Yasmin and heart problems

I am a new poster & am excited to be a part of this discussion !! I feel to close to this discussion because I have been experiencing the same issues.
I too have been having major chest pain issues for almost 2 months now. I started Yasmin (much to my dismay!) about 6 months ago. I haven't taken any b.c. since I was about 19, I am now 30, I started because my periods were absolutely unbearable anymore, intense cramping, heavy flow & in incapable of work/activity for the first 2 days. My doctor always pushed b.c. on me for the pain relief. Finally I agreed. I started in February, 2008.
Almost 2 months ago (7 months into Yasmin) I was getting a bit of chest pain along the ribs/inside of the side of the breast, mainly the right & sometimes on the left. I wasn't too worried as I am a healthy eating, yoga/work-out doing, average weight, no health issues what-so-ever except for my intense period kinda gal. About a month went by with increasing chest pain & I went to the hospital (up north at my moms when I was visiting, only an hour wait to get in as apposed to the 6 here back home!). My fear was heart problems. They did blood work & (I am not sure what this is called!) they hooked me up with tons of little stickies & monitored my heart. - I mentioned to the doctor I was taking b.c. & he said it wasn't an issue, they usually pose blood clot risk....not my issue here.
They said everything was normal & because of the sensitivity of the chest pain (it is sore to the touch!) he said it was costochondiritis, the inflammation of the chest wall. So I thought that was it, I would just take the Advil the suggested 3 times a day for inflammation & it would go away. I did this for 2 weeks & nothing changed.
I was getting some shooting pains in my chest & went back to my doctor, explained my visit up north & what they concluded it was. She said that the costochondiritis has made me sensitive to acidic foods, prescribed me with previcid for a week. That didn't make any difference at all.
Here I am another month later & my chest pain feels worse, my chest still feels tender to the touch, I am short of breath going up the stairs, heart racing/palpitations, gas (burping & passing gas), some upper back ache, I am feeling helpless & beat down !!
By now I'm sure there is a bit of anxiety mixed in there, I have been so sad, scared & worried!
I went back to my doctor & she sent me for an upper G.I. to rule out acid reflux & it came back normal. I also did some blood work again (which have since came back normal) & am waiting for the results. She said she doesn't think it's costochondiritis now. I am scheduled for an abdominal ultrasound & with a cardiologist (I go tomorrow) for an EKG for my heart.
Last night my hubby & I were talking, my co-worker was really upset to hear I've still been taking the pill, she thinks it's poison. I told my guy that & we got out the information booklet from my Yasmin & there were ALL of my symptoms, there was a list of 12 & I had 8 of them !!! No vision or numbness problems but all of the chest pain/breathing issues.
I took my last pill 2 days ago (it was my last before my period) & I have no plans to start again. I am going to follow through with the scheduled appt.'s just in case but my hubby & I have our money on the pill being the cause for all of this.
1 thing that gets me is when I went to my doctors with this issue in the beginning, not once did she bring up the pill or say to stop the pill. In the booklet under all of the symptoms I've been having it says to immediately stop taking the pill. ;(
After taking my last pill I felt a bit better (it's only been a week/my menstruating week), the sharp pain on the inside/side of my breast/chest has not been as sensitive to the touch. I still have had palpitations (minor, not lasting long - to lasting up to 4 hours until I just go sleep to try to get rid of it) & sparse shooting/dull/aching pain in my chest/armpit.
YASMIN SHOULD BE BANNED !!

Both my 19 year old daughter and my 30 year old step daughter were put on Yasmin. Both began having heart problems. The eldest had heart palpitations, a racing heart and dizziness. The doctor discovered that her potassium level had shot up and her magnesium was down. They put her on magnesium to help control the racing heart. It helped, but then she became pregnant and had to lower the dose. The 19 year old has had the worst side effects. She was fine on ortho tricyclene, but when her doctor switched her to Yasmin her blood pressure shot up to 170/118. She began having chest pain. We pulled her off the Yasmin, but she has continued to have uncontrollably high blood pressure. The doctor ran several tests and has found no underlying cause as of this writing. She began taking 5 mg. of Norvasc, but was increased to 10 mg. to manage the high blood pressure.

I have been on Yasmin for approximately a year and a half. And I had nothing to complain about,... it did do it's job, up till recently. I always got severe headaches on one side of my head, and I just thought that was normal. Furthermore, I had noticed an increased heart rate for a while now... but having heart problems as a child, I thought that was normal. Then I had taken 2 pills at once the other day, thinking nothing of it, and an hour later my heart rate was approximately 148beats/min. That is completely abnormal! I have been reading some of these posts and other websites, and I've noticed some other people noticed this too. I was wondering if there was anyone else?

I started on Yasmin a year ago because I believed the TV advertising. I had no noticeable side effects for several months, then began heart palpitations, anxiety attacks in the middle of the night, crying for no reason, severe headaches, and my blood pressure, which has always been low, skyrocketed to as high as 160/130. I asked my gyn if Yasmin could be the cause and he said maybe, so I took myself off it. I had to go on blood pressure medication, but I'm hopeful that after that poison pill is out of my system I can get off the meds. The doctor's office called yesterday to say my cholesterol was so high they wanted me to go on medication for that. I last had cholesterol checked in Nov, and it was fine. I've been off yasmin for two weeks and already feel more hopeful and less anxious.

I have been taking Yasmin for 1 year and 10 months. I have started having heart palpitations. I started noticing them in the evenings when I went to bed and in the mornings..now I notice them all the time. I just got back from the doctor and having an ekg, it showed the heart palps and he has referred me to a cardiologist. He advised me to stop taking Yasmin until my potassium blood level comes back since Yasmin can cause your potassium level to become elevated...thus leading to heart problems..

I feel horrible. Just the feeling of my heart "fip-flopping" makes me feel so weird. Waiting to see the blood work outcome...

I had been on Yasmine for about two years with no complications until last week. Last week my heart began beating extremely fast just while sitting at my desk typing. Later on in the day my chest began feelign tight and I had an "anxious" feeling in my upper body. At the same time my lower body felt completely weak- as if my legs could not support my body weight if I were to stand. Evenso, I thought nothing of it and just assumed my normal one cup of coffee just so happened to have a strong effect on me that day. The next day the anxious feeling and weakness had subsided but my left arm and hand were tingling. It felt as if they had fallen asleep and now had that "cotton" feeling. The next morning I lost all feeling in my left hand except for my first three fingers. This is when I began trying to figure out what on earth I may have eaten, where I had been, had i drank too much coffee, etc.

I rarely drink alcahol, don't smoke, have no family history of heart problems, etc. I don't take any other medications, I don't take vitamins, I dont eat strange foods, and exercise regularly. The only thing I could possibly change is my birth control. I immediately quit taking Yasmine and all problems disappeared in two days.

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I have just come across this site, while looking to find out why I have been experiencing heart palpitations for the past two months - out of the blue!!! and usually "exercise" induced. I had some tests and have been told they are Premature Atrial Contractions "PACs". I started taking Yasmin in April, after having tried others over the past year (tri-cyclen lo and alesse) which did not work for me as the progestin was not strong enough. I am in my 40s and never took the pill before. Yasmin was great, it significantly reduced my "physical" pms (severe inflamation, severe bloating, severe sore breasts) which I experience for 2-3 weeks a month. However, sometime in mid to late June, I started getting palpitations/tremors out of the blue. The first episode freaked me out and lasted for about two weeks. At first I thought it was allergy medication mixed with my thyroid med, which can happen - but I cut out the allergy meds and still got them. They seem to come about 6hrs to a day after I fexercise/figure skate and they last from 2 to 5 five days. It's very irritating and nerve wracking, and I feel very agitated. I am also out of breath more than usual when walking up stairs, a little light headed and have some tightness in the chest. My legs also are weak, which makes no sense given my exercise regimen. I then lowered my thyroid replacement from .125 synthroid to .100 - too much thyroid med can cause some palpitations. Anyone who has mistakenly taken a second thyroid pill having forgotten that they already took one will understand. Even with the lower dose I am still getting the palpilations. I am totally at a loss as to why all of a sudden this is happening to me (perhaps perimenopause??). I have had the odd flutter here and there in my live, but nothing like this. It just doesn't make any sense ag ll. Can one's health just change like this overnight?. I am otherwise healthy, slim, have "lower" blood pressure (apprx 100-90/70-60)I skate 3 to 5 times a week, I have a full time job and yes I do push myself, but this is getting ridiculous. The only thing I can attribute it to is the Yasmin, ... but my symptoms only started after a few months not instantly, whereas it would seem that most of the the women here noticed the side effects faster. I hate to stop the Yasmin because I will have to return to pms "hell", but I suppose I will give it a try to see if the palpitations subside. At this point, I have been offered a low dose "beta blocker" and have refused. I am stunned to think that all of a sudden I have heart issues, especially since my Dr has always kidded me my that I will never have heart problems with my blood pressure. I will stop the Yasmin tonight and post another message in a few weeks one it is out my system. Here's hoping it is the Yasmin.
KarenSkaterGirl

I'm another exmple of someone happy to have found this website and now off of Yasmine. I was on Yasmine for a couple of years with no problems or side effects until a couple of weeks ago I ended up in the hospital with chest pains. I'm 47, non-smoker/drinker. No family history of heart problems and not overweight. When the paramedics arrived at my house my bp was 210/189-it's usually 120/69. I spent the night in the hospital underwent multiple tests which all came back negative. I knew and told any doctor that would listen to me that it had to be hormonal, but I heard the same thing it seems they tell all of you with the same complaint. Anxiety attack caused by stress. I knew better, and did the research, found your site and called my gyn to tell her I would be discontinuing the Yasmine that day. We HAVE to be the advocates for our own good health. Thanks again for all of your contributions on this website-it's how I knew my gut feeling was right on.
Barbara

Flowerbabies:

You should check out if your magnesium level is low, that's what has caused my irregular heartbeat. Like I said in a previous post, I felt a heaviness in my chest as well. I finished my last pack of pills on Sunday and I will not be staying on Yasmin. I have never had any heart problems or health problems at all really until I started on birth control. I've read enough to know I don't want to wait until my symptoms get worse to figure out I need to get off of it. Hopefully my BP will start to normalize soon too. I'll keep you all posted.

Unfortunately, I had a severe side effect on Yasmin. I was on it for three straight months, pretty happy with the result. Lighter, shorter flow. Weak cramps and headaches were easily dealt with. However, I noticed an occaisional shortness of breath, and my heart would seem to skip a beat. Figured it was normal. It got worse, a whole lot worse. Turns out that I have severly elevated potassium levels in my blood, and I was well on my way to having heart problems.

I have NO history of heart problems in my family, and I am ONLY 21. Talk about being turned off of BCPs for Life. I encourage everyone to get off it.

Experienced immediate SOB upon taking Yasmin. Upon looking on the net discovered it increases potassium levels in blood of some individuals causing heart problems, etc. Changed to another BCP within 2 days and the symptoms are gone. My sister also had to stop taking Yasmin because of massive anxiety. Nurses told her to continue the pill for a month as the problem would go away. She switched to another BCP without problems. I hope this helps those of you suffering on Yasmin.

I have been on Yasmin for 2 1/2 years - and I always thought it was a blessing. I had very heavy, irregular periods before Yasmin, and now they are light and regular. The only thing that showed up on a test during the first year was a slightly higher triglyceride level, but it was still healthy.

However, last December I had what I thought was a heart attack. I went to the ER with palpitations, and they told me that I had high blood pressure, pulse, and low blood oxygen. After sitting in ER for about 30 minutes everything went back to normal, they said I had acid reflux and prescribed medication for that. The problems never really went away, and I have been to see my doctor at least once a month with different symptoms all the time. Before this I only went to the Dr once a year for my pap - I never got sick! Ever! She told me it was stress and anxiety, and didn't even look into anything else even though I insisted it had to be more than that. Every time I go to see her my blood pressure is always normal, as is everything else.

Sometimes when I am sitting at my desk at work or lying in bed reading I will start to panic for no reason at all and feel like I can't breathe, when if fact I have no problems breathing at all. I also get colds and allergies when I never had these problems before.

I'm not overweight, and I do cardio exercise everyday with no side effects so the Dr's rule out any heart problems. I never thought to blame Yasmin for my problems, and maybe I should make a switch to something else.

Has anyone switched to another BCP with better results?

hi everyone, i have never seen so many people that had side effects from birth control. i thought i was the only one gees!!

AFTER I HAD MY DAUGHTER IN 1997 I GOT ON DEPO, IT WORKED JUST FINE FOR ME FOR 7 YEARS EXEPT THE HORRIABLE HEADACHES AND THE WEIGHT THAT NEVER SEEMS TO COME OFF.

SO AFTER 7 YEARS I THOUGHT I WOULD CHANGE TO ORTHO TRI CYCLIN, TO SEE IF I COULD LOSE SOME WEIGHT AND FOR THE HEADACHES TO GO AWAY, YAH RIGHT, THAT PILL HURT MY BREAST SO BAD I THOUGHT I WAS PREGNANT AGAIN! SAME HEADACHES AND NO LOSING WEIGHT. AND TO TOP IT OFF I STARTING HAVING HEART PALPITATIONS THINKING I WAS HAVING A HEART ATTACK!

SO I CALLED MY DOC AND TOLD HER MY SYMPTOMS, SO SHE SWITCHED ME TO YASMIN, AND I'M STILL HAVING THE SAME SYMPTOMS ,THE OTHER STUFF I CAN DEAL WITH BUT I HAVE NEVER HAD HEART PALPITAIONS BEFORE. I THINK I HAVE HEART PROBLEMS AND I GOING TO END UP HAVING A ATTACK.

BUT AFTER HEARING OTHER PEOPLE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS, THAT SO CRAZY!!!!! AND OF COURSE WHEN YOU TELL THE DOCTOR THEY THINK YOUR CRAZY, THEY NEED TO PUT ALL OF THESE SYMPTOMS IN THIS FORUM IN THE INSERT FOR THE PILLS CUZ IF EVERYONE KNEW THE REAL SYMPTOMS OF THESE PILLS NO ONE WOULD TAKE THEM AT ALL!!!!

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING ! -NICOLE-

A couple people have wondered aloud here about whether or not they should quit Yasmin. I don't think you need to consult a doctor at all about this, just listen to your body. If you are having any of the emotional side effects (such as suicidal feelings) or heart problems, quit now! Fear about acne or weight gain or irregular periods is _nothing_ compared to cutting your life short! Plus, since most people wouldn't consider staying on Yasmin forever, realize that potentially the longer you are on it the more you will struggle with after effects when you stop taking it. That's my advice, anyway.

Hello,

My name is Noelle, and I had no idea all this information was out on yasmin and its side effects. I am 35, and had adult on-set acne, the obgyn said yasmin would be great. I took it for three months - until one evening I woke up with my heart beating nearly out of my chest! my heart-rate was over 240 a minute, started skipping in and out of rhythm, and my husband drove me to the emergency room. They gave me medication to stop my heart from beating completely, and then restart it again (which had to be given a second time at a higher doseage since the first time did not work). I have no history of immediate heart problems in my family, and have no history at all myself of heart problems - I walked out of the ER being diagnosed with PSVT. It is a condition they say I will have for life. I have been to a cardiologist, and still waiting for some tests to come back, but she too says I will have a choice of being on my heart medicine (beta blocker) for life, or having some sort of operation. I have no idea what happened to start this, and seeing as it happened at night, I became afraid to go to sleep. After doing some reasearch online, I met another gal who has the same diagnosis and linked it to her Birth control pill - the same one I started three months earlier - Yasmin. I too believe this was a cause of this pill. I have been off this pill now for about two-three weeks, and only one other episode of racing heart - and nowhere near what it had been, more like around 130. Is there anyone else out there who has been diagnosed with PSVT on Yasmin? It is nice to see that so many of you have symptoms that are now disappearing once off the pill.

Guest 6602, I was on Yasmin and had to stop... I posted here awhile ago about heart problems. I'm currently on the Patch... if you want me to tell you anything about it, email me at lucditiy03@hotmail.com

I was on Yasmin for a month and a half with little side effects (lack of sex drive, that's about it). After the middle of the second pack, I started having heart palpitations. They went away the first time.

The second time it happened, I had to go to the ER. My heart was racing 200 beats per minute! I had a spend a WEEK in the hospital. The only thing that has changed in my life was the birth control. My gynocologist said it couldn't be the Yasmin.

The hospital said I can feel free to quit taking the Yasmin (which I did) but they didn't know if that was what was causing my problems.

My friend is a pharmicist and she has found some possible links to Yasmin and heart palpitations. Someone on these boards touched on it... it had to do with postassium levels getting depleted by the Yasmin and the heart racing accodingly. There's a dieretic (?) in the birth control that is supposed to keep water retention down. But, it can deplete your potassium levels which can cause heart palpitations.

The doctors diagnosed me with PSVT. I have two follow-ups the next two weeks.

I think it was the Yasmin and I hope that since I have stopped, the heart problems will, too. I'm on four pills a day and I hate it.

I just happened upon this site and I'm so glad I did. I have been diagnosed with panic disorder when I have never had panic attacks in my life. I fainted in January and spent six days in the hospital undergoing dozens of medical tests only to find out I was having severe panic attacks. I was taking Yasmin for two months and went off cold turkey on January 10th. On January 14th was the day I fainted and all of the panic symptoms started. Be very very careful with this medicine. I had NO idea until now that my symptoms could be connected to the Yasmin. Like many others here, I have been tested for everything from heart problems to autoimmune disorders. This is the only medicine I was on. I am now having to take Lexapro since getting off of the Yasmin. I am 27 years old.

The difference with Yasmin is that it contains a different form of hormone...and the diuretic effect...this is why it is recommended that those taking Yasmin get regular blood work done...the diuretic will deprive your body of sodium..and potassium.....causing heart problems, arrythmias....leg cramping... I wonder how many people are getting their blood work done....Ive been taking Yasmin now for 8 months....the only effect I have noticed is that my sex drive has waned a bit....but virtually all BC pills do that....I dont think it should be banned because some people are having problems with it...its been a pretty decent pill for me so far...everyone reacts differently to medications...so if its not working for you, try something else...