormones being out of whack. as your doctor to check your levels. look up symptoms of high estrogen/low progesterone.

best wishes to you all.

sarah

hi guest 32341,
have you tried switching the time you take your pill until just before bed? some people have suggested that this may ease some of the symptoms because you pretty much sleep them off. if you are reluctant to switch to another brand of pill then give this option a try. i am a little concerned as you say that you are finding everyday things are a chore and that you are feeling overwhelmed, i was the same,i lost interest in everything,my friends,my social life,my marriage and my kids.everything was just too much like hard work,i became very introverted which is so not me! i also started to suffer other mental and psychological side effects that i never for one minute thought could be caused by my bcp. maybe you could try taking them at night for another cycle and if you are not improving or are getting worse then please please talk to your doctor about switching to another brand of pill, maybe a lower hormone dose pill. my hormones were also all over the place after having my youngest child as i breast fed her exclusively for a year and my poor body was lacking essential vitamins and minerals so i was not in the best shape when i started this pill and my life became a nightmare because of it. whilst you are still taking yasmin drink loads of water (as much as you can) take a supplement of vitamin b6 as well as a b complex and also some magnesium and calcium and also some zinc. you may be able to find a good multivit that contains all of these things try to take approx 30-50 mg b6 daily. best wishes to you whatever you decide to do. i hope that everything will turn out well for you and that you can get back to being a caring compasionate mother and friend.

sarah

hi nervousreck,
i really really feel for,the answer to your question of is this side effect normal the answer is no! but it is unfortunately a very very common problem for women who have had the misfortune of taking yasmin. the anxiety and panic attacks are the worst feeling in the world,i felt so bad i couldn't leave my house to walk the 30 metres to collects my kids from school,i couldn't drive my car or even talk on the phone,it got so bad i didn't even open my front door as i felt terrified day and night (i was on yasmin for 1.5 years before i found this site) i thought i had had some kind of mental break down. i was paranoid,my husband was fantastic but i became convinced he was going to die and that i would not be able to cope alone,i also became paranoid about being raped,i was sure that if i went out something bad would happen,luckily i found this site and all these amazing women who shared their experiences good and bad with yasmin,all their advice helped to save my life..literally,i was not far from wanting to end my life. i have been off yasmin for nearly 6 months now and it gets easier month by month,i will not lie and say that you will be cured over night but you will get better. my anxiety/panic attacks started to improve within the 1st week i stopped taking yasmin but as i suffered this side effect for so long my life will take a while to get back on track but i keep telling myself that i will be one day be back to normal. explain to your boyfriend that it is this awful pill that makes you feel the way you do sometimes,confide in him about how you feel,i am sure he will help and support you as much as he can,as far as practical steps go here are a few tips to help deal with the panic/anxiety. distract yourself constantly,sing,dance,read,wash the dishes,whatever but keep busy. drink loads and loads of water (this is one of the best bits of advice for anxiety/panic) take a supplement of magnesium,b complex and b6 and also a little zinc & calcium. keep reminding yourself that a panic attack cannot and will not hurt you,as odd as it seems you are actually at your physical peak during an attack,your body is prepared for fight or flight so although it feels horrible just be conforted by the fact that you could react if you needed to. and finally if a negative idea pops into your mind tell yourself that it is not true and replace it with a possitive thought. sorry for the long post but i know how it feels to feel that you are alone.
best wishes to you,

sarah

birth control pills in general seem to cause problems with regards to depression and anxiety so it is quite possible that your previous contraceptive caused your depression although an unhappy marriage probably didn't help the situation much. yasmin seems to be one of the worst pills for causing emotional instability,i am not sure why. it seems to affect women that had an underlying hormonal problem before they went on it so maybe makes a hormone imbalance worse..... i'm just guessing really. i used birth control before i had my 2 girls and never had a problem but went onto yasmin after i had breast fed my second child for a year as my hormones were all over the place,within six months i was an emotional and physical wreck. anyway,i am glad that you have come off yasmin and are feeling better,see how you feel in a few months time before trying the anti-depressant route again,you may find that you will get better naturally and also deciding to end an unhappy marriage may improve your depression. my doctor suggested anti-depressants but i never took them and now i have been off yasmin for 4 months i am glad i didn't as i am clearly not depressed at all it was just the artificial hormones causing the depresiion/anxiety/panic attacks and horrible horrible physical side effects. i can't stress how important it is to take a good b complex supplement as well as vitamin B6,magnesium and maybe some added zinc. and drink loads of water,it really does help. good luck with your recovery and really enjoy your time with your daughter,my youngest is now 3,they grow up so fast and i felt like i had wasted so much of my precious time with her through my yasmin induced nightmare.

sarah

hi maggie,
yasmin and many other brands of birth control pills can have a negative effect on serotonin levels in the brain,if you have a problem with depression already then birth control pills will probably make it worse. if you just stop taking the pill then you will probably have a "withdrawl bleed" after about 4 days but that is probably the lesser of the 2 evils. your depression could well get worse if you stay on yasmin for the rest of the pack. get yourself a good vitamin b complex with some additional B6 and magnesium and drink loads of water,yasmin has quite a strong diuretic in it which is great if you suffer from water retention but can cause havoc with your psychological state if you do not drink enough water,again depleting your serotonin levels by becoming dehydrated. i drink about 2 - 2.5 litres of water a day. i am sure that once you stop taking the yasmin your moods will lift up again.

hi,sorry to hear about all the problems you are having,i too had problems with controlling my anger,i would snap and snarl at my family for no good reason or i would be in floods of tears and wanting to die. i stopped taking yasmin mid pack with no ill effects except that i got a 'period' 4 days after i stopped the pills but that didn't bother me as much as the horrible side effects i was having from taking the yasmin. your moods are directly linked to your hormones and your serotonin levels,bcp's can have quite a big impact on these. stop taking the pills,drink loads of water,take a good multivit and also add some extra magnesium and calcium,hopefully once your own hormones take back over and your body repairs your rage issues should subside,mine have. you just really need to be good to yourself and your body and you will see an improvement. best wishes to you,hang in there it will get better.

hi ladies,
yet another update! i have just been to visit my doctor to tell her about my recent revelation that i think yasmin caused all of my anxiety/panic attack/depression issues not to mention the huge list of physical symptoms, she hmmmm yes that can happen with contraceptive pills especially if you have hormone problems or thyroid problems..which i do! she is running some new thyroid tests to see what my levels are doing now i am off the yasmin as i became hypothyroid while taking them (i have hishimoto's disease but it has been under control for ages). she seems to think there is definately a link between poor thyroid function and contaceptive pill side effects because the tyroid controls your hormones as well as countless other processes in the body.She was totally behind my decision to stop taking yasmin and suggested a total detox from any chemicals and to eat well and drink loads of water as dehydration is also a major factor in anxiety/panic attacks and depression. rather than just dismiss my ideas she actually agreed with me!!! i was shocked as my male doctor looked at me like i was mad for making such a suggestion last year when i started to get all my problems,i was perfectly healthy before i took it! well there you go ladies that is my rant for the day! the moral of the story is...if you were fine before you started taking yasmin and you're not fine now maybe your birth control pill is the prime suspect!

sarah

hi gypsy222, i would go and see your doctor again asap as it sounds as though yasmin is not suitable for you,some people have no problems with it and others have loads of problems! the breathlessness and cramps are NOT normal. guest26464, i don't think there is any health risks with stopping taking yasmin mid pack ..i did but i had been on it for 1.5 years. you may get a withdrawl bleed (period) a few days after you stop but if the pill is making you feel that bad it is probably the lesser of 2 evils. if in doubt speak to your doctor.get some good multivitamins and drink loads of water. some doctors refuse to believe that any of the problems posted here can be caused by a birth control pill but be your own judge,if you had no problems before and you have unexplained ones now then maybe it is this pill.

hi girls i havent put a post on here in a while now i have been off yasmin now 10 weeks no and the only problema im suffering with still which is the worst one is anixety and panic attacks im still having them now and agin i went shopping to ikea with my husband 2 days ago and had to get out of there after a bit i didnt feel good at all around all them people i was scared when i got out of there i calmed down and was ok and today my lips just dry up and my mouth i have to drink loads of water to try and help me this is all down to thsi stupid tablet
any help from others who are still struggling with this and how long if anyone has stopped having panic attack etc.. did it take to acyually stop getting them
my stomach problems are still there on and off my doctor gave my some tablets to help this pain when i eat not as bad as it use to be thou all my othere side effects have near enough gone but i do get really bad when i am on my period with aniexty and attacks my periods are normal now ive had 2 since coming off and regualar so that good any info greatly appreciated thanks good luck nicola