Yasmin and having children

Hi all! I am actually really glad to have found this site, i've been on Yasmin for 2 years now. I have been on several different bc pills before this but I was told by my Doctor that Yasmin would be better for me as my weight fluctuates terribly. Normally after being on the same pill for about a year my body starts rejecting the hormones. However, Yasmin has sent my body into overdrive, I feel ill all of the time, have constant headaches, break out in rashes at lease once a week and my sex drive is non-existent. I have also been experiencing extreme pains and my stomach bloats to the size of a football (seriously!) about a week before i'm due on. My periods have also become heavier and extremely painful in the last six months. After reading all of your posts i'm feel happier knowing i'm not the only one and that its not just my body! I am definitely coming off this pill now! Has any bc pill worked for anyone?? I guess i'm going to have to try different things now. However i've heard such bad things about the injection and the implant. (My nurse said they could prevent me from ever having children? - I'm 20 and have my whole life ahead of me. This is the last thing I want!) Thanks again! xx

I've been on Yasmin for about 3 1/2 years and had nothing but GREAT experiences. My face cleared up (not that it was ever bad though), I lost weight and it elevated my mood and evened out my mood swings. My husband thinks it's the greatest thing ever. One thing I do find interesting, however, is that I have been experiencing more headaches the last year or so. I never thought it was related to Yasmin and neither do my doctors (other than the week I go off of it to have my period and my hormone levels drop). I have stopped taking Yasmin this week as we will be trying to conceive soon. For any out there who are nervous about starting Yasmin after reading these posts, please know that all types of birth control will have side effects. I have had a great experience on Yasmin and so have some of my best friends.

I have been on Yasmin for about four and a half years now. I just stopped taking it because my husband and I want to start having children. I have noticed some horrible side effects. I am SEVERELY bloated, irritated at everything, and even more depressed. I also have headaches all the time. My mind races and I can't control my thoughts. Has anyone else experienced this? I am so glad I found this site. I was really getting down on myself over the past few years because of my depression and anxiety. I even had to go on medication. I have never been like this before so I was so confused as to what was going on. Now I see that it may have been linked to Yasmin. My doctor always asked me how I was doing on it and I never made the correlation between Yasmin and my downward spiral of health. About four months ago I started to get migraines about everyday. I went to the doctor and they did an MRI on my brain. They found lumps in my brain. Not cancer but just lumps. They just come and go. And when they come I can tell because of the debilitating migraines. I wonder if someone else has had this? I don't know if there is a connection but I am not ever going to take Yasmin again in fear of the cause. My doctor said that BC can be linked to migraines. Thank you for making me feel that I am not alone. I should make my husband read the comments on this site so he can see it isn't all my fault that I get moody!!!

I came across this site last week after finally getting fed up with vaginal dryness/painful intercourse that my obgyn couldn't explain. (She put me on yeast infection medicine..but obviously, that wasn't the problem.) It hit me all at once that my weird, very uncharacteristic crying spells (ex. unable to complete sentences without feeling like tears are welling up)....to extreme anger and a flared temper....to a recent fainting/diarrhea spell...to overnight changing my feelings completely on having children, to hating my job!! (I mean really...my feelings are ALL over the place.)I've never been one to blame things on others or for this matter, a pill. But I realized that a lot of my strange personality changes may really be attributed to the Yasmin. I have had insomnia for the last 4 months...which I've also never ever experienced before. In general, I've become a worrier and feel all around numb and no love for myself or my boyfriend. And for no reason. It's putting a real damper on our relationship actually. I told him about this site and explained what I've been dealing with...silently for the most part because I thought it was just me. So I guess we'll have to wait it out....I started taking Yasmin in November 2005...and now in retrospect...can start adding up small changes to my personality starting back in Feb. 2006. My last pill was this Friday. I'm day 6 off Yasmin and have my period this week. I am not going to go back on the Yasmin this weekend. (after my period ends) I'm afraid to go on any hormonal birth control because of the way this affected me so badly. In a way, I feel like I may have never been "myself" around my boyfriend. We started dating in Dec. 2005, and I had started it a month before. Does this make sense? I had been on OrthoTryCyclen a long time ago....and remember when I moved to England...I got off of it and felt as though my feelings in general went from black and white to colorful and vibrant. I think I'm going to explore non hormonal options from here on in. I've done some research on IUD's. In particular, the copper IUD.
Anyway, sorry for the ramble ladies. My point is to say thank you for speaking up. I come and look at this site everyday to just remind myself that I'm not alone. And that I can look forward to feeling myself again one day. And mostly, that feelings of butterflies and happiness will come back to my relationship with my boyfriend. Who is simply wonderful. Just a fantastic guy.
Keep those chins up ladies!
Vicki

Hey Everyone, I'm really sorry to hear about all the problems everyone is having. I feel fortunate because mine aren't as severe as others. I do have mood swings, at times I feel like I am totally out of it and in a numb state, other times I'm very energetic and have a super HIGH sex drive. I refuse to take any medication except for a daily viatmin and fiber for IBS (which I think was caused by BC) I know that it's just a matter or clearing these darn hormones out of my system, then everything will be back to normal!

twogirlsmom- keep your chin up! I find that doing yoga and exercise helps a lot, I start my day off by doing that. I also have refused to sleep any longer than necessary, otherwise I feel tired and depressed all day. When I feel panic coming on, I use all my internal power to ignore it and quickly find something else to focus on such as the TV, music, cleaning, reading, etc... You will be fine in time!

Oh yes, I am strongly considering an IUD, my husband doesn't like condoms that much, either do I, and I definitely need some form of birth control. I also do not want to consider the morning after pill, I don't believe in that. Has anyone had an IUD prior to having children? How was it?

Thank you to everyone who has been so sincere and honest in sharing their experiences while using Yasmin. I am the proud mama of three beautiful children and I began using Yasmin on the advice of our obstetrician last month. We had been relying on a diaphragm, but recently I was more nervous about the timing of an additional pregnancy. I told our doctor that I felt the birth control pill had been negative for me in the past and suspected it was linked to a depressive episode nine years ago. He was very dismissive of this and told me that "the pill" has changed considerably. I was shocked at how quickly I felt side effects. I have been exhausted and have started experiencing severe heart burn (I even thought I was having a heart attack) almost everytime I eat. I was also still nursing my 17 month old son and my milk supply has completely gone away. For nursing moms...please be aware of this potential problem. My doctor did not inform me of this before I started Yasmin and I feel a bit regretful that my nursing relationship with my son ended on those terms. QUESTION...for those who have stopped taking Yasmin...what alternative methods of birth control are you exploring? My husband and I are not 100% that we are finished having children, but definitely want some control over that decision! My doctor is also advocating the Mirena IUD, but I am fearful that it will have the same effect.