Yasmin and crap

After reading the comments posted here I was rather alarmed to say the least. I've never heard of this site before, but I'm really glad that I'm doing some research for my not have book project, otherwise I would not have stumbled across this site.
I had been prescribed Yasmin by my GP at the time, I remember asking about any side effects and was simply told nothing out of the ordinary to worry about. Now that I think back to that appointment what an absolute idiot I feel. I had been taking Yasmin for 5-6 months. I started noticing that something wasn't quite right coming into the third month.

I was experiencing being extremely insecure, suicidal thoughts, crying for no particular reason, extreme mood swings, irritable, anxiety, depression. head aches, socially withdrawn, lack of interest in sports and keeping fit, weight gain, lack of interest in life and violent behavioral outburst.

I had under gone several blood and urine test only to be told that everything was normal, and that I need a holiday - I was just stressed out. My poor Boyfriend, the crap that I would dump on him became unbearable. I couldn't help myself, I had no control over what was happening to me. I started to loathe my work environment and the work colleagues.

It was until my boyfriend and I had an all mighty king disagreement of all disagreements with me venting like Mt Versuvies and physically attacked one of my best friends that I had convinced myself there and then that I was having a nervous breakdown. My boyfriend and I where we were working decided to leave and for me to get medical attention once and for all. We both knew that something was wrong with me big time, but had no idea that this little pill would prove to be so deadly. That day was Monday the 1st of Sept. The day we decided that enough was enough and seek out medical attention.
First I got rid of my usual GP and found a much better switched on intoned female GP. My mother had first planted the suggestion in my head after hearing what I was experiencing. She said to me I think you have been poisoned and I want you to take along all the medication including women's multi vitamins along to your new GP and show her.

On consulting my new GP she too asked what the matter was, I therefore relayed my symptoms again and showed her all my medications and bingo she simply said it's the Yasmin pill that you have been taking that has been causing you all this grief. Just like that, but to be on the safe side she sends me off to more tests and she's right. So what to do about the poison in my body. I undertook a drastic change in lifestyle and dietary intake. Made a commitment with myself no working away in the bush until I have detoxed the toxic chemicals out of my body. Total vegetarian, fruit and vegetable juices 3 times a day, over 2 litres of water, 2 Tblspn castor oil and 2 Tblspn of olive oil daily. Colonic hydrotherapy every second day followed my endermologie sessions also - 3 a week. Daily yoga stretches, reading self help literature and researching this horrid pill. Oh course this isn't for everyone and can be quite costly - but now Sunday the 28th I glowing with improved health and well being. I above mentioned side effects have have most like magic disappeared from within.
The hardest thing accepting that I was doing this to myself and not knowing that I was poisoning myself. I hope everyone else out there that has been experiencing the same horrible side effects can find a solution to getting themselves back on track and finding that they will sparkle again if not brighter.
By MissFreeSpirit

Im 20 yrs old and started taking Yasmin last fall. i was on it for 7 months and finally stopped due to 15lbs weight gain, extreme depression, and nausea. i have been off it for 6 months and haven't had my period since. i have also had extreme loss of metabolism, ive never had this much difficulty losing weight, after all the cleansing diets and working out every day! i would love to know when this crap will finally be out of my system so i can get back to having a normal, healthy life. if anyone has useful input about thins let me know!

I was on Yasmin for about 4 years, then stopped due to no health insurance (couldn't afford it anymore). I was off Yasmin for 4 months, started it up again now that I have a new job, and man- I HATE being back on this pill. Now that my body had a break, I can tell what this pill does/did- I've taken about nine pills and have already called my doc to go right back in and get a Paraguard IUD, because now that I know what "normal" feels like there is no way I can go back to this pill! Extremely tired again/feel run down all the time (since day 2 back on), nauseous (continual), dry eyes/vagina (after 2-3 days back on), sex drive ebbing off again (after nine days back on)... also strange when I read people's posts, my knees/hip used to crack (pop) all the time and it's started up again within one week of this damn pill. A big clump of my hair fell out yesterday too!!! I can only tell you how I FEEL- there is something NOT right in my body with Yasmin back in the mix. I felt awesome for four months sans pill (sex drive came back with a vengeance, forgot how it felt to feel aroused, feel lubricated, feel energy, feel happy go lucky) then Yasmin- now this crap has got to go!!! I'm so turned off by this eye-opener (thankful though, at least now I know what I put myself through for four years). I'll go with an IUD to avoid hormones from now on. Trust yourselves ladies, if it doesn't feel right, it might be bad for you! Good luck ladies!!!!

I have just come back from the Doctor (see my emails below) and I have high blood pressure and a rapid heart rate! He has said I have to stop Yasmin immediately (I am on the 7 day break) and to come of the pill altogether do use Coil or other non hormonal barrier. I have to go back on Wednesday for blood test and ECG! I feel relieved but also anxious as I have a long flight to Australia in two weeks so hope that I get back to some normality by then. It can't be coincidence that I start on my first month of Yasmin and I get all these complications (I have never ever had high blood pressure of heart rate-only when I had panic attacks!) My Advice if it works it works if you feel as crap as I do stop it and find other methods!

I have been taking Yaz for the last 2 months and 1 week. The first and second month I had mild nausea. In the third month I am having a lot more problems, and I don't know if it's the Yaz or something really weird happening to me. My hands and arms will twitch uncontrollably, I feel very groggy, hazy, can't concentrate, and slightly dizzy. I still have the nausea, but that's the least of it. Also, I seem to be in a very bad mood, possibly because I feel like crap, but it seems like my mood is even worse than my actual symptoms if that makes sense.

When taking YAZ there is only one question to ask yourself, do you feel lucky? Well do you? I am the fiance of the daughter of y_oung_a_american_z_ombie who was laid to rest on Aug 4, 2008. (See posting) She was misdiagnosed with pleurisy by what we thought was a trusted doctor, and passed away from a pulmonary embolism. I want all who are planning to take this drug or currently taking this drug to know that YAZ is a silent killer. Be aware that although you may tell your doctor that you are on YAZ your doctor should look at ALL the possibilities when making a diagnosis. God bless and watch over those that have perished at the hand of this crap and also to the survivors who are telling the true story of this "Wonder drug"

Yeah the wonder pill....wonder if I am going to live or die. I cannot stress the amount of crap that happened to me while taking this drug.

I started taking Yasmin on Monday April 21st, and by Wednesday morning I wanted off of it. I started getting really bad leg cramps all the time, I feel dizzy all the time, I have trouble concentrating, and I have trouble breathing. The worst part is that I have heart palpitations now. My heart feels all butterfly-like or it feels like it's beating really slowly really hard. I just spoke with my doctor, and she says to stop taking it immediately.

After reading this website I see I'm not the only one affected by horrible side-effects from Yasmin.

Hi, I started Yaz about 2 weeks ago. I am already on Zoloft for minor depression and anxiety. Stared Yaz the sunday I started my period. First the moodiness started, then the headaches. I thought I was getting sick with a cold because I had razor blade pain in my throat that I ended up attributing to Reflux. Went to the doctor to get meds to treat that. The pain went away then I got a metallic taste that I couldn't get rid of. Went to the dentist and nothing was wrong with my fillings. I thought I was going crazy because then I had vaginal itching and odor. I wasn't have a full period but I never stopped bleeding from my period when I started the pack. After finding this website I stopped mid cycle. This has scared the crap out of me. I know I haven't been on it for long, but can anyone tell me if they have stopped in the middle of the pack and how long it took for your period to be on a normal schedule again.

Will I have been on Yasmin for 3 months I only went back on it because I had a baby. an that I was on it b4. But now being back on it it has made me feel like crap. I am a new mum so I need to b 100% at all times but I get up in the morning an feel like I have morning sickness all over again an bad headache an the smell of some food makes me sick. so I did a pregnancy test 4 times and all have come back negative. so I take the pill in the morning around the same time every day and it all start from there. so instead of having it in the morning I had it in the afternoon but b4 I had it I was all good then I took it an started feeling sick. so I don't know if this is the norm after having a bubs and how I'm to feel but I have stop it and gonna try another type of pill.

Wow. This is all very interesting. I too thought I was crazy. My symptoms started with a resp. infections, (which I just now read is a side effect, I read this on the Yaz site), then the rash from head to toe. I had shots of cortisone and took predinozone. Very dizzy, high blood pressure, and the ANGER!!! I am mad at the world. I took it for one month, and wanted it to be the birth control for me, but my husband has taken them away from me and thrown them away. So I will continue to look for alternative BC.

Yasmin to me is exactly what everyone else is saying, I finished my last pill 3 days ago and I will NEVER go back. I have been the absolute nastiest women for the last 2 months, crying, depressed, tired, heart racing, hair falling out, weight gain, metallic taste in mouth, acne,which I thought Yasmin was supposed to help with etc. I just hope that I can get back to my normal self soon. I go to the doc tomorrow, I 'll see what she says, I am literally scared to try another birth control. AL though I remember being on Tri-cyclen for 4 years and never had any of these symptoms. I think they should take Yasmin off the market!! I am so glad I am not the only one going through this crap, Obviously there has to be a better pill out there, this is crazy, everyone is complaining about the same crap with this crazy pill

I am back once again and taking Yasmin is not cutting it. I am suffering from high blood pressure which I had never had, severe migraine headaches, vomiting, a lot of nausea, stomach pains, mental depression, extreme fatigue, I am always thirsty no matter how many bottle of waters I go through Iam still thirsty. I have a very bad taste in my mouth and I find myself brushing my teeth and chewing gum numerous times during the day. At times I experience dizziness, the foods I love I now hate, and I told my doctor all these symptoms and the only thing she told me was this is normal. what kind of crap is this and why is this product still on the market.

Up until today I thought I was seriously going crazy. I have been taking Yasmin for about 2 years but I took a break from it for about 3 months. I just started taking it again in September and it has been going really downhill from there. Since I began taking it again my moods have gone out of control, nauseous, NO sex drive( and when my fiance would want to I would tell him to leave and that all I wanted to do was go to sleep), cramping, bloating.. etc..I have been doing poorly in school because I had been feeling depressed with the relationship between my boyfriend and i. My boyfriend encouraged me to medically smoke marijuana when I had pain from cramps and it has surely helped me. I know that I could choose to continue to feel like crap all the time or to figure out what is wrong with me. Finally I got online and wanted to see what everyone else was feeling while being on Yasmin. I had every effect that every other upset woman had. Finally I know what it is... YASMIN. I will stop taking Yasmin once this month is over. Thank god

I started taking Yasmin this past sunday, so far, so good...reading all these posts worry the crap out of me...i'm only really on this because i have really BAD pms, which people i know including my boyfriend thought it could be PMDD because how "crazy" i'd get, bad cramps and my period sometimes likes to show up almost whenever even when i track it....i'm a moody person already and so far i feel pretty good, pretty stable which is nice, i guess the only complaint is that i'm kinda constipated and i'm exhausted, but i'm unsure if this has anything to do with this pill or not. i travel constantly and eat bad food since i'm away at college so sometimes i have some issues....oh my sex drive is usually pretty fine, i haven't noticed anything there yet, i still think about doing things and want to...so, my question is what should i do? shall i continue to use it and see what happens, or should i stop it or get a different pill?? i go to therapy and i am also making sure that my boyfriend and immediate friends notice if i act a little stranger than usual....
and i was on a different pill back when i was 15 and i don't remember much of it besides i don't think i had any side effects so i've had a little experience with birth control before...

I am a 32 yo Mother to 4 children. My ONLY purpose for taking Yasmin was to control the severity of my periods. After the fourth child my periods became so heavy, crampy and unbearable that I had to do something. I have been on Yasmin for a little over a year now and all I can say is had I known then what I know now...I wouldn've said to hell with that!!!

Mood Swings, I mean my god ladies, they are awful, my husband of 10 years never once called me a Bitch and now I hear it all the time it seems, the weight gain was off and on. My metabolisim slowed to a stop basicaly, my hair started to fall out of my head and found itself on my face. The sobbing for no reason (at a dog commercial ladies..a dog commercial) constantly being tired, then not being able to sleep when i knew I was exhausted.

My libido was non exsistant which caused termoil in my marriage for a period of time. There was nothing I could do. I felt so helpless. Out of control, sad, sick, and in general just BLAH!

Secondly the medication was supposed to help reduce the severity of my periods and make them shorter..HA HA HA HA HA!! That's the biggest joke. They are still the same now as they ever were. 8-9 days, filling a super pad within and hour and a half, having to wear both tampons and pads just to go out in public. I have had no pills for a week. I quit cold turkey so to speak and I have had spotting lots of spotting, headaches, and bloating associated with nausea. I am glad that I am off of the Yasmin pill and I'll never go on Yasmin again!

I would love to know of a lawsuit pending against them, so that I could be returned all the money I spent in copays, to feel worse than I did before I started taking it.

I took yasmin for a year and a half. Loved it until now. I am 27 and 5'4. Over the last year I have had every test done on me because my weight dropped down to 95lbs, I get really bad chest pains that make me feel like I am having a heart attack,I am really shaky, my hands and feet go to sleep, I cannot concentrate (which is bad since I am a student), having trouble sleeping,extreme fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, and the list just goes on and on. Well, the docs couldn't find anything and so when I finished my pack of yasmin last tuesday, I didn't start a new pack. I am pleased to tell you all that this week I have more energy (i also have a husband, a 9 year old, and help run our business), no chest pains, and I have gained weight. I am going to talk to my Doc about a different form of BC. Hope you all get back to feeling normal. and for those you are having great luck with it, Congrats!!!!!!! i Hope I can find one too.

i have endometriosis, as well. i tried doing the vitamin thing for a couple of months but my peroids didn't get any easier, so i gave-in and went on BCPills. i was on loestrin which worked great for the 1st 3 months but then stopped working and i gained 8-10 pounds of water weight. i took a month off and went on yasmin and LOVED it! for the 1st 4 months, it was a dream come true - i lost the water weight, had TONS of energy. well, when i started working out again, around month 4 - i was fine doing cardio but as soon as i'd add weights to the routine, i would be hit with TOTAL exhaustion, muscle fatigue, etc.. i thought i was coming down w/ the flu or a cold and would take some time off...only to try again and have the same effect. this went on ALL summer - then i found out it might be YASMIN!!! apparently the increased levels of potassium in the blood can mess w/ the acidity in the blood and make the muscles hurt. my OBGYN refuses to accept it could be the pill (suggested i get tested for fibromyalgia, depression, etc.). i'm off of the pill now for a week and am still REALLY muscle-achey (sorta feels like the flu). does anyone else have this? does anyone have experience w/ how long it takes this crap to get out of the body? i just started at the gym this morning, only adding cardio for awhile... i am so frustrated!! i'm getting married in 8 months and want to be buff for the wedding but keep getting sidetracked w/ exhaustion. *UGH* can't wait to get yasmin behind me.

I have been on Yaz for almost 2 weeks and I have noticed increased nervousness. I feel anxious. Has anyone else experienced this?

I started taking this crap when I first went to college. I hate that it ruined 2 years of my life. I am still struggling. I cant even explain to you the anxiety I had. In highschool I was so outgoing and I loved people and I had alot of friends. I didnt make one friend in college and I stayed Isolated, i even stayed away from my boyfriend. I put on weight. I then became OCD about losing it. I became anorexic and I was 20 lbs underweight. I got on anti-anxiety and anti-depressants. It was the worst time of my life. I hated everything and everyone. I got off yasmin before I knew about all of this. I feel better now. I still have my days but it is getting better. I WISH I COULD MURDER THE OBGYN THAT GAVE ME THIS SHIT. I hope the best for all of you, and if u dont want to be a crazy hag and lose all everyone that means something to you, i suggest you get off this pill.

Hello All,

As I read new stories on this site from women just realising the devastating effects of Yasmin, it breaks my heart.

I stopped taking Yasmin 2 years ago, after I found this site desperate for a reason for my complete insanity (anxiety, depression, panic attacks, vertigo....with no history of such). I had been on Yasmin for close to 2 years with the first year and a half symptom free....the last 6 months on it I became an entirely different person....scared to leave my house, utterly depressed and completely bewildered as to why when I had never felt this way, and had no reason to.

I cried as I read this site and realised Yasmin was poisoning me and my mind. I immediately stopped it (although it is recommended you only stop at the end of the pack you are on...I couldn't wait). Well the depression lifted within days....the dark cloud literally left like a miracle from above. Anxiety proved difficult as it continued for a few months but each month got better and I continually read from this site to remind myself that although I felt out of my mind at times, it was as a result of my body detoxing itself from this drug.

I did have plenty of times when I thought the old me was gone forever....but I now am back. Trust that you are getting better....trust that the real you is not mad or crazy and is returning slowly.

I recently read the following website and found it really made sense, particularly as my blood tests after yasmin kept saying my hormonal levels were 'normal' even though I didn't feel back to normal. You need to click on the 'cure for PMS' section. I would recommend all of you coming off this poison read it....

I wish you all the very best of healing and health. Take care of yourselves, avoid caffiene, white sugar, excess salt (none of which help anxiety) and drink plenty of water and exercise....and always remember to talk to someone about how you're feeling as you go through this...I always felt better talking rather than letting things stew in my head...even if it sounded insane....my sister was a godsend reminding me that I was going through a detox.

Be well!!!!

I am a 34 year old and have been taking Yaz for almost a year.

I had some minor side effects until this past month when everything came apart at the seams. I do not know if yaz is the culprit - but the number of women with the EXACT SAME SYMPTOMS as me listed here SCARES THE HELL OUT OF ME.

My "minor" sude effects were the following:

* No period for 5 months
* No sex drive (was not the case before taking Yaz)
* Panic attacks / anxiety (no history fo this. My doc has now put me on Zoloft.)
* Bloating / weight gain
* Brown blotches (like age spots) on one side of my face

This is NOTHING compared to the last month of my life. Basically my life has sucked for the last month. Roughly a month ago my symptoms started with a red rash on the left side of my face and pain in my left ear that led to a migraine that has not gone away at all. (The pain level goes between a 5 and 10, but never lower than a 5.) The rash went away in 2 days, but my ear still hurts today (a month later).

My vertigo began roughly 5 days after the onset of my rash and ear pain and has been non-stop since. I've taken phenergan, valium, etc. - but they are not working. I get spinning/dizzy every time my head moves (up, down, left, right) and with up and down eye movement. It seems like my migraine pain intensifies when my vertigo hits me. If I lie completely still - I have no vertigo - but my migraine is still there. To make matters worse, I have become very disoriented, like I am in a fog all of the time. I am only 34 years old and feel like I am losing my mind. I cannot remember simple words at times and have a tough time completing sentences.

All of these symptoms coincide exactly to the day I began a new packet of the birth control pill called YAZ (Yasmin). I had taken this brand of pill for a year, and though it has worked (not pregnant) I have had some minor side effects up until the last month. The biggest side effect is that I have not had any period at all for the last 5 months. I have also had anxiety (no past history) and have no sex drive (not my normal self.) I stopped taking the pill about a week ago - after reading literally thousands of people with the same side effects I am experiencing on a website called medications.com (My neurologist also told me to stop taking it.)

I am NOT having ringing in my ears or loss of hearing. I mention this because I know other ailments have these as symptoms.

I have already been seen by my dentist, physical therapist, ENT, 2 neurologists and a gyn. So far - they are not helping. I have even been hospitalized for 5 days and all they really did was try and dope me up to sleep and had me take a very potent anti-migraine drug called DHE that must be administered over a 36 hour period via IV. Guess what? It did not work.

The most scary thing is that even though I get severe vertigo any time I move my head (even to the point of waking me up while I sleep) - NOT A SINGLE DOCTOR EVEN MENTIONED I MIGHT HAVE BPPV ( BENIGN PAROXYSMAL POSITIONAL VERTIGO) and they did not test for it at all. They were all interested in treating my month-long migraine with anti-migraine drugs. They all swore up and down that my vertigo was related to my migraine. They also said my fogginess was because I was "tired and sick" and many migraine sufferers are that way.

After my husband and I searched the internet and found dozens of websites, we are pretty much convinced that I have BPPV. We are going to get in front of a vestibular specialist ASAP.

So you know, I have been through a CT scan, two different MRIs, basic blood work on my white cell counts, thyroid levels, potassium, etc.

They have ruled out a sinus infection, brain tumor, pituitary tumor, stroke, blood clots, etc. They have simply treated me with anti-migraine medication - and it has been worthless. I have taken Topomax, Frova and DHE (the drug mentioned above) and my migraine is still there. These drugs have not helped one bit. My neurologist swore that the DHE would do the trick. Guess what? He was wrong.

I discharged myself from the hospital yesterday and am now at home.

I just want my normal life back. I cannot drive, work, take care of my family, etc.

My two biggest questions are:

DOES ANYONE KNOW IF BPPV CAN CAUSE MY MIGRAINE? The reason I ask is that the doctors all think that the migraine is causing my vertigo. All along they have been treating my migraine (with zero success) and have been giving me valium and antivert to simply mask my vertigo (no success there either.) No one has tried to really diagnose and treat my vertigo. Is it possible if I get my vertigo fixed my migraines will disappear?

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT BIRTH CONTROL PILLLS CAUSING BPPV? I saw woman after woman on medications.com have the same symptoms of vertigo, migraines and brain fog while taking the birth control pill Yasmin. I also know that my avalanche of symptoms eerily coincided with my first pill from a new pack. If they are related, I am most interested in what to do to get my hormones back on track in an effort to stop my vertigo.

This is all driving me crazy. A month ago I was absolutely normal. Now I am 100% disabled. I just want my life back.

Please help!

voicesi,
Thanks so much for responding. It's horrible that we all are going through the same thing, but it's nice to know that none of us are alone! The whole situation sucks. It's really making me rethink taking Yasmin after I get pregnant again. My cousin was on the patch and got pregnant three months after stopping. It's just a little discouraging for me to know that I havent gotten a natural period, therefore Im not ovulating. It's scary what we do to our bodies!! Hopefully this crap gets out of my system. Thanks so much for caring!

I was on Yasmin for 4 months and stopped taking it last week because I have been feeling like crap since December. How long does it take to get out of your system?

i have been off yasmin for 5 mos now and i am still having problems with anxiety, dizziness, lightheadness, and worst of all chest pain if you are new to this forum stop taking yasmin immediately it is dangerous it makes us feel like total crap and no one can figure out why it is a horrible ugly pill. who ever made this pill should be sued for millions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hi chris35,
i know it seems like it is going to take a long time to recover and you are feeling really low right now,i felt the same in the beginning. i know it sounds so cliche to say stay positive but it really does help,i fill my head with positive thoughts and consciously replace any negative with a positive and it really helps i push myself to ignore my anxiety and tell myself it is not real. (mine was so bad i became agoraphobic and still am a bit!) one thing all this has taught me is that i am much stronger than i thought i was,things that i used to think i was afraid of are not so scary anymore bacause i know what it feels like now to be terrified! i am much bolder than i used to be as i think if i can overcome this i can overcome anything. i know it all sounds a bit touchy feely but it really can work in your favour to be positive even when things are bad,look at all the good stuff that you have and that is happening to you,ignore all the crap that is going on!
chin up chris35 i hope it will get better for you soon.
sarah

Hello All,

I am now on day 10 off Yasmin. Yesterday, I had the most emotional day since getting off the Yasmin. I had all these PMS symptoms...my breasts ached terribly! I still have insomnia. And I was a crying mess yesterday.

I went to my gyno yesterday as well and she said I was the first woman to come to her with these "complaints" about Yasmin. I felt so stupid...especially since I had seen her just two months earlier thinking I had a yeast infection. (Infact, it was simply the extreme dryness from the Yasmin.) I simply never thought the stuff going on with me (hair falling out, insomnia, zero sex drive..) had anything to do with my gynecological health...so didn't mention it. I just thought it was "me". So bizarre how this all works out.

Luckily, my boyfriend is being very supportive and realizes this is my detox period. I'll have good days and bad days. :(

Has anyone else suffered from this insomnia? And when does it stop?? I can honestly say, I can only remember 2 specific nights in the last 5 or so months that I had a solid nights sleep. :(

P.S. I am looking into getting the Copper IUD. I got a lot of information about it..I just need to check and see if my insurance company will cover it. IF they do not cover the IUD, I will have to pay for it out of pocket. It'll be around $750 total to get it inserted. While it's a lot of money upfront, the IUD is good for 10 years. So it will pay for itself in less than 2 years...seeing as my health insurance doesn't pay much for my BC. I was paying $40 a month anyway. ugh. The injustice. :(

Flowerbabies,

I had had a thyroid test recently that came out normal, but not since I started Yasmin. I think I need to just stop putting this crap into my body. I was trying to finish out the pack per my dr's office's instructions, but I can't see how it is worth it. I'd rather be bleeding than feeling like this. I keep thinking, it's only been seven weeks, if I stop now, it has to be better than if I continue on it. It has to be. I feel like I'm poisoning myself and like I'm poisoning my family with the miserable state I'm in. I'm just treading water, here. I cry and cry. I'm emotionally drained. I feel like I've got all the worst parts of pregnancy ten fold, with none of the joy.

My husband just doesn't understand all this. He knows I'm dealing with it, but he can be insensitive without realizing it. Then when we go to talk about it, I cry. I HATE TO CRY. I cried in church today, too. In front of everyone. I just want this to be over.

My heart breaks reading all the nearly 2500 posts from women like myself. It breaks even more for those experiencing these side effects who don't know what's going on, and those who are, with blind hope, about to start taking Yasmin themselves.

Is there a class action suit against the makers of this drug yet?

Alice

I have been on the pill for only one month and have been experiencing such horrible side effects. I have been on ortho-try in the past and never had any side effects. I wake up throwing up, my breast are constantly hurting and have swollen, constant nausea and stomach pains, not to mention the horrible mood swings. I hope that this crap gets out of my system quickly because I cannot handle this anymore!!
Anyone have any type of time frame or a quick cure for nausea?

i too feel the same way about a week before and a week after my period. its a few days before my period right now and i feel my chest is tight. i also have a problem of sore throat and a feeling that my throat is very heavy a week before my period. my back,shoulders and neck ache and i get depressed and feel that i can never be like i was before taking this crap. and all this when i was on yasmin for only 1 month and 2 days extra before i realised that yasmin was causing me severe sore throat. i even had a upper gi series to check for reflux and the GI told me i was fine. i actually feel better if i take some warm steam. if anyone ever finds out the reason behind this feeling of heavy and sore throat please find time to put it up on this site.

Samp

Hi Ladies,

I did lots of research before getting on Yasmin and found it to be good but then I saw my weight go up and up and was like OH NO!! I got off of Yasmin in Dec of 2005 due to bad headaches and neasea, My period came in Jan, Missed it in Feb, Came late March, Missed it in April, came back on May 28th (Heavy!!!!) and has yet to go away and it's 7-21-06 already. I went to the obgyn two weeks ago and he gave me Ovocon35, he said to take 2 pills each day until the period went away, I have gone through 2 packs of Overnight Pads already! the bleeding won't stop. Finally Ovcon35 took the bleeding away but gave me extreame Neasea, headaches.. So I missed the pill 1-day and I have heavy bleeding again.. it's horrible!! The Doc just called and was about to give me Yasmin again, I was like? That's what caused the PROB! He said OH Ok, well here's a new one, So I have to go pick up Low Estrin now and by reading the reviews.. it seems more positive than Yasmin! Wish me luck! I feel like crap!

Jackie

Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to post how I was doing. I have been off Yasmin now for 5 1/2 months. The first 3 months I felt pretty good, had some of the numbing, tingling, anxiety etc. However I had normal periods (like when I was on the pill). The 4th month June, I didn't get my period at all. I think I went some where around 50 days without a period.

So I skipped Junes period and come July, My breasts were really sore right around ovulation. I had really awful bloating, I could hardly button my pants, and had horrible cramps for 2 weeks before I got it. I had a constant headache for about 2 weeks. Then the week right before I got it, I had spotting. Every time I would go to the bathroom there would be spotting, however not enough to wear a tampon. The sat. before I got it I spent the whole day in the bathroom with constant diarrhea.

I was really worried that I was pregnant so I took a test Monday the 10th (we definitely do not want a child right now) and of course I got it that afternoon and it lasted until sat.

The first day it was pretty heavy but the rest of the days it was fairly light. Now I'm wondering am I going to get it in Aug. 10th or around that date or is it going to be another 50 days. It's kinda freaky because I felt like crap the whole time I wasn't menstruating. I was tracking my cycles so I now that I ovulated which was my only sanity in knowing I wasn't really pregnant.

Has anyone else gone through this and if so was it an all of a sudden thing where your cycles just snapped back to normal or was it a gradual thing.
Thanks,
Hill

hiya all, silke!

thankyou so much for posting back silke!!

i am sorry i didnt post earlier i just havnt been feeling myself, really withdrawn, needed to be myself and did not want to talk or be around anybody.

i feel a little better now but still not myself, i suppose i have to be patient and take each day as it comes.

one minute i am fine and the next the anxiety kicks in and i feel like crap, i just want to feel normal again.

oh silke, why is this happening i feel like a 80 year old, always so tired and ill all the time.

one good thing this pill has done for me is, its taught me to do my homework before taking any kind of medication ever again and also how hormones can affect the body, if there not in balance they can make you go mad.

sorry again, thankyou and god bless you silke

big hugs
sophie

hi all,i have been off yasmin for 3 days now,i am not expecting any miracles yet! i stopped taking it with 5 pills still in the pack so expect to get a withdrawl bleed any day now, it may be all in my head but my anxiety seems less although i still get palpitations at night,the only down side is i seem to have had a pressure headache for the last 2 days and also a sore throat,could be a coicidence, that is the trouble as we do not know exactly what yasmin does and does not do it's hard to say "oh it's definately this that or the other"! My philosophy at the moment is ..... it may make a difference it may not but either way i know i am still going to have to cope with the aftermath and the memories of the anxiety but by stopping pumping my body full of artificial hormones i can rule it out as a cause of my weird and not so wonderful symptoms! Thanks to all have posted your stories on here,i felt so alone and felt that maybe i was going crazy,my doctors just wanted to send me to the shrink and put me on pills. but now i have taken control of my situation i feel much improved mentally even if not physically yet, hopefully that will come once this crap is out of my system! you're all stars and i wish you all the best with your recovery! i will be sending my sceptical pill pushing dr to this site so maybe he will think twice next time someone comes in feeling like we have and is taking yasmin!

hi all

i have now been yasmin free for 14 days after taking it for 13 months.

when i first stopped i had my period for 4 days.
i also had bad migraines and shooting pain in my head when i stopped taking it.

i have been ok feeling pretty fine of it but the past 2 days i have been feeling a bit panicky and anxious especially in the evenings. HAS ANYBODY ELSE EXPERIENCED THIS AND IF SO IS THERE AN EXPLANATION.

since coming of this pill everyday i wake up thinking hope everythings going to be ok today its so scary.

to evey women out there coming off yasmin and feeling the same way as me. please dont give up and remember to take one day at a time and also remember it gets easier because everyday is a anotherday to getting this crap out of our system.

another thing that has helped me is drinking loads of water.
also whenever i feel panicky i try to keep busy which occupies my mind, which makes me not concentrate on that horrible feeling. I KNOW ITS SO FRIGHTENING BUT HANG IN THERE THINGS WILL GET BETTER!!!!!!!!!11

DONT LET THE DR PUT YOU ON ANTIDEPRESSANTS YOU KNOW WHATS CAUSING THE PROBLEM, YOU DONT NEED MORE DRUGS WHICH CAN MAKE THINGS WORSE

TAKE CARE AND GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL

SOPHIE XXXXXXXXX

hey there ladies!!!

TO ALL OF YOU READING READ THIS FIRST!!!!

my first round of yasmin about 3years ago was great...no side effects just happy as a clam birth control...

until they found i had endometriosis...i did a round of lupron to treat it and then they put me back on the yasmin nostop (like lynn wrote earlier). since then my life has been a living hell...

chronic fatigue, leg pain/tingles (they fall asleep all the time), i am the scariest monster with the mood swings and all they keep doing is shoving drugs at me because i am "depressed". well don't fall for that crap. it is just a way to shut you up for the next couple of months. i finally got sick of the juggling of the doctors so i went off it myself and it has only been a couple of days and i am soooo different. i am a happy little clam again!

i just want to get some feedback on one thing...how do i lose the weight i have gained? i keep trying and nothing results?

love luck and lollipops to all
astra813

Hey BitterRN,

I, too, have looked around for lots of bad posts on other birth controls besides Yasmin. Yasmin seems to be the ONLY birth control (besides the patch and the shot-which are causing deaths and such) that people are complaining about. On this site I've looked at other birth controls and there are only like two threads for each one and they all say good things about the pills. I've talked to a lot of women and have seen their posts on this other forum I'm on and most of them started feeling bad when they started to take Yasmin. They've had no other problems with birth control until taking these horrible pills! I just can't believe they still have this crap on the market, honestly! It makes me sick to my stomach wondering how many women are out there without any internet and having such horrible problems like severe depression and other bad side effects... they probably don't think it's related to Yasmin at all!

It really just infuriates me.. I feel so stupid for trusting my Doctor. He said "this is the best pill out there right now." If it's so wonderful why am I still battling depression two months off of the crap? UGH!

Hello everyone,

I am so glad to have found this website. This has been the BEST therapy ever... to know that I'm not alone in this. I started taking Yasmin on Jan 1, 2006. To give you some background, I am 27 years old and have always been very healthy. This was the 1st bcp I had ever taken... and what a nightmare it has turned out to be. Within weeks of taking the first pill, my heart would race a mile a minute, I had some shortness of breath, a complete lack of appetite, I was dizzy and sometimes felt like I was in a fog... in short, I was a shadow of myself. I think i gradually got depressed b/c I was so frustrated from feeling like total crap. Finally, i couldn't take it anymore and quit taking the pill (mid-pack) about 6 weeks after I started. I immediately began to feel better. However, a week or so after quitting cold turkey, I started to have some headaches (nothing major) and still feel dizzy and experience shortness of breath from time to time. I still don't feel 100%... I've been off Yasmin for 3 weeks now.

How long did it take you all to feel normal again? I was only on this awful pill for 6 weeks and I feel like it's completely wrecked my hormonal balance. Suffice it to say, I will NEVER recommend Yasmin to anyone!!!! They need to take it off the market. My OB has recommended I use Mircette/Kariva, which has a lower dose of estrogen. I'm not going to take it until my body is back to normal...

Any thoughts would be much appreciated! Thank you, girls, for your support. We WILL get through this!!

hey lisa its chrissy,

just wanted to give you an update... ive been reading ur postings and you sound so much more positive and im very happy its working out for you!!!

i feel way better... 7 months off that crap and finally i had a month where everything was fine! such a relief... im not getting too ahead of myself tho becuase im sure ill probably go back a few steps without a doubt.... but at least it shows that it can really get better.

i hope you are feeling even better than ever.... you are gonna be feeling the relief i feel very son i just know it...

take care and lots of hugs
luv chrissy xoxoxox

Wow! I just stumbled on this site and am very happy I did. I'm 42 years old and am almost finished my fourth pack of Yasmin, which I started basically for skin problems. My skin did clear immediately, but I gradually started having other things happen, but never really attributed it to the pill...actually thought it was more an age thing (I hate to say it) and was happy with my clear skin. I had the chest pain thing and went for an exercise test, which turned up okay. I turn into this "freak" every once in a while, crying and stuff, which I thought was basically because I'm so busy with work and family, etc. I used to run half-marathons, but was feeling so crappy and had gained a lot of weight, so I decided to join a gym and hire a personal trainer, as exercise had always made me feel better. Near the end of one of our sessions, I started to have trouble remembering her instructions. I then went into the change room when we were finished and I could not remember my lock combination. This scared me quite a bit. A woman then came into the change room and was asking me about my trainer and what her name was...and I couldn't remember her name! I managed to get my lock open, but I kinda walked out of there in a fog and it probably took me about an hour to feel "human" again. Later that night I had a pretty good headache. I talked to my trainer about it and we figured that I must have had an extremely hard workout and that maybe I was a little dehydrated. I have noticed that I have not been as thirsty as I usually am, so figured this was the problem. The final straw came a few days ago when I developed this killer headache with some breakthrough bleeding. I've made an appointment with my GP to talk about going on Alesse, but am now wondering if I should just forget about messing about with my hormones and put up with a few pimples in my 40s. Any thoughts? Any Alesse horror stories?

Julia

Update.....

I am now about 5 days post Yasmin and the period started this morning. I have been horrifically anxious with panic attacks for weeks now and I don't know if it's because the period arrived or what but today I am much better. Still feeling anxious deep down but nowhere near as bad. I sure hope this continues and improves with each day.

Even yesterday I was crying for no reason and had bad anxiety. Today I seem more controlled, so far anyway. Mornings have always been the worst for me. I can only hope that because I was on this crap a.k.a. Yasmin for only 2 1/2 cycles that maybe my recovery from it will be swift....I pray anyway.

Hope everyone else going through this is feeling better daily too. I still have an appt with my RE/GYN on Thursday to discuss my options and hopefully he will agree to some Xanax as needed. I adore him as a doctor and I hope he doesn't disappoint me.

Happy day to all-
Denise

hey lisa,

yes your definitley right! i stopped yasmin in july and let me tell you that august and september were a complete nightmare.... october was better but i really felt the improvement in december... i began to feel like i could cope again....
you do have times where you feel sick for like days at a time but then it'll be all good for a week or so... its up and down but each time ur on a downer its not as bad as the last one...

eventually we will all be free of this crap...
i cant wait for that day..
and im always here ok
luv chrissy xox

Dear Silke,
did u take any vitamin or supplements. just interested to see if this will help spped things up or if its a TIME FACTOR that its just getting crap out of our systems.
I am on magnesium and vitamin supplements also taking hebal womans balancer in tablet form to try and help hormones.
just want to feel better.
2 mths down how many more to go.......

lisa...

my heart rate was fast and at around 90 to 120 beats per minute for a good 4 months after i got off yasmin.... no jokes it was an absolute nightmare i would be able to feel it pounding in my chest....
twice i went to hospital and both times they said it was nuthing and my job must be stressing me out... thats crap because i can deal with stress very well... actualy i work alot better under pressure...
now is my 5th month off yasmin and my heart rate has dropped to about 80-85 beats which is still kinda high but much better... normal is around 75-79 im told... although it depends on the person and how fit you are...
now i only get bad palpitatins when im ovulating and sometimes during the week leading up to my period....
dont panic i promise you it will get better its just a slow process... i found drinking lots of water helped me alot and taking big deep breaths helped open up my chest and airway....
i hope next month ill be able to say its gotten even better....
just try not to concentrate on ur heart beat all the time and whatever you do dont be like me and take your pulse a hundred times a day....ha ha ha i was bad!!!
you will be ok just hang in there
remember we are all here for you
love chrissy xoxox

I was on Yasmin for a litle less than 2 years. I went off in April because of the same effects mentioned here. A month ago my sodium levels dropped dangerously low. I have been diagnosed with something called SIADH (syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion). No matter how much salty crap I eat, my levels stay below average. I have an apointment with an endocrinologist August 8th. Could this have anything to do with Yasmin? I am a healthy 29 yr old or at least I thought I was. I now am in the doctor's at least twice a week to have blood drawn.
Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all.

I was on Yasmin for 1 month only as it was recommended to me by a friend. I was told it was the best pill ever and side effects were minimal. After 1 week everything was fine. In the second week my breasts started to become so sore and they just blew up a whole bra size!!! I wanted to get off Yasmin but decided just to see the month through. When i finished my period i was still getting continual spotting everyday I would bleed a little and i assumed this was normal. I have read a few postings where people have experience the same thing so I feel a little better. I finished Yasmin nearly 3 days ago but i still havnt got my period, just the spotting!! and my breasts are still killing me!!!!
Has anyone else had the same probs and can someone tell me when it will go back to normal???? I cant believe this crap has stuffed up my body totally... pls help!!!

Post your symptoms since stopping Yasmin!!!

Hey everyone it's Kay21 here and I just wanted to post my 3 month off Yasmin update. Because stopping the pill is a hard decision, I figured we should all post are updates here to help/support those who are planning to stop or who have recently stopped Yasmin.

I have been off of Yasmin since April 17. As some of you already know, I was experiencing horrible side effects while on Yasmin for 3 years (particularly stomach problems, vaginal dryness, muscle cramps, increased blood pressure and heart rate and anxiety).

The first 1 month off of Yasmin was okay. In fact, I felt the best I had ever felt in a while. My blood pressure and heart rate decreased and the migraines and muscle cramps went away. But when I hit the 2 month (8 week) mark, I felt HORRIBLE. I was severely depressed and anxious. I was crying all the time and felt a severe sense of DOOM! The physical symptoms also started to become problematic. The acne increased and I started growing more facial hair. The worse symptom, however, was that I started losing a ton of hair. I would lose stray hairs all day (probably about 200 a day). Since I have hit the three month mark, the hair loss has gotten MUCH WORSE! Now I am losing CLUMPS of hair all day. I have seen several doctors about this. Some say it's because of stress and a few (a derm, GYN and endo) say that hiar loss is common after stopping bcp. I have already loss about 1/3 of my hair.

I am also really concerned, because I have not had a period since April 22. So my doctor has put me on provera for 10 days to induce a period.

For those who have stopped Yasmin, what have your symptoms been (i.e. increased acne, weight gain, anxiety, etc.). Has anyone experienced hair loss? How long did it take to get a period???

Thanks...

I really didn't want to go on the pill, but I needed too. So Yasmin was what was prescribed to me. In a week and a half, my energy level has lowered, I had my first dramatic mood swing, cried my ass off, get nauseous every time I eat something and low sex drive! I'm off this crap!

I wanted to let the two below posted know I filled out a yellow card today at that site. I hope others will too so we can get this crap off the market. I have been off Yasmin for 10 months now and still suffer from anxiety...I see a therapist every 2 weeks to try to combat the symptoms. Good Luck Ladies, this pill has ruined my life and damaged my relationship with my fiance.

I stopped taking the pill last week. I still had a week left to take but I was so over it.I got a period right away but who cares I wasn't gonna stay on that crap. I am starting to feel MUCH better, at least 100% better already but I'm defintely not completely myself yet. Strangely enough my abs hurt like I did a bunch of sit-ups, but it's actually from all the worrying and things I did last week as usually as I go through through that anxiety all my muscles stay tight. I'm off to speak with a psychologist on Tuesday as well.. I want to be safe and keep everything in check.
How is everyone else doing? :)