On a whim symptoms and conditions

Thanks for your response Murph70! It really is helpful knowing that there are other women out there who have had similar experiences. I actually did go off Yasmin at one point, and my face EXPLODED in cystic acne. There wasn't a spot on my face that wasn't covered. It was horrible! So rather than waiting for it to clear up, I went back on the Yasmin!!!! I could kick myself! But at the time, I never had any problems while on the pill - in fact, it was great! I had light (almost non-existent) periods, no cramps, clear skin...the only bad side effect I had was it killed my sex drive. But I figured that was a better alternative to being pregnant and having frequent, painful ovarian cysts. I decided to stop taking the pill on a whim, really. I just felt like I didn't want to have to keep remembering to take it. Had my skin not broken out, I would never be having these problems. So I went back on, my skin cleared up and I thought everything was great - until the anxiety and depression started. I felt like a shell of my former self - I literally contemplated killing myself b/c I felt like it would be worse to live that way, especially when I could remember how happy I once was. My parents made me go see a psychiatrist and he put me on Paxil, which has really helped with my emotions, but there's always an underlying sense of anxiety and depression. And the night sweats - I can't even tell you what that's been like. I'll wake up in the middle of the night soaked through and shivering. It's all been such a painful experience, and one that no one should have to go through. The fact that it could have been avoided for so many women makes me angry and sad. I truly believe that there are women out there who will do well on the pill and find it to be very beneficial - but there are also women like myself, who don't respond well and are actually harmed by taking the pill. I just wish doctors paid more attention to their patients and realized that not everyone is going to respond the same and what's "normal" for one person may not be normal for another.

Sorry for the rambling, but I just want other women out there to know that they aren't alone and the effect BC can have on our bodies and minds can be dramatic - and it's all in your head and something you can just "shake off." So wish me luck and good luck to you all, as well!!

Hello All,

I have posted many times in the past 6 months after getting off Yasmin. I feel it is important to 're-tell' my story for new readers to the site, as I dont want any poor woman go through the hell of Yasmin, only to read comments made a few posts ago about the 'benefits' of Yasmin.

I was on Yasmin for a year and had experienced very little effects, certainly none that I noticed at the time. However, after taking it for a little over a year I became a completely different person. I am a 27 year old, confident and generally very positive about life. I became severely depressed, suffered panic attacks and anxiety daily, had suicidal thoughts, a constant high heart rate (whilst trying to sleep, worried I was about to have a heart attack!), vertigo and nausea (with NO history of any of this). My family were terrified that they'd lost their daughter and sister to an 'unknown' mental illness....I was terrified they were right. I started seeing a therapist, but continued to feel the worst I have ever felt in my life.

I was saved the day I desperately typed in 'Yasmin side effects' into my computer (on a whim) and found this site. I still remember crying into the screen as I read women describe EXACTLY how I'd been feeling. It was a gift from above for me to finally realise I was not suddenly mentally ill, I was suffering due to my Yasmin BCP. I immediately stopped Yasmin that day. My depression and accelerated heart rate stopped within days. It has now been 6 months off Yasmin, and I am only now starting to feel the closest to my 'old self' than I have felt since before I started Yasmin in 2003. I have battled anxiety this entire time (worse according to my cycle) and it is only very slowly improving.

I finally decided to see a doctor that specialises in womens health and I am having my hormone levels checked to look to possible natural hormone therapy to re'balance everything.

I just want to make it clear that if this can happen to me, a 'glass half full' person who leads a very busy work and personal life (although I nearly gave it all up at times because of this) then it can happen to anyone.

Yasmin is pure poison. No time spent on it with positive results means you can feel comfortable that it wont suddenly change you for the worse tomorrow. I am not going to say it effects everyone differently and it's worth a trial. As a health professional myself, I am not willing to even say it is. I would not wish this last 8 months on my worst enemy.

Love to all out there getting off Yasmin. Please dont question your decision to come off it. Mine saved my life and sanity.

My daughter started taking Singulair at age 10 - four years ago. She also started taking Carbatrol for supposed petit mal seizures (I say supposed because her last EEG read inconclusive) at the same time. Over the last four years she slowly became a different person - introverted, anxious, clinically depressed with paranoid/psychotic features and suicidal thoughts. After four years on these meds, and after a two-week stay in the hospital, I started researching the meds she was on. Discovered that Carbatrol blocks the body's natural ability to absorb vitamins and nutrients. That was a revelation to me. Then, on a whim just today, I decided to investigate Singulair's side effects and found this message board/website. (I never researched Singulair before now because for some reason I assumed it was a pretty benign drug - yikes.) All these posts confirm to me and my husband that most likely we have not only Carbatrol but Singulair as well to thank for our daughter's emotional decline and delicate mental state. I can't stress enough how vital it is to read about side effects (and NOT just the drug's official website, which is NOT going to have a complete list of possible side effects) BEFORE starting your child (or yourself) on any medication.

She has recently been weaned off her meds (Carbatrol, Effexor, Risperdal, Cogentin), and has just today begun taking the supplement Empowerplus through the Truehope.com website. I have every reason to believe this is going to be the answer - I know that these heavy-duty drugs certainly have NOT done her any favors.