Yasmin and antidepressant

My name is Bobby and I've been dating a girl who has been through some tough times. She took my advice and started taking an antidepressant, Celexa, 5 weeks ago. 3 Weeks after starting the Celexa, we began to have the relationship I always knew we could. I love her so much and for one week I was the Happiest man in the world.
Unfortunately, against my advice she started taking Yaz a week after beginning the Celexa. I told her that beginning two new drugs at once will eliminate the ability to identify which drug is causing which affects whether they be positive or negative.
After 3 weeks of Celexa and 2 weeks of Yaz, my girlfriend started acting alive and excited about life again!! She even started losing weight because of her beautiful new-found energy and zest for everything. She was playful, she was laughing, she was sexual, she was the girl of my dreams and we fell more in love than ever.
One week later (After 4 weeks of Celexa, and after 3 weeks of Yaz) a monster emerged who no longer can stand the sight of me. She doesn't want me to touch her, hug her, or even kiss her. She doesn't sleep at night. She screams and yells at me for being annoying when I'm doing things that once made her smile with love in her eyes.
I found an apartment today and decided to move out... I have never been treated so poorly by anyone in my life before. She's aggressive and verbally abusive. She's been complaining that people are talking about her and she seems paranoid. I made the mistakes of taking steroids a while back and I can tell you she is the monster now that I was then and both Yaz and steroids affect hormone levels and I'm telling you I just can't believe how many relationships this drug must be ruining.
Tonight I took the Yaz and threw all of it out. She got mad at me because she's afraid that she'll stop losing weight... I mean she's just completely lost perspective. I showed her pictures of us happy together and she still chose losing 3 more pounds over our relationship. I'm losing my mind... Just a few weeks ago she reminded me again that she wants to marry me and give me babies. Where has my future wife and future mother of my children gone??

I'M LIVING IN FEAR THAT SHE WILL FIND A WAY TO GET MORE YAZ B4 SHE'S BEEN OFF LONG ENOUGH TO SEE WHAT IT'S TURNED HER INTO.

SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP!!!
******

Hi Everyone,
I am a fourth year medical student and recently I started having horrible panic attacks, I feel like crying all the time and I actually feel depressed. I am a "hypochondriac" generally (I guess it comes with the territory of knowing about different diseases out there), but I have been feeling like I am going crazy. I started Yasmin in November of 2006 and I was fine for a few months. Lately, with stress at school and exams, I started feeling like I've just crumbled. I get anxiety/panic attacks (the latest one was at the movies), horrible heart palpitations, nausea, I am sweating, I can't sleep, I feel this knot in my stomach. It's horrible. I thought it was me cracking under pressure, but I was never like this before I started Yasmin. Recently, I was placed on an antidepressant because everyone assumed it was depression, but after reading this post, I really think it might be the pill. I got off it a week ago, so I hope I will see a difference. Thanks guys!!!

I'm so glad I googled side effects of Yasmin and found this site. All of the sudden my mood swings for the past almost YEAR make sense. I started out fine. The pill was great, and I haven't had to worry about acne at all. Of course I gained a few pounds, but not too much. However, I'm a pre medical student trying to study for the MCAT this summer. I've been SO tired and drained and majorly depressed that I just can't seem to concentrate. I feel like I'm always crying over the stupidest stuff (AKA: no reason at ALL), and my grades are starting to suffer. Hopefully now that I've read this, I can stop taking this pill and see an improvement. It's just not worth the depression. I'm 22 right now, and until recently had never had a suicidal thought. I was starting to panic, because I couldn't identify the cause of my depression. I'm a good student, have lots of friends, and have the most amazing boyfriend and family. Life is good, I shouldn't feel this bad. Now that I have a clue as to what this may be, I can fix it.

My 23 year old daughter started Yasmin last October 2006. After about 7 weeks she was extremely anxious, unable to sleep, nauseous every morning, lost her appetite, unable to eat, and SEVERELY DEPRESSED. She went to a counselor who referred her to a psychiastrist who prescribed an antidepressant. Her internist prescribed a sleeping pill. After finding this web site & reading the postings, I alerted her that all of her symptoms seem to be related to Yasmin. The drs. agreed. Two days after stopping the Yasmin (as well as the antidepressants & sleeping aid), she was back to normal. Yasmin is extremely dangerous and should not be given out indiscriminately, without adequate warnings, and without closely monitoring the patients. My daughter almost dropped out of graduate school and came close to giving up a prestigious internship because of the adverse effects of Yasmin!!!

Kim,

I totally agree with Sarah! And another thing: You should really try to stop caring that much about what others say or think about you!! One very important thing, Kim!! Only you can feel, what you need right now and if it's the Lexapro, than you should try.

And as I know, what we all are or were going through I'm sure, that you're not weak, if you don't get through this nightmare without help!! Looking back I really don't know, how I stood all this without medication (ok, besides my Valerian, which I had always with me for about 6 months, just to know, that I had them with me, most of the time already helped....). And believe me: Some days I thought "Please give me ANYTHING, I WILL TAKE IT, I can't stand this any longer!" And I think the only reason, why I nevertheless took nothing was, that I knew, that my body didn't tolerate this kind of medication.

Everything went even worse only after taking one of that pills (they tried to put me on an antidepressant in hospital because of my very bad constitution!!)... But this also happened WHILST TAKING YASMIN! So it might be, that my body would react different about that stuff today...

Kim, I wish you best of luck, that the Lexapro will help you somehow through those hard times. But nevertheless I'm also sure, that you won't have to take it over a very long time!!

Sounds very interesting, what your pharmacist told you! One thing I found out first about Yasmin and bcp in general: They deplete you nutritionally, which makes things as anxiety, weakness, dizzyness and everything else definitely much worse!! And I think the fact, that makes Yasmin even worse than other bcp is that diuretic in it!! The more water we loose, the more electolytes and vitamines we loose!! And I wondered for so long why I had to get up sometimes 2 times at night with an urge to urinate.......

Best wishes to you Kim and all the others and keep it up!! We're all on the right way, I'm sure!!

Silke

Kim,

please remember, that being off a bcp (not only Yasmin or Yaz) for only 6 weeks really isn't very long!! Most doctor's say, that it lasts at least up to 3 months for the chemicals of the pill to leave your body completely, because it's not only in your blood but also in your tissue, and getting out of there takes much longer than getting out of your blood!! (That's another reason why drinking loads of water is so important!!!)

So even if your hormone levels maybe at the same stage than one year ago, there maybe still the side effects of Yaz, that you're experiencing, on top of the hormonal problems you've mentioned!!

Please Kim, try to stay strong and give it more time, 6 weeks off that pill really really isn't enough to say, you have to feel well again at once!! This is no cold or a flu we are or were going through!! Hormonal problems can't be solved within a few days or weeks, it definitely takes months (should be clear alone by the fact, that our cycles last about one month!).

And if you feel that an antidepressant might help you, please give it a chance. I still don't know if you had already tried the Valerian, I've mentioned a few posts before (well, although, as bitter RN told, you should not take it together with other antidepressants as ssri or such!!). I found this a very good little helper during my hardest days. It always helped me to calm down and at night it helped me to sleep. Please think about it.

Best wishes to you and I'll send you all the strenght I have left over to stand this Kim!!

Silke

<<>>

Well, would be nice to hear, WHO is writing such here in this forum. But it surely can't be someone who read the whole page through with hundreds of similar stories of YASMIN users! And surely not someone who was in this, too! If you never experienced such a nightmare before and just whilst or after taking Yasmin, well, how many other reasons do you expect to be there for all this???

It surely may not be a fault to perhaps see someone to talk to about all this. Maybe it would help, maybe not. Everyone has to try and decide by him-/herself. For some it even might help to take an antidepressant for a while, just to get over the worst months. But it's so clear to me, that we're all victims of that "wonder drug" Yasmin after reading each and every post here for about 2 years now!!

But such posts as the above only make people like Kim feel worse, I'm pretty sure, because I was the same 1,5 years ago. And very miraculous: Without going to a therapist, psychiatrist or taking any other medications, just waiting and waiting and hoping I finally got better and better by myself over the months.

And there is still someone out there telling such stuff out there "it might not be Yasmin"?????? Dear, I'm getting angry about such naive words. Mostly sounds as if even one of those ignorant docs, we all had visited may have written it???

Murph70: Sorry, I don't really know what that "hcg" is for? Is it a hormonal thing or something else??

To that poster who mentioned the two colds in between only a few weeks and sore throat and so on: I know that I'm repeating myself, but please GET YOUR IRON LEVELS CHECKED!! And not only the normal bloodwork, but the "Ferritin" (sorry, don't know what's it called in English). ALL of your symptoms (Soar throat, Chest tightness/ congestion, Fatigue, splitting/breaking nails, dry skin, Feeling down and depressed) sound like and iron deficiency!! If you won't believe me, please check it by yourself over google!!!

Best wishes to you all!! Hang in there!!! You're already halfway and there's really a light at the end of the tunnel!!

Silke

hiya all, silke,

today is the 6th day after my period and i feel awful.
i have had the worst pain in the back of my head and neck since my period has started till now (14 days), its really bad and i am starting to question myself that is it the pill that has caused this or is something else wrong with my brain/head.

i have been of the yasmin for about 4months and 2 weeks, my periods have been regular since coming of the yasmin.

the head pain was reall bad when i first stopped especially on my period but then it gradually began to get better every month but this period has been the worst, the pain will just not go away.

i went to my gp twice this week and he has prescribed me with a antidepressant called "amitriptyline hydrochloride" anyone heard of this??

he told me that it is not addictive but is used nowadays for the treatment of migraines. Im too scared to take this and dont think i will, i dont want no more problems or side effects.

my gp has also referred me to see a neurologist to check my head out. im so scared what if somethings wrong with my head.

Another problem ive had is focusing. anybody else had this problem?? i feel as though somethings wrong with my eyes.

please please reply if anybody else has suffered with this type of head/eye pain

silke i especially hope your doing fine after the good news you gave us last week. i hope that it wasnt too tough for you on your cycle or after it.

thankyou all and god bless you

sophie

Hi ladies, Lisa, 2girlsmom, Sherry, and everyone else!

GOOD NEWS from Silke:

I FINALLY GOT MY FIRST NORMAL PERIOD after stopping Yasmin in February 2005!!!!! It's taken me the whole of 1,5 YEARS to get here where I'm now!!! I really was about to think I'm already menopausal in the age of 31.... And I'm so proud that I stood this 2,5 years lasting Yasmin-agony without any medication or antidepressant or anything else...

So ladies, my story is the proof:

Please give your body the time it needs after stopping Yasmin to get back its own balance!! Your body can heal ITSELF; if you were healthy before Yasmin you also WILL be AFTER Yasmin, all it needs is time and VERY MUCH patience!!!!!

I refused to do anything to my body after the nightmare with Yasmin, my gyn told me last year, that he could give me "something" to get my period and I REFUSED to take that stuff!! And I'm so glad, I did!!! God knows what this stuff perhaps would have caused again to my hormone balance....

I feel so happy and delighted ladies, I can't tell.... Well, I got a little cramping, I feel nauseous, got a little headache and a little dizzy, well, just normal things during your period, and nevertheless feel HAPPY!!!!

My weight is still going down month by month without working out more than before or eating less... My whole system is healing itself, I felt it and now I also can SEE it!! :)

So again this goes out to every Yasmin victim:

Get OFF that stuff, as fast as you can, midpack or not, throw it away!! And then be patient and WAIT for better times. Take a little magnesium and/or Vitamin B to help your body, drink lots of water and eat healthy. That has been my plan for the last 1,5 years and it helped!!!

The hair loss after Yasmin is completely normal!!!! That happens due to the hormonal changes you're going through. That even happens to some women after pregnancy!! And taking the pill is something like a "false pregnancy"!!!

After getting off the pill I also had dizziness, nausea, and many other things, but I always kept in mind: It's just the hormones trying to get back in balance; every few weeks those symptoms got worse and then better again (well, always around ovulation and then again around the time my period SHOULD have started) and BINGO: that's what it was!!!

Ladies, that was a very hard time for me, as you know if you've been reading all of my posts since 2005 and now I'm back again!! Sometimes I thought, I couldn't bare all that anymore and nearly was about to give up my life, I swear!! Trying to put me on antidepressants in January 2005 just made it worse and I'm so glad now, that I stopped taking that stuff after one week and never touched it again!!

In my worst times I only had some valerian with me, which isn't knocking out totally out but just calms down a bit. And it worked!! And since around May 2005 I even didn't take valerian again.

Ladies, YOU CAN GET OVER THAT agony by yourself, even if it needs a lot of power. Believe me: I KNOW it!!!

Best wishes to you all and god's bless!!!

Silke

I have had two weeks off of Yasmin, and I feel horrible. I am on luvox- antidepressant and antiobessionial drug- because I just can't handle the way I feel. I have been on it for four days. Every day I am anxious and I hate it. I question myself and my relationship constantly. I have times where I feel okay, but it never lasts very long. I have never been this depressed in my life. I hope one day I will be back to normal

Guest 20168--Guest 20077 here...thanks so much for your response. I am really overwhelmed at all this though... it's crazy how many women are listing their problems with Yasmin. Don't you think there should be something done with it? I do, just don't know how. I'd like to see how many women there are that do not have problems taking the pill. I just found out that quite a few of my friends take the same kind, and one didn't have any side effects...the other didn't have any problems when taking it, but said that after she stopped with the pills, she did feel better--more energized, motivated, more like herself. I am utterly frustrated at everything...and not just because the pills are making me feel that way. You read about the situation I had with the doctor...I have been seeing a counselor/phsycologist about the lack of sleep issue, and she doesn't seem to think it's Depression, as she says that people who are depressed think they are... I'd say I'm depressed, but that's not more than feeling down every day. She says she hopes to find the truth behind my problems... and I said I hope that depression isn't the truth and that it's just something simple, like Yasmin. All this just because I can't sleep. Before taking Yasmin, actually, as far as I could remember, I had a hard time with sleeping. Even as a little kid...but with this birth control, something with many great benefits, I've become exhausted, angry, frustrated, tense, anxious, stressed, overwhelmed, etc. All that. As the Doc has said, "You're depressed. Come back in 3 weeks." Yea, and about those antidepressants...I don't mind taking pills...I'd rather take an antidepressant to feel better than be taking 7 or 8 different sleeping pills in one night just to find sleep. No one seems to understand, or seems willing to understand, besides women who post on websites. Thank Heaven for you ladies and thank heaven for caring families. I wish I could show them Me...who I really am. I wish I could see who I am and feel just like me.

Hey guys,

I just got out of the hospital after suffering a near fatal pulmonary embolism (blood clot in my lung). It has taken me two months to feel normal and I am permenantly off the BC pills and am on an antidepressant to combat the fear and anxiety that wont let up.

If you choose to be on Yasmin, or any BC for that matter, please be careful. Clots are no joke and I am one of the lucky ones who survived to tell the story.

Sarah

twogirlsmom & Others-

Thanks for your reply. I wish I could take an antidepressant but the last time I did I spent an entire day with severe suicidal thoughts. It was horrific. It also made me feel soooo sick. It was Zoloft. The doc then wanted me to wait a week and try Wellbutrin or Sarafem but I declined both. After my Zoloft experience I am terrified of antidepressants. I have taken Xanax before with moderate success so I may ask for that again.

Yesterday morning I was in such panic mode I didn't think I was going to make it through the day. By late evening I came back around a little and felt better; however here we go again this morning. My heart is beating out of my chest and I can feel the fear rising.

I called my RE's office yesterday and spoke to the nurse and told her of my panic problems and bcps. She asked which ones I had taken in the past so I gave her my laundry list of meds. She then offered up some mini pills or the patch etc to which I kindly declined and burst into tears. I feel like nobody understands why I am feeling this way and that I just need to never take bcps again. The nurse set up and appt with my RE to discuss other options such as an IUD, tubal ligation (I am not open to that option though our family is complete).

Another thing that I have noticed in reading these latest posts is there seems to be some relation with symptoms turning bad around the 3 month mark; like the anxiety appears around that time. I know it's not like that for everyone but i can see a bit of a pattern forming. I am on month 3 myself and ready to burn this pack. I am done with Yasmin & the rest of them.

Denise

Thank goodness I found this website!
I have been on Yasmin for almost 3 years now and within the past year and a half I have noticed an extreme difference in my personality. Small things at first, but now things that have gotten so bad they are effecting my work, social life and relationship with my boyfriend.

I have struggled with depression before so when I started to feel sad and unmotivated again I attributed it to that. When I started to have stomach issues, I was told it was IBS (for 22 yrs never had anything wrong with my stomach, mind you). When I gained weight, I figured I wasn't exercising enough. When I started having feelings of anxiety and I started to seclude myself from social and work situations, I went and saw a doctor and was diagnosed with anxiety. And when I noticed I had NO sex drive whatsoever (I'm 25 and that has never been a problem) I went to my gyno who simply said " Well it can't be the birth control, it must be your antidepressant...let's switch that" So we did...it didn't help. I stoppped taking the antidepressant and I still have no libido.

Now that I look back I feel stupid for not putting two and two together but I never would have thought it. All I have ever heard was how "Yasmin was the wonder birth control that had no side-effects"...I'm calling BS on that.

I did call my doctor and ask to switch. When I explained to her why I wanted to she said " Well we never have any complaints with Yasmin" (think I need a new dr?) Anyway, she switched me to Mircette which I am a little unsure of but hey for right now, anything other than Yasmin will do.

My question is...Is there any form of safe birth control that won't have such horrible side-effects? Anyone switched to something they like? Maybe Nuvaring?

In the meantime...I am so glad I'm off....

I just quit taking Yasmin 1 week ago after being on it for 1 1/2 years. This is so crazy that I happened to find this site! I was just browsing on google side effects of Yasmin because in 1 week I feel like my old self. I forgot what it felt like to be me. I feel like a new person since I have quit taking Yasmin. Now I understand that what I have been experiencing as far as side effects where cause of Yasmin. Since I started taking Yasmin I have gained 20 lbs, emotionally have been a wreck, crying over things that aren't worth crying over, no sex drive, can't climax while having sex, very, very depressed. I actually have been going back and forth for months whether or not I should call my doctor to see about an antidepressant. mood swings, low self esteem, I could go on and on. Since I have quit the pill almost all of those side effects are gone. WoW!!! I made the best decision when I decided to stop taking Yasmin!!!!!!!

Hi ladies... After being on yeasmin for three months, I was totally LOSING MY MIND. Never having struggled with depression or anxiety before I literally begged my doctor to help me get better. I has suffering horrible panic attacks daily, which i had never had before. I didnt want to go to work for fear of having one in my classroom. She dismissed the thought of it being the Yasmin, which i had just switched to, but i knew something had to be up with it. So after she presciped me Zoloft, I decided that was the last straw. I was not going to start taking an antidepressant before I at least tried getting off the pill. So i stopped taking it about two weeks ago, and switched to Ortho Tri cyclen Lo. I never took the zoloft. GOOD NEWS starting to feel like myself again, alot better, and patching things up with a fiance who wondered where his sweet girlfriend had disassapeared to, and not going to quit my job which i was about two minutes from doing. I dont feel 100 percent back yet, but the panic attacks have stopped and all i feel now is a little nervous, mostly because I am curious about when ill get back to normal and if I even remember how that felt. The depression has lifted compltetely. LAdies, please dont ignore your gut feeling when there is something wrong. Good luck to you all.