Dislike symptoms and conditions

Prednisone is horrific! I went on it 10 months ago for autoimmune hepatitis which now I realize was a major mistake. I was to take 40 a day but only agreed to 20. Now I have very high blood pressure and am on Bystolic and Vasotec. I have gained 30 lbs and am seeing a shrink!. I have tapered the dose down to 5mg much to the docs dislike but I am depressed, anxious and a bit suicidal. Also, my lovely head of hair is at least halved and I look 7 months pregnant. Soon I'll become anorexic cuz I refuse to live any longer like this. Anyone else feel the same?

Oh, forgot to add -- the few times I have actually had sex while on the NuvaRing I had this intense burning sensation to the point where I was almost in tears and I had to ask him to stop!! Has anyone else experienced this??

I was sexually active for two years using nothing but condoms about half the time, and the other half cycle planning and withdrawal, and never had so much as a scare. However, upon going to college I started Ortho Tri-Cyclen. I had lost about 15 lbs the summer prior and was down to 150, and in my first year of school I gained about 20... leaving me at 170, heavier than I had ever been. I know the 'freshman 15' is a real phenomenon, but my residence hall had really healthy food and I went to a school where we walked/rode bikes everywhere so the weight gain was really random. I also started experiencing intense mood swings, and a lot of lethargy... just a general unwillingness to get out of bed/off the couch and do things... for no real reason. About this time I noticed a drop in my sex drive. I switched to Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo with no improvement, then I switched to the Depo Provera shot. On that I skyrocketed to 195 lbs, and my sex drive pretty much ceased to exist. Wanting to avoid hormones altogether I asked for an IUD, explaining my dislike of hormonal side-effects to my doctor. I got one, faced the frightening $1000 medical bill and luckily insurance covered all but like $30... but then I went home and looked up the name of what I had received... Mirena... only to find out that I was STILL getting hormones through this thing. I was really angry that my doctor heard IUD and instantly thought 'mirena' instead of actually listening to my explanation that I desired something without hormones. After three months of not taking off any weight despite lots of exercising (I have always been one to respond well to exercise) and not gaining any libido back whatsoever I removed the Mirena myself. I was just kind of feeling the strings and it tugged kind of a little loose... and that made me paranoid it wasn't in right so I just took it out entirely. I went for three months without any hormonal birth control and when my libido started to return and when I had taken off about 5 lbs my doc recommended nuvaring. I got a sample and tried it, but my weight loss plateaued and my desire for sex waned again, and my lethargy returned.... so I finally said that's it, took it out and swore off hormones once and for all, it sucks but I have a partner willing to use condoms so we just have to resign ourselves to that until we have kids and I get my tubes tied. Or he gets a vasectomy.. either one.

Also, last year I had some SERIOUS heartburn. I thought I was having a heart attack the first time because I have never had heartburn in my life. After taking Zantac150 (or whatever the max strength is) for a couple weeks and facing the fact that I may never be able to drink coffee again, it subsided and has not returned since. I can drink as much coffee as I want :) I only just now realized that happened the same month I had the Nuvaring in.... wow.

A year later I am back down to 173 lbs and the weight is coming off easily with running 2 miles once a week, that's about it. My libido is back 100% and as long as I eat healthy (fresh food) I have tons of energy. I don't restrict my food intake, I just try to switch out 'healthy' for 'unhealthy'. I've seen several friends gain 50lbs or more on Depo-Provera, and I had a friend almost attempt suicide on Yaz. I can't believe hormonal birth control is being touted as so normal. I have another friend, upon declining birth control, whose MD told her to get on prenatal vitamins! It is very possible to not get pregnant using just condoms, cycle planning and withdrawal... you just need willpower... and maybe lube.

I love this pill!!!!! I have been on probably 10 different pills in my life and this is by far the best!! On all other pills, or if I use nothing, I will normally bleed an average of 20-23 days per month. With Loestrin 24 I am bleeding about 6 and it is wonderful!! I will say that it took about 5 months for my body to adjust to them but now they are GREAT!!!! Most people expect a miracle after taking a new pill for two weeks and it doesn't work that way. With any new BCP you are on it will take a minimum of 3 cycles for your body to adjust and your hormones to balance out.

Lisa R.N.

My experience with Yasmin was awful!!! I had been on BCPs before with no problems(both were Ortho-something). I'd had no problems with depression, I was never one to cry much and I was very active. Well, I had a little spotting so my doctor switched me over to Yasmin thinking it might help and the spotting between periods did stop. For me, everything was fine at first. The depression came on slowly, but once it did it just got worse and worse. I was always exhausted, I never wanted to do anything, I felt out of shape and my heart would race when I tried to go hiking. I was suddenly crying all of the time and getting terribly upset about nothing, instantly. I began to seriously dislike myself and I was watching what had seemed to be the perfect relationship fall apart before my eyes due to the strain that had been put on it. I FINALLY realized that something was terribly wrong when I was standing in the middle of a beautiful forest on vacation at a resort with the love of my life and I was screaming at him for a reason I could no longer remember. Then I broke down into a hysterical fit of tears. I dug out the pamphlet I got with my pills and somewhere in the back it finally listed depression as a possible side effect. I rushed down to the computer and found so many women with experiences just like mine. I called my doctor to switch my perscription back to the pill I'd been on previously; she wouldn't do it. I finished my pack and haven't gone near the stuff since. That was in April/May. After a month I was feeling better--like a fog was starting to clear from my mind. By three months the mood swings were mostly gone and I was concentrating better and smiling a lot more. Now, I'm finally me again and my boyfriend and I managed to save our relationship (thanks primarily to his patience and understanding) and I'm excited about living again. Yasmin may work for some people but in my opinion it's just not worth the risk.

LACK OF SLEEP. I was in bed but wide awake and aware of everything going on around me. After taking the medicine for about three days, I felt depressed, anti-social, and extremely lonely. I felt meaningless and my boyfriend even asked me what was wrong with me. I did not focus well on anything including my school work. I felt extremely aggitated and rude to strangers. I feel extremely ditzy and unaware of what is going on if in a social atmosphere. I remember taking this medicine as a kid and complaing to my parents that I didn't like the way I feel. I still dislike this medicine and will ask my doctor to prescribe anything but z-pak next time I am ill.

my mom took zocor and it caused pain in her hips. after a week it was so bad she couldn't walk. she'd never had a problem with them but ever since then they'd bothered her. she's been diagnosed with degenerative arthritis and it's spread to her lower spine. we know now that she's terribly allergic to statin drugs. she's always been a sensitive person when it comes to medications so please be very careful if you know you have the same problem. her arthritis is hard on her and i don't want any one else to suffer the same fate.

Hello All - I have been on Paxil for about 3 years now. I'm a 31 year old male who suffered awful for years before Paxil with anger issues, constant depression, trouble sitting still & rushing through everything, not being able to feel "normal" - I had constant stomach aches, afraid of everything ect.

I have to say I have not one complcation from using Paxil - No issue with sex drive - no sweats, i sleep great, work at a normal pace, can hold friendships and foucus on everthing, small amount of weight gain but i"m very active and have a ton of energy so I stay in shape. I really cant find anything i dislike about taking Paxil, the other thing i find is that I'm in a constant state of ---------it's hard to explain, the line i typed is sorta how i feel, just even keeled, nothing gets me really excited much, and i dont get mad either - It's all just a feeling of ------ haha - anyone feel like that too? I tend to find myself being alone, and i have a big social life, but sometimes i rather be left alone.
Sometimes i feel like if i never talked to anyone, had a relationship, friends ect i would not even careless - It's normal to cry and get excited and mad and that's the only part that I dont enjoy, otherwise life is awsome but I guess it could be alot worse!!! and trust me it was!

feeling you have tons of cash to spend on everyone...doc told me to becareful ..of being too gracious...lol feeling of numbness of adults behavior but love being around my grand children. really dislike my husband even more now. but something stops me from being unkind like i used to be.. am having suicidal thoughts now.

I am 24 and have been taking Yasmin for 3 months.

I am nearly 15lbs heavier balloning to 150lbs (I am 5'5) - I work out 4-5 days a week and eat very well, NOTHING wil take the weight off.

I have been constipated to the point I have emitted blood.

I have been the most irritable and moody person, I am beginning to dislike myself for blowing up at everything, all the time. My boyfriend is starting to notice, the other day he listerally said,
"Who ARE YOU and what have you done to my sweet girlfriend?"

On the plus side (literally now lol) my skin is very nice and my periods are regular but extremely heavy. I am going off this pill when I see my doctor next week, I cannot take this anymore, I keep g aining and gaining, nothing will stop it. Quit while you still can, this pill is falsely advertised.

My stomach is like a balloon and my hips are spreading, it's as if I were pregnant.

PS - I am SOOOO happy someone brought up the VISION blurriness, I have PILOT vision and recently i can't read worth a damn.

Good luck. I can't wait to get the old me back :)

DO NOT START THIS PILL IF YOU PLAN TO WEAR A BATHING SUIT THIS SUMMER!

Lessened sex drive, modd swings, headache. What I really dislike is the fact that every other month I have pregnancy symptoms- Really tender breasts, cramps, severe increased appetite. I drive my poor husband nuts every other month!!!