Neurotransmitters symptoms and conditions

I was put on Neurontin to help with the side effects of discontinuing the use of Lyrica. Not too bad a trade off .....Or so I thought. Now I have been taking 1500 mg a day for almost a year and I want to stop taking this drug. My memory is shot, I can't find the words I want to say even for the most mundane things, my vision has deteriorated, and the worst of all has been my mood swings and sleeplessness. My family has paid a tremendous toll for this drug. Emotionally - not monetarily.
I just want to stop taking this and can't seem to find any information to help with that. I know neurotransmitters have been affected and I just want to be done with this and have the old me back. I really do miss the real me.
If anyone has been successful at stopping this or knows where I can find knowledgeable support please let me know. Thank you from me and my family.

I'm sorry so many of you have bad experiences with Adderall. My side effects went away in about two weeks.

The amphetamines in Adderall have been used for 70 years, so if they were that dangerous, they would not be around today and one of the top 10 most prescribed pediatric drugs in America.

To Spoiled Rotten,
Apparently you can't read all that well or don't know how to do research, maybe you should have been on Adderall as a kid. RITALIN, CONCERTA, FOCALIN, DAYTRANA are all Methylphenidate, which IS NOT AN AMPHETAMINE.

Be a Big BOY/GIRL and do your own research about these drugs. Real research, not a side-effects website where people who know nothing about the drugs themselves hear something from someone, who knows someone's sisters friend who ABUSED their medication.

ALL DRUGS can be bad. You can die of an aspirin overdose. It's how they are used. Adderall and Ritalin are "very safe" when used properly" (Driven To Distraction).

I'm sure 99 percent of you don't even know what ADDICTION really is. This is a huge health problem in America. Yes, the addictions, but MORE so the ignorance and stereotypes of people with them.

African American 47,
You DON'T just get addicted to a drug. You can BE DEPENDENT on a drug, and not an addict. Cancer patients take very large amounts of NARCOTIC pain killers and THEY ARE DEPENDENT on them. For pain relief and physical dependence. They DON'T crave the drugs though.

So with SPOILED rotten's philosophy, the 20,000,000 people on Adderall or Ritalin (NOT AN AMPHETAMINE, similar, but not the same thing) who's quality of life has been improved 100 fold just like mine. I would have benefited GREATLY from medication but did not get diagnosed until 3 months ago at the age of 24.

Medication IS NOT for everyone, as "it doesn't work very well for about 80% of people who take it." (Driven To Distraction, Dr Edward Hallowell).

IF anyone has questions about ADD read "Driven To Distraction". The Author(s) both have ADD themselves and are psychiatrists.

Too many people with ADD refuse medication because they think "oh no, I will get addicted", which is 99 percent of the time not the case for ADD. They miss out on at least an option that could help them immensely.

I am so irritated with the ignorance and lack of knowledge from people who bad mouth things they know really nothing about. It didn't work for me so I am going to demonize the drugs and spread lies that they turn kids into zombies and cause them to shoot up schools..........C'mon, you're how old? I'm probably 1/2 your age and I have twice the common sense.
I'm not saying your a bad parent Spoiled, but your NAME IS Spoiled....you seem to be on a high and mighty chair, and you seemingly have a very self centered mind. Doesn't work for you then it must be the work of the devil.

Learn how to do research, form educated opinions, maybe read a book. Use your rights as a patient to see a different doctor if you don't agree with one. Do something productive.

I truly believe after 4 months of research that the problem is that Yaz Yasmine cause severe anxiety coming off the pill and on the pill and it depleted or altered all of our neurotransmitters.

There are only a couple ways to fix that

1. Antidepressants
2. Alot of time like a year or more
3. Some forms of electromagnetic holistic approach but it takes 4-6 months and I hear very expensive

All I know is Yaz Yasmine changed my whole life and personality

The people taking antidepressants are off the birth control of course.........
I dont know for sure if neurotransmitters replace heal on their own Bitter RN is better without antidepressants as are some of you but it took almost a year.

Its very scary

hi anna,
you asked if anyone had had thyroid problems whilst on yasmin???? i had a hypothyroid before i started taking yasmin due to autoimmune hashimotos. my levels had been the same for 2 years before i started to take yasmin,with 8 months of taking yasmin i needed my dose upped twice so there is definately a link. thyroxine is a hormone so i suppose that it stands to reason that all our hormones may well be affected not just the estrogen and progesterone levels in our body. birth control pills also seem to affect the neurotransmitters in our brains that control seratonin,dopamine and melatonin,that would explain the depression,anxiety and emotional instability a lot of us suffer from too.

sarah.

hi kim123.
i also had a lot of the symptoms of early menopause,i'm only 32 so was hoping that was not the case for me! my hormone levels came back "normal" but they were in the low end and also what is normal for one person may not be normal for the next. i also suffer from hashimotos disease and even when my blood tests say my tsh is normal i can feel really rubbish,so you can never rely on lab test results as "normal"! i also think that although your levels may have been the same last year they were naturally at that level, a lot of women pass naturally through the menopause with no effects at all. but i think the fact that yasmin is synthetic hormones and that it also messes with other hormones and androgens causes our body to react to the low levels as it drops others that would not normally be touched by a natural menopause. i am not a doctor,this is only my conclusions. hang on in there kim123. maybe try increasing your dose to 10mg lexapro if you feel no different after 2-3 weeks.you may just need a little more,it depends how badly your neurotransmitters are affected. try to keep your brain busy,the more you occupy it , the more pathways are created,the human body is an amazing thing,i never realised before all this just how complex it is! i hope that you start to get some relief soon.

sarah

ZoomZoom,

Good news for you!!! The side effects such as headaches should go away in the very near future. Drs. say 2-3 weeks and the majority of side effects should go away.

What you need to keep in mind is that Effexor XR is different than Anti-D's such as Paxil. Effexor calibrates 2 neurotransmitters in the brain (Seratonin & Norepinephrine). It would make sense that you are having headaches in the early goings because the drug is just readjusting what has been caused by the depression. Hang in there!!!

Don't be surprised if your Dr. increases the dose. He/she is simply trying to maximize the efficacy of the drug. I have no doubt that you will be back to normal in the near future.

Best of Luck,

MattM