Oily skin symptoms and conditions

I started taking Yasmine in 2005 and almost imeemdiatley I started to have severe anxiety, depression, no sex drive at all and worse of all extremely bad migranes especially a few days before getting my period and during. My life had to be put on hold when I had my period because of the migranes. I stopped taking the Yasmine 3 weeks ago because I just couldn't take the migranes anymore. I have noticed I have gained some weight, my skin and hair feels alot oilier, and my hair has been falling out more than usual which is kind of freaking me out, don't have mood swings. My sex drive has gotten better which is a relief. I still don't know if my migranes will have gone away during my period. I'm just curious can anyone tell me if these side effects (hair loss, weight gain, oily skin) will go away after a few months.
When I went off another type of pill I actually lost weight, why is this one different?

I started on Yasmin a year ago because I believed the TV advertising. I had no noticeable side effects for several months, then began heart palpitations, anxiety attacks in the middle of the night, crying for no reason, severe headaches, and my blood pressure, which has always been low, skyrocketed to as high as 160/130. I asked my gyn if Yasmin could be the cause and he said maybe, so I took myself off it. I had to go on blood pressure medication, but I'm hopeful that after that poison pill is out of my system I can get off the meds. The doctor's office called yesterday to say my cholesterol was so high they wanted me to go on medication for that. I last had cholesterol checked in Nov, and it was fine. I've been off yasmin for two weeks and already feel more hopeful and less anxious.

I decided today that Mirena is coming out, asap. I had it inserted Jan...2008.
After having an ablation in 2007 that did not seem to work I thought Mirena would be a good b/c alternative...it has helped with the break through bleeding. Virtually, not period or bleeding. But that is about it. I have experienced some weird side effects...to include face and back acne; extremely oily skin; always tired and sleepy; bloating and weight gain...12lbs so far in just a few months; dizziness; cramping; and breast swelling. I dont even feel or look like myself anymore. I've been working out; cutting calories and bad carbs. And yet I gain. Whats up with that.
Thank goodness I can still have orgasms or life would be over. Although, my hubbie can feel the string. And the friction is not pleasant.
But after seeing my regular md today and seeing that I gained 12lbs in just a few months...the red flag went up. I love looking beautiful and in shape being nearly 35. Everyone thinks that I am 25. And thats the last thing I feel right now. I would rather have the bleeding than these weird effects. At least my weight was good. This is too, much to deal with right now. Going to have try something different. Any suggestions? Did anyone else out there have an ablation? Please comment.

I have just gone back onto Yasmin after an absolutely horrifying experience trying to come off it.

I have taken Yasmin for 3 years with minimal problems. My skin was fantastic - never a blemish. I actually LOST weight while on it and went up a up a breast cup size. I got lighter periods which was a godsend. I did get a few problems though - gas and stomach bloating as well as headaches sometimes shortly after taking it and occasionally break-through bleeding. But for me the pros outweighed the cons.

I came off it recently as I'm no longer in a long term relatonship and it was just awfull. My skin broke out, I got very oily hair and skin and felt like I was going through puberty again. The worst problem was that in just 3 weeks I blew up like a baloon. I literally stacked on weight every day and my family all made suggestive comments like "been enjoying the cake lately?" I was so angry since I'm such a healthy eater and excersize every single day!!!!! I have never had a problem wth my weight before and the only change I made in my lifestyle was coming of Yasmin. I was so upset with my appearance I have actually gone back on the Yasmin. However its ridiculus to stay on it for beauty's sake.

Has anyone ever experiecend this before??? If so what did you do????

Just to confirm

Weight gain, oily skin, cramps... ibs

I have just had it removed so would like to share how it turns out.

Many strange things have been happening to me for the last year and a half, that I did not ever experience before. I just turned 38 years old. I am now suspecting these are side effects from the MIRENA. I want to get opinions about what I'm experiencing and what happens when it's removed.

The most profound thing is the feeling of being in a mental bubble. Even though I'm aware of it and I try to be alert, I feel cloudy minded and can't even rely on myself to remember things or commit to things because I never know how I will feel when I wake up each day. Some days are okay while others are completely LOST because I may have struggled to sleep the night before, sweating and soaking my pillow case and waking up with a rapid heart beat, panicking for no apparent reason right out of sleeping. Or, I'm irritable due to discomfort which takes several forms like these:
- major moodiness, like feeling totally peaceful one minute and then something small triggers me and I'm angry for hours, later realizing that I was overreacting
- visibly shaking hands, especially when I drink just 1/2 cup coffee.
- increased oily skin and acne on face, back, shoulders and even in ears, along with thinning hair around face
- fatigue and stiffness in the morning, so it takes me forever to get out of bed
- off and on fatigue that has me uncontrollably dozing off during the day
- bloated tummy (visible), gas and menstrual cramps in no predicable pattern, but I never go more than a week without these things
- strange libido, one day I wouldn't care if I ever had sex again, the next night wake up horny as heck at 2 am
- ears ringing, jaw pain, mystery pains in back and joints regularly

All along I've been assuming these odd things were stress and age related but the more I think about it, there's just too many things, and these things don't necessarily represent the stress of a typical stay at home mom.
Sure, I have had stress and anxiety in the past, but they could always be connected to something large going on in my life. Now, the anxiety and moodiness hit unpredictably and indiscriminately, it seems. For a long time now I feel like I'm a total mess physically and mentally, even more so because I realize something is wrong
I am pretty sure as of right now that I should get this removed. If the symptoms go away I'll then know what caused them in the first place.
I am wondering what happens upon removal, will it also be a roller coaster of physical and mental anguish???????? How long will it last?

As others have pointed out, BCs affect everyone differently. Before my children, I took Ortho Tri-Cyclen without incident. Loved it. Then after my children, I had a tubal ligation and was not on BC for over 7 years. But due to the onset of adult acne and extremely oily skin, I asked my GYN to put me on Yasmin to clear up my face and chest. What a disaster that was!! The first two months were OK, but the next five months were agonizing. My symptoms included significant weight gain (15 pounds), larger but painful breasts, sleeplessness, anxiety, anger/irritability (more than my normal septic self), heavy spotting between periods, slight vaginal dryness and an unpleasant body odor. I quit the pill this past September out of sheer frustration. The interesting part was that I did not tell my husband that I quit taking them and he asked me about a month later if I was still taking them. I answered no and he said that he could tell because now I smelled and tasted "normal". So ladies, be aware that aside from the anger issues, your partner may be suffering in other ways. I'd rather have blemished skin than deal with the side effects. And now that I have been over 3 months free of BCs (I am not taking any chances with trying others), I lost almost ten pounds and all of the weird smell. My period is longer than I'd like but has gone back to normal and although my skin is still very oily, I have found a facial product to combat the acne. Email me if you liked because there is more to this story than I have time to write.

I've been reading all the other posts here, and well, It pretty much matches my problems.. I have Headaches every day, I spot and have cramps..
My Acne has been getting worse every month.
I'm really tired, sleep more than I should.
I find myself going through mood swings, bursting into tears at simple things..
and I've gained 5-10 pounds.
So I fell horrible and I'm quitting from this pill.

I am 34 yrs old and new to oral contraceptives. Have been on Loestrin 24 Fe for about a month and a half and have noticed the following symptoms: shortness of breath, sore/tender breasts, vaginal dryness, extremely dry patchy skin (from otherwise having very oily skin), 2 periods in one month, hungry all the time - which has lead to overeating and weight gain, feelings of despair - lots of crying and mood swings, periodic tingling sensations in feet and lower legs.

My first period on the pill was shorter and pain was dulled, but second time the period was longer and had pain every day of my period which is unusual for me.

I think its time to jump off the Loestrin 24 ship...

Kim
Hi BitterRN here.
All I can tell you about your hormone levels is what I too have experienced myself.
I had my hormones tested by blood and saliva 3 months after I quit bcp.
Both tests showed estrogen and progesterone levels as normal.........HOWEVER
On my saliva test My level was 11... Normal is 20-50 (I am sure I run on the higher end of that scale as I have or should say HAD the oily skin, oily hair, smalller breasts before yasmin..) This level is extremely low, and the test level stated LOW.
My blood tests drawn at exactly the same time on the SAME EXACT DAY, read normal (at the very lowest end of the scale) so my gyn said, all levels are normal.
NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When I had the results evaluated by a bioidentical Dr. later she said no, the blood levels were not "normal" and her words were "for an 80yr old maybe, but not for you"

So long story short, I kept testing, with saliva tests month after month (they have to be done at a specific time every month) and here is what happened.....

Month 4 after stopping,
My estradiol went to 0.8 now in the low range
Progesterone dropped to 72 now in the low range
Testosterone went UP to 15 still low range but higher.
Cortisol went up to 9.3 High ranges are 3-8. So just a little high probably from stress.
Symptoms, still feeling up and down with ? improvement.

Month 6 after stopping, (I skipped a month due to expense, I pay out of pocket for all these tests)
MY estradiol is range but still all of my symptoms are not gone
Cortisol still a little high at 8.9.
I am feeling better than before and symptoms are resolving, but I am not feeling getting better as quickly as I would like, so I do something REALLY REALLY stupid...

I try to start my old bcp ortho novum, thinking I did well on it all those years (12 yrs) and my hormones are pretty well getting to be more normal...or so I thought, now looking back not really, still had a ways to go, but I was not thinking clearly, and started them, at first I felt like things were getting back to normal, but about 12-15 after being on it, I felt the anxiety coming back. I stopped them on day 15, and it was like all the symptoms started over again (really wanted to die, How could I have been so stupid?) I believe I would have really felt better by now if I had not tried to do this.

Anyway, I saliva tested 1 month after and I already knew before the tests came back that my testosterone had fallen again to 17
My estrogen was normal at 1.3
Progesterone was really low at 16!!!!!! normal is 100-600
cortisol high at 11.

Next month after stopping
estrogen low again at 0.9,
Progesterone coming up at 52
testosterone 15 whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! somebody shoot me!
still feeling like sh*!
I really tried supplementing with bioidentical hormones at my doctors suggestion at this point, but It is really hard to find a dose because they are used to caring for much older women so it was a guessing game, consequently, I think i used a little too much testosterone,

Next month testing
progesterone dropped and testosterone shot up to 80!!
I called the lab and they said this indicated the dose I was using was too high, that since I tested while using this high dose, the test was registering high (in other words this was not my true level and it would come back down as soon as I stopped using it.) I asked why my progesterone went down as I was supplementing with progesterone creme as well, she said when one hormone is too high the other hormones become suppressed. Ahh.
So I quit supplementing altogether.
And now I am waiting for the next results, I should have them by monday or tuesday.
Just a side note, I am feeling better just as I was before I tried to take the bcp the 2nd time. It seems like this time I may be getting better faster? I dont know, depends on the day you ask me.
This is why i have been asking silke about her hormone levels and why I think that it may be her testosterone that is the problem, as some women have trouble getting their testosterone up after being on bcp or after pregnancy. I really feel this may be the problem as I did not feel better until this particular hormone started going up, as i felt crappy again as it dropped (especially with the anxiety) However, a doctor not familiar with hormones will say a Low normal level is normal. Its NOT.
This is just my experience. I cannot write it in stone. Hope it helps.
BitterRN

Silke
Hi, did you get copies of your labs?
Anxious to hear from you.
BitterRN

hi dejay78,
snap on the greasy skin and hair,mine was really bad for a while.it is settling down a little now. i use ketsugo gel to help control the oily skin. i am still having problems with spots but that is the least of my concerns,i am just happy that i am getting better. you asked about how much magnesium to take. 350-500 a day should be enough to get your levels back up,you may need this dose for a month or two then you may be able to reduce it. you should also aim to take about 50-100mg b6 daily then reduce it down when you feel better. there is some suggestion that you should not take calcium and magnesium at the same time as they compete for absorbsion but it's up to you. i too had my thyroid checked after i stopped using the yasmin,mine was in fact hypo not hyper.i have hashimotos disease so was being treated with thyroxine but my level had been stable for years,now i have been off yasmin for 7 months i have been able to reduce my dose again...i guess that as thyroxine is a hormone maybe it is affected by birth control pills. i am sure you will see some improvement soon,as i said in my previous posting distraction techniques really help with the anxiety,keep busy or read a gripping book,you will see that when you are occupied you do not think about how you feel. i used to love having a rest and a lovely day dream,it sounds funny but it really helped me. A word of caution on the magnesium,too much can give you diarreah! you could try some camomile tea before bed to calm you and help you to relax,i have a few cups throughout the day and it helps.
best wishes.
sarah

Silke-
Hi, BitterRN here again (still bitter about yasmin too:)
But Im feeling better and I want to share with you my findings and thoughts about what I think about your situation. But first please dont ever hesitate to write me, I check in on this site pretty frequently to see how everyone is doing and it always breaks my heart to see another "victim" of science or someone who is still struggling with this nightmare drug.
So here is what I think, I think your testosterone is low still. I really believe this is the root of your problems I am almost sure of it. You see I think Yasmin suppresses testosterone. This is a side effect of most birth control pills, but I think Yasmin does it even more so. I am proof of that, I took ortho novum for several years, I had breakouts and oily skin as my body had always been this way even before bcp. Then I took yasmin, and yeah my skin had no more breakouts, no more oil, (and no more life in it.) I know for a fact that my testosterone became severely low. And with low testosterone comes all the symptoms you and all the people on this website have been complaining about, and I think the longer your on it the more symptoms develope, because your body is not getting this incredibly important hormone, the hormone responsible pretty much for anti-aging, muscle repair, sleep, sex drive, overall sense of well being. so I think symptoms start to appear one by one as the testosterone is decreased by the yasmin, and the thing I have noticed is that when testosterone starts to go down, anxiety goes way way up!!! I felt this myself, and friends who have been diagnosed with low testosterone have felt it as well, and everyone has said they felt like they were going crazy! Depression sets in. And then when yasmin is stopped its up to your body to replace all the hormones it was getting synthetically with hormones it now has to make. Again I feel this is harder with yasmin because it so severely depresses the androgens (testosterone)
Now your body is trying to balance your estrogen and progesterone and testosterone, and it seems to be unable to do it quickly let me show you my journey..
I stopped yasmin in Jan 06 I started regulating my hormones in april 06 my first testosterone level was 11 and normal is 20-50. God only knows how low it fell in the 3 months between. So april it was 11
may it was 15
july it was 21 (normal range)
I was starting to feel much better at the end of july. So the fact is as my testosterone has been going up, my body has been recovering. As well as the estogen and progesterone balancing out which cause a who new set of symptoms of their own when they are not in balance(menopausal symptoms frequently)
So this is what I am trying to get at Silke, I think your body has been working hard to get the testosterone up, and judging from your symptoms still ongoing, namely the muscle weakness, tiredness and weakness, and the anxiety, I feel very strongly that your body is having trouble getting this hormone to the level it needs to be for you to feel better (yes just like your old self) I have been supplementing with bioidentical testosterone, though I do not recommend this until you have seen a physician who will test your hormone levels and READ THEM CORRECTLY which is key here. I know you said you had your hormones tested before and that your testosterone was "Low normal"? Is that correct? But even if that is so what most people, and even most doctors do not understand is that a "low normal" reading on a woman in her 30's is NOT NORMAL. Thats normal for a woman in her 80's(and I bet she doesnt feel so hot either!)
I know it is hard to find a good doctor. But I happen to have stumbled across a good doctor here in Arizona and he has clinics all over the U.S. and even one overseas in Spain. Now I realize you live in Germany right? So I e-mailed them and asked if they had any other clinics in Europe. I will let you know when they get back to me.
Anyway here is what I found. Since I think your body needs a boost in testosterone (I mentioned this before but sometimes when bcp suppress testosterone for so long, the body kind of forgets how to make it again, so it may need some help) and I think this may be what is going on with you.. But the first step for you is getting your hormones tested to be sure what it is you are lacking and then having them read by a bioidentical hormone doctor, and then you may have to supplement with bioidentical testosterone, but do not be afraid Silke, this is not synthetic hormones like bcp it is identical hormones that your body makes and you will be supplementing not replacing.
Anyway on to what I found, Im sorry I get sidetracked....
These centers I found have a procedure called Sottopelletherapy. What they do is make a tiny incision in your hip or buttock area and insert a bioidentical hormone smaller than the size of a grain of rice with the hormone you are lacking, this is of course after they have tested your hormones and determined which one you are low in. Your body can then absorb the amount of hormone that it needs from this implant whenever it needs it.
But I really think you need a good doctor to test your hormones first and these doctors in these centers really understand hormones. Here is the name and address of the one I found in Spain:
Dr.***

If they e-mail me more info. I will let you know. But my friend who had many of the same symptoms as you silke, the feeling down, tired, anxious, muscle weakness, she went to this clinic (she is a nurse too) and had her hormones tested and they found her testosterone was very low (almost nothing) and she just had this procedure done. She has been on anti depressants for 3 years now as 90percent of the women who see this doctor are because they are mis-diagnosed as depressed (as are a lot of women on this website) and put on anti depressants. She is looking forward to getting off of them soon.
So the bottom line is I know yasmin drops your testosterone (I have seen it in myself) the thing is i think everyones body on this website is trying to replace this precious hormone, and everyones body, depending on age(because the body slows down in production of hormones and you dont make it as fast.) and just your particular situation (length of time on it, pre existing factors?) is just recovering at its own rate. However, I think the people who are taking a really long time(like a year or more) and experiencing setbacks as in your situation silke, need more help as your body cannot seem to fully restore testosterone levels that are normal for you. And I think only when this is balanced are you going to feel like the old you again.
So now I am the one who has written a book again, so write me back and let me know what you think. I hope I did not use too much medical talk. If so let me know and i will try to explain it better.
Look forward to hearing from you Silke,
BitterRN.

I have been on Yasmin for about 3 years now (possibly longer). In the past year or so, my skin has become EXCESSIVELY oily. I mean - it's disgusting! I have tried every cleanser/astringent/medication possible but to no avail. I eat a healthy and balanced diet and drink plenty of water. The only thing I can think of is that it's the Yasmin that is causing it. Has anyone else had this problem? Could this be the cause of my overly oily skin? I mean, 20 minutes after I cleanse it will literally be dripping with oil - enough so that I can scrape it off under my nail and it will just be liquid oil. It's gross and very embarassing. I'm 24 years old and can't think of any other causes.

hi jess,glad i am not the only one with sinus problems,it drives me crazy! snap on the greasy skin/hair. this may just be a hormonal blip that will settle once the body gets back into it's own natural cycle of hormones (this could take a while!) i use the naturally active range by liz earle,not sure if it is available in the USA? i either buy my stuff from QVC or from the liz earle website,i recommend the cleanse & polish and also the super balm concentrate for oily skin,spot on is great for zapping those annoying zits too!

To those of you asking about tingling/ burning in your face pre and post yasmin. I experienced this both during and after yasmin. I was on it 3 months. It managed to dehydrate me especially in my face. I have very oily skin and hair. The yasmin took away the oils in my face and hair, even the pores on my nose closed up. My skin felt swollen and sensitive like a light sunburn at times (tingly) shooting pains in my cheeks, jaw aching (Im a clencher i dont know if this was stress related.) Also my hair texture changed less oily, thin dry and brittle also my scalp was real sensitive i couldnt even wear my hair in a clip or ponytail without severe scalp pain. Needless to say it was falling out all over the place but it has let up now. (I took prenatal vitamins while this was happening to keep it growing fast.) I had lots of other symptoms too, been off the evil little pill 3 months now. Slowly getting better. I am an RN and I think this pill is bad news. I took ortho novum 777 for years with no problems, no side effects. I thought they were all the same. I cannot believe the LIFE CHANGING effects this pill has caused me and so many other people.

I was prescribed sulfameth by a dermatologist to help dry out my oily skin as a teenager(15years ago). After a week of taking this medication orally, I noticed I had bruises that i could not remember any injury causing. At the time I had braces on my teeth, and one morning after noticing the bruises on my skin, i woke up and noticed blood blisters on the inside of my mouth and tongue! Sulfameth was the only medication i was taking at the time. I went to my dermatologist to get his opinion, after which he sent me immediately to the hospital. Turns out, I was on the verge of internally bleeding to death. I had to stay in the hospital for a week, where i was treated with a steroid to boost my red blood cell count because it was deathly low. Had i not noticed the bruises, and blood blisters in my mouth from the braces, I might not have known.

On the issue of weight gain...
I have been off Yasmin for two months now (I stopped due to severe anxiety, heart palpatations, and rashes on my body) and I have been gaining weight rapidly since stopping the pill. The other side effects are slowly going away but I feel bloated almost all the time and have gained about 7 pounds. My diet and exercise have been constant so I am guessing it's water retention. Also, I have had awful gas and digestion issues, along with oily skin and no period at all. I'm trying to give it time to work itself out before trying another pill. I'll keep you posted as time progresses. Hang in there everyone and thanks for the posts. It is nice to know women are being proactive about their health and seeking help from others.

very oily skin on my forehead?
very dry skin (almost a burn) on my cheeks?

Has anyone else had these symptoms?

Hi everyone,

I took Yasmin for about two years, with increasing severe side effects that finally caused me switch to another brand. Everything was fine for the first few months or so, then gradually I started experiencing symptoms that I would normally link to PMS, but I was having them all throughout the month. Each month it got worse and worse until I'd finally had enough.

My GYN repeatedly told me it was just taking my body a while to adjust to the medication, and to try to wait it out because I'd really like it once I got used to it, but after two years I figured I had waited long enough. It shouldn't take that long for my body to adjust!

I've been off Yasmin for about three months now and I have had a dramatic reduction in the symptoms I had been experiencing for about a year and a half. As I've previously said, my symptoms didn't appear all at once, but built up gradually over the course of several months. Specifically, my symptoms were:

*Extremely oily skin and really bad acne on my chest, back and face. When I say really bad, I mean it was worse than when I went thru puberty, which was pretty bad. The pimples on my face in particular were very deep and painful cystic acne, which is something I had not experienced before. I also broke out in weird places like my neck, around my ears and eyes and on my head (under my hair). And one time just inside my nostril. Ouch! I tried everything, including a dermatologist who advised Accutane (which I declined), nothing helped.

*My hair was also a lot oilier than normal. I didn't notice any thinning of the hair on my head, but I did notice that I was waxing my legs a lot less often, which was just fine with me. I have a lot of hair (genetic, thanks Mom and Dad!) and I usually get my legs waxed every month, but after I'd been on Yasmin for a while I was going almost four months between waxings. I have really thick hair on my head that grows like a weed, so it's possible that it thinned some and I just didn't notice. So that's one side effect that I really didn't mind.

*I started having frequent headaches that would linger for days. Not migraines, because I also get those from time to time, but a "milder" headache that felt like constant heavy pressure behind my eyes and all around my head. OTC meds were no help at all. I also had periodic cramps in my calves for no apparent reason (not due to exercising or injury).

*My breasts became swollen and incredibly sore. Again, this would occur all through the month. I had to buy a couple of new bras to accomodate the swelling and tenderness. I avoided any activity that would cause my breasts to move or jiggle at all, even walking briskly, because it was so painful. Showering was painful. Even wearing a soft tee shirt was too much sometimes.

*My periods gradually became heavier and longer, which is exactly the opposite effect from what I've experienced in the past with other BCP's. I also started having pretty intense menstrual cramps throughout my period and then at random times during the month. I would sometimes get light-headed when I was having these major cramps, to the point where I would lose my balance and fall or have to sit down immediately. Every once in a while, when I was having these cramps, I would experience a brief, stabbing-type pain that would literally take my breath away. My GYN was unconcerned about this, and told me that I was just having some side effects that would go away in time.

*I also experienced a fairly drastic increase in my normal vaginal secretions, all throughout the month. I started wearing panty liners all the time (which I'd never done before) and often changed my underwear in the middle of the day because I felt so gross. I sometimes carried an extra pair of panties in a ziplock in my purse. This discharge wasn't itchy or particularly smelly, so it wasn't a yeast infection or anything, just a lot more volume than usual. My GYN tested me for everything under the sun and everything came back normal. She told me it was "just my body adjusting" blah blah blah. At this point, I was really getting sick of hearing that phrase.

*The straw that finally broke the camel's back was when I started spotting all the time. With everything else, I felt like I was having my period all month long and I was miserable. I also had some of other symptoms, like anxiety attacks, insomnia, severe mood swings, foggy thinking, feeling tired all the time and feeling depressed but I have a long history of Major Depression, which I take medication for, so I attributed those symptoms to my existing condition. I can't say for sure whether Yasmin caused those symptoms, but I do know that they have pretty much disappeared or are under better control since I stopped taking Yasmin.

I've been off Yasmin for about three months now, and all of these symptoms I've listed are gone. My skin looks great, the enduring cramps are gone and my breasts feel normal again. Of course, my hair is growing faster again, but I'm willing to give up that one benefit in exchange for all of those symptoms being gone. I've switched to OrthoCyclen and I have not had any problems with it.

I'm sorry this is so long, but I needed to tell all of this to people who would understand what I've been through. I feel so bad for the women here whose stories are much worse than mine. I know everyone responds to medications differently, and Yasmin seems to work just fine for some women, but it seems to me that there are a lot more women all having problems and side effects. It can't be coincidence that we all have such similar horror stories about Yasmin. I guess the bottom line is listen to your body, and don't allow your doctor or anyone else to bully you into taking a medication that you know is causing you more harm than good. Thanks for reading my story and I hope we can all find solutions that will work for each of us.

Amy

I was on Alesse for four years and felt I had reached maximum bloat, so decided to discontinue the pill altogther this fall. Unfortunately, my acne problems surfaced again (after a year and a half after a six-month course of accutane). My skin got really bad and was getting oilier and oilier. I thought I'd better get back on the pill again to get my skin at least somewhat under control. I also considered going to my derm and ask for spironolactone to help with my skin's over production of oil. While doing research on BCPs that were purported to be good for acne, I landed upon Yasmin, and asked my OBGYN for it and she prescribed it to me. Yeah! It's been a godsend.

I started around the holidays this past December and it addressed my oily problem within the first week of taking it. And it doesn't make me bloat! I swear I've lost 10 pounds of water weight that I was carrying before. I still have to keep a lot of attention to my skin to control breakouts, but not being so oily helps out a lot.

My only complaints are with the diuretic effect, I'm up in the night having to go to the bathroom, sometimes as much as three times. And if it's rather early in the morning I can't get back to sleep. I'm a little moody, but it seems to be the case with birth control pills. The moodiness is nothing excessive. I'd be a lot moodier if I had my old icky oily skin back and had to go back on Accutane.

I have not experienced the fatigue or other negative side effects that people have mentioned here. In fact, it seems that all the possitive side effects that Yasmin was purported to have have worked for me.

I'd be very upset if Yasmin was taken off the market. If you find that a birth control pill is not working for you, go back to your doctor and try another kind. I remember a friend in college who had started taking the pill and she had terrible side effects, like bad headaches, terrible moodiness, felt like her heart was palpitating, and I told her to go and get it switched. Evidently the one that she switched to was perfect because she's been on it ever since. Works out perfectly for her, no bloating, etc. Maybe a little crabbiness, but seems hard to avoid that one.

At any rate, I've been very happy with Yasmin. As birth control pills go, it's practically perfect for me.

Hello, I started Yasmin about 8 months ago, no noticeble mood swings, not depressed at all, gained some weight, NO libido, DRIED MY SKIN OUT! I normally have combination/oily skin, now I am dry as a desert. Thinking of stopping, but that means I have to start my search of a new pill again.

i took protropin for 3 years during high school. I was diagnosed with a growth disorder and my doctors said I would only grow by taking protropin.

this was during 1990 - 1993.

Towards the end of my treatment, I started developing a bad case of acne and hair loss. Today, 2004, the acne still remains and has devastated my life not to mention permanently scarred my face. I continue to suffer from acne and I have extremely oily skin. Furthermore, I continue to suffer from hair loss and have lost most of the hair on my scalp.

Has anyone else experienced these problems? I am currently in the process of visiting several doctors and taking tests to determine if I was given to much growth hormone during my therapy. No one in my family suffers from the acne problems I have been through.

if anyone else is suffering similar problems, please contact me:

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i'm convinced i was given too much growth hormone and was improperly diagnosed. i plan to gather as much information as possible and eventually speak with lawyers to consider any legal options.

breast growth and oily skin