Valerian symptoms and conditions

Hi,
I have been taking 40 mg. of prednisone a day now for about 3 weeks for inflammatory lung disease. My doctor says I will probably be on this dosage at least a year. I have been having the insomnia and anxiety, but that has decreased since I started taking St. John's Wort in the morning with my dosage and a Valerian, hops, scullcap herbal mixture for sleep (available at health food stores) about an hour before bed. Thought this may help some of the rest of you. God bless you.

The medication I wish to post on is not listed. I know that Valerian root is in the pill, as well as a few other roots and melatonin.

Last night I took SleepMD for the 1st time. Within 15 minutes of taking the pill, I started feeling funny. I became very night leaded and my swallowing became difficult. After about 15 more minutes of trying to calm down, my breathing became difficult, and my throat felt more think inside. I started shaking uncontrollably as well. My roommate called 911, my vitals were a little high, but I was getting 100% oxygen. They took me to the hospital, where I received IV meds and breathing treatments to help.

I'm a nurse, and I know that the worst reactions come the second time you take/ingest something. The doc told me to stay away, stick with benadryl. I basically had a mild anaplylactic reaction, which would go full blow next time if I took it again.

If it works for you guys, awesome! But just be careful.

rejected for blood donation because blood pressure hit 200. with one Valerian at bedtime, down to 160 if allergic take with benadryl

The Dr. gave me Effexor xr 75mg for my depression and 0.5 mg every 6 hrs of Xanax. Since then he lowered my Effexor xr to 35mg. During that period I gained 20 lbs and now I have excessive sweating constantly at least 5 times a day just as if I was coming out a flu like symptom.

My depression is still there buy not as bad but I started to get worried about what was causing the excessive sweating until I saw this site. I will set and appointment with the doctor tomorrow and see what the next plan of attack will be.

I know I was really bad with panic attacks and depression but know I could like to not take any more medications at all. With the help of God and I will recover from my depression and panic attacks. I had depression, panic attacks rasing heart beats, could not focus, memory loss, constant crying, fear. I when to the ER twice tacking I had a heart attack. All heart exams normal.

Now I have to deal with getting off the pills and live a normal life. How can I do this?

hi guest 38916.
hot flashes are very common whilst getting off yasmin,i had them monthly for quite a while,you could try some agnus castus,that is meant to help regultate your hormone balance and it may also help with the anxiety,valerian is also great for anxiety, the fact that you are so young is on your side,hopefully your body will bounce back quite quickly,it seems to take longer the older you are and the closer to the perimenopause you are,it takes us older ladies(although i am only 32!) a little longer to get our hormones behaving themselves again.

Voice

I dont think the purpose of this forum is to be lecturing eachother.

iam still in desperation phase.

Patience you say........do you not realize that the number one symptom of anxiety is no patience??
Do you not realize that it would be Dejays husband writing to us had she listened to people say have more patience.
She was seriously going to kill herself in the bathroom that day.

Patience you say???
I have been off Yaz for 8 weeks now not 6 I have suffered and cried almost everyday I have yet to have a good day. I have pieces of good days but not a full day I can say is good.

I was a holistic person prior to Yaz my doctor insisted it was totally safe and would cause no effects my mistake for trying it yes.

But it really bothers me that you tell others on here to be patient when you dont know if they are home and suicidal would you really want to send that message. We all have our own tolerance level.

Obviously I didnt try Kava for 6 weeks than Valerian for 6 weeks I really didnt have calmness so no I couldnt try each thing for 6-7 weeks.

The Lexapro is a drug I was desperate I was at the end of my rope I was hysterical....does that mean now 3 1/2 weeks on it I want to keep taking it of course not I want to be the old Kim the old Me on my own not by another drug.

Its the old saying you guys feel better and have been thru it Dejay and I are in the midst of it we need support comfort understanding kind words soft hearts.

Y you felt necessary to lecture me when Iam already sad upset discouraged hurt and dont feel like myself in my own body.

I asked for advice on the Lexapro I know 3 1/2 weeks isnt much time to give it...but Iam terrified of it terrified of not getting off it terrified something is in my body that is a chemical again I want to go for a walk and feel like me not a stranger to myself.

Today I went out but I feel like a total stranger I dont know if this is the Lexapro making me feel this way or the hormones or how Iam going to be I post on here for help because I need it. Iam so scared.

I guess I dont have patience like you Voice you must have more patience than I will ever have Iam glad your patience made you get thur easier than Iam having but not everyone is the same.

I just post here for advice and help now Iam stressed out

I know it takes time but also iam a single mom who hasnt worked in 7 weeks and who has to I cant even comfortably go in stores and feel normal Iam lightheaded and uneasy how can I work.
I went on Lexapro to help me but I feel like a stranger to myself.

Patience i have been so patient for 8 weeks Iam scared
I want to be me!

Sorry Kim,

you had asked for an answer of Sarah, so I didn't react on your post.

But another thing: I really don't understand, what else you want to hear from us! Sarah had told you so many things, you could try to help with the anxiety. Did you even read her posts? And sorry, I don't think, that you really tried EVERYTHING prior to Lexapro. And if you did, you didn't do it long enough!

You wrote that you had tried Kava, St. Johns Worth, Valerian and nothing helped... Well, you've been off the pill for 6 - 7 weeks, am I right?? So how long have you taken each of the meds you've mentioned??

The only thing I can say a hundred times again: You need much more patience than you have. You can't be cured within a few days, that's a fact and that's what you have to deal with. We all had to and we're all still alive! And you will be too, I promise!

Kava and Valerian and all the other mentioned pills need a few WEEKS until they can show any effect! So I really ask myself how you will have tested all of them within only 6 weeks??

Why do you want to go off the Lexapro again after such a short time?? You don't give anything the chance to help you somehow because you can't await an effect. Your health should be worth more time and patience that you give it!!

Sorry if my words may sound hard but seeing that you don't take any advice from anyone makes me a bit enraged (and please remember: I went through pure hell, too and I definitely know what you are going through right now!!!).

All we can do is tell you the same things a thousand times , but if you don't hear any of them and do, what everyone tries to advice you, no one here can help! It's YOU who can change your situation and TIME and no one else out here!! We only can be here and talk to you and give you some advice and tell you that we've all been there, too and are still alive and that you WILL be better some day; the rest has to be done by YOU!!

Best wishes

Silke

I was only on Yaz for 3 weeks!!!

I have been off of it for 8 weeks now.

I have such bad anxiety that even the Lexapro (which I did not want totake as Iam holistic) but I was literally losing my mind due to the overwhelming anxiety.

Prior to Yaz I never took a prescription drug

I pray to God it didnt force me into menopause or damage me forever i cant live with this anxiety for ever iam so scared.

I have taken 8 Xanax as there are some nights I cant slepp I breka them into quarters so I get a tiny tiny dose.

I dont want to be on this lexapro does anyone please know of a way to stop the anxiety its mostly in my arms and legs!!
I tried tons of water swimming walking reading baths massage nothing and ia mean nothing stops it I tried Valerian, Calmfortay Kava Kava St Johns Wort none of which helps!!!!

Please let me know so I can wean off the Lexapro

Sarah you there please help!

Hi

I have read Kevin Tredeaus book and was a follower of him prior to this experience. I almost or did have a nervous breakdown from taking Yaz I tried to deal with it for 5 weeks on my own taking natural things Kava and St Johns Wort valerian walking swimming, I almost killed myself by not taking anything so be careful to scare women on here against taking anti anxiety meds.

Its a case by case situation.

I never took tylenol or nothing before this

Now Iam on lexapro I was one step away from having to be admitted to a hospital Dejay was locked in the bathroom reading to hurt herself she and I both treid on our own to solve the anxiety ours was horrible. I couldnt sleep bauseated lost 15 lbs crying hysterically in and out of the ER 7 times.
The anxiety was so horrible I cant even dscribe how horrible I felt. I still dont feel good on the Lexapro yet but Dejay is back to her old self shopping going out and is sleeping well but only after 3 weeks on Lexapro it saved her life.

Just be careful telling people not to take them someone could take their life by reading this forum and being too scared to take them.

Again I would of never of in my wildest dreams thought I would take one I didnt own a pill but I was at the brink of maddness.

If I could of done it without a pill trust me I would of.

Iam still shakey as I type my stomach is so torn up I cant eat well half the time cant work cant go in stores not doing well

iam using Calmfortay with the Lexapro tried it last night it is very soothing and homeopathic.

I wonder what Kevin Tredeau would do if he took Yaz or Yasmine and felt like us???

Dont say that!!

That the dirutic can cause permanent neurological damage thats horrible I hope not!!

Iam still not better 10 days on Lexapro I have taken a 1/2a day so I have taken 6 pills I think.
Some of the anxiety is gone BUT
Iam still lightheaded just got me period again so it may be that but I start to feel like myself and than I feel bad

And sleep I cant sleep I use to be a perfect sleeper now I cant sleep....any thoughts tried melatonin it doesnt help tried kava tried valerian tried all the holistic

Kim,

I totally agree with Sarah! And another thing: You should really try to stop caring that much about what others say or think about you!! One very important thing, Kim!! Only you can feel, what you need right now and if it's the Lexapro, than you should try.

And as I know, what we all are or were going through I'm sure, that you're not weak, if you don't get through this nightmare without help!! Looking back I really don't know, how I stood all this without medication (ok, besides my Valerian, which I had always with me for about 6 months, just to know, that I had them with me, most of the time already helped....). And believe me: Some days I thought "Please give me ANYTHING, I WILL TAKE IT, I can't stand this any longer!" And I think the only reason, why I nevertheless took nothing was, that I knew, that my body didn't tolerate this kind of medication.

Everything went even worse only after taking one of that pills (they tried to put me on an antidepressant in hospital because of my very bad constitution!!)... But this also happened WHILST TAKING YASMIN! So it might be, that my body would react different about that stuff today...

Kim, I wish you best of luck, that the Lexapro will help you somehow through those hard times. But nevertheless I'm also sure, that you won't have to take it over a very long time!!

Sounds very interesting, what your pharmacist told you! One thing I found out first about Yasmin and bcp in general: They deplete you nutritionally, which makes things as anxiety, weakness, dizzyness and everything else definitely much worse!! And I think the fact, that makes Yasmin even worse than other bcp is that diuretic in it!! The more water we loose, the more electolytes and vitamines we loose!! And I wondered for so long why I had to get up sometimes 2 times at night with an urge to urinate.......

Best wishes to you Kim and all the others and keep it up!! We're all on the right way, I'm sure!!

Silke

Kim,

I didn't know that you also are a vegetarian!! That's another mark for the fact, that you're assessed to be iron deficient (iron is mostly contained in meat!)!

Don't know if you already did, what I suggested (googling about iron deficiency). The Ferritin is the more important parameter than your iron level in your blood because the Ferritin shows the condition of your storage!! And if your storage of iron is still low you can have the symptoms you now are having.

And if you put this together with the side effects of Yasmin, you're DEFINITELY still suffering from, it is no miracle, that you're feeling so low now!!

Are you still taking the iron supplements every day?? Kim, I really hope that you believe me, how important that is for your situation!!!

The problem with the dopamin and serotonin is clearly a thing, which can be caused by bcp. You have to know that those two are also hormones!! And so it's simply clear, that, if your whole hormonal equilibrium is out of whack, the serotonin and dopamin might be also!!!

This is why time can help us all. Your body is able to get everything back in balance, if only he gets enough time for that difficult thing!!!

You didn't write anything, if you already had tried the Valerian (sorry, sometimes I still get the feeling that you're not reading really everything we all are writing here)!??

To the lady, who took Yasmin only 3 months:

You should be thankful, that your symptoms have come up that early. I know it sounds weird, but I think getting the side effects only after 2 years without noticing and taking that poison another 3 years has really damaged my body worse than if I only had taken Yasmin about 3 months. This can protect you from much more and worse symptoms than you are having now!!

Sarah:

I forgot to mention, that I also during my worst time lost about 20 pounds in only 4 weeks because I couldn't eat anything!! And I felt the same as you wrote: I would have been rather fat and healthy than slim and ill and not able to leave my house and having to go through all this nightmare... I totally understand, what you mean!!

But as this was the same for me, I really think that your weight will also get back to normal if you give it enough time. With the excercising I also agree with you! I still haven't been that fit again, as I was before that all. But, ok, 5 years of Yasmin were definitely too long and I know that I'll have to be much more patient than others and give it much more time to get back to where it was than others..... Hope I'll stand it further on...

But being able to sing again helps me very much. Although there always is some insecurity and anxiety in me, because I'm always afraid of getting as weak as I was during the last two months and that everything could break down again, what I' ve built me up now... (ok, although the weakness (thanks god) has gotten better again).

So ladies, just lets try to look forward and perhaps some day forget that nightmare (ok, I don't believe myself what I'm saying, don't know if I ever can forget, what I've been going through....).

One thing for those who have been only a few months on Yasmin: Please be careful and if you have the slightest doubt or the slightest symptom: GET OFF IT IMMEDIATELY!! You have the chance to avoid so many harm and sorrow!!!

Best wishes
Silke

Kim,

please remember, that being off a bcp (not only Yasmin or Yaz) for only 6 weeks really isn't very long!! Most doctor's say, that it lasts at least up to 3 months for the chemicals of the pill to leave your body completely, because it's not only in your blood but also in your tissue, and getting out of there takes much longer than getting out of your blood!! (That's another reason why drinking loads of water is so important!!!)

So even if your hormone levels maybe at the same stage than one year ago, there maybe still the side effects of Yaz, that you're experiencing, on top of the hormonal problems you've mentioned!!

Please Kim, try to stay strong and give it more time, 6 weeks off that pill really really isn't enough to say, you have to feel well again at once!! This is no cold or a flu we are or were going through!! Hormonal problems can't be solved within a few days or weeks, it definitely takes months (should be clear alone by the fact, that our cycles last about one month!).

And if you feel that an antidepressant might help you, please give it a chance. I still don't know if you had already tried the Valerian, I've mentioned a few posts before (well, although, as bitter RN told, you should not take it together with other antidepressants as ssri or such!!). I found this a very good little helper during my hardest days. It always helped me to calm down and at night it helped me to sleep. Please think about it.

Best wishes to you and I'll send you all the strenght I have left over to stand this Kim!!

Silke

Kim,
BitterRN here. You stated in an earlier post that you have some xanax but that you took one and it helped but made you feel foggy. You know you can cut one of those tablets in half and just take half of it or even cut one in half and then cut the half in half again and just take that quarter of it. It might help take the edge off and help you to sleep better, which you really need right now because the lack of sleep is making things worse. Please note that kava kava and valerian should not be taken with xanax because it increases the CNS depressant effect. What is the mg dose they prescribed you?
BitterRN

Thank you so much for your book we need that right now because we feel we arnt going to be mormal its the most scariest thing in my entire life. Iam so mad at myself for taking the pill I wish I could go back in time.
And my doctor doesnt believe its the pill and that makes me cry I dont have her support.

I cant shake the feeling off aggitation under my skin. I have Xanax but Iam afraid to take it.

I tried Kava and that didnt help I will try the Valerian I heard of it.

What is causing this aggitation under my skin I want to pull my skin off??
Is it nerves.

I will take my Osteo protect I stopped it because I thought it was making me more anxious. But it has B6 Magnesium in it
My doctor told me to stop all supplements as she thought they were making me more anxious.

I dont know where to turn because I have a good day and feel normal and think Iam getting better than the next day Iam miserable. Evertime I think iam getting better it hits again and no one understands. iam a Director of Marketing and Iam losing my job I cant do it anymore.

A compund pharamcy told me what Iam feeling is lack of progesterone from the pill effects so they compounded me progesterone natural and for the first couple days it seemed to soote me but now day 7 Iam all anxious bad.

I dont know what to do

I want to be me again and enjoy my family and my daughter.
She is sixteen and wants her mom back!!

Iam so sad

Dear kim and dejay,

your posts nearly bring me to tears, because you exactly tell my story from about 1,5 years ago!!

I know it's hard to believe while you're still in it, but: IT WILL GET BETTER!! You will be your old self someday, but you'll need lots of patience and endurance and the support of your family or husband or anyone around you!!

I know exactly EVERY symptom you both have mentioned!! And I remember me sitting in there and thinking "I never will be better again, this is how it will stay the rest of my life, I'm done!" and today I'm BACK!!

It can last a few weeks or months but I swear someday you'll think "oh, today I think I'm doing a bit better finally", that's how it happened to me!! It will be only little steps every day or week or month, but you'll get through this!!!

Remember that the pill is affecting your natural hormones completely and brings them out of whack. Now, after getting off that horrible pill, it will take some time for your body to learn how to produce hormones by itself again!! It's definitely not only a flu or a simple cold we're all going through, it's something more serious, but nothing letal and nothing, that will last forever!!

On top the Yasmin is lacking your body of very important electrolytes and vitamines and so on, because of the diuretic effect!! So, as flowerbabies already told you, please make sure to take some good supplements (most important seem to be magnesium, zinc and b-vitamines, because they are absolutely essential for nerves and muscles!!).

Another thing that might be possible (also because of the diuretic effect of Yasmin): Please ask your doctor for a blood work about your iron levels!! The monthly period (which, I guess, came really regular during Yasmin) AND the diswatering effect of Yasmin can also lack your body of that important substance.

For the very hard times another thing that might help to calm down a bit: VALERIAN. It's a natural medication which doesn't make you addictet and in my very hard times it was always a good thing to help me through!!

But DEJAY: Don't feel weak because you couldn't get through without antidepressants!! I swear there were times, where I thought "Please give me ANYTHING, I will take it, I can no longer stand this agony!" and today I still don't really know, how I got through without that stuff!! So please take something, if it might help you through the very hard times and someday you'll be able to get off it again!! I swear!

Ok, sorry, I'll try not to write a book again. But I really hope I could help somehow.

And please: If you feel bad and hopeless come around here and I swear you'll always find someone to support you (which I know sometimes is the only thing that helps not to give up completely!!).

But always remember: I's NOT YOU!! It's the Yasmin and someday you'll be better again.

Big hugs to you both and every other poor victim of that horrible drug and stay strong! You'll get through this!!

Best wishes and god's bless
Silke

Yes, the Clonazepam stops the panic, but it is NOT good for the general anxiety...it basically just knocks me out (very tired, weak, sick feeling). I am now hiking with my dog every day to burn it off by suggestion of my doctor. As I start walking I feel so weak sometimes I am afraid I will not make it back to the house, HOWEVER as I continue to walk the feeling eventually goes away (I carry my cell phone for security..although I really know I will not need to use it)! The more I walk, the better I feel! I have also found that no matter how deathly sick I feel, if I can just GET OUT OF BED, the feelings eventually go away throughout the day. I avoid all negative influences (movies, news, negative people) and spend a lot of time at church working on building my faith...it has helped me survive all this.

I am now on day 9 of my cycle and my recent "spell" seems to be over. I am 28 years old and this was my first experience with BCP. I never had ANY health problems before. Good news is, my test results have all come back.... my pap smear, blood work, and urine work all came back NORMAL. (I had a year of abnormal pap tests also. I had a yeast infection about every week!) It took a YEAR to get everything to come back clear again. I am not taking any medication regularly at this time.

The Vitamin B Complex does make me a little jumpy, but I have found I can work it off through some kind of cardiovascular exercise. In general I am feeling MUCH better. Just start out slowly every day, eat healthy food (no caffeine/alcohol, I carry apples, celery, and peanut butter with me everywhere), and KEEP MOVING. I also have some Valerian capsules and tea. "Celestial Seasonings" makes a tea called "Sleepytime" which has Valerian in it....seems to work pretty well.

All in all, my faith, my fellow women on this site, and a supportive husband has helped me through this disaster. It will only make you stronger in the end. God bless Medications.com for having this site! I feel it saved my life. I am praying for all of you...HANG IN THERE.
Virginia

Flowerbabies,
You mentioned in your last posting about how to deal with anxiety attacks, specifically replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. When you said this about negative thoughts, I knew it was time to ask this. I am so ashamed to ask this question, because I have not told anyone this in detail, but has anyone else had very grim or violent thoughts? I mean thoughts that you would NEVER think normally? It is getting a lot better for me - I do not have them as much anymore but sometimes a very violent or graphic image will pop into my head for no reason, and I will get scared and think "Why is my brain thinking this awful thing?" I usually always get a panic attack after these thoughts, because I am afraid I am going crazy. I am a very sensitive person and do not expose myself to violent images, so these thoughts that I feel like are happening to me - instead of me controlling what I am thinking - scare me half to death. It has taken me 2 months to ask this question on here because I am so ashamed. I do want to add though that in general I feel much much better, and these thoughts do not appear as often as they used to. I am assuming the reason for this is lack of serotonin production in the brain or at least my hormones/brain/chemicals trying to get back on track, etc., which I am trying to combat with valerian, vitamin b supplements, etc. Anyway, am I the only one with thoughts such as this? Please please please write back if you have experienced this hell.

Dear Ladies,
I am with you on all the side effects too. It is quite funny that every time I talked to my doctor about possibly changing the pill or getting off of it, he'd say, "just wait so many months, and it'll will all get normal." I waited, and the only thing that was changing was that I was somehow just getting used to the symptoms, but they were not going anywhere.
I had problems with my digestive tract, kidneys, had lot of headaches and migraines, ongoing fatigue, lost of motivation, PANICK ATTACKS (was paranoid about many things) etc.
I started pill April 2006 and stopped August 2006. One the many doctors I have been to was a kinesiologist/chiropractor, and after assessing my body he recommended that I need (without even knowing I was on a pill) complex of B vitamins, magnesium, calcium. These supplements along with a regular (!) exercise, plus some medicaiton like Valerian for soothing the nerve system really did help in the relieving the symptoms. Good luck ladies. I hope you all feel!
Will-o-thewisp

Claudia-
I too quit Yasmin almost a month and a half ago and am going through all of this as well. You can read my previous postings for my story. I wanted to share with you something that has really helped me. It is a herbal supplement called Valerian. In high doses it is used to help insomnia but in smaller doses it helps calm anxiety. And it is obviously natural which makes me feel good especially after the nightmare I have had putting synthetic hormones into my body. Anyway I find that if I take one Valerian pill the moment I am feeling an anxiety or panic attack coming on I tend to feel better within about a half hour. That is just me though. Another thing that helps me is coming to this site when I am not doing well. The support I feel here is endless and I like coming to this site because I feel understood. Please know that I along with thousands of other women are going through this with you. Please stay strong and know that you and all of the other women are in my thoughts as we battle this together.

Sorry, me again.

Claudia:

You're telling the same story, that I went through!!! I too didn't leave my house, sometimes neither my bed anymore in my worst times with Yasmin!! And I really didn't think that this could get better again some day.

But believe me: IT WILL get better!!

All you need is time, as I already told in my last post.

1 1/2 months without Yasmin ist really not very long!! In my case it took about 3 months to feel a real change in me and a slight improvement of my symptoms started (got off Yasmin in February 2005!). But from that point on it got better month by month. Every month the symptoms (especially the anxiety and panic attacks) got less and today I'm nearly back to normal!! Well, as I already said, besides the hormonal chaos (don't have a normal regular period, yet) that really takes much longer for me than for many other women...

But you are NOT CRAZY!!!! I remember me so many times thinking the same thing "What, if it's really NOT the Yasmin and everything is just in my head?" But it WAS the Yasmin and today I feel so much better!!! All you need now is time and patience and hopefully some people around you that understand your problems, listen to you or give you a hug, if you're in need!!

And flowerbabies ist totally right with the supplements! It's really helpful to take some vitamine b, magnesium and other things!! And perhaps some valerian just to calm down a bit, when the anxiety seems to be unbearable!! That always helped me too during the last 2 very hard years!!

I wish you all the best and believe me, you've got the power to get through this, even if you don't really believe it now, YOU HAVE IT!!

Best wishes and god's bless!

Silke

I have been off of Yasmin for 5 weeks, and off the Pill in general for 2.5 weeks. See previous posting for details. Here is my question: why do I feel so much worse this week than last week? I really felt like I was getting better last week, and this week so far has been filled with anxiety and panic. I am taking Valerian, and that seems to help a little, but I do not understand why I seem to be regressing?? Can anyone help explain? Sometimes I feel like I have lost hope.

Hi Sophie!

Different than the last post I don't think that your life is really in danger... Don't worry (sounds very weird, I know.....). But, YES that's exactly the way I felt, too, under and even about 3 - 4 MONTHS AFTER Yasmin!! And so much times I was really about to call 911 (well, though here in Germany it's 112 ;).

The Valerian you can get in every pharmacy / drugstore. It's a herbal medicine which helps you to calm down a bit. In my worst times I had them with me every day. It's not as dangerous as all of the chemical antidepressants or sedatives, which I would refuse to take, if I were you, as long as I could!!

And if the panic attack gets that heavy, that you think you REALLY can't bear it anymore, there's always the chance to call 911 to perhaps give you a slight injection or such to just help this one attack.

You should always keep in mind, that those attacks won't be there every day of your life!! I swear they will get lighter and lighter every month, I definitely KNOW what I'm talking about!!! Today I'm nearly free of them (well, I feel a change every few weeks, when my period "should" come or so, which is because of the hormonal changes a body goes through within a month!!)

Sometimes it helped me also just to hear some music, that I'm really keen on or just read a little bit or even watch TV. You should try to not stress up yourself to much with other things (doing your household or anything). Everything is unimportant besides your health at the moment!!

And you're definitely NOT bugging me, Sophie!! I see which phase you're in and I'm feeling so much with you, because I remember me sitting in the same sh.... as you do now about one Year ago!! And I know that the only thing that can help a bit at the moment is someone who understands you're problems and someone you just can talk with about that agony!!

And another thing, which I guess you are feeling, too: I always thought, I will never get through this and this is the way things will stay for the rest of my life and I always was afraid to completely loose my mind over all this!! And look at me now: I didn't loose my mind and everything is nearly completely gone!! I'm working again, going out again, today my husband and I will do a little shopping tour, which I thought I would never be able to do ever again in my life!!!

Sophie, if I could I would like to give you a big hug right now (My thoughts send you a big hug right now!!) and tell you, that it's just a phase you have to go through now until that Yasmin poison has completely gone out of your system and you're hormones finally get back in balance. And I swear, the sun will shine again for you, too, in a few months!!

Stay strong and hang in there, you have the strenght to get over this, I know!!!

Big hugs and god's bless to you!!

Feel free to E-Mail me or post here again if you're in need for help!!!

Silke

hi silke

i feel really awful today. it is my fourth day on my period and the panick attack i have felt coming on today and right now is really bad. i am trying to control it but have nearly called the ambulance so many times.
i hope i get through tonight without having to go into the hospital ER.
was it like this for you too??

i was also wondering where i could get the valerian from and what does it do??

i really hate what this pill has done to me. i dont feel in control of myself, it awful and im so scared of that nasty feeling.

i hope you are ok and doing well and am sorry if i am bugging you.

sophie xx

Dear Sopie,

you just sound like me around the same time after getting off Yasmin... I exactly know what you're going through, believe me!!

And another thing you can believe me: IT WILL PASS!! I'm sitting here, about 1 year after Yasmin and can't believe myself, that I'm telling you this.... I never thought I'd be able to live a normal life again, because the symptoms I went through were that sever.... Sometimes I thought my life was about to end!! Today I'm able to work again, go out again (wasn't able to even leave my house for shopping or anything for about 4 months around December to April 2005!!). I'm nearly back to a healthy very happy person!! Not 100%, yet, but it's getting better every month!!

After all I went through and all I have read here in this forum it seems to be very normal, that for the first few months after Yasmin you'll feel worse around the time your period starts and sometimes around ovaluation. It's all because of the normal hormonal changes your body has to go through within a cycle. While you are taking a bcp these monthly hormonal changes aren't there in the same intensity as they are without a bcp, so your body has to learn to handle that sometimes very severe changes during a cycle again!!

Hormones are affecting your whole body and chemicals. So it seems, that the hormonal changing during a month is affecting your brain chemicals also (serotonin, and so on...) which can bring on that anxiety symptoms. Sometimes the symptoms while getting back your hormonal balance after stopping a bcp are pretty similar to symptoms some women have during menopause!!

Things that might help: Perhaps you should take some supplements. Magnesium and B-Vitamines seem to be the most helpful things, because they are affecting your nervous system and whole metabolism in a very important way, and bcp is causing a lack of both of them!! If your anxiety seems to be unbearable sometimes, another thing that might help is valerian. It's a mild herbal medicine, which helps you to calm down a bit without making you addicted to it!! Around a few months I always had those pills with me for "the worst case" of a heavy panic attack. And sometimes it already helped to prevent me from such an attack just knowing that I had those valerian medicine with me!

Hope this helps a bit, but please believe: You will not stay in this phase, everything will get lighter and better slightly every month, please stay strong and believe in better and happier times, that definitely are ahead for you!!!

Best wishes and god's bless to you!!

Silke