Psychiatrist symptoms and conditions

Hi- I am a recovering alcoholic four years sober with Bipolar II diagnosis. I previously was treated with only an antidepressant/anxiety med- lexapro,
but 9months ago was put on lamictal 250mg. After the initial slow buildup in dosage I felt pretty stable. Now I am experiencing depression again. I have to get a new psychiatrist, my current one is going on a leave of absence. I am wondering if anyone else has experienced initial positive results and then after a while a recurrence of depression. Anyway- others have asked about "mental fogginess", short term memory loss, mine went away about a month after I reached my current dosage.

I am starting to think I would like to be a part of a class action law suit, my daughter had to switch schools because of her mood swings, and vague hallucinations. and vague paranoia. She once ran into a parking lot she was so afraid of needles! Took her to a psychiatrist, sensed she was quick to put her on mood stabilizers and left before the eval. Recently her ped refused to up her dose of singulair and told me about depression. I subsequently upped her flovent and took her off her singulair. I did this after I heard her teacher saqy she kept on leaving the classroom to go to the nurse, and was exhibiting defiant behavior. and saying she was depressed, hearing music that wasn't there, etc. Now that shye has been off of it a week, she is a different child, and hasn't argued with me once. Hasn't cried for 5 days. has not argued w2ith her brother either! I feel I have the child back from 5 years ago when she started taking it! unfrigging believable! I would love to sue, because these episodes have almost ruined my marriage, and caused me to miss many days of work, and feel guilty when I didn't Thank-God I just took her off of it on a whim!

I was literally in tears when I found this site and read all of your posts. It was as if I was reading something I HAD WRITTEN. Having just returned from getting a CT scan of my head, I started researching "causes of severe headaches not related to migraines" and lo and behold this site popped up in my search. What caught my attention was the word "Mirena". Up until today I had never even considered that all of the issues I have been having since the birth of my daughter in August 2008, were in any way related to Mirena. When my daughter was about 2 months old (after my 8 week check up and insertion of the implant) I became extremely moody, sad, social anxiety kicked in, I cried for no reason, had no desire to talk to anyone, not even my husband - VERY unlike my personality. After talking to my doctor it was determined I had post partum depression so I was prescribed zoloft. Didn't work. Was still irritable and lethargic but maternity leave was up so I went back to work. I was exhausted, couldn't process my thoughts, was constantly dizzy and had blurred vision and it was all attributed to the "baby schedule (nightly feedings, no solid sleep, adjusting to schedule, etc.). My mood swings were out of control and it got to the point that I even through a knive (albeit a butter knife) at my husband. I began seeing a psychiatrist who determined I had mild bipolar disorder so he put me on medication for that. It has helped some but still doesn't control my crying spells or occasional outbursts. Recently I was so dizzy that I saw my ENT doctor who said I had vertigo. I was prescribed something for that. Still, I am dizzy and feel off balance. Most recently, I have had severe, severe, severe headaches and though there is a great possibility it is a viral issue, I was ordered to have blood drawn and to obtain a CT scan. Nothing much revealed so we set an appointment to see an neurologist next week. So, because of the worry over it, I started doing an internet search and her I am. Reading these posts brought on an overwhelming sadness because my poor family has had to endure my wrath for past 12 months. I am so angry that I didn't see this sooner and moreso that their !@#@#$% side effects didn't list ANY OF THESE discussed here. Additionally, my hair has been falling out in clumps and I can't seem to lose weight despite my 1500 calorie diet and exercise.
I made an appointment TODAY to have it removed. If I could yank it out myself I would. Thank you all for your posts. You may have just saved my marriage and my life.

I have posted before and have been on the mirena going on three years. My symptoms started about April of this year; severe anxiety with all the symptoms: chills, panic attacks, even in my sleep, insomnia, depression, numbness and tingling in my hands and feet, shortness of breath, chest pain, the works... My doctor put me on celexa and my psychiatrist put me on klonopin to sleep. Note: I had never needed these types of medication or any kind of mental specialist ever, in my life. I have one daughter she is 2 and a half, and a very happy home.
My anxiety has gotten so much better since I have been on the meds. but the paranoia kept me from taking them for at least a month.
I can't say the mirena caused it but my doctor says that it is possible. A hormonal imbalance can be caused by your bc, The longer you take it the greater the risk.(for some women)
I have horrible mood swings still... and my sex drive is ok, but not what is used to be, but she did warn me of this before-hand. The acne and weight are my biggest problems now. I cannot stop eating, and I am not depressed, just so very very hungry even an hour after a big meal. My doctor said this is because of the hormones. Your body thinks its pregnant and will react as such, so as we all know; all of our bodies react differently to a pregnancy, morning sickness, swelling, sex drive, these things are all different for different women. It has not been a picnic for me and for others I know that it may be an ideal bc. I will have mine removed this coming week and will update if I see a change.
Thanks for reading.
emg1223

I was taking Lamictal for 2 years. I was diagnosed with a "light" case of bi-polar. Not the highs, only the lows. I am not too sure that I wasn't just going through some really rough times in my life and had had enough. Couldn't take the stress. Anyway at first I had dry mouth, bad constipation, belching in the evenings and lots of it, some female itching and similar issues (sorry but just want to help here), couldn't handle any alcohol, loss of hair, problems sleeping, outbursts of anger towards mate and irritability, aggressiveness at time, loss of memory and loss of concentration, scatteredness, lots of hair loss and sensitivity to sun. I wanted to be a trooper and make my psychiatrist happy so stayed on it. I got lots of good things from it, like can roll with the punches of life better, can really easily speak up for myself and defend myself when I need to. Don't beat myself up like I used to. So, lost some of the sensitivity that I needed to lose but can't do without my memory. It had been so bad that friends and family would comment and I was embarrassed. Also, my mate shouldn't have had to deal with some of the rage that would show up when things were taken wrong. Oh, I had one of the strongest panic attacks that I can imagine a person living through. I had never had one before, and haven't had one since. I stopped this drug cold turkey. It felt like a few weeks of jet lag. Take multi-vitamins and minerals, also fish oils. Only the highest quality. Eat really healthy, exercise, drink lots of water and rest a lot...whatever you do, don't stress out if you are coming off of this drug. This is actually a very useful medication, however, in my opinion it needs to have more research done about it.

There are so many of us with depression/emotional issues from the NuvaRing.

For me, the NuvaRing saved me, only by revealing the MESS it created.

I was diagnosed bipolar in 2000 and spent 5 years on heavy medication in an attempt to manage it. In 2005 I went off the medication and my oral contraceptives in order to become pregnant. Following the birth of my son, I never returned to oral contraceptives AND never followed the typical path of a bipolar mother. There were no PPD issues, and I ended up not returning to the bipolar medication. I was symptom free without an explanation.

In May 2009, after years without anxiety symptoms, I went on the Nuva Ring. Within 12 hours, all of my old symptoms had returned. Within 5 days, I realized there could be a correlation and removed the ring. By the next day, I returned to myself.

With a call to my psychiatrist, who I hadn't seen in over a year, I described what had happened. She explained that the hormones do not process through the liver with the NuvaRing, unlike the oral contraceptives. This direct route into the body made the effects of the LOW dose hormones that more apparent. Thankfully, I learned that my issue all along was the hormonal birth control, and not my mental health.

My option is now a non-hormonal IUD, which has it's own messy issues, but I embrace fully in exchange for the emotional instability.

I feel that I have one of those stories that women need to hear. I do believe we are not realizing the full effects of these hormones. I took it as far as one can take it, with a full diagnosis and years of medication. I have to wonder how many women are experiencing milder effects and just don't realize that it could be the hormones.

I have been on Nuvaring for 2 months now and after the first month I went back to the doctor and she said that the side effects were normal and would go away after a few months. I don't think I believe that, cause I just feel so bad. I use to never fight with my boyfriend and now it is an every day occurrence. I get headaches all the time now it seems almost everyday. I feel so depressed and before I got on it I was happy go lucky and the peaceful one and now I am just on edge all the time and I hate it. I get nausea and for a moment i was thinking maybe I am pregnant but I am not and it is just frustrating and irritating. The best things about the ring is I don't really get cramps and no period pimples and no weight gain and no pill everyday. I never had there problems on the pill lo overall or on the patch. I must say though that it feels great to know I am not alone cause I was beginning to think it was just me and also i don't know if anyone has this but does your chest or heart feel tight at time like a palpitation? I am 24 and I never had this until now and I am so tired that all I want to do is sleep and I feel faint from time to time. I feel like i have all the bad symptoms except a few and no yeast. I honestly think this is my last month on this and thank you all so much it is such a relief to know I am not alone. Oh and I do get hot too and everything.

hi, i've read through this several times, and it is now 3am and i find myself reading them again.

i was on both effexor and wellbutrin (generic versions of both) for quite some time, but didn't have full-on hair loss like I have now 'til about earlier this year when I was on wellbutrin only and was taking 150 mg twice a day. I got off of it because I have always had thin hair so I started to freak out when I noticed hair loss.

Unfortunately I became so depressed that I simply HAD to get back on it; and made the biggest mistake of my life by going up to the full 400mg dosage of the generic wellbutrin.

It killed me. I have very very very little hair especially on ONE side of my head, the left, and can no longer wear my bangs forward like I used to.

I went to the dermatologist (who I think was pretty bad, actually, because I went in for my HAIR and he didn't even do a strength test by pulling on it or anything!) and he said I had male pattern-ish baldness which is even more disconcerting because I can't hide the hair loss, I have a huge bald spot near the front of my head -- and I'm only a 21-year old female, people! This is beyond depressing, really. I'm beyond angry at my psychiatrist for always always downplaying the hair loss risk. I loathe him for it, in fact. But anyway.

I am going to start on biotin, and probably some prenatal vitamins, and maybe even tail Rx (******).

Thank you for posting your experiences, it has been a huge comfort to me (I wasn't lying when I said I read this thread many many times before and am reading it again now, at 3am!)

I'm not going crazy...and neither is my child?! I was seriously considering taking him to see a psychiatrist until I read these posts! My 3 yr old took a 10 day round of Omnicef. During that time he had serious mood changes which I had pretty much determined were related to the Omnicef (although my dr said it he'd never heard of that) - severe temper tantrums at the drop of a hat (more so than usual), actually bit a child at school and was just plain mean. Just to be on the safe side I had already planned on not putting him on Omnicef again. THEN I came across this site. He has also had several other "issues" over the last couple weeks that I thought were unrelated - just a run of bad luck or something. However, every one of them is on here as something that someone else has also experienced while on Omnicef: waking up crying during the night - inconsolable and won't tell you what's wrong, mysterious rash on his back, and wetting his pants after being potty trained for some time. I can't believe it. I had even taken a urine sample in to the dr sure he had a UTI (negative of course). Also it may be helpful to note that some of my child's side effects developed the week after he stopped taking the medicine, so I think it takes a while to get out of their systems.
I know that there are lots of children out there that have taken this antibiotic with great results. However, mine will never take it again and I wish doctors and pharmacists were more aware that these problems do exist.

I've been on Wellbutrin XL 300mg for quite some time now...coming up on 2 years, I think? I think I took the brand name drug at first, but for most of the time, I've taken the generic BUPROPRION--different generics from different companies, even. But this last refill, the pharmacy had switched to BUDEPRION for the generic. Bupropion and Budeprion are NOT the same!

Today is my second day on Budeprion and I feel like crap. Jittery, shaky, diarrhea, peeing constantly ("polyuria"), heart racing, nausea, nausea while hungry, hot-and-cold, and now worn out from a day of all that! My psychiatrist is on maternity leave but I've got a call in to her office to get it switched back to brand-name. Thankfully I'm in grad school, and under my student health insurance, the copay is the same for brand or generic.

Why Budeprion is considered a generic of Wellbutrin, I don't know. Wellbutrin is bupropion. This Budeprion stuff is a different chemical composition and is absorbed by/released into the body an entirely different way, from what I've been reading. When is the FDA going to get its act together???

I've been taking Klonopin for only a week now. Kept going to doctors and telling them about my anxiety, they kept prescribing me antidepressants (many of which made me very emotional). Finally I was sent to a psychiatrist who prescribed 1mg Klonopin before bed and 50mg Pristiq every morning for the depression side of it. The Klonopin has been incredible. Makes me feel normal, much like I felt several years ago before all of the anxiety developed!! As for the Pristiq, I can't tell anything yet but I'll give it a while....

My 9 year old daughter got her first shot in Dec. 2008 and her second in Feb. and the last in June. We have have been to the doctor a lot of times due to headaches with the doctor's opinion being that it's "allergies". She is now on allergy shots with still no relief from the headaches. I listened to her pediatrician and got her the shots. I feel so bad now after reading all the problems others are having with this vaccine. She also has had a change in her attitude aggression,moodiness,cries often, and she says she's depressed. If anybody has any suggestions for us please let me know. I love my little girl and know I'm worried.

Please someone help. I've been on prednisone for a year and a half. told I had Adrenal Insufficiency and as I was weaned off complained to my doctor about mood swings and not being able to sleep. Now down to low dose and experiencing free fall feeling in chest,shortness of breath and worst of all rage. Want to break things and just die.My mood swings escalated and they want to up my prednisone and told me to see a psychiatrist! My eye sight has changed this past year for the worse. Need new glasses and if they up it I'll go blind! I want my life back. I use to be the most level headed, peacemaking person and now I don't know who I am. Please someone HELP I need advice how to get out of this vicious cycle.
Thanks in advance

**I found something that helps the foggy head, forgetfulness, short term memory, and sleepiness that comes with taking Lamictal!!**

I want to pass this along , because it has helped me SO much. I was diagnosed bipolar II recently and was put on Lamictal. I'm a writer, so my biggest concern was being able to find the words I need and having the concentration for my work, but suddenly I lost my ability to string words together when speaking OR writing. The words weren't even close to coming to me. I felt like I was sleepwalking half the time, along with other symptoms, but the bouts of spacehead were hardest to take. I felt pretty desperate and kept researching until I came across a post on a message board that claimed to have the answer.

If you can manage, do not take Lamictal at night. The following is so simple that it might seem strange that it works (it did to me):

All you have to do is set your alarm for a half hour to an hour before you would normally get up. Then take your Lamictal and go back to sleep for a half hour to an hour (it takes a little practice to get used to this morning routine at first, but it's totally worth it). For some reason, it's ESSENTIAL that you do go back to sleep for that short period and do not just rest with your eyes closed until it's time to get up.

I tried this, not really expecting anything from it, but on the very first day it seemed that at least 85 percent of the foggy-head was gone. Just gone. It has continued to work every day that I have managed to do it, and when I don't do it, the foggyhead is back again with a vengeance. I finally feel great, as if the medicine is doing exactly what it's supposed to.

Taking Lamictal at night (like doctors often recommend) can make the fogginess worse than any other time. The person who posted about this originally said he told his psychiatrist about his experience, and the psychiatrist told his other patients on Lamictal to try it. It worked for them too.

I hope this is helpful to others as much as it is to me, though I know everyone's body and brain are different, so it's possible that it won't work for everyone. I do hope if it works for you that you'll spread the word, because this is such a debilitating side effect.

Best wishes to you all.

The first time I took Zoloft, it was a brand new drug with a high price tag and people were just beginning to talk about depression--openly. I had a positive experience with it. I have PTSD and severe depression due to trauma as a child and later from an abusive husband. I had a major depressive episode shortly after the birth of my 2nd child, exasperated by postpartum depression and thyroid storm. I became suicidal at a time when I seemingly had all I ever wanted. It saved my life in that regard.

I had stubborn baby weight that needed to come off. Also, I tend to be an emotional eater. Zoloft helped curb my emotional eating and I lost weight. Some people say overeating or eating disorders are akin to OCD behavior, both anxiety based, so in that way it makes sense. When Lithium was added, then changed to Depakote, I had a tremendous weight gain--I was PUFFY! At that time Bi-Polar was the flavor of the month--not that it isn't real--it just seemed that at the time, everyone was BiPolar. I later went off all meds and was OK for about 3 years when the ugly beast reared its head again.

Zoloft at one point both saved and ruined my life. The first time on Zoloft as a young wife and mother I think the verdict was still not out with all the side effects. I was unable to engage in sex. Not only did I not have any sexual urge but my body couldn't. I talked to a therapist and psychiatrist to no avail--it was MY problem--that the birth of a child brought up abuse issues--men are the only ones with sexual side effects! After being sexually NORMAL my husband and I were told that it was psychological. That didn't do a lot for our relationship. It also made me more distant and quiet. The new Me-on-Zoloft was like my repressed alter ego. The new me was all the more reason to need to stay on meds--just see how depressed and troubled I am. My husband and I divorced due to bad medicine and I didn't know any better. Had all the information been out there at the time, things could have been different.

I went back on Zoloft with mixed results. As a creative writing major at the university, it was like someone flipped a switch and all creativity left me. I found it increasingly difficult to concentrate and recall information for discussion or tests. I was however , more focused in the mundane--dinner, dishes, laundry, regular exercise, all the routine stuff. The anxiety before going back on zoloft made me want to rip my hair out and I was overwhelmed by everyday stuff. I would wash a dish and fight the urge to run around the table before washing the next one. Part of that, I think, was the pressure of being a single mom with 3 small children, going to school full-time and working part-time. Whew! and with little support from anyone, no dad in the picture.

Through the years I have been on many other things and this will probably be the pattern for the rest of my life. Paxil made me a suicidal zombie to the point that my kids cried and made me go to the hospital--they didn't know the suicidal ideation at the time. Effexor caused flabby weight gain and myalgia. Last year I went in the hospital again for depression (job loss, 2nd divorce, mother's death & all at once). The psychiatrist talked me into going on Pristiq claiming it was like Effexor but with none of its bad side effects. BS!!! Once again, I was duped and still weigh 33 pounds over what I did. I am AGAIN back on Zoloft and it seems fine. The devil you know is better than the one you don't know--I guess. I haven't been back on it long enough to know what will happen this time but it can't be worse than the other things out there. I'm tired of being the psychiatric community guinea pig. Everyone is different; my best friend gaied 25 lbs. on Zoloft and takes Paxil (I can't), my sister only does well on Welbutrin, my friend's mom has been on Effexor for years and it keeps her sane. You just have to find your fit. My problem has been from the medical community not being forthcoming with information and the reluctance to listen to a 'crazy' patient.

I am taking the generic Bupropion at 300mg per day. I went up in dosage to 300 last month, I'm about 1 week in to my 2nd refill on the 300mg. I am having TERRIBLE side affects right now. At this moment I'm at work trying to concentrate on even saying the right words on the phone - I have no sick time left so I can't go home - my hearing is jacked up. Things fade out and then come back so loud. I feel as if I'm drifting off to sleep and things get quiet and then WHAM someone will say something to me and it's so loud like someone woke me up from a nap. My vision is a little blurry, and I can't remember things. Fortunately I can get away with this for another day at my job, I started feeling like this yesterday, just today started thinking it was my med. I'm not on any other meds. I'm dizzy too. The worst part is I can't remember conversations. At the time of, I know what I'm saying though slower, but if I'm having a lengthy conversation I will probably forget what you said at the beginning. The confusion is what makes me the most upset. Things that I know, little things like someones phone extension, I can't remember and have to look up. The weird thing is all these symptoms come in waves. I'll have a moment of 'normalness' and then right back into the symptoms. I'm even having trouble typing right now. - I'm not hungry and after reading this site I now know why I'm itching all over.

I got on this website looking for a 'quick fix' like eating a big meal, but see I'm going to have to rough it out another day here in la la land. Wellbutrin was working for me in the beginning, 150 mg for 2 months, increased energy, good attitude etc, then wore off a little so we uped it to 300mg. I'm going to go dwn in dosage, try taking the 150mg tomorrow and see how I feel. I hope this wears off!! I am curious to know if you can cut the dosage of 300mg pill Buproprion to 150 by cutting it in half? I just got that refill so I was wondering. Today is going to be so rough! I went straight to bed yesterday after work and guess I will be doing the same tonight. Oh great, my coworker just asked if I was "ok" because I'm being so quiet. Yikes. I've read this email about 5 times to make sure I don't repeat myself since I can't remember!

I WISH I had done research on Yaz earlier!!!!! I have been taking it for probably the last 10 months. At that time, I moved to a new city with my fiancee, started a new job that I hate... and becoming more and more depressed and anxious. I blamed it all on life changes. It eventually got so bad that I would lock myself in a bathroom and cry, snap at my fiance for EVERYTHING, snap at my daughter.. I was just this horrible woman and I couldn't control it. I would see myself being SO unreasonable but there was nothing I could do to stop it. I really felt like I was going crazy. I started seeing a Psychiatrist a few months ago and he put me on Wellbutrin. It helped the depression but not the anxiety or moodiness. So, last week he put me on Lexapro.
Finally, I'm starting to put 2 and 2 together and seeing that all my issues started as soon as I started taking YAZ!!! Not to mention, I have been having horrible skin allergies since I started as well. I can't believe I didn't make the connection sooner!
So now i'm off of Yaz and on 2 antidepressants, upset that I started something that I probably didn't need to, and don't really know how to get off them.
What really upsets me is that the doctors either don't make the connection or don't believe it. I am going back in in a couple of weeks to talk to my gyn about other birth control options...

I have only been on Lamictal for about a week. I have panic disorder with agoraphobia and depression. I feel a mentally foggy, disconnected, headachy, and a little more anxious. After reading all the posts, I'm concerned I should just stop the drug and tell my psychiatrist that I could not tolerate it.

Can anybody tell me how long this lasts? I've been off it for a week and still no relief. The drug should be out of my system now. Any feedback would be appreciated.

I've been on Yasmin for years now, but recently switched to the generic Ocella. I'm trying to figure out if Yasmin or Ocella is causing my depression. I'm 25 and just recently my depression has been horrible. I've been on Lexapro for years to help with Anxiety/Depression, but never had problems like this before. My psychiatrist just switched me to Prozac. I've been on it 4 weeks and it's not doing anything. The reason I think my depression might be linked to the Yasmin is because the 2 weeks before I get my period I'm insanely depressed, borderline suicidal. Then, the day I get my period, I'm ok. Anyone else have this weird problem?

I have been taking 25mg per day of Lamictal for five days now. I am also on (and have been for five years) 200mg Zoloft per day. I was recently diagnosed bipolar (no surprise) and after seeing a psychiatrist, this was the med I chose, Lithium and Depakote being the other two choices, I felt that Lamictal would be the most appropriate in my case, because it is supposed to help with anger/rage issues, according to the leaflet provided by my Dr., as well as the 'rapid cycling' of my moods. So far I dislike this med, despite the fact I started it with optimism. Side effects are as follows:
Sleepiness - started the first day, I took the first dose the night before.
Lack of energy/motivation - I was doing ok as far as motivation was concerned until I started Lamictal, I was on a positive mood swing at the time, now, it's taking all my effort to stay focused and finish this.
Feelings of disassociation - I don't want to go anywhere, or see anyone, take any calls, etc..this is a problem I have had prior to Lamictal, but it suddenly got worse upon starting it.
Sudden anger/rage - I have felt overly aggravated at times, fast to discipline my son without taking a minute to think it over, it's pretty spontaneous. Day two scared me a bit, I have been making a serious conscious effort to not lose my temper or react suddenly. Today I actually had a spontaneous thought of suicide during a moment of anger, which also alarms me.
Loss of appetite - I'm a skinny guy, can't afford to lose any weight or go without eating, this stuff has pretty much killed my appetite, I'm forcing myself to eat at least once a day...and it isn't easy, I tell you.
Hypersensitivity to noise - Seems like the volume on everything has been amplified, it's making me nuts..
Unpleasant taste in my mouth - since day two. Hard to describe, sort of metallic.
Decreased urge to smoke - I have been smoking for 23 years, a pack per day regularly. I noticed at day two the urge to smoke was dramatically decreased, I smoked about eight cigs total today. Being asleep helped with that too, I'm sure...gotta be conscious to smoke, right? This would be the only positive effect I have noticed thus far.
At this point, I'm really not sure if I will continue with this med due to the above effects. I am a bit disappointed because I had hoped this would do the job and I could avoid the Lithium (icepick up the nose is the only thing left if Lithium doesn't work) and the Depakote, because the effects of those are far more serious by comparison according to what I have read and heard from others who have taken it.
I don't know what to do next, honestly. I have taken nearly every type/kind of antidepressant, Zoloft seems to do the most good, but I'm still having mood swings/cycling while using it, so a mood stabilizer was the plan to fix that...seems like I'm pretty much hosed.

I was prescribed Lamictal around this time two years ago (July '07) for Borderline Personality Disorder. At first I thought it was great and I felt like it'd been a miracle drug -- the drive back home from the psychiatrist's office that day was such a feeling of relief because I was going to get my miracle drug, finally. Later the next month I moved away from home and began college in the lower half of the state and stopped taking the medication because I noticed that I feeling any difference, or experiencing any change in my moods. Infact, I felt exactly the same as I had before. I looked up the medicine derivative drug and found out that it has a "placebo-like effect with highly addictive qualities".... which made me think that once again, my problem is all in my head. I still feel like I need to be on some kind of medication, but I am not willing to part entirely with my authentic self just to make some other people's lives easier. If they think my mood swings and attempts at self-destruction effect them negatively, just wait until you are the one having them and you can't control them! I don't want to become a zombie, I don't want to lose my hair, and I don't want to gain 30 lbs, but I feel like there's nothing else I can do. But then again, there doesn't seem to be any drug that can help without the drastic side-effects.

Sheesh.

In 2003 I started having panic attacks that lasted for 10-12 hours. My family doctor put me on Zoloft. I don't remember the dose, but think it may have been 10 mg. I became horribly depressed and had a severe aversion to eating. This is the exact opposite of my usual self. I fell into deep depression, to the point where I just laid on the couch. I lost 30 pounds in a month. My husband called my parents over, and they all said I had to go see a psychiatrist or they would put me in the hospital. I chose the first, and he put me on Xanax (alprazolam). Within 48 hours I was my old self. Unfortunately he prescribed the Xanax extended release ( just new on the market, so he got a kickback) and I suffered needlessly for months with delayed release of the medication and horrid expense. I finally asked my family doctor if there was a generic, and she said it had been around for years. For pennies a day, I have great relief. I have managed to wean myself down to 1 1/2 mg. a day, and can add more if going through a stressful time. We all have different reactions to meds. For me, Zoloft was a nightmare.

My 17 yr old son was prescribed Prednisone along with Accutane for Acne. His two older brothers had undergone accutane treatment when they were each 17 ish, with no major side effects - no mental disorders at all. They did not have Prednisone along with the accutane. I questioned why my youngest son should go on the prednisone but was assured by my trusted dr. of 35 years that his very low dose of 20mg a day would be no problem. We continued the dosage for 3 months and then tapered off for 3 weeks. That's when my son's trouble began. He felt a change immediately - things didn't seem 'real', he has a hard time describing the feelings. At two weeks after discontinuing the prednisone his symptoms really began to be very frightening. He is athletic and was vomiting for extended periods - probably due to the stress of what was going on in his head. We then saw 2 GPs, his Dermatologist and I contacted a Psychiatrist, His father and I didn't want him to progress to antidepressants and he does seem to be improving - nothing like some of the other stories contained here. I just wish we had NEVER gone on this - even at 20mg - for something like acne. NOT life threatening - I should have listened to my gut and just stuck with the Accutane.

I'm so relieved I found this site! I've been on Quasense for TWELVE DAYS and I am in a living hell, I feel like a prisoner in my own mind. Ever since I started taking these pills my mood has plummeted. So severely I had to see a psychiatrist! I am not generally a sad person, so when I realized I was constantly depressed for a week straight, I thought of what had changed just recently, and what do you know? This is the pill from hell. Today is the day I decided to just stop taking them all together.