Natural period symptoms and conditions

I'm a 22 year old newlywed and Yaz has been a nightmare. I was on Diane when I was 16 for a year for cysts on my ovaries, and after my period became regular I stopped it... Cysts came back at 19, took Yasmin, and cleared up again, it also helped with my acne. I wanted to get back on the pill for birth control purposes before my wedding, so I started September 2008. The wedding was in December 08, and about a month later, the side effects started to show up. My eyesight (previously 20/20) had gone back 2 points. I was always very slim, but I immediately noticed my bloating, and by the third month, I had gained 15 pounds. I became a miserable mess, irrationally emotional and anxious. But the major side effect of this poison as I like to call it was something that affected my marriage. Before the pill it'd be very very easy for me to get aroused/wet/in the mood/. Now I am dry, no amount of foreplay will get me wet, and this has lead to bigger repercussions. Due to the dryness, there was of course a sharp pain with intercourse. After trying for so long, and growing more frustrated, I developed a condition called vaginismus, where the vaginal muscles involuntarily clench up and become tense right before intercourse. No amount of trying and coaxing and trying to relax will help, this has become another condition altogether that needs treatment and therapy. I was becoming more and more emotional due to the buildup of these side effects. and geting even more frustrated by my doctors telling me its the 'best pill around'. I decided to stop the pill on my own cold turkey. I was on Yaz from Sept 08 till July 09 and I'm slowly getting my old self back. Its a process that takes time, but this was the best decision I've made. Nobody deserves this kind of distress over a stupid pill. As others mentioned, my period was a lot lighter but with a different and dark, sludgy consistency on the pill. I'm about to start my second natural period off of Yaz and I don't care that my periods are heavier and more natural now, with PMS discomfort. I'd rather live with that than unnatural hormones that almost ruined my life.

DON'T TAKE THIS PILL!!!!

Me again...another update...and another question.

So I am now 10 days post-removal. Still no weight loss and still have the acne. My skin appeared to have been clearing up a few days back...then I'm right back where I started. My moodiness seemed to improve...then I woke up this morning just as emotional as ever. I continue to work out like crazy...and on top of 6 evening workouts every week, I also try to get up early and have added in additional morning workouts 2-3 times per week. And still not 1 pound lost. I still look 6 months pregnant. My legs still get swollen in the evenings, but not as severe as they had. And I still feel like I was hit by a bus: I just ache all over, all the time. I had the one period which started on day 2 and ended on day 5...nothing since. So I contacted the previous caregivers I had seen, my midwives, and explained to them what has been going on since last year. (This is the group that first put me in touch with my current OBGYN due to some irregular paps I had several years ago.) So the nurse listens and agrees that my concerns are valid but, as they are a "sister-site" with the jerk GYN, she recommended to call a completely different practice for a 2nd opinion consult. So now I have an appointment with another GYN...but not until the middle of June.

My question is that in reading these posts, it seems like most of you who have this removed are noticing drastic improvement and results within days and weeks. I know this may take time to improve totally over the next few months, but I feel like I should have at least seen something get better by 10 days after! Is anyone else out there having no relief even after removal? I'm almost getting paranoid to the point of wondering if he even took it out of me!

Sorry to vent...thanks for all your support.

I, too, thought I was crazy while on Yasmin and then on Yaz. I took Yasmin for 4 years until my doctor didn't have it and I was leaving on a trip and needed it so he gave me Yaz instead. I was paranoid, depressed, nauseas, etc. I also had horrible mood swings, which I never had before. My step dad died last year so I attributed a lot of my anger and other emotions to that, but now after reading all the other posts I believe all of this was caused by Yasmin. I was never like this before. I never acted like a crazy person before or was irritated by people. I am so thankful that I know it isn't me and it was the pill all along. Who knew such a small pill could cause that much drama.
When I started taking Yaz all of the symptoms got worse. Since I was only taking the pill to regulate my period and have lighter period, which never happened, I stopped taking the pill altogether. Since I stopped in August I have only had one natural period. I was really thinking I was pregnant for a bit because I was constantly sick to my stomach, had monster migraines, had to urinate a lot, and had cramps. I took a pregnancy test (even though it has been almost two years since I have had intercourse) and I am not pregnant. I went to my general practice doctor and he said that not having a period after you stop taking the pill is normal. I have missed two periods now and he says if it gets to the third one I should go see my gyn. Has anyone else had this problem? Is it indeed normal? When will my period come back (not that I am missing it, but I'd like to know what is going on in there).

voicesi,
Thanks so much for responding. It's horrible that we all are going through the same thing, but it's nice to know that none of us are alone! The whole situation sucks. It's really making me rethink taking Yasmin after I get pregnant again. My cousin was on the patch and got pregnant three months after stopping. It's just a little discouraging for me to know that I havent gotten a natural period, therefore Im not ovulating. It's scary what we do to our bodies!! Hopefully this crap gets out of my system. Thanks so much for caring!

i started using the nuva ring over a year ago..and had no problems switching from the patch, but i was late getting my yearly exam this year...so the docs office would not refill the prescription until i got it...which ment i had to go off and resart when my natural period started which was a month late...and im due to take out the ring and start another periond next week...but i am still bleeding from the last one!!!! if this periiod starts on time it will have been five weeks of bleeding...not to mention all the new side effects ive had from starting it a second time, ive had almoth everything listed on this site...during the moth i was off if it i could not believe how happy i was..nothing had changed in my life and i finally relized after over a year it was the birth control making me unhappy!!-im gonna call my doc asap and see about other options

Dear Guest 40772-

Migraines are a direct possible side effect of taking birth control pills. Almost all of the accompanying inserts indicate migraine headahces as a possible result-mostly of the changes to hormones and blood flow. You should dis-continue Yasmin and any birth contol that is hormone changing and see an OBGYN as soon as possible. Don't try to convince yourself any longer that it is not due to yasmin-its outlines in possible and serious side effect risks.

There are different means for coming off and I think it all depends upon how strongly your body is respoding to the hormones and ingredients. you should expect if you discontinue mid-cycle that you will likely experience cramps and either break-through bleeding for an early period. Both, natural responses to changing what a hormone/bcp does which is to prohibit your natural period. You can just stop and if you are experiencing migraines, I would suggest doing so as promtly as possible and seeing your OBGYN right away.

Don't worry so much about side effects as much as you should be seeing immediately results and relief form dis-continuing the Yasmin and the migraines you are experiencing!

Jasmine

I've been off Yasmin since August 24, 2005. Over 100 days later, I finally got my natural period! I was beginning to worry even though periods are no cup of tea for me, but I was feeling soooo bloated I thought I'd pop. I hope to rid of this bloated feeling once my period ends, but we'll see... I'm, of course, not sure that will happen.

I have not gained a lot of weight since going off the pill, although I am carrying 1 to 2 lbs. more. I weigh myself daily and if it starts to go up, I reign in what I eat. But I think the weight gain is due to the bloatedness. And, I have not found it to be very easy during the holidays to "reign" eating.

The major reason I decided to go off Yasmin was because of intense angry feelings day in and day out. I would have never known to associate these feelings with Yasmin but I kept seeing that recurring symptom on this forum. I had been on Alesse before and it didn't make me angry, instead I was very anxious (panic attacks) with that one. These BCPs definitely wreak havoc on the emotions.

Last weekend, I started to feel really angry again and I thought "great, even going off this pill hasn't helped." Now I realize it was PMS. I hope to continue recovering from this last phase of trying BCP. I mainly was on it to regulate periods. Without the pill, I normally have irregular and VERY heavy periods with clotting. With the pill, the periods are soooo much better and, with my doctor's recommendation, I was even skipping them depending on my schedule (by continuous use of the pill and stopping for the "week" at my convenience). I will miss that.

Since I am now almost 48, hopefully I will not be having them much longer. I expect menopause will be a welcome friend for me.

Hey ladies, Silke, Joanne and all of you out there suffering,

I recently went to a top notch endocrinologist after my gyne denied everything I complained about the yasmin. I asked him what he knows about yasmin. His answer " another form of bc out the the 35 brands available." I told him of my symptoms and he said it all makes sense. each body reacts differently and that it takes 6 months at least to get back in balance. I'm almost 5 months off yasmin. 1 natural period. My most severe side effects is weight gain and plummeting libido. Sometimes I feel the water retention will drive me mad. However some days are better than other which gives me some hope that I might still creep out of this unscathed in the future. Cheer up and keep your chin up everyone. There are better days ahead. Let's just support each other . As they say " all good things come to those who wait."
Sherry