Yasmin and chaos

I am the mother of a 23 year old who has been on Yasmin for 5 months.
Her dermatologist prescribed it for her without blood tests for acne. She went to a gynecologist who did a blood panel and said her testosterone levels were four times the normal level and agreed with having her put on Yasmin. We as her parents were totally against this decision.

Since she has been on Yasmin she has suffered severe abdominal pain with periods. She had an ultra sound and nothing was found. She then developed an infection in one eye. Very red and itchy. Took steroid cream for that. Then in July came down with strep throat. Antibiotics for that.
Since then she has had 3 bouts of strep. Every time she gets off
antibiotics she comes down with another bout within a week and a half.
She has also had a lynph node in her neck swell up to a huge size you
could easily see. Doctor said it was a byproduct of her strep.

She is now contemplating having her tonsils taken out. I am at my wits
end. I know all this chaos is from this pill and am trying to get her to get
off it. It is so sad and exhausting watching my previously healthy daughter go through this. And she still isn't convinced all this is due to Yasmin.

I have read so much on this pill. The doctor's hand it out like candy. Anyone got any words I might use to convince her to get off this killer?
Thanks.

I have been on my "period" for 12 weeks now, and about a month ago my gyn. prescribed Yasmin for me. I have now been taking Yasmin for exactly 3 weeks, and I have been amazed by what I have read in this site! I met my live-in b.f. 2 1/2 years ago, and used to be such a fun, energetic, hopefull, and loving person. I took Yasmin for a couple of months in 2005, and looking back,...after stopping the pill because of extreme mood swings, that is also when my panic disorder came about. I never have been able to understand why a person like me, who once had so much to offer had become a walking basket case having very frequent, debilitating panic attacks. I am blessed to have such a concerned, and compassionate b.f. and he has told me that he has seen an extreme diference in me. Like I said above, my gyn. put me back on Yasmin 3 weeks ago to stop my bleeding and regulate my periods, and it never dawned on me that Yasmin is what started my chaos until now. And my bleeding has not stopped! I don't know what to do. It seems clear to me that my problems are stemming from this pill, but others have said on this site that the side effects continue well after the pill is stopped. What to do? Needless to say, I will be making an appt with my dr.

To the ladies with problems after stopping Yasmin:

The problems you have mentioned are definitely because of the hormonal changes after stopping the pill! I had been altoghether on bcp about 10 years, the last 5 (horrible) years on Yasmin. And after stopping it completely (because of 100s of horrible side effects that had come up over the years...) in February 2005 I also had those problems as you now are having!!

The dizziness, stiffness in my legs and arms, and so many more symptoms!! Also the anxiety which I had under Yasmin got a little worse and I felt, as if my whole body was in a complete chaos! Only after about 3 - 4 months I started feeling better slightly and month by month a little step!!

I also got my first period after stopping Yasmin regular (after about 4 weeks). But then never again until August 2006!!! (over 1,5 years later!!) So I fear it's also pretty normal to have an unregular cycle for some women (not every woman though!!). But since August this year my period comes very regular every 4 weeks and I didn't take any medication for that; I just gave my body the time it needed to get back to normal by itself.

What I try to say is: Be patient and always remember yourself that it's just the hormones if you are feeling down and despaired and everything will go away after a few months and you'll be happy again!!

I also completely stopped listening to what the doctor's are saying, especially the thing "No, it's surely not the Yasmin...". I just get angry, when I hear this sentence, because the 100s of women here and in other forums are the proof, that it IS definitely the Yasmin which is bringing us in such a mess!!!

Well, I'm just about to get to my gyn in about an hour, just getting my hormones checked and see, if everything else with my body is ok, because I had been feeling very bad around the last few weeks. --> just an info for Sophie, Sarah and all of the other ladies, who know my story!! I'll let you know what he says!!

And another important thing, especially for the cramping and stiffness and dizziness: Please make sure to take a good supplement (Multivitamin and Minerals like B-Vitamines, Magnesium, etc.). It's very important to give your body those things back, which had been lacked by Yasmin!! Just search a little over google and check out, if you can find your symptoms there (lack of vitamines and minerals). I'm sure, you'll find them!!!

So I have to go for now, wish me luck that the gyn can find anything now, so that I can get some help finally.........

Best wishes
Silke

Hi Virginia!

Here I am! I've been off of Yasmin for about 1,5 years now and still struggeling with some symptoms off and on!! In my special case my first normal period has arrived only about 8 weeks ago after stopping Yasmin!! So my hormones are definitely still not back to normal after such a long time!! I never before had any problems with my period, it always was there around every 5 - 6 weeks.....

May I ask how old you are Virginia? I'm one week before my 32nd birthday and as many women wrote already it seems, that getting back to normal after such a hormonal chaos is more difficult in "higher" ages...

The only thing that I know is, that all that agony DEFINITELY was brought on by Yasmin and every symptom that is now still coming up sometimes (but keep in mind: NOT AT ALL as severe as it was WITH Yasmin!!) is caused by that still lasting hormonal chaos in my body.

I feel very unsure and anxious around the time I should be ovulating and again around the time my period should start. Then there are a few very good weeks again nearly without ANY problems and then it starts again... It goes up and down always with the hormonal changes during a monthly cycle!!

Well, you also should have checked out your thyroids (as flowerbabies already told in her previous post). Perhaps there is something wrong after stopping Yasmin!?

I decided to give my body even more time than I already did to get back to normal. Hormonal things are no flu or just a cold... It can take a very long time to rebalance everything again but I still feel a n improvement of my fitness every month!!

You said, that you are taking Clonozepam occasionally for the anxiety, well that could really be another reason for your still lasting anxiety. That might sound weird but I know what I'm talking about!! In February 2005 I had to take such stuff, too, because I was totally in despair and didn't know how to get through another day of this agony... I took it for only one week, because I felt the same things as you do now: It made me even MORE tired than the Yasmin already did, my muscles got weak and like rubber and I didn't feel like myself at all...

Please research a little over the internet about the side effects of diazepam or clonozepam. I'm pretty sure you'll find your symptoms!!

It might sound very hard Virginia, but I think you really should give your body time WITHOUT ANY chemical to get back to normal by its own. The only thing that I always had with me during the very hard times of 2005 was some Valerian (a herbal remedy), which always helped me to calm down a bit when the anxiety seemed unbearable, but with absolutely no side effects, especially without giving me weakness or tiredness!!

I think the multivitamin and b-complex is also a very important thing to take. Even if in my case the b-complex gave me some strange nervousness always a few hours after taking it... I don't know if I'm extra sensitive about such things or so... But the b-complex is really important. So you should try out by yourself, if it's good for you or not.

Another important thing especially for your nerves is MAGNESIUM! It helps with stress and nervousness so much!! I still take it in times, when I'm under stress or feeling weak again and it helps!!

OMG, I hope my post sounds not too confused, though I always really try my best to say what I mean in english (I'm from Germany...).

If there are any other questions or you're in need for pep talk, please post here Virginia and all of the other still suffering Yasmin victims out there!!

Best wishes to you and god's bless.

And thank you flowerbabies for your posts everyday!! I'm still coming around here every day to see what's going on and am so glad to see, what you're doing!! All the best to you, too!!

Silke

Sorry, me again.

Claudia:

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

But believe me: IT WILL get better!!

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

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

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

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

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

Best wishes and god's bless!

Silke

to guest 18010:

I had been taking Yasmin for 5 years, too (from 2000 to 2005).

I also had only one normal period after stopping Yasmin in february 2005!! That was on easter 2005. Since then I didn't have another period again (nearly 1 year now!!).

I decided to give my body a little more time until about August 2006. If I then still have no normal period I will ask my gyn about other options to bring my hormones back in balance (unnecessary to mention, that I won't ever take any hormonal medicine over a long time again in my life after that nightmare!!!). But I think after being on a bcp, especially like Yasmin, for such a long time your body might need a little bit longer to learn again how to function without that chemicals.

Also I'm still not back to 100% healthy again, though so much better that a year before!! I think we just need much more patience to get through this hormonal chaos.

If you find any other solution for that no-period-problem, I would appreciate to hear from you!!

Best wishes!!

Silke

Dear Lisa,

a few posts ago I had already told about the blurred vision and thought you had found that.

Well, the blurry vision was so bad around January/February 2005, that I couldn't read anything, watch tv or work at my computer. It felt as if I looked through a milky window or such. Everything was like behind a "fog".

That has improved a lot, but it took time!! About 3 - 4 months AFTER Yasmin it slowly got better and I finally was able to work on my computer a few minutes a day, then a few hours and today I'm sitting here, working again the whole day long if I have to, read books and watch tv without big problems!!

But remember: IT DEFINITELY TAKES TIME!! And no one of us here can say, how long it will take for your symptoms to decrease cause every woman is different. I'd been taking this poison pill for 5 long years, so I think that I will have to be patient much longer than only one year... (Today I'm nearly 1 year off Yasmin and still not feeling 100% fit and healthy again!!).

The blurry vision comes back sometimes when I'm really nervous or under stress, but not as bad as it was last year at all. And remember: Every symptom brought on by Yasmin and the hormone chaos after getting off seems to get worse around ovulation and the time your period starts or SHOULD start (I still didn't have one since easter 2005 but in spite of that I realize more symptoms around 2 weeks a month.....).

And so it is with the libido thing. In my case my husband had to "ask" me, if we just could TRY it again, very slowly and careful (well, this time he had already been waiting for about 8 months, cause I wasn't fit enough at all to even just TRY...). I said yes (though I didn't really have the feeling, that I was ready for that thing again!!), and a few days ago I started this "thing" by myself, because I recognized, that my feelings came back and believe me, those were feelings I didn't have for many many years (you could say 5 years not really feeling alive under Yasmin......).

And I'm afraid, but 10 weeks off Yasmin is not really much... Sounds hard but that's a fact. At 10 weeks after Yasmin I still didn't feel, as if I would live any longer... But always remember: Every woman is different. No one can give you a time plan that is working 100% correctly in that case!!

So please give your body the time that it needs (and it can, I don't say MUST, but CAN last months!!) and everything will come back if you're just patient enough and believe in better times that are ahead!!

All the best to every Yasmin victim out there and stay strong and patient, there's light at the end of the tunnel!!!

Silke

PS: Sorry, that my posts always get that long...