Another victim symptoms and conditions

I am a 26yr-old, another victim of Yasmin.

My story's gonna be a bit long, but hope you can bare with it.
Please also forgive me for my incorrect grammer as English is not my mother tongue....but I hope I can get my message across to all of you.

Here it goes!

Ever since I had my first period at a late age of 18 (I was anorexic and severely underweight btw the age of 14-15 when I was supposed to start my mensus had I been healthy,,,,), my mensus had never been regular.

I only had about 3 full-fledged mensus per year, with occational spotting.
Apart from that, I was a happy, bubbly, cheerful lady.
Nevertheless, worried about the side effects of "not shedding", I made my first visit to the gyn.

The Dr. ultrascanned me.
Both my uterus and ovaries were normal in size.
She ran a blood test for my hormones and thryroid level.
They both came out fine.

So then she recommended me to take Yasmin, which will help to regularise my cycle and "shed" all the accumulated lining.

I was quite happy during my first box as I lost my water weight, and my skin cleared.

But then the nighmare began......

Half-way thru my second box, I suddenly became sooooo depressed.
Sure, I did have some ups and downs prior to taking Yasmin, but the ones I'm experiencing while on Yasmin is just beyond anyone's imagination.

Prior to taking Yasmin, I was confident with myself, which I believe made me an attractive person.

HOWEVER, ever since the onset of depression, I seem to have lost all the confidence in me.

All that "self-esteem" I used to possess is now GONE.

I feel so insecure about myself, and don't feel good about myself even when I'm in my favourite outfit.

Before Yasmin, I was so easily "turned-on" !: listening to my favourite tune turned me on, watching drama with my fav actors turned me on, thinking about what to have for dinner turned me on.... just about any thought was enought to mass-produce dopamine in my brain.

But these days, none of these make me happy.
Nothing makes me happy, but anything can make me go DOWN.

I've been off Yasmin for 5 days now.
I do feel slightly better than 5 days ago.
But I'm suffering from elevated heart beat around midnight, which is making me insomniac.

But my biggest concern is ;

WOULD I REGAIN THAT "GLOW" IN ME?
WOULD I REGAIN MY CONFIDENCE?

Also,

Is taking Evening Primrose Oil beneficial to regain my peaceful hormonal level?
Can I start taking EPO directly after stopping Yasmin?

By the way, I notice that I look older (as in aged) ever since taking Yasmin. Does BCP make you age faster? Or am I just imagining things out of depression?

PLEASE HELP....

Thank you for spending your time to read my story,,,,,,

Silke-
Hi, BitterRN here again (still bitter about yasmin too:)
But Im feeling better and I want to share with you my findings and thoughts about what I think about your situation. But first please dont ever hesitate to write me, I check in on this site pretty frequently to see how everyone is doing and it always breaks my heart to see another "victim" of science or someone who is still struggling with this nightmare drug.
So here is what I think, I think your testosterone is low still. I really believe this is the root of your problems I am almost sure of it. You see I think Yasmin suppresses testosterone. This is a side effect of most birth control pills, but I think Yasmin does it even more so. I am proof of that, I took ortho novum for several years, I had breakouts and oily skin as my body had always been this way even before bcp. Then I took yasmin, and yeah my skin had no more breakouts, no more oil, (and no more life in it.) I know for a fact that my testosterone became severely low. And with low testosterone comes all the symptoms you and all the people on this website have been complaining about, and I think the longer your on it the more symptoms develope, because your body is not getting this incredibly important hormone, the hormone responsible pretty much for anti-aging, muscle repair, sleep, sex drive, overall sense of well being. so I think symptoms start to appear one by one as the testosterone is decreased by the yasmin, and the thing I have noticed is that when testosterone starts to go down, anxiety goes way way up!!! I felt this myself, and friends who have been diagnosed with low testosterone have felt it as well, and everyone has said they felt like they were going crazy! Depression sets in. And then when yasmin is stopped its up to your body to replace all the hormones it was getting synthetically with hormones it now has to make. Again I feel this is harder with yasmin because it so severely depresses the androgens (testosterone)
Now your body is trying to balance your estrogen and progesterone and testosterone, and it seems to be unable to do it quickly let me show you my journey..
I stopped yasmin in Jan 06 I started regulating my hormones in april 06 my first testosterone level was 11 and normal is 20-50. God only knows how low it fell in the 3 months between. So april it was 11
may it was 15
july it was 21 (normal range)
I was starting to feel much better at the end of july. So the fact is as my testosterone has been going up, my body has been recovering. As well as the estogen and progesterone balancing out which cause a who new set of symptoms of their own when they are not in balance(menopausal symptoms frequently)
So this is what I am trying to get at Silke, I think your body has been working hard to get the testosterone up, and judging from your symptoms still ongoing, namely the muscle weakness, tiredness and weakness, and the anxiety, I feel very strongly that your body is having trouble getting this hormone to the level it needs to be for you to feel better (yes just like your old self) I have been supplementing with bioidentical testosterone, though I do not recommend this until you have seen a physician who will test your hormone levels and READ THEM CORRECTLY which is key here. I know you said you had your hormones tested before and that your testosterone was "Low normal"? Is that correct? But even if that is so what most people, and even most doctors do not understand is that a "low normal" reading on a woman in her 30's is NOT NORMAL. Thats normal for a woman in her 80's(and I bet she doesnt feel so hot either!)
I know it is hard to find a good doctor. But I happen to have stumbled across a good doctor here in Arizona and he has clinics all over the U.S. and even one overseas in Spain. Now I realize you live in Germany right? So I e-mailed them and asked if they had any other clinics in Europe. I will let you know when they get back to me.
Anyway here is what I found. Since I think your body needs a boost in testosterone (I mentioned this before but sometimes when bcp suppress testosterone for so long, the body kind of forgets how to make it again, so it may need some help) and I think this may be what is going on with you.. But the first step for you is getting your hormones tested to be sure what it is you are lacking and then having them read by a bioidentical hormone doctor, and then you may have to supplement with bioidentical testosterone, but do not be afraid Silke, this is not synthetic hormones like bcp it is identical hormones that your body makes and you will be supplementing not replacing.
Anyway on to what I found, Im sorry I get sidetracked....
These centers I found have a procedure called Sottopelletherapy. What they do is make a tiny incision in your hip or buttock area and insert a bioidentical hormone smaller than the size of a grain of rice with the hormone you are lacking, this is of course after they have tested your hormones and determined which one you are low in. Your body can then absorb the amount of hormone that it needs from this implant whenever it needs it.
But I really think you need a good doctor to test your hormones first and these doctors in these centers really understand hormones. Here is the name and address of the one I found in Spain:
Dr.***

If they e-mail me more info. I will let you know. But my friend who had many of the same symptoms as you silke, the feeling down, tired, anxious, muscle weakness, she went to this clinic (she is a nurse too) and had her hormones tested and they found her testosterone was very low (almost nothing) and she just had this procedure done. She has been on anti depressants for 3 years now as 90percent of the women who see this doctor are because they are mis-diagnosed as depressed (as are a lot of women on this website) and put on anti depressants. She is looking forward to getting off of them soon.
So the bottom line is I know yasmin drops your testosterone (I have seen it in myself) the thing is i think everyones body on this website is trying to replace this precious hormone, and everyones body, depending on age(because the body slows down in production of hormones and you dont make it as fast.) and just your particular situation (length of time on it, pre existing factors?) is just recovering at its own rate. However, I think the people who are taking a really long time(like a year or more) and experiencing setbacks as in your situation silke, need more help as your body cannot seem to fully restore testosterone levels that are normal for you. And I think only when this is balanced are you going to feel like the old you again.
So now I am the one who has written a book again, so write me back and let me know what you think. I hope I did not use too much medical talk. If so let me know and i will try to explain it better.
Look forward to hearing from you Silke,
BitterRN.

Hey all,
Just to update those of you who want to know how long it takes for yasmin to completely flush out of your system. There is no real answer to that. Just like each persons reactions to yasmin cannot be compared to someone elses, the same is with detoxification. Some of you got better within days or weeks, and then there are those who still struggle after months.
I for one am now 3 months post yasmin. Whilst on the pill my reactions were relatively minor. However since I came off it i've been cursing the day I went on it. I mentioned on another post that initially I started to take it to regulate my period as I had an eating disorder.....like in not wanting to gain weight.
I was very advanced in recovery when I stopped yasmin and shoot..........i gained 8 lbs in water weight within 3 days. No period for 3 months thereafter and I keep being congratulated upon my pregnancy...lol...
You could imagine what this does to my ego and let alone recovery. I just slid back to all my old habits.
Also I'm still experiencing heart palp every night/low libido in bed and it deprives me from my sleep. So at night it's the palps, by day its the water weight so I have neither night nor day.
Whoever has any hesitations of starting this pill, true not all bodies are alike, but after seeing so many people suffer immeasurably, why become another victim when there are so many other options out there!
This forum is great ladies. At least I have where to vent my frustrations and I hope you all have a speedy recovery soon.
Me-at my wits end.
Take care,
Sherry

Hi girls I have been reading your entries with great interest as I feel I may be yet another victim of the side effects of Yasmin. Since taking Yasmin just over a year ago I have been battling with my weight ( I put on near enough a stone in weight and my breasts jumped a whole cupsize!), feeling extremely panicky and being very emotional for about a week before my period is due to start, and really vicious after I go back on it.
It all came to a head last night when I made my partner call out the paramedics as I thought I was on the verge of a heart attack.( I'm 28!) Out of no-where my heart started racing and I became very faint and extremely aware of my heart beating - it was almost deafening! I had noticed a few months ago that this was happening but put it down to me smoking. Since then I have stopped smoking but the feelings are just the same!
The reason I switched to Yasmin was to try and help with acne, but I don't think it has really done that much. I have never felt so out of control of myself as I do on this pill. Prior to Yasmin I never suffered anxiety attacks, some days they are so bad that I have to take days off work as I can't get of the house.

I guess all contraceptive pills will have side effects but I can't wait to see my GP and get off this, it's just too scary!

Best wishes to all other Yasmin users, we all know what you are going through. XxX

Yes, I am another victim of Prednisone bait and switch. The dr assured me that the side effects were nothing. He was right: nothing to him... but a disaster for me. SO. I have moon face, dbl chin, buffalo hump, leg and hand cramps, some acne, and more ! The acne is controlled with Phisohex cleanser .. you might try that. And the moon face/dbl chin alway smake me feel like I am gagging or choking !

I did a month at 30 mg/day (15 in the am 15 in the pm).. then a month at 25 (12.5 and 12.5). And this week got the go ahead to taper down to 10/day over the next 2-3 weeks.

Rather than jump in 5's each week, Ill probably lower it 2.5 every 3-4 days to minimize the after shock (if that's even possible).

I haven't seen any post-prednisone posts. That is, now that you've lowered/abandoned/dropped or run away from prednisone willy nilly and screaming HOW ARE YOU? Did the side effects/adverse reactions go away (ie moon face .. buffalo hump, cramps, etc).

Let us know how you did .. how long it took.. how long it's been and if you still have effects.

THNX