Placebo symptoms and conditions

I will never take this pill ever again. I have been on birth control for over 10 years and I have never experienced anything like this. I have been on at least 6 different types and this crap is insane. I have been on it for almost 3 months and have gained almost 10 pounds in my stomach and waistline, I have constant cramping in my stomach for the last month, I will not stop bleeding for the last month although my period is not due for another 2 weeks, i lost my sex drive completely, nausea, diarrhea, headaches, dizzy spells. all of the above basically. I started taking it because I skipped my period using my regular birth control. by not taking the placebo pills and starting a new pack. I've been doing that for over 4 years and I have never had this kind of reaction to anything. No one should take this pill. RUN FROM IT! if your doctor writes it down... say no... and ask for something else. Because it should be banned. I don't think they tested this one enough. The FDA needs to look again at this pill.

I'm writing in behalf of my 15 year old daughter who is trying loestrin24fe to get some relief from her back pain and migraine headaches (which she inherited from me). She had a full period after just 10 days and has had a non-stop headache since starting this pill that won't stop even with her migraine medicine. I know it takes time for bodies to adjust, each is different and the doctor says give it 3 months- but she is considering just stopping because her headaches are so bad. I'm just not sure she can hold out for 2 and a half more months to give it a good try. Her acne is a lot worse too. Moody- yes, this was another thing we were hoping the pill would help with but hasn't. I'm sure this site is biased for people having problems since if it's working okay- why look up information on it? In any case, 30 years ago the lowest dose pill made me depressed, I barely made the 3 month mark before I stopped and I thought it would be different now. I have spent years before and after having kids using an IUD, and for me, that has always been the greatest birth control!

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 love Quasense. I have been on it for about a year and a half. For the first year, I took it for the 3 month, would have a very short period for the placebo week and I had no breakthrough bleeding. My gynecologist told me I could skip the placebo week and start the new pack to avoid having a period at all. Every once in a while I will have spotting when I start the next pack after not taking the placebo, but its very light. Other than that, I have not gained any weight, my appetite is the same, I don't have nausea. I don't have any cramping, I don't have mood swings, it improved my acne. Other birth controls I have taken in the past has made me gain weight, or given my acne or made me nausea. I love this stuff.

READ THIS BEFORE YOU GET VACCINATED:

This is from Merck's website:

Serious Adverse Reactions in the Entire Study Population
A total of 237 subjects out of 25,274 total subjects (9- through 45-year-old girls and women; and 9-through 15-year-old boys) who received both GARDASIL (N = 13,686) and AAHS control (N = 11,004) or saline placebo (N = 584) reported a serious systemic adverse reaction following any vaccination visit during the clinical trials for GARDASIL.

Out of the entire study population (25,274 subjects), only 0.05% of the reported serious systemic adverse reactions were judged to be vaccine related by the study investigator. The most frequently reported serious systemic adverse reactions for GARDASIL compared to AAHS control or saline placebo and regardless of causality were:

Headache ,
Gastroenteritis ,
Appendicitis ,
Pelvic inflammatory disease ,
Urinary tract infection ,
Pneumonia ,
Pyelonephritis ,
Pulmonary embolism .
One case (0.007% GARDASIL: 0.0% AAHS Control or Saline Placebo) of bronchospasm; and
2 cases (0.02% GARDASIL: 0.0% AAHS Control or Saline Placebo) of asthma were reported as serious systemic adverse reactions that occurred following any vaccination visit.
In addition, there was 1 subject in the clinical trials, in the group that received GARDASIL, who reported two injection-site serious adverse reactions (injection-site pain and injection-site joint movement
impairment).

Systemic Autoimmune Disorders in Girls and Women 9 Through 26 Years of Age

In the clinical studies, 9- through 26-year-old girls and women were evaluated for new medical conditions that occurred over the course of follow-up. New medical conditions potentially indicative of a systemic autoimmune disorder seen in the group that received GARDASIL...includes all subjects who received at least one dose of GARDASIL.

Of the 10,706 who received Gardasil:

120 developed Arthralgia/Arthritis/Arthropathy
4 developed Autoimmune Thyroiditis
10 Coeliac Disease
2 Diabetes Mellitus Insulin-dependent
2 Erythema Nodosum
27 Hyperthyroidism***
35 Hypothyroidism†
7 Inflammatory Bowel Disease‡
2 Multiple Sclerosis
2 Nephritis¶
2 Optic Neuritis
4 Pigmentation Disorder§
13 Psoriasis#
3 Raynaud's Phenomenon
6 Rheumatoid Arthritis††
2 Scleroderma/Morphea
1 Stevens-Johnson Syndrome
1 Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
3 Uveitis

6.2 Post-Marketing Experience
The following adverse events have been spontaneously reported during post-approval use of GARDASIL. Because these events were reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not possible to reliably estimate their frequency or to establish a causal relationship to vaccine exposure.

Blood and lymphatic system disorders: Autoimmune hemolytic anemia, lymphadenopathy.
Gastrointestinal disorders: Nausea, pancreatitis, vomiting.
General disorders and administration site conditions: Asthenia, death, fatigue, malaise.
Immune system disorders: Autoimmune diseases, hypersensitivity reactions including anaphylactic/anaphylactoid reactions, bronchospasm, and urticaria.
Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders: Arthralgia, myalgia.
Nervous system disorders: Dizziness, Guillain-Barré syndrome, headache, motor neuron disease, paralysis, seizures, syncope sometimes resulting in falling with injury, transverse myelitis.
Vascular Disorders: Deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolus.

Pediatric Use
Safety and effectiveness have not been established in pediatric patients below 9 years of age nor in pediatric males of any age.

I have been taking Loestrin 24 FE for the past five days and i am doing pretty good, it actually stopped my period because i still had it when i started the pack which was awesome. Its hard to tell because i have a sinus infection if i am not feeling well from the pill or from the infection. I really think its just me being sick.

everyone needs to realize that this isnt the pill from hell, it just wasn't for you body, everyone is different, ill update you guys in like two weeks, see if im still saying the same thing

Took 1 dose. Within hours, I awoke with a very dry mouth and severe heartburn. Went to the kitchen for water and nearly passed out. Nausea, so I made it to the bathroom. Cold sweats, then chills. Felt like I had the flu. Every time I stood up, I nearly passed out and kept having same symptoms most of the night. Next day, at work, I had to be taken to the nurse, who figured out that my already low blood pressure was dropping dramatically when I stood up (as well as my pulse rate increasing). I threw up all over the doctor's bathroom. Still feel awful 3 days later. Dr. pretty much indicated that blood pressure drop couldn't have been from the Crestor, although my father has had same thing happen with EVERY statin they've put him on. Now, my leg aches and my urine is dark

I have been on Yasmin a month and was actually looking for other info about the pill when I stumbled across this and a few other sites with all these horror stories. It freaked me out quite a bit, considering a lot of the side effects and health problems did not occur in most stories until the women had been on Yasmin for a while or went off of it.
I had been on birth control for about 7 years (only OrthoTriCyclen) and decided to go off because a) I wanted to give my body a break, b) I had lost my sex drive, and c) I was having mood swings that I was convinced were coming from the pill. The year and a half I was off of it, I felt fine. I just got tired of the irregular cycle and worry of impending baby doom, so I decided to get back on birth control. I had heard from several close friends who were on Yasmin how great it was and how they had no side effects, were feeling great, had breast growth (a plus for me), and overall were very satisfied. I decided to give it a go. So, like I said, it has only been a month. I have not noticed any negative side effects, and I consider myself to be very aware of my body. The only thing I can say is that my breasts did get a little tender throughout the month, but they did grow a good bit as well. My period came the second day of the placebo pills and is what seems to be a regular period. No crazy heavy bleeding, no severe pains. I do have a slight headache, but from time to time I get those with my period, so this is nothing out of the ordinary for me.
I just wanted to post a positive comment so that women who read this information will not be scared to death. All you can do is be aware, track your symptoms and side effects, and if you notice anything fishy, stop taking the pill. I hope this helped.

ive been on aviane for 3 weeks and im about to enter the placebo pills i have had acne but i cant tell if that is just my normal life stress or im just getting them, i think im also going to wait a few more months and if nothing clears up im going to go on Yaz since i have heard a lot about that hopefully it works and all helps with everyone.

I've been a pill taker for twenty years (maybe more). I switched to loestrin FE in November. I realize that any bc takes the body some time to adjust but this has been pretty brutal. I gained 12 lbs and I cannot get it off no matter how much I work out and/or don't eat. I'm depressed too yet I have a beautiful life. My doctor says you sometimes need a year for your body to adjust to a new pill... I don't know if I can wait that long. My kids think I have lost my mind because I cry so much. I too think irrationally a lot more than in prior years. I will ask my doctor about this next week. It seems like this pill might have serious effects on the thyroid? Most of the symptoms described are also associated with hypothyroidism.

Hats off to Dr. Engler. Patients need this type of support. He is a unique individual willing to tell his own experiences.

Singulair increases risk of Suicide? Don't just poo-poo the possibility

This analysis is solely the work of the author. It has not been edited or endorsed by GLG
.
Analysis By:David Engler, MD
Physician, The Allergy Clinic

Implications: It is difficult to imagine why taking Singulair would increase the risk that someone would complete suicide. After all, what does a leukotriene receptor antagonist have to do with mental health? I don't know. But doctors, ask yourself, have you ever had a Singulair patient stop taking it because it caused headaches? I have had dozens of them stop taking it because of headaches. When they attempt to try it again, the headache comes back. But the package insert says that the risk of headache is no greater than it is in people who took placebo. Try explaining that to the patient who got the headache--it's very real to them.

Analysis: The story about Singulair and suicide may be based on some cause-effect relationship. I don't know what that is, but I will tell you story of a patient I saw last week. She is a 19 year old college student, with the usual stresses of college. I have been treating her for asthma and allergies since she was 10 years old, and she had been on Singulair for about 5 years.

She was treated in the town's ER for an intentional Tylenol overdose; she took 15 of them for a headache that wouldn't go away. The usual charcoal to the stomach, with Mucomyst to protect the liver from the Tylenol went fine. While under evaluation, the ER doc also noticed she had been "cutting" her wrists and arms. She said that it relieved stress.

They asked her about the Singulair and she said it gave her bad dreams. Astutely, they stopped it. All this happened a week or so before the recent news headlines.

Is that cause and effect? No way....but remember that MRK is the same company that still denies that Vioxx can increase the risk of heart attack. Oh yeah, Vioxx. That drug would have been great as a niche drug if given to treat pain in those already at risk of a GI bleed. But, no, MRK was encouraging dentists to give it out for toothaches, and most patients in my practice who were on it had no history of GI bleed. MRK wanted Vioxx to be a billion-dollar blockbuster; had it been marketed appropriately, it may still be on the market.

So how will I change my prescribing habits? For patients who have a psychiatric history, including those who take antidepressants, I'll mention the story of this patient to those on Singulair and start asking questions to try to determine if they are brittle or fragile from a psychiatric standpoint.

This may be much ado about nothing, but what if it's not? I've learned to stop drinking the drug company Kool Aid without a few grains of salt.

I have communicated directly with Leslie Hendeles, a leading professor of pharmacology and pediatrics at the University of Florida who's direct quote to me was:
"In response to your last comment, I thing Singulair has modest efficacy, and if we take all of our patients off this drug, THEY WON'T SUFFER. This is NOT an important drug for pediatric asthma, as are inhaled corticosteroids."

Ironically, this is the same individual who was quoted in an ABC news article as saying:
"We have hundreds of children on Singulair and have never heard parents make complaints about psychiatric side effects. Moreover, there is no mechanism for this reaction … We will be telling our patients not to worry about this."

WAKE UP EVERYONE...THIS IS AN ADMITTEDLY OVERPRESECRIBED DRUG THAT HAS WORKED WELL FOR MANY, BUT HAS ALSO RUINED MANY LIVES.

The manner in which this drug is casually overprescribed by so many doctors is freakish. I firmly believe that this drug has caused countless misdiagnoses such as ADHD, Bipolar disorder and others. IT FUELS A GOOD PART OF THE ECONOMY TO PUT SO MANY PEOPLE ON THESE DRUGS. I BELIEVE THE PHARM INDUSTRY IS VERY CALCULATED IN THIS MANNER.

Question what your doctors tell you.
See my other posts under matthewct1. I dealt with a situation where my 5 yr. old son was on the road to being diagnosed with ADHD which couldn't have been further from the truth. Singulair changed him. Since he's been off Singulair everyone (teachers, pediatrician, family, etc.) unanimously agree that he does not show the ADHD symptoms like he did on Singulair.

I started the pills back in January, and anywhere between 13-17 days after I have my "real period" during the placebo pills, I have a full blown period. I have that for an entire week, and then for about 3 days during the placebo pills. I am only on my third month but I feel like I am going to start bleeding any day now and it is NOT time! I went on Loestrin 24 because I am going away this summer and did not want my period since I am traveling with my boyfriend. Is this extra bleeding EVER going to go away?! I know it said 3 months for side effects to straighten out, but I have been on Ortho Lo and I didn't have this problem. Not sure if this is the pill for me..

I was prescribed Seasonale for Endometriosis. My physician told me i didn't have to take the week of placebo pills and i could hold off my period indefinitely if i wanted to. This was over 4 years ago. I went nearly 4 years without a period, that is until Quasense came out and it was like Quasense was a placebo. Several weeks into it i started spotting. I switched back to Seasonale with no break through bleeding for another couple of years when i was given Quasense again through the pharmacy as a substitute. Here i am 5 weeks into this pill and bleeding once again. Seasonale held off my periods even on the placebo week. I think my body thinks im not on the pill at all with Quasense and it takes more than a few weeks on it to start the bleeding process since a week off of Seasonale didn't even start a period for me.

I called my pharmacy and told them about it and they said my insurance wouldnt pay for a new pack until it was time to refill it but they would call to see if they would override that and allow me to get Seasonale. Turns out the insurance company had no problems allowing me to get the name brand pill given the problems i am having on Quasense.

I am pleased to know that im not the only one to have this awfully heavy break through bleeding. I'd say in over 4 years of no periods on Seasonale that Quasense definitely has something different going on pharmaceutically- i dont care what they say about the active ingredients having to be the same to be equivalent!

So I've been on Yaz for over 4 months now. I'm 23 years old and have never had bc before (don't need it) My GYN put me on this pill to prevent another ovarian cyst rupture. (i was hospitalized in Dec because i had a 4cm cyst on my ovary that filled with blood and ruptured. Very painful!!) so like i said, i am taking this to prevent that again since Yaz stops ovulation.

The first month was pretty rough. (like i expected) Extreme mood swings, very tender breasts, headaches, slight nausea, and my preiod was a week and a half late then lasted for 16 days and was VERY heavy.

Onto month 2: Same mood swings, breasts still extremely tender, reduced amount of headaches and my period came on the 3 placebo day and was VERY light this time lasting only a day and a half.

Month 3: No more mood swings, breasts no longer tender although bigger in size, Extreme nausea but only lasted for 4 days, and this time my period was more normal ( lasting about 5 days and not too heavy or light).

On my 4th month, things seem to be normal. GYN says i lost some weight from Yaz even though it has made me feel bloated so i thought i had gained weight. Weird. But my period seems to be on a timed clock now coming every 3rd placebo.

So like the GYN's tell you, It takes up to 3 months for your body to get used to the hormones being added to your body. Expect some side effects for a while. Everyone is different but for me the side effects diminished after the 3rd month. Hope this helps. :D

I've just started my second pack of Femcon pills, and now I know that the awful, persistent headaches I've been getting are caused by them because I didn't get any headaches during the placebo week in the pack, but they came back immediately when I started again on the active tablets. The other annoying thing (besides the complete exhaustion) is that my contacts keep popping out. I know this is a noted side effect of Femcom, as are the other complaints I've mentioned here. Just thought I'd share with everyone, since these notes are making me realize that lots of people have suffered with this pill and it's not in my best interest to keep taking it.

made me fell really good actually - everything feels like its gonna be ok, hope its just a placebo affect...

I've taken Zoloft on and off for three years for anxiety, panic attacks and agoraphobia. I started with 25 mg and have gone up to 75 mg/day. I am now on 25 mg/day, which my physician calls a "placebo" level. Initially, I considered Zoloft a miracle drug; I was able to get out of my house and was no longer suffering debilitating panic attacks.

I went off Zoloft when I became pregnant and resumed taking 25/mg the day I delivered my baby two years ago. I had suffered from postpartum depression and anxiety with two other babies and decided to be proactive. It worked; I did not develop PPD.

I "ramped up" my Zoloft to 50/mg day when my baby was one year and that's when the weird side effects began. An especially verbal person, I was having trouble coming up with the right words when speaking. I'd feel a weird shortness of breath which seemed to come and go and seemed to have nothing to do with exertion. In an odd way, it seemed like a blunted panic attack and I'd feel this sensation when I was not active or engaged in an activity.

I've never taken/done recreational drugs, but I do feel a bit "off", fuzzy and sometimes dizzy, like I'm on something. I decided to go to a lower dose and nearly all oft these odd symptoms disappeared...I'm back to 25/mg.

I'm afraid to wean off Zoloft completely, so I'll stay at 25 for now. I'm a tiny person, so I think we have to find the levels that work best for us; I've always been sensitive to meds and find that the "usual" amount, even OTC's dosages are too much for me.

I have been on Yasmin for three months now. I just finished my third pack, actually on the placebo week. The first month I had no symptoms or reaction to the pills and I got my period the first day of the placebo week. The second month I had unprotected sex and began to have cramping, lower back ached, nauseated, frequent urination, and at the end of my second pack I did not get my period. On my third month, much of the same symptoms and now I am two days into my placebo week and am worried I might be pregnant. I have taken the pills religiously and have not missed a pill. Please let me know if anyone has had any of these same symptoms and possibly missing two periods in a row! Thank You in advance.

Thank god for the internet-I don't know what I would have done if I had to feel the way I did from taking Yasmin any longer without knowing why. I took Yasmin for two months. In the third week of my second month I suffered from severe anxiety and panic attacks along with irrational fears and obsessing on random thoughts that wouldn't normally bother me. When I would somewhat calm down, I would then feel so depresses because I didn't know why I just couldn't go back to feeling like myself. I am a worry-er, I admit, but never to this extreme. I was so nervous, I had no appetite and the anxiety really began to take its toll on me physically. Now that I look back on it, I was more nervous than usual in my first month, I have lost my sex drive, I have had small dizzy spells and blurred vision, random pains in my left lower abdomen area, but I never put these all together. When I found not only this website, but tons others with women writing about all of these side effects, I already started feeling like myself again. It's been 4 days off the pill and I still get a little anxious, but nothing like it was last week. I can't wait for this stuff to get out of my system. I did take the pill at 7:45 every night and I do notice I'm more nervous in the morning when I get up and by late afternoon, I start to relax and feel more like myself. Synthetic hormones are not natural and I really feel like we shouldn't put this stuff in our bodies. We are messing with scary stuff. God only knows what would have happened if I had to endure any more of that physical and mental pain!

I started Trinessa earlier last month and it was my first BCP. I've been on my period ever since i started it so I'm not sure if it is because of the pills. I started the placebo(period) pills and now my cramps are HORRIBLE and my period is even worse. Its been 27 days on my period and I'm STILL going strong!

Has anyone else had this problem or suggestions?

The first month on Yaz was great because I was better able to control my mood swings and had less of them. However, during the four day placebo I felt like I was having withdrawals because I would bite my boyfriends head off at the drop of a dime and I hated life in general. I also had diarrhea and nausea prior to the beginning of my period. I experienced spotting the first
13 days of taking Yaz. My sex drive increased tremendously.
During the second month on Yaz I noticed my libido declined dramatically! Three nights before my period started I had horrble stomache cramps and nausea at 4:a.m. and had horrible diarrhea at 4;a.m. before my period started the next day. My flow is a very dark red, almost purple, which is different than it has ever been. I will try Yaz for a 3rd month and see how things go. So far I have do not have enough of a reason to want to continue taking this drug.

I need some help. I have been on Yasmin for almost 4 years. Previously I was on ortho and was taken off of it due to an alarming weight gain and emotional side effects. Yasmin seemed GREAT until now... I am experiencing severe anxiety, shaking, headaches, blurred vision, hair loss, low sex drive and depression. I assumed this was all due to stress from graduating and entering the working world, but I have nothing to be upset or stressed about... I have such nervous thoughts and can sometimes say things that are just so unlike me.. I just don't feel myself. I am afraid to go off Yasmin and onto another pill in fear that things could get even worse... My previous experience with ortho was short but definitely not sweet. I am scared and afraid because I am only 22... Has anyone experienced anything like this that can give me some piece of mind?

I am participating in a research study for Wellbutrin helping smokers to quit. I am 25 years old. The study is a double blind study so there is a possibility that I am on placebo...but judging from my feelings - I am not. I have been on wellbutrin for 8 days now. I went from 150mg to 300mg in the course of 3 days. My symptoms/side effects include feeling "blah", not having interest in conversation, coordination problems (I have had issues with walking up and down stairs; almost to the point of falling), small episodes of memory loss, and I am thinking possible hair loss. The hair loss is the most devastating to me and I am going to stop taking wellbutrin because of it. I will find another way to quit smoking - there is no sense in taking something that is going to make me feel horrible about myself. Has anyone quit taking it and have their hair grow back?

I took this BC for only a month...after just my first month I decided that this pill was NOT for me!!! I got my period like clockwork in my last week of the packet. This month I haven't gotten my period yet I STILL am experiencing the cramps...has anyone experienced a missed period after having stopped Loestrin?!?!?