Yasmin and lack of sleep

ANOTHER UPDATE:
Hi again, I posted on the 12th and the 15th I was on Yas for a week, noticed a bad change of moods etc.
well here's the time line....
I got my period on Saturday Aug. 4th and started the pill on the 5th. I stopped taking it the 13th or 14th So I was on it for 8-9 days. Well I am spotting heavily and have major cramps which all started the 17th. And while reading the new posts and seeing how people are complaining about migraines I REALIZE ME TOO! I got a migrane on Thursday night the 16th at work. At first I thought it was due to lack of sleep, work or having had taken a late lunch.... fine I go home go to bed. Wake up early still had the migrane but went back to sleep since I didn't have to be at work until late. Headache was gone when I woke up again. But I've been feeling a little discomfort in my head very slight. I's like a ball was rolling around in there and any sudden movement would hurt a little as if the ball bounced against the walls. Anyway today the migraine came back full force same place. Right side of my head like a pin has been inserted from the back to the middle of my right eyebrow. Has anyone been feeling like this? And I am spotting and have very very bad cramps. I dont know whats going on if it's me having a bad week or if it has anything to do with this damn pill. Anyway thats it, sorry if I'm rambling a bit I am having a very hard time trying to express myself with my head pounding.

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!

Where do I begin??? I have been taking Yaz for six months. Migraines! The worst migraines ever, I cannot function for one full day and sometimes more, the pain was so intolerable.

Hives! For the past two months, I keep thinking that I had a food allergy; even my doctor diagnosed it as that. After going to the allergist, I was told that I have developed an allergy to the Yasmin pill. No part of my body has been discriminated with this medication. Hives from the top of my head, in my eyes, right down to the bottom of my feet! This has been the worst experience of my life with this pill.

Fatigue to the extreme! I fall asleep sitting up and never feel rested. Yaz has caused me to go up two cup sizes so far, I went from being a 38C to a 40DD and I can't fit into anything. My boobs are sore a lot.

Weight gain, at least 20 pounds heavier. Nausea; Indigestion; Diarrhea & Constipation; Decreased Sex Drive; and Mood swings; Uncontrollable Rages; Severe body aches; Hot Flashes/Chills; Crying Spells; Blurred Vision; Lack of Concentration; Trouble sleeping; Dizziness; Shaking; Restlessness mainly after 9pm when I should be winding down to go to bed; Terrible night sweats; Never ending cravings for junk food; Inability to cope with stressful situations; Feeling of being inadequate; Can’t concentrate; Gassy; Hate family & partners; Irrational.

I have been taking Yaz for the last five weeks and I have experienced horrendous psychological side effects. I thought that they would even out so I decided to constinue taking it, but I have only gotten worse. I am experiencing anxiety in the form of panic attacks, lack of sleep, inability to eat, and depression. I encourage anybody else experiencing these symptoms to post them as well, as doing research on the web helped me to identify this drug as the problem. I visitited a new gynocoligist in New York City two months ago who prescribed this drug without telling me that it had been designed to battle severe PMS and emotional symptoms. I am appalled that he did not tell me this when he prescribed it, nor the fact that it had just been introduced to the market in 2006.

Kim,
BitterRN here. You stated in an earlier post that you have some xanax but that you took one and it helped but made you feel foggy. You know you can cut one of those tablets in half and just take half of it or even cut one in half and then cut the half in half again and just take that quarter of it. It might help take the edge off and help you to sleep better, which you really need right now because the lack of sleep is making things worse. Please note that kava kava and valerian should not be taken with xanax because it increases the CNS depressant effect. What is the mg dose they prescribed you?
BitterRN

Guest 20168--Guest 20077 here...thanks so much for your response. I am really overwhelmed at all this though... it's crazy how many women are listing their problems with Yasmin. Don't you think there should be something done with it? I do, just don't know how. I'd like to see how many women there are that do not have problems taking the pill. I just found out that quite a few of my friends take the same kind, and one didn't have any side effects...the other didn't have any problems when taking it, but said that after she stopped with the pills, she did feel better--more energized, motivated, more like herself. I am utterly frustrated at everything...and not just because the pills are making me feel that way. You read about the situation I had with the doctor...I have been seeing a counselor/phsycologist about the lack of sleep issue, and she doesn't seem to think it's Depression, as she says that people who are depressed think they are... I'd say I'm depressed, but that's not more than feeling down every day. She says she hopes to find the truth behind my problems... and I said I hope that depression isn't the truth and that it's just something simple, like Yasmin. All this just because I can't sleep. Before taking Yasmin, actually, as far as I could remember, I had a hard time with sleeping. Even as a little kid...but with this birth control, something with many great benefits, I've become exhausted, angry, frustrated, tense, anxious, stressed, overwhelmed, etc. All that. As the Doc has said, "You're depressed. Come back in 3 weeks." Yea, and about those antidepressants...I don't mind taking pills...I'd rather take an antidepressant to feel better than be taking 7 or 8 different sleeping pills in one night just to find sleep. No one seems to understand, or seems willing to understand, besides women who post on websites. Thank Heaven for you ladies and thank heaven for caring families. I wish I could show them Me...who I really am. I wish I could see who I am and feel just like me.

I am into the first week of second pack. Have not been able to sleep since beginning Yasmin. Slept fine the last week (during the placebos). Have tried taking it at different times to no avail. I feel charged up and nervous and at the same time drained and worn out from lack of sleep. Also experiencing hot spells, panic attacks and squeezing upper arm sensations. Giving up this one.