Yasmin and anemia

WOW! I was prescribed Yasmin after seeing a new doctor, believe it or not, it was prescribed to try to treat my iron deficiency anemia. He believes that having extremely heavy menstrual cycles is the cause of my anemia and said that the Yasmin will help that. Now mind you, i don't have ANY gyn type problems, no fibroids, no cramping, endometriosis, etc. So now, after reading all of your posts, it really seems wrong to have prescribed me this medication. I don't like taking medicines, usually treat things with herbs and such so I have been very apprehensive.

Today was the day I was supposed to start taking it, and I just didn't feel right about it, so I decided to research it on the internet. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to those of you who have taken the time to care enough about other women you don't even know to post your side effects. I AM NOT TAKING THIS CRAZY PILL!!!

I have four young sons, a wonderful husband and my life's purpose is to help other women as a inspirational speaker. I have way too much to loose by taking a chance on this pill. Ridiculous!!!!

I am sooo glad I prayed about this before just following the doctors instructions. Because I did, I didn't feel comfortable and I researched it online. GOD IS SO GOOD! TRY CHRIST!!

I posted not too long ago as my symptoms first began creeping up on me, high chloesterol, depsite a lot of exercise and eating healthy and having a normal body fat percentage. (AND I MEAN SO HIGH THAT I SHOULD WEIGH 500+ pounds)! I also have vitiligo, this causes skin discoloration and began having muscle aches and trouble sleeping at night. I had been on Yasmin for a little over a year and taken a break for 3 months before getting back on and symptoms started creeping up 2-3 months after coming back on Yasmin. I have aslo began to have hair loss in the past few months, gained 17 pounds in 4 months despite excerising and eating healthy. I began having hert palpitations and my late night writing can be attributed to trouble sleeping and overwhelming anxiety. I also have a lower sex drive now and am very depressed. I have been off Yasmin despite my doctor not believing a low dose pill could be causing all this, for one month. I have had withdrawals without a doubt, I am having severe breakouts, my breasts are so tender air caused by a fan hurts them and I want to cry all the time. The worst thing of all is my doctor won;t believe me, but how else can all this be happening. Blood tests ruled out thyroid and anemia as culprits as well as pregnancy (apparently I wouldn't notice that the 17 pounds was really a baby-what are these doctors thinking I know my body!). I hear all your symptoms and I wish I could say that they go away as soon as you get off the pill, but I can say if you just got on and things seem to be great realize I was on it for over a year and swore by it becasue it was the first pill that seemd to help with my emotions and cramps...but that all changed and my life feels like it is crashing down. I may never convince my doctor that yasmin is doing this to my body...they don't blieve me that I'm not eating fast food and siiting on my butt eating fatty foods all day and that is why I'm gaining weight and have dangerously high chloesterol, but I hope I can convince you all. I have had bad luck with all pills, I am allergic to spermicide and can't use diaphrams, I had my period for a month solid on the shot, but what Yasmin is doing to me makes me worry that my life is truly at risk...I would rather deal with cramps that are crippling than be ridiculed by doctors and hate myself the way yasmin makes me fo.

IRON DEFICIENCY or ANEMIA

I already told you ladies about iron deficiency in one of my earlier posts. But yesterday my doc finally supposed the same when I told him about my now again upcoming symptoms (tight chest, breathlessness after walking or doing anything, muscle weakness, nausea, tiredness, circulation problems, etc.).

So I'll finally get my iron levels checked on friday (my gyn, whom I had visited a few weeks before, didn't do anything like that at all, he again just told me to "wait and see" if the problems perhaps get better by themselves..... Wow, what a nice suggestion in such a bad situation. Thank you!).

Perhaps one thing for some of you to get checked, too!? I think it might be worth it and could be another chance to find a solution!!

Check the symptoms of iron deficiency over google or whatever, I'm sure you'll find some of yours!!

All the best to you out there!!

Silke

I had a complete metabolic check and all of my counts were fine except my sodium was down 1 point I only took Yaz for 3 weeks byt it screwed me up!

Iam still not the same me and I have been off 7 weeks now.

I was anemic going into Yaz can you believe my doctor gave me Yaz knowing I had Anemia so that may be why Iam sufferring more thean some. My iron is back up 10 12.8 now but it was low when I went on Yaz.

Thoughts

Hi Everyone

Iam still doing not well went back to ER today I know they are sick of me have been 5 times in 6 weeks cant help it the effects are so horrible and scary

I took a quarter of the Lexapro yesterday and a quarter today it scares me too
If any of you knew how holistic I was prior to this
I never took anything at all and was always telling everyone to stop taking what they were taking and go to the health food store.

I dont know what made me takt the BCP.
I think I was weak from the anemia and wasnt thinking clear

Yes I have had my blood drawn 4 times now just today again my iron is up to 12.8 was a 8!
Ferritin is kind of low doctor told me to continue iron daily

My stomach is so nauseated though its hard for me to tolerate it now
Couldnt eat and still losing weight I cant sit down to a meal just biting here and there

Its so scary I have lost my slepp my appetite

The Lexapro is terrifying to me but no one has discussed the serotonin in the brain. Dejay therapist and cotor told her that the serotin and dopamine were altered by the BCP.
Iam not sure how that all works

I dontlike fooling around with chemicals but Dejay said we made that mistake when we took the BCP

Iam making myself sick about the Lexapro and that I took it I felt so jittery from it last night and today
Iam terrified to get hooked on it

The doctor and pharmacist said I can stop it at anytime I feel better in a month or whenever

Iam scared of it scared of not getting better scared of never being the same scared of missing these days of my life scared of losing my mind

Weight yes I too lost so much weight my rigs and chest bones are poking out

Please post this on your site for Yasmin side effects.
Thank you for your site. I've been informed my reading it.

I've taken Yasmin for 3 months. Initially had mild nausea taking the pills but solved that by cutting pills in half, and taking half in the morning and the other half with dinner.

However, I haven't been able to solve my SEVERE THIGH and LEG MUSCLE CRAMPS that initially occured daily and particularly nightly. Just like a 'charley horse'. Now I have these only once every 3 days, but it is very annoying and painful to be jumping around on my leg or trying to stretch my thigh, or hamstring, or shin muscle out.

I've read that Yasmin is unique in having a diuretic component to it. Has anyone else experienced these severe skeletal muscle cramps (not uterine or period type cramps)?
If so, have you found any supplements that help, such as Potassium, Calcium, or Magnesium. Please write me at ****** if you have info.

My history is I'm a 50 y/o female with slight anemia from heavy periods placed on Yasmin to control this. I'm a vegetarian who has never had problems in the past taking several different kinds of OCPs including Loestrin. I take no other prescriptions medications or supplements. I have never had skeletal cramps other than maybe once a year prior to taking Yasmin.
Thank you

Hi... I've been on Yasmin since July of '05. I was in the hospital in June, with what I thought was appendicitis. They said no that it could be something else, like gas or an ovarian cyst...they sent me home with some meds and said to come back if the pain doesn't go away. It went away, so that made me think that I had a problem with cysts. I saw my gynocologist, they recommended birth control, for that random, non-diagnosed pain I had, and also for those monthly cramps that were so harmful I couldn't move. Well, the cramps don't come as painful and my period has been starting to shorten, like 3-5 days now. So, I figured Yay for Yasmin. Yeah, well...not anymore. I've had a problem with Insomnia pretty much since then. (P.S. I'm 21, went away for school in August. Oh, and in September, I had to get my appendix removed.) I didn't think anything of it, since as long as I can remember, I've always had a problem sleeping, even when I was about 5 or 6 years old. Anyways, I saw my doctor a few weeks ago for my not sleeping, and he mentioned that this problem could be linked to the birth control I'm taking, but didn't go in depth about it. He was quick to say that I was depressed and that he didn't think anything was physically wrong. Well, the guy was an ass, but that's besides the point. He said come back in a month so we can talk more. It's like he was so anxious to go party for St. Patty's Day! So, he made me take some blood tests to confirm that I didn't have any thyroid problems, anemia, or whatnot. Test results: normal. I have a follow up appointment in a few weeks...I stormed home and cried, because I cry easily, because the doc said I was depressed. I don't want to be. I got the idea from my father, yes, my father, about looking into the birth control idea. I found some things for PMDD, but also that Yasmin is supposed to reduce those symptoms of it. And after reading all these posts from you gals, I'm almost freaking out. I can't sleep, only sometimes when I take sleep aids, which I've been taking almost every day for the past 3 months, because I get so frustrated that I can't even breathe! My heart rate speeds up, I have to take a walk down the hall and try to catch my breath; I am very, very irritable, random mood swings almost all the time, not just around my period; no motivation, some appetite changes, anxiety, stress, feeling of always being overwhelmed...and another strange thing: my boobs have grown almost 2 cup sizes since November!! It's so strange, I get freaked out by myself sometimes...usually once a month. My poor boyfriend, I get mad at him right around when my period is due, cry to him, scream at him...he shouldn't have to deal with that when he does nothing but love me. Sounds corny, but it's true; he's still with me and just lets me scream at him and cry and moan and complain and all those nasty other things that are going on in me. And this post is going to be long...almost starting to sound like one big ass complaint. I'm sick of feeling this way, but don't want to think that Yasmin is what's causing it all. Unfortunately, it's now in my head...I can relate to most of these symptoms everyone here has explained. Everything else with Yasmin has been fine with me... it's helped with cramps, with acne, with the overall regulation of my period... not much weight gain other than my breats... it's just the whole other thing...those emotional problems... Yes, I'm in a dorm room...I can't sleep most nights...the hall is noisy...I'm at a school that's located in the Boondocks, so there's nothing to do most of the time...I don't feel like doing anything anyway... I'm pissed that I'm frustrated. I'm frustrated that I'm moody. I'm moody because I can't sleep. I can't sleep because I'm irritable and sensitive. I'm irritable and sensitive because I don't sleep. It's just one big ass cycle... I hate cycles. That cycle and the cycle of being a woman. That's enough for me. I feel the Tylenol PM kicking in. I vent to everyone I meet. I'm crazy, I just know it. If it's not the pill, I'm crazy.

I am going off of yasmin today after researching the internet. I have been on it about 2 years. I have been suffering from severe anemia, my hair is falling out, I have gained so much weight I am basically now just a big cow, I have no sex drive...but my skin cleared up! SO NOT WORTH IT! The OBGYN put me on yasmin to help with the effects of having PCOS and I have gave it a go, but I think I am now realizing that the symptoms I have are not just about being fat, or having PCOS...the Yasmin is CAUSING all of this! Why be on BC if I cant get PG anyways!!! THIS SUCKS! And it seems like I am in for some rough times ahead for when I go off of this, but the sooner the better. I am throwing away my packs today and will tough it out with a bottle of aleve by my side!

After talking to my gyn about Seasonale & Yasmin, last Sunday I went on Seasonale. The Dr. prescribed it for my heavy periods & anemia. He said even with the mega iron supplements (ugh) I've been taking, my body can never catch up. One period every 3 months sounded great to me.

The first pill brought a mild all-day headache - no big deal. With the second pill the headache turned into a 3 a.m. screamer with nausea to boot. When I called simply to ask which pain med was best, the Dr. didn't even call back - just had his nurse tell me to pick up Yasmin samples. So much for Seasonale - the nurse said she didn't know any patient who has stayed on it and she wondered why he still prescribes it. Guess what - I paid $150 for that 3-day headache - Seasonale is not covered by my insurance.

After reading this page I dread trying the Yasmin! This is not just a few unhappy women. I can't believe how many people post & how often. Yasmin works great for at least one person I know, but after the instant reaction to Seasonale and seeing your stories I can't risk screwing up my life/body/head.

Good luck to you all. Thank you for sharing. What next for the anemia? I don't know but I requested an ultrasound. What fun it is, being a girl...

-Grateful in SoCal

Thank you so much for sharing all your stories! I had been on Ortho-tri for 13 years. (With headaches, low sex drive, crazy moods). Went of 3 years ago to have children. Within a month or so ALL symptoms were gone. Sex was wonderful again and i was not crazy.
So 3 weeks ago i get on Yasmin. Since i've had the joint pain mentioned (figured it was something else i guess), NO sex drive at all, blurred vision (had this before due to anemia), i'm so tired and sad it seems. I couldn't figure it out. Yesterday i started thinking it might be the pill. So i'm stopping the pill today and going back to condoms until my husband gets his vacetomey. I'd rather feel good and use a condom i guess.
I wonder if the low sex drive is due to the fact that the pill keeps us from ovulating?? I know i get really in the mood for about a week around the time i normally ovulate. Any thoughts on that?

Hang in there ladies! I guess having control over our bodies is not always easy..... :)
CB

I'm 22 and went on Yasmin a year ago, stayed on it for a year. I have to write in because I'm actually having the complete opposite reaction to Yasmin--I was always irritable and depressed, my whole life since adolescence, before I went on Yasmin, and all of my crying and irritability went away when I went on it. My year on Yasmin has been the most stable one emotionally that I've ever had. I stopped crying almost completely and my moods didn't swing.

I went off of Yasmin and month ago and I just realized why it might be that I've been crying over nothing several times a week for the past few weeks. And cranky.

My sex drive did go down on Yasmin, but not to a point where it affected my relationship. My acne went away almost completely, my cramps went away, my bleeding was lighter, and I stopped experiencing my usual 2 weeks of PMS cramping/bloating/mood swings, all while I was on Yasmin. My anemia disappeared. All of these things have returned this month.

I ran out of my prescription, but can't wait to get back on it next month. So I just wanted to add a reminder that not everyone reacts in the same way, and that a drug that is terrible for some might be a life saver for others. Doctors should just make sure that people are educated and aware of side effects BEFORE they start a medication.

My doctor told me that yasmin was very strong. That it was only intended for people with VERY irregular periods. I was aving my period every two weeks for seven days. It was giving me anemia. Now I only have it once a month for four days. I also use to have anxiety attacks ( before I started using yasmin) and I haven't stsrted having them again because of yasmin. I also have not had any bad side effects! So I guess you are only suppose to take it if your periods a very very bad like mine were

HI,
My doc prescribed Yasmin to me because I have heavy heavy periods that come every three weeks due to fibroids. As a result, I have anemia, am up 2-3 nights during period time because of heavy bleeding - then have up to a week recovery time where I'm exhausted because of all the bleeding I went through. I was on Alesse for 12 days last year because I was going crazy! I had extreme moodiness and anxiety. I have the pack of Yasmin in my cabinet and last month I found this site, read everything and decided against taking it. Here it is only 20 days later - got my period and don't know what to do. I'm happy to see that there are some who have had positive results, but since I had such a bad time on Alesse - I don't want to go through what all of you have endured - it's terrible - but I'm sick of the frequent periods and heavy bleeding. If you have any suggestions, please post or email me at Andelmar@aol.com. Thanks and I hope all of you with negative side effects are feeling better - it's certainly no way to live!

I feel bad for all of you who have had negative reactions to this drug. I was put on it because my body decided to go out of whack this past year (15 day periods...nooo!!!). Maybe I'm made for this drug, but I have had no trouble whatsoever. No bloating (which would happen each month...I'd go up a whole pant size), my acne is gone, I've lost weight, and my breasts have actually shrunk. That's not something most people would see as a benefit, but when you're 5'2", and a DD-cup, it's a VERY good thing! I did feel a bit fatigued, so my roommate who's been taking BCP's for close to 12 years recommended that I take an iron pill. Seems anemia can be a result of taking this kind of medicine. I started the iron, and have felt like normal since then!

Just a warning, though...make sure you get your daily dose of calcium! Hormones have been known to leech calcium from your bones, and we don't want to end up with osteoporosis!