Keep busy symptoms and conditions

Hello,
I am a 37 yr old male and have been on Lisinopril 20/25 for about 6 months now. I was asked to switch because the medication I was on before was not approved by my insurance carrier and this medicine is one tenth the cost.
I have never really put all of this together until I found this site. I have become increasingly confused and find normal tasks more difficult. I have always struggled with slight depression and anxiety but it has become much worse. (One of the side effects I knew nothing about before this site.) I constantly have the feeling I am going to dye or that something terrible is going to happen to me or my family.
My wife asked me yesterday if I felt that I was more confused lately and she said I was not acting myself for the last few months. Now I may know the validity of that question.
My other bothersome side affects are the feeling of a lump in my throat that I can not cough out; irregular heart beat and occasional high BP with pounding heart beat; Numbness in one or both hands; Mood swings and loss of patience.
I have just attributed these symptoms to getting older but now I know I am not going crazy!!!! Thank God for this site.
Good luck to everyone else...

Silke, Foggyhead,
Yes, believe me, I am MUCH better than I was just 6 months ago. I was in and out of the emergency room (that didn't help either...they didn't know what to do with me). I took Estrostep for a year and then switched to Yasmin for two months....then almost died (or so I felt!) My doctor NEVER told me to stop the Yasmin. A hospital pharmacist rescued me, and then later I found this site....how could I have been so stupid and trusting? If I had just looked up the pill, I would have seen all of this. I NEVER had ANY problems before. I am 28 years old and have been post Yasmin 15 months. After I stopped the pill, I slowly got a tiny bit better every month. In the past 3 months, my period has become very regular, but different. It only lasts 2 very heavy days (used to last about a week), then some very scant spotting. I did not use ANY pain medication during this last period (perhaps the exercise helps)!!! My period was good this time, but the anxiety started on day 4 of my cycle and has increased until now (day 9). The anxiety (vision problems, hunger, vomiting, weakness, minor head pain/stuffiness) seems to start right when my period abruptly stops. I used to have just about EVERY side effect mentioned on this site, but most of them have now gone!!! I still have my meltdowns, and believe I am going to die again, but they are much fewer and I have not run to the emergency room for about 6 months. And I will say they did nothing to help me anyway except confirm "nothing was wrong". My husband helps to keep me positive, and I force myself to stay busy. If I am too weak to get up and move, I try to keep busy sewing, talking to someone about SOMETHING ELSE, reading, or just praying I will survive all this......and I have.

Silke,
My sister took acne medication with some kind of Yasmin mix.... she has been off of that for about 2 years (she is 22). She has a very painful period (although not enough to keep her out of work) about every 6 months. The doctors think she may have a cyst caused by the Yasmin, but are not too worried as it should go away on it's own....at least she is having a period every 6 months.
Virginia

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

Kim123 - you poor thing, I will have you in my thoughts.

My main side effect has been SEVERE panic attacks and anxiety that of course comes with insomnia, nausea & chest pains.

I am trying very hard to recover without further medication and I'm trying to do it on my own. Sarah, another lovely lady on this site, has been very helpful in regards to this and has suggested some helpful tips.

Have you tried perhaps going to a homeopathic doctor? I tried that and he gave me some teas to help with my nerves, I just started yesterday and I think I need to give them about a week to find out if they work.

I also have an overwhelming feeling of sadness, for no reason at all. I'm just hoping it passes soon. I have been off this pill for three months, and I also took it for three months - so cheer up your recovery time may be less than mine.

All the best kim, and my advice is to distract yourself, keep busy doing things like washing dishes. I know sometimes you feel there's nothing that will help at which point all I did was cry hysterically and cry and cry, after that believe it or not I did feel a bit better.

If anyone has completely recovered, please let us know how many months you have been off yasmin.

Good luck ladies.

Claudia.

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 dejay78,
snap on the greasy skin and hair,mine was really bad for a while.it is settling down a little now. i use ketsugo gel to help control the oily skin. i am still having problems with spots but that is the least of my concerns,i am just happy that i am getting better. you asked about how much magnesium to take. 350-500 a day should be enough to get your levels back up,you may need this dose for a month or two then you may be able to reduce it. you should also aim to take about 50-100mg b6 daily then reduce it down when you feel better. there is some suggestion that you should not take calcium and magnesium at the same time as they compete for absorbsion but it's up to you. i too had my thyroid checked after i stopped using the yasmin,mine was in fact hypo not hyper.i have hashimotos disease so was being treated with thyroxine but my level had been stable for years,now i have been off yasmin for 7 months i have been able to reduce my dose again...i guess that as thyroxine is a hormone maybe it is affected by birth control pills. i am sure you will see some improvement soon,as i said in my previous posting distraction techniques really help with the anxiety,keep busy or read a gripping book,you will see that when you are occupied you do not think about how you feel. i used to love having a rest and a lovely day dream,it sounds funny but it really helped me. A word of caution on the magnesium,too much can give you diarreah! you could try some camomile tea before bed to calm you and help you to relax,i have a few cups throughout the day and it helps.
best wishes.
sarah

Hello again, just reading the most recent posts on this site about this pill. Clairey I had similar symptoms while on yasmin and I came off it when I couldnt take any more. It was unreal what I went through, I felt completly numb all the time and my realtionship with my boyfriend almost fell apart, thank goodness my doctor made me come off the pill immediately, the depression was getting to bad something I had never experienced before in my life, i really felt like I was losing controll of my life. I am off yasmin 2 weeks this friday and I can tell you things are alot better, the panic attacks and anxiousness have reduced by about 70%, im not constantly feeling sad all the time but I have up and down days. I am starting to feel normal again, while on yasmin it was like I didnt know who I was anymore. From doing some research on the web I wreckon the symptoms will reduce greatly within 3 months I hope, it feels good not to be taking that awfl pill anymore. Stick with it girls it does get much better, get plenty of sleep, look after yourself, keep busy, im taking a B Complex and i read on the web star flower oil helps with hormone balance, I recommend doing research on the web it has loads of info. It does get better (:

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

I HATE YASMIN!!!!!! This pill is horrible! The anxiety attacks, fear, panic attacks, crying for no reason, and heart palpetations, are enough to make you crazy! I quit Yasmin mid pack with 10 days left to go! I just couldn't put anymore of that poison in my body. I am still not feeling well. I have been off of it for 10 days. My doctor, PCP, said that my serotonin levels were so low from the Yasmin. My gyno was a total jerk about it and told me that I was just having a bad day! I did not want to hear that! I am now on Zoloft to replace the serotonin. We're taking it month by month to see when I can stop on the Zoloft. The Zoloft is helping. I am also taking the B Super Complex twice a day. That does seem to help too! My mornings are really bad. I wake up in a panic for no reason whatsoever. Then I am nauseated until around noon. I usually throw up or come close to throwing up each morning. I am hoping this will go away soon! I try to keep busy all day so my mind doesn't have time to start feeling down. I just want to be myself again! I can't wait for this poison to be out of my system! It is EXTREMELY BAD 12-15 days before my period! Right now, I only have like 9 okay days a month and that is the week after my period starts and a few days the next week. Then the horrible emotional feelings start again! This site is keeping me going! I m sorry that all of you ladies had to go through this, but it is nice to know that I'm not crazy! Keep the inspiring posts coming ladies! My prayers and thoughts go out ot you! Look forward to hearing from any of you that can help or may have advice! Heather

hi all

i have now been yasmin free for 14 days after taking it for 13 months.

when i first stopped i had my period for 4 days.
i also had bad migraines and shooting pain in my head when i stopped taking it.

i have been ok feeling pretty fine of it but the past 2 days i have been feeling a bit panicky and anxious especially in the evenings. HAS ANYBODY ELSE EXPERIENCED THIS AND IF SO IS THERE AN EXPLANATION.

since coming of this pill everyday i wake up thinking hope everythings going to be ok today its so scary.

to evey women out there coming off yasmin and feeling the same way as me. please dont give up and remember to take one day at a time and also remember it gets easier because everyday is a anotherday to getting this crap out of our system.

another thing that has helped me is drinking loads of water.
also whenever i feel panicky i try to keep busy which occupies my mind, which makes me not concentrate on that horrible feeling. I KNOW ITS SO FRIGHTENING BUT HANG IN THERE THINGS WILL GET BETTER!!!!!!!!!11

DONT LET THE DR PUT YOU ON ANTIDEPRESSANTS YOU KNOW WHATS CAUSING THE PROBLEM, YOU DONT NEED MORE DRUGS WHICH CAN MAKE THINGS WORSE

TAKE CARE AND GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL

SOPHIE XXXXXXXXX

Hi to everyone especially Connie and Silke...

its chris again!! thank u guys so much for replying to my posting... i feel a bit better knowing that im not the only one with the heart pulps... its just so scary cos ive never had them b4... i swear on my life i will never take yasmin again and will not recommend it to anyone!!!
i just want it to be over with ... ive noticed its worse during the week leading up to my period...
if either of you know anything i can do to help them lessen then please let me know... i try to keep busy which usually helps but my chest just feels so heavy!!! i guess only time can make it better...

thanks so much again you girls are the best!!
i wish you both all the best!! xoxoxoxo
ill keep checking the postings too to see how ur both going... good luck xoxoxoox