Abstinence symptoms and conditions

Not only have I been experiencing horrible depression and moodiness from this drug, but this week I found out I'm pregnant!! I took 5 pregnancy tests and their all positive. I'm on this birth control and we used a condom so how the hell did that happen?? I'm 17 years old, a student, a model.. this pregnancy has turned my whole world upside down. I'm seriously considering suing this company!!!

Holy Moly...Basically I think all birth control methods suck, especially hormone based ones. Women always bear the brunt of the hideous side effects.
Used rhythm method for years, no problem. Conceived 2 kids when I wanted to. Afterwards, I thought Mirena would be good idea. AWFUL! Stupid thing poked him and me. OUT! Started Nuvaring 2.5 months ago. Sound familiar: Great for first month...I thought. Didn't fall out which was the big thing I had heard about. Now, noticing 1) weight gain despite running, tennis, etc. and following weight watchers. 2) Thin, brittle hair. 3) knee and joint pain which makes exercise hard (thought it was my sneakers) in addition to upper-thigh soreness. 4) IBS symptoms for first time in 38 years! Bloating, diarrhea, gas, etc. 5) trouble staying asleep despite fatigue 6) new level of fatigue 7) vaginal dryness which never had EVER before hormones! 8) increasing disinterest in sex.
So, yup, took it out yesterday after finding this site. NO more hormones for me! Abstinence or condoms, I guess. Geesh.

I have been using the Nuvaring for almost three years and I am thinking of taking it out in a few days and leaving it out for good. I never thought I had any real side effects until I started reading other people's reviews. I thought everything I was feeling was just me being me, but now I know better. Here is the long list of my side effects: weight gain, depression, severe anxiety, painful intercourse, discharge, itching, migraines, pimples, and zero sex drive. I have been with my boyfriend for almost three years. In fact, I got on birth control because we were beginning a serious relationship and I did not want to use condoms. Our sex life is nonexistent at this point. When we had sex is was good, but it was painful too. I am 27 years old and I have started having the attitude of "I could go the rest of my life without sex". I don't want my boyfriend to even touch me at this point and this is definitely putting strain on our relationship. Last night we were discussing the situation and he said to go off of birth control and we would use condoms. Like I said in the beginning I am taking it out. I am a bit anxious about going off birth control because I do not want any kids right now, but being on this birth control I am practicing another type of birth control abstinence. Doesn't make sense does it? The other side effects I mentioned are also affecting our relationship. This is a serious relationship, I am going to marry this man; we have picked out rings and that is why it is so important that I remedy this problem. The discharge side effect was putting a damper on our sex life in the beginning before I lost all interest. I never had a migraine in my life and rarely had even a headache, but I have had two migraines in the last few years and get headaches more often. I had a random pimple every once in a while, but now I have them everyday. I have gained weight and can’t seem to lose any. I wake up in the mornings with my mind racing due to the anxiety and I have not felt genuinely happy in a long time. The depression has made me even think of suicide several times and my life is fine. I am looking forward to being myself again. I hope this helps someone.

Since my daughter second gardasil shot she has become tired all the time, she passed out on November 10 and was taken to the doctor. She orderd an EKG, chest xray and blood work. They called me that night and said she has an irregular slow heart beat ( which she has never had before). We went to a heart specialist the next day, he did an echo cardiogram and said things looked fine. If she passed out again, for me to call him and he sent us on our way. Tonight, while she was walking at work, it happend again. We went to E.R. and basically were told to follow up with her doctors on Monday. She is supposed to get the third shot in December, now i am afraid for her to get it. Im wondering if her suddenly getting the slow irregular heart beat, and passing out, irregular period, and headache is connected to the Gardasil. She is 17 and a senior in High School, she was planning on going to college, but now she is afraid to be alone, drive, or do anything that typical teenagers do.

I'm so glad that I found this site because I was beginning to think that something was seriously wrong with me. I started taking Nuvaring almost 2 months ago. 5 more days and I can take it out...FOREVER!!!!

At first, I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread...and then the weight gain began. My husband said maybe it was just that I was eating junk. Maybe...so I started back on Weight Watchers. I can not lose a single pound, and when I have counted points in the past the pounds fell off the first week or two. I've gained 15 lbs since I started Nuvaring. The strange thing is that it is all just around my stomach. It is like a big spare tire. I've gained very little in the rest of my body.

I also noticed pretty bad cramping after I put it in. It was pretty much all the time, not just during certain parts of my cycle.

Then I started to get headaches. Not little headaches, but debilitating migraine headaches. The sensitivity to light is almost unbearable when I have one of these. Many times I find myself going to bed at 8 pm when I put my son to bed. Pretty much all I ever want to do is sleep. Sex? Nope, not interested. (Very different from how I was in the past.) Huh, I guess it works as birth control because it promotes abstinence!

The worst part is that I am soooooo depressed. Like major depression. I have usually been a pretty even keel personality, but since starting Nuvaring I find myself wondering what I have to live for. I've come to the conclusion that if it weren't for my husband or son, I'd rather just be dead. I've even found myself thinking about how I would want to die. It has gotten so bad that I haven't been to work in almost 2 weeks. I have so much anxiety that I actually feel scared to go. My husband finally called a doctor for me on Wednesday and I start therapy on Monday. I hope that the side effects will go away soon after I take the ring out, but I am very afraid that I might be like this for a while.

I question how so many of us have these HORRIBLE side effects and yet no one in the medical profession has even questioned whether something is amiss. It seems to me that I better just have another child and then have my tubes tied so I don't ever have to mess with all this awful birth control stuff again. (I was bad about taking pills on time, so I ended up having spotting most of the month, which kind of defeated the purpose.)

I'm thankful that I found this site and now I know that I am not alone!

I am thinking about going on NuvaRing. But after reading these posts i am very scared to do so. But i really need to get on birth control, i am 17 and i already have a one year old daughter and i don't need any more babies until after high school. I really don't know what to do guys! There are so many more cons than pros with the NR or that is what it sounds like, but maybe the women who use it and have little to no side effects just don't come on this site. Wow I'm so confused! Help!!

I've been using yaz for about 3 weeks; I am 27 years old and am a newly wed. I have seen a dramatic decrease in my sex drive, which, of course is a major issue for my husband and me. Since I have been on it, I have had no desire, not climax, nothing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-(

See, I'd really started to like it... it is the only hormonal birth control that I have tried that has not made me have frequent head and stomach aches- I've tried abstinence, the diaphragm, ortho, ortho lo, the ring, IUD, abortion, rhythm, withdrawal, the pill. No Avail.

...Oh, well, on to find another method- one that does give those of us who have issues with hormonal birth control headache and body aches, one that is simple, and does not kill embryos (thank you, Jesus)!

I Timothy 3:16
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
We serve a mighty God. Mighty enough to create the entire universe, and come down, as a man and live on His earth, still having all power in His hand, die, and rise again, leaving His spirit to dwell until He returns again.
What a mighty God we serve.

i am 14, and i have never use a nuvaring before but wanting to look for an easy to use contraceptive method, i had been doing it with the withdrawal method for 5 months now and wanting to consider using some sort of contraception... but i also want to know what food i can eat to reduce the risk of getting pregnant?

Okay, I am not on the NuvaRing, but I came across this site doing research because my sister was on it and had some side effects, and was thinking about going back on it to see if it was just her. After reading all of your replays to this type of BC, I am going to sum it up, HORMONES, you are outright playing with your hormones. Of course Dr.'s say it is a lower dose than the pill, which to them in a petri dish or chemical layout initially may be, but your inserting something into your system to absorb a chemical to change and alter your hormones that is left in place, aka: different mix of hormones and the bad thing is everyone's system is different on absorption - especially from a lab rat/mouse :) or person to person. What is one thing all women have in common and we all will complain about - our periods :) our cycle, and if you don't have one and are one of the unfortunate and not able to bear children I'm sorry for you :(, but you still have hormones and we all know we have "PMS" or some factor of it, and certain things bring more of it about - as well as those that are going through menopause or pre-menopause - it all deals with hormones....so basically when you mess with hormones; as you all can read here and other places on the web, they play a big deal in our day to day lives, our systems, and our overall chemical makeups - basically don't play with mother nature - just stick to either condoms or if your single go with the abstinence and then go and look for Pure Romance (I sell it :) or Slumber Party products...they're safer :) and cheaper :) and they don't talk back :) LOL..had to throw that in there...I am no doctor, but the more I read here look at all your "common symptoms" that should be a clue to everyone using this that it is NOT a safe product and we need to quit being GUINEA PIGS, geez, this one goes inside you and is a slow release but if your stressed or depressed it's going to effect the absorption rate...I could keep going...but I'll stop because I hope you get the picture..... Well everyone take care and watch your diets, stay away from synthetic hormones and vitamins, eat well because it plays a huge roll in all you do!! :)...ldfangman

I JUST started Loestrin 24 Fe (day one) and have been reading many articles and websites (anything from the literature in the research journals to the Mayo Clinic posts). I have just read through this entire site and took in all the feedback from the women who have shared the side effects. I have NEVER taken BC until now. I am trying it to keep monthly bleeding and mood swings to a minimum. BUT, I see some serious side effects (depression, acne, weight gain) - these seem worse than just dealing with the monthly symptoms and taking some pain relievers.

Should I STOP? Any advice from veteran birth control users?
Michele

I have been taking Yasmin for about 6 months now. So far, so good. I haven't noticed any side effects yet. Before taking Yasmin, I had the hormone implant Implanon for almost 3 years. During that time I had gained a lot of weight, I was really bloated. My face looked swollen and my tummy was huge that people thought I was pregnant. I also had mood swings, feeling tired all the time, occasionally having pain in my tummy and others. Since having it taken out and being on the Yasmin pill, the weight has come off and I have felt better. I hope this will last. As I read here about the side effects and when I start to have it, i'll have to look for advice again. I hope there will be a better alternative besides abstinence.....

When a class action lawsuit is filed, let me know....this drug should be taken of off the market immediately. We started all of this with an OB/GYN that prescribed this “miracle pill” and now have had to go not only to our primary doctor, but also a psychiatrist, gastrenologist, college campus counselors, psychologists, psychiatrist, and the campus medical doctors; All the while, accumulating enormous doctor bills. All the doctors say, "No, Yasmin won't cause those problems" (except the college campus doctors..wonder why? Hmm.. could it be that they are not in private practice?)....well, I beg to differ. Everyone needs to give this website to their doctor so the doctors can hear from the patients that have taken this drug, and not listen to the pharmaceutical companies that are pushing this drug to be the "miracle pill". Maybe if enough people complain and go to the media, we can get rid of this drug!
My daughter who is 18 was put on Yasmin because of irregular periods, hormonal imbalance, etc. We were told it was the new “miracle pill”. It will make you loose weight, regulate your periods, clear up acne, you name it, it will fix it. Yeah, right.
She started taking this pill in March 2007. She was off at college but called to tell me she was experiencing horrible headaches, behind the eyes. She complained about her stomach hurting, but we just figured it was the stress of freshman year at college. Then she said she got where she couldn’t eat when she went to a restaurant. When she came home in May for the summer, I noticed a total personality change. For example, she was always a neat freak, and now she wouldn’t clean her room. The first day when she drove home, she started crying she was so mad about the traffic. Yes, she has always had a little road rage, but this was ridiculous.
By June, not only could she not be in crowds, like at a restaurant, but now she is having full blown panic attacks and IBS. We called the OBGYN and they said, “Yasmin won’t cause this, go see your primary doctor”. I knew that the only thing that had changed with her was taking the YASMINE. I knew it had something to do with all of this so I “Googled Yasmin” and this website (http://www.medications.com/se/yasmin) was the first one I looked at. All of her symptoms matched everyone else’s! I am so glad we found this website, it explained everything and I had her to stop Yasmin immediately.
So we went to the primary doctor, explained about the Yasmin and how we thought it was the culprit of everything. Of course this doctor also says, “Yasmin won’t cause that”. We told him to look it up on the internet and see how there are over 3000 complaints on this drug, more than any of the other drugs on the market.
Besides the emotional problems she starting having, her pulse and blood pressure was sky high, so he puts her on medicine for that, and puts her on an anxiety medicine and sends her to a psychiatrist. She is very thirsty all the time, and develops IBS. She can’t eat without having pains in her stomach. So, now we’ve have gone from having just irregular periods, to all of the above, plus a psychiatrist.
The psychiatrist doubles her medicine (and puts her Pamine for the IBS) because the panic attacks are gone, but she still is having a lot of nervousness, anxiety, can’t sleep at night, crazy thoughts, worrying all the time, etc. A month later he changes her medicine again, to Effexor. The first 2 weeks, she does okay, but the packet doubles the strength after 2 weeks. It takes 4 weeks for it to take full effect. Right after she doubles this medicine, it is like her senses are on hyper-mode. She can taste everything that is in her food (chili powder, seasonings, etc…), taste the metal in water, and she can hear someone’s phone vibrating, in another room.
Then she goes back to college at the end of August 2007, and it’s horrible. The Effexor is having bad, bad side effects. We called the psychiatrist that she was using at home and he doubled the dose. That was the worse thing they could’ve done. The side effects were worse than ever. I had her to immediately go to a psychiatrist on campus. She told him the whole story and he believed her! Needless to say we switched doctors. He then lowered her dose back down to ½ a dose and hopefully can slowly get her off of all this medicine.
The newest thing she has developed is being hypoglycemic. The campus psychiatrist sent her to a campus medical doctor and he told her that they would get to the bottom of this. He tested her for everything under the sun. Low blood sugar is the only thing they found. But, she hasn’t taken the Yasmin since May. No telling what the results would have came back like if it was done at the time she was taking Yasmin.
Thank goodness she has counselors and doctors there at the campus that believes that Yasmin can cause all of these problems, and are working with her. From what I have read from the people that have used this medicine, although most doctors do not agree, Yasmin takes like 6 months to get out of your system. I think I am going to believe the testimonials of the people who take this medicine, over a doctor who prescribes it.
If everyone goes to the media, their doctors, the FDA, congressmen, and make them aware of these horrible effects, surely we can get this drug off of the market! Does anyone know a class action lawyer that would pursue this? For my child to have to go through all of this is ridiculous, not to mention costly. What do we know of the long term effects this drug will have if it is doing all of this when you first start taking it?
If you have the same concerns as me about this drug, and would be interested in looking into a class action lawsuit, please email: ****** I would be interested to see how many would want to pursue this.