Herbal supplement symptoms and conditions

Just reporting back with some information.
I've been off of Yasmin for over a month now. Overall I've been better but there have been a few "relapses" where I've become so dizzy/lightheaded that I hard-core started to panic. Those days can be disheartening.
I've read some previous posts from an RN who said that Yasmin in particular, suppresses your androgens (testosterone) which causes many of these symptoms. This also explains why sometimes it takes a while for these symptoms to "catch up" I know I was feeling great when I first started.
I'm a lot better now that I stopped Yasmin, but I know it's going to take up to six months to get back to normal. Have your doctor check your hormone level. Even if it's " low normal" that isn't healthy for say, a 20, or 30 year old.
For herbal supplements I would suggest Ashwagandha. It's supposed to help production of your androgens. Also keep hydrated and have plenty of Omega-3 fatty acids.
What I also encourage is to talk about your situation. Once you open up, you'll never know who you'll find that had the same issue. We women can be a very helpful resource for one another.
I'll keep you posted on the progress and I hope the best for all of you.

I am a freshman in college and have been on singular since tenth grade. I was supposed to take 10mg of singular every night but i was always forgetting, it was not until Junior year that i started taking it everyday on time. Then Junior and senior year i got really depressed, and i would always cry to myself. At the end of senior year i got diagnosed with ADD and started taking focalin, for awhile i felt better. But lately i have been feeling depressed 4 days out of the week and i hate it because its making my freshman year difficult. If this really is because of the singular, how long will these side effects from singular wear off?

I started taking Toprol XL after being diagnosed with SVT back in May of 2003. I was only in my late 20's & was very trusting, at the time. I was recently sent to a cardiologist because I was having horrible chest pain & the Toprol XL 50 MG wasn't working at keeping the heart rate down. The GP put me on a double dose as well as Cardizem to help with the chest pain & rapid heart rate. I was already on Lanoxin 0.5MG, the highest dose allowed. The cardiologist took me off of the Cardizem right away because he said that is was too stressful for the heart to be on that much heart medicine. I went though several tests & was told by the cardiologist that I didn't have SVT & that this was actually Postural Tachycardia (POTS) & Neurocardiogenic Syncope. I was taken off of Lanoxin, but kept on Toprol XL 100 MG. He put me on lots of salt & water to increase my blood volume which would help my blood pressure when standing. That was in June of 2007. All went pretty good, I thought, until January 18, 2008 when I was working. My heart rate went up to 136 just standing or walking across a room. I called the doctor & talked to a nurse who suggested that I take another 1/2 of a Toprol. I did that & felt better for awhile, but it was short lived. I had been having chest pain, rapid heart rate, fatigue, muscle pain, joint pain, headaches, nausea, vomiting, short term memory problems, rapid weight gain, hair loss, cold extremities, & other things I can't think of right now for what seemed like forever. My gynecologist & my cardiologist first thought that I had thyroid problems, but all tests have come back negative. They then thought that maybe it was from the birth control pills that I had been on for the ovarian cysts. I was changed from one medicine to another & at first I thought that was what was wrong. I am now certain that all of the problems that I have been having were & are a result of the Toprol XL. I was even told that all the problems were "psychiatric in nature". I know that that isn't it at all! I have never had anxiety problems & the GP now thinks that's all that is wrong with me & wants me to go on Zoloft. I tried it, but became so ill that after one pill, I quit. I now plan on weaning myself off of the Toprol XL without the GP's knowledge or consent. The cardiologist was planning on weaning me off at some time in the future, but I am starting without him knowing it at the time. I'll just tell him when I see him next month. Thanks everyone for alerting me to the facts about this medicine. If I had known then what I do now, I'd have never consented to starting it in the first place. My only question is, are some of the "side effects" going to be a permanent thing for me or will they eventually go away? Any advice would be welcome! Thanks again!

Last shot yesterday. I've been trying an herbal supplement called Black Cohash. It does seem to help a little with the hot flashes. I've noticed they mainly come on these days when I get angry (like the Hulk, I guess). I've also gained 5 pounds that I can't seem to drop. It doesn't sound like much, but it's keeping me from fitting well in my clothes and that is frustrating which brings on more hot flashes!

I took this drug for a kidney infection and now can hardly walk or sit on the toilet. The pain in my knees is excruciating especially at night. I can not turn over in bed without pain and they don"t seem to bend anymore. My doctor thinks I am nuts.I have not slept an entire night since this started. It came on all of a sudden after two weeks on this crap. Please, somebody tell me this is going to go away in a while!!!Marsh

Valerian root worked wonderfully for me--when I would wake up in the night i would take two capsules and go back to sleep within an hour. Even when I would take it at 4 a.m. and get up at 6, I would awake refreshed and have no "drug hangover." However, I believe it built up in my system, and it then caused negative side effects. My heart began pounding at night, my stomach was nervous and even seemed to quiver sometimes on the left, and i had pain on the right that I initially thought was my liver. The day before I quit taking it, I was itchy all over. That was when I realized that Valerian root was probably the source of all my negative symptoms. After not taking it for two days I began to quit feeling nervous and sick and itchy. I guess the lesson is that a person should only use this herbal supplement occasionally and in small doses.

Claudia-
I too quit Yasmin almost a month and a half ago and am going through all of this as well. You can read my previous postings for my story. I wanted to share with you something that has really helped me. It is a herbal supplement called Valerian. In high doses it is used to help insomnia but in smaller doses it helps calm anxiety. And it is obviously natural which makes me feel good especially after the nightmare I have had putting synthetic hormones into my body. Anyway I find that if I take one Valerian pill the moment I am feeling an anxiety or panic attack coming on I tend to feel better within about a half hour. That is just me though. Another thing that helps me is coming to this site when I am not doing well. The support I feel here is endless and I like coming to this site because I feel understood. Please know that I along with thousands of other women are going through this with you. Please stay strong and know that you and all of the other women are in my thoughts as we battle this together.

I'm a 43 year old adult with Athsma due to Samotor's Syndrome. I use Singulair for about 3 years, had weight gain and trouble sleeping. I switched to Petadolex (herbal supplement) and stopped using singulair. This has allowed me to cut my Advair use from 2/day to just once.

Been about two months now. Mostly good effects regarding mood, appetite, cravings. Sleep pretty good except for occasional weird nightmares. Constipation is managable. Lost sex drive (from Prozac) is back, some memory problems; not bad. However, I am having hair loss so scary I'm going off it- the Wellbutrin, that is.

Have been taking the Wellbutrin to quit smoking. It worked great for that. Had a real bad mood episode though when I took a herbal supplement called Rosavin while on the Wellbutrin. It wore off in a few hours. Later, I read the Rosavin label and it said not to combine with antidepressants. Maybe will try Rosavin alone.

I was actually looking for side effect info. on some of the current BP meds I am taking. My dentist has suggested some problems w/ staining & rotting be be related to a beta-blocker or from depending on lifesavers to bring my blood sugar up on a regular basis. While they don't want to advise me against something that works, I am trying to move back toward fresh fruits for low sugar instead. But, I have been taking Toprol for a little over a yr. and am reasonably pleased w/it. The dr. initially prescribed 50mg, but gave me samples in the 25mg - since i have had a lot of problems w/side effects w/several meds, I started the first few days w/this dose and was satisfied, feeling better and the BP was normal. So I inquire w/them about staying at that dose and their nurse recommended I do what the dr. said to do - so, I bump my dose up to the 50mg and start getting low pressure and feel sick all over, cold feet - it was awful (I have my own BP meter at home too, the ones in the pharmacy are not always accurate). But, called the dr. office again and the actual dr. me back and when I explained the difference in the effects between the two doses, she said to stick w/the 25mg. Had I not tried this out at a lower dose I would not have been willing to continue w/this med had it made me feel that bad on the first day or a few days after.

I also have Type I Diabetes and was a smoker for 17.5 yrs. I became more motivated when I was diagnosed w/COPD of the emphasema type and my breathing was restricted for a couple of days as a result. I found an online group called (I think if i remember correctly) Smoke No More and I also took an herbal supplement (a sleep aid) called Valerian every 4-6 hours to releive the axiety of the withdrawel. Otherwise, I had tried the Zyban and/or Wellebutrin, but could not take it, it eventually made me very short of breath w/chest discomfort.

Best Wishes, I have otherwise also tried several ACE Inhibitors with not a whole lot of luck - but Endocrinologist are very big on these for the kidney protection - but if that is what you are taking, there are quite a few different types out there.