Spermacide symptoms and conditions

I took out my NuvaRing about a week ago. My doctor first recommended that I try NuvaRing because I was experiencing side effects like weight gain and moodiness with Yaz and other low-hormone birth control pills. Since the Ring has the lowest hormone dose possible, I thought it was the perfect solution. I used the ring for about six months and have to say that at first, I didn't have any side effects. However, with every month that I used a new Ring the side effects started showing up and then became increasingly worse.

At the end (right before I took the Ring out) I was experiencing fatigue, diarrhea, gas, a lot of whitish discharge all the time (I was soaking through pantyliners several times a day), no sex drive and a slightly swollen and tender vagina. I actually thought I had a yeast infection at one point because of some of these symptoms and used a prescription medication (I am allergic to the active ingredients in Monistat) to try and "cure it." Needless to say it didn't help the symptoms.

After finding this website from a google search I read other people's comments and realized that the Ring was causing these crazy side effects. And only one day after taking the Ring out the discharge was gone, my vagina was not swollen or sore anymore, and my gas and diarrhea went away. My sex drive is back up and now I am back to my regular sleeping patterns and my energy level has returned.

It actually frightens me that I didn't see how all of these symptoms were interconnected until I'd been living with them for a few months. I have decided to return to condoms and spermacide for birth control because honestly, it is apparent that my body does not like being innundated with hormones and frankly, using the NuvaRing makes me never want to take a hormone ever again.

I took Yasmin for a year while in high school, and it cleared up my face and made me lose weight. However, it wasn't very good at relieving severe cramps. I stopped taking it and for the next three years tried many other pills. My acne got so bad it got to the point that I'd rather deal with the cramps than shying away from society because of my face, so a year or so ago I went back to the Yasmin. I had so many horrible side effects! I was nauseous all the time, and several times a week I was vomiting and had diarrea with stomach pain. It was so bad, last June while at a rest stop during a long drive to L.A. I passed out on the pavement, in pain, panting and drenched with sweat. I've missed work and social outings because of this. I was seeing my doctor every month and I kept getting passed around because none of them could figure out what was wrong with me. I had bloodwork and body scans and ultrasounds of my abdomen; nothing. After a year I was diagnosed with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and they gave me some medicine for that, but it just made it worse. Soon after that there was a really busy week in my life when I forgot to take the Yasmin. I felt better than I had in months and months. I stopped taking it completely and I felt so much better. I gained a few pounds and my acne came back, but now I'd rather have that than be sick everyday. Now I don't get sick thinking about, looking at or smelling food. This pill also enlarged my right breast but not my left. I'm hoping after some time that they will even out. After this whole ordeal I'm sticking to condoms and spermacide.

I'm glad I wandered across this page. I have been on Yasmin for almost two weeks and I finally decided that I couldn't take it any more. I have hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and the pill exacerbated the effects. I was barely able to get out of bed and missed several days of class. Yesterday, I experienced some slight vertigo and when I lay down on the bed I experienced a spinning sensation. At times my heart beats fast and at others I get chest pains and it feels like my lungs are burning. My complexion has gone to hell. I have a lot more acne than usual. Also, hot and cold flashes. Yesterday I felt feverish and thought maybe I was getting sick. Sometimes the nausea gets to the point where I think I might vomit.
These symptoms are in no way bad compared the Ortho Evra patch that I tried a couple years ago. It made me paranoid and lethargic. I threw up a lot. I locked myself in my room and had horribly violent dreams. I also developed a severe rage problem that came out of absolutely nowhere! There were times when I thought that I was loosing my mind. I think maybe I was a bit. The paranoia was awful and it fundamentally changed me as a person. I think birth control is sceary. I think I'm going to stick to condoms and spermacide from now on.