Menopausal woman symptoms and conditions

I work for an OBGYN and I was getting samples of Ortho Tri Cyclene Lo, and had been on it for 2 years due to my cysts rupturing. Well Ortho went generic and we no longer carried it in the office and i was recommended to just try Loestrin before going to pay for an RX of my ortho. Well im in my 2nd week, and grant it i KNOW they say wait 3 months before you decide to switch but i CAN NOT take this any longer. Ortho gave me no problems, maybe cramps a few times out of the year, and with those, some heavy periods, which is normal for any pre-menopausal woman. Other than that it was great! No loestrin is almost giving me the same problems as Yaz did... yet Yaz was far worst, i am now experiencing moodiness, manic and depressive mood swings, uneasiness, nervousness, constipation, tiredness, and it really does not help that i am also in full time college while experiencing all of these side effects. I think the 35 dollars a month for ortho may just be well worth the price.

I began taking Yasmin in July 2006. I had been on bcp for about 10 years at the time, mostly due to bad cramps and pms symptoms. Yasmin worked out well, but there was just one side effect, I would become extremely emotional right before my period. In October 2007 I went for my yearly check-up and mentioned this to my doctor. He switched me to Apri (Desogen) saying that this would be a better pill for that side effect. I began taking it that next month. Right away I had feelings of nausea and breast tenderness. Even though I felt like this I gave Apri a chance. In January 2008 I couldn't take feeling like this anymore and stopped taking it. In February I noticed my hair began falling out. I hadn't gotten a period this month either. I went to the doctor in March and she ran many blood tests. My estrogen came back extremely low (at a level of a menopausal woman). Instead of exploring any other options as to what to do, the doctor put me right back onto Yasmin, since now I went two months without a period. I figured that I would have to learn to live with a little moodiness before my period that Yasmin gave me. The doctor also made me believe that this would put an end to my hair loss...Nothing could have been further from the truth!!! I went back on Yasmin in March 2008 and what a HUGE difference than from the first time I was on it. Not only was I emotional now ALL the time, but I physically felt much worse. I had constant breast tenderness, acne (which even as an adolescent I never had), oily skin, and my hair was constantly falling out. Emotionally I was a wreck! I was constantly crying and very depressed! I began going from doctor to doctor, which is unlike me. I hate doctors and would only go for a serious illness. Now I was hoping that one of these doctors could give me an answer. But 6 months later and NO ANSWERS. The only thing that a few doctors said was that Yasmin was good for those with hair loss. So after reading many of the entries on this website and after much soul-searching...I am going off birth control for good!!! I have lost well over half of my hair, have practically pushed everyone that means anything to me away, and have personally hated myself! I have literally lost the past 6 months of my life! It is now time to see what my body is capable of on its own. I'm done putting this poison into my body and would tell anyone else to do the same. I always knew that there were side effects associated with any kind of medicine, but I could not have ever imagined that all of these side effects could have and would have happened to me. I felt like I had to write this after reading all of the other entries. Many of those entries gave me the courage to quit and I would be happy if this could help or inform even just 1 person! I would appreciate if there were anyone out there that had a similar experience to either post it or reply. Thank you.

My 20 yr. old daughter was on Loestrin 24 Fe for almost a year with seemingly few side effects (except larger breasts). When her Rx ran out, the doc would not prescribe more until she had an exam. She ended up going off the pill for a couple of months, which was okay because there was no boyfriend or sexual contact during that time. She then got a prescription refill and went back on it. Within about 3 weeks she started experiencing random panic attacks including, headaches, nausea, rapid heart beat, sweaty hands and dizziness. At first she wrote it off as stress, but now they are happening ALL the time and are interfering with her life. She is a college student and is becoming paralyzed by the anxiety and the fear of a panic attack. She can't go to class, can't drive and is worried all the time. This is soooo unlike my happy-go-lucky daughter. She feels like she is going crazy. I talked to the GYN and she thought that the pill could definitely be enhancing these symptoms, but didn't feel they were the main cause. I now have a completely different opinion from her since reading all the posts on here describing the exact same symptoms while on this pill. My daughter has now stopped taking them (it's been about a week) and the doctor said it could take a couple of cycles for the drug to be completely out of her system. I'm praying that these symptoms go away after the hormones are flushed out....anyone have any experience with the anxiety going away after going off the pill??????

I am a healthy 55 year-old menopausal woman who started taking Vagifem in May 2007. By early July 2007, I experienced my first gallbladder attack. Both Ultrasound and CCK Gallbladder Ejection Fraction (70%) were normal, but I continued to experience gallbladder symptoms (nausea and right upper quadrant tenderness but no pain). My gastroenterologist and GI surgeon recommended gallbladder removal.

Neither my doctors nor I have linked Vagifem to these symptoms. I am thankful to have access to this website and learn that Vagifem may be the cause. My plan is to stop Vagifem altogether and note any improvement in my GI symptoms.

Has anyone out there had an increase in urination? I started Yaz in Feb. and since then I've been peeing like a race horse. My OBY said it was probably an overactive bladder, typical for a peri-menopausal woman. I had tests for bladder infections and they read negative. I was in the middle of relocating my family across many miles and I just put up with the symptoms. Now I find out there is microscopic blood in my urine and I am scheduled for a slew of tests probing for tumors, cancers, polyps, etc. in my bladder and kidneys. My Dad had bladder cancer so I'm pretty scared. However, I am starting to wonder if there is a Yaz connection. I hate the thought of returning to periods where I couldn't leave the house because I was bleeding so much but all the risks here are scaring me. I don't have an OBY here yet but assuming I am not harboring cancer or an other disease (i.e., kidney stones) I think I'll go off Yaz. I already have horrible migraines and acne so I'm wondering if it will all get worse. My headaches are the same (2-3 times a month) with Yaz and my skin is better. It's been pretty good for water weight but as I said, I am in the bathroom way too much.

I am a 50 year old post menopausal woman with osteoporosis. I had 3 injections over a 3 month period for degenerative disc disease (cervical). Last injection was done 1/12/07. I was not warned about increasing osteoporosis as a side effect of this medicine even though they knew I had it and was taking medication for it.
I experienced the following side effects:
extreme sweating around head, neck, and torso
extreme mood swings where I actually became violent (I'm really a passive person), hitting loved ones, throwing and breaking things (completely out of character for me, in fact I've never behaved in this manner)
extreme depression where I tried but failed to commit suicide (I was hospitalized in a psychiatric facility for 9 days)
huge face
huge hump on my back
I now have extremely high blood pressure (was normal before)
I experience confusion and memory loss (sometimes I'm in the middle of a sentence and forget what I'm talking about and I am normally a pretty sharp person.)
I now have adrenal insufficiency and am currently scheduled for an MRI of my pituitary gland next week so they can figure out why my adrenal glands are no longer producing natural cortisol.

Went to see the doctor who gave me the injections about these side effects (before the suicide attempt) and was told these side effect would go away in 3 or 4 days! He gave me a prescription for 5mg valium and told me not to eat so much!

After my stay at the psych facility I again called the doctor who gave me the injections to try to find out if the injections had caused all of this. This doctor would not order any tests but thankfully his nurse (behind the doctor's back) told me to call my primary doctor and explain the situation and ask for a cortisol level test. My cortisol level was so low that I got an appointment with the best endrocrinologist in town the next day.

I am currently on a prednisone taper to try to stimulate my adrenals to produce the correct amount of cortisol.

Has anything like this happened to anyone else? I am so angry with the doctor I want to sue him but I'm sure I signed something protecting him.

Just a update I have taken 3 of the Lexapro and Iam very tired and dont feellike myself

I also didnt sleepwelllast 2 nights

Of course had all these symptoms prior to Lexapro

I will say it got rid of the creepy crawling under my arms that I suffered with for 6 weeks. It was like restless arm syndrome and it went away only 3 days on the Lexapro keeping my fingers crossed it doesnt come back.

Dejay also is on lexapro a week ahead of me and just so you all know she is doing so much better.
She was awful 2 weeks ago and now she is laughing and decorating her Christmas Tree.
I was really worried about her as she and I have become so close.

She swears she has no side effects from the Lexapro

I feel tired and kind of blah

I need to get back to work and get back on track and its so hard and so frustrating

I only slept 3 hours last night and wish I could take a nap but I cant.

DJ is seeing a therapist and she said the checmicals in our brains were altered by the stupid pill but that we will be back to normal.

I hate that I had to take a pill to get over Yaz/Yasmine as I said I didnt even take a Tylenol prior to this experience.

Does anyone else have any experience with the Lexapro??

Cant believe I had to take it
I too had been to the Emergency like 7 times in 7 weeks everytime telling em Iam fine except the first time I was anemic.
The last time I went to the ER the doctor told me to see a shrink.....he didnt believe a pill could trigger this

Dejay and I are so mad about the pill
It has stolen a part of our life and robbed a part of our soul

This experience forever changed us both

We have to do something everyday innocent women are taking the pill only to end up where we are today! Its wrong

Very very wrong

I have had pharmacist my doctor other doctors tell me its not the pill well it was the pill or the effects it played on my hormones

It made me a person who never took medication in my life have to take Lexapro!

I am a 62 yr old post menopausal woman.In June I received my first Kenalog shot in my knee, and had relief from pain by the next day. In August I was having the same pain again and a different ortho doc gave me another injection in my knee. 10 days later I started having vaginal bleeding, and bled for 9 days. I was told by the doctor who gave me the 2nd shot of Kenalog to follow up with my primary care doc. I had a negative pap test, but the pelvic ultrasound was abnormal and I was referred for an endometrial biopsy. My results of the biopsy showed no atypical cells and no abnormality at all. I've been told by the gynecologist that it was most likely the Kenalog shot that made me bleed. I had not had vaginal bleeding for 15 yrs previously.

I am a 47 year old peri-menopausal woman who was put on this pill to regulate irregular and very heavy menstrual periods. I did not bargain for what I got in return.

I was on this pill for 2 years before my internist suggested that the problems that I was having might be related to this pill. I had had ulcerative colitis many years ago and then it calmed down for 10 years, until about 4 months after being on this pill, it came back with a vengeance, as did many other intestinal and issues with my digestive system.

In addition, about 1 1/2 years after being on this pill, I started having insomnia for about half the days in the month, and also feeling wired and paranoid about things that did not make any sense. Then the panic attacks started. I was told that I was anxious because of my colitis and prescribed anit-anxiety medications.

I did not realize all of this was from this pill, I thought maybe a change in life coming or maybe my colitis. Well, I decided to throw all the pills away mid-cyle anyway. Why take a chance?

It has been about 3 1/2 months since I stopped taking them and it has taken all this time for me to feel like my old self. I have not had a panic attack in quite awhile, and I have anxiety only occassionally. Also, many of my digestive issues have improved, but I am still not back to 100 percent. I think some of this IS related to a change in life coming, but definitely not all of it.

If you are a 40+ woman, and your doctor suggests a low dose pill, specifically, Yasmine, think again. Yes, it does control pre-mentstual bloating, and Yes, it was easy to keep my weight down on this pill. But in doing so, I did not feel well most days. Think about it. Taking it may be like making a deal with the devil.

Good luck to all who have been on this awful "medicine"