Gloom symptoms and conditions

I was prescribed singulair for asthma 7 years ago in my late 30's. I experieinced mild side-effects first including vivid dreams/nightmares, insomnia mixd wiht bouts of over-sleeping for work, runny nose, etc.

Then I developed a series of kidney infections, increased irritability, lack of concentration and heart palpitations.

Depression set in, along with the obsession of shotting myself in the head, running away to far away places, and risk-taking behavior.

I became difficult to work with and left a good paying job/career and suffered increasing irrational teenage rebellious behavior that i chalked up to a mid life crisis, until the suicidal idealization and late night insomnia and cutting hateful things into my skin with razor blades set in.

Then I left another job and had no health care. In months my outlook improved and problem-solving reason returned. A year later, with new medical insurance, I renewed my prescription, only to find the bad thoughts and gloom returning.

Within weeks my doctor and pharmacist warned me about the suicidal side-effects of the drug.

Now that my life is a train wreck, who do I sue?

I cant imagine subjecting a child to this medication.

Please seek alternatives and protect your children.

I am a 37 year old female ~185lbs already under treatment for clinical depression with two medications. I used to take Alavert (loratidine) for seasonal allergies but found it had "stopped working" well for me. Since Zyrtec (certirizine) went over-the-counter, I decided to try it.

I took it sporadically at 10mg daily for a period of 2-3 weeks, and then, during a particularly bad allergic exacerbation, began to take it consistently at 10mg daily. My depression, which was previous well-controlled on medication, worsened to the point of severity. Extreme despair, emotional detachment, and loss of interest in pleasurable activities--well, in ANY activity beyond sleep.

I am a pharmacist, and on a whim, I decided to do some research into interactions with my other medications, and found several anecdotal reports of depression onset and worsening in Zyrtec users. This particular side effect of Zyrtec was unknown to me, nor have I received any educational materials or reports in my trade literature listing depression as a possible adverse effect.

I have discontinued the medication in both myself and my three year old daughter (5mg daily). I can already see a difference in her disposition, and I am starting to crawl out of my pit of gloom. I'm using Alavert again, as I never had one issue with it, and I'm supplementing with Benadryl (diphenhydramine) at night as needed for exacerbations.

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'm so glad I googled side effects of Yasmin and found this site. All of the sudden my mood swings for the past almost YEAR make sense. I started out fine. The pill was great, and I haven't had to worry about acne at all. Of course I gained a few pounds, but not too much. However, I'm a pre medical student trying to study for the MCAT this summer. I've been SO tired and drained and majorly depressed that I just can't seem to concentrate. I feel like I'm always crying over the stupidest stuff (AKA: no reason at ALL), and my grades are starting to suffer. Hopefully now that I've read this, I can stop taking this pill and see an improvement. It's just not worth the depression. I'm 22 right now, and until recently had never had a suicidal thought. I was starting to panic, because I couldn't identify the cause of my depression. I'm a good student, have lots of friends, and have the most amazing boyfriend and family. Life is good, I shouldn't feel this bad. Now that I have a clue as to what this may be, I can fix it.

My 6 year old son has had all of these more or less. He has been on Singulair for about 5 months. We took him off last Friday when he started having seizures. It is only now that we are connecting the things he has complained about. He is still going through testing but everytime a test is done it is negative. He is in perfect health. The dr.s are stumped. What happens is, he smells a wierd smell. Then he sees lights. After this he has a bad headache and becomes weak so he lays down. Shortly thereafter he stiffens and starts shaking his arms and legs while clinching his hands. He also grunts and makes a buzzing sound and appears as though he only breathes out. the dr.s say it is not seizures but movement disorder and if it is Singulair it should be out of his system within 3 days... He is still having the seizure type fits and its been a week since we took him off singulair. He is still losing his temper and having horrible dreams as well. Cat scan was normal, EEG was normal, blood work is ok, they want to do an MRI but does this sound familiar to anyone?

the only side effect of this is terrible mood swings... and vommiting 2 times after drinking small amounts of alcohol which rarely has ever happened to me... now twice this week after having wine with dinner... i just started 2 weeks ago, but my mood swings range from raging mad, to sadness and despair, as if i wake up in a gloom every day. I'm not sure how I feel about staying on it after i have read all the other testimonies... i can't take any other form... They all have terrible side effects...

My Update:

I am now 1 month (approx) post Yasmin and feeling MUCH more like my normal self. The anxiety is nearly gone; very little of it and if I feel it coming I can now divert my thoughts and most of the time it goes away. I am probably 85-90% back to how I used to be.

My energy is back and I am not so 'doom & gloom' with my feelings. The heart palps have stopped almost completely as well.

TWOGIRLSMOM- I hope your issues subside once your period ends if not sooner. I have not a clue if/when I will have my next period as I have always had very irregular periods. I have seen others post-yasmin say that around PMS/period time the symptoms came back to some degree. I am hoping this does not happen. The Xanax helped me get through the worst days and it's been a week since I have needed one. Sending you a virtual hug that things improve for you asap.

Here's to everyone else going through this hell...may we all be happy & healthy again soon.

To those considering taking Yasmin PLEASE don't!!! This is the WORST pill I have been on in my life; and I have taken many types of bcps in the past to regulate my PCOS symptoms. NEVER have I experienced such a horrific life change do to this pill. I was only on it for 3 months and it completely ended my normal life during that time. I feel robbed of those three months and I don't want anyone else to sacrifice anything for this awful pill; it's just not worth it.

Denise

I have wondered about the side effects of zyrtec - our daughter has been taking it for 5 year - the same amount of time she has been depressed, negative, etc and these symptoms just get worse as she grows older! I wish she wasn't taking zyrtec. I don't think it's just a coinincidence that her sadness, gloom, and depression began the same she started the zyrtec. She's only 50 lbs and the Dr has her on an adult dose (but she does have severe, severe allergies).

I've been on Wellbutrin for 2 1/2 months and finally realized I am losing my hair. The hair line is intack but I can see my scalp real clearly when my hair is wet, mainly on the top of my head. I went to the Dermotolgist today, he gave me a heart to heart about male pattern baldness (thanks but I don't think you develop male pattern baldness overnight like this). I am convinced it is from the drug.

He did say that about 1% of your hair folicles are always shedding and regrowning. Drug induced hair loss simply increases the percentage of folicles in the shedding stage. He said this stage is not permanent and the hair will grow back.

I am off the Wellbutrin. Bring on the Gloom baby, I keepin' my hair. I'll take my chances with the depression.