Emotional instability symptoms and conditions

There are so many of us with depression/emotional issues from the NuvaRing.

For me, the NuvaRing saved me, only by revealing the MESS it created.

I was diagnosed bipolar in 2000 and spent 5 years on heavy medication in an attempt to manage it. In 2005 I went off the medication and my oral contraceptives in order to become pregnant. Following the birth of my son, I never returned to oral contraceptives AND never followed the typical path of a bipolar mother. There were no PPD issues, and I ended up not returning to the bipolar medication. I was symptom free without an explanation.

In May 2009, after years without anxiety symptoms, I went on the Nuva Ring. Within 12 hours, all of my old symptoms had returned. Within 5 days, I realized there could be a correlation and removed the ring. By the next day, I returned to myself.

With a call to my psychiatrist, who I hadn't seen in over a year, I described what had happened. She explained that the hormones do not process through the liver with the NuvaRing, unlike the oral contraceptives. This direct route into the body made the effects of the LOW dose hormones that more apparent. Thankfully, I learned that my issue all along was the hormonal birth control, and not my mental health.

My option is now a non-hormonal IUD, which has it's own messy issues, but I embrace fully in exchange for the emotional instability.

I feel that I have one of those stories that women need to hear. I do believe we are not realizing the full effects of these hormones. I took it as far as one can take it, with a full diagnosis and years of medication. I have to wonder how many women are experiencing milder effects and just don't realize that it could be the hormones.

I have been on Nuvaring for 2 months now and after the first month I went back to the doctor and she said that the side effects were normal and would go away after a few months. I don't think I believe that, cause I just feel so bad. I use to never fight with my boyfriend and now it is an every day occurrence. I get headaches all the time now it seems almost everyday. I feel so depressed and before I got on it I was happy go lucky and the peaceful one and now I am just on edge all the time and I hate it. I get nausea and for a moment i was thinking maybe I am pregnant but I am not and it is just frustrating and irritating. The best things about the ring is I don't really get cramps and no period pimples and no weight gain and no pill everyday. I never had there problems on the pill lo overall or on the patch. I must say though that it feels great to know I am not alone cause I was beginning to think it was just me and also i don't know if anyone has this but does your chest or heart feel tight at time like a palpitation? I am 24 and I never had this until now and I am so tired that all I want to do is sleep and I feel faint from time to time. I feel like i have all the bad symptoms except a few and no yeast. I honestly think this is my last month on this and thank you all so much it is such a relief to know I am not alone. Oh and I do get hot too and everything.

I had my mirena put in November 08 and did not have many problems with it aside from bleeding and cramping at first. It was not until I stopped having my period in January 09 that I started to notice the severe mood swings and emotional instability I was feeling. It was like when my period stopped I started getting terrible headaches and uncontrollable emotional break downs that were weighing very heavily on my relationship with my boyfriend. I was unreasonably clingy to him and I have never been needy or clingy. To the point that he would not know what to do and every little thing would set me off. I reached a point that I really thought I was bi-polar and/or losing my mind completely. I have notices flutters in my stomach like a baby kicking too, but that was not near as bad as the mood swings. Last night I had suicidal thoughts, which I have never had before. I talked to my mom and she mentioned that it might be a side affect from the mirena and now that I have read all of these posts, that has to be what it is! I am going in on Monday to have it removed for good! Thanks for all of the information, it is GREATLY appreciated!

I have been on NuvaRing for 2 years. At first I thought it was wonderful. But now two years later I am connecting all my health problems back to when i started taking this BC. For two years I have had horrible nausea and digestive problems and weight gain.I also have had horrible mood swings and emotional instability. And worstly I have had horrible sinus problems. In fact I had sinus surgery which did not help. I also got a therapist and started considering seeing a doctor about the digestive problems. But after some research and connected the dots on the time frame of all these sudden health problems.... I am pretty sure it is the BC. I stopped taking it yesterday. I hope I go back to my healthy self from2 yrs ago. Please do not ignore side effects of drugs.

my boyfriend has been on prednisone for 4 years and he is terribly snappy and aggravated all the time and short tempered and does not think that he is... i love him so i deal with it but its getting harder because he dosnt feel this is correct every time i ask him something he bites my head off and almost everything i do irritates him gets on his nerves the mood swings are out of this world sometimes and he totally thinks im being a lala in his words...will someone respond to this so i can show him and he will know im not just saying these things
all this

I've been taking 150mg of topamax a day for the last 10 months for trigeminal neuralgia. I haven't found any improvement in terms of appetite or memory in this time. Side-effects haven't lessened at all. Tingling in feet and hands, emotional instability including anger and grief, cognitive impairment in terms of slowed though-processes, spelling problems, and general intellectual functioning haven't improved with time. It seems as though I'm still walking in a haze all day long. I can pass ridiculous amounts of time by just staring into space and thinking about nothing. It scares me sometimes but it's taken away a lot of the pain and has allowed me some sort of normality. I'm 28, I want to live and work and build something for myself. So, for now, it's a trade-off .... side-effects vs life with pain or jumping off a balcony with my hands in my pockets some night when I can't take it anymore. It all comes down to the degree of debilitation that your particular disorder imposes and your ability to deal with it. I couldn't physically handle the pain or isolation anymore so I opted for the side-effects. I just wonder what the long-term implications of Topamax will turn out to be in five or 10 or 20 years from now.

Oh My Gosh....I cannot believe I just stumbled across this site. Feeling so NOT LIKE MYSELF for quite sometime now made me decide to google Snythroid side effects, wondering if this medication I am on could possibly be the reason I am feeling so badly. I am 50-years old and started taking synthroid (Levythyroxine) about a year ago for hypothyroidism. I have been struggling tremendously with anxiety, mood swings, fatigue, more hot flashes, emotional instability, and sudden weight gain (about 10 lbs) since I started taking it. I never had any weight issues. I have just assumed this was all related to being "menopausal" (and I'm sure some of it is) and stress-related.....but here's the thing....BEFORE I started taking it, I felt "normal" emotionally, I never had a problem with my weight, and never really had any major "pre-menopausal" symptoms....in fact, I think I had A LOT LESS hot flashes and emotional turmoil, BRAIN FOG, etc., BEFORE I went on this stuff. I was technically POST MENOPAUSE two months ago. Okay, so symptoms should be subsiding now. Any menopausal symptoms would/should have been worse during pre-menopause. Again, I never remember having any major symptoms going through "the change" and felt blessed in that respect......so could it be possible that this hell I have been going through COULD be related to this fricken Snythroid????!?!? I want to just stop taking it to see if I feel normal again, but don't know if it's SAFE to go off all of a sudden. What is this Armour?? I cannot believe how many others out there are feeling like me. I hope this is the reason, so I can feel some hope. But now what do I do? I'm sure I still have to get my TSH levels or whatever regulated. Any suggestions out there? I'll try and make a doctor's appt and check levels again and see what my options are...I was told I probably had to stay on this stuff for the rest of my life. Thanks, everyone.

I am glad I read about all these women and the side effects of the nuvaring. I have been using the ring for around 7 months and even though I always suspected it had something to do with my mood swings, I never really knew for sure (at least to this extreme) until I read other girls explaining their situations. I have a strong character so It is hard for me to differentiate what is the hormones acting out or just my personality. I specially have fights with my boyfriend for no reason, feel sad and want to cry (I have never been a big crier), can't sleep parts of the night (I just lay in bed widely awake with my head going 1000 miles per hour as if I had done speed). Basically I was starting to think that I was loosing it and that it is my head (not the hormones). I considered therapy (which I haven't done) because I even had suicidal thoughts and this really scared me. I am really desperate for not being able to control my emotions. While using the ring I have felt misunderstood and blamed my boyfriend for not being empathetic of what I am going through. I want to break up with him all the time and then I regret it. At the same time it makes me really frustrated since I cannot explain when I am asked WHY acting like this? which also makes me insecure.
But this is not all. On top of all the mental issues I also experienced physical problems which are not caused by nuvaring directly. I think my emotional instability didn't help. I believe that your head controls all your body even the physical part. Years ago I had my first bartholine cyst in the vaginal area. This is a painful and depressing thing to go through as a woman. The cyst gets infected and grows to the size of an orange making it hard to sit or even walk. When infected you have to get it drained (cut it open basically). In the past 7 years this happened to me twice. Since I put the ring on (7 months) it has happened to me 3 times so I am finally getting surgery to remove the 2 bartholine cysts. All this has obviously affected my sexual life and my relationship with my boyfriend.
I am really disappointed with the fact that doctors don't inform you of all the terrible side effects. They just give you a leaflet but don't really talk about it. It seems like the nuvaring is a serious thing to be prescribing it that easily. Today I have decided I am not using the ring anymore. I hope this helps someone else like the stories I read helped me.

I have been on Yasmin for a little over a year now. At first I really liked it. I had a horrible time with tricyclen and the effects on my depression and emotional instability ended up ruining a really great relationship. Shortly after that relationship ended, I stopped taking tricyclen and started seeing a counselor. Everything was great and I felt like myself again. I had lots of self-confidence and self-love. When I went back on the pill because I started taking Yasmin. My face cleared up wonderfully and my boobs (which are already an A cup) got even bigger. Both of those things were great benefits to Yasmin. Now, a year later, I'm finding that I'm starting to feel the same way I did when I was on tricyclen. Bouts of depression, anger, suicidal ideations, anxiety, and feeling unmotivated and apathetic. My current boyfriend and I are long-distance now, which might be having even more adverse effects on my emotional state. I am considering going off of it. I've felt this way and it's simply not worth feeling miserable and self-loathing all the time. Other side effects I've felt while on Yasmin are: dry skin, especially around my vagina. I always require lubrication now before sex, which was never a problem before. Also, supposedly being on hormone pills can change the actual morphology of the cells on your cervix. This change makes me bleed after having sex. Not much, but enough that I notice. My physician said this was not a concern though. Altogether, I just don't think my body and my emotions can really handle being on birth control, and I feel as though a lot of people out there are experiencing the same problems!! If you're like me, please let me know of a pill that is working for you!

Where should I begin? Yes, as it has been said everyone reacts to hormones/medications differently but how is it that I am finding all my symptoms on this board and there's plenty of other women out there feeling the same thing? I am driving my friends/family insane telling them that I think I'm pregnant. It's been nearly 3 months. since I last had intercourse, I haven't missed a period and have had TWO pregnancy tests come out negative! I started Nuvaring the 2nd of July (1st day of my period) and pulled it out by the 13th because I was literally SICK of it! Three days later I started my period again, horrible cramps and all. I had hot flashes throughout the day and night sweats in my sleep. I have felt bloated constantly, today I just noticed a tiny amount of clear discharge from my nipple when I squeezed it, horrible headaches that don't go away, nausea. Anything you would link to pregnancy symptoms, I've felt all of it! And my friends are sick of hearing me think I am, hell! I'm sick of thinking it. But as I've read on here, it seems even weeks after the Nuvaring has been removed women are still feeling out of whack. My only other option is to take blood test to confirm that I'm going insane and that this birth control really threw my hormones off balance. Oh yeah, and did I mention I've been suicidal lately? And have random bouts of crying or depression? This is just the beginning...so if anyone out there has thought they're pregnant because of this thing, you're probably not, but please let me know if you've felt the same, thanks!

I have waited long enough to tell my story. I am a 29 yr old single mother of 3. I started YAZ in Feb of 2008. I took it for 11 days. ELEVEN DAYS. It was about 4 days in that the headaches started. I couldn't stand light, I wore hoodies and sunglasses. I was nauseated. Saw double, black spots. Motion sickness.I could barely make it to work. I was out of control. I did not have control over my mind. I was crazy. My friend almost took me to the hospital to have me committed. There is no history of this in me or my family. The headaches would last from the time I woke up til the time I would go to sleep. Painkillers was the only thing that would keep me asleep through the pain. My dr immediately stop the the pills. I saw an eye doctor and they found nothing. They ordered an MRI. They found T2 Foci scattered throughout my brain. VERY unusual in someone my age. What that is, is my protective covering of my brain cells had been damaged there were gaps in its covering. I soon developed a stutter and a slur in my speech. The pain then moved throughout my whole body. They said fibromyalga and daily migraines. I'm now on topamax daily which gives me breaks in my headaches. I still get them daily. I still have pain in my body daily and I'm on painkillers daily. I have found a new dr who is wonderful. Who has recently taken blood. Who thinks that maybe it could be lupus. So I started researching Lupus...my symptoms and rashes match up. There is also a DRUG INDUCED LUPUS. and ORAL CONTRACEPTIVES is a KNOWN drug that can cause this!!! BUT IS THAT ON THE LABEL???? NOOOOOOOO!!! I was perfectly healthy before yaz, in kick boxing and now I walk and have the memory of a 60 yr old and my brain is permanently damaged. I have another MRI coming up to find out if there is more damage and I will find out the results of the blood work to find out what is wrong with me...but I blame all of this on YAZ and I hold them responsible. I SAY CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT....just have to find a firm with big enough BALLS to do it!!!

Kenalog-40 I was never told what I was being given in my bottom, just that it would help with seasonal allergies. FDA site "Neurologic-Psychiatric: Psychic derangements may appear when corticosteroids are used, ranging from euphoria, insomnia, mood swings, personality changes, and severe depression to frank psychotic manifestations. Also, existing emotional instability or psychotic tendencies may be aggravated by corticosteroids." FDA More "Neuro-Psychiatric: Convulsions, depression, emotional instability, euphoria, headaches, increased intracranial pressure with papilledema(pseudotumor cerebri) usually following discontinuation of treatment, insomnia, mood swings, neuritis, neuropathy, paresthesia, personality changes, psychic disorders, vertigo. Arachnoiditis, meningitis, paraparesis/paraplegia, and sensory disturbances have occurred after intrathecal administration."
I went to an Urgent Care Clinic for allergies. My skin was crawling every time I left the house so I was told the cause was environmental allergies. The Benadryl wasn't helping. The nurse noticed my skin was patchy and swollen. Another nurse returned to the room and said this shot would help with the reactions. I was not told what it was till it was done and she mumbled the word Kenalog. Three hours later I was anxious and talking irratically. Pressured speech, I could not stop talking. I called Nurse Advice line, then told to call a Pharmacy Help Line, who in turn said to go to the ER but to not drive myself in such a condition. I was talking as if I was on speed or manic. The ER said to go home it was just an anxiety attack. I took 2mg Clonzepam to calm down and sleep. In the morning, the symptoms returned. I called the hospital pharmacy and was told to go in immediately to see my doctor, that it is a steroid and causes psychic reactions. My regular doctor didnt have an opening so I saw a different doctor who wasn't familiar with my normal personality. She said she saw nothing wrong no matter that she couldn't get a word in unless I physically put my hand over my mouth. She sent me to a Nurse/psychiatrist next door to her. He said there was nothing wrong also. I had to keep repeating myself, speeding along, stuttering because I was talking so fast, telling him I was going 100 miles an hour in my head and out my mouth. I thankfully had an appointment with my psychologist a few minutes later in a different part of the hospital. I see her weekly. She immediately saw my change in mood and personality and called the clinic nurse/psychiatrist and told him to prescribe clonzepam. I did some reading about kenalog 40 injections. The clinic doctors didnt have the same list of side effects as their own pharmacy. I should never have been given the shot because I already have an emotional/mood problem and have epilepsy. I have to increase my anti-convulsants for at least two weeks and watch my mood very very closely. Some days I "fly" then "crash" now. This is all new, extreme symptoms of an already existing condition. This Urgent Care Clinic nurse was told all these things by me, repeatedly because of all my allergies to drugs, daily convulsions and counselling I already undergo for PTSD. I was never seen by a doctor that day or counselled. I will never take a steroid again based on the information I now have on its effects on psychiatric and seizure conditions. I am already disabled because of daily seizures and now I have even more daily seizures. These mood swings and seizures will be abnormally high for over 3 weeks I was told by the doctors but the more reading I do the longer I find that the steroid will cause side effects. Epileptics or those with a low seizure thresh hold, anyone with psychiatric conditions, emotional problems such as panic attacks or anxiety, PTSD, depression, Please use caution with kenalog. My friends are very helpful and supportive during this time. They can see the emotional impact the steroids are having on me. They will tell me I am speeding and I say "sorry, its the 'roids talking" Now, I will be watching my butt, too. Its been 7 days since the injection.

I've had experiences with depression and birth control pills in the past...Femcon Fe is no acception. I am now in the 5th month. After the first month, I was experiencing loss of appetite, and nausea anytime I ate anything. During the day, I could barely stay awake, and at night, I kept waking up constantly. My doctor said to keep taking Femcon and the symptoms would improve...I kept at it. After almost losing my boyfriend to one of my RIDICULOUS mood swings, the symptoms seemed to be at bay. Two months later, almost overnight, I'm back to feeling "crazy." The headaches are back. I'm lethargic all the time, experience a lack of energy, no appetite, don't want to get up and go to work, am BEYOND exhausted ALL day long, have trouble staying asleep, resent my boyfriend's existence for NO reason at all, have sore breasts that have seemingly gotten bigger (let's be real ladies, if the price for bigger boobs is feeling emotionally erratic...it's not worth it!), had HORRIBLE period cramps, oh, and the nausea! The emotional instability is the worst. I feel like I can't get a grip on reality and that I'm completely disconnected with my former self. That's all I want back. I really liked my former self!!! : ( It's not worth it to go through life feeling depressed.

Hello I am 25 years old and just had the Mirena inserted April 4th 2008. I just gave birth to a beautiful son January 14th of 2008. I thought the Mirena would be a great idea for birth control since I am living with my boyfriend and I didn't want any unwanted pregnancies. I have never been on an form of birth control before besides condoms. During my pregnancy I would say that I was highly emotional and had a very difficult time, but I think it was due to the pregnancy being unplanned and it being a very dramatic life-changing experience. I'm not sure if I had post partum..because it seemed as though everything I was going through was normal. The insertion went swimmingly for me, probably because I just had a baby. It wasn't too painful, just felt like period cramps. However this past week, I have felt so sick and tired I'm just wondering if the Mirena could be the cause. I didn't bleed right after insertion too much, but I am still bleeding. Not heavy, just enough to be annoying and to ruin my underwear. I think there was a day when all of a sudden I felt very nauseous. This past week since Monday, on and off I have had flu like symptoms where I haven't been able to keep any food in my stomach. I developed a rash on my face Monday of this week,which is now still there but is going away. and now I can't seem to come up with enough energy to go throughout my day. This is difficult because i have a 3 month old and I'm trying to take care of him at the same time. All i want to do is sleep, I have severe headaches that make me want to close my eyes and sleep with no light in the room. I am also breastfeeding. My doctor knows this...but it mentions in the pamphlet to let your doctor know...and I'm wondering is that a problem? As far as the emotional part goes, I've felt like my life has ended...very dramatic, depression symptoms to the point where I've thought of suicide at least 5 times this week. Crying, wailing, not feeling good about myself at all. It's awful. My boyfriend thinks its the Mirena and told me to look it up online. I'm glad I did because it seems like other people have the same symptoms. It also says side effects can last up to 6 months. I don't know if I should wait that long because I just got it, for the side effects to go away..but I think I will just as long as I know in my mind that I'm having side effects and I'm not really a crazy woman.

My daughter took singulair for a number of years because she was asthmatic and the doctor recommended that she takes one each a day. At 13 she started acting differently and I thought it was just growing up and being a rebellious teenager. I later found track mark on her arms and she was hospitalized under suicide watch. She was not allowed in school until she had numerous therapy sessions. On top of everything she was giving topamax to control her anxiety and depression and now missed so much school that she has graduate a year later.

I am a 32 year old sane woman with a degree in Psychology. I was prescribed levaquin for walking pneumonia. This is day 7, and I am in tears because I truly thought I was having a psychotic break for the past 5 days. My roller-coaster of symptoms include emotional instability, paranoia, violent thoughts, thoughts of hopelessness and suicide, overwhelming gloom, facial numbness, insomnia, and the feeling of tingling in my mouth and throat. I am going to stop taking this medicine right now, and I've already called my doctor. I just wish I would have linked this to the only medicine I'm taking much sooner.

I have been on the ring for 4 months now. After using it for about a month I became depressed and angry. Often being verbally abusinve with my boyfriend and my mom for things that werent their fault. I have spent so much time thinking about why...why am I so unhappy when I have a wonderful boyfriend, a great mom, and a daughter that I ADORE!!!! I have a good job, a decent car, friends, love...there was no reason I shouldnt be happy. Worse than that-- I have no sexual desire at all, and it irrates me so bad when my boyfriend touches me. Which is definietly hurting our relationship! I have been considering seeing a doctor about getting some type of prescription for my emotional instability (even though I am very against those types of drugs.) Two weeks ago it was time to take my ring out. I took it out and when I called my pharmacist I didn't have any refills. So I have been without it for 2 weeks and I feel SO MUCH BETTER!!! My sexual desire is returning and instead of fighting all day, me and my boyfriend are getting along much better. I don't feel 100% back to normal, but I am hoping to get there soon!! Relieve yourself...throw the ring away!!!

Male, 52. Since being on Lipitor over the last 4 years (3 have been at 20 mg/day) I noticed that I become very 'emotional' during movies and when reading. It's like someone turned on the 'flood gates' for even movies like Transformers and Gost Rider (trash kiddie films). I haven't stopped taking the product because I haven't felt any other of the listed side effects.

Has anyone else had this type of effect????

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.

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

Wow. I am glad I'm not going crazy because I thought I was!

I stopped taking yasmin for 2 weeks just to detox my body of any meds at all...and i felt great! lots of energy, endurance, great mood...and then...i tried going back on this sunday.

this week i've had 2 panic attacks, heart papiltations, dry mouth, constant urination, lack of focus, no energy, emotional instability. my hair came out in clumps on tuesday!

i threw these in the trash last night. stay away!

THIS DRUG IS HORRIBLE!!! This drug caused me to have terrible mood swings and emotional instability like I have NEVER experienced before. It also caused loss of appetite. This drug has the potential to cause major emotional side effects.

I would like to know if anyone is experiencing or has experienced the following side effects:
I am 28 yrs. old and have been on levothyroxine since April 2004. I started graduate school immediately following my body scan and RAI treatment(5 days after when I was no longer radioactive) in August 2004.
After immersing myself in classes and field placement, I found myself having difficulty concentrating on my work and I had little to no motivation to get out of bed to go to class. My grades dropped and that made me even less motivated to continue on with school.
I went to my dr. and after telling him about my side effects: lack of motivation, difficulty concentrating, emotional instability, he just said that he does not believe that it is from the meds.
I have dropped out of school for the time being because I just can't get enough energy to go every day.
Has anyone ever experienced these symptoms? If so, do you believe they are an effect of the meds. or having gone through cancer , surgery, etc.?
Feel free to email me. I'd like to get some feedback. Thanks.
Amy ******

I have been on Paxil (20 mg/day, taken in the morning) for 18 days now, and I am feeling way better than I was before starting it. Before, I was weepy, depressed, prone to panic attacks, quick to anger, and wondering why I was alive.

Now, I am thinking much more clearly. I do not feel depressed. I have not experienced any panic whatsoever, even during times when I usually had panic episodes before. I feel moments of normal happiness, which I had gone a very long time without experiencing.

I have experienced a slight sensation of detachment since starting the Paxil, but it's not awful. In fact, it is probably best for me, anyway. My emotional instability was pretty bad before--crying at the drop of a hat, freaking out at my poor husband for something minor--and the Paxil has put me back on an even keel again.

The only "bad" (note the quotes) side effects I have noted are night sweats (actually, increased sweating overall), insomnia (particularly bad the first week of taking Paxil), and teeth grinding in my sleep.

My doctor prescribed me a short course of low-dosage Xanax for just the first few weeks, so I pop two 0.25 mg pills before bedtime. This has helped the insomnia, and I am no longer grinding my teeth during the night. The longer I stay on the Paxil, the lesser I notice or experience the bad side effects.

Overall, for me at least, the good outweighs the bad with Paxil. I feel like myself again!