June 15th
2008
1:55 AM
i started taking Yasmin after i had my 5th child in July 2002. i was about 70 pounds over weight and my gyno said i would lose weight on this new wonder pill. i did, i lost 30 pounds and felt better than i ever had.
My skin was clear, my period light and i just consistently lost weight. i did notice that i was urinating quite a bit but didn't think much about it. About 3 years into taking the pill, my pharmacist mentioned to me that i should be having potassium levels drawn with this pill. I was a bit confused because i had read the literature that came with Yasmin when i started taking it(im a nurse and i just always research new meds i take) and it never once mentioned blood work. i had to harass my gyno because he thought it was useless but to appease me and because i mentioned to him i take a lot of ibuprofen for back pain he humored me and did the test. It was a little high but nothing crazy so i let it go even tho i mentioned that i was getting horrible muscle spasms all the time. he said my calcium was probably low. i accepted that because i had had 5 kids and figured i had depleted my supply. he mentioned that i could take Yasmin continuously without taking a sugar pill to keep me from having a period, said it was completely safe. so for the next 3 years i only had periods about 4 times a year. i raved to everyone how wonderful this pill was. i was still having muscle cramps but it was a small price to pay for no zits, no periods, no water weight, and i could eat whatever i wanted and had lost 30 pounds after one year of being on it though i never lost any after that.i didn't notice my hair was greasier than normal but i never connected it to the pill. i wanted to take the pill forever! that didn't work out thought when i lost my insurance and was forced to go off it because i just couldn't afford 70 a month. within the first couple of weeks i noticed acne appearing all over my face especially my nose and chin. i was 36 years old! far past the acne stage! i also noticed i felt bloated and my first period that came was like someone had released a flood gate. i went through 2 boxes of super tampons and a bag of pads in 3 days. thats about the time i noticed the weight gain. slowly over a period of 3 months i put on 3 or 4 pounds a week to now a whopping total of 30 pounds in 3 months. i was devastated. i knew that there were side effects of any medication and you assume those risks while taking it but not from not being on it anymore! the only good thing to come from getting off of it was those annoying muscle spasms completely stopped. i had been to the point that i couldn't even flex my toes or they would charley horse i had even gotten them in my jaw from yawning! now they were gone and replaced by fatigue, extreme weight gain and horrible acne and periods. i started blowing up and it didn't seem to be mainly weight, it seemed like fluid. i didn't urinate half as much as i used to it was like my body forgot how to make its own diuretic hormone. i could take a water pill and lose 10 pounds in 4 hours of fluid i knew that was not a good thing. i was scared as well as baffled. i went to my internist and he was shocked when he saw me my lungs were full of fluid, i had put on 30 pounds and was short of breath he ordered thyroid function tests and guess what? out of the blue my perfectly functioning thyroid (i had levels drawn the year before in routine tests) had stopped working when i got off Yasmin! so now i have to take diuretics because i don't seem to make enough of my own which i believe is thanks to Yasmin and i also feel it damaged my thyroid since its mechanism of action is inhibiting your adrenal system and thats what controls your thyroid. i am seriously considering filing a class action law suit based on the fact that for 3 years i never had my potassium levels checked because it wasn't advised by the manufacturer and i have experienced damage from this pill that i was not warned about in the package insert or by my doctor. i had the right to be informed and if they didn't know then the fda should have never approved it. i feel like ive been a guinea pig, and if anyone feels the same my number is ****** if we stand together maybe we can make them take this off the market and find out what has happened to those of us hurt already
June 13th
2008
9:11 AM
Hello! I'm 27 and I've been taking Yasmin for probably 7 years and never had a single problem. My weight stayed the same, my periods got VERY regular, to the DAY, and things were ok.
Starting about 3 months ago I was on my honeymoon and decided to skip my period that month which I do a few times a year and Yasmin never let me down! Anyways my period came anyways and not only that, but I spotted an extra week after! It was most noticable in the mornings after having sex. It was just brown and yucky. Then I didn't have a period the next month, only 24 hours of brown and this month I had a regular one. On top of that I've suddenly gained 5 pounds without changing ANYTHING. I wonder, can Yasmin suddenly screw me up so many years after I started taking it? I hear horror stories about Yasmin but I only see it from women taking it for a few months or maybe a year? It was always so good to me. What's going on? The weight gain terrifies me too because I so easily gain weight and I've been trying so hard to eat well and I feel like it's been pointless. It ticks me off more because I have to pay $50 a month for Yasmin even AFTER insurance pays 15, and now I think it's messing my body up too.
I have a OBGYN appointment in a few weeks and I'm going to talk to her about it and see about getting on a new pill anyways for price reasons, but do you think all these weird sudden symptoms are from Yasmin? Can you recommend a pill? I can't afford to gain anymore weight. I just can't...
-- By candyjanney | Reply | (4) replies | Private Message me
May 16th
2008
10:49 AM
I'm 29, have been on birth control pills for 10 years, and switched to Yasmin about 2 years ago. I a small varicose vein in my right within 2 months of switching, but didn't think a relationship between my vasculature and the pill existed. I can now trace the entire vein from my right hip to my ankle. In the 2 years since starting Yasmin, my ankles and lower legs swelled heavily...but at very random times. It often began at the start of the 7-day sugar pill regime and finished by the time I started a new pack. I assumed that the estrogen withdrawal going into the sugar pills was too much for my body to handle and that the diuretic effects of Yasmin were obviously absent during that time. I also noticed leg cramping, heart palpitations, and I started waking up in the occasional hot sweat in a drenched bed.
So, after making sure that my heart and kidneys were healthy, my gynecologist prescribed continuous hormone Yasmin and claimed it as the "ultimate solution". For 4 months, I have skipped the sugar pills for each pack and started new packages immediately. I have not had a period since, and the edema has continued (still at random) and has become exponentially worse. In the last few weeks alone, the vein in my right leg has become massive, my legs are so distended by the end of the days on which they swellI that I can't fit into pants which are otherwise loose, I am noticing other large veins "surfacing", little veins are breaking everywhere, and I can now see most of the blood vessels beneath the skin in both legs. My primary care physician told me I have chronic venous insufficiency...a diagnosis I'm not okay with. I'm very worried...the changes and ensuing damage have happened way too quickly to be venous insufficiency. I am going to ween myself off of the pill, but don't know what the next step should be. Endocrinologist? Another OB/GYN? Anyone have ideas or similar experiences to share....
-- By alpinekunst | Reply | (2) replies | Private Message me
April 3th
2008
8:35 PM
I was prescribed this medication for mild depression. (it was thought to be post pardum depression) and it did NOTHING!! I might as well been taking a sugar pill. I was very disappointed as this was a newer product at the time and had thought to be pretty good. The good side was that I didnt have any side effects! It did nothing, good or bad!
-- By missangi | Reply | Private Message me
October 18th
2007
4:00 AM
I wouldn't try the patch because of skin sensitivity, shots just seem really wrong to me, but I have been taking different oral contraceptives for nearly fifteen years. Fortunately I haven't had a pulmonary embolism which was definitely a risk because I was a smoker the whole time. Every time I switched pill brands, it was because of insurance copays, it would be non-preferred. However, I was still diagnosed with endometriosis and had one ovarian cyst removed laparoscopically and one ruptured on its' own. Endometriosis is less common in women on the pill because of the ovulation regulation...so I imagine things could have been so much worse. I was able to ask to take the pill continuously, meaning I'd skip the sugar pill week. Oh heaven! Without the pill I have severe cramps, PMS, heavy bleeding, pain and numbness in the crotch area, diarrhea, and was emotionally unstable. Although I suffer from depression, I don't feel that the pill has affected that much at all. I've recently quit smoking, and now am on the Nuvaring because of drug interactions. I've been spotting for 10 days now at least, and been on the ring for a month. I know there is a transition period, but this is not acceptable. My request to my doctor is to get back on some sort of pill on my insurance's preferred list. I'm starting to break out too. I want my pill back!
-- By khickey | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me
September 28th
2007
9:37 AM
I am sooo relieved that I found this site. OMG. I was on the NR before for about a year and 3 months. I didn't have any side effects whatsoever. I went of the NR because my boyfriend and I broke-up and I wasn't having sex. About 4 months later, I developed 2 ovarian cysts that ended up rupturing in my right ovary. BTW, I turned 30 in the same month. I was in so much abdominal pain, hot flashes, painful menstrual cycle, passing huge blood clots, depression, crying all the time, thoughts of suicide, anxiety attacks, very irritable, easily frustrated, inability to concentrate, and nausea. I had NEVER had any bouts of depression, crying all the time, thoughts of suicide, anxiety attacks in my life before. NEVER! My OB/GYN told me my hormones were all out of wack and that I should go back on the NR to regulate my hormones. So, I went back on the NR, my cysts went away and I felt 100% better immediately. Now it's 2 months later and I'm having all the same symptoms I had before the NR, although, it’s not as bad as it was before. Apparently, I'm still ovulating while on the NR although the NR STOPS ovulation. I have developed more cyst(s), haven't gone for the ultrasound yet, in my right ovary, even though my last ultrasound showed that the last 2 cysts went away. Right now, I am emotionally drained and physically in a lot of pain. I think that if I get off the NR my symptoms would be a lot worst. I’m allergic to the patch because of the adhesive, coming off of depo caused too much pain, and I forget to take the pill. So I don't know what to do.
-- By maknmvs | Reply | (4) replies | Private Message me
August 11th
2007
11:39 AM
I was perscribed Allese about a year ago, but my insurance only covers generic medicine. So i was put on Lutera for about 8 months. Just recently the pharmacist said that my new pill would be Sronyx and honestly, i dont trust it as much. My headaches are becoming very severe and almost a daily occurance now plus i've heard that its not as effective.
my period doesn't come on the sugar-pill days... it always comes about a week before. my doctor reccomended this: continuously taking Sronyx and skipping the sugar-pill days. I move from the end of the white pills on week three right to the beginning of a new pack. lately its helped a lot. the continuousy of it is really helping i think. so thats my suggesting to anyone whos having trouble.
May 24th
2007
1:20 PM
I have been reading all the comments and I can't help wondering if I am atypical, but I have not had any of these side effects. In fact the only thing that Lisinopril has done for me is to lower my bp. I was 130 over 90 and now 116 over 78, so it sure works for me!
-- By karenkm | Reply | (4) replies | Private Message me
April 12th
2007
8:34 PM
Hi Ladies.. I am so happy to see so many postings on this pill. I have been on this pill over 2 1/2 years and didn't think anything was wrong with it until 6 months ago. I stopped getting my periods and at first I thought it was because I was working out 6 days a week but when the next month came around and I didn't get it again I thought it was strange. Now 6 months later I have only had my period once. I talked to my midwife about it and she said it was perfectly normal. I have been on the pill for about 12 years and I always got my period. I also have noticed that after 6 months of working out and eating right I am not losing any weight. The only time I lose a couple pounds is when I am suppose to be having my period and I am taking the sugar pill. I also have been experiencing headaches but chalked it up to my life of working, with two kids and maintaining family, house etc. Recently blood clots have come up with a few of my friends and it just makes me think that this pill has something to do with it. I am not ready to have another child, so I would really like to find another pill to try out. Any suggestions??
-- By nancybowers1 | Reply | Private Message me
July 13th
2006
6:09 AM
Thanks to everyone who has posted their experiences with Yasmin!
I am now on my 4th Yasmin free day. So far, I've not had any withdrawal issues aside from a bad migraine yesterday (but I've typically had Migraines during my sugar pill week anyway, so this wasn't surprising.)
I was on Yasmin for almost a year. The side effects creeped up on me slowly. They included:
~ Irrational thoughts (sometimes)
~ Depression and crying
~ Migraines (2 or more a month)
~ Social withdrawal (used to be much more social, but on Yasmin, I didn't want to be around my friends for very long)
~ Fatigue (I sometimes have to close my office door and lay on the floor to rest)
~ Bloating, IBS-like symptoms and pain on the left side of my belly (This is the symptom that made me start researching Yasmin.)
I'm convinced that the Yasmin caused all these problems. I'd much rather try treating my PCOS with diet and exercise.
I will try to post again in a week or so to update progress. (I just want to give others some hope, you know?)
Best of luck to all!
-- By tkg591 | Reply | Private Message me
Yasmin (5) NuvaRing (2) Synthroid (1) Effexor XR (1) Neurontin (1) Lisinopril (1) Sronyx (1)
June 25th
2008
3:44 PM
The biggest side of taking Synthroid for me: it did NOTHING for me. ZILCH. ZERO. It was no better than a sugar pill. After 17 years of that nonsense, I switched to Armour and WHAT a difference.******
-- By nancyadams | Reply | Private Message me