Beautiful skin symptoms and conditions

I've been on Loestrin for four months now. Previously, I had a hormonal IUD, which was in for 2 months and I had it taken out because I had HORRIBLE HORRIBLE side effects. Cystic acne, had my period the whole time it was in, it stabbed my boyfriend when we had sex, made me incredibly depressed, I sobbed myself to sleep every night, and then the icing on the cake was when it started to slip out, but then got embedded in my cervix halfway through and caused me intense pain that wasn't helped at all by any pain medication, over the counter or under the table ;)

So then I switched to NuvaRing. I had that for two months. First it gave me a yeast infection. It also caused intercourse to be very painful, my boyfriend could feel it when we had sex, and I could feel it at all times. It also made me INSANE. I didn't trust anyone, was a total paranoid freak, and at one point I locked myself in the bathroom screaming and crying because I thought my boyfriend was trying to kill me. I was pretty close to actually hallucinating. I would describe my side effects with NuvaRing as similar to paranoid schizophrenia.

Then I was on Ortho Tri-Cyclen, which gave me a migraine every single day which once again was incurable by any drug. So I was only on that for a few days.

Since then I've been on Loestrin. I am not completely happy with it, but I've stuck it out because compared to side effects of other hormonal birth control, they've been relatively mild. If I miss a single pill, I'll get my period, but true to form, they only last three or four days at the most. Before I started birth control, I hardly ever got cramps, but on Loestrin I get pretty bad ones. The worst thing is my skin. When I wasn't on birth control, I had beautiful skin. Maybe the week before my period I'd get one pimple that cleared up quickly with spot treatment, but now I have between 10 and 20 big, red, angry pimples on my face at all times. I've spent literally hundreds of dollars on Proactive, Neutrogena SkinID, Mario Badescu, UV acne "zappers," and many many other face washes, lotions, masks, scrubs, etc, but NOTHING helps. The weird part is that for the first 2 months I was on Loestrin my skin was fine. It wasn't until the past month and this month that it's been a problem.

I'm going to wait it out for at least another 2 months to see if my body gets used to it and my skin calms down, but if these flare ups last longer than that I'm going to have to try something else. I don't want to unnecessarily switch pills because I've had such horrible results in the past that I'd kind of rather stick to the devil I know.

I would also estimate that once or twice a month, I get a killer migraine. I assume it's related to the Loestrin because I used to get them only once or twice a year. The only thing that helps with them is going to sleep, usually with the help of a couple Tylenol PM or 5 or 6 Benadryl or Dramamine. To give you an idea, the first month on Loestrin when I got a migraine, I took 2 Excedrin Migraine, 2 Excedrin Tension Headache, 2 aspirin, 4 Motrin, 2 Tylenol, 1 Aleve, AND 1 Percocet over the course of 6 hours, and it did not help ONE BIT. I hope that this will also improve over time.

I never thought I would ever be posting my experience with BC but I think this could be useful to other women worldwide. I have been using Yasmin now for a year and a half and I agree with everyone here at the beginning I felt great, beautiful skin, controlled short term periods, stable weight. My body changed in all the right places. My breast turned a cup larger (I was a 34B) my buttocks got larger and rounder. My boyfriend was enjoying the changes as much as I was!! I thought this was the perfect pill for me and I actually recommend it to all my friends. Things started changing for me about three months ago. I started to feel tired, I use to work out 5 times a week now I can't even work out one. My eyesight started to change, I started getting cramps in my legs at night, my legs started feeling heavy as if I was losing circulation, fast heartbeat, and the occasional migraine to top it all of. Then I found the commercial about the lawsuit on TV and I panicked!! I googled the lawsuit and I found this websi

te and after reading everything here I went straight to my Dr. this afternoon with all my side effects. I am 39 now 18 on diferent types of BC and up until now I have been a very healthy and active person. When I read everything here I was decided to get off thie pill inmediately. But here goes what my Dr. said: (I trust his opinons because he is a friend and has been my obgyn for the last 15 years) " first Yasmin is the best hormone BC on the market, very women has different side effects and giving me another pill wouldn't solve my problem. I could actually get worse. He gave my the option of going of the pills but asked me if I was ready for all the changes that would bring. Weight gain, acne, anxiety, depression etc. Another option he suggested I try was taking an antioxidant complex, omega 3, and lecithin. All natural supplements which he firmly believes will make me feel much better, help my circulation, and minimize the side effects. I will start this treatment tomorrow and stay on the Yazmin for at least another month. PS. My health is in perfect conditions after blood tests and sonograms. thank God!! I will keep everyone posted on my progress. And I hope this is useful to all you ladies. God bless!

i had the mirena put in in late march 2009...i HATE the MIRENA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had it removed 2weeks ago...i look like like im 20 months pregnant....my breast are swollen...im normally a b cup...now im a 38 c....i've gained about 20 lbs or more...and i HAD beautiful skin...i now have acne...and the pimples will not come to a head...i bled every day that i had it , sometimes heavy some times light and it would be at least for 3 weeks and then i would have either a yeast infection or a bacterial infection the 4th week and i was not sexually active...then the day after i had it removed i had to be rushed to the E/R i thought i was bleeding to death..i passed clots and tissue...i hate that i had this thing in my body....i had the paraguard i.u.d for 9 years with no problems...but you ladies are accurate in calling the mirena EVIL......it must have come from hell.......thank god for this site...im happy to know its not just in my head

I had mirena inserted in Feb 2008. I experienced the whole bleeding for 4 months and then it finally stopped. By stopped i mean no bleeding at all, just strange brownish discharge that would last for maybe two days. I was extremely irritable all of the time, and my sex drive was non-exsistant. I started to develop acne on my chest and back....something i have never experienced in my entire life. I have always had beautiful skin and now i have scars from my acne. I have a 2 year old son that i adore and i was always yelling at him, when normally i was very patient with him. My fiance was almost to the point of leaving me because of how mean i was. He also thought that i was cheating on him because i never wanted to have sex. I just had no desire for it, and when we did have sex it hurt! I also have gained 10 pounds since giving birth to my son. I normally don't gain weight very easily. I have been at the same weight almost my entire adult life and now i'm so much heavier! This was is for me!! Finally i called my doctor and scheduled an appointment to have mirena removed. I just had it removed yesterday, but i already feel so much happier. I will write again in a few weeks after i really feel the effects of having it removed. The removal was so much less painful than the insertion. I have a better attitude just in one day!

has anyone NOT experienced complications with acne? And for those who have, how bad on a scale of 1-5? (I really should have asked these questions before I got this thing put in...)

if anybody else has ended Yasmin and skipped cycles, did it come back...please reply..its june and i haven;t had a normal period since jan 30th.
also some of my other symptoms when taking Yasmin-loss of sex drive, bumps on arms, and red neck-now besides my period not happening- i am getting acne on my forehead- i always had beautiful skin, so not sure what that's about and sometimes feel a little pain in my ovaries now.

So I started taking YASMIN in December 07. I switched to YAZ in January 08 and just quit a week ago. So about 4 months of bc. A week ago, I broke out in hives and rashes. I would itch one spot and then others would form. The areas get hot and the welts raise up my skin. It started when I was out in the sun but it couldn't have been sun poisoning because I never got burnt. I am diagnosing myself rather than a doctor because they do NOT know everything. After reading into the YAZ and YASMIN side effects, I am not risking anymore problems. Oh and I got an upper respitory infection along with the rash. This lingering cough has a weaze and phligmy sound. My friends are concerned with it too. I have never been the type of person to suffer from any major sickness or skin problem. I am tough skinned and have never gotten any kind of food allergy. I am 24, 5'6'' and in semi-athletic shape. I am an actor and model and I cannot afford to get rashes and a bad horsey cough! YAZ was great for 2 months and now bam! Downfall happening. Temporary relief-cortozone cream and antihistamines like benadryl.
YAZ benefit-clear skin, no PMS
YAZ side effect-rash, no sex drive/libido loss, difficult/no orgasm, appetite like a hog! Food #1 thought. Packed on pounds quick.
YASMIN benefit-clear skin, lost weight quick
YASMIN side effect- a little loopy, speech impediment, no sex drive/libido loss, no orgasm, couldn't even fake an orgasm!

I have experienced a lot of muscle spasms, cramping in my calves while on yasmin (14 months). Has anyone