Yaz and 5 months

I have been taking Yaz for 5 months now and It has been great until 3 weeks ago when I began having severe leg and foot muscle cramps. I had been attributing these pains to stress etc. But then I realized after taking muscle relaxants that the pain was being cause by Yaz. It was also accompanied by major anxiety that I could not explain! I just got off Yaz, and am waiting and hopping the side effects subside soon.

I was on Yaz for about 5 months...first 4 months seemed great...In fact I didn't have a period at all and my acne disappeared! But, I was feeling fancy...irrabtible..but, didn't think too much about it until the 5th month on the pill..all of a sudden I had extreme panic attacks, went to the ER and everything...and my blood pressure was very high. I felt so crazy and scared like there was something really wrong with me..I thought i was going crazy! i have been off of the Yaz (stopped in the middle of the pack) for 3 days now and feel so much better...it was very scary.

I have been on this med for about 2 years. Until about 2 months ago, I had zero problems and it was great! About 2 months ago I started having SERIOUS issues. I had never had a palpitation or chest pain in my life and then I started having heart palpitations, chest pains, shortness of breath - sometimes it feels like I'm not going to be able to take the next breath. I was in the ER - they said it was my thyroid and gave me synthroid - that made everything worse so they gave me a beta blocker to cover up those symptoms. I quit taking ALL medication! I am not a pill taker and it doesn't make any sense to take a med and try to cover up those side effects/symptoms with the next med and so on. I can't find a good Dr. who will actually listen. I have been on the heart monitor and it found I was having PVC's all the time. I was then referred to a cardiologist - after a one thousand dollar visit with only an EKG he said my heart is fine - go home. I told every Dr. about Yaz - none of them could connect the dots! I thought I connected them....only by chance. I forgot to take my pill for a couple of days in the middle of all of this and stopped when I finally remembered to take one a couple of days later. I thought to myself.....hey - I've felt a little bit better the last couple of days. I was near the end of the pack so I QUIT taking them!! Best decision I ever made! Within 2 weeks my symptoms had pretty much disappeared! I thought I had it solved. I am 43 years old and in really good health. A few days ago my palpitations are back - but they are different this time. Before I had a "normal" heart rate but it felt like my heart was going to thump out of my chest. Now I have that PLUS a racing pulse! Chest pains are a part of daily life. Mornings and nights are the worst but I think it's going on all day - if I'm moving around I just don't notice it as much. These symptoms reappear a few days before I'm supposed to have my first period after quitting Yaz. I'm wondering if it's hormonal or menopause or if this stuff will just stick around for a while. I'm scared! I've read about people dieing and it's traced back to Yaz! I have a 6 year old precious daughter that I kiss good night and pray like heck that I get the next day with her! It's just not fair - I really wish I could find some answers. Anybody out there got any? Thanks.

IM ONLY 19 MY SEX DRIVE IS AT 0. THIS IS DEF NOT NORMAL FOR ME. MY BOYFRIEND OF 2 YEARS AND I NEVER HAVE SEX AND ITS BECAUSE I NEVER FEEL LIKE IT I JUST DON'T HAVE THE DRIVE WHEN WE USE TO HAVE SEX AT LEAST 5 TIMES A WEEK NOW ITS ONCE EVERY 2 WEEKS AND ITS BECAUSE I FEEL HORRIBLE FOR NOT GETTING TURNED ON. MY BOYFRIEND THINKS IM NO LONGER INTO HIM AND IT DOESN'T HELP THAT HE HAS AN INCREASED SEX DRIVE FROM WORKING OUT AND BEING A FIREFIGHTER. THIS WAS NOT THE CASE BEFORE YAZ I THOUGHT IT WOULD HELP WITH CRAMPS AND ACNE BUT ID RATHER HAVE THOSE SYMPTOMS THEN NOT HAVE SEX WITH THE PERSON I LOVE.NOT ONLY HAS IT EFFECTED OUR SEX BUT NOW OUR EMOTIONAL RELATIONSHIP SINCE THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR ABOUT 5 MONTHS IM A REALLY BUSY INDEPENDENT PERSON WORK FULL TIME AT A HOSPITAL AND GO TO SCHOOL PART TIME I JUST NEVER HAD THE TIME TO BE TOO CONCERNED HONESTLY I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST A PHASE BUT MY BOYFRIEND THE OTHER DAY SAT ME DOWN AND SAID IT HAS EFFECTED HIM JUST AS MUCH ME IF NOT MORE BECAUSE EVERY TIME I TURN HIM DOWN IT HURTS HIM ESPECIALLY SINCE HE KEEPS TRYING AND IS NOW EXPECTING ME TO SAY NO AND I FINALLY REALIZED THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM AND IS EFFECTING ME MORE THEN I REALIZED. IV MADE AN APT TO SEE MY DOCTOR I THOUGHT SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH ME UNTIL I READ THIS AND NOW IT GIVES ME HOPE TO MAYBE ITS JUST YAZ. THANKS TO ALL WHO SHARED

I am 44 have been on yaz for two years at first it was great all my symptoms went away acne, mood swing and lost 10 pounds in two months great, then last year i started different tired and gaining weight i had my blood work done and my thyroid was off the chart and my triglycerides were 267 my doctors said to eat better i have always worked out and ate right then about 5 months ago i started getting belly fat, and a month ago i got my blood work done again and my triglycerides were 300 and my thyroid is still high i went off the yaz after reading all the comments i figured it has to be the yaz i have been off of it for a week i feel really funny light headed jittery.

My experience with Yaz was short lived! My doc put me on Femcon Fe first, and after a month of non stop bleeding and zero sex drive I told her I wanted something else, and she put me on Yaz. My sex drive did increase a bit, but it was still next to nothing compared to before I started taking the pill. After 5 months of Yaz I flushed them down the toilet and took myself off of it. I was extremely moody, felt severely depressed, had a low sex drive, weak orgasms, and no lubrication-thank God they make that stuff! Not to mention I gained about 20 pounds. I have been off it for about 6 months, but still have a low sex drive, weak orgasms, and don't lubricate. I asked my doc about this today and she said it could not be related to the pill because it is out of my system. I find it hard to believe that my body has done a 180, and the pill had nothing to do with it when none of this was happening to me before I was on it! I'm 26, and it's scary that I may have to deal with this for the rest of my life.

I was on Yaz for 5 months, and didn't realize the side effects were creeping up on me until I caught a stomach virus that just kept lasting and lasting.

I became increasingly anxious, nervous, and irrationally fearful. My heart rate soared up to 110 just sitting (it is normally in the 60s), I could not eat for several days and lost 9 pounds. My ears felt full and sometimes painful. I had shortness of breath, dizziness, and some chest pain. I felt constantly "overstimulated" and could not handle any amount of stress.

I have only been off of this pill for a little over a month, but I believe I am starting to get better. There IS a lawsuit for this drug, so please do a search for Yasmin Survivors Forum and find the thread titled Newest Lawsuit Info Feb 2009 if you have also experienced side effects like these.

I started taking YAZ about about 5 months. The biggest side effect I notice is SEVERE migraines 2 days before my period starts. I am a speech therapist and found it almost debilitating to try to work with my clients today because my head was pounding out of my head. I was also experiencing some blurry vision while driving (not good). On the bright side my adult acne has cleared up and periods have shortened by about 5 days. Regardless, I've decided that if something inflicts head pounding migraines then it is not worth it. I'm going to drop birth control for good as I haven't found any that I like at the age of 37.

I have been off YAZ for 3 weeks and am so happy to be rid of this drug. It has caused me so much suffering. I was so emotional - crying and upset all the time. I was so depressed. I never got my period once during the 5 months I was on it. I work out all the time and have actually gained weight while on this pill. I have had a cold twice during the 5 months and each time it lasted 3 weeks. I am a normally healthily person, but every day on YAZ was a bad day. I do not recommend this drug for anyone. I haven't slept well in months and I have had fatigue as well.

YAZ BELLY!! anyone else got it? I have been on this pill for 9 months now & about to switch back to ortho novum product. Within the first mth of Yaz I developed a very round (almost menopausal or pregnant shape) lower belly. It has increased over the past 8 months to a ridiculous size that no pants fit but go figure....no weight gain for 7 months. How does ones shape change that much with no weight gain?? I actually am diligent on diet & workout 3 - 6 days a week. Have looked the same for 2 years til Yaz. Now I have to size up due to the belly & rollover. Also past 3 months I started to experience ovary pain that has become significantly worse. Ob/gyn brushed off my issues at first & passed me on to GI. I have had every stomach test & all good! Remarkable they say! So back to GI to switch this week. The only plus of this pill has been a much improved complexion & actually unlike the rest of you...increased sex drive. All I want to know is I am the only one with Yaz shape belly??

I have been on other birth controls, and more recently have been off for 8 months. Not trying to get pregnant, just sick of the side effects of my other pills (generics). Doc gave me yaz, I didn't take it until now, 5 months after prescribed. I have been taking it for 7 days, and I feel like crap. I thought my back pain was from sleeping wrong and sitting at a computer, but you guys have it too. I didn't have a BM for the first 5 days, and when I did it was painful and smelled like someone died (completely unlike me). I feel like I don't want to do anything fun. I have gone to bed by 9 every night and have no interest in doing anything else. Even thinking about my Sunday plans, which are normally fun and exciting, all I want to do is lay in bed.

This pill is whack, and I'm going off it immediately. I would rather get pregnant or be stuck using icky condoms again than deal with this crap. Thank you everyone else for sharing. I hope someone else eyes get opened like mine just were.

I am so glad I found this site!! I have been with my boyfriend for about 5 months and just started taking Yaz about 4 months ago. Since i started taking it i am exhausted all the time! I wake up tired! Also, i have been extremely angry especially towards him! I am depressed and moody. I also feel like i could cry over anything! I am switching off of this crap
thanks!

Yaz is AWFUL I took it for 5 months and it made me have headaches a lot, feel dizzy, diarrhea, throwing up and anxiety. It also made me feel like I didn't want to do anything and just really tired. It started making me feel really different the past month and I just realized that it was the birth control because i'm not on any other meds and that was the only other possible thing. These birth controls are not good for anybody to be taking. The FDA are using us to see what side effects it will have on us, I don't know about you but i'm not going to be there lab ratz anymore.

i started taking yaz in June because ive tried almost every other birth control pill, and patch and my mood and depression seemed to be only when i was on one of these. I wanted to go on that mirana IUD however my doctor told me i shouldn't because i have not had kids, im not married and im only 19 however it seemed anything i tried gave me the same side effects. So they put me on YAZ instead, at first it was great shorter periods, little to no cramps, but now 5 months and i hate it. I live with my boyfriend now and when before my sex drive was high I have ABSOLUTELY NO SEX DRIVE LEFT AND IM ONLY 19, WHAT HAPPENED TO IT. And whats worse my moodiness has come back for example at the store today i lost it and started crying when they didn't have the coat i wanted to buy. I couldn't control myself i completely lost it. i don't know what to do with myself anymore. My emotions are worse then ever before i want them to put me on something that has no hormones my body cant take it. can anyone give me any suggestions.

Well, I've been on Yaz for 5 months. I was on Ortho tricyclin lo and was fine with it, but my doctor switch me because I stopped nursing my youngest child. So at first I thought that it was great! I stopped getting my periods! What woman actually wants periods? But at the end of each month I was always scared that I could be pregnant and not even know it because I never got my period, which my doctor said was normal... So on top of the $55 a month the yaz cost me, I was also buying pregnancy test each month!

Well, I started having issues in June about a month after I started Yaz, but I didn't put it all together until right now... I have extreme headaches, nausea, diarrhea, terrible menstrual like cramping all the time and like other people said, during sex I am really dry...At this point I have decided to stop taking yaz and switch to something else... I just feel awful all the time.. getting my period once a month is way better than feeling like this!

All the advantages my Doctor told me about taking Yaz... none of them were true for me...

Hi ladies! I started Yaz in June 08 after taking Ortho-Tricylcen-Lo for 6 years (It wasn't treating my cramps or mood swings anymore). The first month was bad. I had mood swings, breast tenderness, lower back pain, anxiety, weight loss, and no sex drive. I didn't attribute this to the pill, I associated it with a very, very emotional and difficult experience that was currently occurring in my life. By the second month, I put 2 and 2 together, and realized it was Yaz. I am a pharmacist, so I am well aware of the types, mechanisms, and incidence of these side effects. I knew that these side effects usually disappear with time after the body adjusts to a new/different form of progestin. By the third month, all of the side effects had subsided, except for the inability to gert aroused, which is very unusual for me! It wasn't so much the lack of interest, but the lack of physical arousal ("getting wet"). I almost got off the pill just because of that, but I decided to tough it out just to see what happens. By the fourth month everything is back to normal and I feel great. I lost a little weight, my breasts don't get swollen and tender during the third week (like a tricyclic pill), a don't have unusual mood swings, and my period is average in length and heaviness. It was a bumpy road, but that is to be expected when you mess with the body's natural balance. It takes time to recalibrate hormones, during which time you will not feel yourself! Weird stuff will happen! I think Yaz is a good drug and patients should stick with it for at least 5 months ( or at the digression of your physician of course), unless you experience a side effect that alerts you to a serious problem (severe leg cramps, difficulty breathing, or suicidal ideation). As for the fact of it being "new and unstudied", that's not completely true. Yasmin is a higher dose of the same drugs as Yaz and it has been around practically forever. This is an excellent forum, but don't be scared off or expect a cure-all from a low dose hormone. Good luck!

HELP....I'm getting married in 3 weeks and I've been off of Yaz for two days now and I'm still REALLY bloated with diarrhea, nausea and just overwhelming sadness. I was only on it 7 days. I tried it because the commercial made it look like my answer to PMDD. I've had a tubal so I don't need it for birth control. How long will these feelings continue? Any answers are appreciated.

I have been taking Yaz for 2.5 months and I have to agree with most of these posts that it has been killing me emotionally! I feel like crying at the drop of the hat. I can just look at people and want to start crying. I am police officers and I come home from work and sleep for 12 hours and I am still tired. I can never seem to get enough sleep. I have horrible cramps when I do have a period, which is a hit and a miss. I thought for the longest it was just stress but from what I am reading it seems to be the pill. I would not recommend this for anyone, it is miserable!!

I started taking Yaz 1.5 months ago. During the first pack I saw little to no side effects, period lasted 4 days and was drastically lighter than before starting Yaz. Before Yaz I would bleed for 5 days and go thru a bag of super pads, with Yaz I barely bleed enough to use 6 pads in 4 days, BIG difference!

Now into the second pack I had a headache for 3 days straight, I am having stomach pain, I eat only because I know I have to or I wouldn't eat at all, I have no sex drive even though I think about sex and things excite me I just don't want to be bothered with the physical act, my breast are tender all the time, my lower back is in pain, charlie-horses in my calves and back of thighs, I am constipated, and very gassie!

I just quit Yaz 8 days ago, was on it for 6 months. I had the copper t iud in for 4 months but the pain and non-stop bleeding was too much so I thought I'd give the coolest, newest pill out on the market a try. First week was awful; headaches, fatigue and nausea, but I knew I had to give it 3 months. First 2 months it really helped with cramps and bloating, but slowly the mood swings crept in. I was very emotional, depressed, random bouts of anger, bloating, cramping, 2 periods per month and spotting, gained 8lbs, uncontrollable hunger, appetite was ridicules. But the reason I felt I HAD to stop taking it was the fatigue, I could no longer do my 6 mile jogs, I struggled to walk to get the mail, I was for the first time in my life a couch potato. Before I began Yaz I was 115lbs, 5'7, have always been very active and eat only 100% organic health food, drink only green tea and water. Needless to say I was in shape, cellulite free my entire life till now. On the 5 month of Yaz I noticed cellulite on my legs!!! I was know as a sweet and very patient lovable girl, NOT ANYMORE! I used to never use bad words, now I use the F-word all day long, I pick fights with everyone and feel sooo angry all the time. I hope sharing my story helps other women understand that it's not them, it's this awful drug. I am going to use the LadyComp for bc, I will NEVER again put synthetic hormones in my body.

I'm about 1.5 months into being on Yaz. For the year & a half prior, I had a non-hormonal IUD which I only stopped because of the excessive bleeding it caused the entire time I had it. A month and a half into being on Yaz, my breast are so sore and enormously bloated (like when I was pregnant). I've also had very bad stomach pain - not cramping, but burning and muscular pain. I've also be excessively tired. I tend towards not being super-energetic, but now I feel very, very lethargic. After reading all the posts and researching Yaz's side effects, I may stop after the end of this pack. The one thing I did absolutely love was the ~ 3-4 day, very light period. But, that benefit isn't worth the side effects. :(

Hello, I was on Yaz 5 months and I had a few muscle pains, nothing horrible. One day I started having SEVERE stomach pains. I went to the ER, then my fam doctor and he diagnosed me with gastritis. He put me on Nexium which wasn't helping. I couldn't eat anything beside eggs and bread. I was out of work a few days before I figured out certain foods were irritating it. I saw a Yahoo Answers post from a woman who said Yaz caused gastritis. I took it upon myself to stop taking them and in 2 days it was gone! Something that went on 2 weeks, severe pain and it was gone almost immediately after I quit this pill!(It says gastroenteritis on the side effects in the pamphlet). I was on other pills for 9 yrs and never had a problem except PMS! BTW my muscles were better in a week after stopping! I know it was this pill. When I first started it I read the side effects people were posting I was like yeah yeah it'll work itself out. NO, THIS WAS A BAD PILL FOR ME! I f you notice a gnawing and sharp stomach pain that's intermittent and you're on this pill, stop or it won't go away!

This is by far the worst pill I have ever taken. Before Yaz I was on Nordette, Ortho Tri cyclen and Alesse. I saw the commercials and got sucked into trying this pill. All I can say is proceed with caution. I ended up taking this pill for the unhappiness 8 months of my entire life. I had problems with other pills causing weight gain (Nordette, Ortho Tri cyclen) or acne (Alesse). However, those symptoms are mild compared to what Yaz inflicted on me.

I have always been described as happy go lucky and Yaz gave me extreme moodiness, panic attacks about my future and life, and major depression. I did have the best skin of my life and lost about 5 lbs but I was an emotional MESS! I would cry at the drop of a hat and find fault in everyone and everything. This symptom didn't start right away but each month I was on Yaz got worse. My friends coined my "alter ego" "she devil." I almost felt possessed at times on this pill. I finally realized it was the pill and not life causing these problems when 3 of my girlfriends had the same problems and got off and the problems went away.

Prior to having this experience I thought people tried to blame too much on the pill but my experience showed me just how much these can mess with your body. I switched back to Alesse 5 days ago and it's like I am a different person--even my skeptical boyfriend noticed the change. As for the acne, I am going to go to a dermatologist to address that. I will be happy to have a few zits as opposed to being a crazy woman.

Proceed with caution on this pill and watch your moods carefully. Just because you've been on it for a few months doesn't mean you're safe. The majority of my emotional disorder started about 5 months in. I do have some girlfriends that like this but most have found it to bring out "she devil".

I have been on Yaz for a month and I didn't get my period until the day I needed to start a new pack, so that day was Friday and I felt extremely weak and tired with a constant nausea feeling and I took the pill that night and went to bed and felt fine this morning but around 1pm I started feeling really nauseous again and extremely weak, I was just wondering if anyone else had this and if it is bad..