Pro activ symptoms and conditions

I never had normal periods my entire life. I didn't have my first one until I was 17 and then I only had one every 3 months or so. My first doctor put me on ortho lo and I was on that for 2 years. My periods were extremely heavy and would last up to 3 weeks sometimes but I had no other side effects. I stopped taking ortho and had one period 3 months later and then nothing. I was in college and working and basically put my health on hold. I got married and when we started talking about kids I wasn't even sure I could have any. I'm 25 and in the past 3 years I've had one period. I went to another doctor and she gave me a pill to start my period and then I was to start taking Femcon Fe.She said if I didn't have my periods now I would eventually lose the ability to carry a baby. So I've been on Femcon for the past three months now. I bled the entire first pack and 3 days into my second one. It varied daily as to how heavy the flow was. I called the doctor and she said to keep taking them and that if they were too heavy to take Advil and that would slow it down. My last period was good. Lasted 4 days and was normal. There are other side effects though. I'm more emotional now than I've ever been in my entire life. I'm usually a pretty happy, go with the flow kind of person but now I find myself wanting to snap at people, I get depressed and cry for no reason. I love to cook but now the smell of certain foods (especially meats cooking) makes me nauseous. I get sick just driving by fast food places. Needless to say I have a loss of appetite. I did notice that I had some acne but I started to use Pro Activ so thats not a issue now. I have another doctors appointment in a few weeks so I'll see how things are going there before I decide if I want to change pills or not.

My daughter has been on Yasmin for a year and a half - it was prescribed for irregular periods and spotty skin. She is 15 and has had a year of nausea, leg cramps, hair loss, headaches, elevated heart rate,fatigue , irritation,angry outbursts ,dehydration severe moodiness and depression and lately- uncontrolled crying for no reason. She also sees black dots after exercising. She has gone from a happy girl who loved exercise to a grumpy couch potato! The doctor diagnosed it as a viral infection and suspected glandular fever - she missed a lot of school!
Today she had a day from hell - fought with a teacher and cried for hours. She also takes Ritalin as she is ADD- so I thought it was that - I decided to look up Yasmin and am so glad I did! What a great website! She has just taken a multivitamin and mag.phos - NO MORE YASMIN!!! Any advice on what she can use for her skin? and irregular periods?
A million thanks
Caron

For optic neuritis, and arm and shoulder pain: I had a combo of 3 days of Solu-Medrol infusion (steroid via IV) and then went on the following regimen of Prednisone: 5 days 60 mg; 3 days 40 mg; 2 days 20 mg.
Side effects have been terrible with the WORSE CASE OF FACIAL ACNE I have ever had. I'm 28 - I have my 10th high school reunion, weddings, and more -- and it may sound vain, but if you saw this acne (hundreds of tiny pimples all over my cheeks; sides; chin; and upper neck) you'd feel my pain. Also, got shoulder, arm, back, and chest acne -- which I can take b/c I can find ways to cover that up. But face! It's terrible. I'm using Pro-Activ and see minimal improvement. The #2 problem has been SEVERE heartburn during the tapering off phase. I have never felt that much pain and it only went away after I completely went off the drug - I treated this with ginger drink (a hot tea sold in international food stores) and Pepcid AC. Also, due to my original symptoms I can do virtually no exercise when I used to exercise 6 days/week. I'm really worried about weight gain which I already see in my arms and face. My appetite has been through the roof. Irritability was the worst but I forewarned my family. My original symptoms have greatly improved, but I'd honestly rather fight through that original pain than endure the craziness that is prednisone.