Agnus castus symptoms and conditions

I started the pill when i was 14, trying to control my cramps and acne. I have now been on the pill for 4 years. I constantly felt depressed and "blocked" in everything in my life. I gained over 40 pounds in my adolescence and never knew why. I'm taking control of my life now and have lost about 20. I went off the pill about a month ago and I can say with all of my being it was the best move i ever made. Then the acne came. I was devastated. I went back on and feel blocked again. My weight loss has come to a fault and my cravings are out of control. I am going back off of the pill again immediately. However, i don't want my acne to come back. Does anyone know of a great way to control it? creams don't really work for me so I'm not sure what to try. Mabye an herbal remedy? Any suggestions??

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.

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

hi sylvia,
i am 32 years old. my symptoms also seem to be worse around 10-12 days before my period.....this is due to the natural change in hormone levels but as i am sure you have figured out our hormone levels are no longer normal after taking yasmin! i had all my levels checked recently and although they were in "normal" range they were all low end normal. i seemed to have developed hightened pms symptoms (i'm talking about the clinical definition not the ..ohhh i feel a bit pmsie type!) if you look up pms or pmdd you will notice a lot of similarities and i'm sure that as most of your other symptoms have settled down now you only really notice a major change during ovulation/menstruation. i never had pms before i took yasmin but now i do,in fact many of the symptoms i had at my worst time on yasmin are also similar to a really really extreme case of pms. Anxiety symptoms are also part of pms it is called pmsa if you suffer anxiety as a major factor in your monthly symptoms and pmsd if you suffer depression as a major symptom. i think that once your hormones get back into their natural balance you will start to really see an improvement. i have started taking a low dose of agnus castus to try to balance my hormones out...will post how i get on with it.

sorry for the marathon post... to the lady who says she has just been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and prescribed lexapro...i was also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder whilst on yasmin,i was given diazepam.they did nothing to help me. i have never tried lexapro so cannot comment on it. but i tried many congnitive therapies to try to improve my condition. of the many great things i learnt along the way here are a few tips that will help.
keep yourself distracted at all times,sing,dance,read a book,phone a friend,wash the dishes...whatever just keep busy.when your brain is busy it is not anxious.
drink loads of water,take a supplement of magnesium,zinc,b6 and b complex. don't give in to your fear, be bold,day dream as much as you can about happy things and think positively at all times,if you think a negative thought replace it with a positive.your brain will soon get the hang of it. it all sound a bit touchy feely but i promise it all works,i have tried everything to heal myself without medical intervention as i know the yasmin i was prescribed caused my problem because within a month of stopping taking it i was feeling much less anxious. yours could be due to your hormones being out of whack. as your doctor to check your levels. look up symptoms of high estrogen/low progesterone.

best wishes to you all.

sarah

hi sophie,
i don't have pcos but i did get menstraul spots,i would get half a dozen or so really nasty cystic spots that were really big and sore and would leave scars. when i went onto yasmin my spots cleared up like yours. i have been off it for 7 months now too. my spots have been back for about the last 4 months,especially around the front of my ears for some reason,it is quite bad there. i get a monthly flare up around my mouth and chin also. i have been using clearasil to keep my skin clean clean and oxy spot on for topical treatment. i have also been using ketsugo gel morning and night. i believe that the doctor can prescribe stronger lotions and potions. spironalactone is also meant to help with acne etc but have not tried it as drosperinone in yasmin was meant to be similar and i am nervous about taking any component of yasmin as i do not know what caused all my anxiety problems, i expect it was the high levels of hormones but i don't feel strong enough yet to test it out! i have just started taking agnus castus which is meant to be very good for hormonal problems,luteal phase defects etc and also acne. why not google it? there may be some info that will help you decide if it will help you. It is very distressing to have hormone related acne and i really sympathise with you sophie. it seems that just as we win one fight something else lines up to give us a kick!

best wishes to you.
sarah

hi all,
just a quick update,i went to see my gp today. i had some test done last month,i had fsh,testosterone and progesterone. i was tested on day 3 of my cycle. according to my gp my results were all "normal" but in the low end of normal. so basilcally i have low levels of the major hormones. my period came this month after 29 days which is an improvement on the 33-38 days i have had since i came off yasmin. I am still experiencing problems in the 10-12 days leading up to my period but they basically seem like really exaggerated forms of pms. i am going to try adding some agnus castus (vitex) to my list of vitamins to see if that will help. will keep you all posted!

silke.
let us all know how you get on with your results and how you are feeling.

I've just stopped taking Yasmin after about 8 months. Everything was ok for the first few months but then i started suffering from loss of balance and generally feeling 'not with it'. Also suffered mood swings, crying one minute and flipping out another. For some reason i seemed to have put on weight round my middle? I do aerobics 3 times a week and watch what i eat so i dont think it's anything i'm doing. Has anyone else had this happen to them. My weight has gone up about 8lbs. Have made decision not to take Yasmin for a while and see what happens. Have armed myself with a jar of Agnus Castus and St John's Wort to help my body. Will be using cap for contraception as i have used it before. Well here goes!!

Hi,

I went on Yasmin when I was 19 for 2 years and never had any adverse side effects that I was aware of. My skin improved and people started asking me if I had lost weight alhtough I didn't change my diet/exercise regime (thanks to the diuretic in it). I went off the pill for 1 year, then went back on it 3 months ago, because me skin had been steadily declining, and being off the pill was the only connection I could make.

But this time, my skin didn't get any better. I've been getting large, very red, painful pimples unlike anything I've had before, and in random areas like my cheeks and even around my mouth and chin. I went on a minocycline, a mild antibiotic, for 6 weeks to help my face, and it got somewhat better, but whenever I would cycle, my face would seem to explode right on time with more of these painful pimples. I just finished the antibiotics and will not be taking them anymore since it didnt help that much, and I'm worried about the levels of Candida (yeast) in my body, which can also contirbute to acne and other health problems.

I'm starting to think that maybe now my body is just reacting differently to Yasmin then the first time I was on it. Although my skin in this last year that I'd been off it, I think I've traced these new, worse pimples to being back on Yasmin. And after reading posts here and on aphroditewomenshealth.com, I'm stopping Yasmin right now for good. I'm going to deal with my skin using natural methods.

Here's some suggestions for natural supplements that I've gathered from other posts to balance hormones and help adult acne in the process. I'm going to look into them right away.

Agnus Castus
Chasteberry (Vitex) extract
Progesterone Cream
Evening Primrose Oil

I've also started taking Acidopholus supplements to reverse the damage to the good bacteria in my body from the antibiotics, trying to keep the Candida in check. And I'm drinking 3-4 ounces of Goji juice a day, which is supposedly really powerful stuff for all kinds of health problems. One of my professors claims that Goji juice is the only thing that's successfully balanced her hormones now that she's going through menopause.

Hope this helps...Interested to hear if anyone else has had bad acne problems from Yasmin.

@lisa:

That sounds great!! I feel so happy for you (and your husband ;-) !! :) Isn't it, as if you just recognized, that your husband is a MAN and not just a PERSON... I remember that I felt this way, it was very strange somehow!

Well, now I remember, you've asked me about Agnus Castus a few posts before.

Yes, I had been taking that stuff for about half a year (from July to December 2005), but in my case I fear it hasn't helped as it should have. I still didn't get a period since easter 2005. Just the mental problems seemed to get easier to cope with under Agnus Castus. But I think this might be different between us both, because I see you have a normal period already again?

I think it's worth a try and should not do any harm to you, especially not like our "dear" Yasmin did....!

The only thing they say here in germany, that the libido might get a little bit down again under agnus castus (here it's also called "monk's pepper" because in former times they had given it to monks (so the history says) to help them being chaste...) In my case the first few months on it that didn't happen at all, but the last 2 months or so I slightly felt, that my libido went down a little bit... But this is also a thing that doesn't have to happen to you, too!!

So go on like this and I promise the sun will shine again someday, every day a little bit longer and more intensive, as you already notice!

Best wishes to you and everyone out there again!!

Silke

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

post- Yasmin effects: i also had panic attacks when i went off yasmin but they subsided after a week. my apetite is insatiable, but i also run almost every day. has anyone else experienced this?

suggestions- i took these drops of Agnus castus, it's a fruit derivative I think and you can get it at any health food store. it's supposed to regulate your cycle. I dont know if it made a difference but it made me feel better mentally.

Also, for the hair loss- nothing can change that, but I bought this shampoo from Lush called cynthia stout that made my roots "fluffier" adn look less...thin...

sickofbeingsick- i'm off the pill. i'll never go on it again. i practice safe sex and have a prescription for the morning after pill. people liveed without the pill for thousands of years! i completely know how you feel. my only advice is to get off yasmin and rid your body of the craziness asap!! keep us updated pls!

Hi Sherry,

well, I found this woman by searching over www.google.de. That's where I go, when I'm totally down again (and believe me, it's NOT only a FEW days a month but much more often!!!) and don't know how to go on with all that sh....

There I type in my problems and see, what results I get. And that's how I found this woman (I typed in something like "weight gain" and "getting off bcp", well, just in german words). She wrote her story in a German forum about bcps, just similar to medications.com.

Perhaps this could be a way to help you, too, just to search google or another search engine to find much more women who perhaps have gone through the same as we do, and hopefully are back to normal weight and mental feelings again....

Well, Agnus Castus didn't help that good as I would have wished. Didn't get my period, yet, even after taking Agnus Castus over 4 months now... Perhaps it has eased up the mental problems a little bit, but I can't say if time would have eased up this problems by itself even without Agnus Castus as well...

I think within the next 2 months I will have to go again to my gyn and see, what we can do next... There is a new therapy here in Germany, don't know if in USA too, but I think so. They give you a medicine called "metformin", which is usually given to help for diabetes and such. It shall bring your hormones back in balance and help for pcos. My doctor already in July mentioned this as another chance for me, if Agnus Castus won't help getting my period. I don't know what to do, because I'm really afraid of any kind of chemical medicine after this horror trip with Yasmin...

Perhaps this metformin maybe another chance either for you Sherry; eventually you should ask your doctor about that, too or search the internet for more information about that.

All the best and big hugs to everybody!!

Silke

Hey Silke,

BTW where did you read about that woman? Oh what would I do without you guys and this post. Thanks so much for your kind advice. I was wondering, I remember you said that you took agnus castus. Did this help you?

Love to all!
sherry

To Julie,

My advice to you is simple....GET OFF YASMIN NOW. Please dont waste any more time and bother seeing out the three months. Take it from me who was on Yasmin for a year before I started suffering heart palpitations, severe anxiety and panic, severe depression (never having suffered any of this before)...I wanted my world to end when I'd always been a positive person who loved my life. The only change was YASMIN.

I stopped Yasmin in Feb this year after making the connection to my 'loss of spirit' and this evil pill. It took me 8 months to feel completely back to myself, with the help of a herbal rememdy called 'Agnus Castus' to rebalance my hormones.

Consider yourself lucky to have experienced these symptoms fast enough to stop it immediately and not have to endure such a long time before you are feeling your old self.

I finally feel like me again now. My family and friends notice the old 'mel' again as well. Every month I'd feel a little better, but it has taken this entire time for the anxiety (panic, horrible thoughts etc) to stop.

Good luck and god bless everyone going through the hell of Yasmin. Believe me, I know what you are all going through/ This site was my life line for a few months when no one else really understood how psychotic this pill had made me, and how long it took for it to get out of my system.

xxxooo

Hello There,

As someone who has now been off Yasmin for 7 months and suffered from acute anxiety from week 4 after getting off it, I can honestly say it has takent his entire time to feel like the 'old me'.

Another piece of advice for the lady worrying herself about a tumour, all of us who have suffered from anxiety and panic know that rationality does not always over power the irrationality of our thoughts, fears and 'what if's'. I would recommend you actively seek out medical advice to assure yourself that you do not have a tumour. I don't believe you do, but know how strongly your fears take over your life. It is better to take action and work through these fears then try and ignore them. The worst thing you can do with anxiety is let it rule your life and stop you from living it. You need to actively participate in everyday life to 'sensitise' yourself to it.

Believe me I know how hard life is when you are suffering from this. I also know how easy it was to shut down, not leave the house and just 'exist'. I now know that I always felt better when I pushed myself to experience things that I was fearful of (things mind you that I'd previously never feared...until Yasmin of course!).

Again I'd recommend anyone suffering from anxiety have their hormone levels checked, as low progesterone plays a major role in this. Our progesterone levels are so high when we are taking Yasmin that when we stop taking it they dive down. Herbal remedies such as Agnus Castus can be of assistance.

Warning about magnesium supplements. I started taking them about 3 months after I'd finished Yasmin as I was desperate for the anxiety to go and had heard they could help....unfortunately after a week on them I suffered 3 full days of complete panic and as a result had to stop. Be careful.

Another tip...STOP ALL CAFFIENE. This helped me a huge deal.

Goodluck all and god bless :)

Hi guest 13001, Hi sherry, hi everybody!!

Well, thanks at first to sherry for reporting your experience with the water pill. I'm so sorry, that it didn't work for you. You said you were only one week on it; should it help within such a short time? I would wish for you, it would help maybe after taking it longer because I'm at my wits end at the moment, too and really know what you're going through!! I feel terrible!!

Looking into a mirror is absolutely horrible for me, going out for shopping or even do some garden work if some of my neighbours are in their gardens, too, seems to be so frightening for me because I'm so ashamed about how I'm looking now and I don't want anyone to see me in such a shape...

I really have gained about 20 pounds after getting off Yasmin within 3 months!!!! I swear I wasn't eating more or doing anything different than before. Don't know what to do now, because I look like I'm pumped up with tons of water and all this doesn't seem to go away....

To Sherry:

I've been on Agnus Castus for nearly 2 months now but I can't say that there are really big noticable changes in me. Ups and downs just like before Agnus Castus, the water didn't go away and the mood swings and anxiety neither. But it all got less month by month just like the months off Yasmin before Agnus Castus.

Well, many women and doctor's say, that you have to take this medicine much longer (about 3 - 4 months) to feel some really noticeable changes. So I think I'll give it another chance and take it 2 months longer. It didn't do any harm to me so far, so what have I got to loose??

After lots of research in the internet I'm now taking other supplements, too. At the moment such like potassium, Magnesium, zinc (can help to bring your normal cycle back!) and b-vitamines (very important for nerves and muscles!). Yasmin can cause a lack of these minerals and vitamines (caused by the diuretic in Yasmin!!) and too low levels of all that can cause the muscle fatigue, anxiety, depression and so on. All the withdrawal effects off this horror pill... So perhaps it maybe another chance.

Many women I've met in the net got a prescription by their gyn of Agnus Castus combined with zinc, selen and b-vitamines which should help to get your hormones back in balance and lessen all the other symptoms. Well, it's a little hope, so I'll just try it!!

But deep in my heart I just feel, that it will take much more time for me, than it already did, to get back to a normal life... I really had been taking this shit much too long...

So please every woman, every girl out there: If you have the SLIGHTEST doubt about how you're feeling on Yasmin and if there is just ONE little side effect: THROUGH YASMIN AWAY IMMEDIATELY and search for another birth control. There are so many ways to do that; the little positive effects of Yasmin (well, my skin had really gotten better, that's all... wow!!) are not worth risking your health or even your lives in such a heavy way!!! I still don't know, if I will ever get back to a normal life, on some days I still just can't believe that I would...

All the best to everyone out there and keep us updated, "After Yasmin Sisters"!!! It helps so much!!!

Big hugs and greetings to all of you!!

Silke

To the last post:
Anxiety is a major withdrawal side effect once off Yasmin. It has now been close to 7 months for me and I am now feeling ALOT better, but I admit it has been a very slow road to recovery. Be sure to explain how you're feeling to those close around you, as they need to be able to support you through this. You feel like you're 'losing it' sometimes when in fact you are the same old you, but just effected by the low level hormones.

The anxiety is due to your low progesterone level now you are off Yasmin. I'd recommend you have your levels checked out. I am now on Agnus Castus to help re-balance my hormones. I wished I hadnt waited until now to do this, as I may have speeded up this whole process.

You will find you will have good and bad days with this, according to your cycle. The important thing to remember is that you will get better, and the anxiety will go.

Like I said, see a doctor (preferably one that specialises in womens health, and therefore will not ignore your symptoms or disregard them).

A message for voicei...Hi, I've read your posts alot, and we have been leading very similiar lives for a long time it seems with all this (I too have posted alot). I just wanted to ask you how you have been once on the Agnus Castus...did any of your symptoms get worse before they got better? I have only been on it 10 days and on the whole have felt ok, but just wanted your thoughts about it so far...thanks.

Big hugs to all.

Hello All,

To the recent posts about losing hair. I can imagine this would be very alarming for you. The loss of hair after Yasmin appears to be very common and is most likely due to your bodies attempt to re-balance your hormones. Yasmin decreases your testosterone/oestragen and increases your progesterone. When you come off it, your body automatically tries to re-balance these levels causing your testosterone and oestrogen levels to sky rocket, and your progesterone levels to plummet. These hormones are the reason that so many of us have an increase in libido, increase in water retention, increase in anxiety and last but not least, hair loss.

I would recommend that anyone off Yasmin have a blood test (specific to check your hormone levels...usuallly conducted on day 21 of your cycle). Any 'average' blood test will not show these important indicators.

I had the above test last week (almost 7 months after getting off Yasmin as I was still not feeling 100%) and it showed exactly the above....my testosterone was high, my progesterone was low. I have now started the herbal 'Agnus Castus' to re-balance these levels, and assist in my 'recovery'. I just wished I had done this test months ago.

Any doctor that is not able to link your symptoms to your hormone levels is not looking properly. See a doctor that specialises in womens health. A typical GP is unlikely to look deep enough.

Good luck and big hugs to all.

to the guest below (12639):

Well, I got the same problems as you after getting off Yasmin (water retention -> absolutely horrible!! feeling bloated, no period since February this year, and so on) and was put on agnus castus by my gyn, whom is a homoeopath (sorry, do you say so in english??), too.

But it takes about 2 - 3 months until you feel some changes with this medicine, because it's natural and (thanksgod) not chemical at all!! So today I'm not able to say, if it really works or not, I've been on it for 7 weeks now. So far I already felt some changes in my head and my body but not constant positive changes. I think it might take a few weeks longer until I really can say something about this medicine.

But so far no side effects, and after being on Yasmin this was ONE BIG reason for me deciding to take agnus castus. I really have got nothing more to loose, so what!??

Well, if you're taking some other medicine at the moment I would ask the doctor before taking agnus castus. I don't know if there are some interactions between it and other drugs.

Keep us updated on how you're doing. I'm reading this forum every day for new postings because it can help so much during all this after Yasmin symptoms, which are still there!!

All the best to you out there!!

Hi,
For those of you who mentioned using agnus castus, I was wondering if I should also go in that direction. I have posted several times here about all my symptoms after quitting yasmin. The biggest is not getting my period and extreme bloating and water retention. (I was only 4months on yasmin.)
My gyn just put me on provera as i'm now on day 75 and no period yet. However I am going crazy w/ this water retention. It's not easing up and seems determined to make me mad. So I was thinking if i should go on this vitex thing since I'm reading what some of you wrote about taking them. Will it relieve my bloating. Do I need to ask a doctor about it??

Hi Lou!

Well, not easy to give you some advice in stopping Yasmin or not. In my case this pill worked fine for about 2 years, I thought this was my wonder pill and then every horrible symptom hit me nearly at once!!

But just one thing: It seems to be (after reading many many posts and mails of women who nearly were ruined by Yasmin!!), that Yasmin especially in women who were already a little bit clinical to depression or anxiety prior to taking Yasmin (like PMS), is having these heavy side effects mentioned by some women here (especially depression, anxiety, dizziness, etc.). So I'd really be careful with this medicine!!

I posted several times in this forum about my 8 months long horrible hell (and prior to these months about 3 years being "not really fit and healthy") with this pill and I don't want to tell everyting again, but please please be very careful with that sh...!!! You really should hear what your body tries to tell you!! There are so many other bcp on the market, that there should any other for you, that works better and with less heavy symptoms than this hellsent drug!!

I'm taking Agnus Castus, too (for about 6 weeks now), because I did just get one regular period after getting off Yasmin in February to help my hormones getting back in balance and help to get off all the water my body had retained after getting off Yasmin. I just know, that it takes about 3 months until you feel some effects of this medicine. So I think you should just try and see!! It absolutely can't be that bad as Yasmin, you can be sure about!!

All the best to you and please think twice before taking this pill on an ond, just somehow "dealing" with the problems brought on by it! There are many better ways for your life than this!!!

Greetings from Germany and sorry, if my English isn't that good as I would wish it was! :)

@guest 12599:

You wrote, that you think agnus castus might help very good for moodiness and so on. I was put on Agnus Castus a month ago because since getting off Yasmin in Feburary I only had one regular period around easter and then no more and I'm completely bloated and pumped full with water and so on! But I still don't feel any big changes in my symptoms, caused by the hormone imbalance after Yasmin.

Did you take Agnus Castus, too, and if so, then how long did it take for you to feel an improvement??

Most doctor's say, that it might take about 2 or 3 months taking Agnus Castus until you feel a change in your symptoms (well, after all it's a natural medicine), but I've already gone through a very very hard and long time WITH horrible symptoms brought on by Yasmin so I don't have much patience to wait any longer getting my hormones back in balance and feeling like my old self at least!

Would be very helpful to hear from you again!! Thanks!!

@ fairsjk:

It is DEFINITELY not enough to be off that Yasmin shit for 6 weeks to fully recover!!!

I've been off that drug now for 5 months (!!) and I'm still not really back to normal!! Especially the mental symptoms take much more time to get back to a normal level!! I know what I'm saying!! But at last there are very good days between the worse days. Well, but everyone should give it much more time that a few weeks or months.

My research in the internet and talking to my family doctor brought out that it might take nearly a YEAR to be back to 100% normal. That depends on how good your hormonal system is working. Therefore ( and unfortunately in my case...!) it may take a pretty long time until the hormones are finally back in balance again and all the symptoms brought on by Yasmin may disappear.

Just stay strong everybody, there are better times ahead!!!

I'm now taking a natural medicine called "Mönchspfeffer" here in Germany (other name: Agnus Castus) which should help to get the hormones back in balance a little bit faster and lighten symptoms of PMS, such as depression, water retention, headaches, and so on. I've been on it just for a week so that I can't already really say if it works. It's a natural medicine, so it may take about 3 months to see it it's really effective and working good for me. Maybe it's just a little hope for some of us.

All the best to you out there!!