Yasmin and blood clots

I was put on Yasmin as a healthy 31 year old. I noticed severe foot and leg cramps shortly after taking Yasmin but didn't connect the two. At one point, after a severe leg cramp that left me with a sore leg that lasted more than a couple of days, I contacted my OBGYN to inquire about blood clots. The nurse asked me if I noticed any discoloration, swelling or 'hot spots'. When I told her no she said that I would know if I had a blood clot and there was nothing to worry about. The pain subsided after a couple of days and I attributed it to a pulled muscle. Almost a year later I developed severe chest pains and shortness of breath. A trip to the emergency room uncovered a massive pulmonary embolism. I was admitted to the hospital for 5 days and endured months of recovery to get back to good health. I was on a blood thinner for almost 9 months and still take a daily aspirin in combination with fish oil as a precaution. I can't tell you how I wish I had know just how serious the side effects might really be. I would urge all women to seriously consider all options before committing to a daily medication with these possible side effects. Best of luck to you all.

I just found this site and want to tell you all this is not a good drug. Back in August I lost my good friend when she developed blood clots in her lungs. She had been switched to this drug and thing started tio go down hill from there. YAZ KILLED HER!! DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG!

I have suffered from nausea and head aches when I miss dosage or after my period. After I go back to my regular dosage I am fine. The biggest problem I have with Yasmin is blood clots in my legs increased---it doesn't help that I have a sit down job. I have lost 5 pounds so far and I have been on it for 3 months. But I would suffer all these side effects 5x over because Yasmin helps with my PMS. My mood swings are rare and my cycle is lighter. Thank you Yasmin

N., Moreno Valley, CA

Last week I started to have this pain in the chest. I thought they will go away but they didn't. I went to a chiropractor that said it is my back that couses all this pain, the tingling feet and arms, dizziness. But 2 days ago, my mom told me that on the news they showed a 22 years old girl from Croatia that died because of Yasmin. Today I looked online to see if i can find something about it. and I found this site. And i read more then half of the posts. I am taking Yasmin for 14 months. And everything that is in these posts i felt in on me. Except the weight. I am still the same at 120 pounds. but, the anxiety, the panic attack - my first ever, emotional problems - which i never had before - OMG - i don't want this anymore. I love life - i didn't get ther to have suicidal attempts. But it is bad. No libido - from a person who loved to have sex, painful intercourse, crying for no reason. etc. Tomorrow no more pills. that's it. My chest hurts so bad that i feel like crying.

I was put on Yasmin not for birth control but for the beginning of fertility treatments. I was on Yasmin only 1 months. After about 2 days I started getting symptoms. I called the Pharmacist and my fertility doctor and they both told me the pill wasn't the culprit. But after the 20th day I just couldn't take it anymore I went off of it. After starting Yasmin I had TERRIBLE Panic attacks, Anxiety ( still have to this day two months later), Heart Palpitations, leg cramps, boobs hurt, breathing trouble ( still to this day), HORRIBLE thoughts, adrenaline rushes all hours of the day, tingling in my hands and feet, my mind feels fuzzy, no appetite, no sex drive, depression, crying fits for hours, I felt like i was going insane.... You name it I had it. I stopped the pill two months ago and I still have the horrible anxiety/attacks, feel like i cant breath properly, OCD about my breathing.

I went to the hospital and got checked for blood clots in my lungs, legs, Asthma test, EKG, blood tested, was put on heart monitor all came back normal. I have started seeing a therapist, on depression meds and none of it is working. I feel like this pill has ruined my life and i wasn't even trying to stop life i was trying to help create it.

Here i am two months after stopping the pill and yes some of the stuff has went away but i still suffer with Anxiety from the time i wake up in the morning till the time I go to bed at night. And sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with anxiety. My head is getting a little clearer and I am not as depressed as before. But I am just praying that this anxiety goes away. I have NEVER been a person who can't handle stress or gets anxiety/panic attacks and since it started it hasn't stopped. I am so very weak, muscles ache so much which i think is from the anxiety attacks and the muscles tightening.

So if you have this... you are not alone! I am suffering with it everyday. It is so debilitating I cant do much. Has anyone else had this months after stopping Yasmin?

Wow ~ I am so happy that I came across this website tonight. I started taking Yasmin a year ago and I am calling my doctor's office tomorrow to get off this pill! I initially started my search on WebMD's symptom checker because I am so frustrated with never feeling right! When I came across all of these stories, it started to piece everything together and I couldn't believe that I never thought my problems could be caused by my birth control pill!! I am 29 years old and have always been a very healthy woman, which is why I have been so frustrated because I KNOW that something is not normal with the way I have been feeling ~ this is what I have been experiencing for the last year, with some of the symptoms getting worse over the last 6 months: constant waves of nausea (everyday!), heart palpitations, anxiety, diarrhea, gas, stomach problems, hot flashes, complete intolerance to the heat, dizziness, headaches, sore calves, sore breasts. I had told my doctor about the stomach issues, the nausea, the heart palpitations, and she actually prescribed Xanax because they were all symptoms of anxiety (which I couldn't believe that I had because I am in the best possible place in my life now!) ~ but that is beside the point. I am now starting to believe that anxiety should not be the diagnosis, but a symptom of being on Yasmin!! I hope I can update this posting in a few months with great news after I switch to something else!

I have been on Yasmin for 4 years now and I only recently started to question if some of the things that I have been experiencing are related to this pill. After reading your comments here, I'm more convinced then ever! I am a relatively healthy 31 year right now but for over a year now I have had a terrible ongoing ache in the back of my right thigh, just above my knee. I went to a vein specialist who just wanted to inject me to reduce the vein and "hoped" that it would help resolve the pain. He said that I had reticular veins and that they can be painful but as I understand it, you can get pain in your deep veins, which can result in deep vein thrombosis and even pulmonary embolisms (very life threatening). I have also had terrible ongoing headaches that last me 3 days at least once per month. I've always suffered from migraines so I didn't necessarily connect these headaches to the pill. I have absolutely ZERO sex drive. It's like I have to force myself to do it and it fills me with anxiety to even "gear up" for it. I have vaginal dryness, which can be very frustrating during foreplay and painful during sex. I had previously always been pleased that Yasmin resolved my 10 + year battle with painful cystic back acne. I have beautiful, clear skin on my back since I started taking Yasmin. I have also experienced fairly normal periods (for me). I used to have debilitating cramps and periods so heavy that I would wear a tampon and double my pads (with wings) so that I could live through the first part of the day at work without completely breaking through and bleeding through my pants. They would last for 5 - 7 days but with the pill I have more normal periods, manageable cramps, minor bloating, and still a heavy flow but not nearly as bad as before. I have always had good cholesterol levels and low triglycerides until 4 years ago when I started the pill. Since then I have had 2 blood tests where my cholesterol has skyrocketed and my triglycerides are triple the "normal" range. I eat healthier now then ever before and I regularly exercise as well so I cannot explain my cholesterol change, nor can my doctor (after showing a food diary of mostly fruits, veggies, limited whole grains, lean meat and optimal water). He told me to "go on a low carb diet" and "stay away from "sugars". I can't explain it either, I am always thirsty. I drink almost a gallon of water a day. I have this constant craving for a beverage and dryness if I'm not consistently sipping on water. My eyes are always dry, so dry in fact that it makes me feel tired or like I just want to close them to give them a break. I just started using eye drops, which has helped. Also, I'm tired, very very tired. It's summer so my energy is better only because I force myself to go workout, which always makes me feel better. I must say though, all in all, I have some concerning symptoms that seem to be prevalent throughout the blog but I've also had some positive effects from Yasmin. My concerns and your comments however are enough to take myself off the pill (Yasmin and all others) to try and live with my natural hormones instead of the synthetic in the pill. I think the potential risks outweigh the rewards. Thank you all for sharing and helping me in my decision making process.

okinawak so sorry to hear about your daughter. All I can relate to you guys is my personal experience. I was on Norimin for a couple of years from the age of 19. For the last year (up until a couple of months ago) I was on Yasmin. I experienced anxiety whilst taking these pills which I attributed to stress, but since I have been off the pills I am feeling fantastic. I stopped taking Yasmin because I was experiencing other things like pains in my calves, hair loss and getting spider veins, loss of libido (I'm only 23). :-( I decided upon reading other experiences on this page to stop taking Yasmin. I am happy to report back that I am feeling great... Fantastic in fact. I won't say that its directly related to Yasmin as I have no way of proving that. All I can say is how I felt during and after. And for the last three months I have felt greater confidence in my ability to deal with what life throws at me. I am feeling happier all the time, and I think my libido is improving. All the best to you guys, and all those out there worried about symptoms, please go see your doctor!

I'm 21 and have been on Yasmin for 3 and a half months for bad acne. I was originally on Dianette but experience such severe side effects I honestly thought I'd be hospitalized, so I asked my doctor for Yasmin. All was fine for the first 2 months, but I'm now getting horrible pain in my right leg which won't go away no matter what, coupled with a pins and needles type feeling in my feet. I'm also developing spider veins on my legs, It's got to the point where I'm scared to look at my legs now in case any more have shown up! I've decided I'll come off it in a month or so, but don't know what to do to keep my acne at bay. Does anyone know of any natural remedies? I don't wanna keep messing around with drugs and hormones in case I cause long term damage!
Also, has anyone else gone to their doctor about these side effects, only to find the doctor says 'its nothing to do with the pill' when clearly it is! I saw 3 different doctors about my dianette problems, none of them believed it was down to the pill, but when I stopped taking it, my problems disappeared :/

I STARTED TAKING YAZ IN NOV.07. I AM 49 YRS. OLD AND MY OBGYN GAVE ME 2 SAMPLE PACKS IN HIS OFFICE AND SAID THEY WERE SAFE FOR ME TO TAKE AS LONG AS I NOT A SMOKER(WHICH I AM NOT)THESE PILLS WERE TO HELP ME GO THROUGH THE CHANGE WHICH I WAS STARTING TO GO THROUGH.WELL IN JAN 25 08 I WAS RUSHED TO ER. WITH PAIN SO BAD I COULDN'T WALK IN MY LEFT THIGH. I WAS TOLD I HAD A LARGE BLOOD CLOT AFTER THEY DID A ULTRA SOUND.THEN THEY DID A CATSCAN AND FOUND PARTS OF THE CLOT HAD GONE TO MY LUNGS! THEY KEPT ME IN ICU FOR 6 DAYS GIVING ME HEPRIN AND SHOTS IN MY STOMACH AND STARTING ME ON WARFIN.AND GOT MY BLOOD THINNED TO A 2.5. THEY LET ME GO HOME AND TOLD ME TO FOLLOW UP WITH A DOCTOR IN A WEEK! WELL WHEN I GOT AN APPT. HE SENT ME FOR ANOTHER ULTRASOUND AND FOUND OUT THE CLOT HAD INTENED TO MY GROWING SO HE PUT ME BACK IN THE HOSPITAL FOR 5 MORE DAYS AND MORE SHOTS IN THE STOMACH. AFTER I GOT OUT IN WENT BACK TO HIM FOR A FOLLOW UP AND MY LEG AND FOOT WAS SWOLLEN UP WORSE SO HE CALLED A SURGEON AND HE DID SURGERY TO REMOVE THE CLOT FEB.27 08. WELL A WEEK LATER AFTER THE SURGERY ANOTHER ULTRASOUND SHOWED I HAD CLOTTED BACK UP AGAIN. SO THIS SURGEON SENT ME TO ANOTHER SURGEON IN DALLAS,TEX. AND THEY DID AN EXPERMENTAL SURGERY ON ME THE 19-20-21-22 DAYS OF MAY!!! JUNE THE 27TH HE DID ANOTHER ULTRASOUND TO SEE WHAT I LOOKED LIKE AND I HAD CLOTTED BACK UP TO MY FILTER (WHICH WAS PUT IN MY FIRST SURGERY) SO NOW I HAVE A CLOT FROM MY FILTER(WHICH IS BELOW MY LUNGS) ALL THE WAY TO MY LEFT ANKLE. AND THE DOCTOR SAID HE CANT DO ANY MORE SURGERIES FOR AT LEAST A YR. AND FOR ME TO STAY ON MY WARFIN AND WEAR A COMPRESSION HOSE ON MY LEFT LEG FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!!! I HAVE TALKED TO 3 LAWYERS AND THEY ALL TURNED DOWN THIS CASE . I GUESS THEY ARE AFRAID OF BAYER. I UNDERSTAND THAT ONE OF THE SIDE EFFECTS IS BLOOD CLOTS . BUT THIS IS NOT NO PLAIN OLD BLOOD CLOT. THIS HAS AFFECTED MY WHOLE LIFE! I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO WORK IN 6 MO.AND I HAVE HOSPITAL BILLS I CANT PAY. THESE PILLS HAS DONE SOMETHING TO MY BLOOD!!!

I just started using Yasmin 15 days ago and in the second week of taking it, I started experiencing leg cramps. I was just laying in bed and my leg started feeling really weird... I just thought it was because I hadn't done any yoga for a few days. So I did yoga and walked for a while to see if I could loosen it up and nothing. It continued for the whole week so I started taking baths to soften the muscle, thinking that it had to do with lack of exercise, still nothing. I even had my massage therapist husband try and massage it out and still nothing. So I thought it may be early pregnancy symptoms, but the test was neg. I've been researching my symptoms for a week now, and I stumble across this sight. Thank you I will stop taking it NOW so that I don't become as ill as most of you, though I will still have the leg cramps checked out asap. Again thank you.

Within about 8 days of starting Yaz, I developed muscle pain all over my body, but especially in my legs and shoulders. Sometimes it felt like muscle cramps, sometimes like a crawling feeling, sometimes like a pinching, sometimes like a knot. Blood tests and a Doppler test showed no blood clots, but I went off the pill anyway. The symptoms started improving after a few days, and mostly went away within a few weeks. But then I came down with extreme itching and discharge, and trips to four different doctors revealed no infection. That finally cleared up after about two months. Now I'm on a different pill, and unfortunately the muscle pain is coming back. So I guess hormonal birth control might not be for me, but like someone said, this is not easy to deal with in a committed monogamous relationship. I'm going to take a break from all hormonal birth control and hope that the return of the muscle pain was just because my body isn't ready yet after the Yaz.

I had been diagnosed in Dec 2007 with multiple blood clots in my lungs, I have never had blood clots before, after two c-sections, two pregnancies.
I was so short of breath thinking it was stress due to holidays and work that my doctor advised I should have a V scan of my lungs and that was when I was told both lungs were "peppered" with clots, I need immediate medical attention, I had to give myself Heparin in my belly for one week. I was off work for 3 months, I too almost lost my life, if I didn't have an angel on my shoulder which told me "something is wrong see your doctor" my children would be without a mother, my husband without a wife and I was in total perfect health. I pray and thank God every day for my life.

I was just discharged from the hospital on Saturday. I had been taking Yasmin for almost two years now and until recently, had no problems. Last Wednesday I went to the ER for severe pain and inability to breath with my left lung. They admitted me after finding a blood clot in the right, as a result of Yasmin! Turns out, I had pneumonia in the left and since I had no symptoms that the clot was there, the pneumonia saved my life! I too had to take those fun Lovenox shots in the stomach and now I'm on Coumadin for 6 months. I am 29 years old, never smoked a day in my life. I do not drink, I am a healthy weight and I work out regularly. I do not have a history of blood clots in the family. How could this happen especially with a drug my doctors told me was safe?

With the amount of occurrences, I'm interested in a class action lawsuit as well. I will never take a birth control pill again EVER.

i started taking yaz a couple months ago and developed a blood clot in my lung, a pulmonary embolism. i was hospitalized for a week in may of this year. i have visited many websites to see if other women have developed blood clots due to yaz and i have found a startling number of women that have developed blood clots, and a couple girls who even lost their lives. the side effects of birth control are explained to us before we start taking them, and it is expected that some women will experience the side effects, and this is normal. however, when a disproportionately large number of women start having serious health problems due to yaz, then something is not wrong with us, something is wrong with yaz. i have seen many women express an interest in starting a class action lawsuit and i am trying to do so. i have worked in a personal injury law office for the past 2 years and know an excellent lawyer looking to take on a case of this nature and magnitude. if you or your loved one has developed a blood clot, lost their life, or have developed another serious health problem due to yaz than please email me at ****** with your name and an email address i can reach you at. A class action lawsuit requires a large number of plaintiffs. I have already gotten a few emails but need many more before we can make this happen. please email me... help me and yourself.

I'm 30 years old and on May 27 2008 I went to the ER for what I thought was back pain. I ended up in the hospital for 8 days. I had blood clots in my lung. I have to stay on blood thinning med's for at least 6 months had shots in my stomach for 15 days. You don't want YAZ or YASMIN. I researched this has done the same to many women. Even teenage girl. Blood clots are the hospital's #1 Killer. You only want SECOND GENERATION Birth Control.
DO NOT TAKE YASMIN!!! Please women to women.

I had been taking Yasmin monthly for 8 months with no problems. One week I had horrible leg cramping and pains in my calf. I thought it would go away but after going to the doctor and getting an ultrasound done on my leg, it turned out to be a DVT (deep vein thrombosis). I had to go to the emergency room and be admitted for 5 days. That is also where they told me that I had 3 blood clots (Pulmonary Embolisms) in my lung. I'm only 28, healthy, nonsmoker, P.E. teacher and was diagnosed with blood clots that are from Yasmin. I have no previous health problems and no family history of blood clots. I WOULD NOT TAKE ANY HORMONES IF YOU DON"T HAVE TO!!! Yes, for some people it may not be a possibility but at least don't take Yasmin. With blood clots you can not do anything strenuous, no relaxing massages, no visits to the chiropractor, no random medication like Ibuprofen without doctors approval, no alcoholic beverages since I was on blood thinners. I was moody and miserable when this happened since I had to immediately stop taking Yasmin and was in the hospital with blood clots. Thankfully the blood clots are gone but I'm still on blood thinners and have to be very careful for the rest of my life.

I have been taking Yasmin for 3 weeks now I am into my 4th week. I have taken two white dummy pills already and I have yet to get my period. I wasn't aware that Yasmin takes your period away. Is that a normal side effect of this birth control? I have had breast tenderness since I started taking Yasmin. I started the pill in the first 24 hours of my period and for the first week I thought my period would go away and just come again when I started the white pills at the end of the month but that did not happen. My period lasted 7 days while taking the pink pills in my first week. There was a lot of blood clots during my cycle which I never had before. Has anyone else had this symptom when they first started taking Yasmin? I have a doctors appt on the 29th of this month for a separate condition but I plan to ask the doctor about these symptoms. Has anyone else had any of these related experiences?

I was put on Yaz (same as Yasmin but with a smaller estrogen dose) due to irregular periods and a presumed hormonal imbalance. That was in September '07. Four month later, on Jan 1, '08, I went to the ER with breathing difficulties, and weakness in my arms and legs. I had been having muscle cramps/ charley horses in my right calf, but that was the only other health problem I had experienced. I thought I was having an asthma attack. So did the ER - at first. After I did not respond to the breathing treatments, and I became completely out of breath and exhausted after walking across the hall to the restroom, the ER doc checked my D-Dimer level to see if I was at risk for blood clots. He said if it came back over 500, he would have to do further testing for clots. It came back 4500!! I was sent immediately down for a CT Scan which showed mulitple clots in both lungs, mostly small, but several of significant size. I was immediately put on oxygen and a heart monitor, and an IV drip of heparin was started. I was in the hospital for 4 days, had to learn to give myself shots of Lovenol in my stomach until my pill form of blood thinner had time to kick in. I am now taking Coumadin blood thinner every day until July, when my D-Dimer will be checked again. Depending on the results, I may come off the Coumadin, or I may have to commit to it for 3 years. However, I was tested for all the hereditary blood clotting disorders and all came back negative, so my doctor feels as though the cause has to be the YAZ! Everyone tells me I was very lucky and that I could have easily died, especially when I was just thinking I was having an asthma attack and put off going to the ER for a few days. If you are taking Yaz or Yasmin, and you begin to have difficulty breathing, any kind of leg cramps, weakness, or tightness in your chest (I had also been having severe heart burn) - go have yourself checked out!!!!!

I was prescribed Yasmin for PCOS in 2002. I took it and never had any problems and it made the PCOS easier to live with. This was until 2005. I started having real bad pain in my left side, so I went to the emergency room. They did x-rays and blood work on me. They admitted me to the hospital. They told me I had an infarct spleen. I was in there for almost a full week. My medical doctor told me he thought it was caused from my birth control (I did not take any other meds) and he took me off of it. Well I was having a lot of trouble with my PCOS so I went back to my gyno and told them about being in the hospital and what my medical doctor said. My gyno said they never heard of such a thing and put me back on Yasmin. They said I needed to be on it because it had an ingredient I needed to help me deal with the PCOS. So I went back on it after being off of it for 3 months. Well in May of 2007 I ended up in the ER once again. This time I was having severe headaches. I had never had headaches in my entire life until now. They ordered an MRI and gave me miagrane medication. I had the MRI done and they admitted me to the hospital once again. I saw at least 5 different doctors while I was in there. The MRI showed I had suffered 3 mild strokes (the cause of headache) and the only conclusion they could come to was the birth control again. I have never smoked in my entire life but yet I still suffered from strokes. I now have to take medication for my blood pressure, aspirin for blood clots, and migrane meds daily because of Yasmin. Yasmin is a very dangerous birth control. I also had to have an endometrial abaltion since I can't take any type of birth control. I am only 29 years old and can no longer have children because of this drug. It is very dangerous, I hope if I do nothing else someone will read this and stop taking Yasmin before it is to late for them also!!!

Howdy,

Mom from Wyoming who's daughter was a non-smoking, non-drinking 20 year old driving, full time college student and part time working young woman. She was diagnosed with polysistic ovary syndrome and she wanted to have "normal" cycles.

The OBGYN clinic gave her Yaz pack to take. After one month and a half, she developed severe headaches, began to throw up, abdominal pain, became covered in acne, anxiety at being alone, and her depression worsened. She could not sleep through the night and was fatigued for the next days activities.

On March 16th, she woke me screaming of a neck ache and demanding to go to the ER.

They did a CT scan and a MRI to confirm that they had discovered she had 2 blood clots one in each sinus area and one blood clot in the base of the brain drain. She was hospitalized for a week.

She has lost her quality of life and her independance. She will need to be on medications and blood thinners for the next 6 to 8 months (maybe the rest of her life) and NEVER use any form of birth control again.

She cannot drive, work or continue college due to the reactions of the blood clots and the pressure on the brain. Her short term memory was affected by the 2 blood clots in the sinus area. She is living in a survival mode and recalling things that happened when she was 13 years old as if they are happening today.

The doctors have informed us her sisters may be subject to the same effects if they take the same birth control.

We were lucky to have a radiologist that could read the CT scan and have us return to the ER and then a professional staff admit her to the hospital. I thank God I have my daughter and she is on the long road to recovery.

I took Yasmin for two months and as a result received two lungs full of blood clots

As I read through these posts, I had mixed feelings between thinking they were a little too whiny (please, no offense) to too many memories sweeping back in.
Here is my story... I was on Yasmin for a few years, a few years ago, from ages 18-21. I am now 26. I'd always been active and in shape, no major health problems. At 19, I started to get weird leg pains, tingling and numbness. It got much much worse. Long story short, I had two herniated discs in my lower back which was causing pinched nerves. I had steroid injections localized to my herniations. At this point my adrenal gland stopped working, my face swelled up like a balloon and I lost a ton of weight. Eventually, I had surgery on my back, but went to specialist after specialist to figure out what was going on with my non functioning adrenal gland. We figured that somehow the steroids had gotten into my bloodstream, which doctor after doctor told me was next to impossible. They were ready to do a write up in a medical research journal about my case. Eventually my 3rd Endocronologist (sp?) FINALLY told me to get off Yasmin. Somehow, this small bit of information was missed. My adrenal gland eventually kicked back into shape, my bloating went away and I finally and slow got healthy again.
So... coming back to Yasmin. After reading this site and continuing research on the effects of an influx of potassium, all of my symptoms lead straight to this source. The potassium increase caused the face swelling, muscle spasms, possibly even the nerve weakness (Only speculating, could have caused the herniation.) , from what multiple web sites state.
I must say that this is all speculation; however, light bulbs have just gone off in my head.
I was considering getting back on Yasmin because I now live in Thailand and they offer this pill. I have been on the NuvaRing and I love it, but I cannot find it here. If Yasmin was the cause of what happened to my body or not, I will not take my chances. Most of the symptoms listed by other women are effects of increased potassium. Please research this fact to become more informed about what is happening with your body. It helped me. I hope my story will in effect, help someone else.
And, I'd love to hear if anyone else had something similarly severe...

I think It is wonderful...I don't understand why everyone can blame a little birth control pill. Come on now, is everyone honestly reading what they wrote it sounds ridiculous. My acne has cleared up and I haven't gained any weight except for the weight i put on myself not because of the pill. That whole weight gain thing all depends on you. I have headaches...but they are just headaches I had them before I started birth control -their not gonna disappear. Mood swings -we're woman like I said about the headaches- had mood swings before- their not gonna disappear... Thats all I got--- think about what your saying before you write it.

I have read most of the postings on Yasmin but I haven't seen one where women pointed out experiencing terrible amounts of clots and incredible amounts of actual mensing... So it makes me wonder if I have another underlying condition? I have been taking Yasmin for about18 days now, started on my first day of mensing, and 18 days later, still mensing like there is no tomorrow and passing clots the size of the palm of my hands at times!!! It's unreal! And I went and bought 3 packages, I wanted to finish one and see but I think it's all gonna go to garbage now!! And to say I use to have a 30 day cycle with 2 days of pre-spotting followed by 3 days of actual mensing... some clots but not half as big and certainly not as many!!! Very disappointed with Yasmin. I am done with it.

Ladies!
When my mum pointed out this website, and blogs bout Yasmin,
and after reading just a few,
i bursted out crying.

after just 3 months on Yasmin
i was completely, utterly depressed.
being a 15 year old then, it was the worst thing
in the world.
i am a highly trained athlete,
and this pill made me gain over 7 kgs.

training 8 times a week, and 3 dryland,
and STILL packing on the kgs was
unimaginable.
i became completely self conscious,
and stopped eating for days on end.
training suffered, but my muscles and body
suffered more.
all my muscles got completely fatigued and
i lost most of my fast-twitch muscle fibers.

apart from this i obtained a COMPLETE
Fluid retention in every part of my body.
thighs and face the worst.
i couldnt move my joints very freely,
and nothing would let this go.

the absolute worst part was the depression
and anxiety that came from this all.
i remember having 2 weeks off school,
and all i did, was stay home, in bed and cry.
i broke up with my boyfriend, and didn't want
a n y o n e to care about me, i even made a list,
of everyones names and crossed them
off as they hated me.
i cut myself, and hurt myself, especially on my legs
where my mind just hated seeing them,
and feeling this way.
could NOT stand being in my swim-wear during training,
i would run out, and cry if i saw someone look at me.
paranoia.

to feel this out of control with your own body,
is the worst feeling in the world.

i would cry.
everyday. every night.
and i couldnt stop.
i would be moody, and angry, and hopeless,
and start verbal fights everywhere i went.

and i didn't even know why.

after reading this all,
suddenly, everything made sense.
my doctor, told me, in specific words

"they call this the 'luxury pill' its the most expensive,
and has least side effects than any of the others."

i showed her this website.

after i went off it, i had the three day blues,
mum said, just like after pregnancy.
i cried, and cried and cried.
would be sitting in class, and bursted out in tears.
things were horrible.

its now about 6 months later, of not being on anything,
my periods just began back after not having them
for 4 months, and my body, is no where
near how it was before i went on pill,
but its getting there :)

one day I'm going to be an amazing swimmer.
and on the Australian team.

i guess, if i had not had this experience
i would never be this determined now.

I Would NEVER Recommend This Pill
To Any Girl Or Woman.

EVER.

Its Amazing What One
TINY Little Pill Can Actually Do To You.

stay strong girls,
x x x

contact:***
for any other questions. :)

It all finally makes sense!!! I'm 26 yrs old, have been on 3 bc's in my life for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and this past bc was Yasmin. Weird things have been happening and I never thought to link them with the bc but after reading all of these stories it makes perfect sense. Here I'm thinking that I have severe IBS and zero sex drive b/c I'm just a medical disaster but these other woman have opened my eyes. The worst side effect of all is the story that I am about to tell you and I hope that nobody else has this problem. My gyno put me on Yasmin the 8th of Aug. ('07) and at the end of Aug. beginning of Sept. I noticed a big sore knot on the back of my ankle. I thought nothing of it until another one appeared under the skin of my other ankle. I went to my doctor (who is my regular and gyno) and she told me that she didn't know what these lumps were but were NOT caused by my bc. She gave me antibiotics and sent me on my way...one knot went away and another larger one appeared. I went back to her and she gave me a 2nd dose of antibiotics, one goes away and 2 more appear. So this time she sends me to an Orthopedic Specialist who takes x-rays and has no idea what is wrong. He tells me to go see a dermatologist. I went to a dermatologist 2 weeks ago who tells me that I have a blood flow problem. My blood is thick (never had this problem in my life) and has problems flowing back up from my feet in my veins. He diagnosis me with Lipodermasclerosis...ok, so I ask him if this could be caused by my taking Yasmin...YEP! So, I stopped my bc that night. Now I am going to wait the three months for the Yasmin to completely leave my system before I know for sure that this was the cause of the knots on my ankles. Please let me know your thoughts and if anyone has had this same issue. Thank you!

I have been on YAZ for the past 4 months. Prior to that, condoms were my only form of bc. I strongly believe that is has improved my mood swings. And my relationship with my husband is SO much better. However, I have been experiencing troublesome side effects. I frequently have breakthrough bleeding. The last period I had lasted for almost 2 weeks. I had a few blood clots which were very tiny and after I stopped bleeding I had a clear discharge that would just spontaneously leak out of me creating the most foul odor. It smelled like something crawled inside of me and died! I broke down and bought some feminine spray which only made the odor smell sweet. It took about 1 week after I stopped bleeding for the odor to not be as bad/discharge as frequently. I keep hoping these problems will go away but maybe it will just continue and possibly get worse. Should I see my doctor to see if something else can be prescribed? Or are ALL bc pills likely to create the same problems?

I started taking Yasmin Feb 2005. By October I had 55% of my right lung full of blood clots and 75% of my left lung full also. Yasmin made me come way to close to death. I was on blood thinners for over a year and now I'm unable to ever take any hormones ever again, including ever having any children. I'm definitely in search of a class action lawsuit!!!!!!!!

I noticed I didn't put my side effects. They are "Charlie horses" or leg cramps, I don't eat like I use to, back pain, tingling shoulders, neck pain, bloating out of this world, chest pains, and heart palpations. The bad thing is I called my local health unit and they told me to continue taking the pill. What should I do?

I have been taking Yasmin for 2 1/2 years now until here recently I thought the problems were just from havening my son and my mother passing away. I have had leg pains, bad headaches tell the caused me to get sick, cramps, depression, very bad mood swings that caused the break up of my family, I had recently in the past few months been have extremely heavy bleeding for 2 months at a time and big blood clots. I have stop taking Yasmin and I am happier, I am not tired all the time, and I am still trying to fix my cycle. Yasmin has caused the last few years of my life to be a mess.

I just want to say that I was on YAZ for 1 1/2 years and I had absolutely no problems with it. In fact, YAZ was one of two birth control pills that I was on that didn't make me sick, out of five. Yes, sometimes I have anxiety, I'm depressed, bitchy, etc, but it is because I am Bi-polar and have been diagnosed for years now. I hate to sound insensitive, but maybe some of you ladies are just crazy like me. Also, birth control pills pump hormones into your body, and hello, what do hormones do... they can make us a little irrational, bitchy, depressed, etc. YAZ is not that much different than any other birth control.

I just went on Yasmin, because my insurance covers it better than YAZ. I will keep everyone posted, but I'm not too worried.

Hi, unfortunately last year I did develop a blood clot in my leg while on Yasmin. I am extremely lucky because we were out of town celebrating my son graduating high school and I thought I had torn a muscle in my leg and actually waited until I got back 4 days later to go to the emergency room. I spent a week in the hospital and no one could believe that it didn't break off. If I had any idea that this drug could double your risk of blood clots I would not have switched over to it. I was under the impression it was actually safer. Please do not take this pill. Because of the size of my clot my body was unable to dissolve it, I now have a permanent blockage from my knee to my bellybutton and am on a high dosage of blood thinners for the rest of my life. I hope this information helps anyone trying to make an informed decision.

Hello,

I read about how YAZ birth control pill affects the body and psych and I am now scared. This is my 2nd day of YAZ (I've never been on birth control pills ever and I am 27 years old), it's all new to me but after reading all these negative posts about Yaz I don't know what to do. Before the birth control pills, I was depressed, annoying, serious weight problems - 210 lbs :~~((, low energy, low libido, always tired, terrible migraines every 2nd day, ridiculously increased appetite and excessive hunger, hair where it shouldn't be, menstrual blood clots, excessive cramping etc
I have all these problems for 3 years now and now that the family doc. put me on YAZ birth control pill I am even more scared - mainly of more weight gain, it would be a tragedy for me, I am fat enough already and what's worse I can't lose the weight, exercise doesn't help, diet doesn't help, NOTHING. Will YAZ birth control pill worsen my already tragic condition? I just don't know what to do and what to believe ... I appreciate any advice or help you can give me ... Thank You to all!

I started taking yaz about 8 months ago January 2007. I started getting some calf pain in the morning but didn't think anything about it, then when I went on vacation at the end of June both calves were hurting, I ended up going to a doctor on vacation and she gave me some muscle relaxers. By the time I flew back home in July, I ended up in the emergency room and given a strong pain reliever. I ended up going on line and went to my doctor the next day and told her that I thought it was Yaz, she send me for an ultra sound and I had a superficial clot in my left calf. Since I have ended up going to a vein specialist and am wearing support hose. Both legs are still really hurting (including my knees and ankles), I also have had severe eye pain and have gone to the opthalmologist, I have been prescribed glasses but feel now that it is the yaz, I have been off yaz for about 2 months and still having severe muscle pain, does anyone know how long this lasts...

I am due to start my third pack of YAZ, and I am getting off today. My dr. gave me a three month trial after I switched from ortho-tricyclin low because I had break-through bleeding. I realize with any contraceptive there are going to be side-effects, but this is ridiculous... I have had extreme fatigue, I am sleepy all the time. I also feel like I cannot think clearly, like my head is clogged or something. I also feel very anxious and this feeling like I am going to pass out. Also my eyes feel very dry and unfocused. Nothing is worth feeling like this, and it is very obvious that all these symptoms are coming from this pill. I am scared to try anything else!

Hi Ladies.. I am so happy to see so many postings on this pill. I have been on this pill over 2 1/2 years and didn't think anything was wrong with it until 6 months ago. I stopped getting my periods and at first I thought it was because I was working out 6 days a week but when the next month came around and I didn't get it again I thought it was strange. Now 6 months later I have only had my period once. I talked to my midwife about it and she said it was perfectly normal. I have been on the pill for about 12 years and I always got my period. I also have noticed that after 6 months of working out and eating right I am not losing any weight. The only time I lose a couple pounds is when I am suppose to be having my period and I am taking the sugar pill. I also have been experiencing headaches but chalked it up to my life of working, with two kids and maintaining family, house etc. Recently blood clots have come up with a few of my friends and it just makes me think that this pill has something to do with it. I am not ready to have another child, so I would really like to find another pill to try out. Any suggestions??

I took Yasmin for 3 weeks and through blood clots to my brain - had an emergency cranyatomy and had a stroke. These were samples my doctor had given me for heavy bleeding.

CHEST PAIN AND MENSTRUATION LINK

After being completely perplexed as to why every month, I am experiencing these horrendous chest pains I found two pieces of research that are of particular interest about women's menstruation, varying levels of oestrogren and heart disease. I haven't previously found anyone that understood why/how this happens, but loads and loads of women on medication.com who reported sometimes, almost immediate chest pains.

The first published by BBC in 2004 (google chest pains and menstruation) basically confirms that a woman is more vulnerable to sudden, serious heart disease during the time of the menstrual cycle when her oestrogen levels are at their lowest. (Known as 17-oestradiol which circulates in the bloodstream and dip sharply around menstruation. -Experience of chest pains during this time when there is not enough blood flow to the heart. This study was conducted by a team from Laval University in Quebec Canada. Their research confirmed a rise in reported cases of serious heart disease among pre-menopausal women. Aged 35-47. These women were admitted to the hospital for heart attack or chest pain. What is particularly interesting, is that 20 of the women reported heart related problems within five days of the beginning of their period when oestrogen levels are at their lowest. What is particularly interesting is that even though this article points to this being more common in women over 55, yasmin has been identified as having more risk to blood clots and heart troubles than other pills and am wondering how its effects on our hormones make us more suscectible to heart disease.

The second a piece by the Annals and Internal Medicine. Google chest pain and menstruation.

After being completely perplexed as to why every month, I am experiencing these horrendous chest pains I found two pieces of research that are of particular interest about women's menstruation, varying levels of oestrogren and heart disease. I haven't previously found anyone that understood why/how this happens, but loads and loads of women on medication.com who reported sometimes, almost immediate chest pains.

The first published by BBC in 2004 (google chest pains and menstruation) basically confirms that a woman is more vulnerable to sudden, serious heart disease during the time of the menstrual cycle when her oestrogen levels are at their lowest. (Known as 17-oestradiol which circulates in the bloodstream and dip sharply around menstruation. -Experience of chest pains during this time when there is not enough blood flow to the heart. This study was conducted by a team from Laval University in Quebec Canada. Their research confirmed a rise in reported cases of serious heart disease among pre-menopausal women. Aged 35-47. These women were admitted to the hospital for heart attack or chest pain. What is particularly interesting, is that 20 of the women reported heart related problems within five days of the beginning of their period when oestrogen levels are at their lowest. What is particularly interesting is that even though this article points to this being more common in women over 55, yasmin has been identified as having more risk to blood clots and heart troubles than other pills and am wondering how its effects on our hormones make us more suscectible to heart disease.

The second a piece by the Annals and Internal Medicine. Google chest pain and menstruation.

KIM AND ALL WOMEN EITHER TAKING YASMIN OR COMING OFF IT:

PLEASE READ THROUGH THIS ENTIRE SITE OR AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. I CAN ASSURE YOU, YOU WILL FIND WOMEN HERE WHO HAVE ALL THE SAME/VERY SIMILAR SYMPTOMS AS YOU ARE EXPERIENCING.

THIS PILL-YASMIN, AND ITS SISTER, WREAK TOTAL HAVOC ON OUR HEALTH AS DO MANY ORAL CONTRACEPTIVES. SIMPLY-THE INCREASE IN YEAST DUE TO THE PILL CREATES ALL KINDS OF PROBLEMS.

BCPS ALSO LINKED TO HEART HEALTH. STROKES, HEART ATTACKS AND BLOOD CLOTS-SO REALLY, AS WOMEN, IS THIS NECESSARY?

HONESTLY, THE MORE RECENT WOMAN WHO WROTE ABOUT BREAST PAIN-I'VE HAD THAT NOW GOING ON ALMOST A YEAR AFTER STOPPING YASMIN 3 MONTHS AGO! YOU'LL SEE TWO WOMEN HERE WHO-ONE HAD A MINI-STROKE, ANOTHER A LIFE THREATENING PULMONARY CLOT! THIS IS NOT SHIT TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY AND I'M MAD AS HELL THAT SO MANY DOCS ARE PRESCRIBING THIS AND THEN OTHER ANTI-ANXIETY MEDS/ANTI-DEPRESSION MEDS AS A RESULT OF THE CAUSE OF THE DAMN YASMIN.

SERIOUSLY-ABSOLUTELY CRAZY TO FILL OUR BODIES WITH ALL THESE MEDICATIONS. ITS NOT NATURAL AND ....EVERY MEDICATION YOU TAKE LIKELY HAS NO LONG TERM RESEARCH ON HOW IT ALTERS YOUR NATURAL BRAIN CHEMISTRY. THERE IS NO LONG TERM RESEARCH. SERIOUSLY. THERE ISN'T.

FEELING ANXIOUS-/STRESSED (A WESTERN TERMED CONCEPT) IS A RESULT OF CHANGE IN HORMONES AROUND OUR CYCLES. THAT'S NORMAL. NO MATTER HOW CRAZY YOU FEEL BECAUSE OF HOW OTHER PEOPLE DEFINE YOUR BEHAVIOR.

I WOULD RECCOMEND GETTING YOUR HORMONE LEVELS TESTED. SEEING A NATROPATH /HOLISTIC DOC, RUNNING OR EXCERCISING WHEN YOU FEEL ANXIETY AND MEDITATING.

WE ALL HAVE THE CAPACITY TO BE HEALTHY AND TO BE ABLE TO DO IT NATURALLY. DOCS ARE BARELY BEGINNING TO LEARN ABOUT AND UNDERSTAND WOMEN'S HORMONES. TOYING AROUND WITH OUR HORMONES WITH THESE SYTHETIC DRUGS WHICH ARE POISON AND THEN ANTI-ANXIETIES/ANTI-DEPRESSANTS ARE JUST MORE HELL.

ONCE YOU'VE IDENTIFIED YOUR SYMPTOMS, FIND SOMEONE YOU TRUST. PLEASE MAKE ROOM HERE FOR NEW PEOPLE TO READ AND LEARN ABOUT ALL THE EXPERIENCES VERSUS JUST POSTING FOR THE SAKE OF OR OPEN A 1:1 FORUM WITH SOMEONE DIRECTLY. ITS MADDENING AND FRUSTURATING TO SEE OVER 3000 ENTRIES AND NEW WOMEN WRITING WHO HAVEN'T READ THROUGH THIS, JUST STARTED AND NO IDEA ABOUT WHAT THEY'VE GOTTEN INTO.

FILE REPORTS WITH WWW.FDA.GOV AND THE PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY. UNLESS PEOPLE DO THIS, HOW MANY MORE YEARS WILL THIS CONTINUE? THE FORUM MAY BE GREAT FOR TALKING OUT/GETTING SUPPORT, BUT UNLESS WOMEN TAKE A STAND FOR REPORTING AND DOCUMENTING THEIR PROBLEMS, THIS WILL GO ON FOR YEARS!!!

I STARTED TAKING YASMIN IN FEB 05 AND BY OCT 05 I WAS IN EXCRUTIATING PAIN AND ADMITTED INTO EMERGENCY TREATMENT FOR A BLOOD CLOT THAT BLOCKED 55% OF MY RIGHT LUNG AND 75% OF MY LEFT. I DONT HAVE ANY FAMILY HISTORY OF BLOOD CLOTS, ETC. YASMIN ALMOST COST ME MY LIFE. MY ADVICE FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE TAKING IT, GET OFF!!!!

Blood Clots

The face and hand tingling caught my eye. I was taken off Yasmin last week after being hospitalized with decreased bloodflow to my hand - the reason was vasospasm in my hand with a possible clot, and my fingers were turning cold and blue! Turns out bcp's can cause vasoconstriction and blood clots. (fyi - I'm 32, healthy and have never smoked) All three specialists I saw felt the bcp was the main culprit. Off 1 week and my hand is getting better with, you guessed it, another medication. After reading about the side effects I realized my headaches, muscle soreness, face and arm tingling, and bouts of depression could all be due to Yasmin. It really explains so much of my vague health problems I have battled for so long. I'm a mess right now, but am hopeful I'll come out better than ever! If anyone has tips on getting through the "withdrawal" from Yasmin, please share!

I started Yasmin a week ago, and it has been the longest week I've ever lived. The first 2 days were okay, but after that I was constantly overwhelmed with paranoid fears such as the possibility of blood clots, heart attack, and stroke. I would feel random pains all over my body at different times. I felt a lot of stiffness and discomfort in my upper chest lung/heart area. I had pains in one calf one day, and the entire time i was unable to sleep. I would wake up after 2 hours having a panic attack. One night I woke up and honestly thought i was having a heart attack. I got up to go to the bathroom after trying to calm down and fainted on the floor. somehow my shoulder got cut in the process. After that happened, I couldn't smell or taste anything for about 2 days. Normally when i had fainting problems (which were due to hypoglycemia) i would only temporarily lose sight, hearing and feeling, not smelling and tasting- and no senses just went missing that way. I honestly thought i had a stroke.

After a few more days of putting up with this when i thought i could just hold on a little longer and get used to it (i'm on it to prevent ovarian cysts which i always get huge ones of) I was feeling better. But last night i heard what sounded like a single, horribly loud clap, and my head has been hurting worse and worse ever since. my dog did not hear anything, if he had, he would have at least perked his ears, but he did nothing so i know the sound wasnt real. at this point i'm afraid a blood vessel must have ruptured in my brain. i will never take Yasmin again.

hi Hawkhillmom,
I too stumpled upon this post I was on Yasmin for over 3 yrs. and had gone to the dr.'s about 10 times, it wasn't until the second to last dr. I saw, that I realized it could be Yasmin. He said Yasmin was high risk for blood clots. So after the appt. I just did a quick search I typed in my symptoms and sure enough Yasmin came up

I was also prescribed antibiotics in case I had a virus or chest infection. Hang in there, I have been off for about 6 weeks and day by day I feel better. Some days I regress, but if you read the other posts, it's going to take some time to get out of your body. I kept a diary for about a month tracking how I felt some weeks were good, some weeks were bad, but all in all I can say I'm about 80% better.

I was on Estrostep before Yasmin and for no reason at all I switched at my Gyno's suggestion. He said oh you have gained 5 lbs. on this pill Yasmin won't cause you to gain any weight. Now 30 lbs heavier, numerous dr.'s telling me I'm crazy and need to speak to a therapist, a lot of money wasted on Dr.'s visits, and pure stress over thinking I was dying of some disease no one could fine....I'm glad to be off of it. I'm think I'm going to stay off Hormones for a while. After this ordeal, I think I'm better off with out them. For now at least.
Hang in there it will get better.
hill

I am a 38 year old woman. Three weeks after starting Yasmin , I ended up in the hospital for 9 days with pulmonary emboli. All my genetic test came back negative. The doctors have blamed Yasmin for the blood clots in my lungs. The pulmanary doctor said no woman over 35 should be taking birth control especially potasium retaining Yasmin. User beware.

hi kelly,
the midwife finally called me back.the good news is i don't have blood clots in my leg.i see my dingbat md in the morning over my leg pain & eye problems.i will make a complaint to the fda over the yasmin.when i can.
take care
michellep

I never saw the answer to this previous question, so I am asking it again:

Are we at risk for any new developing medical problems (blood clots, stroke?) after we have already stopped the pill?

5 months off and just had two major "panic" attacks day 13 of my cycle.
virginia

Dear girls,

are we still at risk of things like blood clots after we have ceased taking the pill and in my case its 4 months,

chrissy i am die for my period this week and the palps are back is that normal? and how long do yours normally last ( if you have them) and how is everything else going chrissy is it getting better and better....
big hugs
Lisa