Dianette symptoms and conditions

I am at the end of my first month on this pill. Things seemed fine until 3 days ago when I got a migraine (I never get headaches) and it has lasted for 3 days making it so difficult to look after my children or get the simplest things done. I started looking up side effects and found this site. I realised that this month I had also had thrush, no sex drive at all and seem to be very cold in relation to other people. I suffer from PMDD and this is my second pill in attempt to make the symptoms easier to manage. Without the pill I am over emotional, cry a lot, have severe mood swings and painful and heavy bleeding each month. With this in mind I am still going to come off Yasmin right now. I do not want to mess things up even more. I have been concerned about the ingredients of the pill too - I am a vegan and there is no birth control pills which do not contain lactose or animal ingredients so I think I must go back to the diapham for birth control (condoms are just awful!). it is frightening how easily all these pills are prescribed. I was on dianette when I was 16 to combat the same PMDD and when I came off it five years later didn't have a period for a year at which time I discovered I had an ovarian cyst and a tumor, both of which had to be removed. Was told I probably couldn't have kids but thankfully five years later (five years of trying to conceive) I had our first and then 10 months after that fell pregnant with our second). I can't believe I was stupid enough to go back on any pill but my PMDD is difficult to manage and I was at my wits end but after just a month I know I have to come off it. For good this time. My life is to valuable to me to mess up with this rubbish.

OMG I am so glad I found this side. I have just started taking Yasmin.

Previously I was on Mercilon and found that I got very nauseous a few days before my period was due (this happened a week ago on Friday) so I asked the doctor to change my pill and he prescribed Yasmin. I have IBS and last Wednesday I had a several attack (I was on my period as well). I then started taking Yasmin the next day. By Saturday I had to spend the day in bed as I felt so sick. I actually thought I was going to be sick. There is a bug going round work so thought it might of had something to do with that or my IBS. IT started to clear by the beginning of this week, but even now my stomach feels like someone has kicked me, I just cant eat (the thought just turns my stomach) and I feel sick ALL of the time. Today I realised that this is most likely due to the Yasmin. I am going back on Mercilon as of next month. I decided I would rather put up with one day of feeling sick than all the time! The doctor and the pharmastic told me to continue taking Yasmin till my period but I just cant do that. I am not covered this month anyway because I changed mid way through my period so I might as well not take it and be careful for a month.

My sister takes Yasmin and has no problems at ill but its the worst one I have ever taken. I had problems with Dianette as well but my body cant take the high Oestrogen levels. I think it is weird how a pill can work for one woman and not the next when effectively they do the same thing!

I have only ever taken microgynon and loestrin 20.
I had problems with acne on microgynon so I asked the doctor for dianette but he said no and gave me loestrin instead.
Three years on my acne is worse than ever and I have done my research and apparently loestrin is bad for acne. Ive just joined a good model agency so this is not great!
Ive been depressed on off, had anxiety, and have often stayed off school or uni because of this (thankfully I passed my exams) Constantly paranoid.
Last year I fell out with all of my friends because they were sick of my constant low mood, and this made me worse.
I have no libido and have been suffering from vaginismus for two and a half years (starting when I was 16, not good!)
I either have no period or two per month. Every now and then I will suffer from headaches for weeks.
I also have contact lens intolerance, which has caused episcleritis on off for 5 months. (ive only worn them twice in this time)

Hi Gosh I can't thank this forum enough. I have booked my appointment for the Doc today I have felt so bad, and then came across this forum. I used to suffer from Panic attacks about 5 years ago. It happened suddenly and it got so bad that I ended up in Hospital. I was put on anti depress. for a year. Now I know I was on the pill then but can't remember which one and never thought about a link. However I have been fine for the last few years and was not in a relationship so didn't go on pill. Now in one for the past year and a half and firstly went on Dianette as I had bad acne then6months later went on to Cilest, had really bad breakthrough bleeding on both. So last month switched to Cilest. Have had two major Panic Attacks within the month, and as I never associated the pill with the attacks the last time it never occurred to me until now that it could be related. It was obvious to me that there was a connection to Yasmin as I just went from normal to mental this month, had a huge row with my Fiancé over nothing, had two major attacks. On Saturday was out at a meal and my mouth went like sandpaper, couldn't get rid of it then almost a second later major diarrhea
and felt heart palps. Was up all night anxious. Now my head is all fuzzy, ringing in the ears, feel my neck is stiff and I am dizzy all the time and my heart is really beating out of my chest. My contacts are also a nightmare with dry eyes This is after one month on Yasmin and it has to be it as nothing else in my life has changed over the month (except getting engaged< so I can’t be depressed!) I have really felt out of sorts and bloated too. I have talked to my Fiancé about it and have said that I may just come off the pill all together and get an alternative non hormonal contraceptive as I am just so unhappy on the pill and sick of changing.

I'm 21 and have been on Yasmin for 3 and a half months for bad acne. I was originally on Dianette but experience such severe side effects I honestly thought I'd be hospitalized, so I asked my doctor for Yasmin. All was fine for the first 2 months, but I'm now getting horrible pain in my right leg which won't go away no matter what, coupled with a pins and needles type feeling in my feet. I'm also developing spider veins on my legs, It's got to the point where I'm scared to look at my legs now in case any more have shown up! I've decided I'll come off it in a month or so, but don't know what to do to keep my acne at bay. Does anyone know of any natural remedies? I don't wanna keep messing around with drugs and hormones in case I cause long term damage!
Also, has anyone else gone to their doctor about these side effects, only to find the doctor says 'its nothing to do with the pill' when clearly it is! I saw 3 different doctors about my dianette problems, none of them believed it was down to the pill, but when I stopped taking it, my problems disappeared :/

I can't believe I have found this site!!! I have been having horrendous but very petty arguments with my boyfriend just lately, to the point I do not know if we are over as he is only speaking to me in a temper voice. Obviously I believe eveything is his fault(!) and now after reading the site I am wondering if it is all actually me and down to my pill, yasmin, as everything I have read about everyones mood swings rings true! I am almost 3 months in and have been experiencing headaches for the first time in my life and I thought it was just one of those things. My breasts are nearly up a whole size and I have become really really self conscious which I have also never been like before and few of my clothes appear to fit. I have also recently visited the Dr's with dizziness which I actually put down to Jasmin although she said it couldn't possibly be the pill and put it down to a dodgy eardrum which she thinks I have - also I believe I have become increasingly deaf... could that be the pill too or am I now blaming everything that is going wrong in my life on that one tiny little tablet????
I am going to book an appointment with my Dr for tonight but am really conscious that I am going to burst into tears the moment I walk into the surgery - is this the table or because of the rows with my boyfriend? (Like the chicken and egg!)
I have been on Dianette for years and have never experienced any problems - surely it can't be that bad, can it?????

Hello to all, I have been on Yasmin for about 3 or 4 years and wanted to add something to the information already on this forum. I am now 25 and have been on the Pill since the age of 16. I put myself on it for birth control and had to change a number of time as the Microgynon caused a mass load of acne (which I hadn't ever experienced previousl)!! I was then put on Dianette for ages as it was the only one which sorted that issue out. Finally I was told I had to leave Dianette and was given the ''new'' Yasmin. I have to say, I have never (apart from the spots from high hormone ones) had any obvious symptoms from the Pill at all.....
I do suffer from IBS but I can't link it to any specific Pill. I have never suddenly gained or lost weight at all or got bigger breasts (which I would LOVE). My tiredness is merely due to getting up at 5:30am most mornings and leading a very hectic lifestyle..!
I don't know whether that is of any use to anyone at all but I thought I would add this in anyway, so that people don't feel the need to avoid Yasmin at all costs. I think at the end of the day, it's a manufactured drug to stop you getting pregnant and it's going to have some sort of drawbacks...I guess maybe we all need to start putting more pressure on men to take responsibility and not filling our bodies with poison?
One question for you all though: has anyone had problems getting pregnant once coming off this drug?

It was nice to find this website, finally figuring out a reason why I get my yeast infections, headaches, naseau, pain on my left breast bone, fatigue, mood swings, etc... I always thought it was just me, but I'm now thinking that maybe it's not. I've had recurrent yeast infections ever since being on Yasmin (I've been on it for over 4 years) and my MD has never mentioned it could be the pill. I finally started seeing a connection between the two when I started tracking what happens to me when I miss taking the pill (ALWAYS a yeast infection). And it got me to thinking that maybe there are other women out there who suffer from the same thing. Also, at some points I actually thought I had serious mental/health problems b/c of my consistent headaches, fatigue, and mood swings. I used to be really active up until I was 19 when I started on Yasmin, and it went downhill from there. I guess I just thought that this was just my normal grown up self (I know sounds kinda lame). And I've totally experienced the lack of sex drive, it seems I'm only interested the week before I get my period or when I'm on it.

Hello everyone!
I have only been using yasmin for two months (i've just started my 3rd strip). I had been using dianette previously for treatment of polycystic ovaries. i had been using dianette for three years since i was 18 years old and had no problems with it whatsoever. (i decided to change because my boyfriend thought it was making me grumpy, but after a short spell of not using any oral contraceptive, and now being on yasmin for two months, we have both come to the conclusion that i'm going to be grumpy forever!!lol!) Anyway, since starting on yasmin, i have had severe "period cramp" in the first week of taking a new strip and have several SEVERE bouts of diahorrea during my cycle. has anyone else noticed these side effects? these are the only side effects i have experienced (so far).
thanks everyone!

Chloe
Newcastle Upon Tyne
England

hi ambernesspor.
do keep us posted on your progress, i hope you start to feel like your old self again soon. I wonder why gyn's and doctors feel the nedd to keep switching our methods of birth control?? as you said in your post you were perfectly happy on your previous method and it obviously suited you, so many women on here were perfectly fine on their previous pill as i was,i had taken dianette in the past and had no problems with it. i wonder if there is some kind of financial reward for the medical proffessional if they prescribe a certain amount of this pill!!!!! i personally did not find yasmin more tolerable or to have less side effects then my older brand pill and from what i can gather yasmin still poses the same risk of strokes,dvt's etc that the older generation pills did so as far as i can see there really is no major benefit it yasmin over any other brand......to any ladies who are thinking about switching to yasmin DON'T it is not worth the risk!!!! boycot this pill,it is pure evil in tablet form! Even the FDA made the makers stop advertising that it was better than other brands because of it's "unique" ingredient,it has been tested and has been found to be NO BETTER than any other pill. i personally think the "unique" ingredient is the one that causes the most harm.

sarah

hi syberlib. great ode to yasmin the "peril in pill form" !
i find it really weird that some people get symptoms when they stop yasmin,did you have any troublesome symptoms whilst taking it?
i was the opposite. i had dizziness,insomnia,depression,MAJOR anxiety,panic attacks,tingling and jumping limbs and restless legs as well as a sense of being smothered then there was also the ever present headache! as soon as i stopped taking it within days i felt phsically much better.the palpitations got less and less as did the headaches and the jumping,shaky feeling. The anxiety is proving to be a tough customer. although it is still there it is manageable most of the time and certainly getting less as time goes on. i have been off yasmin 8 months now. maybe age and childbirth are factors,i had taken dianette on and off since i was 14 up to the age of 22 and i never had a problem with it.never gained weight,got spots,heavy periods,nothing,it was perfect although i never stayed on it for more than 18months at a time as i have always been a little worried about the long term effects of messing with nature! i did not go back onto BCP's after the birth of my 1st child, A) because i didn't know when i wanted to start trying for my second and B) because my sex drive had gone into "park" i just couldn't be bothered so it seemed like a waste of time being on bcp's. after i had my second child i breast fed for a year then my doc put me on yasmin the new "wonder drug" he was right about the "wonder" part. within six months i "wondered" what the hell had happened to me. i was a shaky,poorly mental wreck.!!!!!
i have no idea what yasmin really does to the body but it has some really weird side effects. when i went to have blood tests when i was still on yasmin my blood was really thick,in fact the nurse asked if i was taking any blood thinning agents,i said no and she said i should be!! when i had another test 6 months after i stopped yasmin it was normal again as it had been before yasmin.??? not sure if it is linked but it was just another odd thing that has only happened whilst on yasmin. The heart flutterings also seem to be really common. i read a report on the side effects of yasmin i found on the english government site and it had a major number of pulmanary embolisms listed as reported effects,they were reported by medical staff not members of the public so some doctors somewhere know this stuff is poison. they pulled some of the older brands saying they caused blood clots and strokes etc but yasmin seems to be just as bad if not worse! i never heard of any of these side effects with the older brand of pill.the worst you got was a bit of bloating and maybe some weight gain and if you were one of the really unluck ones maybe a DVT.

once again i have ended up writting a hugely long post,i never mean to but once i start ranting about this devil in white i can't stop!

Hi there

I am coming to the end of my first pack of Yasmin after being on Dianette for a year for bad skin and irregular periods. During the year of being on dianette I was very tired and ill and was eventually diagnosed with glandular fever. It's taking a long time to get over and I also have family and work problems adding to the stress. I have noticed since starting to take Yasmin that I have been nauseous and having tummy troubles everyday and I have headaches, dizziness, heart palpitations, crying all the time etc etc. I have had all these symtoms on and off for the past year having been ill before but now am convinced they are being made worse by Yasmin. Do you think this is likely? I am fed up with seeing the doctor (have been there so much this year) but maybe I should see if I can switch to something else? Also maybe have another blood test to check my potassium since my liver was a little bit affected by the glandular fever. What does anyone think?
Cheers
Millie

hi charity,
murph70 is quite right when she says that out bodies change after we have children. i was on dianette on and off for about 10 years and never had a problem with it, then i had my daughter (my youngest...now 3 ) i breast fead her for a year exclusively so did not have a period for the whole year,when my periods came back they were quite heavy and i also had outbreaks of acne when my period was due. my doctor put me on the new wonder pill yasmin! well he was right about it being a wonder pill,i started taking it and "wondered" what the hell had happened to me,within 6 months i was an agoraphobic nervous suicidal wreck,i had no sex drive at all and actually thought about telling my husband to go out and find another woman because i never wanted to have sex again! i felt constantly tired,i had tingles,aches,pains,blurred vision,constant thirst,raging headaches...the list goes on. my doctor diagnosed me with an anxiety disorder and gave me diazepam (which made me worse) when i asked if it could be my bcp he said no he didn't think so...but i know so because i found this site,found hundreds of wonderful women all with the same problems all taking this same pill, i stopped taking it 7 months ago now and while i am not back to my old self quite yet i am well on the way. Most of my symptoms have gone now so i think that is proof in itself. As murph70 says only you know how you feel,maybe you could try alternative methods of birth control for a while and see if you feel better? whatever you decide to do i wish you all the best.

sarah

hi guest 31475,
i do not know what other birth control pill would be better than yasmin as i have only taken dianette (about 10 years ago) and yasmin. a very low dose pill may be ok yasmin seems to have quite high levels of hormones compared to some of the older brands of pills. yasmin is considered a new generation pill so maybe one of the original types may be better. yasmin has not been proven to better than any other brand i think that just because it is one of the newer types it is more readily prescribed. talk to your health care giver about the problems you have had with the artificial hormones and they may be able to recommend a brand. I will not be trying any form of hormonal birth control in the future as i had no idea that something so seamingly simple could have such a detremental effect on my health and my quality of life.
have you considered non hormonal types of birth control? as mentioned below there is a copper IUD and i think there is also a low dose progesterone IUD that does not get into the blood so may not cause the same side effects as oral contraceptives. i don't much about them as i have decided to stick to non hormonal,plain & simple condoms for now at least i know i will not get any side effects from them!

I was prescribed Yasmin for contraceptive purposes and for help with painful periods as a result of endometriosis. I was originally prescribed Dianette and I had a very severe reaction to it and became very ill as a result. It took nearly two months to recover after many doctor and specialist visits plus medication to right the problems caused. Needless to say, that was a really nightmarish experience.

After the problems I had with Dianette, I was then prescibed Yasmin, as I mentioned above. Initially, it seemed like a wonder drug, firstly because of my horrible experience with Dianette and secondly because it transformed my life after suffering from excrutiating periods and severe PMS since the age of 11. It really gave me a new lease on life by having dramatically reducing PMS, painful periods and making my periods much lighter, although it has not reduced the amount of time I have a period for which is one week.

However, although I cannot knock the benefits it has provided in regards to my problematic periods, it has had unwanted side effects, some that actually took over 6 months to crop up. At the beginning, all I experienced was very sore breasts and although it felt like it would never go away, it did after about 4 months.

The other problem that came up was an insane weight gain for no apparent reason other then taking Yasmin. Until taking Yasmin, I had a very stable weight for many, many years - really since I was a teenager. I have always been very, very careful with what I eat and exercise to keep myself healthy and trim. Although nothing else changed other then taking Yasmin, (in other words I ate the same and exercized the same) I gained about 30 pounds in the space of about 6 months, much to my shock and horror. I have reduced my food intake dramatically since the weight gain but the strangest thing is that it makes no difference whatsoever. My husband and I are constantly amazed at how much I have done to try to battle it with no luck. It is so depressing.

The other thing I noticed is that I consistantly put on and losing 7 pounds of water weight from morning to night every single day which is really weird to me. In other words, in the morning I am always 7 pounds lighter then I am in the evening. I went to my GP to ask him if I should be worried and he said it's not dangerous to have such dramatic water retention but it's as a result of side effects from Yasmin. I also went to him because I have been suffering from depression, anxiety and general weepiness since going on Yasmin. He said he wants to see if it goes away on it's on when I come off Yasmin in a month, otherwise he'll prescribe some sort of antidepressants to help me.

Finally, the other side effect I discovered is that Yasmin is a contraceptive in ways that I never imagined. In otherwords, my sex drive is totally dead and gone. This kicked in about 6 months or so after being on Yasmin. It is the strangest thing as I always had a very healthy libido, and yet now I never have any desire or any thoughts about sex at all, and this has been the case consistantly for the last 6 months.

I have a very good friend who got married and went on Yasmin the same time as I did and we recently discussed our experiences on Yasmin and discovered we have been suffering from many of the same side effects. She has even put on the same amount of weight as I have despite not changing anything in her lifestyle. Needless to say, I will be coming off of Yasmin when I finish the pack I am on as I am fed up with the side effects and my husband and I decided it's a good opportunity to try for a family.

I have read through all the symptoms. I started Yasmin about a week ago, after having a bad time on dianette.

I now feel worse than I did on Dianette. I mean, is it normal to feel constantly tired ? and my ears feel blocked up my vision blurred and I feel really really weak like iv got no energy.
Im really confused!! I come home from work and go to sleep for 2 hours , wake up for two hours then sleep again and i STILL feel tired the next day! I am also on Prozac but im not sure whats doing this to me > ??ANy ideas> ??

After reading about the side effects posted I am certain its not just me suffering from side effects from yasmin. I can relate to alot of other peoples side effects they have suffered. I have been on Yasmin for about 1 year now. I have always had really thick and really curly hair untill i started taking this pill, it started with Dianette, my hair went really thin and i hardely had any curls left. so i came off that pill and was switched to another pill, my hair got back to normal but i suffered terrible migraines, so my doctor switched me to yasmin. I have not suffered any weight gain but i have suffered from hair loss, and depression. I can get really low on this pill, another undesired side effects i am now suffering from it is a low sex drive. I have decided to get off this pill and switch to the mini pill. My doctor has pescribed me to Cerazette. I am afraid to go on to this pill after reading about the side effects, about hair loss. If anyone has experience in taking Cerazette please could you let me know.

I have been on Yasmine for 8 months after being on Dianette for years. At first I thought I had found the perfect pill, lost a few pounds, light periods and not as moody as when I was on Dianette. Time seems to tell. Started to notice in the last three months,
I had a few heart racing episodes. Pins and needles sometimes. Muscle spasms now and again. TOTAL loss of sex drive. Sudden bloated stomach and weight gain even though I was on a healthy eating diet and go the gym. AND the biggy, my nerves are shot to pieces. Looking on the dark side and feeling tired with muscle fatigue.
Am I going nuts?
Last week I like some of you went on the internet and it all started to click in. My husband although supportive of me coming off the pill still thinks my symptoms are 'just one of those things'. Well after reading this site and others I'm taking the last pill in the pack tomorrow and lets see. I will keep a diary and after being on BCP for years I know it could take time. Thank you all for taking the time to post, we can't all be imagining it!!

Post your symptoms since stopping Yasmin!!!

Hey everyone it's Kay21 here and I just wanted to post my 3 month off Yasmin update. Because stopping the pill is a hard decision, I figured we should all post are updates here to help/support those who are planning to stop or who have recently stopped Yasmin.

I have been off of Yasmin since April 17. As some of you already know, I was experiencing horrible side effects while on Yasmin for 3 years (particularly stomach problems, vaginal dryness, muscle cramps, increased blood pressure and heart rate and anxiety).

The first 1 month off of Yasmin was okay. In fact, I felt the best I had ever felt in a while. My blood pressure and heart rate decreased and the migraines and muscle cramps went away. But when I hit the 2 month (8 week) mark, I felt HORRIBLE. I was severely depressed and anxious. I was crying all the time and felt a severe sense of DOOM! The physical symptoms also started to become problematic. The acne increased and I started growing more facial hair. The worse symptom, however, was that I started losing a ton of hair. I would lose stray hairs all day (probably about 200 a day). Since I have hit the three month mark, the hair loss has gotten MUCH WORSE! Now I am losing CLUMPS of hair all day. I have seen several doctors about this. Some say it's because of stress and a few (a derm, GYN and endo) say that hiar loss is common after stopping bcp. I have already loss about 1/3 of my hair.

I am also really concerned, because I have not had a period since April 22. So my doctor has put me on provera for 10 days to induce a period.

For those who have stopped Yasmin, what have your symptoms been (i.e. increased acne, weight gain, anxiety, etc.). Has anyone experienced hair loss? How long did it take to get a period???

Thanks...

Hey,

I am currently on my first period after taking Yasmin for my first month, I was put in Yasmin as I had been taking Dianette for 3 years.

For the month i have been taking Yasmin I have been experiencing extreme leg cramps, weight gain, headaches, light headedness and more, again I thought it was caused by tiredness and stress, but after looking up Yasmin on the off chance it is a relief to see that there is a cause, I am going to go my doctor ASAP and get it changed.

So glad I found this website, if anyone has suffered from acne and has now been put on a different pill with positive effects please let me know.

Clare

Im half-way through my second pack of Yasmin and have all the above mentionend side effects. Mostly extreme emotions, crying, depression, constant hunger etc.
I know I have to come off Yasmin but have been on Dianette previously and had similar side effects.
I have PCO's - can anyone recomend a pill suitable for me with little or no side-effects?
Thanks

i was initially on dianette and had a period of about month where my anxiety and thinking of thoughts that were unessecery was particlary upsetting. i got off that pill and and was told that yasmin did the same job but without the side effects. however, now i suddenly feel my self feeling paranoid and anxious again. like many other women have said, i just don't feel myself. i'm not stressed and i have a pleasant student life. i feel unhappy for no reason!! i have polysistic ovarian syndrome so i have to take a pill permenantly and i need a stress free alternative!

I had been on Dianette for years for acne. When I went to the family planning clinic instead of my GP, the doctor there wanted me to come off it, saying it wasn't meant for long term use. She put me on Marvelon which was OK but I heard about Yasmin being good for acne so I decided to try that. Well, halfway through my 2nd pack, I started feeling so ill. I thought I was going to vomit but I couldn't. I decided to go and get an Implanon implant which I got done the other night even if it makes my acne worse. I have to finish my pack of Yasmin but today I still feel so nauseous and my head is sore. I had to go and lie down for a few hours. I am counting down the days (6) until I finish this pack and get off horrible Yasmin. No other pill has made me feel so ill. I felt so ill I thought I must be pregnant, but am am not. That is a relief but the nausea is awful!!! I will suffer acne over nausea any time. Any suggestions to get me through these last 6 days?!

On Dianette (Diane) for 6 years and read last week that docs should prescribe it no longer than 4 months!!!! Started Yasmin 3 months ago, severe throbbing headaches, was taking 8 painkillers a day, extreme pain in kidneys, running to loo constantly with full bladder each time, panicky, pressure in chest, depressed, sore back, tired all the time, stopped it 4 days ago - ALL symptoms GONE. Getting fitted for the cap fed up pumping hormones into my body