Rath symptoms and conditions

I'm 27 years old and have been married for 2 years. In May I decided to get on female birth control for the first time in my life to regulate my 7 day period. The first month I felt like a mental patient, lol. I'm already an emotional person so when I started the pill I swore I would stop it. My nipples looked deformed because they were so swollen, I was depressed and nausea. I decided to stick it out because I wasn't taking it at the same time everyday. So I regulated myself with an alarm clock and the next month everything was wonderful. My period only last 4 days, and all of my symptoms were GONE!!! I'm now at the end of my fourth month and my period has come early which is freaking me out because I have never had an early period in my life. I've read about spotting on this product, but I haven't spotted EVER not even in the four months that I've been taking the pill. Other than my first month of horror and my recent early period everything else on loestrin has been wonderful.

My suggestion to women who are on their first pack is try to tough it out, you will feel horrible the first month but just apologize to whomever feels your rath and remember your body needs some time to adjust. I'm a victim of horrible menstruation, and so is my mom. Since I was 9 years old I used to get 14 days of cramps and 7 days of bleeding. I would pass out all the time on my period and my husband and family was very upset since he or others would find me blacked out at home, work, the salon, at the zoo, in the shower, and once my neighbor found me. Loestrin has DEFINITELY changed my life for the better, so stick out that first month ladies its worth it. I hope my experience helps other women who are scared and feel like the symptoms won't end.=)

Hi. I went on Lamictal April 2007 after being diagnosed w/ BiPolar. The key issue that brought me to the psychiatrist to begin with was acute depression following a divorce, move cross country, losing my job and my only son going off to college. All the big stress factors - short of death in family. Nonetheless, I was nervous that one year after all these crises that I was, if anything, feeling worse. I had been able to handle all the changes during them, but now that they were over all I wanted to do was sleep all day.... Anyway, I had been on Paxil for years re anxiety, and my psychiatrist decided to keep my on the Paxil till I tolerated the Lamictal, then get me off the Paxil..... Well, the 20 mg of Paxil and the 100 mg of Lamictal worked great, I thought; the Lamictal really raised the bottom.... BUT, apparently Paxil fuels mania, so after a few months, I was taken off the Paxil completely and my Lamictal went up to 200 mg. Almost IMMEDIATELY upon going to 200 mg Lamictal my ankles / feet / legs got enormously swollen. Plus, I noticed that my hair started to fall out // thin out.... Plus -- and I don't know if this is the Lamictal or the absence of the Paxil, but I sob uncontrollably almost 24/7. The sobbing and anxiety and sense of dread and sadnessness has persisted even when the Lamictal was dropped to 100 mg and the shrink added first Clonazepam .5 mg, then when that wasn't calming me, changed me to 1mg Xanax -- each as needed. The Xanax isn't helping me either, and now I also feel paranoid. So, in short: Lamictal at 200 mg makes my feet / ankles / legs swell or suffer edema; Lamcital as low as 100 mg makes my hair thin out; and either the Lamictal or the loss of the Paxil or these anti-anxieity meds (Clonazepam or Xanax) are making me paranoid, profoundly sad and depressed, panicked, anxious, stressed out and, most urgently, make me sob uncontrollably 24/7... My shrink says that we should use anti-depressants with bipolar, and that Paxil fuels the mania, but I tell you, I'd rather be manic and screaming at everyone than so depressed that I'm fearful and sobbing constantly.... Any answers out there: Any anti-depressants for your bipolar?