Yasmin and bananas

I started taking Yaz about a year and a half ago. I'm no longer continuing this pill after this month's pack is finished. I have to say that at first, it was a really great pill. The first month was hell. I bled for a month straight, and I was so irritable, and emotional, and my bf would talk about silly shit, like beached whales and I would start bawling. I spent four months living overseas after starting the pill so I didn't notice the loss of sex drive and sensitivity at first. But when I came back I started to notice all the little things that were becoming huge issues. My sex drive is more or less gone. I actually fell asleep last night while my boyfriend was trying to get me aroused. That's awful. I always feel tired lately. I get a lot of headaches. I read that this pill increase your potassium, and my mother's told me she has a lot of potassium so when she eats bananas she gets splitting headaches, and I'm the same way, so I'm starting to realize where all these headaches are coming from. Sometimes they are so bad that Advil does nothing at all and I end up having to rub between my thumb and forefinger while trying to fell asleep to make the pain stop. I've become extremely moody. My moods change so often now. I'm irritable. I am coming off of two really tough years of my life, and things are really great for me right now, and I don't feel great. I never want to have sex. Foreplay doesn't feel as good as it used to. I don't get aroused quickly, and I have a lot of trouble climaxing. I smoke weed and was smoking mixed spliffs with my bf for some time not even thinking about it, and the reaction the tobacco had with the pill was horrible. I'm certain that if I didn't stop I would have ended up in the ER. I would experience fainting spells, momentary blindness!!, I'd go really pale after getting very hot. I nearly passed out on at least four occasions before discovering the link. After I stopped, I felt much better. But now I can feel all the emotional side effects. I've also been sleepless for a long time, and I think that has to do with the pill, too. Lately I've been getting very nauseated if I eat shortly after taking the pill. And it doesn't matter what I eat. I'm constantly burping like I have a nervous stomach, but I've been calming my mind lately so there's really no reason for it. I've got a lot going on with life and whatnot, but I'm usually able to handle a lot of pressure and stress without breaking down, and this pill has made me almost incapable to dealing with the slightest bit of stress. It's horrible. And I don't want any part in it, or in the pharmaceutical business. I'm going to try tracking my own ovulation. At least I won't have some crazy hormones messing up my system.

Oh. I also had a fibroadenoma (breast cyst) this summer that I had to have a biopsy on (which was really fun, let me tell you...), and I can't say that the pill caused it, but I've never had cysts in my breasts before... The pill did inflate them an extra cup size, and during the third week of pills they are so tender I can't even let my boyfriend touch them or hug me tightly because they hurt so badly. And I live in NYC and there are a lot of stairs to bounce down and it's painful.

I see all the same symptoms with everyone who takes this pill and has a bad experience, and I've decided that it's not for me. The man can wear a condom for a while, while I try to regain my normal self again.

I'm 22 years old and I have been on Yasmin for 3 years. The first year it was fine, but the next year I began getting panic attacks which I never even believed in until I had one myself. I've had severe anxiety that is uncontrollable and doesn't allow me to sleep at night. Let's not even talk about the emotional mood swings during my period. My boyfriend knows when it's that time of the month because I'm not myself. I will cry over things that would never make me cry in a million years. I'm mean and moody and then 20 minutes later I feel bad, but then I'm crabby again. Weight gain has not been a problem for me only about 3-5 pounds, but my breasts did go from a large B to a D. My boobs definitely do not fit my body. I have noticed a lot of hair fall but I just thought it was normal. I too have had problems with my potassium levels as I would get leg cramps in the middle of the night so I began drinking Gatorade and eating bananas every morning which has helped. I love being on birth control because it helps me plan accordingly, but I just don't feel like myself anymore. I am always hungry and am never full. I literally have to tell myself out loud that I'm done eating because it doesn't trigger for me. I have had a stomach ache nearly everyday of being on the pill. I became addicted to TUMS which only made it worse. I thought it was stress related which it might be, but I literally do not go to the bathroom for 4 or 5 days and it is soooo painful. Another thing is that I have no sex drive. I really have to prepare myself for it otherwise sex does not even occur to me. My boyfriend thinks I'm not attracted to him, but I AM! We just moved in together and you would think it was "freedom" but I'm just motivated to have sex. This is not normal for a 22 year old healthy female with an extremely hot man.

Anyway, I just went to the doctor and told her I was interested in Yaz. She gave me a few sample packs which I will begin next week. I'm hoping for the best and I truly do believe that birth control is a trial and error process. Everyone's bodies are different and you need to find the one that works best for you! I will write again once I know how Yaz works out.

-MCL

Extreme fatigue. Serious bouts of depression over minor things. Loss of desire in wanting to do daily activities such as cleaning, attending church service, going to school. Food cravings of bananas, strawberries, dairy products, potatoes. Body craves more water. I have been drinking more than the daily recommended amount of water.

My gynocologist had to put me on Yaz because I had had a Kenalog Injection for a slipped disk and after being injected with Kenalog I kept having menstrual periods....4 in a month a half! So she gave me Yaz, it seems to work so far, but this drug gives me side effects too. Has anyone experienced extreme tiredness? I seem to be tired non-stop even after having a lot of sleep. This wasn't listed as side effect on my prescription, but I thought this may be causing it. Since I started taking this 3 weeks ago I began to feel real depressed and angry for no reason at all. I just get these weird bouts of depression.

I have been taking Yasmin for two years to help with irregular periods and ovarian cysts which Yasmin has indeed helped. But in the last six months, I have been suffering from TERRIBLE leg cramps and it was not until today that I realized that this may be a side effect of Yasmin. I thought I was not drinking enough water or eating enough bananas. I feel like such an idiot for not putting two and two together! Alas, I too have been experiencing anxiety especially at night (well before the leg cramps) and panic something I have never felt before...and I wonder if this too is due to this drug. And the vaginal dryness--again something I have never dealt with before. Why is the burden on the patient to find out serious side effects to a drug? Why aren't doctors informing their patients about the side effects of Yasmin?! Why should we suffer only to find out later that it was due to a drug? I am going to a doctor today and ask these questions. What I can't figure out is why the psychiatrist I saw for these symtoms (anxiety), did not pick this up? The bottom line is we cannot put our trust in doctors--as patients we have to do all the research and read the fine print!