I was on Yasmin for 5 years. Ages 20-25. During that time, i had ...

I was on Yasmin for 5 years. Ages 20-25. During that time, i had bed-soaking night sweats and hot flashes. I also had ulcerative colitis- a pre-existing condition which was exacerbated by this poison. In June, after nearly 5 years, my hair started to fall out. That was it for me. I went into an extreme downward spiral of depression. Not to be vain, but I was devastated. In August 2005, exactly 5 years to the month, I stopped taking it. I completely lost my appetite and cried for a week. Since then I have felt MUCH better but am SOOOOO hungry and have gained about 6-10 pounds. My hair is finally starting to grow back!! And i'm just generally calmer. No more sweating either. HOWEVER, i never had a zit in my entire LIFE until going off of Yasmin. I dont even know what to do with them. I've only gotten my period twice in the 6 months since going off of Yasmin and both times, my cramps were not as bad as when I was on it. How ironic. I plan to have bloodwork done soon just to make sure everything is ok but was told by my doctor that it can take a year for the pill to be completely out of your system. Please let me know if anyone is having similar experiences. Anyone been off for longer than 6 months? And why do women have to be the guinea pigs for drug companies to experiment on? I'm sure they did a lot more tests for the side effects of viagra before they would allow a man to take it.