Yasmin and muscle cramps

Anjamaka,
Like you I have taken BCPs since the age of 18 and like you I did not suffer any side effects, I took Yasmin in 2001 with no side effects at all for nearly 4 years when I started to feel really bad :horrendous muscle cramps/ blackouts, hypoglycemia, lost of energy, arthritis, earache, fatigue, heart palpitations etc etc...and I have a very healthy life, I eat well and exercise regularly. When I stopped Yasmin 4 years after, these symptoms went away!! So don't say that we are complaining and wait until your time comes!!
Sylvie

Wow you are all a bunch of complainers who try and blame XYZ on Yasmin which probably have ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the pills. I have bee diagnosed with PCOS and have been on hormone therapy since age 15, first zovia, which worked well enough but did not get rid of a lot of my symptoms, only lessened them somewhat, so now I am on yaz. My depression has completely subsided, I feel GREAT and only had some nausea which almost EVERYONE gets when taking a hormone therapy birth control pill. Trust me, if you are going to have SIDE EFFECTS it is not going to happen 4 YEARS LATER, please.... grow up and take responsibility for yourselves, rather than trying to blame a pill

Lately my wife has been experiencing of depression, lack of energy, muscle cramps, nausea, enlarged and soar breasts (nipples are hot also), headaches, insomnia, vaginal discomfort and sourness with and without physical contact, constipation, and other symptoms, which I cannot as a male, properly describe. Is this accumulation of symptoms normal or should we look in another direction for birth control (besides condoms)? A concerned husband, Kenny...

Within about 8 days of starting Yaz, I developed muscle pain all over my body, but especially in my legs and shoulders. Sometimes it felt like muscle cramps, sometimes like a crawling feeling, sometimes like a pinching, sometimes like a knot. Blood tests and a Doppler test showed no blood clots, but I went off the pill anyway. The symptoms started improving after a few days, and mostly went away within a few weeks. But then I came down with extreme itching and discharge, and trips to four different doctors revealed no infection. That finally cleared up after about two months. Now I'm on a different pill, and unfortunately the muscle pain is coming back. So I guess hormonal birth control might not be for me, but like someone said, this is not easy to deal with in a committed monogamous relationship. I'm going to take a break from all hormonal birth control and hope that the return of the muscle pain was just because my body isn't ready yet after the Yaz.

i started taking Yasmin after i had my 5th child in July 2002. i was about 70 pounds over weight and my gyno said i would lose weight on this new wonder pill. i did, i lost 30 pounds and felt better than i ever had.
My skin was clear, my period light and i just consistently lost weight. i did notice that i was urinating quite a bit but didn't think much about it. About 3 years into taking the pill, my pharmacist mentioned to me that i should be having potassium levels drawn with this pill. I was a bit confused because i had read the literature that came with Yasmin when i started taking it(im a nurse and i just always research new meds i take) and it never once mentioned blood work. i had to harass my gyno because he thought it was useless but to appease me and because i mentioned to him i take a lot of ibuprofen for back pain he humored me and did the test. It was a little high but nothing crazy so i let it go even tho i mentioned that i was getting horrible muscle spasms all the time. he said my calcium was probably low. i accepted that because i had had 5 kids and figured i had depleted my supply. he mentioned that i could take Yasmin continuously without taking a sugar pill to keep me from having a period, said it was completely safe. so for the next 3 years i only had periods about 4 times a year. i raved to everyone how wonderful this pill was. i was still having muscle cramps but it was a small price to pay for no zits, no periods, no water weight, and i could eat whatever i wanted and had lost 30 pounds after one year of being on it though i never lost any after that.i didn't notice my hair was greasier than normal but i never connected it to the pill. i wanted to take the pill forever! that didn't work out thought when i lost my insurance and was forced to go off it because i just couldn't afford 70 a month. within the first couple of weeks i noticed acne appearing all over my face especially my nose and chin. i was 36 years old! far past the acne stage! i also noticed i felt bloated and my first period that came was like someone had released a flood gate. i went through 2 boxes of super tampons and a bag of pads in 3 days. thats about the time i noticed the weight gain. slowly over a period of 3 months i put on 3 or 4 pounds a week to now a whopping total of 30 pounds in 3 months. i was devastated. i knew that there were side effects of any medication and you assume those risks while taking it but not from not being on it anymore! the only good thing to come from getting off of it was those annoying muscle spasms completely stopped. i had been to the point that i couldn't even flex my toes or they would charley horse i had even gotten them in my jaw from yawning! now they were gone and replaced by fatigue, extreme weight gain and horrible acne and periods. i started blowing up and it didn't seem to be mainly weight, it seemed like fluid. i didn't urinate half as much as i used to it was like my body forgot how to make its own diuretic hormone. i could take a water pill and lose 10 pounds in 4 hours of fluid i knew that was not a good thing. i was scared as well as baffled. i went to my internist and he was shocked when he saw me my lungs were full of fluid, i had put on 30 pounds and was short of breath he ordered thyroid function tests and guess what? out of the blue my perfectly functioning thyroid (i had levels drawn the year before in routine tests) had stopped working when i got off Yasmin! so now i have to take diuretics because i don't seem to make enough of my own which i believe is thanks to Yasmin and i also feel it damaged my thyroid since its mechanism of action is inhibiting your adrenal system and thats what controls your thyroid. i am seriously considering filing a class action law suit based on the fact that for 3 years i never had my potassium levels checked because it wasn't advised by the manufacturer and i have experienced damage from this pill that i was not warned about in the package insert or by my doctor. i had the right to be informed and if they didn't know then the fda should have never approved it. i feel like ive been a guinea pig, and if anyone feels the same my number is ****** if we stand together maybe we can make them take this off the market and find out what has happened to those of us hurt already

I was put on Yaz (same as Yasmin but with a smaller estrogen dose) due to irregular periods and a presumed hormonal imbalance. That was in September '07. Four month later, on Jan 1, '08, I went to the ER with breathing difficulties, and weakness in my arms and legs. I had been having muscle cramps/ charley horses in my right calf, but that was the only other health problem I had experienced. I thought I was having an asthma attack. So did the ER - at first. After I did not respond to the breathing treatments, and I became completely out of breath and exhausted after walking across the hall to the restroom, the ER doc checked my D-Dimer level to see if I was at risk for blood clots. He said if it came back over 500, he would have to do further testing for clots. It came back 4500!! I was sent immediately down for a CT Scan which showed mulitple clots in both lungs, mostly small, but several of significant size. I was immediately put on oxygen and a heart monitor, and an IV drip of heparin was started. I was in the hospital for 4 days, had to learn to give myself shots of Lovenol in my stomach until my pill form of blood thinner had time to kick in. I am now taking Coumadin blood thinner every day until July, when my D-Dimer will be checked again. Depending on the results, I may come off the Coumadin, or I may have to commit to it for 3 years. However, I was tested for all the hereditary blood clotting disorders and all came back negative, so my doctor feels as though the cause has to be the YAZ! Everyone tells me I was very lucky and that I could have easily died, especially when I was just thinking I was having an asthma attack and put off going to the ER for a few days. If you are taking Yaz or Yasmin, and you begin to have difficulty breathing, any kind of leg cramps, weakness, or tightness in your chest (I had also been having severe heart burn) - go have yourself checked out!!!!!

I thought this was a miracle because pill until after about a month ago.....breast tenderness, bloating, fluid retention.......makes you depressed when you are not even having a period. Been on Yasmin for about 6 months......just started skipping the inactive pills and starting a new pack.....that way you don't have a period at all. The edema itself is a nightmare. I have been on Yasmin in the past....with no problem...then 3 years ago I had a child and only started back six months ago. I thought I was gaining weight from overeating until I realized that my eating habits haven't changed at all. And to top that....I have exercised at least 3 times a week for the last six months (which is more than I have in the last 2 years) and I'm not losing any weight? I've also experienced the terrible muscle cramps in my legs.....thought it was shin splints.....but now that I read what people are saying I honestly believe that my problems might be from taking this because pill for way to long. I've taken my last pill this morning and I am not going to finish the pack. Taking a break from the pill period!!

nursehl

WOW!!!. I'm in my 40s.. Ive been on various Bcp for about 10yrs due to a fibroid that causes me to bleed too much and I got anemic. I have been on Yasmin for a year-- and didn't like it so the Dr, suggested I try Yaz. So I did for 6 months.WHOA!! Major muscle tightness that got progressively worse-so much that I couldn't even bend over to tie my shoes. I ached all over, headaches and tired. I also had muscle cramps at the least provocation. I notice that the weeks I had my period and wasn't taking the pill daily, I felt much better. IM very athletic and as a former dancer was very flexible. Ive been of about a week and a half and really feel a difference already. I think Ill Detox and see what my body does. This is crazy.. Anyone else have this???

I am still trying to figure out all this yasmin stuff. I am the one whose 13 yr old daughter was given yasmin as sorta a favor because she was having long periods. It seem to me that yes, yasmin or yaz whatever the difference is works well for lots of people. Thats great i'm glad to hear that. What about the handful of women/girls that it does not work well for even potentially dangerous. I am starting to thinkl that the ones that have had bad reactions to this are the ones that didn't have good followup with thier obgyn. It seems to me that there is sometimes no association made with bcp and some of these adverse reactions. I mean when my daughter started to get sick and stuff I took her to the pediat. not the ob/soccer mom. I just happened to stumble upon this site in my own desperation to figure out why my daughter has been and is so chronically tired all the time. I do wish when I recieved these sample packs of strong hormones that i would have been told of things to look for. Honestly ,I don't think this doctor knew of these side effects. I will say they stopped the bleeding she hasn't been on yasmin since the end of march and still hasn't had a period. I was told this should be out of her system by now. I don't believe that though.

I have been on Yasmin for 3 months. During the first month I had mood swings and felt very fatigued. During the second and third months I've had severe muscle cramps in my legs, on and off backache, more fatigue, and shoulder cramps. I am on it to regulate my period which before could happen three weeks apart, or six months apart. I am beginning to feel as though these side effects aren't worth it just to have a regular period.

To all women who have suffered from Yasmin,

I stopped taking that pill early July 06 after taking it for 4 years. Before I stopped I was suffering from:
- anxiety, irritability, irrationality (nearly split up with boyfriend)
- ear problems (damaged eardrums, constant ear blocage (none of the ephedrine medication worked)
- Severe muscle cramps (feet and calves)
- Pains in my right shoulder and arm
- Regular faintings (I found myself a few times in ER/ none of the tests they did show any abnormalities)
- Pain in my lower stomach
- Complete lack of energy
- No enthusiasm about what I used to enjoy doing
- Felt sick everytime I did some hiking (going up a hill for ex)
- Heart palpitations especially in the mornings when getting up
- Shortness of breath
- Swollen and aching gums (even the dentist thought they were strange and could not understand why as I had a perfect mouth hygiene)

At the time, I did not think at all about Yasmin as a poison, but slowly I realised I was sick because of it. Everytime I took it I felt disgusted like my body was saying: 'ENOUGH, I HAD ENOUGH OF THIS STOP IT!!'
I stopped early July 06 and since then slowly, I am becoming myself again. I suffered when I stopped especially of muscle weakness and ear problems but after 7 months off it, the muscles are becoming strong again (I have been doing light excercises since I stopped the pill) and my ears start to feel normal again.

The only new thing at the moment is that I gained 2kgs (about 4lb) in weight only around my tummy !!
Has anybody out there got the same problem? Is this normal ?
Does the weight go down once your body has completely recovered? How long does it take?

Thank you for your comments. I simply want to add :
IF YOU TAKE YASMIN AND FEEL BAD STOP IT NOW ! YOU WILL FEEL WORSE FOR A WHILE AFTER STOPPING IT BUT YOU WILL RECOVER SOONER OR LATER!! IT IS JUST A MATTER OF PATIENCE

hi ladies foggy head here i just did a ton of research on diuretics which is whats in yasmin the stuff i read was unreal and confusing but if our electrolytes are imbalanced it causes all of our symtoms from vitamin deficiancy to heart palpatations to anxiety to muscle cramps and spasms please ladies read up on all of this because it made alot of sense but also confused me is anyone else familiar with the diuretic effect i did read certain diuretics can cause permanent neurological damage im hoping this is an elderly or extreme cases but the diuretic effect seems to be whats creating our nasty symptoms it also makes me wonder if it could be that becuz alot of women get their hormones tested and they come back pretty normal so has anyone had their electrolytes tested and be sure to remind your doctors this pill has diuretic in it i think they forget.

hi everyone.
i too have some trouble during ovulation/mesnstruation with nervousness,shaking,fear etc. and my agoraphobia flares up. i have been taking the following for the last month and have felt sooom uch better. magnesium 400mg,calcium 800mg, vitamin b complex tablet and an additional dose of b6 of 50mg along with a multivitamin. apparently birth control pills can cause a depletion of the b6 vitamin which causes many of the symptoms experienced by some yasmin users like,anxiety,panic attacks,dizzyness,brain fog,muscle cramps,sickness,bowel problems etc. also magnesium and calcium become depleted,these minerals are essential for a healthy body and mind. b6 is directly involved in converting tryptophan into serotonin so it stands to reason that if you are deficient in this vitamin then you are going to experience problems both physically and mentally,it is worse around the time of ovulation/menstruation as the natural hormone shift can take up more of your b6 reserves. try improving your diet and taking supplements for a while and see if it helps,it won't hurt you to try. i totally sympathise with the hell that is caused by the panic attacks,anxiety,chest pains,aching muscles,headaches and all the other horrible side effects that a lot of use have suffered whilst on yasmin, but have faith that your body is an amazing thing,if you give it the tools it will heal itself,eat well,sleep well and take supplements for a while and i am sure that we will all be able to put this nightmare behind us and live the lives we want!

I was prescribed Yasmin almost 4 years ago after complaining to my Gyn about side effects of all the other pills i'd tried in the past (and the Depo shot, which was awful). She said women who have trouble with other ones, sometimes do well on Yasmin. For a couple years, I loved this pill, and experienced only one side-effect: loss of body hair (I was excessively hairy and this was a plus for me). However, over the past couple years, I have gained some weight and have developed some other issues. I'm not sure if they're all attributed to Yasmin, but here they are: extreme motion sickness and dizzyness, heart palpitations, periods of shortness of breath, intolerance for fatty foods, trouble sleeping and once when i started taking glucosamine for my joints (I'm a runner) I developed severe leg and muscle cramps and extreme thirst... perhaps messed up potassium levels? I'm curious if anyone else has had these problems, especially the motion sickness, which has become a serious problem for me.

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

Post your symptoms since stopping Yasmin!!!

Hey everyone it's Kay21 here and I just wanted to post my 3 month off Yasmin update. Because stopping the pill is a hard decision, I figured we should all post are updates here to help/support those who are planning to stop or who have recently stopped Yasmin.

I have been off of Yasmin since April 17. As some of you already know, I was experiencing horrible side effects while on Yasmin for 3 years (particularly stomach problems, vaginal dryness, muscle cramps, increased blood pressure and heart rate and anxiety).

The first 1 month off of Yasmin was okay. In fact, I felt the best I had ever felt in a while. My blood pressure and heart rate decreased and the migraines and muscle cramps went away. But when I hit the 2 month (8 week) mark, I felt HORRIBLE. I was severely depressed and anxious. I was crying all the time and felt a severe sense of DOOM! The physical symptoms also started to become problematic. The acne increased and I started growing more facial hair. The worse symptom, however, was that I started losing a ton of hair. I would lose stray hairs all day (probably about 200 a day). Since I have hit the three month mark, the hair loss has gotten MUCH WORSE! Now I am losing CLUMPS of hair all day. I have seen several doctors about this. Some say it's because of stress and a few (a derm, GYN and endo) say that hiar loss is common after stopping bcp. I have already loss about 1/3 of my hair.

I am also really concerned, because I have not had a period since April 22. So my doctor has put me on provera for 10 days to induce a period.

For those who have stopped Yasmin, what have your symptoms been (i.e. increased acne, weight gain, anxiety, etc.). Has anyone experienced hair loss? How long did it take to get a period???

Thanks...

Hi, I'm a 39 y.o. woman who was place on Yasmin to even out my hormones. According to my recent blood work, I am in the post menopausal range. I had been suffering severe hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, and memory loss; hence, the BCP. I also have hypertension, and lost about 25 pounds over two years ago. Between my weight loss, and medication my BP was controlled.

Then, I started on Yasmin. Not only did my BP shoot up, but I began having symptoms of a potassium imbalance (shortness of breath, exteme fatigue, muscle cramps, etc.) I called my gyn, and did not receive a return call. However, my internest saw me almost immediately. he switched my BP medicine, so that is controlled.

I am still having headaches and nausea on a daily basis, cramps in my feet and legs, mood swings, irritatability, shortness of breath, depression, dry skin, fatigue, and muscle pain in my back and jaw area. I also noticed that the veins in my lower left leg are prominent, almost protrubant. I also have occasion nagging localized pain in my calf muscles. Further, my libido is not reduced; it has ceased to exist!! That was one thing that had improved with the onset of menopause for me. My husband and I are NOT happy campers.

This website is great. I took my last, and I do mean my LAST yellow pill today. I start the white tomorrow. My mom died of a stroke, and I'm really unhappy that my doctor played up the benefits of this drug while omitting all of these possible side effects. Oh yeah, in a matter of days, I packed on between 7-10 pounds. I'm not eating any more than before. I think I'll call her office Tuesday, and let her know I'm quitting. Thanks for letting me know I'm neither crazy nor alone.

I just stopped taking Yasmin 2 weeks ago, I think I need more time to get back in balance. I went off because I was experiencing:
-severe pain in my right calf, right where a vein is visible under my skin! I am only 28.
-horrible muscle cramps in my legs and feet in the middle of the night
-THE DRYEST SKIN EVER!!! I look like I have wrinkles, and all my life I have had perfect skin, no pimples, and very youthful, but since Yasmin, severely dry WITH pimples and bumps and uneven tone AND pigmentation
- Terrible mood swings and PMS, much worse than before yasmin, and depression
- dry skin over all of my body
- restless sleep
- headaches, never had them before yasmin
- dry wiry fuzzy hair
- extrememly dry eyes, and sensitivity to light, causing more headaches, and pain when driving in sun
- forgetfulness
- Extreme sensitivity to sunlight on my skin, this is scary because I have olive skin and never get burnt, yet in summer, on yasmin, I was burning after just a couple of minutes in mild sunlight, and when I got burnt I pealed in huge areas of raw looking skin and got no tan at all, which has never happened to me in my life, nothing would burn me before, and I could tan in a couple of hours with no dryness or anything
- cellulite looks worse
- enlarging of pores on face

I think that's it. I am waiting for all of these things to go away, so far they have lessened just slightly. I am looking forward to feeling young and healthy again! Thank goodness for all of you posting here, you have confirmed all of my suspicions!

I have been taking it for two months and my doctor is now taking me off it and putting me back onto ortho tricyclen (which I'd been on before for four years). I get heat flashes like clockwork, debilitating muscle cramps in my legs and feet, loss of sex drive, skin breakouts, diarrhea, headaches, problems sleeping, lower back pain and horrible stomache cramps...Basically, I constantly feel like I do when I have my period (and my doctor put me on the pill years ago solely b/c of horrible period cramps to the point of vomiting and going numb -- now, with Yasmin, the "medicine" is as bad as the initial symptoms).