Yasmin and diuretic

1. Blood Pressure 180/120 resulting in an emergency room trip
2. Weight gain of 25 POUNDS! Most/all of which was water and came off within the first week of being off from Yasmin.
3. Bloating and extreme water retention. See # 2.
4. Severe leg muscle cramping and foot pain
5. A mental feeling of not caring and general fogginess
6. Complete loss of libido
7. Acid reflux (probably from the diuretic in Yasmin)
8. General weakness in my muscles (there were times that I could barely open a revolving door).

I was on Yasmin for a year. I have been off for one month. I am still on blood pressure meds, but they don't think the Yasmin is out of my system. Has anyone else gotten hypertension from Yasmin and if so, how long did you have to be on blood pressure meds?

Some of my symptoms are getting better after a month, and some are not. If anyone is reading this to decide whether or not to take Yasmin, please don't. You may not have any symptoms right away and you may think you feel great, but that is the scariest part. When symptoms come on gradually, you hardly notice them until you are in the hospital emergency room.

I started taking Yasmine in 2005 and almost imeemdiatley I started to have severe anxiety, depression, no sex drive at all and worse of all extremely bad migranes especially a few days before getting my period and during. My life had to be put on hold when I had my period because of the migranes. I stopped taking the Yasmine 3 weeks ago because I just couldn't take the migranes anymore. I have noticed I have gained some weight, my skin and hair feels alot oilier, and my hair has been falling out more than usual which is kind of freaking me out, don't have mood swings. My sex drive has gotten better which is a relief. I still don't know if my migranes will have gone away during my period. I'm just curious can anyone tell me if these side effects (hair loss, weight gain, oily skin) will go away after a few months.
When I went off another type of pill I actually lost weight, why is this one different?

I'm wondering if weight gain is one of the side-effects. I haven't been experiencing all the other things talked about -- maybe I've been a bit more emotional than normal, but nothing extreme. However, I have gained weight and I think it may be a side-effect. Has anyone else had this issue with this pill?

I've been on and off of Yasmin for about a year now. It seems like every time I am on it and I have sex I develop irritation. I went to my OBGYN because I was scared out of my mind. I took every STD test you could think of and he finally told me it looked like I was having rough sex. I told him that my sex has not changed at all. I did an experiment and got off of it for a few months and didn't have any problems down there while I was off of it...but as soon as I got back on it I develop irritation after having sex. I also notice that my urine smells very different and I am thirsty all the time. I can never get enough water. I thought maybe this pill was causing me to have UTI's. Has anyone else had these problems?

All I have to say is that if you start Yaz and have any kind of leg cramping--see your doctor and insist they make SURE it's not a DVT. I started Yaz last Spring. I am 41 but I'm a fitness fanatic who doesn't smoke or drink. I have a very low resting heart rate and exercise all the time. One would think I'd be a likely candidate for success on Yaz.

I went to my regular doctor in July because I had had a leg "cramp" at night and wanted to make sure it wasn't anything serious. My "cramp" was not the usual tightening of the calf muscle. It was an achy cramp at the side of my calf. I hadn't experienced anything like it previously. My doctor assured me it was muscular so I ignored it and went on to have two or three more episodes over the next few months.

My last "cramp" happened 3 or 4 days before I had what I originally thought were abdominal pains. I woke up early one morning thinking I had the worst gas I'd ever had. I tried all day to make myself feel better (walking on the treadmill, drinking lots of water). Finally that night I went to the ER since I was supposed to board a plane the next morning and wasn't sure what was wrong.

After many tests, I was diagnosed with a blood clot in each lung. I was hospitalized for 5 days and am now on blood thinners. From what I've learned, athletes can be at a greater risk for DVT than the general public since low heart rates and dehydration can mean less viscosity in the blood.

Needless to say, I'm not a big fan of Yaz. I think the hormones combined with the diuretic wreaked havoc on me. I have a hard enough time staying hydrated as it is without taking a diuretic. Little did I know I was putting my life at risk by taking that little pill.

I took Yaz for 7 days. In that amount of time, I began experience the most horrific symptoms I have experienced in my life. They included: chest pains, nausea, vomiting, arm pain, and the feeling of imminent death (these caused me to go to the emergency room since they are classic heart attack symptoms for a woman); leg and arm weakness; lethargy; migrane; panic attacks; severe insomnia, diarrhea, and vision problems that caused my contact lens perscription to change and night time vision had profound halos when driving, etc. I was literally unable to stomach any normal food portions I was so nauseous. I normally run 3 miles and could not even make it to the gym for weeks. I was afraid to stay home alone with my 4 year-old and 17 month-old for fear something would happen to me while they were in my care. At the ER they found low potassium levels (which makes no sense given Yaz has a potassium sparring diuretic component). In another blood test, I had elevated iron, which I have never had previously.

I am 35 and have been on bcp's periodically for 12-15 years. I have never had any of these symptoms prior to this experience. I have never had anxiety, depression, or any other underlying health condition. I immediately stopped taking the pills once I made the connection. So far, my recovery has been slow, but at least it is improving. I resent that my ob/gyn and internist both said that the pill would be out of my system in 24 hours. The effects are clearly long lasting (I am approximately 7 weeks off of Yaz).

Finally, my eye doctor, of all people, said that he has seen and heard of people having problems similar to mine and that it was understandable that I would have anxiety when I felt like I was dying from a heart attack. No one perscribing this medication bothered to tell me of the diuretic component or any component that was going to affect depression. I am attorney and have always thrived under pressure, not turned into a panic attack ridden mess like this medication caused.

As for the previous post who stated these are common symptoms described by women, at 35, I know the difference between my normal body function and the hell that began when I started taking Yaz. Unless you have experienced this, then you clearly would not understand. I appreciate that Yaz and Yasmin have worked well for some, but that clearly has not been my personal experience. So, I write this not to discourage someone who has had a positive experience, but to provide support for anyone else who has suffered like I have.

There are a lot of negative experiences on here, so I thought I should share my positive one. I have been on birth control off and on for about 6 years. I was on orthotricyclin for the majority of the time-off and on. After getting horrible near migraine headaches on orthotricylin every Friday before my period for about 5 months in a row my doctor and I decided to try a different pill. I was on trilevelin (sp) for 4 months and gained a few pounds and felt easily irritated and emotionally different-just cried easily and not myself. I've been on Yasmin for a month and have had a great experience. I lost the water weight I'd gained and just verified with my boyfriend that my PMS was hardly even there. Everyone is different and has different hormone levels, but so far I am very happy with Yasmin. I've been migraine free tthe whole month!

Has anyone out there had an increase in urination? I started Yaz in Feb. and since then I've been peeing like a race horse. My OBY said it was probably an overactive bladder, typical for a peri-menopausal woman. I had tests for bladder infections and they read negative. I was in the middle of relocating my family across many miles and I just put up with the symptoms. Now I find out there is microscopic blood in my urine and I am scheduled for a slew of tests probing for tumors, cancers, polyps, etc. in my bladder and kidneys. My Dad had bladder cancer so I'm pretty scared. However, I am starting to wonder if there is a Yaz connection. I hate the thought of returning to periods where I couldn't leave the house because I was bleeding so much but all the risks here are scaring me. I don't have an OBY here yet but assuming I am not harboring cancer or an other disease (i.e., kidney stones) I think I'll go off Yaz. I already have horrible migraines and acne so I'm wondering if it will all get worse. My headaches are the same (2-3 times a month) with Yaz and my skin is better. It's been pretty good for water weight but as I said, I am in the bathroom way too much.

Hi. I just wanted to let everyone know what has happened since I stopped taking Yasmin 4 days ago. (I only took it for 2 months.) I'm still having heart palpitations, feeling of a lump in my chest, and still a bit dizzy at times. My ears kind of feel like when I'm on an airplane coming in for a landing when the dizziness comes around. I'm also still having an occasional urge to cough. I still have shortness of breath and it's very noticeable when I'm talking and saying a long sentence. I thought the symptoms would really decrease but it seems to come and go. I feel the palpitations more frequently during the evening hours. I don't know why that is though. All of this makes it really hard to concentrate a work. I was reading one blog that said to take extra magnesium and zinc. Has anyone tried that and is it effective?

I have been on yas since march of this yr. since then my weight has dropped bad. im normaly around 98lbs and at my doc visit in july i was down to 88! everyone is saying im looking skinny then normal. and i eat like crazy. does anyone have this prob? i didnt put it together till my friend said something about maybe side effects.

Hi everyone –

I read this entire thread (wow, but good read)! I will start with the positives and end with the negatives (and yes, I’m going OFF Yaz).

Positives I lost weight (flat stomach due to the diuretic) and spontaneous sex (but the tricky thing is, it takes away your libido or at least mine) – lost about 5 LBs and decreased appetite. 120 to 115 lbs and sometimes 112 – flexuates between 112-115.

Negatives
First month I felt VERY nauseous – took the pills at night but didn’t help. I had some stomach cramps which went away. I had severe migraines (one that made me vomit and I could not move & I was in such unbearable pain I thought I was going to die – seriously (stuck in bed all night – and yes the headaches did stop after 4 months). I felt “spacey” all the time (this was early on, went away) – Best way to describe this would be like drinking a glass or two of wine, I felt a bit numb. I would get as one poster described these brain spurts that zapped me with this dizzy thing that lasted seconds and would go away (nice to read that as I know I’m not alone). Another common side effect I still got up until the 6 month was my ears plugging up (usually in the morning) and it happened a lot and it was from the pill. I also had troubles sleeping and anxiety out of nowhere (all of a sudden I felt too nervous to walk in my bosses office, very bizarre). I had to go in the bathroom and breathe then felt ok.

The week before my period I am MOODY and ANGRY inside and it’s made me feel more withdrawn from my boyfriend. I was never a depressed person before or moody minus occasional crabbiness from lack of sleep or stress. I never had severe PMS to start to it did the reverse for me, made my PMS worse. I have only been on this pill for 6 months to by the way! Curious if it is true about the serotonin in this pill – if there is serotonin isn’t it supposed to make you happy, LOL so I don’t know how much that part is true. Guess I do better a la natural!

My libido is gone but only comes back during aunt flow when I’m taking NO PILLS and I feel happy during my period (and sexual) and my old self (go figure?). the thought of sex doesn’t cross my mind and trust me prior I was like a cat on a hot tin roof (in my 30’s afterall)!

I used to do Ortho for years with headaches but no loss of sex drive or anything then stopped cold turkey for a year. Prior to that I did seasonal and had some hair loss and a brown spot on my face due to the BC.

It’s really hard to find a specialist who really gets in the ins and outs of birth control pills. They should have a dr that works only on BC’s (sorry but most gyno’s don’t really know as they say “everyone is different which is true but c’mon, you guys are way more educated of the pro’s and con’s then they are). I went to see an OBGYN that said “that’s what happens in relationships, you’re libido drops” when I told her, I thought “huh” what kind of DR are you? My regular DR was way better informed but not a specialist (waste of my time and money)! She told me to stop having a period and to take Yaz continuously and gave me more free samples. Wonder how much the manufacturer is paying her? Makes me wonder. I prefer to have a period, that’s when I felt like myself again, ha!

I want lists and stats of all pills same with side effects and percentages of women who experience the same. I wish Oprah would do a show on this – anyone have any connections??? It should be called “Birth Control, what he manufacturers don’t want to tell you” basically you can have condomless sex but the catch is “ you don’t want sex” LOL

Thanks.
Peanut

PS The straw was last Saturday – I was so moody (5 days before aunt flow) and my BF thought I wasn’t into him anymore and I couldn’t shake the withdrawn feeling and today I miss him so much and can’t wait to see him Saturday and I will not be starting my new pack of pills on Sunday –we’re putting Latex back into business  until I research other methods, possibly nuva ring but who knows? Next 2-3 months I don’t want anything in my body besides food and weekend drinks, ha!

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!

I have been on Yaz for almost 2yrs. and having an issue a week or so before my period of my lower back being tight and extremely stiff where I sleep on my floor at night aroung this time. My Dr. gave me water pills to alleviate the pain. (doesn't work) Anyone else experiencing this?.

I have experienced a lot of muscle spasms, cramping in my calves while on yasmin (14 months). Has anyone

Hey Hill! So nice to hear from you again! :) And especially to hear, that you're feeling back to normal finally! I feel so happy for every one of us, who can say this after that nightmare...

Well, I'm feeling very down again at the moment. Since my period finally had arrived again in August 2006 (1,5 after stopping Yasmin!!!!...) I've been feeling worse and worse each month again. Two very bad colds in Oct/Nov 2006 also made it worse... It's not as bad as it was whilst taking Yasmin in 2004 and I so much hope, that it won't get that bad again...

I don't know 100% why this is happening again to me but there seems to be much more wrong as I thought and all the docs believed. In my family are already 4 stories of thyroid problems, so it might be, that I've been and still am also suffering from such problems without having known the last years... As I know now I never should have started any bcp, because that makes thyroid problems only much bigger... And Yasmin seems to have totally brought everything out of whack in my body with that diuretic and all that other "new wonderful stuff" in it...

So that's not very good news but I'm working on it and hoping to find a solution in the next few months. I've been given some thyroid hormones but I'm a bit afraid to take them (everybody who took Yasmin knows why...). I'm so done with going through another nighmare as 2 years ago...

But seeing that finally more and more women, that I had met 1 or 2 years ago here, come back to this forum and tell us, they're back to normal. This gives so much hope to all of us!! So thank you Hill for letting us know these great news!!

I wish you all the best for your future and your "new life"!! :)

hugs,
Silke

Ladies!! I posted here a few days ago...I had a horrible weekend-with the excessive fatigue and panic attacks...but I wanted to share what I have discovered. I strongly believe that all of us being on Yaz and getting totally screwed up-that our electrolytes are out of whack! And our mineral balance-which is essential to our overall well-being is completely messed up. I think we all have magnesium deficiencies!!! I am blown away by this discovery in myself- I hope you all can get some relief-there is this powdered magnesium supplement called Natural Calm and I took it last night and this morning felt like a new person!! I still feel a little strange but compared to the last 6 weeks, I feel like a new person-like my old self!! I could get into a Nutrition 101 lesson on the importance of balancing calcium intake with magnesium intake but I'll let you so the research. I also have a book called Prescription for Nutritional Healing (which is an excellent resource) and it stated that magnesium deficiencies are caused by (among many other things) birth control pills and diuretics!! and as we all know-Yaz is a terrible diuretic. Good Luck and I really hope this brings those of you who try this some (if not all) the relief you can have!! Just give it a try...worst case scenerio is that if you take too much magnesium you will have diarrhea- but that is not likely to happen-take it in a controlled way!! You simply mix the Natural Calm in hot water-like tea!! It's such a simple fix to such a complicated problem. Also, I went to the doctor yesterday and had bloodwork done...waiting for the results but she thought it was my thyroid too!! That's messed up...this stupid drugs has screwed our bodies up so bad...but we can fix them...let's have hope!! We just need to get balanced out again!! Take care
Kara

Hi guest 37943,

Wanted to let you know I have been off Yasmin in the past for a few months at a time. My doctor provides them for me from the drug rep, if the office is out then some of us patients don't get it unless purchased. My only negativeness about getting off Yasmin is the water weight gain, I feel so bloated. Otherwise, mentally and physically for that time being I am fine. I've had blood work done yearly and so far so good. I've never stopped midpack. I was off of them for 6 months one time due to anxiety attacks and was put on zoloft and stopped yasmin, I went back to yasmin and eventually stopped zoloft. My only complaint was the bloating, I missed the diuretic. Everyone is different.

Hi everyone!

Here is the update I promised. As you know, I'm off Yasmin for a month now and had to go get my magnesium levels checked. I was found to have a reading of 1.8 in December, I took 800 mg of Mag. Oxide for 3 weeks and it went to 1.9. I then started taking 400 mg and my latest reading was 1.7!!! Shocking. My doctor is concerned and sending me to a kidney specialist to see if I have a rare condition that doesn't allow me to absorb magnesium. My BP continues to be controlled through medication. It will not normalize until I get this magnesium problem under control.
I told my doctor I was off Yasmin and she was fine with it. I wonder if the diuretic in Yasmin has caused this? I wonder if it's still in my system?
I'll keep you posted.

37068

Go get blood work done and have everything checked... especially your magnesium. I was having really bad palpitations and it turns out my magnesium was dangerously low (magnesium is an important mineral for your muscles, regulates heart rhythm). You may be depleting your body of minerals because of the diuretic in Yasmin, but go get your blood work done to make sure that's what is going on. I don't know what effexor is.

I am no longer on Yasmin and have an appointment next week for my magnesium levels. BTW- I feel great, I take a magnesium oxide tablet every morning for now.

lulubae,

Without knowing how long you have been on yasmin, many women here, in over 3,058 results had trouble with libido. LIkely due to the suppresent of adrenal glands, the diuretic, and the change in natural hormone as Yasmin contains a synthetic homrone-drsp-a diuretic actually.

Without knowing how old you are, and having been on bcp's much of my life and now only coming to understanding the problems and risks and suffering from being on yamsin for only 1.5 years-its a hell of a pill-I'd reccomend diagphragm or cervical cap. Or practicing naturally by time of month.

the hormones and bcps just not worth the toll they ultimately take on your system. While its so easy to pop a pill every day, it really is, loaded with side effects.

Hope that helps. Read through this and anything you can find on bcp side effects. It adds up.

Hi IPJ!!

Well, thank you so much for your post!! It's another peace of hope for me and I think for many others also. Here in Germany the health system is not very comfortable these days so you sometimes really have to "fight" to get any kind of bloodwork done because everything seems to "expensive" to the docs...

So I didn't get my magnesium levels checked, yet, they always just did the "normal bloodwork" and simply don't know how my magnesium levels are. I always just felt the symptoms of magnesium deficiency (muscle problems, racing heart and palpitations, muscle hurting and so on...) and expected that the Yasmin and its diuretic had caused a magnesium deficiency (as I read from so many sites!!) in my body, too.

I'll have another bloodwork on Friday (had an appt. with my fam.doc yesterday and told him about my again upcoming symptoms), hopefully he'll find something.....

I wish you all the best IPJ and keep us posted!!

Silke

Guest, #36427-

Based on all the troubles you are experiencing, I would strongly urge you to read through as much of this website as you can as well as the site Flowerbabies set up. Her link is below. There isn't one woman who has taken this pill who hasn't experienced very serious debiliating side effects.

Long short of it, many of us are struggling to heal multiple symptoms that have occurred while being on it to include extreme fatigue, exhaustion, low levels of magnesium and inabalances of electrolytes and potassium due to the diuretic in this pill.

More and more women are being pushed this pill. Doctors make money off it prescribing it.

You sound like you are already going through so much. I can tell you, after two and half years of being on it, it completely messed up my body and I have heart palpitations and pain I never had.

hi tabbycat.
please don't be scared just be aware. for some people yasmin is the best thing ever for others it is not. i am not sure why doctors keep insisting on changing our pills when we are fine on the ones we are taking already! the only thing i can say is try it but take a good multivit with b6 and b12. tale a cal mag supplement also. drink plenty of water as yasmin has a diuretic built into it. and most importantly watch yourself for any changes,any strange feelings,anything out of character. if you feel bad in any way stop it and go back to your original pill. i am not sure if it bad for the majority of people. i would guess not as it has been approved but it can be bad for some people.
good luck with whatever you decide to do.

sarah

SARAH: syberlib, #35391

HOW DID YOU KNOW YOU HAD A MINI-STROKE? WHAT WERE YOUR SYMPTOMS PRIOR, DURING AND FOLLOWING? Were you diagnosed and if so what were the tests they conducted?

I feel so sorry that you were on this pill since it came out. 2001 is when it was approved in the U.S. and now it is being sold like crazy-heavily advertised.

I started Yasmin in January 2004. I went off in September 2006 so I was on it for 2.5 years. It was originally prescribed for me for anxiety interestingly enough because so many women here reported problems with anxiety while on it and then getting off of it.

I got off following 4 months of increasing chest pain. Started on the left side and then a month later, traveled across my chest and another month later primarily on my left side. This occurred usually the week just prior to my menstrual cycle so I expect that it has something to do with the hormone level changes just prior to the menses.

While on Yasmin, it made me so exhausted, I would shower and feel ready to go right back to bed. The Doctor recommended I take it at night so I did and it made getting up in the morning that much more difficult.

I went to the bathroom excessively due to the diuretic in Yasmin. no matter how much water I consumed, I constantly felt de-hydrated.

I had incredible fatigue while on Yasmin. My ears stopped up to the point of being painful and noticed right after I would take it that my ears would "pop" like they do on an airplane. This would last for 1-2 hours following taking it. I saw a hearing doc who told me that they've known for years that Ortho-contraceptives are odo-toxic meaning that they are toxic to the fluid levels of the inner ear. The inner ear consists of potassium and sodium fluid, so due to this pill's naturally increasing potassium levels, it made sense although a pharmacist, the prescribing Doctor and RN I saw to have an EKG done did not know this.

I've been off now for 3 plus months. However, to ease symptoms, I went onto Orthocept from September through December. Although some of the symptoms got better, the chest pains still continued to come the week before my period. What I want to know is how one knows if they are suceptible to a heart attack or stroke. The RN told me the EKG was normal but confirmed a returning heart murmur I had had years prior. When I was originally told I had this murmur back in 1999, a Naturopathic doctor said it was due to having low progesterone and said that it would likely go away on something like Orthocept. It did. However, after 2.5 years on Yasmin, it came back.

FOR EVERYONE WHO HAS POSTED OR IS NOT POSTING ON THIS SITE-I HIGHLY RECOMMEND KEVIN TRUDEAU'S BOOK ON NATURAL CURES. I'VE BEEN READING SECTIONS OF THIS FOR MONTHS UNTIL MY BROTHER GAVE IT TO ME FOR MY BIRTHDAY THIS MONTH. HE BASICALLY TAKES THE POSITION THAT ALL PRESCRIPTION DRUGS AS WELL AS NON-PRESCRIPTION CAUSE ILLNESS. DEPRESSION. ANXIETY. YEAST INFECTIONS. FATIGUE. MUSCLE SOARNESS. YOU NAME IT. EVERYTHING I'VE READ TO DATE I'VE KNOWN AT AN INTUITIVE LEVEL. THAT BASICALLY, MUCH TO ALL OF SCIENTIFIC MEDICINE-THAT IS PRESCRIPTION AND NON-PRESCRIPTION TREATS SYMPTOMS AND NOT NOT CAUSE AND CREATES AN IMBALANCE IN HEALTH THAT LEADS TO OTHER HEALTH PROBLEMS. I THINK THAT THIS IS BASICALLY TRUE AND I WOULD HEED WARNING TO ALL WOMEN SEEKING RELIEF FROM ANTI-DEPRESSANTS OR ANTI-ANXIETY MEDS. THEY ARE DEADLY.

IN ADDITION-EVERY WOMAN I KNOW HAS INCREASED ENERGY AND IRRITABILITY JUST PRIOR TO HER PERIOD. IT IS A NORMAL RESPONSE TO THE CHANGE IN HORMONE LEVELS IN YOUR BODY DURING THIS TIME. I USUALLY FIND THAT INCREASING ACTIVITY LEVEL, LOTS OF EXERCISE, AVOIDING CAFFEINE AND SUGAR ARE CRITICAL AND RELIEVE MOST TO ALL OF THESE SYMPTOMS.

The other thing I would like to mention is that sensations of feeling "blue" or "sad" are just as normal as feelings of bliss and happiness. We're raised to think that we are supposed to be these jolly all smile faces and if you aren't' "happy", that something is wrong. So, I'd just say, that while some diagnosis about imbalances may be very real, I'd recommend doing alot of reading and research prior to putting anything else into your body or taking any other medications. They all likely cause other problems.

I am, after all this time, quite disturbed by this and what I expect are millions of other responses by people taking an array of medications that cause such severe symptoms and sometimes death. After 6 years on the market, how its still being pushed so heavily. If you read Kevin Trudeau's book, you'll see that much of the pharmaceutical and medical industry isn't concerned with treating the cause of your symptoms, but instead recommending medication after medication to treat the symptom.

Exercise and stress relief as critical as a healthy diet which today has become more and more difficult to create and make a discipline with lifestyle but it is absolutely critical. All these pills, I believe are wreaking havoc and hell on people all over the world.

Kim,

I totally agree with Sarah! And another thing: You should really try to stop caring that much about what others say or think about you!! One very important thing, Kim!! Only you can feel, what you need right now and if it's the Lexapro, than you should try.

And as I know, what we all are or were going through I'm sure, that you're not weak, if you don't get through this nightmare without help!! Looking back I really don't know, how I stood all this without medication (ok, besides my Valerian, which I had always with me for about 6 months, just to know, that I had them with me, most of the time already helped....). And believe me: Some days I thought "Please give me ANYTHING, I WILL TAKE IT, I can't stand this any longer!" And I think the only reason, why I nevertheless took nothing was, that I knew, that my body didn't tolerate this kind of medication.

Everything went even worse only after taking one of that pills (they tried to put me on an antidepressant in hospital because of my very bad constitution!!)... But this also happened WHILST TAKING YASMIN! So it might be, that my body would react different about that stuff today...

Kim, I wish you best of luck, that the Lexapro will help you somehow through those hard times. But nevertheless I'm also sure, that you won't have to take it over a very long time!!

Sounds very interesting, what your pharmacist told you! One thing I found out first about Yasmin and bcp in general: They deplete you nutritionally, which makes things as anxiety, weakness, dizzyness and everything else definitely much worse!! And I think the fact, that makes Yasmin even worse than other bcp is that diuretic in it!! The more water we loose, the more electolytes and vitamines we loose!! And I wondered for so long why I had to get up sometimes 2 times at night with an urge to urinate.......

Best wishes to you Kim and all the others and keep it up!! We're all on the right way, I'm sure!!

Silke

hi guest 32977,
hi, a couple of things jumped out at me there from your post. The no sex drive is really common on many brands of birth control but one of the quite often mentioned side effects of contraceptive pills (especially yasmin) is the vaginal pain.This could be because the hormone levels are not right for you and cause the vagina to atrophy (ie become tight and dry) as happens during and after menapause.that is why some ladies have problems inserting tampons etc. the other thing that jumped out at me was that you said you had kidney surgery. have you checked that it is ok to take yasmin,did you have your pottasium levels checked? yasmin is a pottasium sparing diuretic and is not recommended for people with kidney problems. also you mentioned anxiety????? has this just begun whilst you have been on yasmin? you may find that once you stop taking it (if you choose to) that the anxiety will vanish on it's own. so many ladies have ended up taking meds for the anxiety when all they needed to do was stop taking the pill.
good luck to you whatever you decide.

sarah

I took Yasmin for the last 2.5 years. Over time, I came to recognize major side effects that I am still very concerned about to include: Popping of eardrums. Exhaustion. Sensation of paralysis following taking it and lying down. Constant running to the bathroom to urinate (due to droperinone which acts as a diuretic), developed heart murmur and pain across my chest (squeezing sensations). Major change in vision in the right eye within 6 months. Painful pressure in both ears due to this pills increase of potassium in your body. Ears would pop for two hours after I took the pill.

I have been off of Yasmin for 2 months, initially went onto its sister/cousin Yaz and felt just as terrible so I went off of that as well.

A Hearing Aide doctor actually told me that oral contraceptives have been known for a long time to be "odo-toxic". Which means-toxic to the inner ear. How come prescribing Gynecologists, Doctors and pharmacists don't know this?

The synthethic hormone in YASMIN AND YAZ -dirosperone increases potassium levels in the body. Inner ear is composed of a potassium and sodium fluid. An inbalance in this fluid would likely cause pressure in the ear. I had to learn the majority of this information from people other than the prescribing doctor, an RN or the pharmacist.

Hi Sarah,
Thank you so much for your post. Finding this site was such a blessing to me. It makes me angry how the doctors act like it's not from the pill and it's us. I was really beginning to think it's me. Thats why I have so much anxiety because I think if it's not the pill it must be something serious. It's all starting to make sense now. The body jerking at night scares me but I done alot of research on potassium and magnesium and found out that the diuretic can cause this to become unbalanced. Potassium and Magnesium play a big role in muscle spasms. I wonder if that could be what is causing the jerking. Also I know that the anxiety is not helping. It's terribe. I feel shaky and anxious all the time. I am going to get my blood checked this week along with my thyroid because I have a feeling its is hyper active now. Another symptoms I just linked to going off the pill is my skin is so oily and my hair. My gosh my hair is so yucky. I never had this problem before. It's so oily. I just want to be back to normal again. Does anyone have any recommendations on how much magnesium to take? I just started taking a b-complex vitamin today, along with a cal-mag vitamin but there is only 350mg of magnesium. Does that sound too low. I am hoping that will help with the muscle jerking at night. Last night I had to take XAnax to go to sleep. I really did not want to but it was either that or I was going to land up in the hospital. It did work. Slept for 8hrs and today the axiety is curved. I guess I am going to have to do whatever to get through these next couple of weeks. I am taking a very low dose, hopefully the vitamins will kick in soon. talk to everyone soon. Thanks for the support

In addition, wanted to mention that Yasmin's ingredients act like a diuretic. I lost about 5 lbs as well but I also had to run to the bathroom constantly. All around, I am quite concerned with having been on yasmin for the last two years. I was exhausted all the time. So much so that I had to take it in the evenings. I also discovered over time, I lost all my energy. I would want to go right to bed after taking it. Per my first entry below, I had substantial vision changes, developed a heart murmur and am still trying to figure out what the squeezing sensations/pain in my upper and across my upper chest are. Birth control pills are very serious things. Although they have come a long way since our mother's time, hormones are incredibly powerful and they come with risks and side effects. I am relieved to be off of this pill now however I am concerned about having the other symptoms checked.

Hi BitterRN!

You can't imagine how good it is to hear from you. I've been thinking about writing to you the whole last week, because I thought you could be the one to help or tell me your opinion about all that...

You've caught me in a very bad constitution... I had a cold about 3 weeks ago and since then I feel VERY tired, weak and drained out again. And I don't have to tell you how worried I feel, that all the nightmare from 1,5 years ago could start again....... My muscles feel weak many times a day, sometimes I feel tired like I could just lay my head down on my desk and so on...

My theory: I think this is another proof for the fact, that Yasmin had drained my whole body over those 5 long years taking it!! In my opinion a very big amount of my problems since 2004 were and are due to a hormonal and metabolism chaos!! I feel, that the diuretic in Yasmin had flushed many many of vitamines and minerals out of my body which always then got even worse, when I had a cold (with fever and as a result sweating in a very heavy way) or I had stress or in hot summers, when I was sweating more than usual!!

I started taking Yasmin in 2000! The first problems accured around April 2002! I felt weak and dizzy and just not like myself and got the first panic attacks out of nowhere!! Ok, after a months lasting docs odyssey no one found out anything wrong with me!!! So I went on and hoped everything would get better by itself. I never spent a thought on the fact, that perhaps my BCP could have given those symptoms to me!!!

Things did get a bit better again within about 9 - 10 months (I think the drained storages of vitamines and minerals had been filled up again within that long time by itself!!) But very important: Since then I never felt that healthy and fit again as I was BEFORE Yasmin!!! So I always had shortness of breath. Climbing some stairs made me gasping for breath, a thing I never knew before in my whole life!! Sometimes I felt a bit dizzy now and then and so on.

Ok, I had another bad cold in about April 2004 and during the year, especially during summer (it was a very hot summer here!!) I started getting fainting spells just like "OMG, I have to sit down or I think I'm going to faint". Those spells got even more often as the year went on.

Then in ends of September 2004 I had another very bad cold (lastet about 3 weeks!!!) with losing lots of sweat. And after that cold went away I never got on my feet again!! I felt weaker and weaker as months went on and in december 2004 I had a complete breakdown!! Things have never been the same since then!! What followed was a living nightmare for about 7 months with 100s of doctor's visits and hospital visits, on January, 1st, I was brought to the ER by an ambulance and so on....... No one found out ANYTHING!! Only one doc (an neurologist) made a test, which said, that something in my body and metabolism was definitely wrong and not normal. From this time I started researching about vitamines and minerals in the internet and found all my symptoms, which are typical especially for a loss of b-vitamines and some minerals like magnesium, zinc and so on!

Then in February 2005 I luckily stumbled on this site and immediately went off Yasmin midpack!! The following 3 months were even a bit harder then the months before, because my hormones where completely out of whack after taking BCP for 10 years (the last 5 years Yasmin). But then things started getting better and better month by month. Very very slowly but surely!! Yasmin didn't drain out my body any longer and so the storages could fill itself up again with vitamines and minerals step by step.

So I think, that now the storages are low again because of that cold I went through 3 weeks ago and the symptoms come up again. I have to mention that I didn't take the supplements very regularly which, I think, was very wrong.... But I'm so afraid of ANY medication since my experience with Yasmin...

What do you think about that story BitterRN?? Could this be an explanation for my again upcoming problems?? Should I forget my anxiety and take that magnesium and b-vitamines??

I feel very down and anxious. I don't want to land again where I was 1,5 years ago!!!! I don't think I could cope with this again............

Ok, you've asked about my cycle.

Yes, it seems to get very regular in the meantime. I had the first bleeding in starts of August (very heavy and long lasting bleeding!!). The second in starts September (only 3 days spotting) and the last in starts of October (about 5 days spotting, only a bit heavier than in September).

And another thing: I always get sore breats around the 20th of a month!! I could set a clock after this!! Then always around 2nd/3rd of a month the bleeding starts or "tries" to start. I also still have those "more difficult" (anxious, dizzy, bad skin with lots of akne, more oily hair, hair loss, etc.) times around ovulation time and starts of my period.

That's how things are going today. I just hope, that this will ever have an end and I will be able to live a normal life again.....

Oh, and NO, I didn't take any other BCP ever since stopping Yasmin and I SURELY NEVER WILL!! I'm done with every form of artificial hormones for the rest of my life (I'm 32).

You mentioned some "news", I'd love to hear, what you found out again!!! Your posts always have been so helpful to me!!

Best wishes and many greetings!!!

Silke

PS: SORRY that my posts always get that long and if perhaps my English is not perfect, but it's not very easy for me to explain all that stuff and I try my best to find the right words!!

Oh My Gosh...I'm in tears reading through everyone's posts on this forum. I started taking Yasmin 3 months ago and noticed small changes in my state of mind within the first few weeks. I think you can always expect this when changing pills so reassured myself I would get better. BUT...about 10 days ago, I experienced the onset of depression and anxiety...neither of which I have ever suffered from before...I feel completely detached from life..I'm not necessarily always sad, I'm just completely indifferent to everything and everyone...I feel like I'm being pushed through one day to the next but for absolutely no reason...I feel numb and don't know how I'm going to fill my time... One minute, I feel so blank that I have no emotion about anything...the next minute, I'm crying over the silliest things. I too had the awful feeling that my relationship with my husband was wrong because I felt no better when around him and this made me worry even more. In my more rational moments, I realise that my feelings towards him haven't really changed at all as I do still love him, but that disappears as soon as I am on a low...when I am in that state of mind, I just want someone who has been through this to give me a big hug and tell me it gets better. I have also experienced chest pains, muscle spasms (in my arms and eyelids) and am currently being monitored for my excessively high blood pressure (also something I had never had trouble with before Yasmin) I am in the process of sorting out some counselling for myself but will also stop taking Yasmin as from now. I know that my state of mind could be due to something deeper, but nothing changed in my life to trigger this except Yasmin. Having read everyone else's posts about Yasmin, I am going to come off it so I can rule it out of the equation..maybe it isn't really to blame, but it's a big coincidence if not.
Good luck everyone...I'd love to hear from anyone who can relate to what I have written...

Claire. Leeds. England.

Thanks for the response i have had, I find it amazing that a pill can be doing so much harm to so many women and most doctors not believing that it could. Thankfully we have a doctor that thinks maybe it is, because he knows that the pill has been responsible for causing depression and mood swings although he was under the belief that yasmin has a good reputation. My daughter has decided to not take any contraceptive pill for 3 months and then look at trying something else, so we can only hope that condoms are reliable.
She has just had a great week, she looks happy, has enjoyed work, she is extremely lucky that her bosses are understanding, they have been fantastic to her.
I do believe that maybe the diuretic in yasmin may be causing all these side effects or it could be the different type of hormones that are in it, god knows what it is but it will be interesting to see if any of the other little problems she has had for the last 2 years disappear.
Another problem she has had which we dont know what the cause is pain deep in the vagina when inserting a tampon and having sex, she has had a vaginal ultra sound and tests done for infections and diseases but nothing has been found wrong, she is meant to go to a gyno but hasnt as yet because of the depression/anxiety , we have been so busy trying to get her feeling better in herself but that will be the next hurdle. I would be interested to know if anyone else has had this problem while taking yasmine.
In time hopefully she will be able to get off the lexapro, it has been great reading all the other postings, they have helped us realise that the side effects from yasmine vary so much and that things that you think couldnt be caused from the pill possibly are.
Thanks so much to everyone for helping me understand a bit more about yasmin, it looks like my daughter is very much on the improve, we just hope she keeps going like this. Depression is such a dibilitating illness that many dont understand, the doctors kept saying that something must have happened to my daughter to cause the depression but she couldnt thing of anything, little did the doctors realise that the something was probably yasmin

hi maggie,
yasmin and many other brands of birth control pills can have a negative effect on serotonin levels in the brain,if you have a problem with depression already then birth control pills will probably make it worse. if you just stop taking the pill then you will probably have a "withdrawl bleed" after about 4 days but that is probably the lesser of the 2 evils. your depression could well get worse if you stay on yasmin for the rest of the pack. get yourself a good vitamin b complex with some additional B6 and magnesium and drink loads of water,yasmin has quite a strong diuretic in it which is great if you suffer from water retention but can cause havoc with your psychological state if you do not drink enough water,again depleting your serotonin levels by becoming dehydrated. i drink about 2 - 2.5 litres of water a day. i am sure that once you stop taking the yasmin your moods will lift up again.

Please post this on your site for Yasmin side effects.
Thank you for your site. I've been informed my reading it.

I've taken Yasmin for 3 months. Initially had mild nausea taking the pills but solved that by cutting pills in half, and taking half in the morning and the other half with dinner.

However, I haven't been able to solve my SEVERE THIGH and LEG MUSCLE CRAMPS that initially occured daily and particularly nightly. Just like a 'charley horse'. Now I have these only once every 3 days, but it is very annoying and painful to be jumping around on my leg or trying to stretch my thigh, or hamstring, or shin muscle out.

I've read that Yasmin is unique in having a diuretic component to it. Has anyone else experienced these severe skeletal muscle cramps (not uterine or period type cramps)?
If so, have you found any supplements that help, such as Potassium, Calcium, or Magnesium. Please write me at ****** if you have info.

My history is I'm a 50 y/o female with slight anemia from heavy periods placed on Yasmin to control this. I'm a vegetarian who has never had problems in the past taking several different kinds of OCPs including Loestrin. I take no other prescriptions medications or supplements. I have never had skeletal cramps other than maybe once a year prior to taking Yasmin.
Thank you

@ Guest 20952:

Well, after only 1 1/2 years ON Yasmin I would surely have said the same things as you do now! I never expected to go through that hell I went through after 4 (!) YEARS on it. And after my first fainting spell and really severe panic attack it still took about 4 months for me to realize WHAT really was causing me such pain and torture (well, I never expected MY Yasmin to do such things to me!! I swear!!)!!

So please be careful and watch your body!!!! If I would have done that and would have found this site earlier I'd surely gone off that pill much earlier and perhaps wouldn't have gone through all this agony I did for the last 2 years!!!

It seems as if in some woman the side effects occur slightly over the years because Yasmin has this diuretic in it which slightly causes an imbalance of electrolytes and vitamines in your body. So it may help, to always drink enough water and perhaps take some supplements like magnesium and so on during times, you are sweating more than usual (a hot summer's day, during workouts, during illness with fever (like the flu or a cold, etc.)).

Everyone out there: Please be extremely careful with that drug, even if you seem to be ok at the moment!!!

Remember I was very well on that pill for over 3 years until everything hit me at once!!!

Greetings
Silke

4 days post Yasmin and besides the cramps from spotting already I'm feeling 10x's better. I did start detoxing at the same time and drinking a lot of water. I think that may have helped. I had a headache the first day and chest congestion for a couple of days as well which subsided quite quickly. I've had the energy to work out a couple of times a day and can already see the swelling from the water retention going away. I was very depressed and moody, anxiety for a few days and although I am feeling better today I will continue monitoring that. I also take Spironolactone which is the diuretic in Yasmin but only blocks excess testosterone made by the body that affects acne without all of the other hormones or adding any extra. So far I believe it is all going well. I have not found a bc that has ever worked for me and do to the fact that I was using Yasmin to control cysts and acne rather then birth control, I guess I will just suffer through the monthly pain that comes with the cysts rather then go through using this bc or any other again. I wish everyone the best who is continuing their use of this and to those who are trying to stop.

Hi Guest 20121,

I too am looking into other BC options and after the Yasmin hell I went through, I am very weary of bcp. However, after hearing about all of my awful side effects from Yasmin, my gyn suggested I take Mircette (Kariva is generic version). Apparently it has less estrogen and, of course, does not contain a diuretic like Yasmin.

Has anyone heard anything (positive or negative) about Mircette/Kariva?

Thanks to everyone for your posts and encouragement. This website has truly been a lifesaver for me!

Gina

@perrythorobred:

You should try some Magnesium supplements.

Yasmin is causing a severe loss of elektrolytes and sometimes even vitamines. That's absolutely sure!! The diuretic in Yasmin diswaters your body daily and messes up your metabolism extremely!!

You should search google about the symptoms of a lack of magnesium!!. I'm sure you will find many of your symptoms there (such as headaches, nervousness, leg spasms, and many more)!!

All the best!!

Silke

Hey Rita!!

Thank you so much for your post!! That sounds very interesting and could be a solution for many of us. But I'm really afraid of perhaps again not finding the right doctor, who finally admits that our problems (I'm off Yasmin for over 1 year now, and still not 100% back to normal life......) are connected and brought on by Yasmin...

Exactly as you told, my gyn told me last year around july (had a blood test done there) that my hormone levels are "pretty" normal, though they were at the edge of what's normal (totally low)..... But I know, that this is already enough (hormones at the edge of being too low) to cause severe problems!!

I feel a little encouraged now to go and search again for an endocrinologist who could perhaps help me, too. I also have to mention, that I still didn't get my period. I had only one normal period around easter 2005 after getting off the pill!! So there definitely IS a connection between my still lasting symptoms (sometimes dizzyness, a little anxiety, a little weakness and so on, though everything much lighter as it was last year!!!) and my hormone levels, which are obviousely still messed up.

Did your doc tell anything further about that dehydration and the effects of that diuretic in Yasmin?? I would be so thankful to hear, if he thinks that this stuff could have caused my very heavy muscle weakness and muscle aching during the last year (has eased up but is STILL not completely gone!!).

Well I think that the dehydration brought on by that diuretic is on the other hand causing a heavy loss of vitamines and electrolytes. That could be an explanation for the fact, that in my case (I guess many other women would say the same) the symptoms slowly increased over the years and always got a little worse while I had some illness like a flu or such or while I was working out (because of the sweating)...

Over summer 2004 I got weaker and weaker and after a heavy cold with fever and sweating over 3 weeks in october 2004 i broke down completely with muscle aches, weakness and dizzyness and many more symptoms......

Sorry, if my posts always get that long, but I'm still searching for reasons of my severe illness I've been going through and which has lasted for over 8 months (that were only the hardest months... There were another 12 months where I didn't feel really fit and already had problems....) and is still just very slowly getting better...

God bless you all!!

Silke

Hey Ladies,
I've been reading your posts of the last few days and feel compelled to write again((I posted last week). I have been working with a naturopathic endocrinologist for a little more than a week. He explained exactly what b/c pills do to your system; forgive me if this has been said before! Basically, the pills fake your body out into thinking it's getting PROGESTERONE, but in fact, it's getting PROGESTIN, which is a synthetic hormone. So, your body "thinks" it's getting enough, or possibly too much PROGESTERONE, so it begins making more ESTROGIN, which is one of the major culprits for many of our "ill effects" as he calls them. Yasmin, as you know, also has the diuretic in it, which actually dehydrates you and you really have a hard time catching up and getting rehydrated. I actually saw a "mainstream" female endocrinologist first and she said all of my hormone levels were NORMAL. When I saw my new dr., he said my levels were at the LOWEST end of what's considered normal, which is considered pretty bad by those that really understand these things. I encourage everyone still suffering to have your hormone levels tested; the saliva test is apparently pretty accurate, if not, a blood test works too. I' m now taking at least 15 supplements 2X/day in addition to progesterone cream to get my hormone levels back to normal. This is after having only been on the pill for 5 mos and OFF for 8 mos. The damage can be quick and unfortunately, long lasting without some kind of intervention. I'm feeling better already and the swelling and bloating is starting to go down. The weight gain is creaping downward but that's better than not at all! If anyone would like information on this send a general email and I'll respond personally.

Blessings.
Rita

Hi Hill!!

Yes, I hat that swollen ankles, too!! I remember last summer one day we were going out for dinner and I wore some high heeled sandals. While we were sitting there at the restaurant I suddenly felt, that my feet were somehow hurting and looked down on them: I nearly screamed as I saw, that they were so swollen that they were pouring out of the sandals. That looked very horrible and I never had experienced that before!!

This lasted over the whole rest of summer and during the wintertime. Only since about 2 months it's slowly getting better and my ankles go finally back to their usual look and especially my feet stay IN my shoes and don't come out without being asked to do that!! :) Sounds funny, but it isn't really, I know!!

Just wanted to let you know that even this symptom is just another nice Yasmin withdrawal effect and can last a while but will go away for sure after that Yasmin stuff is finally completely out of your body!!!

Remember Yasmin has that diuretic in it which diswaters you all the time during taking it. So I think it's pretty normal, that, if we suddenly get off that Yasmin and diuretic stuff, all of our cells (they are somehow dried out all over the years) are absorbing all the water they can get. I think if our bodies get used to "not being diswatered every day" again, all of the swelling (and I had and still have that all over my body!!) will go back. Well, I hope so.... !!!!

All the best!!

Silke

UPDATE

I stopped taking Yasmin April 2005 after being on it for 3 years. The my dehydration levels are just abut normal but it took 8 months to get there. The other symptoms went away after 6 months. Thank G-d I am back to normal.

This is my original post while I was taking it. I cant believe I wrote it! If you have horrible side effects they will go eventually when you stop taking it.

""I have been taking yasmin for over 3 years. I suffered from painc attacks and anxiety about 10 years ago, I thought it was beacuse I was in a stressful relationship, but looking back I was on the pill so maybe that has something to do with it!

Anyway the first 2 years on yasmin was fine, the only side effects I had were spotting and leaky nipples(what the hell!).

During that time I had occasional anxiety, frequent asthma, mood swings, depression, insecurity, lost my social skills, became extremely sensitive, no sex drive, fatigue and constant dehydration. I had no idea that any of the above could be side effects. My doc told me there were no side effects, but thats not what it says on the leaflet

Anyway the last couple of months I have has the worst anxiety, panic attaacks, severy dehydration which can lead to a migraine, zero tolerance to salt, severe social phobia, weight gain, sever mood swings, have fallen out with half my family, inability to concentrate, blurred vision, fuzzy head feeling, no motivation to do anything, don't go out and don't know what the hell his going on!

I have 2 wondeful kids and an amazing husband. I stopped yasmin 2 days ago for good. I feel poisoned. I had no idea yasmin was a diuretic and thats why I have suffered from dehydration.

This is the wierd thing, yasmin was fine for 3 years then all my side effects became much worse in one go. I just want my life back. ""

It scares me to think that I was taking something that could mess me up so bad. I use the diaphragm now which can be a little inconvenient but at least my hormones are normal.

Hi dianamal!

The best advise anyone can give you is:

Get off Yasmin immediately!!

I wish anyone of those doctor's would have put 2 and 2 together and recoginzed that early, what was wrong with me!! I think your doc is absolutely right with his opinion!!

As I know now, Yasmin is causing a very heavy loss of minerals and vitamines in your body (well, every bcp does but Yasmin in a very special and heavy way, because of the diuretic "spironolactone" in it!!!), which doesn't show symptoms at once, but very slightly more and more over months and years!!

In my case everyhing began after being about 2 - 3 years on Yasmin! I suddenly became terribly tired, the way, where I thought I would fall down to the floor and fall asleep immediately, I got muscle cramps, muscle hurting, dizzyness and many more symptoms. But NO ONE thought about that wonder pill Yasmin!!! I had thousands of tests done but none of them brought out, what really was causing me such heavy health problems!! They thought it was just an unspecific virus and I had to wait and see, if it would get better as months go on.

And so I went on an on without knowing, what my body already was going through. I just thought, I HAD somehow to get through and go on, but never felt really healthy again!!

Then after about 4 - 5 years on Yasmin (during 2004) everything got worse and worse... Within one year I became weaker and weaker, always very tired, the dizzyspells got almost unbearable, I was very often nauseous without any reason, etc. Then after a heavy cold (I was ill for about 3 weeks and had sweated profusely during that time.... and without knowing that therefore I lost another amount of minerals and vitamines...).

Another 3 horrible months later (I got weaker and weaker month by month!!) I broke down completely with anxiety attacks, heart racing, hurting muscles, muscle cramping, muscle weakness, dizzyspells, fainting spells, and many many more in December 2004. I thought I was about to die.... And no one was able to find out, what was wrong with me!! Until I finally came to an endocrinologist, who admitted, that such heavy symptoms COULD be caused by a bcp and I just had to try and get off it immediately.

And you know what? Bingo!

Now 1 year later I'm feeling so much better. It was a very slow process and a very hard way getting here, I just felt better month per month very slowly with many setbacks and am still not back to 100% but I'm able again to do whatever I want without breaking down completely. And it all got that bad because I didn't know for so long, what Yasmin was already doing to my body and I went on taking that sh.... every evening...

So I just can beg you: GET OFF THAT YASMIN STUFF IMMEDIATELY!!! You got the chance to prevent that my and the story of many other women here will happen to you!!

I don't want to frighten you, but prevent you from experiencing the same hell that many of us did!!!

All the best!!

Silke

Okay, today I picked up my new prescription that will enable me to get off Yasmin in four days, after a whopping three weeks on it (my last active pill is this weekend.) I hate this pill. I have not been on the pill in several years, at which time I was on Alesse (symptom free) after two other attempts at other pills. I have a history of fibrocystic breast pain, which means that my cyclical breast tenderness, swelling and pain is worse than the average woman's. About a month and a half ago I decided to start BCP again, and at my exam my doctor was about to prescribe Alesse but then suggested maybe I should try Yasmin, because it supposedly is a really good, mild pill for women with bloating and breast pain like I have and was comparable to Alesse as well. Supposedly, some special hormone acts as a diuretic.

Um, wow, how wrong he was! Day one and day two were actually fine. A little touch of nausea but that's all. Then day three and I started to notice the problems, which have been drastically increasing in severity each and every day since:

Breast tenderness has now turned into extreme breast pain and bloating.
Unbelievable fatigue.
Absolutely no energy (and I am an extremely energetic, healthy woman.)
Loss of sex drive (just what I need in a new relationship, right? Thankfully my boyfriend is extremely understanding.)
Foggy feeling in head.
Anxiety.
Turned my regular period (which I was in during my first week of active pills) into a full week of breakthrough flow that was VERY different from my normal menstrual flow.
Yeast infection (although that may be a relapse of one I had before I started this pill).
Depression.
Irritability.
No desire to exercise at all (I love to swim and I can barely drag myself to the pool!) I just want to lay around.
General "not right" feeling in my mood and head.
Cramps all month.

I called the dr's office at the end of week one about the breast tenderness but was intercepted by a nurse who insisted I give it a few months. I was willing to at the time but the other effects started to take hold after that and finally yesterday after three calls got my own doctor on the phone, who, after hearing my list of symptoms, didn't even argue with me and immediately wrote me up a new script for Alesse which I picked up today. I find the better doctors are the ones who accept that your body may not be adjusting well to a particular pill and willingly change your prescription upon request. That's how I found Alesse years ago, after trying to others. I was pretty much problem free on Alesse.

I cannot wait until this Saturday, my last Yasmin tablet!

to gigi:

Yes, there are many women here on this site, who have experienced weight gain after stopping Yasmin!! I've posted several times about this here. Perhaps you should read more posts on this site, it really might help!!

But I'm not sure, if it's really good to take another diuretic against the water retention now. You should know, that Yasmin's hormone "drospirenone" is very similar to a diuretic named spironolacton. So all of us were taking a water pill with our bcp without knowing for a long time.

And everywhere I searched in the internet and even asking my doctor brought out, that a withdrawal effect of diuretics is more water retention then before taking such pills!!! Thats the explanation for the massive and in most cases immediate weight (or the better "water-") gain many of us were experiencing after stopping Yasmin!! My weight gain doesn't seem to look "normal", too, it looks just like every cell of my body was filled with water, a really unnormal look (and I swear before Yasmin I was a very fit, thin and good figured person!!). Everybody who knows me and especially has known me before this Yasmin desaster tells the same!!

So I and even my doctor think, that it might be better to let your body recover first before taking another chemical against the weight gain and especially going on diswatering your body with a diuretic. You might not get out of this vicious circle if you don't stop every medication that is diswatering your body!!

I know (and I mean I REALLY know!!) what it means to go through this massive weight gain (I had gained about 30 pounds after getting off Yasmin without eating more or doing anything else different than before and I went up 2 sizes in clothes, which was and still is really shocking for me!!! I SWEAR!!) without being able to do anything against it unless my body hasn't fully recovered from this Yasmin poison, yet.

But the only chance seems to be to give your body and all the diswatered cells the time they need to get back to normal by themselves!!!

Please think about that and probably talk to your doctor!! Not every doctor knows that the drospirenone in Yasmin is working like spironolacton but it really is!!! If you have any doubt about that, you might search google or anything else about drospirenon and diuretic or spironolacton. And you'll find out, that all the effects we are now experiencing (even the muscle fatigue in my case or cellulite and so on) are the same as you get if you have taken any diuretic or especially spironolacton!!

All the best to you out there and everybody stay strong!! We'll be better and pretty again some day!!! ;-)

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone has gained weight when they stopped taking Yasmin. I have been off for about 6 weeks and have gained about 5lbs., with no change in diet. I exercise and it does not seem to be coming off, I feel bloated all the time. The Dr. gave me a diuretic that seem to work okay but I was wondering on the average how long it will take for my body to get back to normal. I am very frustrated

@guest 13099:

I completely agree with sherry!!

Perhaps it might help you a little bit to read my post Nr. 12857 (page 4 or 5 on this site) where I had written my and my family doctor's theory about this extreme weight gain after getting off this horrible pill.

A few days ago I got even water in my feet (they looked like they were completely pumped up with water and even poured out of my shoes, I was so shocked!!!) which I never had before in my life!!!

Yesterday I found a website where the effects of diuretics were reported (Yasmin, or better the drospirenone in it is very similar to a diuretic named "spirolacton"!!! and so this pill diswaters your body the whole time while taking it!!!). It was very interesting to read, that if you get off such water pills your body may retain the more water than before taking the water pills. So it's pretty normal how some of us are "bloating up" I fear... :-(

I just hope (and my family doctor also thinks so!), that if I give my body enough time to recover, all this water and bloatedness will go away by itself when everything in my body is working normal again.

So there is hope for all of us but we need much more time and patience!!

Hi guest 13001, Hi sherry, hi everybody!!

Well, thanks at first to sherry for reporting your experience with the water pill. I'm so sorry, that it didn't work for you. You said you were only one week on it; should it help within such a short time? I would wish for you, it would help maybe after taking it longer because I'm at my wits end at the moment, too and really know what you're going through!! I feel terrible!!

Looking into a mirror is absolutely horrible for me, going out for shopping or even do some garden work if some of my neighbours are in their gardens, too, seems to be so frightening for me because I'm so ashamed about how I'm looking now and I don't want anyone to see me in such a shape...

I really have gained about 20 pounds after getting off Yasmin within 3 months!!!! I swear I wasn't eating more or doing anything different than before. Don't know what to do now, because I look like I'm pumped up with tons of water and all this doesn't seem to go away....

To Sherry:

I've been on Agnus Castus for nearly 2 months now but I can't say that there are really big noticable changes in me. Ups and downs just like before Agnus Castus, the water didn't go away and the mood swings and anxiety neither. But it all got less month by month just like the months off Yasmin before Agnus Castus.

Well, many women and doctor's say, that you have to take this medicine much longer (about 3 - 4 months) to feel some really noticeable changes. So I think I'll give it another chance and take it 2 months longer. It didn't do any harm to me so far, so what have I got to loose??

After lots of research in the internet I'm now taking other supplements, too. At the moment such like potassium, Magnesium, zinc (can help to bring your normal cycle back!) and b-vitamines (very important for nerves and muscles!). Yasmin can cause a lack of these minerals and vitamines (caused by the diuretic in Yasmin!!) and too low levels of all that can cause the muscle fatigue, anxiety, depression and so on. All the withdrawal effects off this horror pill... So perhaps it maybe another chance.

Many women I've met in the net got a prescription by their gyn of Agnus Castus combined with zinc, selen and b-vitamines which should help to get your hormones back in balance and lessen all the other symptoms. Well, it's a little hope, so I'll just try it!!

But deep in my heart I just feel, that it will take much more time for me, than it already did, to get back to a normal life... I really had been taking this shit much too long...

So please every woman, every girl out there: If you have the SLIGHTEST doubt about how you're feeling on Yasmin and if there is just ONE little side effect: THROUGH YASMIN AWAY IMMEDIATELY and search for another birth control. There are so many ways to do that; the little positive effects of Yasmin (well, my skin had really gotten better, that's all... wow!!) are not worth risking your health or even your lives in such a heavy way!!! I still don't know, if I will ever get back to a normal life, on some days I still just can't believe that I would...

All the best to everyone out there and keep us updated, "After Yasmin Sisters"!!! It helps so much!!!

Big hugs and greetings to all of you!!

Silke

@ Guest, #12837 (water retention):

I've got the same problems with water retention after Yasmin and I'm feeling horrible. Looking into the mirror shows a completely other figure and person as I was before this horror trip!!

I had been thinking about a water pill, too, but at last I figured out, that perhaps it would be better to wait on and let my body recover by itself. And in my family doctor's opinion all the water will go away when my body is back in balance after this Yasmin horror. Surely it may take months to get there, but after I had been putting so much Yasmin poison into my body for over 5 years I don't want to go on taking chemicals and perhaps making it worse and worse...

Yasmin has got a diuretic in it. So during taking Yasmin your body got diswatered every day and every day. So I suppose that after getting off Yasmin all the cells of your body, which had gotten used to being diswatered all the time, are now absorbing the more water they ever did before just like a dried out sponge!! Perhaps that's the reason for this horrible bloating of our whole bodies.

Another way would be to get your potassium levels checked. Low potassium levels also can be causing water retention and many other symptoms most of the women here are suffering from after Yasmin. I read, that Yasmin interferes your electrolytes, minerals and vitamines and in some women in a very heavy way. So after getting off Yasmin there may be an imbalance in all that too!!

Other things that should be checked out (or by yourself taken as a supplement) is your blood levels of magnesium, zinc, b-vitamines and potassium (as already mentioned above), cause Yasmin can cause a total lack of all that and that can cause many of the withdrawal effects of Yasmin as anxiety, lack of energy, muscle fatigue, nervouseness, depression, and so on!!

If you're not sure, if the mentioned happens to you, too, you should search the internet for symptoms of that mineral- and vitamine lack. Perhaps you may find a solution for your problems there!!

For that reasons at the moment I am taking agnus castus to get my hormones back in balance (didn't have a period since easter this year!!), magnesium, zinc (which can help to get your normal cycle back, too!!), potassium and a complex of b-vitamines in hope to help the after Yasmin symptoms to go away (still got muscle fatigue sometimes, nervousness, anxiety and a little dizziness, but all in a very low way, not at all as heavy as during taking Yasmin!!).

I hope my little researches can help some of you getting better again soon!!

We'll get our lives back, believe it!!! It just takes very much patience from each of us and big support and understanding from our family and friends!!

All the best and a big hug to every Yasmin victim out there!!

After reading the post by guest 12715, I did a search on symptoms of low potassium and this is what I found

Weakness, tiredness, or cramping in arm or leg muscles, sometimes severe enough to cause inability to move arms or legs due to weakness (much like a paralysis)
Tingling or numbness
Nausea or vomiting
Abdominal cramping, bloating
Constipation
Palpitations (feeling your heart beat irregularly)
Passing large amounts of urine or feeling very thirsty most of the time
Fainting due to low blood pressure
Abnormal psychological behavior (depression, psychosis, delirium), confusion, or seeing or hearing things (hallucinations)

Sounds like the list of symptoms some of us are experiencing.
Since Yasmin contains a diuretic and diuretics are a cause of low potassium this kind of makes sense. Might be worth getting it checked out. I have been off Yasmin for 6 weeks now and I'm still experiencing nausea, tiredness, abdominal bloating and thirst.