Severe Panic Attacks after taking SSRI meds...

I am kind of worried about myself ,because my case seems to so different from others. It all started when i went to the doctor for migraines, i was getting every day. The doctor put me on amitriptyln 25 mg. Which is an anti depressant.That was supose to help control the migraines. Take in mind i was diagnosed with adnomeosis about 4 months prior to going to the doctor for migraines , and my OB put me on Yaz birth control, to help with the adnomeosis symptoms. So after taking Yaz for about 3 months and Amitriptyln for about 6 months. The amitriptytln controlled my migraines for about 2 months. Then they came back even worse. So i went back to doctor to see what he could do about controlling my migraines . He increased my amitriptyln to 50mg. Which was 25 mg. more than what i have been taking already. That week ....Is when my Nightmare began. I took the 50mg, once a day, for about 5 days. And on the fifth day i started to get very depressed thoughts of death , suicide, i mean , just every thing bad. And take in mind i have never been a depressed person. You know i was so scared with feeling i was getting that i ran to the emergency room. They sedated me, and told me to get off the meds. So i stopped everything ,including the birth control. In fear that i would get these feeling back. about 2 days later i was feeling normal again. Thank God!!!! So after my whole episode with amitriptyln i started to get really bad panic attacks. I then made ANOTHER, appt. to see if they could talk to about how to control those. This doctor put me on Prozac Which was supose to control the panic attacks. And the PROZAC, was a million times worse than the 50MG OF AMITRIPTYLN. I took one pill of prozac at night , and then another about 9 am the next morning. And that day was just HORRIBLE. Thoughts suicide, death, i mean just awful , scary thoughts. So once again i ran to the emergency room. And they admitted me to observe me. And to see if we could put the pieces of the puzzle back together. When i got out the hospital i felt okay . But never the same. SO since then which has been about 4 months. It has been a roller coaster ride for me. I have good days and then i have my severe bad days.Which include severe panic attacks and obsessive thoughts about how i felt the day of the bad reaction to the meds, and just alot awful feelings of not knowing if im ever going to be the same again. And i have noticed more days come about a week before i start my period, and during the week of my period.. Im lost and dont know what to , or where to turn. I am so scared to take meds. Because they have such an opposite reaction to me.. if anyone can relate or give me some good positive advice, it would help me so much ,,, Thank you for taking the time to read. Even though ,it was really confusing......................................................Have a good day

Lyn,
Amitriptyline is an older anti-depressant.

Rosa,
I think it's very unlikely that the anxiety/suicidal type side effects resulted from the Yaz. You should talk to you GYN about it, but I just can't see them happening. Yaz can cause migraine, though, so perhaps that's something you would want to look into. There are lots of other BCP's out there, and maybe another one would be a better choice for you. One choice you might discuss with your doc is Nuvaring, since that one delivers the hormones locally & they mostly don't get into your bloodstream.

As for the mental health issues, I would say it is worth it to look into Serotonin Syndrome as a possible cause. You had such severe reactions, and that is rare. Were you sleeping some when you were having all those thoughts or were they just racing through your head faster & faster each day and most or all of the night? Did your family/friends notice anything different about you when you were on the Amitriptyline -- talking faster, eating more, rushing around everywhere? Sometimes a doctor who doesn't know you can misdiagnose Serotonin Syndrome as either an anxiety disorder or mania. It is an extraordinarily rare side effect of anti-depressants, but it can happen and often doctors don't even consider it when making a diagnosis since almost no one ever has it. If that's what happened, I can completely understand why you are so freaked out. I was a wreck before I understood what happened to me. I still choose to steer clear of anti-depressants, but I don't get all worried about other meds or about that I might just randomly develop those kind of rapid, unrelenting thoughts that I HAD to end my life. I know that I am in control of my thoughts & what I put in my body and that is enough for me. Hopefully you will find something to give you some peace as well.

take care,
frances

THANK YOU< THANK YOU,so much for getting back to me> I greatly appreciate your response in my post. Im glad im not alone any more. thank you, God Bless You

Things will get better, and we're all happy that you knowing that we're here for you helps. That's what it's all about! =)

Ross

I just want to thank you so much for replying to my post. You dont know how much it helps me. But, lately i have had my pleasant days and then my bad days. But i have noticed since i have been taking Valerian Root Extract , that it has helped me to calm down. I take one right when i wake up ,and one right before i go to sleep. But has anyone ever woke up with a panic attack? Because when my anxiety is bad. I wake up with my heart pounding, very nervous, instant diarrhea, and my mind is just racing. And when i wake up like that, its so hard to relax and move on from those feelings. But the real test will be if gets worse around my menstration, and that will let me know if it has anything to do with my hormones. Has hormones effected anyone's panic attacks? Everyone have a blessed day. You are all in my prayers

dear rose,
i too have experienced the frequent migraines that come from using Yaz. my doctor prescribed a different medication to control them, but a better anti-depressant in my opinion is Paxil.
you're not alone,
jaqi