Yasmin and miracle

Hi ladies,

I'm a 20 year old girl and I've been on Yasmin for just over a year now and it has hands down been the WORST YEAR OF MY LIFE. I started taking it for extreme menstrual cramps that would leave me screaming on the kitchen floor, curled up in a ball begging for the pain to stop. Yasmin fixed that, trust me it was like a miracle, and my acne on my face and back cleared up, another miracle.

Now the bad stuff. The first month was okay, because sometimes it takes time for the hormones to take affect. But I became severely depressed thereafter. It just started happening, crying all the time, hopeless, binge eating, gaining a lot of weight. And on top of that the GI problems, my stomach literally ballooned out to the size of a watermelon, and everything I ate irritated me. But a few months ago I became bulimic in a drastic attempt to get control back of my life, I hadn't even thought of the pill as the culprit up until this point. Keep in mind that I'm young, fit, have a great family, in school, there's no reason for my to be falling so low.
I started seeing a therapist, then a psychiatrist. I was this close to being put on antidepressants. And then something happened, my years worth prescription of Yasmin ran out so my OBGYN told the pharmacy to refill my prescription but with the generic brand, Ocella, that they had available which would only cost me 10 dollars a month with health insurance. Within four days I felt like my old self. Happy. I couldn't believe it. I went to a physician for tests and everything seemed normal, but after explaining to her my severe stomach problems she told me that it seemed like the pill induced me to become lactose intolerant. Wonderful!
So I started the second pack of Ocella a week ago and it all started happening again. The first month was fine again, but my body had caught up by now and even though I've cut dairy out, my stomach has ballooned up again and I have heartburn and indigestion no matter what I eat. Yesterday I felt insanely depressed, I binged, became insanely nauseous and threw up. I didn't leave the couch once. Now I know that it may sound like I need to reevaluate my problems, but I promise you, THIS IS NOT ME. I've realized that Ocella is exactly what it is, the generic version, and hence chemically the same as Yasmin, so the effects will mirror Yasmin's. MY OBGYN told me to finish the pack, and then I can come off them, and I cannot begin to explain how excited I am. I'm done with pills, and I'll find another way to deal with the pain.

Please, if you're taking birth control for something like acne, reconsider, it's not worth it. We are the experimental age. We can't ask our grandmothers what the long terms affects are. But if you must be on it and are feeling badly in any way, switch! You might find something better for you.

May 2006 I stopped taking Yasmin after being on it for a few years. I was having bad sinus congestion, sinus pressure, headaches and post nasal drip but never thought it was because of Yasmin. I went to a ENT doctor and the tissue in my sinsus cavities was so inflamed he recommended surgery. I also had a deviated septum and bone spur which were corrected. After the surgery (August 2006) I felt great. I exercise A LOT and it was now so much easier because I could breathe without all the fluid buildup. I kept thinking what a miracle the surgery was. March 2007 I started taking Ortho-tricyclen and quickly gained 10lbs in 2 months. I also had mood swings mostly feeling down. But I was still able to run and exercise more than I had in many years. March 2008 I went in for my annual exam and after mentioning my side effects from Ortho-tricyclen my doctor recommended going back on Yasmin since it had worked before. Two days after starting Yasmin my sinus problems and headaches returned. I was so low on energy and my chest felt tight. The only good thing is that I lost my appetite and in one month I lost 7 of the 10 lbs I gained on Ortho. I stopped taking Yasmin this past weekend in the middle of a pack. I am feeling better and have not had a headache this week. I was also able to run yesterday which felt so good. I hadn’t exercised in a month because of my lack of energy and difficulty breathing. Had I not been on it before I would have thought this was just a bad allergy season. I am convinced Yasmin was the cause of all my sinus problems and headaches.

I'm so glad I googled side effects of Yasmin and found this site. All of the sudden my mood swings for the past almost YEAR make sense. I started out fine. The pill was great, and I haven't had to worry about acne at all. Of course I gained a few pounds, but not too much. However, I'm a pre medical student trying to study for the MCAT this summer. I've been SO tired and drained and majorly depressed that I just can't seem to concentrate. I feel like I'm always crying over the stupidest stuff (AKA: no reason at ALL), and my grades are starting to suffer. Hopefully now that I've read this, I can stop taking this pill and see an improvement. It's just not worth the depression. I'm 22 right now, and until recently had never had a suicidal thought. I was starting to panic, because I couldn't identify the cause of my depression. I'm a good student, have lots of friends, and have the most amazing boyfriend and family. Life is good, I shouldn't feel this bad. Now that I have a clue as to what this may be, I can fix it.

I originally went on Yasmin because I experience horrible menstrual cramps. As a cure for cramps, Yasmin is a miracle. HOWEVER...I have been on it for almost 3 years now & have noticed new issues. I now have insomnia (recurring almost EVERY night). I can fall asleep, but ALWAYS wake up after a couple of hours & usually can't go back to sleep, or sometimes wake up every hour or less. Also, I haven't been able to wear contact lenses in almost 3 years. I have an unusual condition that causes my eyelashes to grow abnormally. I have zero sex drive. Other birth control brands make me moody & angry, but I don't know which is worse.

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.

Well, if it's that way, I think I better don't react to anything again here. I got the feeling that you don't want to read what we all are trying to tell you, Kim. No one can tell you the one miracle thing to do against all that shit you and WE ALL are or were going through. There IS no miracle that can help, the only thing that helps IS TIME and PATIENCE, even if you still don't want to hear that.

I wish you all the best, believe me. But I'm also still not in a constitution where I can take such posts as yours now. I also come around here some days to find some help after two years of hell and still not being the 100% old me. And believe me, even after such a long time I'm still that desperate sometimes that I also still think about ending all that by myself one day, if I should not be getting completely healthy again ever in my life!

AND I just tried to help you also a hundred times you posted here (did you even notice???), but nothing seems to get through to you.

Bye.

Kim,

I didn't know that you also are a vegetarian!! That's another mark for the fact, that you're assessed to be iron deficient (iron is mostly contained in meat!)!

Don't know if you already did, what I suggested (googling about iron deficiency). The Ferritin is the more important parameter than your iron level in your blood because the Ferritin shows the condition of your storage!! And if your storage of iron is still low you can have the symptoms you now are having.

And if you put this together with the side effects of Yasmin, you're DEFINITELY still suffering from, it is no miracle, that you're feeling so low now!!

Are you still taking the iron supplements every day?? Kim, I really hope that you believe me, how important that is for your situation!!!

The problem with the dopamin and serotonin is clearly a thing, which can be caused by bcp. You have to know that those two are also hormones!! And so it's simply clear, that, if your whole hormonal equilibrium is out of whack, the serotonin and dopamin might be also!!!

This is why time can help us all. Your body is able to get everything back in balance, if only he gets enough time for that difficult thing!!!

You didn't write anything, if you already had tried the Valerian (sorry, sometimes I still get the feeling that you're not reading really everything we all are writing here)!??

To the lady, who took Yasmin only 3 months:

You should be thankful, that your symptoms have come up that early. I know it sounds weird, but I think getting the side effects only after 2 years without noticing and taking that poison another 3 years has really damaged my body worse than if I only had taken Yasmin about 3 months. This can protect you from much more and worse symptoms than you are having now!!

Sarah:

I forgot to mention, that I also during my worst time lost about 20 pounds in only 4 weeks because I couldn't eat anything!! And I felt the same as you wrote: I would have been rather fat and healthy than slim and ill and not able to leave my house and having to go through all this nightmare... I totally understand, what you mean!!

But as this was the same for me, I really think that your weight will also get back to normal if you give it enough time. With the excercising I also agree with you! I still haven't been that fit again, as I was before that all. But, ok, 5 years of Yasmin were definitely too long and I know that I'll have to be much more patient than others and give it much more time to get back to where it was than others..... Hope I'll stand it further on...

But being able to sing again helps me very much. Although there always is some insecurity and anxiety in me, because I'm always afraid of getting as weak as I was during the last two months and that everything could break down again, what I' ve built me up now... (ok, although the weakness (thanks god) has gotten better again).

So ladies, just lets try to look forward and perhaps some day forget that nightmare (ok, I don't believe myself what I'm saying, don't know if I ever can forget, what I've been going through....).

One thing for those who have been only a few months on Yasmin: Please be careful and if you have the slightest doubt or the slightest symptom: GET OFF IT IMMEDIATELY!! You have the chance to avoid so many harm and sorrow!!!

Best wishes
Silke

Hey Silke,
Congratulations.
My happiness for you is beyond measure. You truly show us that there's a light at the end of the tunnel, albeit a long and arduous tunnel.
I know I haven't posted in a while, but just to update you, my baby is due next month god willing. (which is a miracle in and of itself as I wasn't ovulating after getting off the pill.) I gained a lot of weight and I believe it's because of the yasmin. I hope that after the baby my body will start healing itself and I will go back to normal, but time will tell.
Good luck and many hugs to you. Your an inspiration to us all.
Regards,
Sherry

Hi Sara!!

Silke