Manic depressive symptoms and conditions

I've been on NuvaRing for 4 months. In those 4 months my mood has disintegrated. The mood swings weren’t that bad the first month, but my mental state has deteriorated to horrible crying spells, headaches and horrible mood swings. It got to the point where I thought I was manic depressive. I started crying for no reason at work. I didn’t realize it was the ring until I searched for side effects. I had no idea all these problems were a result of the birth control. I thought I was going insane. I stopped taking it immediately and am looking forward to going back on the pill and for the side effects to dissipate.

I started the nuvaring about 4 months ago. since i started it, i've gotten steadily more depressed, have had crazy mood swings to the point of crying at work for thinking absurd things about my boyfriend. crying for no reason at all and then having crazy highs. i never thought i was manic depressive before i went on the nuvaring. i am stopping this week and going to my doctor to go back on the pill. this birth control has effected me mentally too much. i thought i was going crazy. i'm so glad i'm not the only one and know what the problem is.

My serious hell started at age 43 and I am 49 now. Diagnosis was hormonal changes. My doctor put me on Zoloft, klonopin, xanax, flexril, pain killers, and prescribed many other meds to control my very frightening panic attacks, depression, fibromyalgia, migraine, arthritis type pains, knee pains, insomnia, restless legs, tingling, numbness, hot flashes, and many other indescribable symptoms.
Nothing helped. I stopped going to work and stayed in bed most of the year and a year later stopped taking all of the prescription meds because of the serious side effects etc. I continued the Zoloft though. Zoloft helped with my panic attacks but all other symptoms are intact and some new symptoms have joined the list.
New development is that about 6 months ago I started feeling very tired, drained, exhausted, thinking became slow; weight won’t come off (put on 40 lbs last couple of years). My depression and other symptoms listed above worsened.
Now in Dec. of 2008 I got my annual physical done and the blood test showed that my thyroid hormone was low (hypothyroidism) so my doctor put me on Levoxyl which drove me even more crazy (manic depressive type symptom, restlessness, blurry vision, and vomiting. Ear infections, sore throat, cough that won’t go away for weeks. But there were moments here and there when I found myself feeling good and happy but the moments didn't last longer than half hour. There was one week when I didn't get any migraines and my appetite reduced but then there were times when I felt very very hungry and ended up eating a lot.
Fed up with my indescribable hell and the doctors I decided to check into some alternative medicines, home remedies, and herbs. A friend who is a nurse and has been going through worse hell recommended that I start taking Thyroidinum 30cc, a homeopathic tincture, and slowly stop the Levoxyl. So I ordered it online. Then I researched on Black kohosh and bought it in liquid form from whole foods. I also bought chamomile liquid form and progesterone cream. I looked for bioidentical hormonal creams but didn't find any so decided that I will try progesterone cream.
OnDec. 26, 2009 I started taking Thyroidinum 30cc 10 drops in 1 ounce of water three times a day and at night before going to bed I started taking black kohosh only 10 drops in water. Recommended dose of black kohosh is 30 drops in water three times a day (total 90 drops a day). I was little afraid to take that much because I read some reports which said that it can cause liver damage. I tried it couple of times during the day but it made me feel funny so I stopped taking it during the day time.
Now I don’t know what’s making me feel good whether it’s Levoxyl adjusting to my body or Thyroidinum 30cc or black kohosh. Believe it or not I have never slept like this in my whole life before as I have in the past one week. I go to bed at 10 PM and wake up at 9 AM. I have no idea what happens in between. I am happy. Energy is great. I go out to do things I had lost interest in in the past 6 years. No migraines. No joint pains. No body pains. It almost feels like I am woken up from a very long sleep. I don't know what’s making me feel good. It’s too early to tell but I will keep you all posted if anything changes. Please give me feedback regarding my condition and the meds I am on. I will also be posting this message for the greatest and the best homeopathic doctor Pankaj Varma /Max Varma and see if I can get some help in that forum. I started Thyroidinum without consulting a homeopathic doctor and I want to quit Levoxyl and Zoloft in the next week or two. I am afraid to do so but I am really fed up with the doctors heavily medicating me for the past 6 years and all I have felt is minute help in couple of symptoms and gotten twenty additional side effects from the prescriptions. I have not had a normal life since I turned 43 and I will be turning 49 in Feb this year.

ive been on levothyroxine for about 6 years...... for an underactive thyroid gland and i am stunned reading all these side effects as for about 4 years ive suffered from severe joint paint, fatigue ,very low moods , foggy brain, mood swings hair loss, all i want to do is sleep and even then im still tired.
I am 35 and feel about 80 as my back hips legs calfs and feet all hurt so bad.
I have been to the doctors so many times and got no where.
ive been told your in pain because your depressed( who would not be depressed ) but i said i am depressed cause im in such pain.
i remember asking once if it was due to the thyroid or the drug and the doctor said your levels are fine and the drug gives no side effects.
I feel like stopping it right now to be honest.
I only got it after my third pregnancy and i remember reading once it can correct itself as it could be caused by pregnancy ????? any ideas.
ive copied and pasted a lot of these comments and i will be making a trip to doctors to be fobbed off again im sure ....but its worth a try

Hello, told my doctor today of leg cramps, facial rashes and numbness in feet....and specifically asked if they were related to Synthroid? He said no, I have been on it for 2months...and just upped script to .50mcg....and cramps are worse....I am going off the meds. I am in excellent health @ 64 and only went to this Doctor because of back pain.....was tested for a myriad of things...I had none of the symptoms for hypothyroidism.....what natural remedies are there for this . E.

Works really well for Tourette Syndrome, only on 4 mg of Haloperidol. Makes me tired, gain weight and have a tremendous appetite. Been on it since I was 11, I am now 40. I also have ADD and depression, anxiety, symptoms of manic/depressive. I can't get any ADD meds to work because of the TS and/or meds that I take already.

my grandmother started prednisone the day after the fourth of july and that Sunday in the car she thought the radio was on, but when she went to turn it off it was off, she hears joy to the world all the time. Sometimes its louder than others but its always there. She started out on 40 mg a day for polymyalgia, now she is being tapered off of it but her doctor says shes not a typical patient and there is no way the prednisone triggered it. I think it has to be it cause it happened about three days after she started taking it. Anyone know anything about this kinda thing happening?******

I have been on Yaz for about a year now, and during the last couple of months I have been experiencing HORRIBLE mood swings and absolutely NO sex drive whatsoever. When I first started taking it, the first night I had the worst stomach cramps I have ever experienced in my entire life. I was tired all the time and really irritable. I have just decided to change pills because Yaz has made me depressed, and EXTREMELY moody. My boyfriend has suggested on numerous occasions that I am manic depressive because I'm so up and down all the time... the littlest things set me off into a fit of rage =( Ugh!

I have been on Lamictal for one week and feel terrible!! I'm using the meds to treat bipolar. My chest feels tight...I am exhausted all day...feel as if I am in a daze...headaches...muscle aches. I don't know if this is just side effects seen in the beginning and will subside with time?? I really feel bad.

I have been on the NuvaRing for 4 months...I have had the worst side effects ever! I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. I actually found this website and took the damn thing out- THANK GOD! I already feel better. I can't believe the countless number of accounts on this site- women who are suffering from this BC like me. I knew I was irritable. My Symptoms: ANGER, road rage, impatience with my family and friends, feelings of laziness, extreme uncertainty and anxiety about the smallest decisions. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me..just knew I was WAY WAY off balanced. I thought I might be becoming a manic depressive. The last thing I suspected as the problem was the NavaRing...why????????????... because it's claim on the box that it is less likely to causes moodiness and other side effects than other forms of BC. Not only was I acting like a total bunny boiler but I also broke out several times, gained 10 lbs, had constant UTI's, burning sensations in my vagina and strange odor.

This is the worst form of BC I've EVER EVER tried. I warn any woman that feels strange- TAKE IT OUT!

My 15 year old daughter has severe asthma and has been on medications for 11 years. She is now on Singulair, Advair, Albuterol, and Claritin. Since she has started taking all of these medications, she has become very moody and manic depressive. I am not sure if it is the medication causing it, or hormonal stuff going on, or just her acting like a spoiled teenager with a bad attitude at times. All I know is that she does not seem to be the same child as we raised. After reading all the posts, I believe I will take her off the Singulair for a few days and see if that changes anything. I will let you know. Thanks for all the posts. Happy Christmas to all!

I am Bipolar, and I have been on many drugs. When I began taking Effexor, I was misdiagnosed and told that I was manic depressive. Anti-depressants can often make people with Bipolar worse. Effexor was the worst! My main issues were terrible, vivid nightmares and anger problems. The nightmares were bad, but after even one alchohlic beverage, I became enraged. I said and did things to my friends, that I would never do. I know you are not really suppose to drink on a lot of medication, but one drink? I became scared of myself and I am lucky to still have my friends.

I do know, that Effexor works for some people, because my dad is on it and he loves it. It just wasn't for me.

Yasmin made me the most depressed I've ever been in my entire life. I became paranoid and manic depressive, afraid to leave the house and constantly down about nothing at all. Other than that, no side effects.

I am a 38 year old 'normal' UK female, and I have recently come off Yasmin, having been on for the last 6 months.

it was not until I read the posts on this site that i realised what horrible side effects Yasmin had for me - previoulsy I had thought I was going mad, and I had made an appointment to talk to my doctor about anti depressants and tranquilisers - but could not understand why I felt so awful. i became exceptionally emotional with unpredicitable mood swings, crying for no real reason, at any time - meetings at work were a nightmare - crying in the toilets became normal practice. Paranoid that everyone was talking about me, and that my boss was going to fire me. I felt very depressed and had very dark thoughts of ending things. I also felt like I had a really bad cold all the time and in 4 months had 2 bouts of acute sinitius with sickness. I have also gained about 20 pounds. My partner thought he was married to someone who was bi polar, as my normal happy self had become manic depressive who was constantly in a rage. I have a senior managment job and it became impossible to concentrate and my performance dropped a huge amount.

However in the month and a half I've been off Yasmin - I feel 80% of my usual self, and as soon as I stopped taking it I felt immediately better - like a fog was lifting. i'm gradually getting back to normal and I have now gone back to my old pill of Microgynon 30 without problems. The mood swings and crying have vanished (within a week), I feel my normal happy self and I'm feeling a huge amount better - and I have lots of energy. When I was on Yasmin I felt tired all the time, but I could not sleep. Sleeping is still not back to normal, but is better, however I do still have the night sweats others have spoken of. In the past week my head and sinuses have started to unblock and I've had huge amounts of mucus come out of my nose (aparently from no where) and my head is clearing.

I am a normal rational person and I cannot beleive that a BC pill could have this effect and had I not expereinced it I would not have beleived it. My advice is if you feel any of the above then STOP taking it and try something else. I can't beleive the difference in how I feel in myself and about others - basically for the first time in 6 months I feel good. Thanks to the ladies on this site for sharing as otherwise I would have just carried on feeling terrible.

My 14 year old daughter has been taking Yasmin for acne control for almost two months now, and has become a manic depressive. It was gradual, and hard to recognize until the past few weeks. It hit her hard, like a huge boulder. There is big, big stress in our house and we are all very frustrated. We have taken her off of it and her emotional roller coaster is slowing. This has been a nightmare for us, and we have a long recovery ahead. --My daughter is a sweet young lady, and is having a very difficult time with this. Please consider all options before taking birth control for acne.

I have been on Ovcon 35 for 4 months. Put on it for continuous use to prevent endometriosis. I had minor symptoms before the pill. I experienced spotting and breakthrough bleeding most of the months for at least 2 weeks per month. I could live with that if I really had to , althought very annoying. I have had slowly progressing depression (including insomnia, irritability and memory loss)until finally I had a manic depressive episode where I had suicidal thoughts. It took 2 days for the "fog" to clear and to realize that it was the damn pill. I stopped it immediately, obviously this is not a side effect I care to deal with. Feeling better already!!

I was given depakote for bipolar disorder; it made me extremely shaky and weak, and also seemed to make me even more panicky and irritable that usual. I'm off it now and instead take a very low dose of an anti-anxiety med, which helps me sleep; I may have to take an anti-depressant in addition to this, to balance out the manic/depressive episodes. It is so scary and frustrating trying to find the right balance of meds, and it's different for everyone. I wish each of you the best of luck in finding what's right for you!

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 on BC pills (Desogen) for years. A few mos ago I started taking Ovcon 35 to try to shrink an ovarian cyst. It did not work so I started Ovcon 50 about a week ago. Since then I have been experiencing bad side effects such as severe mood swings (almost like being manic/depressive) sleeplessness, nausea, dizziness, and headache. Is this normal, because I think I am going to stop taking these and go back to Ovcon 35 (which was great).