Initial side symptoms and conditions

I am a 27 year old who has been on birth control for the past 11 years. I was on Ortho Tri Cyclen for the majority of that time until my sophomore year of college when the doctor suggested I switch to the "shot". Depo Provera caused me to bleed continuously for several months on end and I was then switched back to pills by my new gynecologist. He placed me on a generic form of the ortho which again worked wonders for several years. At 25, I started bleeding constantly from the generic and was switched to several Loestrin 24 which completely stopped the breakthrough bleeding... initially. After a year of it, we were back to constant bleeding. The ONLY side effect I have ever experienced from birth control is breakthrough bleeding. I moved cities and with a new town came a new doctor who thought Femcon might work. I was prescribed it in May and have been taking it for nearly 6 months. Over that time I have been so happy with it as there is no bleeding except when there should be. That is until I read today that my increased anxiety (I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder to begin with), vivid, realistic nightmares, and 15 lb weight gain could be caused by this pill. I am getting married in January and my dress barely fits at this point because of the weight gain. I go to the gym 5 days a week for cardio and weight training yet keep getting fatter... I thought I was stressed out by the wedding and that is what was causing my emotional imbalance... I really thought I was losing it. I just called my gyno and left a VM asking if this could be the reason... Don't quit taking a birth control based on other peoples reports, they are all going to react differently to different people and all meds come with an initial side effect that goes away once your body is accustomed to having that hormone or chemical in it. Initial nausea is common... I have always had it when I started a new medication, especially birth control. It goes away after a couple of weeks. Will keep you posted.

Hi,

I've been taking YAZ for 2 1/2 weeks. First I should tell you that I suffer from PMDD and I wanted to give this a try. I would eat none stop...bad stuff like donuts and fried foods and I was just very touchy and angry for no reason with no energy. I know it's still early but I did have the extreme fatigue, sharp painful headaches, blurred vision, muscle aches the first couple of weeks but yesterday and today I feel GREAT! To early yet to notice if my moods will continue to improve or not be so drastic before I start my period but this is exactly the time that I would start being a monster before...I did feel a little sad during the first couple of weeks but that has gone away! I'm happy except I have noticed some hair loss just in the last couple of days. I hope this is temporary until my body adjusts to the medication because if you suffer from PMDD you will know that the minor initial side effects are definatley worth it (except I would rather have my hair and be mean) lol...we will see. I hope this helps...Sex drive is fine so far...Please write something regarding hair loss if you have been taking it longer and yours stopped after awhile. I don't wanna lose too much. Take care! God Bless Women...We have to be strong and we are!

My daughter had her first shot on Thursday three weeks ago. Starting that weekend she started with a headache, then nausea, vomiting, body aches and fever. This lasted for 5 days. Then followed by a severe headache for another 4 days. It also increased her period from 4 days to 9 that month. The doctors office who gave her the shot told me "that it wasn't from the vaccine", to make an appt. with a GYN ! I guess I need to be looking for another doctor !

The first time I went on Wellbutrin, I had a really bad reaction to it. I had insomnia, horrible tremors, apathy, I felt like I was walking around in a cloud. I went on to try other medications. Now I'm taking a combination of Prozac and Wellbutrin and it seems to be working. My depression is under control. I don't have the apathy or zombie feeling anymore, but I do still have the tremors, though they aren't as bad. I get some mild insomnia, but taking it in the morning helped with that, and lately I've found that a little bit of coffee in the morning (not too much, don't need to be MORE shaky) helps with a lot of my side effects. I do have the confusion and concentration issues too. It hasn't caused any severe problems, it only seems to really happen in casual conversation, where I'll completely forget what I wanted to say. It's annoying, but way better than depression, and not severe enough for me to stop.
To those people who are telling others to stay away from this drug, or any drug for that matter, don't forget that there is a reason there are so many different kinds of anti-depressants. Everybody's body chemistry is different, so their gonna react in different ways. Also, the people who don't have issues with side effects rarely go looking for sites like this....
Just something to think about.

Well I'm happy to say the initial side effects I've been feeling (nausea, cramping, spotting, loss of libido) are all gradually disappearing and tomorrow will be 4 wks since I had the Mirena inserted. I've changed my perception so far since my first post about regretting getting the Mirena and will just hope that I don't encounter other side effects later on. I did feel odd in the beginning but as of Monday this week I've been feeling much like my old self. I still have some cramping but not as bad as in the beginning and I think my body is just getting used to it as I've never had kids or have been on hormones.
I've read around in other forums and have found many women to be quite content with their Mirena's. It's probably just like all the other drugs and meds out there in society - everyone reacts differently and not every drug is good for every person.

I posted a question to anyone who used Tri-Sprintec before, but now it's been several months & I'd like to let everyone else know how it's worked for me! Tri-Sprintec has been the best birth control I've ever taken. I have been on other birth controls over the years, and up to this point Yasmin was good but I still had some side effects. I've just started my fourth month on Tri-Sprintec, and I feel more like myself again. I don't have any crazy mood swings, my skin has cleared up, my periods are regular again & my appetite has gone back to normal. I recommend Tri-Sprintec to anyone who is looking for an affordable & reliable birth control (it's offered at the Wal-Mart pharmacy for $9 a month if you don't have insurance.)

Ive been on Zoloft for 2 days and the first day I took it I had bad Diarrhea and my teeth hurt they feel like I had them clenched all night long and I can barley eat. Ive been getting gas,nausea, and I feel faint and like I'm going to throw up. I'm on the Zoloft for Anxiety, is this normal or could it not be related to the Zoloft and I have something other than the anxiety????

I didn't really have any side effects with Relpax. The most wonderful thing was that it made my headaches go away. Of course my Dr freaked out when she found out that I was taking them on average 3x a week and switched me to Topamax because the frequency of my headaches meant that I had chronic migraines. I HATE Topamax. It gave me a lot of side effects and I still have my headaches. I want my Relpax back!

I have been on Nuvaring for 2.5 years. Most of the initial side effects (spotting, discharge) cleared up after six months or so, but I started having migraines around my period for the first time in my life. My doctor suggested I leave the ring in for three weeks then replace it with another ring right away, skipping my period (and hopefully the headache). I've been doing this for six months and the migraines have gotten MORE frequent. I hate to do it, but I'm going off Nuvaring to see if the migraines stop. It just isn't worth the convenience for me. I've been miserable.

this site is great! i thought i was crazy, now i don't. my 4th month of lamictal and just hit the 100mg mark. at first i was taking it with a 30 mg of an antidepressant but i was irritable as helll!!! once i hit the 100mg mark, i got off the antidepressants and feel way better now just with lamictal alone.

initial side effects wre dizziness and insomnia but that went away. i've never had pimples and now i do. and last night i woke myself yelling having nightmares and haven't slept...

if you miss a dose you go nuts!

ARE THE SIDE EFFECTS WORTH IT...I FEEL WAY MORE CONTROLLED THAN BEFORE I STARTED TAKING THIS...

I found this web site today and I could not stop sobbing. I have been diagnosed with 'stress' and anxiety, and was given cymbalta and zanax which made all my Yasmin symptoms that much worse. I knew I wasn't suffering from stress-the symptoms and the lack of a correct diagnosis were causing me stress.
My side effects began the first month I was on Yasmin. I called my doctor to complain of the nausea, weight loss, spotting, and general "yuck" feeling I had. I was told to keep taking it and that those symptoms were normal for the first four months. The nausea did indeed go away, so did the weight loss and spotting.
I took Yasmin for the next (nearly 3) years. I now have the full blown symptoms which crept up on me and have been misdiagnosed since November '05. My side effects include awful constant chest pain, chest pressure, chest fluttering,occasional pain in my left upper arm, pain under my jaw, occasional breathlessness, mental unclearness, hair loss, unwanted hair growth, depression, nightmares, sweats, thoughts of dying, mood swings, weight gain,bad headache during my period, and a feeling that I was going crazy!
I am both saddened and relieved to see I am not alone. After leaving a cardiologist who told me there was nothing wrong with me, I decided to look into this nagging suspicion I had about Yasmin. I had been taking Low Ogestrel (sp?) for years without incident. At my 2003 gyno visit my doctor switched me to Yasmin because "it is better". I remember thinking he must have some incentive to switch me to a new brand when I didn't have a problem with the one I was on. That first month I was on Yasmin I didn't feel well and called my gyno.. Then I just trusted and let it go, after all my initial side effects seemed to go away.
I have been to several doctors including my family doctor, the ER doctor and a cardiologist for this nightmare. I have told each one that I am taking birth control pills yet not one even asked me what kind. That bugged me and eventually led me to this site with the hope of finding my syptoms listed. I have an appointment to see my gyno. this week. He has been away since my discovery. I hope there is something to be done. I can't stand living like this. This is not me. Thank you for sharing your stories, it is the most help I have recieved so far-I am not alone and someone out there 'gets' it. I am going to show these stories to my doctor in the hope that he will inform his other Yasmin taking patients to be on the look-out for these symptoms. I do not wish for anyone to suffer as I am. Good luck to you all.
kath

Prednisone has been in my life repeatedly since age 12, I am now 40. I get initial side effects of appetite increase, but over 30 years, have seen no major side effects over the long term. I am still on it ocne a month for 10 days, from a 60mg tapered dose. I think it works wonderful on my dishydrtoic dermatitis (excuse the spelling) when nothing else does, and I have tried everything

upset stomach if i take it without food. my dr had me gradually increase the dose (500 mg for 1 week, 1000 mg, for 2nd week, then 1500 mg/day). this seems to help reduce the initial side effects. also be sure to take with food.

I started taking Ultracet several months ago for pain after knee surgery but found that it also helped my Fybromialgia symptoms. Any initial side effects such as headache, itching or dizziness ceased after the first week. I take 2 pills only in times of extreme discomfort. 1 at a time works fine and I attempt never to take more than 3 a day. I find sleepiness to be a factor only if I am already in bed (which is good as my primary concern from Fybromialgia is insomnia). Overall, this drug has been a God send for me as I think I would have gone quite mad from the extremely extended and painful healing time after the surgey (compounded by the onset of sciatica which even the Ultracet made only marginally bearable). I am fortunatly not disposed to addictions but I am begining to wonder if the continued taking of a narcotic substance (yes - synthetic - but the effects amount to the same thing) is justified. The euphoria associated with even a low dose is very beguiling; it feels better and more positive than any antidepressant I have ever taken and with far fewer side effects as well. What to do...what to do...no 2 doctors will agree on the matter. My GP says NO; my Rumetologist says Yes!

I've been taking Flexeril for 3 years now for Fibromyalgia Syndrome. Initial side-effect during first couple of days was a morning hangover feeling which wore off quickly. I too am curious about long-term usage since I will probably be taking this the rest of my life for FMS.