Ocps symptoms and conditions

Yasmin is great! I am 30 yrs old and have been on Yasmin for 4 years and my periods are reduced to a light 5 days (they used to be 8-12 days and heavy with clots). I have no more menstrual cramping as I did before. I have not had any pimples for 4 years. I have lost 15 lbs since being on Yasmin, but I also attribute that to being physically active and eating correctly. No change in moods, sex drive is better, boobs are bigger, energy is great. I am normal weight, healthy and active. I have no medical problems or risk factors. I just want to inform any of you that had problems with DVT, blood clots, or stroke..that all birth control pills (any brand) carry an increased risk of thrombosis. That is not a side effect unique to Yasmin. You are 2-3 X more likely to have a thrombotic event on OCPs when compared to women who are not on OCPs. Risk of thrombosis related to pregnancy is actually MUCH higher, 5-10 X compared to women who are not pregnant or on OCPs. So I'd stick with my OCPs to avoid the nastier side effects of pregnancy..

My gyn switched me to Loestrin FE from Mircette. I stuck it out for 1 pack but had to stop and will be switching back soon. The headaches on this pill were the worst I ever experienced. I was in the ER twice and lived on Vicodin for pain relief for the entire month. I had slight breast tenderness but nothing major and it took nearly 3 weeks for my period to restart.

I'm 37 and have been on OCPs for most of my adult life. I've never had side effects as bad as this before.

I'm so happy I found this site. I've been thinking I'm crazy or just getting old for the last 3 years while on Yasmin. I started taking it at age 29 and almost immediately after started having mood swings, extreme irritability and depression. I had previously been on Ortho Tri Cyclen and the Ortho Cyclen before Yasmin and was on them for MANY years and never had one side effect. I only switched in the first place because I like to have very very few periods and I run all my active pills together to forgo periods very often and I was having breakthrough on the Cyclen. Hence, the Yasmin trial.

I'm actually a doctor (which is why I CANNOT have frequent periods with all the accompanying issues), but I didn't even realize the possible connection between IBS and Yasmin. This needs to be studied and taken seriously. I never once had IBS symptoms until a few months after starting Yasmin. Now, 3 years later I have almost constatnt trouble, to the point everytime I eat I run for the bathroom, yet my weight has never been higher. I asked a GYN friend at work if they could be related and she said definitely no, but reading all of these "real life" examples, coupled with my own experience has made me think otherwise. Often, the symptoms will occur shortly after taking the pill, even when I haven't yet eaten breakfast. It's crazy!!

I'm going to switch either back to Ortho Cyclen or to something new ASAP and will report back. I'm both excited at the thought that my "IBS" might really be Yasmin related but also scared that it might not go away and therefore might really be IBS. I'll report back... It honestly never entered my mind that all of it could be the Yasmin. I had just moved, started a new job in a town I hate and I thought it was all stress related.

I've also had an interesting side effect no one has mentioned yet- my hair texture has dramatically changed. It isn't falling out, but has gone from VERY curly with a nice soft spiral curl pattern to very dry, straight and hard to manage. Nothing else has changed and now I'm wondering if it's not the DRSP. If pergnant women can have hair changes, why not women on the pill?? It's all hormones.

As always with a drug, there are always possible side effects. No one drug is perfect, and humans are so complex in their make up and they way they process drugs. Therefore, please don't judge your family docs or GYNs too harshly as not even the best doctor in the world can predict every side effect.

Please post this on your site for Yasmin side effects.
Thank you for your site. I've been informed my reading it.

I've taken Yasmin for 3 months. Initially had mild nausea taking the pills but solved that by cutting pills in half, and taking half in the morning and the other half with dinner.

However, I haven't been able to solve my SEVERE THIGH and LEG MUSCLE CRAMPS that initially occured daily and particularly nightly. Just like a 'charley horse'. Now I have these only once every 3 days, but it is very annoying and painful to be jumping around on my leg or trying to stretch my thigh, or hamstring, or shin muscle out.

I've read that Yasmin is unique in having a diuretic component to it. Has anyone else experienced these severe skeletal muscle cramps (not uterine or period type cramps)?
If so, have you found any supplements that help, such as Potassium, Calcium, or Magnesium. Please write me at ****** if you have info.

My history is I'm a 50 y/o female with slight anemia from heavy periods placed on Yasmin to control this. I'm a vegetarian who has never had problems in the past taking several different kinds of OCPs including Loestrin. I take no other prescriptions medications or supplements. I have never had skeletal cramps other than maybe once a year prior to taking Yasmin.
Thank you

I am in tears...I don't know why I started looking into this just today...but my thoughts were "I just can't take it anymore!". There was something wrong, but what???
I am a healthcare professional, and I have prescribed this same medicine for my patients. I know everyone responds differently to a medication, especially OCPs, but for those of you who are angry at your providers for suggesting this...understand that we are not notified of these frequent side effects in the literature. They are all mentioned as "rarely....".
I started taking Yasmin about 2 years ago after Levlen caused my hair to fall out, loss of 20lbs (sick), heart palpitations, migraine, etc.
SO, switch to Yasmin...felt ok, lost some weight...
I have always had some depression/pms, etc. but nothing like the way I am now...it's as if all these things have crept up over the 2 years! After reading all these posts...I wonder...
I am happily engaged...but NO SEX DRIVE at all...NONE! That must be how it works...you can't get prego if you don't have sex right? My mood has been SO flat. Flat and down I should correct it to be! Tearfulness, hoplessness, and unbelievable irritability. I've turned from "the nicest person he's even known" into a "crazy B@#$". And I know it! And I hate it! I sometimes feel like I don't have control of myself...I can't stop myself from saying something I know I shouldn't. Headaches...yep...severe neck pain (actually that's probably due to a herniated disc I just found out), bloating, fat hips/thighs that were never there. As others have said, I am 28 years old and I feel like I'm 70!
I work, I come home, I fall asleep...I wake up with insomnia and anxiety, chest pains, shortness of breath, leg cramps, tingling in my arms, blurry vision (just got glasses only 2 years after having Lasik), and a spaced out feeling. My cramps are better, but the periods, just as long and heavy. I feel like an alien!! How can this be ME? AND THIS IS A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF A HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL! We're just as far in the dark as you all! Now THAT is unnerving!
I am at the end of my pack, and will never take another Yasmin. I am considering the ortho-cyclen since it has a lower level of progestin...anyone have experience with that one? I had been on most of the others in the past.
Thank you all for your honesty. I will be contacting my patients to follow up with them to make sure they are doing ok, and to change their meds if need be.