Scary thoughts symptoms and conditions

My 8 yr old has been on singulair since May. I never put two and two together until reading these posts. He has been having anxiety at night..crying and looking terrified saying he can't stop the scary thoughts in his head. Tonight I felt so bad for him...because I can't make it go away. I am hoping with tonight being the last night on singulair he will not have such a hard time at night. He also says it's very hard to get to sleep at night. Poor kid. I also know he's a sensitive kid but it seems a bit overboard in the last few months....like getting upset and just not knowing how to handle his emotions so he just shuts down. Please message me if you've had similar experiences. I'm calling his dr. on Monday to figure out some other options if there is any. My son started with a cough in March and finally took him to see the dr. in May and she heard wheezing and started him on singulair and then added zyrtec. I know they control his coughing (wheezing...slight asthma) because if we miss a dose he coughs all day the next day. I'm a bit scared to go off it...but hope it stops the anxiety and moodiness. He had his first asthma attack last week too...and I wasn't prepared as we never have had to use the inhaler...so I didn't have it with us. Anyway, hoping he doesn't get too bad taking him off...and I hope he is able to control the scary thoughts by going off of it too.

WENDY.... IN UR POST ABOUT THE BLOOD CLOTS IN THE LUNGS.. WHAT WERE YOU FEELING THAT MADE YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL? THIS PILL IS A LIFE RUNNER....I FEEL FOR EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU... ANYONE THAT EXPERIENCED THE ANXIETY/PANIC ATTACKS ON THE PILL... AFTER STOPPING YASMIN DID THEY GO AWAY?....

Hello all Yasmin Survivors.
I stopped taking Yasmin in July 2005 and three years on I am still re-building my life! I feel this pill and its side-effect stole some of my best years, I am 33.
My main side effects were extreme anxiety, agoraphobia, pounding heart, panic attacks, fear of doing anything (even going 10 minutes away from my own home). I was on it for 12 months and the side-effects started very gradually at about 5-6 months, I barely noticed them creeping up on me. It took me another 6 months of taking it to start to question whether Yasmin could be causing the extreme change in my personality. I think if I hadn't stopped I'd have had a major breakdown. I had lots of weird physical symptoms too including, bloating, passing urine all the time, leg cramps, dizziness, hair loss.
Anyway, all the extreme anxiety and stress caused by Yasmin left me with exhausted adrenal glands - which I'm now trying to re-build. Anyone feeling fatigue, nervousness, anxiety, inability to handle stress in the same way as you used to, PMS several months after stopping Yasmin should look into Adrenal Fatigue as a possible cause of their symptoms. It's hard to treat and can take a long time to recover - but there are lots of things you can do to help your body re-build. Visit ******(doctor Andrew W. website on Adrenal Fatigue) as a start to find out more about the condition and how to find out whether you are suffering from it.
It would be good to hear from more people re-building their lives after the impact of taking Yasmin on this site. Also, is anyone out there trying to put together a class action?
Sarah

Hello: I am so sorry that all of us are suffering since taking this pill. My experience with Yasmin was brutal and 3 years later I know am told that I have developed b12 deficiency or a very serious, but treatable condition called pernicious anemia. I never had it before then pill. I took Yasmin for only 5 months and felt sick the whole time. Headaches, strange moods, even a popping sound in my head some times, bizarre symptoms. I called my OBGYN and told he I was stopping. She said the pill did not cause this, but if I felt it was related to stop. AND IT WAS! She now admits to feeling bad for this. She did not mean it. Doctors only know what they read from the literature of a drug. I stopped taking it and was in the hospital within three days. I was in shock. Night sweats, tingling skin, no energy, stomach problems of every kind. Severe pain in my left ovary, suicidal depression and on and on. The worst part is that I began to get sicker and sicker. 3 years later of still being sick. The only thing that has helped my system is acupuncture and a serious diet change to aid my system, I find out that I have a serious b12 deficiency, which I never had. They call it an autoimmune disease which impedes you from processing b12 and all this starts in the tummy! I lost a baby during this time while pregnant, now we know it was this! The Yasmin pill has been pulled off the social medicine of some European countries due to such severe side effects. Their is a girl on this blog getting names together to start a class action suit. I am in. No one can get me my three years of suffering back, or my lost baby or my lost work. I am a professional flamenco dancer and let me tell you it is not easy to perform with a serious b12 deficiency which affects nerve endings, heart tissue and neurology! And the cure for this is b12 injections for life! If you want me to forward your name to the girl with the attorney you can write me at:****** Well I am going to keep trying to be well. I am young and have a whole life ahead of me.

Update: Our son has been off of singulair since the 28th of March.....he had experienced most of complaints and ailments that affect other children. Since then, he is still tough to get to sleep - probably a 3 year old thing - but is better that before. He is also sleeping much more soundly and waking on the right side of the bed. He is still complaining of the leg cramps and sometimes still limping around for a while, and also complaining of stomach aches... I suspect those too should disappear after some time, however, he is no longer complaining that the lights and sun hurt his eyes. It is as though a major fog has been lifted - he is listening to us more the first time we speak rather than having to fight over things such as cleaning, or behaving. He is not as physical with us or his brother as before. And, the most important thing....he seems truly HAPPY - he has been napping all week at day care, and is proud of his accomplishment! He is focused in Karate class - listens to his Sir - engages in the activity with the other children - is more vocal and energetic....and once again PROUD! His Karate teacher - Sir - noticed an immediate difference in our beloved son - he was so surprised that Singulair is to blame - he said that our son is a complete different child without a trace of the drugged, insecure, and quiet boy he knew a week ago.
This Saturday our little boy will be testing for his yellow belt and he is so excited that he can hardly contain his HAPPINESS!!!!!

One last thought though.....I am extremely worried of any lasting mental or physical implications this drug could have on him - what does the future hold for our son - could this drugs nasty side effects cause some crazy long term side effect we have yet to see???

I have been taking Toprol for about a year for elevated heart rate. It slowed down my heart allright, and my metabolism slowed down with it! I've gained 20 lbs in a year! I joined Weight Watchers 9 weeks ago expecting to lose about 10 lbs by now. I keep a food journal, eat per the program and exercise 5 times a week. I have lost NOTHING. It is very depressing when you do everything that you're supposed to to lose weight and nothing happens. I am going to discuss other alternatives with my physician.

hi 1concernedboyfriend, as murph said in her previous post please talk to your girlfriend about getting off this pill,there are other contraceptive options that are a much healthier,even another brand of pill if she really wants to stay on oral birth control pills,there is just something very wrong with yasmin,we don't know what yet but it seems to cause terrible mental,physical and emotional problems that can have long term consequences,i have been off yasmin since june 06 and am still suffering mood swings and anxiety.like you my poor husband thought that i did not love him or find him attractive any more,he had to watch his once happy confident wife crumble into this shell of a person who was a wreck,i felt not anxious so much as terrified all day everyday i could not leave the house without a full blown panic attack,i had terrible scary thoughts racing through my mind,i would shake,my teeth would chatter,i could not get my breath. my husband was fantastic and he took over the care of the house and our 2 children because i could not do a thing,i would just shake and cry all day.

Sarah

I cant get on the other site from home

Well alot of people said I seem better but in actuallity in some ways yes some ways no

I still have not returned to work as tasks overhwelm me even the simpliest things
i also have issues with bad mood swings

I have bad thoughts every few days and it terrifies me!

I still seem to walk in a fog not feeling like me
But the ups and downs are the worst I cant seem to get a plateau or a even time of it
I will be sad than upset than agitated than ok than feel like me
I feel like I have PMS almost everyday

The scary thoughts are like I will just drift off and get really sad out of the blue out of no where
And last night I was talking to my sis and she was upsetting me and I got really agitated than I just felt like leaving my home and just going far away I didnt do it but I really felt it and stopped myself

I have never ever had bad thoughts of dying or leaving or running away
It scares me

IF YOU'VE EXPERIENCED ANXIETY WHILE ON YASMIN, PLEASE READ THIS:
I started Yasmin back in Feb. 2004, and started experiencing extreme anxiety & panic attacks a few months later. I didn't put two and two together until October 2004, when I finally discovered this website. I was so relieved to discover that Yasmin had caused my anxiety (also some depression, and some OCD tendencies), and that I was not just losing my mind. I stopped Yasmin immediately, thinking the problem would just go away, but unfortunately, it got worse before it got better. The first three months off Yasmin were hell on earth. The anxiety was unbearable. Then after three months, the anxiety got significantly better. (FYI - it takes 3 months for a BC pill to clear your system. Coincidence? I think not.) After that, I still had some anxiety, usually really severe around the time of my period. I tried anxiety programs, relaxation CDs, deep breathing, etc., some of which helped, but the anxiety never completely went away. I resorted to taking Xanax as needed. I know my story is very similar to many of yours, so I wanted to share with you what I've learned since then:
As time went on, my anxiety got better & better. I usually just had it around the time of my period, and in some social situations. Then, this past Spring, a dear friend of mine (who I met on the forum, by the way) found a doctor who did some tests on her hormone levels & discovered that she had no progesterone. He told her that her own hormone imbalance coupled with the hormones in Yasmin, caused her to have her anxiety problems on Yasmin. He prescribed her some NATURAL PROGESTERONE (not the synthetic stuff), and she started feeling so much better! Seeing her drastic improvement, and admitting to myself that after two years my anxiety wasn't completely gone, I went to the same doctor. He did some blood work & guess what? I had essentially no progesterone as well. He put me on natural progesterone too. I am taking 100 mg. in a capsule form each night. I cannot tell you the difference I have felt. I feel normal again. Think about it - the hormones in Yasmin obviously caused our anxiety. Doesn't it make sense that the problem is inheritently hormonal? I have been helped so much by the ladies on this website, so I wanted to share my story so that if just helps one person, it's worth it. Go to a doctor in your area who specializes in natural hormone management & see what your levels are. In my case & in my friend's case, our anxiety disorders have been the result of a hormone imbalance, one made significantly worse by Yasmin. I hate to see so many people resort to anti-depressants & anti-anxiety meds, when it may be that all they need is to balance their hormones. Best wishes to all of you. Please hang in there, life does get better!

hi,dejay78.
my heart goes out to you. i was exactly the same with the same fear that i had gone mad and was going to end up institutionalised. i also have 2 children. i started taking yasmin after i stopped breat feeding my youngest. i fed her for 1 year and did not have a period in that time.my doctor suggested yasmin to get my hormones back into whack,in fact it did the complete opposite but i didn't realise it at the time.i was on it for 6 months and all seemed fine.my skin cleared up,i lost a little weight and my periods were light and regular. Then i started to need to pee more.i had major IBS symptoms,then the panic attacks started,then came the constant anxiety,i was terrified all day every day. i had terrible unthinkable thoughts. i became scared i would do something awful like hurt one of my kids,i knew i never ever could but the thoughts in my head made me think i was mad and unstable. i couldn't go out and became scared that i would be raped or attacked if i left the house. i couldn't sleep or eat or function at all i just cried. i had aches,pains,numbness & tingling,i thought i had a tumour or cancer or something horrible. My doctor told me i had an anxiety disorder,i thought that was odd as i had never had a problem before but i accepted his diagnosis,i asked whether my pill could cause this as nothing else had changed and he just laughed and said no. the pills he gave me for the anxiety made me worse to the point that i actually wanted to die,i had had enough as i thought i would never recover.......then i googled yasmin and found this site and it literally saved my life! i read as you are now about all these poor women with the same experience as me. i stopped taking yasmin and started to feel better within a month. i have been off it now for 7 months and while i am not 100% yet i am well on my way there. The anxiety gets less and less every day,the scary thoughts are a thing of the past as are most of the other problems. i promise you dejay78 you are NOT going mad,your hormones are just so messed up that they are making you feel that way. take a good multivit,some B6 and some magnesium and think positive thoughts always! distract yourself,keep busy,sing dance and laugh.i know you don't feel like it now but it will get better. if you need any more help or advise or just someone to share this awful pain with you are always welcome here,there are so many wonderful women on here that will support you and understand you.

i wish you all the best.

sarah

hi, sorry to hear that your daughter has gone down hill again. unfortunately this is a really common problem, a lot of us that had depression/anxiety and scary thoughts find we still have problems during our ovulation and also right before our periods, it does get easier each month but it is still there. i can imagine at the moment she is doubting herself and is thinking "what if it is not the yasmin after all and i am actually mentally ill"? she would not be alone in that thought,we have all been there. i have been off yasmin for 6 months now and most of the time i can handle it,my anxiety levels day to day are very low but pre-menstrally it can still throw me know and again and have me thinking the same thought,but i know it is not true,it is just my hormones trying to recover. pms A has most of the symptoms we all suffer so i have concluded that instead of helping with pms yasmin can actually cause it. it seems like all we can do is wait and have faith that it will get better and also take care of our bodies nutritionally and physically. i really hope that your daughter starts to feel better soon,she is sooo young and should not have to suffer this at her age. she is obviously a very responsible young lady and thought that taking yasmin was a positive thing to do, we have all suffered the consiquences of taking this poison but luckily we are all here to support each other and to reasuure each other that it does get better.you are doing a wonderful job of supporting your daughter,that will be a great help to her. i really do wish you and her all the best,look up pms A symotoms and see if there are any tips to help on a monthly basis.

sarah

hi eryka,
please don't feel ashamed of your thoughts,most of us that have suffered anxiety either induced by this pill or otherwise have had these awful scary thoughts. the post below this reply makes some very valid points! i too was terrified of being around knives or scissors,i thought i may hurt myself or my children,i kept thinking if the knife slipped and i hurt myself i would have to go to the hospital and they might section me because they might think i was mad. i also had really scary thoughts about harming my children or that someone else would harm them,crazy things like someone would grab the baby pram and throw it over the balcony in the shopping centre. so as you can tell i know exactly how you felt. i also think that these thoughts appear both to do with low seratonin levels and also the fear that you are going to lose control and do something awful,this in effect would be your worst nightmare and something you would never do so cannot understand where these alien thought patterns come from. i don't even like smacking my childrens bottoms if they are really really naughty let alone do some of the awful things that my brain came up with. the previous post is also correct in saying that if you were truly crazy you would not know a thing about it and certainly would not worry about it! whenever i have a scary thought (which thankfully is really rare now!) i physically tell myself not to be so silly,i would never do that or that would never happen then i will purposly think of a really nice happy thought. please feel free to post again if you need any more help or support or post your email and i will be happy to try to help you,i have been off yasmin for 6 months nearly and am doing really well now,i still have the odd day thats not so good but i know i am not crazy and i will get better.
best wishes to you eryka,i hope my reply will help you feel a little better.

sarah

hi aal,just a quick update on my progress.
i have been off yasmin now for 13 weeks...i feel soooo much better,virtually all of my anxiety has gone,i can now pretty much do all of the things i did pre-yasmin. i have just got back from a holiday in spain.three months ago the thought of leaving my house or going to the shops terrified me. i still have a racing heart now and again,still get the shakes when i am pre menstrual and the anxiety gets a little worse again around ovulation but i know it will go away so it doesn't bother me much any more. i don't have the scary thoughts now (other than occasionally when premenstrual) the dizziness has gone,my appetite is back,the headaches are on their way out. i just wanted to share these things with everyone on this site as it has given me some just knowing that i am not alone and i am not crazy,this pill causes some of the worst side effects i have ever heard of from a birth control pill....if this is the next generation pill i'll stay in the past thank-you! i still have a hormone imbalance (suspect estrogen dominance) am going to see my gp and see what she suggests.other than that i am still taking all the vitamins and minerals and just living with the knowledge that it will get better,i know that it will because of all the amazing women who have posted their stories and updates here as a life line for all the rest of us.

all the best...... love many,trust a few but always paddle your own canoe!

hi abs528, i'm sorry to hear that you have not had much improvement,snap on the sore throat by the way! i had trouble sleeping for quite a while when i was on yasmin last year,i had really scary thoughts and felt terrified most of the time. the best technique i have found to help this is distraction like singing or housework or whatever but just take your mind off it and keep reminding yourself that your fears are not real and that you are in no danger,your loss of appetite is probably down to the anxiety,i lost my appetite and ended up losing 2.5 stones (35lbs) but i have gained 18 lb back now! it may also help to think positive thoughts,i know it sounds corny but if you keep doing it the brain can only focus on one thing and hopefully it will be the good stuff! don't lose faith in yourself...you know this is not you it is this devil of a pill! keep your chin up it will get better and you will feel great again.
sarah

hi abs528.
i also had terrible panic attacks and constant anxiety as well as really scary thoughts and dreams, i thought i was crazy too (still might be have only been off yasmin for 9 days!) i'm not sure how long it takes for the panic attacks to go away, i think now you have had them you will have to learn a good technique to difuse them, i have to keep telling myself that they will not harm me even though they feel awful,try to distract your mind,i sing songs or count really quickly and the best but hardest piece of advice is to not be scared of them,if you are not scared then you will not react the way you do and the panic attacks will gradually go away. I promise you i know how it feels,i felt like i had gone insane,i took yasmin for 1.5 years and thought it was great but then after 6 months things started to get bad,i was diagnosed with panic disorder and given diazepam but that made me worse, i decided to face it head on and it has been working but it is hard and i have good and bad days,hopefully now i have stopped the yasmin it will ease up a bit,please post your progress on this site whether it be good or bad as it may help another poor soul who is going through the same thing. in the mean time get yourself some magnesium as a definciency in this mineral came make your symptoms worse also drink as much water as you can to detox your system. you should get your period in a few days and hopefully you will start to feel better. best wishes to you...and remember you are NOT crazy!

Hello fellow Yasmin Survivors,

I have been reading your posts this afternoon and felt like I was reading my diary of a year ago, when I stopped taking Yasmin. I had been taking Yasmin for about a year with no noticeable side effects when suddenly I became overwhleming depressed, anxious, dizzy, lost about 6 kg in a week....I basically became the shell of the person I had been my entire life (a happy, outgoing, positive woman). My poor family were extremely worried about me, and no one knew what was wrong....then one day in a moment of sheer desperation (and I believe thanks to God above) I found this website. I'll never forget crying into the computer screen as I read other women's avid descriptions of my life. I never took another Yasmin pill.

Well this last year 'post yasmin' has been a challenging one to say the least. I have suffered anxiety (disturbing irrational thoughts) around mid cycle and before my period...the first 6 months were the hardest....but trust me, it DOES get better. I am still not 100% anxiety free, but I am very close to it, and there were times a few months ago I found it hard to trust I could ever be the old me again. I have been taking 'Agnus Castus' for the past 4 months, and have been feeling mentally alot better for it...but then again each month gets better so it's hard to tell whether it's the natural effect of time.

Everything you are all typing about I have lived through...I remember reading this website countless times everyday just to reassure myself that I wasnt crazy and I was going to get better. The great news is I am better now...life is sweet again.

Good luck to all of you, and God Bless x

I have sat here for almost 2 hours reading about all the horrible side effects from Lisinopril, much of the time with tears rolling down my cheeks. I am a 47-year old woman who was prescribed this drug about 5 months ago. My Dr. told me that the most common side effect was a dry cough. Shortly after, I did develop a cough, but was certain it was due to allergies (although my friends with allergies weren't coughing their lungs out). Like another person in this forum, I began obsessing about what could be causing the cough. I changed my sheets more often, began vacuuming more. I even considered purchasing a Sharper Image Ionic Breeze air purifier. I also tend to be a worrier, and over the past couple of weeks, I have thought of my dad, who died of lung cancer 2 years ago. Could I have it too, even though I never smoked? I have also noticed a feeling of significant sadness. I attributed that to grieving my youngest son getting ready to go off to college. Now I'm not so sure. I seem to cry at the drop of a hat.

I am so grateful I searched the web for "Lisinopril and coughing". Your comments have helped me to feel a little less anxious about the really scary thoughts I've been having, and have encouraged me to call my Dr. and have my meds changed. I have to admit that the drug did lower my blood pressure, but it's not worth it! I'm exhausted by lack of sleep! I also plan on buying my own bp monitor, because when I go to the Dr.'s, I always have "white coat" syndrome, and my bp reads high. After I sit for a minute, and my exam is done, they take it again, and it has lowered.

Good luck to all of you, and again, thanks for all your wisdom!