Hirsutism symptoms and conditions

I was diagnosed with PCOS after having its symptoms for 10 years.. For a couple of years those symptoms gradually started to get worse - hirsutism (hair around the mouth, on the chin, around the nipples), and the adult acne that wasn't going away despite any medication. And i started becoming really depressed because of that.
The ultrasound and blood tests confirmed the PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and the extremely high levels of testosterone in the blood (result of pcos). I also had abnormal period - sometimes missing a month, sometimes having it 2-3 times a month. The physician told me that it was bleeding and that I'm not ovulating. She prescribed me Yaz - said it's the lowest-dosage bc pill, said it will lower my testosterone, raise estrogen, get me rid of excess hair and acne.
After a week of Yaz, i started feeling even more depressed than usual - started having nightmares, feeling very tired most of the time. Today was the end of the second week, and I am stopping taking Yaz, for good. Yesterday, I could hardly walk a mile - so extremely tired I felt. This morning - could hardly walk to the second floor. And, all day, felt extremely vulnerable, weak, and very very depressed: I started crying just looking at the gray sky, and couldn't stop. I barely got home, because I felt extreme fatigue, and burst into tears, blaming everyone around on how unhappy I am. Now I know, it's the Yaz talking... I am 26, and I am stopping this pill NOW. For my PCOS, I'm hoping to get better results with alternative herbal treatment and acupuncture.

I am also experience hair thinning while on Wellbutrin. I have had blood tests and there is no other detectable cause. The dermatologist said that she was only able to diagnose as possibly hereditary. However, I began noticing it shortly after starting 300mg of Well XL and then noticed increased thinning when I went up to 450mg. I don't take any other medications at all.

I searched the Wellbutrin prescribing information (a pdf on the official Wellbutrin website) and this is all I can find:

Other Events Observed During the Clinical Development and Postmarketing Experience of Buproprion

Adverse events for which frequencies are not provided occurred in clincial trials or postmarketing experience with bupropion. Only those adverse events not previously listed for sustained-release bupropion are included. The extent to which these events may be associated with Wellbutrin XL is unknown.

Skin: Rare was maculopauplar rash. Also observed were alopecia, angioedeme, exfoliative dermatitis and hirsutism.

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Alopecia is hair loss. All that means is it was reported and they didn't do a study that would have produced data with which they could measure the likelihood that it is a Wellbutrin side effect. In other words, people said they were experiencing it but they can't confirm it.

I just dropped down to 300 mg and I'm contacting my shrink about tapering off completely - I feel like dealing with scalp showing through and feeling horribly self-conscious and unattractive because of it is not going to help my depression and self-esteem issues any.

I'm a woman by the way - the number of reports of hair thinning in women seems significant to me. I have no family history of thin hair on the female side that I know of.

Girls everywhere . I have one question and please you can reply in private or on here, whatever you like. Did any of the doctors that prescribed Yasmin to you ever give you a hormonal test? I have been going through really bad emotional mood swings for a white but did not have insurance so never really go myself checked out. So last month I went back to my home country and visited a gyno(where medicine is not so overpriced) who has been recommended to me by numerous people and he did a bunch of hormone tests on me concluded (by blood work) that I have a hormonal inbalance. Before the tests were done he obviously asked me a bunch of questions and I warned him that last time i had gone on a losely prescribed birth control(which is was suppose to be very low hormone dosage) I went practically nuts. After seeing my results and finding my inbalance he has prescribed Yasmin to me because apparently I have too much estrogen and other things I couldnt really understand because I am not a doctor but I think one of the things it does is to block some of these hormone from going to your brain. So My point after all this rambling is that ALL of our bodies are different and all birth controls are different and have different hormones which could drive a normal person insane with or without taking the pills SO my suggestion if you are having trouble with Yasmin is to get your hormone levels checked, Yasmin may be the devil to you but its probably because you dot need certain components that are in it or lack some. Get real tests done!

I was in an auto accident end of October 2005. I have neck and back injuries. I have had 4 injections in 3 months ( 2 for the neck and 2 for the back). I had irregular periods. After first injection, I had a period next day which lasted for 3 days. I was not due until 10 days later which is when I did get my period again. After the other injections same deal, period too early and then again when scheduled. After last injection end of June, I did not get my period. Last cycle was June 13. It is now almost August. I had blood test to check testosterone level and it was normal. Still waiting on rest of test. I started to grow hair on face, neck, back, chest and arms more than supposed to for a woman in her 30s. I was diagnosed with a slight case of hirsutism. I am trying to get to the bottom of what is messed up in my body to correct it- the hair growth and missed period. I did not know there were side effects and Dr. said I am the first person in 14 years to make that complaint. My fiance' was in the accident with me and has had 2 shots and he has experienced increase growth of hair (at least he can shave it) and his testosterone level is low. Now he needs to see and endocrinologist. I have to see my OB/GYN to try to resolve this. My cycles were normal before this procedure. Sure it helped to take away some of the pain but now the pain is coming back. I am not having anymore injections and it looks as if I have to have surgery on my back, shoulder and neck. It helped one thing temporarily but has left me with new problems to face when I had enough on my plate. Also, I agree with Guest who posted the short term memory. I have had problems with that since the accident and primarily notice it since the injections. I seem to reverse letters at times when typing. I did not have this before. Here are some side effects from a website I found online.
Side effects

Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways. The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.

Difficulty in sleeping (insomnia)

Depression

Thinning of the skin

Increased pressure inside the eye (glaucoma)

Irregular menstrual cycle

Decreased functioning of the adrenal gland (adrenal suppression)

Thinning of the bones (osteoporosis)

Ulceration of the stomach or intestine

Increased susceptibility to infections

Acne

An extreme allergic reaction (anaphylaxis)

Increased risk of fractures of the bones

Increased hair growth (hirsutism)

Yeast infection of the moist areas of the body, especially the vagina (candidiasis)

Muscle wasting and weakness

The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the drug's manufacturer.

For more information about any other possible risks associated with this medicine, please read the information provided with the medicine or consult your doctor or pharmacist.

I really think that the FDA needs to re-write the standard list of side-effects and precautions of prednisone. From what I've seen here, the listed rare side-effects are not rare at all!!
It never ceases to amaze me how much goes unreported to our government agencies.

Prednisone side-effects;

Most Frequent:
Hypersecretory Conditions, Increased Appetite, Infection, Insomnia, Nervousness

Less Frequent:
Cushing's Syndrome, Diabetes Mellitus, Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage, Irregular Menstrual Periods, Osteoporosis

Rare:
Abdominal Swelling, Abnormal Hepatic Function Tests, Acne Vulgaris, Acute Pancreatitis, Allergic Dermatitis, Allergic Reactions, Anaphylaxis, Benign Intracranial Hypertension, Body Fluid Retention, Bradycardia, Cardiac Arrest, Cardiac Arrhythmias, Cataracts, Cholesterol Embolism, Chronic Heart Failure, Delirium, Depression, Dizziness, Dyspnea, Ecchymosis, Edema, Erythema, Esophageal Ulcer, Euphoria, Excitement, Fainting, False Sense of Well-Being, Flushing, Fractures, Glaucoma, Glycosuria, Hallucinations, Headache, Hepatomegaly, Hiccups, Hirsutism, Hyperhidrosis, Hypertension, Impaired Cognition, Lipodystrophy, Malaise, Mood Changes, Muscle Weakness, Myopathy, Nausea, Neuralgia, Neuropathy, Night Sweats, Ocular Hypertension, Paranoid Disorder, Paresthesia, Peptic Ulcer, Personality Disorders, Petechiae, Psychiatric Disturbance, Pulmonary Edema, Skin Rash, Skin Scaling, Skin Striae, Tachycardia, Tendon Rupture, Thromboembolic Disorder, Thrombophlebitis, Tonic Clonic Seizure, Urticaria, Vasculitis, Vertigo, Visual Disturbances, Weight Gain, Wound

not much of a problem with a two week taper from 100 down to 5 mgs. i tend to like it better than immuran. but we must avoid cushings, moon face, hirsutism, avascular necrosis. never, ever, go cold turkey!!

This may be a little long.. but I thot it was amusing (or terrifying).

No one website provided this entire list, I merged and edited a few.

My favorite is "... this is not a complete list."

You will not get all, or even most, of these side effects, but they are possible. This is not a complete list.

an allergic reaction (difficulty breathing; closing of your throat; swelling of your lips, tongue, or face; or hives);
a weakened immune system in general, leaving you open to infection
sensitivity to sunlight - avoid too much sun
heat intolerance
"moon face" - a swollen, rounded facal shape
sodium retention, fluid retention, edema (swelling)
congestive heart failure, from "steroid myopathy"
potassium loss, alkalosis (increased alkalinity such as sodium, in the blood)
hypertension - high blood pressure (severe headache or blurred vision)
muscle weakness, loss of muscle mass
osteopenia - loss of bone density, osteoporosis - extreme loss of bone density ;bone and joint changes osteoporosis
tendon rupture, especially of the Achilles tendon
spinal compression fractures
aseptic necrosis of femoral and humeral heads - severe knee and hip joint problem, possibly requiring replacement joints
chronic fractures of your long bones
peptic ulcer with possible perforation and hemorrhage
nausea, vomiting
anorexia, weight loss
increased appetite, weight gain, sudden weight gain (more than 5 pounds in a day or two)
diarrhea or constipation
pancreatitis - inflamed pancreas
abdominal distention - swelling of the stomach
ulcerative esophagitis - inflammation of the esophagus (tube that leads to your stomach), with sores
slow wound healing
thin, fragile skin
petechiae - blood spots on the skin
ecchymoses - black and blue pools of blood under the skin from ruptured blood vessels
facial erythema - abnormal redness of the facial skin
hirsutism - abnormal hair growth
acne
urticaria - hives
heavy sweating
headache
convulsions
vertigo
neuritis - impaired or lost reflexes
paresthesias - sensation of numbness, tingling or burning
menstrual irregularities
Cushingoid state
failure of adrenal gland to produce enough hormones in times of stress
stunted growth in children
hypercholesterolemia - high cholesterol
low carbohydrate tolerance
adult onset diabetes
increased need for insulin in diabetics
hypoglycemia - low blood sugar
cataracts
increased pressures in the eye
glaucoma, with possible damage to the optic nerves
secondary eye infections due to fungi or viruses
exophthalmos - abnormal bulging out of the eyeballs
hallucinations
psychosis
euphoria, mood changes
accelerated atherosclerosis - coronary artery disease
heart arrhythmias due to potassium deficiency
syncope - fainting
necrotizing angiitis - serious inflammation of blood vesssels or lymph ducts
night sweats, nightmares, insomnia

3 weeks into taking Yasmin for hirsutism my 19 year old daughter started experiencing: bad thoughts, anxiety attacks, and burning migraine headaches. Took the wind right out of her sails. She went off it immediately. Does anyone know how long it takes to get it out of your system? Is there a bcp that might not have these side effects and help hirsutism? The Yasmin pill did help the hirsutism quite a bit and she lost weight also, but not worth losing your mind over.

I too was a Yasmin guinea pig. Guess the drug companies had my OB/GYN conviced that Yasmin was the latest, greatest thing 2 years ago. I had been diagnosed with polycystic ovaries and had all the lousy stuff that accompanies it, such as horrible skin and hirsutism and was told Yasmin was the best bc pill available to alleviate my symptoms. At first I thought it was great, I lost quite a bit of weight, which was always hard to keep off with the Orhto-Tri Cyclen. My skin improved as well. But after 3 months, I would get a yeast infection every single month, always the Friday before my period started! And I am someone who very rarely has had a yeast infection. Then I noticed my hair was falling out by the root, I had to constantly sweep it from my bathroom floor! The last straw was when I nearly had somekind of a mental breakdown after ongoing extreme depression. I didn't know what the heck was going on and two doctors that I talked to just shrugged me off. I finally made the connection when I got my precription filled at a different pharmacy and read the new drug info regarding the side effects. These included hair loss, yeast infections and emotional problems. Why this wasn't included in the drug info when I initially had the Rx filled is maddening, perhaps when the drug was new these side effects were not known. I am bitter about being subjected to the effects of this new drug, bitter about all the hair I lost but grateful I stopped in time before I committed suicide, which I felt very close to doing! I am now back on the Ortho Tri-Cyclen, which isn't ideal, but not nearly as dangerous as the evil Yasmin. To this day I don't think my doctors believe me because the drug companies have them under their spell and maybe the kickbacks are just too tempting. I am glad this website exists to warn others not to take it!