Ironically symptoms and conditions

I need some help. I have been on Yasmin for almost 4 years. Previously I was on ortho and was taken off of it due to an alarming weight gain and emotional side effects. Yasmin seemed GREAT until now... I am experiencing severe anxiety, shaking, headaches, blurred vision, hair loss, low sex drive and depression. I assumed this was all due to stress from graduating and entering the working world, but I have nothing to be upset or stressed about... I have such nervous thoughts and can sometimes say things that are just so unlike me.. I just don't feel myself. I am afraid to go off Yasmin and onto another pill in fear that things could get even worse... My previous experience with ortho was short but definitely not sweet. I am scared and afraid because I am only 22... Has anyone experienced anything like this that can give me some piece of mind?

ok...so i was on yasmin from the age of 17 to about 20 for irregular periods and had no problems. i stopped taking it due to forgetting to take it and my periods had become fine. i'm now 23 and just started taking yaz last month for increasing pain, nausea, and mood swings associate with PMS. i now experience extreme mood swings. i have always had some depression, anxiety, and irritability...but since i have started taking it, i have noticed an increase in these feelings. i am a 4th year pharmacy student and don't have the time or energy to feel like this. i become irritable and angry at the smallest things or no reason at all. i also just feel the urge to cry and do for the same reasons...none. i have done some research on mood disorders and the correct diagnosis of such. since my symptoms were present before and i also have ADD and mild OCD, i'm not sure if it is the yaz causing these feelings or if with all that's going on in my life, a underlying mood disorder has come to surface. for most who don't know...mood disorders are most often genetic and are seen with concominant mood disorders (depression with anxiety, ADD, OCD, etc..). my family suffers from most if not all of these (mom- major depressive disorder, ADHD; dad- anxiety, OCD; brother- ADHD, OCD, mild depression). also, most mood disorders show up during the later teens to late 20's. so my big issue is whether or not my feelings/mood swings are attributed to the "pill" or just a surfaced problem. i have looked into a disorder called cyclothymic disorder. this is when you have depression with hypomania (irritability that doesn't fit the criteria for manic-so not bipolar). i just don't know who to see or what to do. i have a psychologist and i am hoping to get in to seeing him ASAP. anyone got any input or advice?

I have had the same serious of same side effects as everyone listed in this site. Tiredness is the BIG one - Mostly to not being able to sleep...Timing is perfect with taking this Drug. i necver had this problem before. I feel great in the morning untill about and hour later after popping the pill and the rest of the day is a struggle. Doc' put me on Provigil (speed) to keep me going. Some days that doesn't even work. it's only been lately i have put two and two together and blame it on the Lisinopril.

Question? Anyone switch Med's and had beter results? If so which one??
Thanks
Rich

Started Lamictal after a suicide attempt. Thinking this drug would help, I took the medication with anticipation. I have been taking it for 2 1/2 years, and starting having night terrors, weight gain, exhaustion, don't have the drive I used to, and now it is affecting my sexual behavior (and not in a good way). I used to come home from work, and want to work in my yard and be proud of what I accomplished. However, within the past 3 or so months, I've almost given up. Beings I'm best known for my ambition, and attention to details, (probably on the anal side) I have been told that I have changed. I have had memory laps, trouble focusing at work, feeling as though I am inferior to others, and trouble with the driving aspect also. Sometimes I'll forget where I'm going, and take the exact opposite turns than I should. Although my income just meets my billings, and my credit score is excellent, I am having trouble keeping track of when they should be paid, even though I put them on my calendar. I do find my credit score is falling, and fast. I am seeing my MD, and the psycho-therapist on a regular basis. I am weaning off this medication, but have only been doing this for 1 week. I can't wait til the end of all this depression and still don't understand why they mark me as a bio-polar person. Also, I have never experienced seizures. I wish all of us luck and patience in our endeavors. Let's all think of each other, and thanks for letting me know that I am not alone.

hot flashes, hair loss, memory loss, bone and joint pain, seizures, hand and foot twitches, crawling sensations in arms and legs, accelerated facial aging, and chronic insomnia. I would rather deal with the pain of endometriosis than the HELL of Lupron!

hi kim, have you tried clicking the link from this page or are you using the link i sent you in my email? i would really love you to post your story on the new forum. I think silke is right,when the ladies are back to their old selves they stop visiting this site,it's a shame because it would give us hope if we knew a complete recovery was possible,maybe the fact that they don't need this site anymore should be all the proof we need that recovery is possible?
I had insomnia for quite a while when i 1st stopped yasmin, i used to drink a couple of cups of strong chamomile tea before bed,i found that helped a lot and the other thing that helped was not stressing that i couldn't sleep, i would just say to myself oh well i will just lay here and read or one of my favourite things was to lay there in the dark and think of as many wonderful images as i could come up with,like a lovely sandy beach or a gorgeous log cabin in the snow or playing in the sun with my kids being happy and laughing.i got to a stage where i would almost look forward to nights that took me longer to get to sleep but ironically once i got to that stage i would fall asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow!

I was on 10 mg. of lisinopril for about 2 months when I noticed that my left foot and my left hand frequently felt heavy, as if they had fallen asleep. My PCP checked me out and confirmed that I was not having heart problems. Then, I also experienced the "buzzing" sensation in my left hand and left foot. This happened frequently while I was taking the drug. I also experienced a burning sensation in the fingertips on my left hand and the muscles in my left arm ached.

Finally, I stopped taking the medication about four weeks ago and the sensations in my hand and foot greatly subsided, athough they did not go away completely. Ironically, a week after stopping the medication, I developed the achy joints (hand, knees and elbows) that many of you have complained about. Now, four weeks later, all symptoms have lessend substantially. I occasionally get a transient achiness in my knuckles and occasionally I feel some of the strange sensations in my left hand that I have listed above.

I just wanted to let those of you that are experiencing strange neurological reactions to this drug know that you are not alone; I went through what you are going through and possibly more and endured some of the worst weeks that I have ever experienced in my whole life; For weeks I was gripped by the fear that I was developing lupus or MS.

So, if you are struggling with some of these problems, be brave and stand up to your PCP and tell her that you WILL NOT take this drug anymore. I'm sure that you will find as I have that quitting lisinopril will restore your sanity and hope of having a happy, healthy future.

Hi,

I never respond to these things, but this time, I had to!! I started taking Yasmin one month ago, and I feel so odd. I'm never cranky, moody or depressed, now I'm all three. And ironically, it's one week from my period and my left eye will NOT stop twitching. My hands are shaking and I constantly feel nauseous. Has anyone switched to a different pill were the side effects were not as intense?!

Thanks!

Ironically this medication (used to treat inner ear infection dizziness) CAUSED MORE dizziness. Not worth it!

hi everyone-

i feel very bad for all of you who are having such bad experiences with yasmin. i have been on it for 5 months now and have also experienced problems, though very different than what you have described here. in general i am very skeptical of sites like this since it is obvious few people are experts in medicine, endocrinology or other clinically relevant topics, but i will share my experience in the hope that others have found solutions.

to preface i will say that i have been through nearly half a dozen bcps (levlite, alessa, lessina, etc.) and have not been happy with any of them. my main complaint however has been spotting, which is only annoying. the first thing i noticed on yasmin is that my periods became much lighter, shorter (1-2 days!) and my spotting stopped completely. but within a few months i also developed pretty severe acne, increased body/facial hair, gross spider veins in my legs, fatigue, and have recently been experiencing severe cramping during or after intercourse. i'm 26, workout 5-6 days/wk, run marathons, eat very healthfully and drink 2-3 liters h20/day. i don't deserve this!

i hadn't tied these symptoms to the yasmin until i remembered i had symptoms like this the very first time i went on bcp, 9 yrs ago!! then i was on orthocyclin. the main similarities between the 2 problem pills have been the higher estrogen dosage and similar progesterone dosages. ironically, both of these pills were supposed to HELP acne, and even though i have never had it in my life it got worse!

fed up with bcps i went to my ob/gyn and she recommended mirena, the newest iud. upon reading about it i'm concerned the progestins may be what is causing my acne and hair growth, and that is what is in the iud, though in smaller doses. i really want to stop estrogen b/c the spider veins bother me most of all, but i'm afraid of upsetting my hormonal balances yet again! anyone out there with similar symptoms?

thanks,
reads too much

Hello all,

I'm one joining the many sufferers out there, but alas, I'm only a newbie at Yasmin. I just started about two weeks ago, on the first day of my period, and yet, I'm still bleeding. This is a record for me. I have been feeling quite nauseated lately, basically like shit. Always exhausted, lackadaisical, and paranoid whenever it's time to actually fall asleep. I've been waking up a lot lately during the night, thinking someone else is in the room. My nightmares have been getting worse, and keeping down food is iffy. Now I'm worrying if I may be gaining weight, though, because of the fullness I feel. Also, there's been a lot of tenderness in the chest, too much for comfort.

But that's just for now. I'll see if it gets better, or I'm quitting. This was only to get rid of my building "acne", which by the way is getting worse, ironically.

My first steriod shot for severe psoriosis in the scalp was 24 years ago. It produced a side effect that I call a 30-day "acid" trip. I had delusions, I saw bugs that weren't there, I heard voices, had paranoia, etc. Turned out I was/am bi-polar (manic depressive). We had no idea of this condition prior to the shots, but it cleared up a depressive mystery I'd had problems with. I've been on lithium and doing very well ever since.
Ironically, I've since had 3 more steriod shots (Kenalog included) for various problems and because I'm on a safe and controlled dose of lithium, I have had no reactions to the shots.
I'm just sharing info in case others experience severe depression or mood swings after a shot.

I have been taking Lisinopril since February at various levels. At first I was prescribed 20 mg's, which did make me feel dizzy and weak, but did lower my bp. After informing my doctor of my side effects, and after review of my good bp readings, he lowered the dosage to 5 mg's. I still did not feel altogether good and then had a high reading at a dental office (150/100) where they almost refused to clean my teeth because of my high bp. It came down slightly while at the dental appt, and then they agreed to clean my teeth as long as I schedule an appointment to see my doctor. So I scheduled another appt and my doctor increased my medication from 5 to 10 mg's. I have been feeling very weak and fatiqued almost regularly at work, with a definite loss of concentration, and even sometimes at home around dinner time, but the side effects seems to clear up closer to bed time and they never appear in the morning, making me almost certain the Lisinopril is causing these side effects since I take it in the morning. I felt dizzy & weak yesterday, so I cut my dosage in half today and had another dizzy & weak spell around dinnertime (ironically I felt fine earlier in the day). I plan to stop taking this crap altogether tomorrow, and will definately post again after a week or so (while monitoring my bp regularly in hopes that I can control it with more effort in my diet & exercise).

"Maybe you people need to realize that just because you have a symptom, and it happened after you took a drug, the two aren't necessarily related. Take my word for it, I'm an M.D."

Take your word for it? I go to UCLA for my medical care. I must have seen about 4 different doctors there who are unable to diagnose what I have. I told them that after starting Trimox, 5 days later I had severe pins and needles in my lower right leg. They switched me to Levaquin and that made it worse. Then muscle twitching started. They too said that "it's NOT the Levaquin!" all right then, "what's causing the pins and needles and muscle twitches" I asked these doctors who's word I'm supposed to be taking. All their answers were "I don't know...". BRILLIANT. 4 doctors at UCLA say it's not the Levaquin, BUT cannot give me a viable explanation as to what's causing them. Ironically, within 4 days of stopping the Levaquin (because a pharmacist said that it was indeed a rare side effect from the drug) the pins and needles subsided. Hmmm, what could it have been?!? Maybe if the doctor gave an intelligent response when presenting them with our symptoms, they could say something other than "I don't know what could be causing that" and just passing the symptom by like it doesn't mean anything, we'd be more apt to 'take their word for it'. The words "I'm an M.D." are not synonymous with the words "I Am God". I will always question a doctor's word. It's my responsibility because it's MY health that they may be misdiagnosing. This arrogant attitude of Dr.'s is really getting tiresome. WE hire doctors to work for US. WE do not work for the doctors. WE pay THEM. They act like it's the other way around. Doctors have to stop dropping the ball and start investigating the symptoms instead of just shrugging them off with "Oh, that's just age". It's maddening!! ...-Dave

I thank you all for your help. I have started just plain old aspirin for some pain relief. Ironically, we have Benadryl inhouse as I recommended it to husband who was having difficulty getting to and staying asleep.

I totally agree regarding docs not checking PDR as they should (I've had a few who always did) - after all they cannot be expected to remember everything.

Late afternoon nurse called me back and calmly took notes regarding checking PDR for Levaquin and use of nonflushing niacin as one defense against high cholesterol since statins do not seem to be my friend to give my doc when she returns.

While I will take a look at iknowthecause.com, I am really in no frame of mind to be *shocked*. The thought of a fungus involvement on top of what I am already experiencing could push me over the edge.

Again, thanks for your comments and help.

Jo