Yaz and birth control

OMG I am so glad I found this site!!! I have been taking YAZ for 4 months. I have been on/off several birth control pills, some with no side effects and some with. These are the worst!!! I felt like I was going crazy until I found this site. At first all I noticed was moodiness, instead of having PMS a couple days before my period I had it all month except for before and during my period. Then about 2 months into it I started feeling fuzzy headed, unable to focus, started having tingles in my arms and legs like when your foot is asleep. If I take the pill at night I have horrible night sweats and if I take it in the morning I am tired all day and have horrible dreams. The worst of it was I was having severe episodes of vertigo, the room starts spinning and I have to grab hold of stuff. It was really scary, I am a single mom and was scared that I might fall at home and my toddler would be unable to go for help. I thought maybe my iron or blood sugar was low so I went to the doctor and had a full work up on my blood - everything came back fine. The doctor wanted to send me for a CAT scan and I didn't want one as I had started wondering if it could be the pill. I am calling my gynecologist today to get it switched. Thank you so much for all your posts! Me, my family, and my job all were thinking I was going crazy or just a hypochondriac.
On a side note - I do have 3 teenage cousins who take this pill and have no side effects. However I have always been very sensitive to medication. This pill may work for some, but not for me.

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.

My daughter started taking YAZ birth control August 2007 and was starting her second year of college. Everything in her life was going well, she loved her choice of college, had a wonderful boyfriend, was excited to live in her sororiety house, had wonderful friends, and was always one of the most focused individuals I knew. She was home for the Thanksgiving holiday and the night before I was to drive her back to school, she broke down at the kitchen table and said she can't pretend anymore, that she is not happy and doesn't know what is wrong with her. I took her to the doctor and she was treated with Effexor for depression. After 4 weeks there was no change, she fell into a deeper depression and they doubled her dose of Effexor. Still no change. I started looking on the internet and found that one of the side effects of Yaz was depression. I told her to immediately stop taking it. Two days after she stopped the pill we had an appointment with a psychiatrist. I told him that this was the first day I saw some improvement and that I thought it was related to her stopping YAZ. He disregarded my statement and didn't feel that was the case. He didn't like Effexor because he said that it was "a bear to get off of". He titrated her dose down by half and introduced Wellbutrin into her system. Two days later she overdosed on pills. She couldn't bear how bad she felt. I remember it like it was yesterday, she stood in the corner of the hosital and cried, "How did I get to this point, how did this happen to me?" I knew then that it was the pills. After her release from the hosital they handed her a prescription for Lexipro. I was advised by ALL of the PROFESSIONALS that she needed to take this antidepressent because she will definitely have a relapse.

My daughter chose NOT to take any more medications. We both KNOW that it was the YAZ that started the depression and the other antidepressents just put her over the edge. It took several months to get her life back together. We pursued counselling to make sure she was equipped with good coping skills for stress before attempting to go back to school. She missed 5 weeks of school and we knew that she had alot of catching up to do and the counselling helped her get through.

It has now been almost 1 year since that incident and she is back to her old self again. NO MORE BIRTH CONTROL AND NO MORE ANTIDEPRESSANTS. I'm not against any of these medications, however, I don't feel that health care professionals equip these young girls with enough information about side effects. Depression is listed way down on the list of side effects. If her gyn would have warned her that depression was a side effect, we may have never gone down that dark frightening road and if the psychiatrist would have taken into consideration that it could have been the birth control pill things could have been different. I also work for 4 pediatricians and none of them were aware that birth control can cause depression. I am now noticing that there are mother's calling our office because their daughters are depressed and as I am looking at their charts, I see they are on birth control. I have to wonder how widespread is this epidemic and how many young woman may have been diagnosed with clinical depression when the cause could be birth control. I know that at my daughters last well visit she was asked if she was taking any medication and she said no, she didn't realize that the pill was medication. Professionals need to be more specific when asking teenagers and yound adults questions.

I hope that this helps someone else out there to understand what could be causing their depression.

I am 33 years old and have tried numerous forms of birth control. I have been taking yaz for 9 months and just decided to stop taking it after my last cycle. I have tried birth control pills before, but I really think the side effects were worse with this pill. I had absolutely NO sex drive and felt very apathetic and listliss all the time. I described to my husband that I felt "empty" inside. I was mildly depressed and experienced a great amount of anxiety. The only good thing was the light periods and I had great skin! I have since decided to try the nuvaring, but I am having some of the same problems with that one too. My doctor suggested it since it doesn't have to go through the liver like pills do, but it still sends these hormones into your blood stream. If you have problems with hormonal birth control methods, I highly suggest trying the copper iud or other non hormonal forms of control. The only bad thing about the copper iud was the heavy periods. I have also tried the mirena iud and didn't seem to experience as severe of emotional symptoms with that one, since it only contains progesterone. But for the first several months after you have it inserted you have a constant light bleeding. Plus it caused acne problems, which I never had to worry about before. But I would take those side effects over the emotional roller coaster I was on when taking the pill.

Almost everyone is affected differently by different types of birth control pills. They are not all the same, please talk with your doctor about what is best for you. Sometimes is DOES take a few tries with different pills to find the best one for YOU.
This is my personal experience with Yaz... I have been on it for 1 year and 1 month exactly. I am 22. I was on Ortho-Cyclen (not tri-cyclen mind you) for a full year previous to Yaz. My periods without birth control were usually very heavy and lasted a week plus a day or two without birth control. My doctor suggested birth control to help with those problem. Ortho-Cyclen helped somewhat shortening my periods to about 5-6 days and made them a "normal-like" flow. After taking it for a year, she suggested Yaz to me help make them even shorter and lighter. Well I switched immediately after the last pill of my Ortho-Cyclen and things proceeded very nicely since I had already been using a method to regulate my cycle.
Yaz has helped me tremendously, my periods are only 3-4 days now and much lighter. I start them after 2 days of placebo and usually have a little bleeding into the first 2 active pills of my next pack.
The only side effects I have noticed are;
1) Weight gain: (I have gained about 8 lbs on this pill) and I even get more exercise than I used to when I was on Ortho-Cyclen. I eat healthy as well.
2) Breast tenderness: I have more noticeable breast tenderness while taking this pill. (But it is not every single day)
3) Cramps: I get cramps now on the first day of bleeding, but they are well taken care of with an aspirin or ibuprofen.
4) Slight depression: I cannot directly link this to Yaz as I am not a professional. However, I do find that a week to a few days before my pill period, there may be a day or two when I find myself crying over some nonsensical thing. (I never noticed this with Ortho-Cyclen.)

Another thing I have noticed though, and it's pretty nice, while I have gained a little weight on this pill, I do not get bloating before/during my period as I used to before I started using birth control pills. And yes, I used to get bloated using Ortho-Cyclen. So I can say that I have to thank Yaz for this "desired effect."
Also, I never suffered from any bad acne problems before using birth control, just the occasional breakout before getting my period, and Yaz actually did away with even that little issue.

I have been on Yaz now for a little over a year. I'm only 18 and I'm always exhausted and sore. My whole body aches almost all the time. Like most others on Yaz, I've been having really bad headaches on and off. I just found out today that the maker of Yaz is actually being sued because Yaz is such a dangerous drug. Exact words from the article: "ATTENTION: YAZ YASMIN PRESCRIPTION DRUG NEWS, On October 3, 2008, the United States government ordered the manufacturer of YAZ/YASMIN, a powerful birth control pill, to stop advertising that misleads the public regarding the value and safety of this drug. If you or a loved one has suffered a heart attack, stroke, blood clot, or death after using YAZ/YASMIN, please call right now. SERIOUS INJURY LAWYERS"

That's an article from Phillips and associates...Apparently this isn't such a safe BC.

If you don't like having sex, take Yaz... if you want to kill your sex drive completely and then try to force yourself to have sex (it's very painful) take Yaz... if your just trying to take a good birth control that doesn't mess with your moods too much and gives you a light cycle, Yaz is perfect. Unfortunately for me, I started taking it right before I got married. I stopped 2 weeks ago and feel fantastic! Goodbye sexless marriage! FREEDOM!!! Really, though, it's not just Yaz that does that.. almost all birth control pills will. A recent study came out saying that it puts you in pregnancy mode which makes you not only less sexually driven, but also less attracted to your partner. Check it out at ****** in the health section. I'm sticking to condoms... oh, side effect of getting off the pill, SORE nipples... anyone else experience this... I'm worrying a bit about pregnancy....

I have been on YAZ for a month & one week. So far, the only thing I experienced was sadness, but every now & then, over normal things, but just a tad bit more often. Like my grandma passing & such. But, last night my boyfriend & I tried to have sex, but I couldn't get wet. I think that may be from the pill? If so, there's no point in being on it, Why have a birth control when you can't even have sex?

In taking Yaz and having it clot up my blood so badly, that I had stroke symptoms, I had some blood testing done. The doctor ordered a "Thrombophilia" test. The results came back with me being positive for MTHFR. A genetic blood clotting disorder. The type I have is very treatable with Folic Acid, Vitamin B and Baby Aspirin. But no birth control pills for me. Estrogen causes major clotting. And I could end up with a stroke or die. Considering many people have this disorder and don't even know it, I am surprised how birth control pills are handed out like candy, without these things being taken in to consideration.

I am 16 years old and i have been on YAZ for almost a year now. I have had horrible luck with it. In the beginning my mood completely changed! i was really mean to all my best friends and parents. I felt like i was bipolar. Im not a mean person and felt horrible about the way i was acting to everyone at the time. i would say "ITS NOT ME, ITS THE PILL"

about 6 or 7 months into the pill my mood swings changed and i felt normal again. but i kept getting constipated, but i never thought it was the pill. i also started to get headaches, but didn't think it was a side effect.

now i am extremely constipated and get severe headaches everyday! i never can think straight and it effects my school work. Being constipated was the worst part of this pill. i ate TONS of fiber and nothing worked. I looked online for symptoms for YAZ and only a couple said they were also constipated. I would be constipated for 1 or 2 weeks straight. this was way worse then period cramps!!!

i also had nausea almost once a week. Its hard to sleep, i sometimes wake up 3 or 4 times a night. I also get sharp shooting pains up and down my legs and arms. (which is a little scary)

Tonight i have desiced to stop taking YAZ. I would rather deal with my periods then have to deal with the horrible effects of this birth control!!!!

I know birth control pills affect everyone differently, this is what happened to me. I started taking Yaz in January after being on Yasmin for 6 years (I had severe abdominal pain on Ortho Tricyclin and Yasmin gave me immediate relief. I had PMDD the last 6 months I took Yasmin and asked to switch to Yaz after seeing commercials on it, other than that I had no problems being on Yasmin for 5 1/2 years). The second month of Yaz, my PMDD went away, I felt normal and loved being on Yaz. I haven't had any weight gain, have mild cramping about a week before my period starts and my period is about 4-5 days and I hardly get bloated but I get a severe headache the day my period starts. The last 3-4 months, I've noticed I've had no energy but still try to exercise, I feel so tired no matter how much sleep I get, at times I don't feel very alert and have to focus hard when driving, have bouts with feeling depressed, and occasional constipation. I didn't have any vaginal dryness but often felt like I didn't have the energy to have sex. I had a blood screening last month which came back normal, this month I noticed my hair seems thinner. I suspected Yaz was the problem then I knew for sure after I found this website. My OB/GYN called in a new prescription for Yasmin today, I'm hoping that will help again - at least until I see him in a couple months, and that the PMDD symptoms do not return.

Most comments on here are from women who recently started taking Yaz. Their opinions are biased. When you start taking a new pill of any kind, your body has to adjust to it. Yaz, along with other birth control pills are going to have some unpleasant side effects because look at what they are doing to your body. They are stopping a natural occurring process that your body has done for years. So if you just started taking Yaz, and the symptoms are unpleasant, but bearable, keep taking it. You will feel better. However, if you are on the extreme end, then stop. Coming here to complain really is not going to make you feel any better, because yes, we are all having side effects. When i first started taking Yaz, I was an emotional/anxious mess. My breasts and back were sore, nausea, and flu like symptoms. Yes, they sucked. But now, they were worth it. I feel good. People just need to give their bodies the necessary amount of time for their bodys to adjust, and if you don't want to, stop taking the pill.

My sister at 39 years old recently died from the condition called pulmonary thromboembolism caused by the use of Yaz. Please if you are taking this pill and are experiencing anything negative from it, get off of it immediately. I am currently seeking legal counsel for my sisters death, I believe it is unfair that a product like this can take a human life, and no-one will be held liable. I have been told that it will be virtually impossible to bring a lawsuit against a product that has been FDA approved. My sister left behind three children who love, miss and still needed her. If anyone can give me some type of direction on how to bring a lawsuit against the manufacturer of this product please contact me asap.

Just food for thought, with any hormone that you take into your body you will have side effects and it will change your body. Not just Yaz, but all birth control. There are blood clot and stroke risks with all of it if you look up other brands. Best bet to not suffer is to not take any

I started taking Yaz only 6 days ago and I started getting headaches and some nausea. This subsided by day 4 or 5. By about day 5 I felt like I was on an emotional roller coaster. I have been sobbing and feeling deeply depressed. I was sent home from work today (day 6 on Yaz) because of my "unexplainable" sobbing and lack of emotional control. Not only is this behavior completely unlike me, it was embarrassing. I have never suffered from depression, nor does it run in my family. Judging from this experience, I would not recommend this Birth Control pill to ANYONE, it is harmful and toxic to your body.

Agree with the earlier post -- read the drug insert that comes with your Rx! Majority of these side effects are well-known. Blood clots are a very well-known potential side effect of hormonal birth control -- non common but certainly devastating if it happens. Chances are good that these individuals have a genetic tendency toward abnormal clotting. The only good news for these gals is that they've had a warning (it's likely to happen again).
Re sexual dysfunction, it is a VERY common side effect of all hormonal BC. But especially with Yasmin and Yaz -- the form of progestin in these BC pills has anti-testosterone action which is great for acne but lousy for your sex life. Unfortunately, you might not be able to have clear skin AND libido.
For those with serious mood disorders on the pill, consider non hormonal forms of BC -- copper IUD inserted by an experienced clinician is worth considering.
And gals in your 40s, guess what? PMS often gets worse with age and then slides right into perimenopausal symptoms (did u know 10% of women never stop having hot flashes?!). Normalizing with BC pills is an option, but the sexual side effects are even worse for us older gals.

I took Yaz for 8 months. I suffered bilateral pulmonary embolism in April 2008. I have an enlarged right ventricle and tricuspid regurgitation due to the PE's, which I have to be on medication for the rest of my life. I am now unable to take any form of hormone replacements to control my endometriosis and ovarian cyst, so I am now looking at a possible hysterectomy. I am only 30 years old, which way too young to be having these health problems, all due to a birth control pill!!

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.

Hey everyone. I just want people to be aware of how dangerous this drug is. I know there are people out there that can take this for years and nothing bad will happen to them and they love it, but just keep these things in mind before you start taking it. And keep it in mind if you are taking it now, things to watch out for. I am 25, healthy, I don't smoke and I just got out of the hospital from a pulmonary embolism caused by YAZ. I was there for a week and now have to be on blood thinners for a period of months to a year. I was lucky because if the clot would have been on the other side of everything it would've gone to my brain and I would've had a stroke. Not that it was all fun and games being in my lung. It caused 2 blood clots, one pretty big. I didn't have the classic symptoms of blood clots so the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. I had a rapid heart rate (not too fast but faster than mine is usually, it was around 90-110 bpm), I got out of breath real quickly, I had pain in my neck which turned into a really bad pain in my back when I would breathe deeply. I didn't have the swollen legs which is a classic blood clot symptom. I just want to make sure people know what they are risking when they take this pill. They say there is a risk of blood clots and for women over the age of 35 to not smoke, etc. I would recommend just not taking this pill or any birth control at all, but if you do please don't smoke and please watch for these symptoms!!

Hello All -

I just wanted to update everyone on how I am feeling after getting OFF Yaz. I feel like my old self again! Thank you God! The mood swings are gone, the sadness is gone, the upset stomach, back pain, calf cramps... just all the physical and mental pain is gone and I finally feel good again.

After my 16 year old told me she is sexually active with her boyfriend, I took her immediately for an exam and birth control. The OB/GYN wanted to give her Yaz and I said HELL NO, and then told her about all my troubles. She was shocked and said No one she has given it to has had any issues. Which to that I said, that’s odd since there is a website where there are numerous posts to the contrary.

For anyone considering this drug, PLEASE read all the posts on this site and think long and hard if you really want to take the chance on having any of these terrible 'side effects' happening to you or someone you love.

I took YAZ for 9 months. Within those 9 months I have noticed that my mood was completely different from my mood when I was on Loestro 24. By the end of 9 months I was depressed, worried about everything (especially right before my period) crying all the time, and down right crazy! I don't have PMDD, and I don't think it is good to take this pill unless you know that you have it. This pill emotionally made me crazy and caused me a lot of depression which is something that I am not used to. I switched back to Loestro24.. and felt 1000 times better the next month, my only issues with that pill is that after a long period of time of taking this pill, I get acne all over my legs, which is weird. I recently tried to switch to Femcon FE... and that was terrible, I was really sick from that pill. I don't know that birth control pills are the answer, they all have some kind of weird side effects, but I do know that I would not recommend YAZ to anyone who doesn't want to cry every month. This pill made me crazy!

I'm a 22 year old newlywed and Yaz has been a nightmare. I was on Diane when I was 16 for a year for cysts on my ovaries, and after my period became regular I stopped it... Cysts came back at 19, took Yasmin, and cleared up again, it also helped with my acne. I wanted to get back on the pill for birth control purposes before my wedding, so I started September 2008. The wedding was in December 08, and about a month later, the side effects started to show up. My eyesight (previously 20/20) had gone back 2 points. I was always very slim, but I immediately noticed my bloating, and by the third month, I had gained 15 pounds. I became a miserable mess, irrationally emotional and anxious. But the major side effect of this poison as I like to call it was something that affected my marriage. Before the pill it'd be very very easy for me to get aroused/wet/in the mood/. Now I am dry, no amount of foreplay will get me wet, and this has lead to bigger repercussions. Due to the dryness, there was of course a sharp pain with intercourse. After trying for so long, and growing more frustrated, I developed a condition called vaginismus, where the vaginal muscles involuntarily clench up and become tense right before intercourse. No amount of trying and coaxing and trying to relax will help, this has become another condition altogether that needs treatment and therapy. I was becoming more and more emotional due to the buildup of these side effects. and geting even more frustrated by my doctors telling me its the 'best pill around'. I decided to stop the pill on my own cold turkey. I was on Yaz from Sept 08 till July 09 and I'm slowly getting my old self back. Its a process that takes time, but this was the best decision I've made. Nobody deserves this kind of distress over a stupid pill. As others mentioned, my period was a lot lighter but with a different and dark, sludgy consistency on the pill. I'm about to start my second natural period off of Yaz and I don't care that my periods are heavier and more natural now, with PMS discomfort. I'd rather live with that than unnatural hormones that almost ruined my life.

DON'T TAKE THIS PILL!!!!

Hello everyone. I have been taking YAZ for a little over two years now. It started off great. My mood was better, my cramps and back pain was diminished. However, over the last few months all of these symptoms and more have come back in a rage. I have not had a period in months and I have extreme pain in my uterus when I have sex. I have decided to stop taking my pill and see if I become regular again. I will keep you all posted. I don't know if it is all because I have been on it for so long or what, but it's freaking me out. I'm supposed to have a period. I've taken 4 pregnancy tests over the last 4 months and they are all negative. I also have HPV and I'm not far from cervical cancer. So if this pill is causing all of these problems, I want to stop them and have a baby before I have to have my cervix removed. Good Luck to all of you.

Also if anyone else is having any sort of similar issues please let me know.

I'm on the third week of my second month on Yaz, and I am so grateful for this site. Just last night I had calve spasms - I had NO idea that had anything to do with my birth control. I have the complete opposite libido effect, my body wants sex ALL the time. I say I have suicidal thoughts, but I have never seriously thought about doing physical harm, I've just had the "I should just take fifteen Advil and put an end to my misery" thoughts.. which I guess are, normal? I have awful mood swings. It's like I live in two realities, the one I lived in before, where my life was wonderful, and the one I live in now - It's almost like I can SEE the evil in people, I can see them manipulating and taking advantage of me, people I love. People that would never do these things to me. I never had these feelings before I got on Yaz. Something is definitely wrong, and this has pretty much ruined my birth control experience.

(EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS) I started taking YAZ two and half months ago and everything started out O.K. Then after missing one pill, I started having the worst cramps I've ever had in my entire life. I kept taking my pills on time in hopes of stopping the period and cramps but instead while I was bathing a Huge Fleshy Mass came out of me followed by several blood clots. My husband immediately put the mass in a sealed bag and put it in the refrigerator. I took it it in to see a specialist which claimed it probably was some weird side effect to YAZ causing my Uterine Wall to shed. He also admitted the pill hasn't been out long enough to study all the potential side effects. He suggested I finish out my supply and switch to another type of birth control pill. Yesterday I just started my period again, prematurely, and my cramps are again unbearable...I'm dead tired and moody and hope I'm not passing another mass...and I've made it up in my mind to throw away this year supply of YAZ and suggest anyone taking it with harsh side effects to do the same. REMEMBER LADIES THE RECALL ON THE PATCH THAT MADE SO MANY WOMEN VERY SICK??? DON'T BE A GUINEA PIG AND END UP NOT BEING ABLE TO GET PREGNANT. I wish you all the best in finding the right form of birth control...Take Care!!!

Hi, I have been taking Yaz for about 6 months. I struggle with PMDD. I was really nervous to try as I've heard horrible things from all of these forums. However, I noticed IMMEDIATE improvement in my irritability, rage, crying, insecurity. For the first time since having children, I feel confident, and my moods are steady through the whole month. My periods are also only 2 days and very light! The only complaint I have is that my sex drive is completely gone. So, I feel I need to make a choice between "faking i'm interested" or keeping my emotions in check.

Does no one realize that this is normal for MOST BC. The low sex drive is normal! Mood swings.... normal. It can take up to 6 months for the meds to get out of your body once you stop taking them. I would suggest getting on a non hormonal birth control. Does no one read the side effects to Meds before they start taking them?

I am so glad this site exists! I thought I was losing my mind with all my side effects. I really didn't think to blame my birth control but all the side effects kept adding up! Enough to make me google search them! I'm 25 years old and have been on YAZ for 13 months. I have experienced the following side effects: NO SEX DRIVE! Even when I try... I "dry up" quickly! =( Breakthrough bleeding(which can be three weeks of spotting). Headaches. Sinus pain. Breakouts. Fatigue. (I can sleep for more than 12 hours at a time!) Anger/rage issues (resulting in physical violence). Emotional mess! I was prescribed YAZ because I was getting very painful ovarian cysts. Prior to YAZ I was on Ortho Lo which made me a crying, screaming, hairbrush throwing lunatic. But at least I has a sex drive! I noticed how different I felt when I was on a week long prescription of antibiotics for an infection of my foot. My YAZ wasn't working and I felt like a million bucks. I obviously need to be on some form of birth control for the cysts but I will be contacting my doctor asap to get this changed!!

Coming off of Yaz, about 3 days after my "near stroke". Started my period, of course, Only 2 days after stopping. My blood is like SLUDGE. It is very dark and so thick. It makes me sick to think this has been in my system like this, and i have been trying to function normal, and active. And my blood doesn't "flow" through my veins. And hearing some really scary stories of women who, weren't as lucky as me, taking birth control pills.

I have been taking Yaz for a month and a half. The only medication I have been on in several years.
At work yesterday, my head started getting foggy. And my perception, was all messed up. After about 15 minutes of this not getting better, I started to lose my speech communication. I couldn't finish sentences or words. Stuff was jumbling together. In my right hand, two fingers went numb, then the whole hand. A client ended up driving me to the ER. I tried to call my receptionist, but I couldn't get the words out, my client took the phone and told her I was going to the ER. By the time I got to the ER, feeling started coming back, and I could communicate, in full sentences, if I paused between. By the time I was checked in and saw the doctor, I was able to tell him all that happened. With no problem, then a huge headache came on.
He wanted to rule out stroke, so did the CT scan and MRI. The nurse had some trouble getting blood from me. She kept mentioning that the blood kept clotting. The doctor sent me home saying my brain was perfectly healthy, and to go see my regular doctor.
A friend told me it was the birth control, because she could not take it, as she has lupus, and could have a stroke. She said it causes clotting. All of this was making sense to me. I looked up the side effects I had and found the "stroke symptoms", listed as rare, on Yaz.
My opinion of what happened, I had a blood clot that ended up passing through, and it could have become a stroke.
Another thing I read, besides the clotting. Was that oral contraceptives increase the potassium in your blood. I had been eating a banana for breakfast, 3 mornings in a row (the third on the day of this episode). The added potassium, could have been related to this episode.
How is anyone to know they can't eat something like "bananas" with birth control? I certainly didn't.
I am afraid to try any form of birth control at this point.

Wow, I am so excited to find this site. I have been on Yaz for 9 days now, & I am stopping today. I am shaky, cranky, bloated, having heart palpitations, extreme head pressure, back pain. On top of all that I feel like it is the week before my period times 10. My patience is very short & I am having angry thoughts that I have never had before. I thought it was just me. I am so glad I'm not alone. My eyes also feel pressure & hurt. My husband said that after a few days of taking it I have seemed withdrawn & in la la land. I am also very clumsy, dropping things all the time, & forgetting little things. This birth control is not good!!!!

I am writing for my 14 year old daughter who was put on YAZ, not for birth control as she is not sexually active but for her mood disorder, which I believe is just being a teenager in general...but her therapist told her that it would help her moods, acne and that it even would help her loose weight! cant stand doctors at this point, have no faith in the system at all. I should have had her read this site because..... since day 2, severe stomach pains, throws up every day. shortness for breath ~ pains in her back and shoulder and down her arm like a heart attack. nose bleeds, headaches and OMG moods ~ cant even express the mood that she has been in for 3 weeks. so last week I take her to the doctor ~ of course a nurse practitioner sees her instead of the doctor that is not in. and asks my 14 year old if she would like prilosec or pepsid or zantac? asks a 14 year old and then offers her naperson and tells her that she should try these along with the YAZ. when I questioned the rational of keeping her on this drug she became defensive and said we should try it out for a couple of months. I allowed her to try this way for 2 days and then said nope no more pills. Just came home from the doctors office where they immediately took blood and is sending her for a sonogram to see if she has any cysts in her ovaries. I am just disgusted with the medical doctors who push pills and pharmaceuticals who don't give a damn but to make money. Will keep my eyes out for the lawsuits now. For camp refund for all the days she has missed for taking this horrible drug. hopefully she will not have any long term problems. will always think of this pill if she does.

I have been on YAZ for the past two and half months. Over the past two weeks I have become highly emotional, feel like crying for no reason, my skin itches to the point where I have struggled with sleeping at night and now I have been having an itchy sore throat. The entire time my breasts have been sore as well as have grown substantially. I am not sure if the sore throat is a symptom, but I am curious if anyone else has experienced this symptom of an itchy, dry throat. I have heard that after the third month symptoms can subside as your body balances out. However, I am considering just terminating the use of this birth control. Has anyone had success or a decrease in symptoms after the third month? By the way, my periods have been normal.

I am so glad that this site is here. I too was given Yaz not as birth control but as an alternative to mood swings, No periods for months, and heavy bad periods.. I am 31 and the mother of 4. I had my tubes tied at 24 after my last child. I had taken other types of birth control at younger ages and had no problems. Well this was the start of my 4th month. I too didn't get my period till the week after the white pills. It was shorter and lighter at first, but since its terrible. I bleed longer and harder than before I started taking Yaz. I too cry for no reason and get very mad very easily. My sex drive too went from anytime any where to none. My husband has begged me for weeks to stop taking this pill. With the heavy bleeding he was concerned for my health. I stopped taking the Yaz pill one week ago today, and I am still having very heavy bleeding. This is the second week of it. I just want it all to stop. I too was feeling very tired and would catch myself falling asleep in the middle of the day. But at night when I would go to bed I would lie there awake. I was lucky if I could sleep for 5 hours at a time. My only concern now is when will this bleeding stop, and when is it something that I should contact a doctor about. I will never go on this pill again and I will tell anyone who wants to not to. I don't like going for three and four months with out my period, but I am not sure after this experience if I will try another for of the pill or not.

I am so glad I found this page! I am 16 and have been taking Yaz for a month and a half.. the first month I felt great. I was loosing weight and getting shorter, lighter periods. About a week or two ago I started feeling pressure throughout all of my head and I just didn't feel like myself, so I suspected a head cold or an ear infection. At the same time I was also experiencing SEVERE panic attacks to the point where I thought I was having a heart attack and might be dying. These would sometimes last until 4:00AM and cause me to loose a whole night's sleep. Finally I had my mom make me an appointment with my primary physician. I had an EKG done, which came back normal, and my doctor put me on the handihaler. The panic attacks, anxiety, and paranoia had all continued. Almost a week has gone by since and I had another severe panic attack just last night... needless to say, after finding this website my mom has already called my OB/GYN and scheduled an appointment to change my BC pill. I took my last Yaz pill day before last and don't plan on ever taking anymore. I never thought that something as simple as a birth control pill could do this to a person.

When I first started Yaz, I did not have a period the first month, then on my second month there was a little spotting one day. On the third month, my boyfriend and I noticed my lack of sex drive. Went from pulling him into the bedroom to, "I don't want to", or "I'm too tired". On the third months cycle, my period lasted 2 full weeks. I have become very tired no desire to get out of bed in the morning and have been late for work a little too often.

I have also become very moody, one moment very loving, and the next like the devil. I have also acquired a fever with no other symptoms of being ill.

I stopped taking the Yaz birth control, and in one day my energy is back my boyfriend is very happy, and I actually got up this morning at decent hour.

Happy once again:

NC

I had terrible side effects with Yaz....I literally thought I had a deathly disease. It took 6 weeks to feel normal again. Get off of it if you are suspicious....there are other forms of birth control.

Add me to the list of people who will never take this crap again. 38 years old, never been on birth control. My obgyn sang this pills praises about how it will help with my mood swings and severr cramps due to severe pms. The headaches were awful, by boobs doubled in size, I gained 4lbs in 1 week, moodiness, feelings of being out of control, depression worsened, felt crazy, angry, short tempered. Memory loss, my speech was affected. I'm normally a very decisive, direct communicator and I couldn't find words to complete a sentence. My short term memory was shot. I think I will stick with a few beers to get through my pms. This stuff was not worth it.

I am a 38 Yrs old and I took myself off Yaz 2 nights ago after being on it for 2 weeks. I still need to call the gyno and inform her. My personality completely changed, my moods terrible, snappy and extremely short fused, i think i'm officially banned from the dunkin donuts at the end of the street after yelling at them for screwing up my order-normally i'd let it go and just get it fixed, no patience whatsoever. I'd never been on birth control before, and I'll never go on it again after this experience. I didn't even want to be with myself. I can't believe my boyfriend didn't dump me after Sunday. The side effect i find odd and worrisome the most is, and I still have, pressure in my head and throat and tongue, it's dissipating as of today but started last Thursday (about a 1.5 weeks on the yaz). Has anyone else experience the head pressure?

I'm 2 rows into my 2nd pack of Yaz. It's my first birth control and was told by my doctor to give it a try a couple months and let my body try to adjust. Toward the end of the first month I got very moody, much unlike myself, annoyed with small things, and really upset my boyfriend and snapped at him unjustly. Off the pill, I had max 3 day periods, my first one on Yaz started the morning after my last pink pill of the month and lasted 7 days steady. My mood was the worst toward the end of that, and I was crying over things I normally wouldn't tear up about. Now, 2 weeks into the 2nd month, I'm cramping up already & have a noticeable lack of libido. I am thinking about switching, but feel like 3 months would be appropriate to try to adjust. Nice to know I'm not the only one with these symptoms. It's also nice to know it could be much worse, for example, I've never had a migraine, and haven't noticed any additional headaches since I started. Just hoping I adjust soon, because I'd hate to change and go through another readjusting phase.

Yaz is the first birth control pill I've ever been on. I'm 21 and have not needed a birth control regimen until recently. It is my 7th day taking it. I was ordered to start Yaz on the first day of my period, which I did. My periods have always been 2-3 days long, mildly heavy with no cramps. Since starting Yaz, I am STILL on my period and am nauseous every single day. Everyone keeps telling me it's just because my body is not used to birth control, to wait it out, blah blah blah. But this is complete crap. Why am I gonna pay a co-pay every month to bleed longer and be nauseous every single day? Do any of you ladies think this is my body reacting normally to a new substance?

I cannot tell you how relieved I am to have found this site! I have been taking YAZ for just over 4 months. I started it to try to lessen menstrual flow, not for birth control as I already have my tubes tied. I am a former professional athlete and very in-tune with my body. I am currently 43 and had my tubal at 29.
I started having issues fairly early on, but they were gradual, yet intense. Two things showed up - memory loss and extreme mood swings. I started having difficulty remembering the simplest things and would forget parts of conversations had only minutes earlier. Then the mood swings started. I am a very stable person, even around my period. I began having suicidal thoughts for no reason at all. One day fine, the next day wanting to end it all.

I have put on 14# in the 4-month period, visible cellulite now on my thighs. Vaginal dryness, brown gunky, pasty residue after my period (which never actually stopped) and decreased sex drive.

I called the doctor and stopped taking them as of today after finding this site!

Yaz was my first birth control pill. I have been taking Yaz for the past 2 weeks and I just started my third week. The first week was Ok but I started feeling some side effects since last week: occasional cramping, often feel like throwing up, feeling down, and feeling moody. I called my obgyn and she asked that I try to cope up with the side effects for a month. She said I could take Tylenol for the cramps. If it becomes unbearable she is going to have me switch to the vaginal ring.

I am going to give it a month but if the symptoms don't go away I am going to switch to something else..

I've been using yaz for about 3 weeks; I am 27 years old and am a newly wed. I have seen a dramatic decrease in my sex drive, which, of course is a major issue for my husband and me. Since I have been on it, I have had no desire, not climax, nothing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-(

See, I'd really started to like it... it is the only hormonal birth control that I have tried that has not made me have frequent head and stomach aches- I've tried abstinence, the diaphragm, ortho, ortho lo, the ring, IUD, abortion, rhythm, withdrawal, the pill. No Avail.

...Oh, well, on to find another method- one that does give those of us who have issues with hormonal birth control headache and body aches, one that is simple, and does not kill embryos (thank you, Jesus)!

I Timothy 3:16
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
We serve a mighty God. Mighty enough to create the entire universe, and come down, as a man and live on His earth, still having all power in His hand, die, and rise again, leaving His spirit to dwell until He returns again.
What a mighty God we serve.

i have been taking yaz for about a month. i'm not taking it for birth control purposes, but because of period pain and irregularity. i was taking another low-dose birth control on which i had awful side effects of breast swelling, tenderness, extreme moodiness, and a complete lack of sex drive.

so far i haven't had the side effects of my previous pill, but i am definitely moody. i find myself getting upset a lot easier, crying for no reason, and being more aggressive and sensitive about things when i am normally not. i feel very different emotionally on this pill. i've decided to give it one more month and if things don't balance out, i'm going to go off it. what makes me feel worse is this winds up getting taken out on my family and boyfriend, and i don't want it affecting our relationship. also, i am having some sexual side effects, like an inability to physically get "excited" when this has never been an issue before.

WOW!!! I am so glad i decided to google Yaz. I actually stopped taking Yaz 3 days ago. Not because i felt i was having problems...but because i just no longer need birth control. Little did i know that it was the cause of a lot of my problems. I was diagnosed with Anxiety disorder at 18 and i am now 28. I stopped taking antidepressants about 2 years ago. I have been doing great! then i started taking Yaz...UH O! all of the sudden i was having mood swings, anxiety attacks, headaches, dizzy spells...ugh i thought i was loosing it! of course i related it to my anxiety disorder and fugured i just needed to get back on meds. Surprise, surprise my doctors said the same thing. I even asked "Could it be the new birth control i am on?"..DOc- "O no, Yaz is great ...no anxiety side effects"...
So of course i listen to my doctor and continue the pill. I got back on prozac (I really didn't want to) but what else could i do...i was going crazt and my doctors said YAZ had nothing to do with it...UM HELLO!!! did they research this drug?????? Obviously not..it says right on the website "May cause anxiety" UGH!!!
I just stopped the Pill 3 days ago and i am hoping that all these problems go away and i can eventually get off Prozac as well. THe only major problem i am having now is that i stopped the pill mid cycle and now i am having a really HEAVY period. i never had heavy periods before :(... I am hoping that this goes away and all goes back to normal...
CAN ANYONE TELL ME IF THEY TOO HAD A VERY HEAVY PERIOD AFTER STOPPING YAZ?????????
AGAIN THIS IS NOT NORMAL FOR ME..NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH HEAVY PERIODS!

THANK YOU,

I'm 36 yrs old. I went on Yaz 2 full months ago not for birth control purposes, but to control heavy bleeding, my hair falling out (not hair loss, it grows back), memory problems, period-related fatigue, and extreme moodiness and irritability. So far, I haven't had any negative emotional side effects that others of you have. In fact, it seems to have helped my moodiness and irritability slightly. However, I have experienced two side effects that I cannot tolerate if it doesn't "work itself out" (my doc's words) by the end of my 3rd pack of Yaz. From the first week that I was on Yaz, my libido has been M.I.A. Not only has my sex drive disappeared, but I have found thoughts of sex repulsing me. :( I apologize if this next statement is "TMI" (too much info) but it IS a side effect of this pill that I have experienced! When hubby and I are intimate, I find it IMPOSSIBLE to climax, no matter how hard we try and how "into it" I am. This is not normal for me. This side effect is very disturbing for my husband, who is now insisting that I stop taking the Yaz. I am giving this pill one more month to redeem itself, otherwise it will never set pretty little packet in my house again.

I have been taking birth control pills, patch, NuvaRing for 12 or 13 years now and I am now going on my 2nd and last month on Yaz. Since I started taking this pill my tiredness has turned in exhaustion. My finance and family members have been saying that I am moody lately. I feel highly irritable. During the first month the headaches were on/off. Now I have a headache for two days straight. I can’t wait to finish up the month and be done with Yaz for good. The only reason why I am planning on finishing out the month is because I am getting married in August and don’t want to change when I will get my period.
DON’T switch to this pill.

I've been on various BCP for almost 10 years now (was diagnosed with dysmenorrhea and menoragia). The last year and a half have been on Yaz. I've had extreme fatigue (to the point where I was thinking I had fibromyalgia or CFS) for almost that entire 10 years. My blood tests always came back perfectly fine (no anemia, no thyroid problems; which at that point doctors did not want to deal with me any more and would try to through it off as depression). I've also almost constantly had stomach pain, not severe, but nagging and am nausiated most of the time.

My doctor switched me to Yaz in order to help stop the hormonal migraines, terrible mood swings, and increasingly bad periods (bleeding and cramp wise), and dizziness (that had come on within the past 2 months) that the Mircette was giving me. At first I felt relief (mostly in the dizziness, mood swings and migraines, but not from the fatigue or stomach aches). Increasingly though the migraines have progressed to where I now get them for 2-3 days before my period and 2-3 days after my period. Skipping the period does nothing because 2 days after starting a new pack I get a migraine (my doctor tells me that all the pills are the same except the last few, but it has happened multiple times now, so something must be different).

After a conversation I had with a friend who noticed that her fatigue would lift while she was menstruating and said that her doctor had said that this was because of the break in hormones (and not having put two in two together that those were the only times I wasn't fatigued either), I've decided that I have had it with birth control pills and am going to see if my older body will now work without them. I recommend to anyone who does not need birth control pills for a severe medical condition to NOT use them. They mess up your body.

I started taking Yaz 3 weeks ago and I am feeling very sick, this headache wont go away ,stomach pain that's constant and dizziness and diarrhea I did not have this pain before, it just started when I started taking Yaz I should have research this Birth Control before I started taking it .Does anyone know how long it takes for this Birth control to be out of your system.