Yasmin and bipolar

I was on Yasmin for almost a year, and then on Yaz, and I've never felt so crazy in my life. The mood swings were so bad that it was like I was bipolar and became a different person. Worst part is that I couldn't realize it until I was out of the "bout" of anger, depression, and even paranoia. I have had emotional side effects with birth control before, and these were some of the worst. I just really wish there was a non-chemical birth control that didn't involve plastic, latex, or stingy spermicides! I know many women who cannot take hormonal birth controls, and we all complain that our sex life is not as good, and even causes big problems for some. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I have been on Yasmin for 4 years now.. and my fiance just called off the wedding because I have been acting so crazy. From the moment I was with him I started this pill and that is the moment I changed. I was also the happiest sweetest girl. Now that I reflect all the symptoms I have been having all come back to when I got on Yasmin. I have become severely depressed when I have nothing to be depressed about because my life is great. I am emotional and cry all the time, I cant control my tears at all. The week before my period I become an angry crazy out of control emotional lunatic and I know i'm acting crazy but I cant snap myself out of it. I have sever anger issues which i never had before I curse yell and scream which I never did before, and I"m telling you I have the greatest life I should not be this way but I can snap out of it. I have lost all motivation for life, I have no motivation to work I have no motivation to be with friends talk on the phone go out go to the gym, and I used to be the life of the party. I have zero zero zero sex drive, my fiance thinks i'm not attracted to him but I so am, but if you killed me I cant get orgasm or get in the mood. I literally have lost all sense of who I am, I never thought it was because of the pill but after reading all these posts I am convinced I know these symptoms started the day I started Yasmin. Today I stopped taking them, I have to see if this is the cause I have to see if I feel normal again I don't even know who I am anymore. Hopefully getting off this pill will bring me back to normal.

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!!!
******

yaz is horrible.
I recently had a baby 5 months ago, and my obgyn gave me yaz to start taking 2 weeks after she was born. so i did........
I thought I had serious post partum depression or something. I was getting severe headaches EVERYDAY, i was always nauseous, irritable, horrible mood swings (actually thought i was bipolar or something) i was also gaining a lot of weight even though ive been working out like crazy and eating healthy since the day i gave birth. right now i currently weigh only 6 pounds less than when i delivered.....thanks to yaz.
I was also having severe itching spells, chest pain, difficulty breathing for no reason, constant headaches, always sick to my stomach, sleep issues (i would either have to sleep for more than 12 hours to feel rested, or i would be almost on a euphoric *high* with only 2 hours of sleep and function better than ever) and numbness is my arms and legs.
I took this for about 4 months before i finally just realized not to long ago, that all my symptoms date back to around the time i started taking this.

DO NOT TAKE THIS

My daughter was on Yasmin for approx 3 years for painful periods. Over the past year she has become severely depressed, angry and just a horrible person to live with. I noticed that on the final week of the pills, the placebo week, she was her old self and put two and two together and made her stop taking Yasmin. She is now back to her happy self, no longer depressed and looking forward to her life. She had informed her doctor of the depression but she never attributed it to the Yasmin and instead referred her to a psychologist, which she never followed through with. Doctors don't know or care to really look into side effects properly. Do not take this drug...it almost killed my daughter!!

I've been taking Yasmin about four years...and about a year ago, I kept remarking that I think Yasmin changed its formula because I experienced terrible water retention (at least 6 pounds every month) and psychotic mood swings two weeks before my period. Originally, I started taking Yasmin to restart my periods which I lost for 3 years, supposedly due to weight loss (I lost 40 pounds in four months). But after I gained 20 back, still no period. This is when I started taking Yasmin and within 30 days it gave me a period like clockwork. I was fine for a few years, though very reclusive, which I thought was my depression - I do have a history of it. Funny, while taking Yasmin, I attributed my moodiness to PMS not depression. Since February of 2007, I have gained 10 pounds and my breasts have increased a cup size. As a result, my gyno and my shrink decided I should take Yasmin straight through so I didn't get PMS, or a period for that matter. The only reason I'm not depressed anymore is because I take Wellbutrin and Clomipramine. So now I don't get the pychological symptoms anymore -- just the bloating, constipation, huge boobs (they were big before) and general annoyance. To think it could have been the Yasmin all along! When every doctor told me I was insane...getting older...body changing...bipolar! One I finish the last pill, I'm taking matters into my own hands and kicking Yasmin to the curb. I would seek a Dr.'s help, but I'm sick of them shrugging me off. I'll report back. *Fingers crossed.*

Thanks Sarah, I'm just feeling frantic and desperate to get back to feeling 'normal'. This Loestrin is making me a MESS... (I've cried several times today here at work!!! Ahhh!!!) - Not to mention that my appetite is unbelievable and on top of it I STILL have the anxiety and mental discomfort...

Can I just stop taking it a week into the pack, or do I have to finish out the pack???

I didn't know they had tests they could run to measure your hormones. Can that help them determine which pill would be best?

For the most part - my Bipolar is under control, it's the hormones that have me feeling so out of whack and I'm scared that THIS will trigger an episode... I don't know what to do!! (I am in the process of planning a wedding and training a new employee - I don't have TIME to be this messed up!!!)

Thanks again to anyone with advice. I know we're all in this together, but sometimes it's easy to forget that when you're right in the middle of it and up to your eyeballs...

Chris

Has anyone here tried Loestrin 1/20 FE? I'm going to the dr today and that's the one I'm going to ask for... I looked at another message board and it seems like the majority of users are very satisfied with it! I am sincerely hoping it helps get me back on track: I think getting off of the Yasmin and the withdrawal side effects have messed with my Bipolar a bit and it's triggering a mixed episode. I'm not too happy about that at ALL.... Stupid hormones...

Hi everyone, thanks for the response about my daughter, i need to explain her symptoms a little better.
Shr's been off yasmine 5 weeks now and had 2 and a half great weeks, she was confidant, happy a complete turnaround to the depressed girl of before, she has struggled on and off for some time, she has suffered from depression, anxiety and all the problems that go with it such as nervous vomiting shaking not being able to sleep, self harming the list goes on, so when she was well it was a great relief, we thought it must be the yasmin.
She went down a little at about 3-4 days before her period by the second day of her period she was back in the deep pit of depression, now her period is all but finished and there is hardly any improvement, everything ive read on this site the women say they begin to suffer from ovulation until there period, that wasn't the case with my daughter, she has suffered terribly during her period.
That makes me question if it is yasmin cuasing hormone problems, or if it is a form of depression, ive even considered maybe bipolar which scares the hell out of me.
She is on lexapro and her doctor has yet again increased her dose to 40mg which is a worry to me, it is a concern that she is still having these problems while on antidepressants, her mood has gone up and down to the extreme, what can we do, some advice would be greatly appreciated

My 22 y/o dtr was diagnosed Bipolar 5 years ago, but has been very stable for almost all of that time. That is, until she started Yasmin. Eight weeks into taking Yasmin, s sincehe suddenly had a psychotic episode and has not been able to get stable, in spite of multiple heavy-duty meds they have tried her on. She just stopped the Yasmin last month. Today was her first period, so we will see what happens. Sounds like it may still take awhile, if this is related to the Yasmin.

This is good. Like most of you, i thought i was going crazy too. I already ruined and ended one relationship quite abruptly.. though yasmin was just a catalyst, i never hated him as i probably made him feel i did. im never ever a bitter or angry person but yasmin seemed to bring out the absolute worst in me. i have weird stomach problems as well, for instance; only the 3 weeks of active pills i am lactose intolerant. sometime recently i started feeling an odd cramp every time after eating, only within the last month. i have only been on this stuff since about january '05 and its only june '05 and the whole time i was slowly going crazy didnt realize that it could have been attributed to the pill.
i am tired and cranky and also not nearly as talkative as i usually am. i lost my sex drive, actually ive turned quite contrary,... where i used to be constantly hungry and had the insatiable drive now any time it is coming to that point the butterflies in the tummy that i previously felt have translated into nausea and the thought of sex with someone in am incredibly attracted to seems revolting.
ive noticed, however, that many of girls that went through a lot of issues with anxiety and depression as a teen seem to do well on it, atleast for the first year. then people that are usually quite happy or mild and optimistic feel low and in a rut.
i am bipolar, so while i know the lowest of lows i also know the highest of highs and the yasmin seems to keep me at a steady state right below the line slightly closer to low... and while at first it wasnt noticeable, after a while i realized that i missed all of the highs i could feel and wondered where they went and grew resentful towards my boyfriend for not being able to make me as high as he once could.
those that are used to being kept steadily low might appreciate the steady still-low-but-not-quite-so-low-as-the-lowest , if that makes any sense. anyway, thanks a lot, im quitting tonight and looking for reviews of nuvaring