Summer of my life symptoms and conditions

I get very sick when I get my period, they are long and heavy, and I have digestion problems and intense stomach pains for at least 1-2 weeks before and the week of. These symptoms disappeared for a while when I was on Apri (desogen) but after a few months, they came back, and on top of it, I became severely depressed and had such bad stomach pains, I went to the emergency room (and you pretty much have to drag me to hospitals).

This last period was so bad though that I finally decided to take the sample pack of Loestrin that my doctor gave me a month or two ago. Just a day after I started taking it, my period ended and the pain and bloating was gone. This is day 6 and I'm fine so far. On Ortho Tri-Cyclen (my first pill) I had bad side effects the first few days and gained ten pounds in two weeks.

I'm glad these forums exist, because they helped me realize that all of the depression (including suicidal thoughts), stomach pain, hair loss, etc. etc. were side effects of desogen. All of those things that contributed to the worst summer of my life disappeared as soon as I stopped taking it.

On the other hand, I have to point out that there is no "good" pill or "bad" pill. The side effects will be different for everyone. Some women need more estrogen, some need less. Some need fluctuating amounts of hormones and some need the same dosage all month. Unfortunately the only way to figure out what is right for you is to try them, note your reactions, and research the differences between pills. I realized quickly that I needed a low, stable dose of estrogen, which led me to try Loestrin. Not saying things can't go wrong from here, but now I am aware that if I fall into some depression, anxiety, weight gain, or other weird side effects, it *may* be caused by the pill I'm taking.

Is the pill worth it? Again, answers will vary depending on your lifestyle. Are your periods manageable or do they cause you not to be able to get out of bed in the morning? Are they consistent or are you praying you're no pregnant every month? Are condoms working for you or aren't they, and is the 2% chance of still becoming pregnant worth the risk?

While I've had bad experiences with some pills, I'm just grateful for this BC option in general. Until they figure out how to make birth control pills for men (pshh.. that'll be the day) then it's up to us to research and maek the best decisions for ourselves.

My son was born March 2007, when he was 8wks old, to much of my surprise I found out that I was pregnant again. Mirena sounded perfect!!!! I had it placed 7 weeks after my 2nd son was born in Jan 2008. I had what I still assume is normal with any type of birth control method, irregular bleeding,cramping,some slight mood swings. That all seems normal to me when you mess with you body like that. Aug 1, 2008 I woke up at4am with awful abdominal pain sooo bad that I turned to my husband and said that I think I have to go to the hospital. I decided that if I could fall back asleep then its probably nothing major. I fell back asleep (or passed out, I don't know) The next morning I was hurting so bad I couldn't lift anything, couldn't stand up straight, felt weak and felt as though I had rocks in my stomach but had an empty feeling at the same time. The pain was all over my abdomen, stabbing, shooting,pinching. I also had pain aroung my belly button and a noticeable discomfort about my pevic bone. Finally I called my husband to come home, went to the hospital, they took blood, cultures, did an exam and did a ctscan. All normal! WHAT!! Aug 11th still having pain and now having MAJOR HOT FLASHES. I find myself getting so hot and irritated that I cant be around the babies because I am afraid I will yell at them. If I get in a little disagreement with my husband it will most likely end with me saying I want a divorce (I noticed another lady with that same problem) Today I had a ultra sound done and it came back what my (new) doctor says is normal. The problem with that is that one of my ovaries is split and is NOW shaped like a horse-shoe. I was pregnant for almost 2yrs straight and had lots of ultrasounds NOT ONE TIME did anyone say anything about a odd ovary. I'm just going to make a educated guess that it wasn't deformed till after the Mirena. Now I am wanting to remove it but feel like I should get every test known to man first to rule out any other possibility. I really don't want to remove it. I am afraid of getting it removed and even more of getting pregnant when I already have two 10 months apart and still in diapers.
My biggest question is wanting to know if hot flashes are related or if I might be having something else going on. Am I the only one with he hot flashes? I have them all day long!!!!!!!!
Also I noticed after reading other post that some other things may be related like, piercing headaches, itchy flaky oily scalp, weight gain, ear drainage, lower back pain, oily skin, increased smoking, in-grown hairs in inner thigh area, joint pain, fatigue, decrease sex drive.

Just a quick note to all of you who may have had similar side effects pre and post Yasmin. I was on Yasmin for two months and realized pretty quickly this was not the med for me. I have just come off the worst summer of my life...lethargy, anxiety, no coping skills, etc. It was post Yasmin that I believe the worst side effects hit me. I woke up with an anxiety attack (never had one before) and facial tingling (felt like I had a light sunburn on my face - both sides). The tingling lasted approx 6 days - then went to my feet and upper thighs. I know this is all odd but the only correlation is possibly hormones (getting back on track post BCP). These symptoms started 14 days before my next period. Went to PCP and neurologist who both said neurologically I'm ok - no reason for these symptoms. The only thing that was low normal was a B12 level (294) so I started B12. I am now off the pill approx 9 weeks and feeling better then I've felt since June. Therefore, what else could it be? My OB/GYN said stop the pill - and she doesn't rule out any SE from BCP's. Coincidentally is not even prescribing Yasmin anymore because of other SE from women. Can't go back in time and relive these past months without Yasmin so I can only go forward and be thankful these wacky symptoms are gone and continue to hope it was all hormone related. I wish all of you well and keep plugging forward without this med. The sun is shining again.