Yasmin and dermatologist

Have any of you developed Leukemia after taking Yasmin? Or do you know some one who has developed it and they just happened to be taking it at the time? Any feedback would be appreciated.

I'm 16 years old, I started taking Yasmin on November 3rd, 2007 as prescribed by my dermatologist.
I noticed that even after my period was over(my period came on November 3rd) I started spotting afterwards, for the WHOLE month. It eventually subsided when I started a new pack. I guess they did make me feel moody and to go along with it I had to deal with a bunch of stress. Prior to starting Yasmin, I was also using diet pills which really worked, and after starting Yasmin I noticed that I just retained my weight or gained probably 5 pounds of water weight?
And I guess I'm being taken off of it when I'm finished with my current pack.
Reading all these responses made me feel better about it all, I guess I wasn't the only one on the same page with the symptoms. :D

I started taking Yasmin about July of 2007.. i got married in sept of 07 and went on a honeymoon. i thought i was getting bit by weird bugs cuz i noticed insect bite looking things on my legs. up until that point, i thought nothing of it cuz it didn't really itch or bothered me that much.. although the bumps would NOT go away!! around end of November 2007 the itching started and it was so bad to the point that i had scratch marks all over my legs and i would find blood on my bed sheets (from the unconscious scratching i did in my sleep). i would always cry at night cuz it was driving me crazy and it kept me awake almost all through the night. i went to a dermatologist and he just gave me some anti itch cream which did NOT help me AT ALL! so i went back and he did a biopsy and the result came out to be "hypersensitivity to medication" I don't have any allergies against any drugs and the only new medication i can think of that I've been on since then is Yasmin. he prescribed me more medicine (Prednisone) which helped with the itching. he only prescribed 15 days worth cuz it's not good to take it for a prolonged period of time (contains steroids). now i have little itchy bumps all over my back, waist, neck, thighs, near my underarms, stomach, chest... pretty much every where except for my face. and i think it's a matter of time that it spreads to my face. i was told that it takes MINIMUM of 3 months for it to be completely out of your system. it's almost been 2 months since I've been off of it.. but i still show no signs of improvement. the itch still drives me crazy.. i still cant sleep at night.. and i just hope and pray that it'll be all over soon.. hopefully.

another symptom I've experienced was CONSTANT headache. it was to the point that i had to go in for an MRI. the results came back negative.. but when i stopped taking the pills.. no more constant headache.

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

Hi all! I just began taking YAZ two weeks ago and things were fine up until two days ago. I started experiencing itching on several parts of my boy an last night, realized I had hives on my waist at my back, near my underarms and have serious itching all over the rest of my body including the palms of my hands. Please, please, please if anyone reads this an has had similar side effects, please let me know. Furthermore, I did not take the pill last night as I knew this could be the only thing causing these issues. Does anyone know the reprecution of stopping the pill mid month? Please let me know and thanks for your help!

I took Yasmin for 2 years and about 6 months after starting Yasmin I started getting migraines at least 3 x per week and sometimes 5 x per week (before not even really getting many normal headaches). I thought it might be my birth control and saw my OB who referred me to a Neurologist who put me on a medicine for migraines. About another 5 months later I noticed I had a small bald spot in my hair line. Saw a Dermatologist who diagnosed it is alopecia. I immediately stopped Yasmin and migraine meds and decided to get an IUD (GREAT CHOICE!) My migraines stopped almost immediately, however my hair loss continues to progress. I now have 3 additionally bald spots on my head and areas on my scalp that are very thin. I feel great otherwise, no headaches, no depression (other than losing my hair), no anxiety, appetite is normal. I'm so desperate to find someone else that has had this specific problem as no one believes the hair loss is connected to Yasmin. I just pray after awhile the hair will grow back. Please if anyone has experienced this same situation please post what might have helped you get through it and if it does ease up! One more thing - I have scalp pain, like burning on the front and top and back part of my scalp, wide spread, not only in the bald areas.

I've been taking Yasmin for 7 months now...at first it was brilliant! i have had trouble with other pills in the past and Yasmin seemed totally different.
however, after settling down with it, i am starting to experience some side effects. i appreciate that obviously they may not be related to Yasmin but after reading other people's experiences I'm thinking that they probably are!

my hair falls out more than is normal...i used to have really thick hair and now it's getting pretty thin.
i have developed a cyst on the side of my head?!
i get weird pains in the right of my chest and stomach as if I've been exercising too much or sitting balled up for hours.
i have gone off food.
my sex drive is none existent! my boyfriend and i used to do it pretty much every day and now i never want it. we haven't really had any proper sexual contact in over a month.
i had complete loss of vision in one eye.
I'm getting seriously anxious about things that are important, but overly so.
i feel permanently tired and drained no matter how much sleep i get.
i cry 24/7 over absolutely anything... songs, adverts... its ridiculous!?

if i come off Yasmin it'll be the 3rd pill that doesn't agree with my body. I'm gonna have to try something new i think...

Girls everywhere . I have one question and please you can reply in private or on here, whatever you like. Did any of the doctors that prescribed Yasmin to you ever give you a hormonal test? I have been going through really bad emotional mood swings for a white but did not have insurance so never really go myself checked out. So last month I went back to my home country and visited a gyno(where medicine is not so overpriced) who has been recommended to me by numerous people and he did a bunch of hormone tests on me concluded (by blood work) that I have a hormonal inbalance. Before the tests were done he obviously asked me a bunch of questions and I warned him that last time i had gone on a losely prescribed birth control(which is was suppose to be very low hormone dosage) I went practically nuts. After seeing my results and finding my inbalance he has prescribed Yasmin to me because apparently I have too much estrogen and other things I couldnt really understand because I am not a doctor but I think one of the things it does is to block some of these hormone from going to your brain. So My point after all this rambling is that ALL of our bodies are different and all birth controls are different and have different hormones which could drive a normal person insane with or without taking the pills SO my suggestion if you are having trouble with Yasmin is to get your hormone levels checked, Yasmin may be the devil to you but its probably because you dot need certain components that are in it or lack some. Get real tests done!

I started taking Yasmin a year ago to help control my acne which the dermatologist described as adult acne or hormonal acne. It worked and cleared it up. Since then I have gone off of it twice, but the acne returns, so I go back on it. I went to the regular doctor this past week, and he diagnosed me with depression. The depression symptoms started around the same time I was put on yasmin. Could they be linked? I don't want to go off of it because my acne will come up, but it seems to have totally changed my personality. Thoughts??

I've been taking Yasmin since March of 2006... My periods have always been light and short in duration (3 days). In the past few months my periods have been 6-7 days with severe cramping... In addition, my hair started shedding excessively about 2 months ago and I've probably lost at least 1/3 to 1/2 of my scalp hair! My doctor tested me for thyroid problems, but determined that the hair loss was telogen effluvium (caused from stress). I have also been having issues with my stomach being upset and have lost nearly 15 lbs since I first started taking Yasmin. If anyone else has ever experienced hair loss from Yasmin, please let me know. I've read articles that have stated you can lose hair when stopping Yasmin, but I'm wondering if taking it could be causing my hair loss???

My dermatologist put me on Yaz a little less than 2 weeks ago for acne. I've been bleeding ever since! I'm really getting worried about it and have been debating calling my gyn to see what the deal is. Has anyone else bled like crazy with Yaz? How long did it take to stop? My flow is probably medium and bright red...with no signs of stopping at the moment. I also have had a horrible headache for about 3 days, can't sleep, have lower back pain, and feel extremely nauseated. This pill is horrible!

I just finished taking my 2nd pill of Yasmin or oral contraceptives ever. I've always been against oral contraceptives, mostly because I feel they're so unnatural to a woman's balance. I don't disagree on people taking it for medical purposes though. Well I got pregnant and it wasn't the right situation nor timing; and now that's why I'm on Yasmin. I had a prescription laying around that my dermatologist had given me back in April for acne. I decided to "cash it in" at the local pharmacy. The first day, maybe an hour after I took the pill I felt a flood of some feeling in my head. I felt mild nausea, and a small pain in the back of my head that went away as quickly as it started. The feelings of nausea subsided at night, because I took it around noon. My second day on it I felt that fullness filling in my head, I was a little hot, and I felt mild nausea. I felt like the only thing to get rid of that feeling in my gut was to eat. I ate gamesa cookies which are like wafers, light, mildly sweet to calm down that feeling. It kind of helped, but food helped the most. I have taken ginger ale for nausea before and it's helped, but you have to make sure to take the fizz out of it first. In the evening I felt like my head was really heavy, almost tired/sleepy. I hope my body adjusts fast, because I'm not use to being out of balance like this.

Dear Guest 43038,

Stop taking the Yasmin.

Itchy skin is a sign of an allergic reaction which many women have had to this pill and to Yaz.

If your period also hasn't stopped, it is due to the change in hormones (Yasmin has extremely low doses of artificial/synthetic hormones -as are birth control pills are not natural, and they suppress your own natural hormones. Not good that your period has not stopped. Again, another sign that you should stop taking the Yasmin.

The feeling down and moody again direct connection to the loss of iron having your period for 14 days, the extremely low hormones that have replaced your own natural hormones.

Leg cramps are also not good-and could be a risk for thrombosis (common report and risk of taking Yasmin as well as other bcp's-Yasmin has a higher risk of this-clotting).

You know what to do. Just listen to what your body is telling you. You don't need a doctor to let you know that. There are many risks associated with this pill-just see all the notes on this site in the forum and posted side effects. There is also another site-Yasmin Survivors (link posted throughout this site) with many women that will support your coming off of it.

Jasmine

I was taking ortho-tri cyclen for 1 year with no problems, but switched to Yasmin on the recommendation of my dermatologist, because it has been known to clear up acne in some women. It has been just about one month; I only have a few active pills left and I am definitely going to switch back to ortho-tri cyclen. I have experienced awful mood swings and not to mention, my skin actually got worse! But the mood swings are by far the worst part-- I feel like I want to cry ALL the time, in fact there have been many mornings on my commute to work when I actually have cried-- for no real reason! Also, I feel extremely edgy- I feel angry all the time and the slightest thing irritates me (prior to this I have always had a relaxed, easy going personality). It dawned on me this morning when I realized I was muttering curse words to myself that there is a big problem! I have also noticed I haven't been able to focus at work. I hope that other people can recognize side effects they are experiencing and make the change too. Good luck!!

i was on yasmine for over 2 years. i then went to a new gym that suggested i go on yaz. i feel like i gained 5 lbs since i started yaz. now that i am off, this is my first month, i am experiencing a lot of hair loss from the scalp. does anyone know if this is a common side effect?
has anyone else experienced this????
i feel so helpless. i have made an appointment with my dermatologist for some remedies for the hair loss as well as an appt with my gyn to understand why and how this could be a side effect.

Hi all,
just reading the posts about acne. I suffered from this too after stopping the yasmin. I got spots around the side of my face and when my period was due they appeared around my jaw line.

I went to a dermatologist who prescribed me an antibiotic called tetralysal 300 and a gel called isotrexin. The gel is a milder form of Retin A. I cannot use retin A at all because it is a cream and it clogs my pores.I also have been using the skincare system called proactive. The best system i have ever used. You can order it online at proactive.com. My acne completely cleared up in about 8 weeks.

It is a very good combination. I had tried every other cream and lotion but they did not work. Or if they did not for long. My dermatologist told me that hormonal acne is one of the hardest to clear up but was confident that the treatment would work.

Flowerbabies about spironolactone.
It is recommended as a treatment for acne because it is an anti-androgen. I took it for about 6 weeks. I had to have blood tests regularly because it sometimes affects the liver. I started to feel very dizzy and tired. My doctor phoned me one day and told me to stop taking it immediately because of the blood test results. It had raised a level of something or other in my blood that was very dangerous. It probably doesnt affect everybody that way but be careful if you do start on it.

Because of all the problems yasmin caused me in the past few years i have done a lot of googling and asked a lot of questions. One thing i found out from my dermatologist was that hormonal acne is usually the result of low progesterone. That was the reason i was referred to a fertility specialist. After months of tracking my cycle to find out when i was definitely ovulating i then had my hormone levels measured at the correct times.
And as i wrote about last week i do have low levels of progesterone and estradiol which will be treated by hcg injections.

So maybe for any body here who is suffering from hormonal acne that is the way to go.

A gp will read results differently. To a gp and a fertility expert blood results have different meanings. My gp told me my results were normal but when i spoke to my fertility doctor he told me thay were very low.
So maybe it is best to go with the decision of the person who knows best.

I hope this is some help to those of you who are suffering from hormonal acne. It is very distressing and can make pms worse because of the anxiety it causes all by itself.
I think this post is very long and will take up almost an entire screen. Just thought i would share what i have learned over the last few months.
Good luck to all of you

Murph70

Hi everyone!

Since I've started taking Yasmin (about a year ago), I've had horrible itchiness all over my legs. Recently I went to my dermatologist and he diagnosed me with eczema! I am wondering if i go off the pill, will my eczema go away?? help!!

I am so happy to hear that I am not alone! I have been taking Yasmin for about 8 months and stopped taking it one week ago.

For the past 8 months, I have had the following symptoms:

* Sore throat in the morning (feels like I'm getting a cold)
* Extreme fatigue - there are days when I can't get off the couch
* General aches and pains
* Extreme bloating- I have gained 4 pounds since taking it but have been so bloated that I can't wear anything that doesn't have an elastic waste band. I am only 4'11", so these 4 pounds look like 10 on me!
* Extreme hunger
* Cramps when I shouldn't be having them

On a positive note, Yasmin did wonders for my acne. In fact, my dermatologist put me on aldactone, which is chemically similar to the DRSP in Yasmin. I hope to get the same results without the effects of the estrogen.

Here is my question for all of you.....

1. Did any of you experience weight gain/extreme bloating with yasmin?

2. If so, how long did it take until you started to lose this bloated feeling?

I have always been thin and have continued to exercise. I have been watching what I eat carefully, yet feel like I have developed a "pot-belly." I'm very frustrated and would appreciate your input.

Thanks,

Ann

I was put on Yasmin by my dermatologist to IMPROVE my complexion....get rid of facial hair and acne.
I've been on it 10 days....my skin actually has broken out more. And I FEEL nauseus....like I'm going to puke about five hrs after taking it.
I also have left side chest pains. What's going on?

Hi everyone,

I took Yasmin for about two years, with increasing severe side effects that finally caused me switch to another brand. Everything was fine for the first few months or so, then gradually I started experiencing symptoms that I would normally link to PMS, but I was having them all throughout the month. Each month it got worse and worse until I'd finally had enough.

My GYN repeatedly told me it was just taking my body a while to adjust to the medication, and to try to wait it out because I'd really like it once I got used to it, but after two years I figured I had waited long enough. It shouldn't take that long for my body to adjust!

I've been off Yasmin for about three months now and I have had a dramatic reduction in the symptoms I had been experiencing for about a year and a half. As I've previously said, my symptoms didn't appear all at once, but built up gradually over the course of several months. Specifically, my symptoms were:

*Extremely oily skin and really bad acne on my chest, back and face. When I say really bad, I mean it was worse than when I went thru puberty, which was pretty bad. The pimples on my face in particular were very deep and painful cystic acne, which is something I had not experienced before. I also broke out in weird places like my neck, around my ears and eyes and on my head (under my hair). And one time just inside my nostril. Ouch! I tried everything, including a dermatologist who advised Accutane (which I declined), nothing helped.

*My hair was also a lot oilier than normal. I didn't notice any thinning of the hair on my head, but I did notice that I was waxing my legs a lot less often, which was just fine with me. I have a lot of hair (genetic, thanks Mom and Dad!) and I usually get my legs waxed every month, but after I'd been on Yasmin for a while I was going almost four months between waxings. I have really thick hair on my head that grows like a weed, so it's possible that it thinned some and I just didn't notice. So that's one side effect that I really didn't mind.

*I started having frequent headaches that would linger for days. Not migraines, because I also get those from time to time, but a "milder" headache that felt like constant heavy pressure behind my eyes and all around my head. OTC meds were no help at all. I also had periodic cramps in my calves for no apparent reason (not due to exercising or injury).

*My breasts became swollen and incredibly sore. Again, this would occur all through the month. I had to buy a couple of new bras to accomodate the swelling and tenderness. I avoided any activity that would cause my breasts to move or jiggle at all, even walking briskly, because it was so painful. Showering was painful. Even wearing a soft tee shirt was too much sometimes.

*My periods gradually became heavier and longer, which is exactly the opposite effect from what I've experienced in the past with other BCP's. I also started having pretty intense menstrual cramps throughout my period and then at random times during the month. I would sometimes get light-headed when I was having these major cramps, to the point where I would lose my balance and fall or have to sit down immediately. Every once in a while, when I was having these cramps, I would experience a brief, stabbing-type pain that would literally take my breath away. My GYN was unconcerned about this, and told me that I was just having some side effects that would go away in time.

*I also experienced a fairly drastic increase in my normal vaginal secretions, all throughout the month. I started wearing panty liners all the time (which I'd never done before) and often changed my underwear in the middle of the day because I felt so gross. I sometimes carried an extra pair of panties in a ziplock in my purse. This discharge wasn't itchy or particularly smelly, so it wasn't a yeast infection or anything, just a lot more volume than usual. My GYN tested me for everything under the sun and everything came back normal. She told me it was "just my body adjusting" blah blah blah. At this point, I was really getting sick of hearing that phrase.

*The straw that finally broke the camel's back was when I started spotting all the time. With everything else, I felt like I was having my period all month long and I was miserable. I also had some of other symptoms, like anxiety attacks, insomnia, severe mood swings, foggy thinking, feeling tired all the time and feeling depressed but I have a long history of Major Depression, which I take medication for, so I attributed those symptoms to my existing condition. I can't say for sure whether Yasmin caused those symptoms, but I do know that they have pretty much disappeared or are under better control since I stopped taking Yasmin.

I've been off Yasmin for about three months now, and all of these symptoms I've listed are gone. My skin looks great, the enduring cramps are gone and my breasts feel normal again. Of course, my hair is growing faster again, but I'm willing to give up that one benefit in exchange for all of those symptoms being gone. I've switched to OrthoCyclen and I have not had any problems with it.

I'm sorry this is so long, but I needed to tell all of this to people who would understand what I've been through. I feel so bad for the women here whose stories are much worse than mine. I know everyone responds to medications differently, and Yasmin seems to work just fine for some women, but it seems to me that there are a lot more women all having problems and side effects. It can't be coincidence that we all have such similar horror stories about Yasmin. I guess the bottom line is listen to your body, and don't allow your doctor or anyone else to bully you into taking a medication that you know is causing you more harm than good. Thanks for reading my story and I hope we can all find solutions that will work for each of us.

Amy

I took Yasmin for only 9 days and was not happy with it. All week I have been moody and snappy, and having frequent crying spells. I didn't put two and two together until a few days ago I broke out in the worst acne I've ever had, all over my chin and forehead...and it's not normal acne, it ITCHES! LIke crazy. At that point I realized it was probably doing something to my hormones and that my moodiness was probably related. Throw in some sleeplessness and tripled appetite and that makes for a 'fun' ride. The irony of it all? I wasn't even looking to be on birth control as a contraceptive, I was prescribed it purely because my dermatologist said it would help with my acne. Ha. And here I am probably developing a face full of scars as we speak. Maybe for some people this pill is useful, but I'm seriously wary of how dermatologists prescribe this pill just for acne. It's not worth it.

Hey girls! Im SO HAPPY to have found this site, Ive been taking yasmin for about 3 months and during the past 3 weeks Iv felt horrible. At first I thought it was just a bug...but a 3 week bug?
I have constant nausea and I vomit here and there. I also have extreme headaches. I feel dizzy and my back and shoulder area and neck ache too. After reading this site Im 99% sure its the Yasmin. I confronted my dermatologist(who actually told me its the ONLY pill that lessens STRESS) about my nausea and he said theres no way its the Yasmin. ARE YOU KIDDING ME It says it in the pamphlet....some of the doctors today..
nobody should be put these side effects
they ruin you!
And the thing about it reducin stress
Ive yet to see

Ill probably finish up this pack and then keep you guys updated

I only started Yasmin last Sunday and I have never felt so awful in my life. Can the side effects work this quickly? I was put on it by my dermatologist for acne. I feel like I am living in a fog.......I can't concentrate and I've taken a nap ever day this week. I thought maybe it was the flu but the depressing feelings I'm having are definately not the flu. Is it safe to just stop taking it?

I've been on Yasmin for a couple of months, and I'm very happy with it. - No bloating or weight gain, my breats went up a size in the first three weeks and were tender, but the tenderness faded and I feel great.
My appetite has increased slightly, and water consumption - I have to be a little more careful in that I become dehydrated a little easier, do I drink plenty of water. It's cleared my skin up marvelously, and as a side bonus, I was booked in to see a dermatologist about hair loss, but since taking yasmin I've stopped shedding and my hair is actually growing thicker and feels softer.
I haven't experienced mood swings with yasmin, if anything it seems to be improved, particularly a few hours after taking the pill.
I do have to take them at night though, as I find it makes me a little sleepy.