Stay positive symptoms and conditions

So let's do something. This is our life that is slowly being destroyed.
I started with the office Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro.
I found a bit about them on the link below. *****

hi kim123.
you mentioned that you have been given natural progesterone,i believe it can sometimes make you feel a little more anxious for a little while but that it should eventually settle,it's something to do with the receptors,if they are full of estrogen,when the progesterone is introduced it has to release the excess estrogen to be re-filled with the progesterone,i have not tried natural progesterone but i am so scared of playing with my hormones now that i have been taking a low does agnus castus capsule daily instead of trying the natural progesterone cream. our hormones are so complex it is really hard to know what is the right thing to take or do. you may be feeling more anxious if you are somewhere near ovulation or menstruation? look up pmsa. you may find many of your symptoms,i get virtually all of them so it seems to be a really exaggerated case of pms. pmsa is anxiety lead and pmsd is depression lead. you may find that that constant feeling under your skin is anxiety and that it will lessen with time as the anxiety itself will.magnesium is definately a good idea,i take it daily and i'm sure it helps me. eat a diet high in fibre and drink loads of water,the fibre helps to remove excess estrogen and the water will speed the process as it keeps your kidneys clear and aids digestion. i hope some of this will help you. as voicesi says,hang in there it will get better,please stay positive,remember the good things in your life and really push yourself to do the things you love,you will get stronger and more confident again i can assure you of that,this time last year i wanted to die,i felt terrified all day,everyday,i cried all the time,i couldn't eat,sleep, or care for my children. i thought i had suffered some kind of mental breakdown and was going to be institutionalised, now 8 months after i stopped taking yasmin i can go out again,i can enjoy my life and enjoy my children again,in a strange way this experience has shown me how wonderful my life was,i always thought it was dull,but i just took it for granted,i will never do that again,i think of every day as a blessing because the story could have been so different if i had not found this site and these amazing women that shared their experiences and gave me the help,advice and courage to find my way back to health again even though many were and still are suffering themselves,you will see me posting on here very frequently as i try to return the help and support that was given to me to other people,i may not always be able to help but sometimes it can help just being told that someone else knows how you feel and has been where you are now,it always comforted me.

best wishes to you kim123.

sarah

I'm 17 years old, and I have Ulcerative Colitis. I was diagnosed at 15, and was put on Prednisone then for three months. I didn't gain much weight in my tummy that time, but my face swelled to huge proportions, and while ON the drug, my hair grew like crazy but was very dull and lifeless at the same time. The minute I stopped the drug, my hair started falling out. Within a month, I had lost 40% of my hair.

Well, I'm on it again, and this time it's worse. I started out at 40mg back in October, and am down to 20mg now, but it's just as bad as when I started. I'm VERY moody and snap at my best friends, who I am usually the calmest around. I often find myself just wanting to hit and yell at something. Before I started Pred, I weighed 138. I weighed myself yesterday... 150.2. This is very disheartening. I have a moon face, the makings of a double chin, unhealthy hair, I wake up about 5 times every night because I'm restless or I have to pee, I can't focus in school, my knees hurt, etcetera. I'm miserable.

I work out 6-7 times a week because I'm so concerned about my weight. I do 30-45 minutes of the treadmill and/or elliptical, and do all the happy little toning machines, in hopes that my tummy can be a bit more toned. But no. It's a useless blob. None of my favorite jeans or shirts fit me anymore, and this - not the drug itself, but the side effects - make me very, very unhappy.

hi chris35,
i know it seems like it is going to take a long time to recover and you are feeling really low right now,i felt the same in the beginning. i know it sounds so cliche to say stay positive but it really does help,i fill my head with positive thoughts and consciously replace any negative with a positive and it really helps i push myself to ignore my anxiety and tell myself it is not real. (mine was so bad i became agoraphobic and still am a bit!) one thing all this has taught me is that i am much stronger than i thought i was,things that i used to think i was afraid of are not so scary anymore bacause i know what it feels like now to be terrified! i am much bolder than i used to be as i think if i can overcome this i can overcome anything. i know it all sounds a bit touchy feely but it really can work in your favour to be positive even when things are bad,look at all the good stuff that you have and that is happening to you,ignore all the crap that is going on!
chin up chris35 i hope it will get better for you soon.
sarah

hi claudia (hope)
i know exactly what you are going through,i have been there myself (as have many many women on this site) i suffered extreme anxiety/panic attacks,they were by far some of the worst symptoms i had while taking this pill as i felt i was going mad or had some kind of mental illness,i really thought my life as i knew it was over,i am 32 years old with 2 young children but i felt that bad i didn't think i wanted to carry on...then i found this site and came across so many women in this same situation and it saved me. i have been off yasmin for 4 months now and my anxiety levels are way way way down,it is now mainly in the background and is a memory rather than a constant feeling of fear. the practical things you can do are...take a B vitamin complex, vitamin B6, a magnesium supplement and maybe a little zinc too. take really good care of yourself with regards to what you eat and how much excercise you do.drink plenty of water and i mean plenty as it is great for anxiety and great for cleansing the body of these hormones. on a mental level try to remember that these feelings are not REAL fear as there is nothing to be afraid of it is just a chemically induced mood,panic attacks although scary will never actually hurt you even though they feel like you are going to die or go crazy. stay positive ( i know,easier said than done!) and face your fear head on,i know it sounds crazy but by taking control you will begin to feel stronger and more able to cope. it WILL get better but it will take some time for your body to get back into it's natural harmony,have faith that it will get better and please please listen when i say you are NOT crazy it is this horrible pill. i started to feel better after the first couple of months with regards to the anxiety and i hope you will too.i still have hormone problems and symptoms but the panic feelings are virtually nil. try the supplements i mentioned and try to reduce your stress levels too. i wish you all the best and hope that this has been of some help to you

Hi Guest 26582,

i know exactly how you feel, i feel the same.. well the depression/anxiety part. My poor boyfriend.. i told him that ive been having these horrible thoughts that i have lost my feelings for him.. and i told him that thats NOT what i want.. hes trying his hardest to understand, but i guess its hard for him.. i feel so horrible at what im doing. The last thing i need is to lose him now.

i went and saw my doctor today, 2nd day off yasmin... He told me its very likely my body just got overwhelmed, what with the pill and stress at work and then this cold that i just ran out of endorphins.. hence the lack of feelings for my boyfriend. friends and family.

im trying to be as patient as possible, i want this nightmare to end... im finding it so hard to stay positive, but im not doing too bad at the moment. I have moments where i feel like me again, but they are rare... i hope they just become more and more often until they are finally back for good.

Well good luck to you ladies in all your battles, i know we can make it through this together.

Kathy

Hi everyone,

Sophie,

I didn't read all of your earlier posts. If you are still taking Yasmin, you should really stop. And definitely I recommend going to the doctor immediately. It sounds like you may be having a very serious side affect and you should not mess around with your health. Please please try to see your doctor asap.

To an earlier poster who said they experienced anal itching: I know it is a weird thing to talk about, but yes, I had experienced this too. They tested me for all kinds of STD's thinking this could be the cause, etc and I didn't have anything, which I was sure of. I strongly feel it was another weird side affect of Yasmin.

Silke,
Don't give up hope! I really hope you can find a naturopath to help you. It helped me so much. I feel a million times better just taking vitamins and flushing my system of these synthetic hormones. I really think that taking Vitalex each morning helped a lot too (also called Vitex). You can find this at any health food store or natural food store. It is not a prescription and is just an herbal complex. There are a bunch of different brands but the one I took was Vitalex (two tabs each morning) along with the other vitamins.

Stay positive and know that it will get better, your bodies just needs time to adjust and heal. Everyone, please take care f yourselves and stay healthy!

welcome Gina....

From what I have heard and read, it takes months to get the BCP out of your system. I stopped taking Yasmin in late January 2006 (after about 8-9 cycles) and started taking paxil for my anxiety the same week. The racing heart , high BP and anxiety attacks were debilitating. I am so embarassed to be on Paxil, but it is better for me than having the anxiety. I hope to be off of it within 4-6 months.

I am still not 100% but I can tell you that I am a different person than when I was on the Yasmin. I feel so much better.

Continue to read the posts here. The ladies here are really helpful.

Be careful if you start a new BCP. Maybe you (like me) are very sensitive to artificial hormones. It is wise to wait a while.

Take care and stay positive.

dear lisa, its chrissy sorry iv taken a while to respond...

i just read ur posting about the hair loss and yes ive heard that it is a very common post yasmin side effect. i didnt experience it myself but i do get the depression the week that my period is finishing. its gotten better since i first stopped yasmin but its still noticeable.
have you been feeling any better apart from those symptoms?? just remember that ur nearly 3 months off yasmin and the first two months are the hardest.
im six months off it now and i feel so much better. you will get back to normal soon i promise... you just gotta hang in there...
you can take some natural vitamins to increase hair growth and it will only be the hair on ur head not anywhere else...
there is one i heard about i think its called Biotin??? something like that anyway and you can get it from like health food shops .....
it may help im not sure of any others though.

try to stay positive and i wish you the best results in whatever you decide to do.
lots of hugs to you
luv chrissy xoxox

Hello all - I just wanted to email all of you struggling to get over the effects of Yasmin after coming off it. I stopped taking it nearly 6 months now after a horrendous 6 months of extreme anxiety, blurred vision, chest pain, insomnia, awful headaches, raging thirt etc. I have very slowly improved after coming off and I think it's really important that those women who do get their lives back come back to this site to let the others know - so everyone feels there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Things are not back completely for me - but I'm working again and not plagued by anxiety all the time - I still feel anxious off and on - but the true panic attacks have really eased off - probably just 2 in the last 6 months.
We've all just got to stay positive and report back the upside of stopped Yasmin on this site.
I'd love to hear how other people are managing - and of any tips on managing the anxiety or getting free of it completely.

lisa!

chrissy here.. its great to here that all your results came back normal, i knew they would im really happy for you.
so now all you have to do is concentrate on getting through the hard months which you will!!
stay positive ok and remember your not alone...

luv chrissy xox

Its chrissy again!

oh my god Silke you saved my life!! YES the feelings are like an earthquake in my head...
its like if sum1 laughs out loud suddenly or drops something on the floor at home my head feels like an explosion has taken place inside it....
i was so ready to go to my doctor and tell him i thought i had a tumour... see how paranoid this pill has made me!!!
but now i know its not just me i feel way better...
i will definitely take some vitamins to fix this for sure....
thank you agian for responding i was so scared...
dont be worried that the new year is coming up ok... just think how far you have come this year and how much better everything has gotten....you will get through next year even easier... and you will NOT be in ER on new years day... take care and stay positive..

a million hugs to you
chrissy xoxo

Thank you all for all your posts. They help me feel like I am not alone in all this junk. I have been on Prednisone since mid July when I was diagnosed with Dermatomyositis. Even with all the side effects, primarily the weight gain and bloating, I feel better than I did in June. I could hardly walk. My sleeping is actually better now than it was with the pain of DM, and I have always been hypoglycemic so the elevation in blood sugar has helped me.

With that said, I have always been an extremely healthy and active person so the weight gain is killing me. I also prefer to be holistic. My biggest fear has always been long term medication, but here I am. My pred. level was just increased 2 weeks ago to 60mg / day. Within one week my face has become very round, and I look 4 months pregnant. I am very hopeful that someone will find that miracle diet/exercise regime to help balance this side effect. I work out at least 6 days per week. I eat healthy, but have recently gone back to a yeast & sugar free diet. All this with no success. I just started taking Methotrexate 2 weeks ago so I hope maybe it will give me the success Liz has seen in that area.

Other side effects: I am very happy to have my energy level back, but my strength isn't back so I get very frustrated and irritable. I have issues with blurred vision. And I have trouble concentrating. My thoughts often wonder while I am in conversation.

I hold you all in my prayers and hope that you will find ease as you go through this challenge. If we can all stay positive we'll get through it.

Best Wishes,
Elizabeth

Well, so far I have been lucky as my side effects have been bareable. I have had to take prednisone twice due to ulcerative colitis flares. The first time I started at 40 mg I.V. while in the hospital. Within 2 days I had gone from having 15-20 BM's a day, to 2 or 3 a day. Within 9 days my diarrhea had cleared up (and I was able to leave the hospital). I noticed after about 4 or 5 days of being on prednisoe that my appetite had gone through the roof. I was inhaling the tasteless hospital food like it was gourmet cuisine, and then I mooched food off the teenage in the bed beside me, and anyone else that had any. After loosing about 30 pounds in the previous few months from the colitis, the weight gain was actually a plus. Other effects from the prednisone were night sweats, insomnia, mood swings (I was really irritable), joint pain, and kind of a buzzy head feeling. The Doc tapered me quickly on the following schedule:

40mg 2 weeks
30mg 1 week
25mg 1 week
20mg 1 week

then dropping 2.5 mg's a week to 10, then 2.5 mg's per every 2 weeks until 5mg, then off.

I noticed the side effects diminished alot once I was under 20mgs.

The second time on prednisone after another colitis flare has been a lot easier to take. The only effects I noticed this time were appetite, buzzy head and joint/bone pain (especially in my neck). which again decrease alot when I got under 20mg.

Like I said, I feel lucky that my problems haven't been as bad as many who have posted on this site. If you are new to prednisone, don't get to scared by everything you here. If you are taking it, it is probably because you have little or no choice. Stay positive and maybe you will be lucky like me.

Well I have MPGN Type 1(type of nephrotic (kidney) syndrome) and I've been on 60mg of Prednisone since October 21st. I really hate this drug, but it seems to be working. I have all the side affects minus the eye problems (thank God) My hands cramp up, they are always shaking, and I can barely write properly. I have the moon face, I aslo have the weight gain, I get sad a lot, just because I have this rare disease, I have the acne, I have the knee pains, it hurts so bad I can't walk properly, I can't even sleep because of it. I've never been to the hospital in my life, but now I find myself in there atleast twice a week. Predisone is an amazing drug. To me I think it is a bad drug, But who knows, it might save my life. I have had the increase in appetite, but I'm trying to minimize how much I eat. It really sucks for me. I'm only 15, it's hard to go to school...I just want to stay home because I feel everyone notices how much I have changed! But I have a good support system, My family, always saying things will be alright. My doctors just decided to slowly wean me off the predisone, hopefully it doesn't affect how it is helping my kidneys. I wish you all get better, it is hard, but if I had to chose with the side affects and living my life and getting my health back, and between my kidneys failing and possilbly death. I think I would go with the side affects.

If anyone wants to talk I'm up for it, I could always use a friend, not everyone understands when you tell them your on steriods and thats why you look and act this certain way!

Best wishes to you all, Have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Years, and always stay positive and keep your head up, yeah its hard, but you know try atleast ;)

I had my last of 3 Lupron injections in March of 2003. I am still having mild symptoms that I think are the result of the medication. Initially the Lupron wasn't really a big deal. I had blurry vision/dizzyness for about 2 weeks during the 1st month, but I didn't have hot flashes until the 2nd injection and thought it was going to be a breeze to get through. We all read such terrifying things when researching Lupron and I did the same.

After my Myomectomy which was in July of 2003, I began having much more dramatic symptoms. I eventually lost all sensation in my hands, had swelling in them and couldn't really pick things up or type at my job nor wear my wedding ring. I had traveling parasthesia throughout my body, in my arms, legs and feet, but the worst was my hands. The parasthesia lasted until about December of 2003. I still occasionally have the same sensation in my arms or legs but my hands have finally returned to normal.

I've had 2 MRIs in hopes of ruling out MS (parasthesia is a very common side-effect of MS) but am stilling working with a neurologist based on the symptoms I've had. Doctors aren't convinced of the strength of Lupron. I still think that the Lupron caused these symptoms but there is no way to prove it.

Anyway, my advice to current and possible Lupron users is to, as strange as it seems, stay positive. It is hell during and unfortunately can stick around for quite a long time, but I am finally starting to get rid of the symptoms I've experienced, and I have tried to keep a positive mental picture throughout. I really thought I might never be able to use my hands again, it was very scary, but things are very gradually getting better.
It took me about 6 months to have a regular cycle again, and I now believe that our hormones are powerful! I think it just takes a while for everything to return to normal.
Good luck!