Yasmin and cardiologist

My 15year old daughter has just stopped taking Yasmin due to severe depression, anxiety attacks, uncontrollable crying, suicidal thoughts and chest pain with erratic heartbeat. I thank God that we figured out the connection to Yasmin. She has been spiraling down so quickly, I thought I was losing her. While she does not relish the return of heavy, long periods, she is so ready to have her sanity back. Her counselor and gyn confirm the strong likelihood of these being side effects of the Yasmin. I was ready to put her on Prozac and sleeping pills because the situation was so desperate! While I was on Yasmin for years with no adverse effects, there ARE people who are desperate because of this pill! The hundreds of posts are too numerous to ignore the REAL truth. Is is worth it to "just try it out" for a boob inflation? You are taking a serious risk, sweetheart!

Both my 19 year old daughter and my 30 year old step daughter were put on Yasmin. Both began having heart problems. The eldest had heart palpitations, a racing heart and dizziness. The doctor discovered that her potassium level had shot up and her magnesium was down. They put her on magnesium to help control the racing heart. It helped, but then she became pregnant and had to lower the dose. The 19 year old has had the worst side effects. She was fine on ortho tricyclene, but when her doctor switched her to Yasmin her blood pressure shot up to 170/118. She began having chest pain. We pulled her off the Yasmin, but she has continued to have uncontrollably high blood pressure. The doctor ran several tests and has found no underlying cause as of this writing. She began taking 5 mg. of Norvasc, but was increased to 10 mg. to manage the high blood pressure.

Yasmin - Sudden Panic/Anxiety-

I have been on Yasmin for 7 years. I started a new box and pack 3 weeks ago and 72 hours later had what I thought was a "panic attack". I had never suffered panic or anxiety before and I am 32. Then, the chest pain and anxious feeling wouldn't go away (not normal with panic I hear). I went to the Dr and my bloodwork was all "great". I went to a cardiologist and they tested my heart. It was indeed beating "extra" so I had to be one a monitor. Still, the entire time I was miserable and wondering what the heck had happened to me. How could I go from being a normal, well adjusted women to a crazy lady in one day. I was crying and couldn't function, concentrate or eat. I felt like an "out of body" type of experience almost, like it wasn't really me who was feeling all this. Very disoriented feeling. Well, the Dr gave me anxiety pills and I was going to take them. But, in the meantime I went on the "sugar pills" of my Yasmin and guess what? 72 hours after I stopped the pills I felt normal again!!! I'm still not 100%, I'm 90%. Now I have no hard evidence that Yasmin caused this, particularly since I've been on it so long but I can't help wondering if they changed the dosages or something. I have NEVER experienced any level of anxiety or panic before this and going off the pills was the only thing I changed when I started feeling better. Sounds like more than a coincidence to me.

Has this happened to anyone else recently???

I have been taking Yasmin for 1 year and 10 months. I have started having heart palpitations. I started noticing them in the evenings when I went to bed and in the mornings..now I notice them all the time. I just got back from the doctor and having an ekg, it showed the heart palps and he has referred me to a cardiologist. He advised me to stop taking Yasmin until my potassium blood level comes back since Yasmin can cause your potassium level to become elevated...thus leading to heart problems..

I feel horrible. Just the feeling of my heart "fip-flopping" makes me feel so weird. Waiting to see the blood work outcome...

I had been on Yasmine for about two years with no complications until last week. Last week my heart began beating extremely fast just while sitting at my desk typing. Later on in the day my chest began feelign tight and I had an "anxious" feeling in my upper body. At the same time my lower body felt completely weak- as if my legs could not support my body weight if I were to stand. Evenso, I thought nothing of it and just assumed my normal one cup of coffee just so happened to have a strong effect on me that day. The next day the anxious feeling and weakness had subsided but my left arm and hand were tingling. It felt as if they had fallen asleep and now had that "cotton" feeling. The next morning I lost all feeling in my left hand except for my first three fingers. This is when I began trying to figure out what on earth I may have eaten, where I had been, had i drank too much coffee, etc.

I rarely drink alcahol, don't smoke, have no family history of heart problems, etc. I don't take any other medications, I don't take vitamins, I dont eat strange foods, and exercise regularly. The only thing I could possibly change is my birth control. I immediately quit taking Yasmine and all problems disappeared in two days.

I

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

I started taking Yasmin about 3 months ago. About a week ago, I fainted and had to go the ER. There they found that my heart rate was irregular so they put me on a heart monitor. A day later I was back in the ER because of chest pains and a shortness of breath. Two days after that, I was in the ER once again due to my extremely high heart rate and pain in my legs. They told me it was my thyroid levels that were causing this, so I found a different doctor who said it was not my thyroid but had no idea what it was. I ended up going to a cardiologist who just told me I was under a lot of stress. I asked each doctor if my birth control could have anything to do with it, and they all told me no. Well, after finding this website, I can now see that it is Yasmin causing my health problems. Thank you all so much for posting your stories...they really saved me!

Andiegags:

I had such a similiar experience to yours even though I am much older! I had taken Yasmin w/o problems for a couple of years. Or so I thought. I did have nightsweats, and leg cramps,but I thought is was my age (40). Then this winter it was like a switch went off. I had terrible migraines, panic attacks, heart palpitations.. I saw All the doctors... Neurologist, cardiologist, ER. I stopped the pills 2 1/2 months ago at the neurologist's suggestion and things are getting better. I have had some BAD days, (major anxiety and ugly moods which I have never had until this) but this site has helped me feel less crazy. I do not know if the month back on the pill for you will matter. But you cannot let that worry you. Just know you are not crazy and you will get better day by day.

Trina

UPDATE.....
Hi everyone,
My pd started yesterday after 2 days of light spotting (1st cycle off Yasmin). I went to the doc yesterday and told her that my anxiety was terrible in the early evening. She switched me from Paxil CR 12.5 in the AM to Paxil CR 25 in the evening. She also wants me not to take any more xanax unless my anxiety is extreme. I also need to try yoga and an exercise routine (try that with 2 little kids...)!
My chest pain is still there. She listened to my heart but feels that the pain is related to the anxiety that I am feeling. She will see me in 2 months. My BP is 140/100. The cardiologist did not send the reg doc the results of the 24 hour BP monitoring. My heart is racy and I am a bit lightheaded (maybe from my pd??).
My left shoulder pain is now gone. Every so often I get "warm" feelings in the tops of my arms- has anyone else felt this?
I think that the doc (internal medicine) is now starting to see a correlation in the Yasmin I took and the condition that I am in. I can't say for sure, but she noticed an amazing difference in me in 3 weeks. I hope that I can continue on this path to full recovery.

I will NEVER take another hormone.
SILKE- You are right, I will NOT consider MIRENA!

One thing to mention.... I took Yasmin for 8 months, went off for 1 cycle and restarted for 3 months. The last 3 months (Oct, Nov & Dec 05) I was on the Yasmin were living he_ _!!! I advise you that if you stop Yasmin, DO NOT restart unless you speak with your doc and are convinced that you are OK. The pharmacist thinks that the stop/restart thing really did a number on me.

As always, thank you everyone!

Denise -- thank you - hugs back to you too!

amyr - I am glad that you made it through the party. I know how you feel at 3pm because I do the same thing at 7:00 pm, just before getting the kids ready for bed.
i noticed that my appetite is lower, not that it is bad in my case. Could be the paxil, maybe? I am on day 3 of paxil. I only needed one xanax yesterday at 11 am and was ok for the rest of the day.

Lisa - My blood pressure is high as well - 140/90 at its lowest. I have been consulting with a cardiologist and praying that it is temporary.

feel better gals!

I agree that a good yoga workout will help with my stress. I am going to start it back up again after a couple of years lag.

I feel for all of you. We are all having such similar things going on. I am on a Blood pressure monitor for 24 hours. I HAD to start the paxil :-( today per the cardiologist. It scares me to be on this kind of pill but I cannot live where I cannot take care of my kids, myself, husband or home. Xanax just didn't cut it. I am going to see a therapist once every 2 weeks or so just to monitor my "progress".

I was considering MIRENA, the new IUD/IUS (you must have had at least 1 child to use it, I think). But, it will not be for many many months, if ever, until I get myself under control. I must use condoms with any BCP because I get pregnant extremely easily.

Hang in there ladies.
So, who is going to invent a MALE BCP? My husband will never agree to a vasectomy. I have tried.

Amyr, denise and everyone.

I am so upset. Last night I woke up in a full anxiety attack. Shakes, inability to sleep & focus, and vomiting! I took one xanax .25 mg. Did not help. I took one again this AM and nothing, I am still shaking, short of breath a little and dizzy.

I have a call into the cardiologist to go on a BP monitor for 24 hours to see if it is my BP (my reg doc ordered that I do this). I have been off of yasmin and all BCP for 6 days now. I went to the psycholigist's office for eval (by a counselor)yesterday and she didn't think i need paxil, but she is not a doctor. The doc will see me in mid-feb.

I did not start the paxil. I want to talk to the cardiologist first. I cannot tell you how SCARED I am. I cannot take care of my 2 little girls, embarassing! My parents and friends are helping me.

Best to all of you... I will keep you posted, please do the same.

This is my first day without Yasmin. I still feel sluggish and dizzy. I don't expect to feel better over night.

This board is so helpful to me. I am actually waiting to hear back from my doc to see if we can wait until the Yasmin clears from my system before I go to a psychiatrist and a cardiologist as she advised.

I have a weird pain behind my left ear for over a month now. I hope it goes away.

Has anyone tried MIRENA? The gyn said that the hormones stay in the uterus and not in the bloodstream. I am so leery.

Thank you ladies!

I found this web site today and I could not stop sobbing. I have been diagnosed with 'stress' and anxiety, and was given cymbalta and zanax which made all my Yasmin symptoms that much worse. I knew I wasn't suffering from stress-the symptoms and the lack of a correct diagnosis were causing me stress.
My side effects began the first month I was on Yasmin. I called my doctor to complain of the nausea, weight loss, spotting, and general "yuck" feeling I had. I was told to keep taking it and that those symptoms were normal for the first four months. The nausea did indeed go away, so did the weight loss and spotting.
I took Yasmin for the next (nearly 3) years. I now have the full blown symptoms which crept up on me and have been misdiagnosed since November '05. My side effects include awful constant chest pain, chest pressure, chest fluttering,occasional pain in my left upper arm, pain under my jaw, occasional breathlessness, mental unclearness, hair loss, unwanted hair growth, depression, nightmares, sweats, thoughts of dying, mood swings, weight gain,bad headache during my period, and a feeling that I was going crazy!
I am both saddened and relieved to see I am not alone. After leaving a cardiologist who told me there was nothing wrong with me, I decided to look into this nagging suspicion I had about Yasmin. I had been taking Low Ogestrel (sp?) for years without incident. At my 2003 gyno visit my doctor switched me to Yasmin because "it is better". I remember thinking he must have some incentive to switch me to a new brand when I didn't have a problem with the one I was on. That first month I was on Yasmin I didn't feel well and called my gyno.. Then I just trusted and let it go, after all my initial side effects seemed to go away.
I have been to several doctors including my family doctor, the ER doctor and a cardiologist for this nightmare. I have told each one that I am taking birth control pills yet not one even asked me what kind. That bugged me and eventually led me to this site with the hope of finding my syptoms listed. I have an appointment to see my gyno. this week. He has been away since my discovery. I hope there is something to be done. I can't stand living like this. This is not me. Thank you for sharing your stories, it is the most help I have recieved so far-I am not alone and someone out there 'gets' it. I am going to show these stories to my doctor in the hope that he will inform his other Yasmin taking patients to be on the look-out for these symptoms. I do not wish for anyone to suffer as I am. Good luck to you all.
kath

Until I read this board, I thought I was totally alone. Six months into using Yasmin, I find myself with bouts of severe anxiety, shakes, etc... I went to my family doctor and gynecologist 3 days ago (they are located in the same building, so I figured I would make 1 trip). The gyn told me to finish this cycle then consider MIRENA, an IUS (not IUD). My family doctor referred me to a psychiatrist and gave me a prescription for an anti-anxiety medication! When I told her that I was using Yasmin, she concurred that I should consider not using Yasmin. She could not offer an opinion on Mirena as she is not a gyn. She is sending me to a cardiologist for a 24 hour monitor of my BP. I think I will wait to see a psychiatrist until a month or 2 after stopping Yasmin. If the problems still exist, I will go.
In addition to anxiety, I have been experiencing chest pain, shakes, raging emotions, severe weight gain, shortness of breath, etc....
thank you for listening. I'll check again soon.

hello all,

I was on Yasmin for like 5 months. I had missed 2 pills and followed the instructions by taking two then the following day 2 more. However, the next day on my way to work I passed out on the train. I thought maybe taking too many was too much so I stopped. The following day I got tingling/numbness on the left side of my body. I went to see a cardiologist but they found nothing. I've been to the ER twice and they found nothing also. Now I'm working w/ an internist who discovered acid reflux but not the tingling/ now its turned into burning sensations which I feel through my back. I too feel this is related to the pill. However, I'm going to Neurologist on friday. I'm also having a stress test done as well as an MRI of the spine. I'm missing days of work because I almost fainted at work then I was sent home. I had extreme fatigue and weakness and could hardly walk. Did anyone else experience this? Does anyone have suggestions to help me cope? I'm a single mom and one paycheck away from being on the street.

I wanted to write back to Chris--Holy Cow you sound just like me!!!!! I have been off Yasmin for approx. 7 months now and I, too, am STILL having the heart palpitations, racing heart flopping like a fish in my chest feelings! I was in the ER for these symptoms last Friday--every test--blood work, EKG, echocardiogram, and a CT scan (to check for clot in the lungs) came back normal--and yet these feelings persist. Also, my blood pressure (although it has come down since I went off Yasmin) is still too high--I am praying that it will continue to slowly go back down to what it used to be prior to taking Yasmin.

I'm 41--two kids (ages 2 and 3), and NEVER had pressure higher than 120/70 (not even while pregnant). And yet, within about 8 weeks of taking Yasmin, my pressure had shot up to 160/110 (and had been higher than that from time to time!!!!) Now it is about 140/90--still not acceptable, but better than it was. Have you checked your blood pressure?

I am going to see my cardiologist (sheesh never thought I'd write that sentence at this age) on Friday--I will get the results of a 24-hour heart monitor harness that I wore after the visit to the ER.

I wanted to also mention that I developed a pretty serious case of acid reflux disease while taking Yasmin (again, NEVER had anything like that before)--treated it (saw an ear/nose/throat guy), and it healed up. I am wondering if some of this feeling that someone is digging a fist into the center of my chest could be reflux related. I've been taking some Pepcid Complete over the last couple days and it has seemed to lessen the intensity of the feeling or make it go away completely for a while. I had been burping like crazy--it made my hysband think maybe some of my symptoms were stomach related and he suggested I try the Pepcid.

I wish you all the best--I plan to print out several pages from this forum to bring to my dr.'s visit this Friday--I just can't fathom that all of this cr*p is "random"--is there anyone else out there with blood pressure problems lingering from Yasmin? I would be very curious to hear about your experiences--esp. about how long it took for it to go back to normal.
Connie

I can't believe what I've read. I've been on Yasmin for 2 1/2 years and developed symptoms 4 months ago that sent me to the hospital twice. I had hear palpitations, high blood pressure, anxiety (which only made it worse) and almost passed out. I've had an EKG done and an ultrasound on my adrenal glands and kidneys. I am now on blood pressure medicine and Paxil for my anxiety. My panic attackes made my blood pressure so high (170/100) my doctor gave me Ativan to take "just in case." All these things seem to worsen at night even thought they have been greatly controlled by medicine. Neither me nor my doctors suspected Yasmin until my friend (also on Yasmin for 2 1/2 years) has started having the same symptoms. Yasmin is our only thing in common we could figure out. I was just doing a search on it to see if I could find out if Yasmin could be causing our symptoms. I actually have an appointment with a cardiologist next week to find out what is wrong with my heart and if there is any damage. I've never had any similar symptoms ever in my life on any other birth control pills. I'm only 28.

Hello,

My name is Noelle, and I had no idea all this information was out on yasmin and its side effects. I am 35, and had adult on-set acne, the obgyn said yasmin would be great. I took it for three months - until one evening I woke up with my heart beating nearly out of my chest! my heart-rate was over 240 a minute, started skipping in and out of rhythm, and my husband drove me to the emergency room. They gave me medication to stop my heart from beating completely, and then restart it again (which had to be given a second time at a higher doseage since the first time did not work). I have no history of immediate heart problems in my family, and have no history at all myself of heart problems - I walked out of the ER being diagnosed with PSVT. It is a condition they say I will have for life. I have been to a cardiologist, and still waiting for some tests to come back, but she too says I will have a choice of being on my heart medicine (beta blocker) for life, or having some sort of operation. I have no idea what happened to start this, and seeing as it happened at night, I became afraid to go to sleep. After doing some reasearch online, I met another gal who has the same diagnosis and linked it to her Birth control pill - the same one I started three months earlier - Yasmin. I too believe this was a cause of this pill. I have been off this pill now for about two-three weeks, and only one other episode of racing heart - and nowhere near what it had been, more like around 130. Is there anyone else out there who has been diagnosed with PSVT on Yasmin? It is nice to see that so many of you have symptoms that are now disappearing once off the pill.

I am so thankful to all of you who have posted your experiences on this website. I thoght I was going crazy!!! It seemed as if my health took a sudden turn for the worse for no apparent reason. Although I told them that I was taking it, none of the doctors that I have been to have even suggested that Yasmin could be to blame. I have had chest pains and heart palpatations so bad that I had to see a cardiologist and get a stress test. I have been to an eye doctor because I temporarily lost a spot of vision in one of my eyes (floaters). I have also had migraine headaches with no prior history and blurred vision. The worst thing by far has been the anxiety attacks, nervousness, and difficulty concentrating. I am now having gall bladder symptoms ( gas, cramps in upper right side, light colored stool, etc.). This has all happened in the course of two months, the amount of time I have been taking Yasmin. I am not starting my third pack and I am afraid to try birth control pills again.

I have been on Yasmin for about 2 years now, and I really never had any problems until about 1 1/2 yrs into it. The following are my symptoms:
-feeling like I got hit by a truck (im 24 and feel like im in the body of a 80 yr old!)
-heart palpitations
-ALWAYS thirsty, even after I just got done drinking!
-short-term memory is poor
-dizziness and nausea in the morning
-shakey
-muscle/joint pain (i am currently seeing a rheumatologist)
-when I first started taking Yasmin, my vision CHANGED and got slightly worse but I didn't think anything of it)
-headaches
-feeling like i have one big bruise all over my body (i am soooo tender and sensitive!)

I can't think of any more for now, but I'm sure theres more!
I am stopping this pill TODAY because for some reason, TODAY is when I realized that Yasmin could be doing this to me. I kept asking Doctors if Yasmin can be contributing to all my muscle/joint pains, etc...but they ALL say NO!!! I don't get it?!?!?!? And after reading all your postings, i KNOW its YASMIN!!! I hope there's no permanent damage, b/c that would REALLY suck! I don't wanna live with this pain for the rest of my life! I have another rheumatologist appt this week AND I have to make an appt for my palpitations with a cardiologist, AND i just made an appt w/ a new Gyno. I am so scared, you have no idea! I never wanted to get on the pill b/c I was terrified of the side effects, but my boyfriend INSISTED and now look what happened...