Mental health problems symptoms and conditions

My son, who just turned 14 this month, was on Singulair for over 2 years.
He was diagnosed with reactive airway disease and possibly Asthma--and prescribed this awful drug-even back in 2004. The doctor said how wonderful this med was and prevents any further attacks.. So, for 2 years-every night, he took this mood altering, destructive drug. He lost all interest in school, his athletics-soccer, skateboarding, biking..in fact became almost a vacant , very unhappy, child-had stomach aches, joint pains and reflux--why--I brought him to the doctor and Pediatric center so frequently--all they kept saying his --his asthma is better, much be other issues...Even after the March 2008 suicide--his doctor said-that is just an isolated incident-just monitor him--It is a good drug. Right, month by month his behavior escalated to wanting to die, no reason to go to school-he said he was stupid and a failure and why don't I understand there is no reason to his life. A usually happy fun-loving boy -my son- didn't want to live. Nothing made him happy-I started to believe what the doctors said--maybe something or someone at school (bully, pedophile??) caused this change. Terrible nightmares and vivid dreams...Until this past July, I asked him want to go to the library for some books or dvd's...he went ballistic-threw everything off his computer desk and tried to break his chair. He is not an aggressive boy but this behavior was becoming a daily issue. Along with everything flying off his table, was his bottle of Singulair pills. It then dawned on me..I have been poisoning my only son. The child I know and love and gave birth to returned within a few days--although I am worried sick about further asthma attacks --all the doctors can prescribe is a steroid drug-asthmex or Pulmicort.. I cannot understand nor comprehend why this drug is being prescribed for children and young adults. The guilt I live with is terrible as my son has lost 2 years of his life--
and thought there was something really wrong with him-At least we woke up---in time--how about some other parents..thinking it's just normal adolescent behavior for their child or their fault???

I have 2 sons with asthma that have both been taken singulair (the oldest for 3 years & his brother for 2). My younger son's asthma got alot better since he was diagnosed & he was recently taken off Singulair thanks also to my husband hearing a report about the moodiness caused. When he was on it he would cry for no reason, get very irrational & seemed to think the world was against him. In just 2 weeks he is happy & cheerful and has told me he thinks it is due to being off singulair. His older brother's asthma has gotten worse over the years & I'm concerned about taking him off but he too has crazy moods. Just tonight he started a new soccer team & got crazy & suddenly didn't even want to participate in something he loves (wanted me to let him quit right then) until we argued enough he reluctantly participated. He then came home complained of a headache (which is also way too frequent) and now has been asleep for hours. Are there any alternatives to this drug? I'm a stressed out mom that doesn't deal well with these mood swings. He is normally a social butterfly & a sweet kid but lately seems more withdrawn, more irritable (especially tonight) & complaining about leg cramps in addition to these frequent headaches. I can't deal with too many more of these evenings & wonder if all these things are possible side effects. I'm glad to see my other son doing well but miss his normally sweet brother! Even his siblings think he is acting crazy :(

I like to live my life with facts, not speculation and drama. My child is on Singulair and doing fantastic. I remember the trips to the ER when I did not know if my child would live or die. Of course when I saw this report, it caused me some concern so I did some research on my own. Did you know that suicide is the leading cause of violent death in New York State, the United States and the world? In 2002 in New York State there were 1,292 suicides which exceeded homicides by 32%. The statistics show that 1 in 10 teenagers plans to commit suicide. The National Center for Health reports a 10% suicide rate in kids 15-24 years of age and 4 male suicides for every female suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among those 15-24 years old.

So now we have 1 child in New York that has committed suicide that just happened to be on Singulair, and it is Singulairs fault? Show me the proof. All I see is one distraught mom who is trying to find blame for her son’s tragic death. Is there only half the story being told, a trend I have noticed in journalism these days. Let’s face it, life happens. I am NOT on Singulair and I have had melt downs, thrown things across the room, been depressed over things, cried, and even for the past week have been having some crazy dreams. I remember as a child putting notes on my room door telling my parents how much I hated them. I remember as a teenager thinking my life would be better if I were dead. I remember my child being cranky and fussy before she was on Singulair, gee maybe she was teething. The term “terrible twos” has been around a lot longer that Singulair. Let’s face it, we have turned into a society of people who always want something to blame. I think it is time people start taking responsibility for themselves and accept the fact that sometimes life just happens. Take accountability for your own lives, and stop trying to blame everything and anything.

I also live my life by reading internet blogs with a grain of salt. These blogs are public forums and places where anyone and everyone can post. How do you know that all these posts are real? Remember the day when kids made prank phone calls for fun? Now they have the internet and can post pranks on these blogs. How do you know that a competitor to Singulair is not posting in order to fuel the feeding frenzy? How about a registered sex offender or a felon in prison? There are a lot of “sick” people in the world and yes, they have access to the internet too. If you are hanging on every single one of these posts as being true and real then I feel sorry for you. The internet provides anonymity and it is easy to create a fictitious identity and a fictitious story. That is probably why if you do a search for “internet safety” you get 15,700,000 hits.

Until I see proof, I am not going to take my child off Singulair. The CDC reports that in 2002 there were 1.9 million visits to the ER for asthma and 4,261 asthma deaths. If I did stop my child’s Singulair, and she died in the ER from as asthma attack, whose head does that fall on? The media?

I was put on Levaquin 750 mg. for 7 days for a sinus infection. After a few days, I was soooooooo sore in every muscle and joint of my body, that I didn't even want to get out of bed. Since I am self-employed and the only one that does my job, (custom sewing and alterations of clothing), I had too. One Friday, shortly after taking the Levaquin, I was in the bathroom, and I had to get my husband's attention to help me get up off the commode, my right leg would not let me raise up. I went to the doctor that was on call, and he said that Levaquin is like using a Elephant gun, and that you can tear a tendon, cartilage (sp?). I was put in a brace and sent for an MRI, which showed nothing other than fluid. Then I was sent to an Ortho. He gave me a cort. shot and had me to come back in 2 weeks, well the shot helped for a few days, in 2 weeks he gave me 3 options: 1: another shot, 2: surgery to see what the MRI and x-rays missed, or 3: learn to just live with it. I opted for the surgery and had it on December 31, 2007 and was informed that my cartilage(sp?) was torn in 2 places with 1 place having a "floppy" place that had to be take off. Now I have to take p.t. and get "back" to where I can work, I can't even drive now, it is my right knee, and the pressure to press the pedal is VERY painful.I have to depend on my husband to do for me and I don't like having to do this. I have never had any problems with my right knee and the doctor asked me how I did this and I told him this happened while taking Levaquin, and he was looking straight at me when he asked, when I answered with Levaquin, he just said OOOOOOOOOO, and looked straight at the computer screen. That told me that I'm not the first that he has seen or heard about. While my husband was in the hospital, there was a nurse, that said that she had heard a lot about the terrible side effects of this medicine, but had not yet met anyone that had been affected.
I also have been very moody, and short tempered since taking this medication. I have no patience, and that is not me at all.
I have also got my right ear stopped up and a ringing in it. I have also had this since taking this so called wonderful cure all antibiotic. Someone should have to pay for everything that everyone has had to go through with, PAIN and ALL. If there is a Lawsuit, count me in. I've never been affected this way with any medicine. It should be taken off the market immediately. Thank you for letting me get this off my chest.

It was nice to find this website, finally figuring out a reason why I get my yeast infections, headaches, naseau, pain on my left breast bone, fatigue, mood swings, etc... I always thought it was just me, but I'm now thinking that maybe it's not. I've had recurrent yeast infections ever since being on Yasmin (I've been on it for over 4 years) and my MD has never mentioned it could be the pill. I finally started seeing a connection between the two when I started tracking what happens to me when I miss taking the pill (ALWAYS a yeast infection). And it got me to thinking that maybe there are other women out there who suffer from the same thing. Also, at some points I actually thought I had serious mental/health problems b/c of my consistent headaches, fatigue, and mood swings. I used to be really active up until I was 19 when I started on Yasmin, and it went downhill from there. I guess I just thought that this was just my normal grown up self (I know sounds kinda lame). And I've totally experienced the lack of sex drive, it seems I'm only interested the week before I get my period or when I'm on it.

Hello All,

Not to discount the individual experience of the last post, I feel it important to remind readers of this site of the many many women who like myself developed devastating symptoms (depression, anxiety, vertigo etc) OVER A YEAR AND A HALF after they began taking it. Like the previous post, if I had found this site during my first year and a half on yasmin I would have thought 'those poor women, thank god it hasn't affected me like that'.

The point is this...I stopped taking yasmin 2 years ago after realising it was the cause of my mental health problems (with no history of such) and can thankfully say I am now back to my 'old self' i.e before yasmin. I have made it my mission to educate all women I know about this pill as I truly believe it is poison. Of all the women I know who have taken it I am yet to hear a positive story.

Please don't delay...I would not wish my experience on my worst enemy. I won't be happy until this evil pill is off the market.

On a clinical level, remember this...Yasmin is a very young pill and consequently does not have the clinical trials data to fall back on. In my last 2 years of research of the contraceptive pill (& my background is science) I am yet to come across a pill that has received such negative a reception as yasmin/yas.

I myself will never go on another pill. To know how your entire being can change, your perceptions of the world, your relationships...all because of a little pill. The power that little pill has is terrifying.

I wish all women recovering from this pill all the very best. I have been where you are and am now on the other side. Each day is a step closer to the real healed you. Be strong and be sure to talk about how you're feeling.

Take care

A lot of gas, strange yellow stools, very dry skin and the allergies that I have are even worse (sort of like my immune system is in over-drive).

When I first started taking Lamictal, I experienced A LOT of hypomania/mania and irritablity. I occasionally do have problems staying asleep if I do not take Benadryl along with it at night. For some reason I have started chewing the insides of my mouth - no, no sores there and this was a mild habit before the Lamictal that has gotten worse.

All of this being said? This drug is fantastic. I am experiencing a sense of balance and clarity that I haven't had in 25 or 30 years. It's like I don't have any mental health problems at all - I feel normal and it's wonderful. It does, however, take a long long time to ramp up to an effective dosage - hold out, it's worth it!

i have a rare form of asthma and am often on high doses of intravenous steroids in the hospital. i get every symptom anyone has noted but I actually steroid induced psychosis (i have no mental health problems generally). I have horrifying visual and auditory hallucinatins.

at National Jewish Hospital they treated this with 1o mg valium with each dose of steroids and Depacote. I can't take Depacote any more because of pancreatic symptoms and the valiun alone helps but doesn't resolve the problem.

Plus I lose my vision almost completely. All the other typical symptoms seem more severe (accordinf to my MD's) than usually experienced so apparently you can be extra sensitive to steroids, i have been tried on Prednisone, Mthylprednisone and Dekadron,

Plus, I have had steroid induced myopathy (where the muscles are eaten away) to the pint of not being able to sit or walk.

I have lost 2 inches of height in 2 years.

and worse of all, my brain seems to just take a vacation - i have amnesia for almost everything that happens.

But breathe first - deal with the rest as it comes.

As far as weight - i have gained 28 lbs in 24 hours (the hospital nurse checked me with three scales) and have lost 39 lbs in 2 weeks -trust me - that is not a pretty sight.

I have had insomnia from November through Feb with psychiatrist doing everything they could to put me under.

If I didn't have a lung disease and was not prohibited from doing almost everything there is to do, I could while on Prednisone clean my entire house cleaner than it has ever been, and then probably achieve world peace because I have never felt so capable of accomplishing tasks (ones that are rote mostly) my family has to watch me to keep me from getting up in the middle of the night and doing something stupid.

And I am a health care professional who usually has excellent judgement. I am a nice person who never loses my temper or says an ugly word but while on steroids I am not only totally unreasonable but verbally abusive at times (many times)

the psychosis thought is the one thing that is really terrifying.

For all of you who are on Yasmin and think it's your miracle drug, I hope you never develop side effects because you will be in for the HUMBLING of your life. Imagine being a very successful well-respected person with no history of emotional or mental health problems developing an anxiety disorder after taking Yasmin and living each day of your life in fear. If you haven't researched it,many books refer to anxiety problems being medication-induced, particularly by
oral contraceptives and diuretics. In case you haven't figured it out, Drosperinone is a progesterone which is equivalent to the potassium sparing diuretic Sprionolactone and can cause vitamin depletion, severe electrolyte
imbalances and hence anxiety. We are simply not a bunch of women seeking a website to post our life's problems--we have friends for that! That's great if Yasmin works for you;I hope you never develop anxiety or depression...or better yet, die of a pulmonary embolus or stroke!

I wanted to share my story in the hopes that I will bring encouragement to some of you out there who are suffering from panic attacks, anxiety, and depression brought on my Yasmin. I took Yasmin for about 8 months & started having panic attacks and severe anxiety about 2 months after I started taking it. It took me 6 more months before I made the connection between my mental health problems and the Yasmin when I thankfully found this site. If I had never found this site, I might be in a mental institution somewhere. Reading these stories & realizing the problem wasn't me, it was the Yasmin, was the only thing that kept me sane. After I stopped taking Yasmin, I thought I would get better immediately, but that didn't happen. I still had anxiety problems for about 3 months after I stopped talking it. I've read that it takes that long for the hormones to completely leave your system. After the three months, like a switch was turned off, I was back to normal & have been ever since. My experience with Yasmin was the worst experience I have ever had. For those of you still suffering with panic attacks and anxiety who are waiting to get better, hang in there, you WILL get better. Best wishes to you all!

I am one of the many women who have experienced extreme anxiety and panic attacks while on this pill. I also experienced some depression too, but the panic & anxiety were my most horrible symptoms. Thankfully, I dicovered this website in early October, and realized after only reading a few posts that my unexplainable mental health problems were caused by Yasmin.

I stopped taking Yasmin immediately, mid pack, and started feeling better almost immediately. However, since then, I have experienced days off and on when I have anxiety & panicked feelings (not attacks) out of the blue. This especially occured before my last period. Things that maybe made me a little nervous before, make me really nervous now (ever since I started Yasmin), especially things involving social situations. I guess I was naive when I got off Yasmin, thinking my symptoms would completely go away, and they have for the most part, but I want them gone for good. I was reading some old posts on this site from some women having anxiety/panic casued by Yasmin, saying it took 6-7 months for it to completely go away. This was really disheartning to me. I don't think I can wait that long, but I do not want to go on anti-depressants either, just to get rid of the mess Yasmin has caused in my life. If anyone reading this has been through what I'm going through, please e-mail me. I would like to know how long it took for you to feel completely relieved of all your anxiety symptoms. Thank you!

Tiffany
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