Yasmin and best wishes

I have just come across this site, while looking to find out why I have been experiencing heart palpitations for the past two months - out of the blue!!! and usually "exercise" induced. I had some tests and have been told they are Premature Atrial Contractions "PACs". I started taking Yasmin in April, after having tried others over the past year (tri-cyclen lo and alesse) which did not work for me as the progestin was not strong enough. I am in my 40s and never took the pill before. Yasmin was great, it significantly reduced my "physical" pms (severe inflamation, severe bloating, severe sore breasts) which I experience for 2-3 weeks a month. However, sometime in mid to late June, I started getting palpitations/tremors out of the blue. The first episode freaked me out and lasted for about two weeks. At first I thought it was allergy medication mixed with my thyroid med, which can happen - but I cut out the allergy meds and still got them. They seem to come about 6hrs to a day after I fexercise/figure skate and they last from 2 to 5 five days. It's very irritating and nerve wracking, and I feel very agitated. I am also out of breath more than usual when walking up stairs, a little light headed and have some tightness in the chest. My legs also are weak, which makes no sense given my exercise regimen. I then lowered my thyroid replacement from .125 synthroid to .100 - too much thyroid med can cause some palpitations. Anyone who has mistakenly taken a second thyroid pill having forgotten that they already took one will understand. Even with the lower dose I am still getting the palpilations. I am totally at a loss as to why all of a sudden this is happening to me (perhaps perimenopause??). I have had the odd flutter here and there in my live, but nothing like this. It just doesn't make any sense ag ll. Can one's health just change like this overnight?. I am otherwise healthy, slim, have "lower" blood pressure (apprx 100-90/70-60)I skate 3 to 5 times a week, I have a full time job and yes I do push myself, but this is getting ridiculous. The only thing I can attribute it to is the Yasmin, ... but my symptoms only started after a few months not instantly, whereas it would seem that most of the the women here noticed the side effects faster. I hate to stop the Yasmin because I will have to return to pms "hell", but I suppose I will give it a try to see if the palpitations subside. At this point, I have been offered a low dose "beta blocker" and have refused. I am stunned to think that all of a sudden I have heart issues, especially since my Dr has always kidded me my that I will never have heart problems with my blood pressure. I will stop the Yasmin tonight and post another message in a few weeks one it is out my system. Here's hoping it is the Yasmin.
KarenSkaterGirl

hi guys! about four months ago my doctor switched me from ortho tri cyclen lo(which I had been on for two years) to yasmin. It was the worst experience I have ever had in my entire life. About a week into the medicine I started getting horrible headaches, terrible anxiety and suicidal thoughts. I was sooo scared from this medicine that I stopped taking it thinking that everything was going to get better! Well wasnt I wrong. I developed OCD really bad to a point where I would sit and worry that I would hurt someone I loved or that I would hurt myself. and I had disturbing thoughts in my head that made my anxiety worse. I have been off the medicine for like 4 months and I am now taking 50 mgs of zoloft for my OCD, anxiety, and depression. I am unsure that it is working yet it's only been two weeks! I hope and pray eveyday that I finally start feeling myself! It's been horrible! Has anyone had this experience from this medicine? and if so do you think that I should get a hormone test, because I am almost convinced from reading other posts that my hormones are wacky! Well thanks for reading! and I hope everyone feels better! :)

I was on yasmin for about a year and a half. On June 15, 2005 when I was 18, I suffered a massive brainstem stroke. It almost took my life. Getting pregnant is something I was trying to avoid but dont be greedy. Birth control can be extremely dangerous for a few people, and by the way, no I did not smoke.

hi guest 40578, sorry to hear about all the problems you have had with yasmin,all the side effects you mentioned are quite common, it is really important that you take good care of yourself whilst "detoxing" this cr@p out of your body,take a good multivit with magnesium and b6 & b12 you may also consider some milk thistle to cleanse your liver of all the excess bad hormones that are floating around your bloodstream. if you can scroll through these pages and the side effect pages you will find a link to the yasmin survivors site,i am afraid i cannot post the link anymore as the people who run this board have asked me not to because it obviously diverts traffic from this site,the yasmin survivors site is for women who have taken yasmin or yaz and are dealing with the side effects both whilst on and off yasmin,there is loads of information about supplements to try and also it is just a place to chat to ther women who know what you are going through.
best wishes to you.

sarah

hi guest 39725.
you poor thing,it sounds like you have had a terrible years, i would certainly question whether or not yaz is right for you,it has not been proven to be any more effective than any other bcp on the market so if you have any doubts about it i would say swap.there are too many "ingredients" in this pill that mess with you both physically and mentally and it sounds like you have already suffered enough at the hands of your hormones to have yet another pill wreck your life. i have set up another website for women to chat to each other about their problems from using yasmin or yaz,unfortunaltely the promoters of this site have asked me not to post the link anymore,you may still find it either here or on the "forum page.it is called yasmin survivors. it would be lovely to hear from you and also it has been a great source of help and comfort for many women,you can talk about your hormones,your health,your life or or anything you like,it just helps to chat to other women who know what you are feeling and what you are going through,just knowing you are not alone can make a big difference to your life.
******

best wishes.
sarah

Hi Emily!

If that's a side effect of Yasmin you perhaps only can find out by getting off this pill and see, if you feel better in a few weeks / months.

Just a word about Mirena:

Mirena is made by the same company as Yasmin (Schering in Germany, I think "Berlex" in US). And it has nearly the same hormones in it. I read about Mirena the same horrible stories, as I did about Yasmin. The side effects seem to be very similar. And even if your docs might tell you, that the hormones of Mirena only stay in your uterus: Well, who tells the hormones to do so and stay there?? I think the uterus is as well connected to our blood circulation as every other organ in our body. And so I think everything that reacts in the uterus also reacts in our whole metabolism over the blood circulation.

So please do a little research about the side effects of Mirena, I fear you'll find the same stories, as you find about Yasmin...

Please be careful!!

Best wishes
Silke

Hi Guest, #37371!

Yes, loss of sex drive was also one of the symptoms I had experienced..... But because of the very heavy other symptoms this was my slightest problem, because I wouldn't have had the power and energy to do anything like that in my worst times.

I think this may also be the reason for the fact, that not many women here are posting this problem. It's really one of the slightest things this pill can do to you...... I know what I'm talking about.

So if you can: Please get off Yasmin as soon as possible!! Especially if you are experiencing problems that early... My symptoms even came up after 1,5 years (well, and then I didn't notice for a very long time, that it was the Yasmin...). So please take your chance, you've not been too long on it, yet so that the chance is very good for you, to be back to normal very fast!!

However you decide:

Best wishes to you!!

Greetings
Silke

Hi bitter RN!! Hope you read my last posts... (I fear they were displaced in the meantime to site 2 or 3).

Just had a phone talk with my doc's office. They didn't tell me every result of the bloodwork but I asked them especially for those here:

TSH (Thyroid) 4,1 (!!) --> the highest it has ever been...

Transferrin: 340 (within the normal range but at the upper end of them; so it seems to be a bit high, which could show, that my iron storages are a bit low........

Iron: 76 (which is also still within the normal range but at the lower end of the normal ranges!!)

I have an appointment with my doc to talk about all the results on tuesday next week in the afternoon...

I hope they can finally help me somehow.......

Flowerbabies:

As you told, you have hashimoto's... do you know or could you tell me, how your TSH is??

Thank you both in advance!!

Best wishes
Silke

@ ipj:

Did you have any other symptoms caused by that magnesium deficiency?? Would be so interesting to hear, if you also had cramps in your legs or so. I always wonder, if those cramps HAVE TO BE THERE, if you have a lack of magnesium or if it even can be shown alone by all the other symptoms (nervousness, heart palps, dizzyness, headaches, etc.)...

Best wishes
Silke

Flowerbabies...... You make me smile a bit, because that's exactly the way how I'm going through the world at the moment, too!! :) Go from one room to the other and until arriving there I've forgotten, what I wanted to do there...

Hope you're feeling a bit better again???

Best wishes
Silke

hi all the link to the new forum is (click the link) if by chance you happen to get to a page that says this is a test forum just click that and it will take you to the yasminsurvivors forum, i don't know why it says test forum but if you click it you will go to the post page.
best wishes to all.

sarah

hi guest 36095.
i also still get chest pains,i have been off yasmin for 8 months. i only seem to get them either around ovulation or menstruation but it feels like someone is sitting on my chest or like i have broken my ribs or something. i also get a sensation of not being able to get enough air sometimes. these sensations are linked to hormone imbalances and hopefully they like all the other wierd and not so wonderfull symptoms will go away.

Silke.
please don't stop posting on here,you have helped so many people as you are one of the longest suffering that still visits the site. you give us hope for the future!

Kim123.
i know you feel like you are going crazy and just want anything that will heal you NOW but silke is right there is no magic cure only time will heal,your body needs time to repair itself. take the vits and minerals,carry on with your exercise and walking and keep trying to relax. we have all been were you are now and we KNOW how you are feeling. we are all just trying to reassure you that it will get better. i promise you. i felt so bad at times i wanted to end my life but i am still here and you will be too.you will use your valuable experience to help all the other new ladies that join this site. every day.
email me if you need a chat.

best wishes to you all.

sarah

Sorry Kim,

you had asked for an answer of Sarah, so I didn't react on your post.

But another thing: I really don't understand, what else you want to hear from us! Sarah had told you so many things, you could try to help with the anxiety. Did you even read her posts? And sorry, I don't think, that you really tried EVERYTHING prior to Lexapro. And if you did, you didn't do it long enough!

You wrote that you had tried Kava, St. Johns Worth, Valerian and nothing helped... Well, you've been off the pill for 6 - 7 weeks, am I right?? So how long have you taken each of the meds you've mentioned??

The only thing I can say a hundred times again: You need much more patience than you have. You can't be cured within a few days, that's a fact and that's what you have to deal with. We all had to and we're all still alive! And you will be too, I promise!

Kava and Valerian and all the other mentioned pills need a few WEEKS until they can show any effect! So I really ask myself how you will have tested all of them within only 6 weeks??

Why do you want to go off the Lexapro again after such a short time?? You don't give anything the chance to help you somehow because you can't await an effect. Your health should be worth more time and patience that you give it!!

Sorry if my words may sound hard but seeing that you don't take any advice from anyone makes me a bit enraged (and please remember: I went through pure hell, too and I definitely know what you are going through right now!!!).

All we can do is tell you the same things a thousand times , but if you don't hear any of them and do, what everyone tries to advice you, no one here can help! It's YOU who can change your situation and TIME and no one else out here!! We only can be here and talk to you and give you some advice and tell you that we've all been there, too and are still alive and that you WILL be better some day; the rest has to be done by YOU!!

Best wishes

Silke

To Guest 35725 and Others,

4.5 years long time but what's so great is that you are getting off of it! One step is the first in a journey. I was on it for 2.5 years and now off for 3.5 months, slowly seeing changes though I still have chest pains. I've already had an EKG that confirmed a heart murmur but other than that, I haven't pursued further medical testing because I am on major medical and the pains have been gradually subsiding.

What I can't believe, is that your Doc and all the other ladies' docs on this site don't attribute all the many problems this pill causes. When we read the size 3 font in the accompanying medical brochure, it outlines all these risks or many of them! Depression is one of them! The pill messes with serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain. That's why!

I am so sorry everything you have been experiencing. i do wonder whether for women who have had children, the symptoms and troubles are that much more intense due to the changes in hormones following child birth???

I don't have anything positive to say about this pill except for the weight loss. And that, as enticing as it is today with all the hoo hah about being thin isn't worth the terrible havoc this pill takes on one's health.

Please, report your side effects to the government as well as to the manufacturer of Yasmin.

Unless you do, and document them, this site, now at almost 3000 entries will only grow, more women will suffer and this pill won't come off of the market for years, and years and years!

Best wishes to you for well being. Be gentle with yourself.

hi kim123,
i have never tries lexapro but looked it up just out of interest. it seems like one of the better ones to try. it does say on a couple of the sites that you can cut 10mg tablet in half as sometimes the higher dose can make you feel a bit zombie like. Well done you for taking a positive step to getting better. as i said in a previous posting to you. it does not matter how you get better,all that matters is that you do. there is no harm in trying this pill,if it turns out not to be right for you then wean off it and try something else.if it helps you then that can only be a good thing,if dejay is doing better on it maybe you will too.

best wishes.

sarah

Just a update I have taken 3 of the Lexapro and Iam very tired and dont feellike myself

I also didnt sleepwelllast 2 nights

Of course had all these symptoms prior to Lexapro

I will say it got rid of the creepy crawling under my arms that I suffered with for 6 weeks. It was like restless arm syndrome and it went away only 3 days on the Lexapro keeping my fingers crossed it doesnt come back.

Dejay also is on lexapro a week ahead of me and just so you all know she is doing so much better.
She was awful 2 weeks ago and now she is laughing and decorating her Christmas Tree.
I was really worried about her as she and I have become so close.

She swears she has no side effects from the Lexapro

I feel tired and kind of blah

I need to get back to work and get back on track and its so hard and so frustrating

I only slept 3 hours last night and wish I could take a nap but I cant.

DJ is seeing a therapist and she said the checmicals in our brains were altered by the stupid pill but that we will be back to normal.

I hate that I had to take a pill to get over Yaz/Yasmine as I said I didnt even take a Tylenol prior to this experience.

Does anyone else have any experience with the Lexapro??

Cant believe I had to take it
I too had been to the Emergency like 7 times in 7 weeks everytime telling em Iam fine except the first time I was anemic.
The last time I went to the ER the doctor told me to see a shrink.....he didnt believe a pill could trigger this

Dejay and I are so mad about the pill
It has stolen a part of our life and robbed a part of our soul

This experience forever changed us both

We have to do something everyday innocent women are taking the pill only to end up where we are today! Its wrong

Very very wrong

I have had pharmacist my doctor other doctors tell me its not the pill well it was the pill or the effects it played on my hormones

It made me a person who never took medication in my life have to take Lexapro!

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

hi kim123.
we are not mad at you for trying it at all. if it makes you feel better then that is all that matters. i tried diazepam to help me,it didn't, but that may have been because i was still taking yasmin at the time. We all make our own choices about what to take and what not to. if you feel you need for something then you should be able to take whatever you need to feel better. no-one here will judge you i promise. None of us is going to get a medal for coping with or without medication,our reward will be that we get better no matter how we get there.
best wishes to you kim.

sarah

Sorry, me again.....

KIM:

You wrote that you were iron deficient before starting Yaz!! PLEASE get checked your iron levels again!! And not only the normal bloodwork but the FERRITIN!! An iron deficiency can bring on your symptoms as well, and even long before it's shown in your normal bloodwork (like hemoglobin, do you say so in English??).

Check the symptoms of iron deficiency over google or whatever!! I'm sure you'll find your symptoms. Perhaps another chance to find some help Kim!! Please try it!!!

Best wishes
Silke

Dear BitterRN,

No I didn't get to call the doc's office again because I had too much to work in my job last week. I'll try to get the results tomorrow.

I posted in another forum here in Germany (a forum with doctor's answering your posts), where I got the answer, that my testosterone may be a bit HIGH.... and also my prolactine. OMG I don't know what I should believe now..... One says EVERYTHING is ok with my hormone levels, another (including me!!) thinks, they are a bit low (also the estrogen!!) and the third thinks one of the ranges is too high.....???

I guess this shows how much our doctors really know... I'm asap trying to get another opinion. I feel that there is NOT everything ok with my results as my gyn wants to make me believe...

I'll post again, BitterRN, as soon as I have the results!!
Thank you again for caring so much!!

Best wishes
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

@ bitterRN!!

Hi you! Hope you're still there!?

Just wanted to let you know the results of my bloodwork of last week (hormonal test):

LH 3,27 mUL/ml
FSH 5,38 mUl/ml
Estradiol 38,36 pg/ml
Prolaktin 26,00 ng/ml
Testosteron 0,37 ng/ml

I'm sorry, I don't know the english words for the above... I hope it's nearly similar to the german words and you know what those results mean...?

A few weeks ago you mentioned a thought about low testosterone. Does that sound low to you? (Don't have any idea about those results, yet... I have a telephone appointment with my gyn in about 3 hours to talk about it.)

Thank you in advance!!

Best wishes
Silke

hi eryka,
glad i was able to make you feel a little better. i have no idea how long this phase lasts, i was the same as you, doing better for a few months,then started to feel a little worse again,i am now at month 8 without yasmin. it is definately getting easier as far as the anxiety goes.i do still get raging pms symptoms (never had pms before i went on yasmin!) but the way i see it,i would rather have pms for 10 days of the month than be a nervous,tired aching mental wreck the whole month like i was! i do feel that each month i am more and more like my old self,i am able to do most things that i used to do pre yasmin,it's not easy but i get by because i have too much too live for to let this drug take any more of my precious life. i am sure you are the same. like you i am not very keen on western medicine any more. i am going to have acupuncture to see if that will help ease the last of my symptoms and i am also taking a herbal remedy to help balance out my hormones.will keep you posted after i have tried the acupuncture!
best wishes.

sarah

hi yasmin researcher.
as i mentioned in a previous post i have the same problem with my ears,sometimes it can last days at a time without clearing. my ears first blocked up in august 2005 and have stayed that way up until now. i have been off yasmin for coming on 8 months now. when i looked up my symptoms they lead to a blocked eustacious tube. i have tried everything to clear them but nothing has worked. i am just hoping that it will correct itself in time. you also asked about irregular heart beats..... i have had this ever since i was put on yasmin in jan 2005. i would get it mainly at night where my heart would slow right down,miss a couple of beats then start banging and jumping around then it would race. i still get it now although not as badly now i am off yasmin but i still get what can only be described as a floppy sensation like a lump of jelly wobbling about in my chest. when i saw my gp initially back in 2005 they did an ecg but said all was ok. then when it got worse my gp said it was due to an anxiety disorder (that was what i was diagnosed with when all my anxiety symptoms appreared) as i said i still have irregular heartbeats most days but i am so reluctant to go back to my gp because they diagnosed me with this anxiety disorder thingy they will not even consider the possibility that yasmin caused this so whenever i go to see them now they just assume anything that is wrong with me is all in my head and that i am worrying about nothing and i just can't stand that reaction as i know i do not have an anxiety disorder,the fact that i have improved vastly since i came off yasmin proves that.....but not to my gp. i suppose i really should put my pride behind me to get my heart checked again just in case.
i have asked in a previous post for all ladies in the uk to report yasmin (have typed the web address so if you have not already done it please look up the post and complain about this drug!)
best wishes to you all ladies.

sarah

hi guest 31990,
i'm glad that you have found a pill that works for you,what's not right for some is right for others,i know some people do really well on yasmin and other brands of birth control pills,if you feel great on it then that is good but just please please listen to your body,if you get any strange symptoms or start having any kind of emotional problems at least be aware of the fact that it might be the pill,i did really well on it for 6 months,had clear skin,lost a bit of weight,no pms,light periods and bigger breast but then i started to get ill and have panic attacks and severe anxiety. I am not saying any of this to put you off or to scare you i just cannot bare the thought of not warning women of the possible future side effects,hopefully you will continue to do really well on yasmin and i sincerely hope you do. we need both sides of the story on this site so that other women can make informed decisions (unlike many of us that took yasmin blindly!).
best wishes to you.

sarah

Guest 31792
Give it some time, your hormones need to adjust.
When we take synthetic hormones we shut off our body producing hormones which take their place and then when we go off the pill the faucet has to turn back on in our bodies and replace the synthetics, this takes some time usually they say 2-3 months but it seems with yasmin it can take longer depending on the person. The hardest thing is patience. Just hang in there, eat well (organic seems best) get plenty of sleep, and take good care of yourself right now. K. Best wishes BitterRN

Silke
Me again, sorry about the rushed answer, I wanted to write more but didnt have time. So yeah, I think your levels have been trying to come up, but may have for some reason dropped- Have you been exercising more since that heavy period, or more stressed out? The body will use more testosterone during these times (to recover your muscles with exercise.) to support the body with stress. This would have caused a decline perhaps in the reserves of testosterone you may have built up then. (This is just a theory based on what I have read and talked with my doctors and experienced myself Silke, I am not trying to diagnose you okay? Im just trying to point you in the right direction for medical care) So anyway, if you had a decline then that may explain the spotting the next two months, especially with the virus, the drop in testosterone may have caused the lowered immune system allowing you to catch the virus and then your body is really going to have trouble fighting it caused it is already in an unbalanced state. Even though it seems your body was starting to recover and you were menstruating though Silke 1 year and a half seems a long time for this recovery (though I think it may have to due with the amount of time you were on the yasmin as well) but when I read that your periods returned I was so happy for you but then in the next post you wrote the next month you had mentioned just spotting and that is what prompted me to see how you were now because I had a feeling that it may not have fully returned as it had the previous month (the one with the heavy bleeding) did it seem normal? If you had continued to have regular bleeding the next two cycles and continued to feel better than I would have thought oh good her hormones are balancing out, but when you said that you had only spotting AND that you were starting to feel bad again, I think that maybe your body is trying to fight an uphill battle and It cannot quite seem to fill it up to the reserves that it needs to be at. In other words you cannot make testosterone as fast as your body is demanding it leaving you on empty or quite near it . Do you understand where I am coming from? This is why I think you should consider getting your hormones tested, but only from a doctor who understands hormones particularly bioidentitical hormones(natural hormones.) That is why I gave you the name of the doctor in Spain, he specializes in this kind of therapy, but more importantly he can test your hormones and read them correctly. I tried to google doctors in germany who specialize in bioidentical hormones and I could not find anything which suprises me because I read an article that they started practicing this therapy first in europe in 1935! So maybe you could find someone. I understand what you mean about going to another doctor for useless information (I went through 3) and spent lots of wasted money! Its aggravating I know.
Please, I hope you do not think that I am being pushy and please remember it is your health and your body and you know what is best for it. I am curious to see what will happen on the first of Nov. as well, maybe your menses will return fully and you will start feeling better again. I hope so Silke, I really do.
Also I had a few more ?'s if you dont mind, how is your memory/concentration as compared to before? How about your sleep?Any trouble? Do you feel aged just overall?
One more thing, I wanted to give the website of that Dr and procedure (which Im not saying you need) it just has interesting info. on it. Its Sottopelletherapy.com

Ok I better go. Volume 10 is complete!!! :)
Take care Silke
BitterRN

Silke,
Hi bitterRn

we're all thinking of you silke,
you are so strong to be able to have endured this nightmare for so long,you have managed to help so many of use even though your own situation has been awful and you have seen some of use through our darkest times,they always say it has to get worse before it gets better,i really hope this is your turning point and that you will finally be free of the yasmin nightmare! best wishes to you silke,keep your chin it will get better,you will be back on stage and singing again in no time.

sarah

Hi BitterRN!!

(Sorry ladies if this seems to get a "privat chat", but I think our "written books" can surely be helpful to others of you, too....)

Well, I absolutely understand, what you say. And this is surely an option I will get checked (ok, if I ever will have the power to go to another doctor again after my aimless oddyssey in 2005.......!). I think I should mention, that here in Germany the health system has gotten really difficult in the past 6 - 7 years so that the doctor's could not make every test on you which might be helpful. So it's really difficult to get blood tests (especially the expensive ones as homormonal testings...) done by a doc. That's what my situation always made even more difficult, than it already was...

But one thing I really don't understand: My perhaps low testosterone levels still don't explain, why I was doing so much better the last few months (as I already told here in former posts, I even started singing in my band again and I really felt good, about 85% like my old self!!) and now, after that bad cold 3 weeks ago, the tiredness and muscle weakness and stiffness (also craming in my legs during night and day) kicked in at once as if I was thrown back to nearly one year ago... I really feel and think, that his must be a lack of some minerals or vitamines again (magnesium because of the cramping legs and fingers, perhaps b-vitamines??? I feel so unsure......). Maybe this comes on top of the testosterone or other hormonal problem and makes my symptoms worse...!??? But I deeply feel, that there MUST be something else above the definitely still lasting hormonal imbalance...

Thank you BitterRN for answering so quickly and detailed!!

best wishes
Silke

no stophfm you are not crazy,the yasmin is messing with your hormones and making you feel that way! once you stop taking it you should return to normal within a few cylces.
best wishes.
sarah

I did come across a website where a Doctor did definitely recommend to slowly withdraw from bcps.

Of course, you would know have to use extra means of protection from pregnancy.

So yes, I would definitely talk to your Dr and see what he or she says about you wanting to withdraw slowly.

Believe me, I have never been through Hell like this in my entire life!!! So do whatever you can to make your transition smooth!

Best wishes

hi nightowl.
you won't find insomnia or anxiety listed on the side effects leaflet that comes with yasmin but you will definately find them and many many more listed on here,if yasmin is making you feel like this now STOP taking it before it gets any worse,please take a few minutes to read through some of the posts here from women that have been suffering some awful effects. i do dispute that yasmin may be a "wonder pill" for some women but for many of us it is the worst pill we have ever taken. i am ansure as to why your doctor has put you on birth control pills at your age,i understood it was risky to prescribe the pill to women over 35 due to the higher risk of thrombosis,heart attacks and strokes etc? have you discussed using natural bio identical hormone creams to ease your symptoms. pro-gest is meant to be very good. please discuss your symptoms with your doctor but do not let them tell you yasmin cannot possibly cause these effects,there are thousands of women here who KNOW differently.
best wishes to you nightowl.

sarah

hi alicethecamel,
just a thought but have you had a tyroid test? you could be hypothyroid and the pill can cause you to becaome more hypothyroid,i had trouble with low moods, heavy period,clotting etc due to an underactive thyroid,it eased when i went on to levothyroxine but started up a again when i went on yasmin but a dose change sorted it out again. unfortunately my experience with yasmin was pure hell/anxiety/depression, emotionally unstable (and sometimes felt mentally unstable too!) regardless of whether you choose to stay on yasmin i would definately get a thyroid (tsh and ft4) test done.
best wishes to you,i hope you feel better soon.

sarah

hi eryka,
don't worry i am exactly the same with the anxiety,i feel loads better than i did on yasmin and most days i feel pretty much normal,when i am ovulating i start to feel a bit more anxious and the same when i am menstruating. it still throws me now and again if it comes out of nowhere and does not coincide with my monthly cycle,i start to think maybe i am crazy after all and that i really do have an anxiety disorder instead of it being the yasmin,but i am sure it is the yasmin otherwise i would not have improved once i stopped taking it. just keep in mind that it will not hurt you and that it will get better,just laugh it off if you can.if you are prepared for it it is much less scary!

best wishes to you.
sarah

hi jillian,
the answer to that question i'm afraid is like asking how long is a piece of string, some people recover as soon as they stop yasmin,some take,weeks,months or in extreme cases years. The eye problem is quite common with birth control pills,in fact i think it might be listed on theyasmin sire as a possible side effect,i know i have read it somewhere. have you mentioned the fact that you use birth control pills to your optician? best wishes to you and hope that you start to see an improvement soon.

Sorry, me again.

Claudia:

You're telling the same story, that I went through!!! I too didn't leave my house, sometimes neither my bed anymore in my worst times with Yasmin!! And I really didn't think that this could get better again some day.

But believe me: IT WILL get better!!

All you need is time, as I already told in my last post.

1 1/2 months without Yasmin ist really not very long!! In my case it took about 3 months to feel a real change in me and a slight improvement of my symptoms started (got off Yasmin in February 2005!). But from that point on it got better month by month. Every month the symptoms (especially the anxiety and panic attacks) got less and today I'm nearly back to normal!! Well, as I already said, besides the hormonal chaos (don't have a normal regular period, yet) that really takes much longer for me than for many other women...

But you are NOT CRAZY!!!! I remember me so many times thinking the same thing "What, if it's really NOT the Yasmin and everything is just in my head?" But it WAS the Yasmin and today I feel so much better!!! All you need now is time and patience and hopefully some people around you that understand your problems, listen to you or give you a hug, if you're in need!!

And flowerbabies ist totally right with the supplements! It's really helpful to take some vitamine b, magnesium and other things!! And perhaps some valerian just to calm down a bit, when the anxiety seems to be unbearable!! That always helped me too during the last 2 very hard years!!

I wish you all the best and believe me, you've got the power to get through this, even if you don't really believe it now, YOU HAVE IT!!

Best wishes and god's bless!

Silke

hi,sorry to hear about all the problems you are having,i too had problems with controlling my anger,i would snap and snarl at my family for no good reason or i would be in floods of tears and wanting to die. i stopped taking yasmin mid pack with no ill effects except that i got a 'period' 4 days after i stopped the pills but that didn't bother me as much as the horrible side effects i was having from taking the yasmin. your moods are directly linked to your hormones and your serotonin levels,bcp's can have quite a big impact on these. stop taking the pills,drink loads of water,take a good multivit and also add some extra magnesium and calcium,hopefully once your own hormones take back over and your body repairs your rage issues should subside,mine have. you just really need to be good to yourself and your body and you will see an improvement. best wishes to you,hang in there it will get better.

hi andiegags,
i can totally relate to what you are saying,i used to find that even on yasmin 14 days before my period was due my anxiety levels would sky rocket, i used to take diazepam for my anxiety but decided to stop taking it and learn to deal with my anxiety,it sounds easier said than done i know! the 1st step is to keep telling yourself that the feelings of anxiety are not important as there is nothing to be anxious about and to just keep thinking positively that it will go away,you are in no danger and there is nothing wrong. now i am off yasmin (6 weeks) i have had 2 periods,i still feel a little more anxious before my periods but now i know that i will i am prepared and it doesn't freak me out so much, i found that by using positive thinking techniques i was a ble to stop taking the diazepam and can now cope on my own as i did not want to rely on drugs to ease the symptoms because as far as i am concerned drugs started this in the 1st place (ie taking the yasmin)
best wishes to you.

hi abs528.
sorry to hear things are still bad for you,i'm glad that you have got some help though with your OCD. i never thought of it before but i always used to have to check to make sure i had locked doors and turned of gas/electrical appliances.sometimes i would go out then have to come back to make sure i had locked up or turned everything off then go back to make sure i hadn't switched it on when i checked it by mistake! although i haven't done it for years (since i had kids as had other things to worry about!) i wonder if anyone who has an underlying ocd/depression/anxiety issue is made worse by yasmin..there seems to be a link there. it's strange the things we become obsessed about,over the last year i have had a range of obsessions. ie.. my husband was going to die,i was going to be raped,someone was going to break into my house,someone was going to hurt or steal my children. but what i realise now is that because of my constant state of anxiety my mind was always looking for the danger that made my anxiety levels so high but of course there was no real danger,once i realised that and just accepted that bad things can happen but i couldn't waste my life waiting for them to...i started to relax and my thoughts have relaxed too. having not had your particular fear i cannot tell you how to deal with it but i would suggest telling yourself each time that you have a disturbing thought that it is not real,just realise it is a thought nothing else,you do not have to act on your thoughts or even react to them..just observe them and let them go and try to relax....life is too short ..enjoy every minute of every day! best wishes to you abs 528 and all the other ladies out there that are suffering from this devil pill!

ditto on the sore throat! i get sore throat and a muffled sensation in my ears about 2 days after my period starts, mydoctor is checking my throid levels again now i am off the yasmin so may ask her why hormones should affect my throat. nice to see you posting again abs528...how are you doing? are you hanging in there? i have been off yasmin for 5 weeks now and i feel like i am getting better and better all the time,i still have my odd days when the anxiety gets the better of me but in general i am winning,i hope this turns out to be the case for you too. According to my doctor contraceptive pills can cause a worsening of anxiety symptoms and definately makes depression worse so maybe it is the same for OCD? i have always been a "cautious" person but i think the shift to "terrified of my own shadow" was definately caused by the yasmin as now i am off it i seem to be back to being cautious...just a little more so than before! best wishes to you all and if anyone gets an answer about the sore throat thing please please post it here!

Hi Sarah!!

Good to hear that your doc finally has put 2 and 2 together!! Well, I think doctor's should more often REALLY hear, what their patients are telling and not just do or believe what they can find in their "big wise books".

It's very interesting what you wrote about anxiety and dehydration. So your doctor really thinks, that dehydration may cause a raise of anxiety attacks??

Well, I watched myself getting more problems with anxiety again during hot summer days, especially when I've been sweating very much and forgot to drink enough. The muscle weakness is then coming up a little again (well, though DEFINITELY not as bad as it was one year ago!!) and I have to deal with the anxiety again, more than usual!! And another thing I found out: Magnesium is helping me very good with that symptoms.

So it seems as if my body has still problems with that dehydration and loss of minerals and vitamines brought on by Yasmin while taking it 5 long years until February 2005... The slightest change in those things (well, like not enough drinking, etc.) causes still some symptoms...

Could I be right with that speculation??

Best wishes to you and greetings from Germany!!

Silke

Hi abs528!

Yes, I know that feeling. Before I took Yasmin I never had any problems with my libido. But during taking it, the libido got less and less each month and each year. I always thought that was just me and searched for reasons everywhere, except my bcp!!

And you know what? After about 3 months WITHOUT Yasmin my libido came back and I didn't recognize myself. Suddenly there were feelings for my husband again I hadn't known for years!! I felt as if someone had switched on my feelings again!! And not only in that area!

So please give it some time, I'm sure you'll get your "old feelings" back, too, if that chemical after a few months has finally completely left your body!!

One thing I can't tell is, if your new bcp is interacting somehow, too.

Best wishes

Silke

Hi Martina!

YES, the way you feel is absolutely normal. My first months off Yasmin were like a rollercoaster. Some days I thought I was back to normal and very happy, the other week I felt weak and tired again.

Remember that the bcp is switching off the normal hormonal fluctuation, every woman goes through within a cycle. So your body is nearly every day at "one level" with hormones and like in your case for about 3 1/2 years (in my case it were 10 long years, but only the last 5 of them with Yasmin...). So it may take you a while, until your body gets used to those fluctuations and can handle them without giving you those symptoms you're feeling now.

In my case the first 3 - 4 months were the most difficult ones and I thought I would never be normal again (some days I really had the fear to go totally crazy!! I swear!!). But every month it got less and less and today (got off Yasmin February 2005, ONE long year ago!!) I'm nearly back to the 100% me again. I should also mention, that I still didn't get another normal period since easter one year ago!! So I think I'll not be that completely healthy and happy person I've been before Yasmin until I'm finally getting my normal period.

I also read, that for some women it takes over a year to get their normal cycle again. But remember that everyone is reacting different!

All you need right now is a loving husband or boyfriend or your family who loves and understands you, and takes everything that comes, no matter "who" you are right now, the happy or the sad Martina!! Some day you'll be the person they once new again, I swear!! Don't worry, I really know what I'm talking about!!

Best wishes and hugs to you and every sad one out there!!

Keep looking forward to better times, that are ahead for us all!

Silke

hi abs528.
i also had terrible panic attacks and constant anxiety as well as really scary thoughts and dreams, i thought i was crazy too (still might be have only been off yasmin for 9 days!) i'm not sure how long it takes for the panic attacks to go away, i think now you have had them you will have to learn a good technique to difuse them, i have to keep telling myself that they will not harm me even though they feel awful,try to distract your mind,i sing songs or count really quickly and the best but hardest piece of advice is to not be scared of them,if you are not scared then you will not react the way you do and the panic attacks will gradually go away. I promise you i know how it feels,i felt like i had gone insane,i took yasmin for 1.5 years and thought it was great but then after 6 months things started to get bad,i was diagnosed with panic disorder and given diazepam but that made me worse, i decided to face it head on and it has been working but it is hard and i have good and bad days,hopefully now i have stopped the yasmin it will ease up a bit,please post your progress on this site whether it be good or bad as it may help another poor soul who is going through the same thing. in the mean time get yourself some magnesium as a definciency in this mineral came make your symptoms worse also drink as much water as you can to detox your system. you should get your period in a few days and hopefully you will start to feel better. best wishes to you...and remember you are NOT crazy!

Hi Guest 25816!!

It seems that Yasmin brings every body, or better, its metabolism extremely out ouf whack. And I think it's pretty normal, that after 2 months everything isn't yet back to normal!!

I don't want to discourage you, but I've been off Yasmin for over 1 year now and still didn't get my normal period, yet... And during the last week I surfed the web and searched for my symptoms, which I still got (though not at all as bad as WITH Yasmin!!! Everything has gotten 80% better than around one Year ago!) and all I found were sites about menopause....

But I also think (and I really BELIEVE!!) that in our case (we're really not old enough to get menopausal, I'm 31) it's just a hormonal imbalance, which will be gone if only we have enough patience. And you also should remember, that every person ist different and in your case your body might recover much faster!! I don't know how long you had been taking Yasmin, in my case it were 5 long years, without realizing, what that poison was doing to me... So I think it's very normal, that it takes my body longer than others to get back to where it was before Yasmin!!!

Stay strong and always believe in better times and remember to be patient and not to give up!! I'm sure some day you'll have a sweet baby in your arms and that Yasmin-nightmare will be completely forgotten!!

Best wishes!

Silke

Hi Hill!!

So good to hear, that you're also doing better week by week.

I just wanted to let you know, that I had gained about 40 pounds (20 kg) AFTER I went off Yasmin within 3 months without eating more or doing anything else different than before!! I was totally shocked, because before this Yasmin nightmare I always was a healthy fit and very slim person (I'm 31 years old now).

And my weight is decreasing finally since around february 2006!! It goes down kg by kg (around 1 kg, about 2 pounds, a month) and AGAIN WITHOUT changing anything in my life!!

For me another sign for the case, that Yasmin had messed up my whole metabolism and it's only now, one year later, (got off Yasmin in February 2005!!) finally getting better. I'm still not able to excercise very much, because my body was completely broken down after 5 years on Yasmin. From December 2004 to May 2005 I went through a total hell with 100s of symptoms like muscle weakness, dizzyness, fainting spells and much much more... Well, my muscles are still not back to completely normal. But the weight is decreasing nevertheless, just because everything is slightly going back to normal. So I think you should give your body more time to get its metabolism back in order. As I see now in my case, the weight finally even goes back "by itself", because everything gets back in balance again!!

Best wishes to all of you out there, and all of the Yasmin starters: PLEASE be so careful with this medicine!!! I was totally fine on it for about 2 years, when the first symptoms hit my at once (without realizing, that it was the Yasmin!!). After about 5 years on it I broke down completely and thought my life was about to end!! Listen to your body and stop this pill immediately if something unusual is happening to you!!!

Big hugs to everyone!!

Silke

Hi Ladies, Most of you might already know of this great website but just wanted to share with you its www.aphroditewomenshealth.com and its alot of information and comments on different contraceptives. askapatient.com is another one. I hate to hear of all of your troubles. Theres nothing simple about hormones going into your body that was never meant to be there. I have taken yasmin for 2 years now and its fine other than headaches during the week off so Im fixen to start the new pill called Yaz. Its the new lower dose form of yasmin that takes away 3 days of placebo. Another new one incase anyone is interested is Loestrin 24. It also takes away 3 days of your period. Good luck everyone on your quests with finding the right pill or recovering from the wrong pill! Best wishes, Kim

Hi minoosh!!

Thank you for your posting. That gives back a little hope to me, as I didn't get my normal period for over a YEAR now (went off Yasmin in February 2005!!). I really don't know, what I should do, and even don't know IF I should do something... I'm so tired of taking ANY medicine or doing ANYTHING to my body, after all I went through for about the last 1 1/2 years...

I thought, I'll give my body time until the middle of 2006 and then decide, what to do and IF something to do....

Well, nevertheless I feel very happy for you!! :)

Perhaps I'll go on and search for a naturopath, too, because I suppose this to be the only way, that something or someone can help.... But one thing I'm sure of: I'll NEVER take any artificial hormones again in my life!!

Best wishes to all of you!!

Silke

Hey Lisa!!

Don't worry!! I understand your pain, because I went EXACTLY through the same thing!!

I remember myself asking my husband a thousand times "Oh my god, I feel like it's all coming back, I'm so afraid everything could get as bad as it was months ago..." and so on. And that happened around the same state as you are now!! And I also remember my mum and my husband always telling me "It won't come back, everything will be better again in a few days, it's just your hormonal imbalance." And I was so thankful for their words!!

And the best of all: They were right !! Evertime I was nearly about to despair (and that didn't happen only once during the very hard last year, but every few weeks!!), a few days further everything had gotten better again!!

It always helped me to remember, that it's all a hormonal thing and hormones are fluctuating over a month. And being on bcp for such a long time (during that time the hormones were constantly nearly on ONE level!) your body reacts to those natural hormone fluctuations more sensitive than before. Your system will gradually get used to that fluctuations again and you won't feel them in such a heavy way any longer!!

I'm 1 Year and 2 months without Yasmin now and still feel those fluctuations very often. But remember that I still didn't get my period again... (last one was on easter 2005.....). So I think in my case everything will be 100% back to normal and healthy again, when I'm finally getting my period.

I hope this helps and feel free to E-Mail me or post here again if you've got any further questions or jus need some pep talk!! I know how important that is, I needed it the same way one year ago!!!

Best wishes, god's bless and keep looking forward to better times Lisa, as hard as it may seem on some days!!!

Silke

Hi ns!

So sorry to hear, that Yasmin has caused another medical victim...

Well, I'm just not really sure what "seizure" means (I'm from Germany). I had something, perhaps you meant that: It was like a horrible dizzyspell which forced me to lay down on the floor because I wasn't able to stand or sit any longer (that was January, 1st, 2005!). We had to call 911 (I wasn't able to get up or just sit up...) and they immediately put me into the ER where I had to stay for one week (no need to mention, that they didn't find anything........). I really thought I was about to die, my heart was totally racing and my pulse was about 150, my blood pressure rose up to 180/110 and so on.... Did you mean anything similar with "seizure".

Well, also not to forget: Since getting off Yasmin in February 2005 I NEVER had such a heavy dizzyspell again!!! So I think I found out by myself, what was causing me all that hell around October 2004 to April 2005!! (And still not everything has gone away.... even after one year without that stuff!!).

Best wishes to you and every woman out there again!!

And to those who are still trying to "adjust to Yasmin": PLEASE think twice about what you're doing to your body and don't think anyone of us here is just kidding!! My life has turned into a total hell after 2 years on Yasmin and it was not until the amount of another 3 years later when I finally realized that this pill hearly had taken my life!!!! Read more of the posts in this forum, that might help you to understand, how Yasmin is working in your body and that it is definitely different from other bcp and DEFINITELY can cause severe healt problems, MORE than other bcp!!!

God bless you all!!

Silke

Hi jennypenny!

I and many other women wrote about that problem only a few posts ago. Please go to Site 2 or 3 of this forum and take a look at that posts.

Best wishes

Silke