Yasmin and nightmare

ive been on Yasmin for 5 months. its been the worst 5 months of my life. been VERY depressed desperate and had suicidal thoughts. its made me cry and cry and cry. im still currently taking this but am waiting to finish this pack and change to loestrin 20. all women react to different pills. but from my own experience i wouldn't go near this pill. i wish id changed pill sooner because i cant handle my life at the moment.

I am so relieved to read all of this.
I have been on Yasmin for about 2 months, and it has been a nightmare.
I have suffered from heart palpitation, leg cramps, nausea, & severe depression.
I'm only 16, and I don't want this medication to ruin my life.
I was told that this will give me shorter and lighter periods.
I am currently on my 8th day of my cycle.
So much for "shorter."
I will never take this horrible pill again.
Thank you all for opening my eyes.
I thought I was going crazy.

Hi Gosh I can't thank this forum enough. I have booked my appointment for the Doc today I have felt so bad, and then came across this forum. I used to suffer from Panic attacks about 5 years ago. It happened suddenly and it got so bad that I ended up in Hospital. I was put on anti depress. for a year. Now I know I was on the pill then but can't remember which one and never thought about a link. However I have been fine for the last few years and was not in a relationship so didn't go on pill. Now in one for the past year and a half and firstly went on Dianette as I had bad acne then6months later went on to Cilest, had really bad breakthrough bleeding on both. So last month switched to Cilest. Have had two major Panic Attacks within the month, and as I never associated the pill with the attacks the last time it never occurred to me until now that it could be related. It was obvious to me that there was a connection to Yasmin as I just went from normal to mental this month, had a huge row with my Fiancé over nothing, had two major attacks. On Saturday was out at a meal and my mouth went like sandpaper, couldn't get rid of it then almost a second later major diarrhea
and felt heart palps. Was up all night anxious. Now my head is all fuzzy, ringing in the ears, feel my neck is stiff and I am dizzy all the time and my heart is really beating out of my chest. My contacts are also a nightmare with dry eyes This is after one month on Yasmin and it has to be it as nothing else in my life has changed over the month (except getting engaged< so I can’t be depressed!) I have really felt out of sorts and bloated too. I have talked to my Fiancé about it and have said that I may just come off the pill all together and get an alternative non hormonal contraceptive as I am just so unhappy on the pill and sick of changing.

Girls, I thought I was going crazy until I started reading all of these posts on the side effects of Yasmin. I have been off and on different types of pills for 15 years and have NEVER experienced anything like this. My breasts hurt so badly I can't even touch them, I have gained weight, am bloated, EXHAUSTED and so moody and off sex that my husband doesn't know what to think anymore. All of this after only 12 days of this nightmare pill. My doctor and another gyno friend told me to "ride it out" until I finish the pack and go back on Yasminelle (I live in Europe, don't know if it exists in the States), which I was on until last month. I cannot fathom taking this for another 10 days but am also worried about stopping a pill mid-cycle.

I have found all of this so surprising since I am quite healthy and have never experienced side effects from anything before (though it should be said that I have never taken tons of medication since I am rarely sick). I am also really active, always out and about, doing a million things at once and while I get tired like everyone else I am used to long, active days. Since I started this pill I have been going to sleep at 9.30pm and getting up at 7am!!!! And I'm still tired when I wake up!!!!

I have several girlfriends who have been taking Yasmin for years and absolutely love it, so I thought something was really wrong with me. I actually considered taking a pregnancy test though I think it's highly unlikely since I was on another pill last month and had a regular period two weeks ago.

I just can't wait for this all to be OVER. Something is wrong with this pill and my body.

When taking YAZ there is only one question to ask yourself, do you feel lucky? Well do you? I am the fiance of the daughter of y_oung_a_american_z_ombie who was laid to rest on Aug 4, 2008. (See posting) She was misdiagnosed with pleurisy by what we thought was a trusted doctor, and passed away from a pulmonary embolism. I want all who are planning to take this drug or currently taking this drug to know that YAZ is a silent killer. Be aware that although you may tell your doctor that you are on YAZ your doctor should look at ALL the possibilities when making a diagnosis. God bless and watch over those that have perished at the hand of this crap and also to the survivors who are telling the true story of this "Wonder drug"

It is so funny to read all of the negativity but nothing positive! I came here looking for side effects and get a bashing about how horrid Yasmin/Yaz is! Let me first start off by listing my side effects that I wanted to know about:

breast tenderness
change in appetite
tiredness
red spot in eye

Next, let me tell you that I researched BEFORE taking this medicine because 1. I have MS 2. I suffer from migraines and seizures and 3. I take a whole boat load of medications! My doc recommended Yasmin for PMDD coupled with Sarafem to help my mood right before and during my time of the month. I must say that I have only been on it for about 10 days so I do not know anything of how it works with my period.

I am APPALLED at the fact that there are few, if any, positive comments about this pill! I know for a FACT that it works because I know 7 people personally that are on it that have NO PROBLEMS! So, I ask you all that have negative comments, what is wrong with you, other than you HATE the pill? What OTHER meds were you on while taking it? I read a few comments about stopping for a month and then starting again and then wondering why they felt like crap?? Well HELLO?! You are effing with your body's hormones! And there is a difference between Yaz and Yasmin hormones. If you had a bad experience with Yaz, make sure you are not confusing it with Yasmin! Yaz is a 24 day hormone pill where Yasmin is only 21 days.

I am not a doctor, but like I said, I have done my research. I have suffered with adult acne and PMDD for years. It sucks. If Yasmin helps, I want to know. I don't want to read a bunch of bull about people who mess up their cycles by taking the pill and smoking or taking the pill with meds they shouldn't be taking them with. I know what I can and cannot take. Most of what I take is natural and what is not, well, it CAN be taken with Yasmin. Like the website for Yasmin says and like most of the informational, non-biased websites say, Yasmin and Yaz is not for everyone. Some people cannot handle this type of hormone.

I can guarantee you that some doctor or pharm company can tell you that whatever symptom you are having is from something completely unrelated to the BC you are taking. Warnings are clearly marked...read them and obey!

I was on Yasmin since 2001. I LOVED it, it was great for me. At the end of 2006, I read about Yaz and asked my doc to switch me and so he did. I developed hives and cystic acne all over my face and back. It was terrible, and I thought it would get better but it got worse. So after 3 months of Yaz i went back to Yasmin. I currently have no health insurance and have been paying out of pocket for it. EXPENSIVE! but worth it. I never had any negative side effects while on Yasmin. It actually was beneficial for me, cleared up my skin, no more ovarian cysts, lighter periods and little cramping. For me Yasmin works great. Until I had to stop taking it 2 weeks ago, everything was rosy. I moved from NYC to Upstate NY, 300 miles away, and transferred my prescription for Yasmin. When it ran out last month, I called my doctor in the city to request a refill and he declined without me going to visit him for an exam since it has been over a year, which is ethical but BAD for me, because it's not convenient or cost effective for me to get to my doc 300 miles from here. So I went to Planned Parenthood and they refused to prescribe Yasmin for me because I checked the box in the health history that asked if I have ever had a history of headaches. I have gotten tension headaches for years but none in the last few years and they told me that because I checked the box they can;t prescribe anything with estrogen in it to me. I was so mad, I walked out without my exam. I called my doc in NYC and am taking the train down for an appointment this week. Unfortunately, I have to spend a month off Yasmin. I have been on one pill or another since 1993, so I know what works for me by now, and Yasmin has been a GODSEND. I am currently a disaster. I have developed severe cramping and bloating in my abdomen, which is normally flat as a pancake thanks to working out a ton, I am ravenous and want to eat EVERYTHING, I am moody and have developed a few large painful acne cysts on my face, and so far it's only been 2 weeks off, 3 if you count the placebo pill week. I want to kill someone. I am totally miserable. My mood was level all the time on Yasmin and I never had acne and my ovarian cysts had ceased. Did I mention that I am miserable? I am experiencing extreme fatigue as well. I am actually considering going to the county clinic tomorrow just because I can't take it anymore. I'd sooner take the morning after pill (which Planned Parenthood gave to me to take before they gave me a script for some stupid progestin-only pill) to trigger my period, which I think I am going to do, and order a month of Yasmin through an online Mexican pharmacy, just to get this nightmare to cease. I'm going to go do just that right now. I can;t take it anymore.

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

nursehl

Hair loss! My hair was falling out by the handfuls after about 5 months on Yasmin. It first I had no idea that it could be the BC, since I have never had any side-effects like that from any other kind. I stopped taking the pill immediately, but my hair still falls out! I've been off Yasmin and any other BC pill for over a year now, and my hair is still falling out! Help! My Dr. is completely ignorant and telling me that he's never heard of any side-effect like that. I also have really bad acne. I had thick hair and completely clear skin before I started this BC pill. What the heck is happening? I had all my hormone levels tested as well as thyroid, and those are fine. Any ideas? Anyone else having this problem? Anyone found a cure? What is going on, and how do I get my hair back?

Yasmin ruined my libido. Sure, it cleared my skin, solved a dandruff issue I always had to struggle with, not to mention less PMS and predictable periods. Plus, my breasts got slightly bigger. But it killed my sex drive. So I discontinued it and, bingo!, sex is great. But I can't sleep, I have dandruff again, and some acne, not to mention the awful PMS and mood swings. I don't know what to do. Enjoying sex is great, but having dandruff is awful! I wish I could get some help :(

Yaz and Yasmin are two different pills!

(http://www.yaz-us.com) For Yaz

(http://www.yasmin.com) For Yasmin

I have been taking Yasmin for 2 months now and everything is going great!

I just wanted to post this because I noticed that some of you seemed confused and you were mistaking Yaz for Yasmin and vice versa.

I did hear a lot of bad things about Yaz though. Please check out the websites.

I just want to say that I was on YAZ for 1 1/2 years and I had absolutely no problems with it. In fact, YAZ was one of two birth control pills that I was on that didn't make me sick, out of five. Yes, sometimes I have anxiety, I'm depressed, bitchy, etc, but it is because I am Bi-polar and have been diagnosed for years now. I hate to sound insensitive, but maybe some of you ladies are just crazy like me. Also, birth control pills pump hormones into your body, and hello, what do hormones do... they can make us a little irrational, bitchy, depressed, etc. YAZ is not that much different than any other birth control.

I just went on Yasmin, because my insurance covers it better than YAZ. I will keep everyone posted, but I'm not too worried.

Hello,

I read about how YAZ birth control pill affects the body and psych and I am now scared. This is my 2nd day of YAZ (I've never been on birth control pills ever and I am 27 years old), it's all new to me but after reading all these negative posts about Yaz I don't know what to do. Before the birth control pills, I was depressed, annoying, serious weight problems - 210 lbs :~~((, low energy, low libido, always tired, terrible migraines every 2nd day, ridiculously increased appetite and excessive hunger, hair where it shouldn't be, menstrual blood clots, excessive cramping etc
I have all these problems for 3 years now and now that the family doc. put me on YAZ birth control pill I am even more scared - mainly of more weight gain, it would be a tragedy for me, I am fat enough already and what's worse I can't lose the weight, exercise doesn't help, diet doesn't help, NOTHING. Will YAZ birth control pill worsen my already tragic condition? I just don't know what to do and what to believe ... I appreciate any advice or help you can give me ... Thank You to all!

Hello Yasmin Sufferers out there, I have currently been taking Yasminfor four months exactly, I started my cycle today which means that I would start to take my new pack of pills come this Sunday, except I have most definately decided that I am going to stop. Especially after reading all of these posts and have come to the realization that all of my health problems seem to be Yasmin driven. I will now list the long list of symptoms that I have expierienced over the last four months:

Water retention, dry mouth, dehydration ( also note: drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day), blurred vision, shaking, headaches, backaches, crying at the drop of a dime, moody, irritable, constipation, nightsweats, coldsores, breast tenderness, as well as numbness in legs. I also have naturally thin hair, but have noticed that my hair has become thinner. I have also gained 10pds.

I am 24 years of age and have been taking this pill for four months. When I was younger I took Ortho Tricyclin for years and gained approx: 60pds. I went off of that pill and dropped the weight almost immediately along with changing my nutrition completely. So, it wasn't just the pill. I then stayed off of the pill for years, and was absolutely fine. Last year I tried to take Yasmin, I went on the pill for one month and withing the 1st week gained 8pds, I stopped taking it after one month, because I am so weight conscience because the pill had made me gain weight in the past.

I tend to have moderate adult acne. I went to my Dr. for an acne treatment, and he suggested the Birth Control Pill. He suggested Yasmin because of the water pill which is in it. This time my Dr. convinced me that I did not give the pill enough time last time and should give it three months minumum.

So, I have given it four months and the symptoms seem to be getting worse as well as the weight gain, and irritability.

I have also felt depressed and wondered if have been depressed which I have never had thoughts of in the past.

One thing that Yasmin has done well for me has been clearing up the acne, which was what I wanted to stop, but after enduring all of these other symptoms, I would rather have adult acne in trade for all of these.

Like I mentioned above I took my last pill last Saturday because that was the end of my pack and I do not plan on starting a new one this Sunday. I can only hope that I do not get any negative side effects when coming off of the pill.

I hope that this helps you ladies out there looking for info and highly recommend researching a birth control pill extensively before taking it.

Wishing you all the best of luck, thank you all for voicing your symptoms as I didn't even realize that these were all pointing to one problem.YASMIN.

Lauren- May 2005 through August 3, 2007: The following is my daughter’s story which I put on paper so that she could bring it with her to the gynecologist in case I couldn’t be with her. I didn’t want her to forget anything. Someone suggested that I post it to a website:
The most recent issue seems to have started when she first went away to college in the fall of 2005. She came home one weekend with a stomach virus (vomiting, nausea), but it seemed to never completely go away. She was taken to the ER a few times, just to be treated for dehydration and sent home because there was 'nothing wrong with her'...Over the next few months she seemed to constantly feel sick, nauseous, fatigued, and get a lot of headaches. We took her to her primary care doctor, who did blood work and treated her for heartburn, acid reflux, etc.. During this time, she actually had appendicitis and had her appendix removed. After that she continued to feel sick. So we moved on to the gastroenterologist who ran many tests: cat scan endoscopies, more blood work, and were told that they couldn't find anything wrong. Then we started with a nutritionist to help her eat healthier and hopefully reduce the nausea which subsided occasionally but never let up. Nothing there helped. Then it was back to another gastroenterologist with no results. Over this time, anxiety was hitting her big time. She was finishing up finals in her first year of college and was constantly skipping classes because she was too nauseous to get out of bed for her 8:00 classes. Home for the summer - no relief. She decides she couldn't go back to her college for her 2nd year so she enrolled in community college - not exactly the plan, but at least she was on course with her classes and doing well. Still stressed and nauseous, we started with the neurologist who prescribed many medicines and ordered an MRI, which showed nothing (no problems, not no brain!). Back to the primary care doctor who finally diagnosed her with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which fit the current symptoms of nausea, severe diarrhea while vomiting and the finale: passing out. So, back to the state college for 2nd semester of sophomore year. But the medication for IBS was making her too sleepy to get through the day, so she discontinued it. The symptoms had subsided a bit but towards the end of the school year got worse again - just in time for finals, again. During that semester at school, she sought counseling at school which seemed to help her stress level, but she still had daily ‘melt-downs’, so the therapist sent her to a psychiatrist for meds. The doctor started her on the lowest dose (25mg) of Zoloft. As she started to feel a bit better, they increased the Zoloft over the next few months until she was at 100 mg. Home for the summer, the symptoms came and went, but about 2 weeks after she started the 100 mg, she confided in me that she was feeling depressed and actually had thought of 'not caring if she died'. We immediately took her to the psychiatrist upstate who had treated her at school and whom she had seen once since she left school. (She had also continued with the cognitive therapy at the college.) The doctor told her to start weaning off the Zoloft, but start Seraquel (another seratonin-based drug). She also said she was going on vacation and Lauren needed to be seen often as she switched medications, so she advised us to find another psychiatrist closer to home to monitor her progress. So the new doctor put her on Wellbutrin, continued to wean her off Zoloft, and continued her on the Seraquel. He also ordered blood work and a fasting glucose-tolerance test (all of which came back normal/negative). The symptoms got severely worse over the next 2 weeks: constant nausea, vomiting, dizziness, weakness, fainting. On Monday, she spoke with the psychiatrist and he told her to stop all meds. We continued to believe that the recent symptoms were caused by either the psychotic meds themselves, still in her system or the withdrawal of the meds. By Tuesday night, she had been vomiting for almost 24 hours and I had to take her to the ER, not because I thought they could figure out what was wrong, but to re-hydrate her because she was becoming dehydrated. After 7 hours, and more blood work, x-ray, EKG, she was released and proceeded to get nauseous on the way home at 4AM. BUT, a very nice nurse came in while Lauren had fallen asleep and asked me why my daughter was on so many meds. I basically told her the above story and she asked me when Lauren started on birth control pills. I told her that I took her to my gyn. in May of 2005, before she was going off to college and we told him about the terrible menstrual cycle (heavy bleeding and 1 day a month home with cramps all through high school) and he put her on Ortho-tricycline low. At her 3 month check, she told him she was losing large amounts of hair. He changed her contraceptive to 'Ov-con 35'. In November, she complained of nausea and he switched her to Yasmin. She has been on it ever since. The nurse asked me if I was aware that every symptom that Lauren has had since October of 2005 could be a side effect of oral contraceptives!! She told me about a book to buy, written by Dr. John Lee about hormones and imbalances. She told me not to stop the b.c. pills abruptly, because since they are synthetic hormones, and with what her body was going through, it might put her into an hormonal chaos, similar to a full-blown menopause! So we are now reading the book, waiting to do saliva- testing and trying to see a gyn. to help us. Her own gyn. has a personal family emergency and is on a temporary leave of absence (as we found out when his office canceled her yearly check-up twice in the last 10 days). We are trying to get her in with one of the other doctors. She cannot start a 3rd year of college still feeling ill!
Added to the above is the fact that my husband’s sister called to see what was going on with Lauren after she got a phone call from her mother. It turns out that my niece, Heather (age 23), has been making the rounds with the doctors and having testing done (MRI, blood work, etc.,) because she has been nauseous and passing out. Guess what medicine she is taking…..Yasmin!

This is the list of most of the medicines (besides the 3 oral contraceptives) that she has been on during the last 27 months because of the side effects of Yasmin, and no doctor suggests she stop her oral contraceptive pills for a few months!
Prochloroperaz (5mg), Topamax (25mg), Prevacid (30mg), Zofran (4mg), Omeprazole (20mg), Amitriptyline (25mg), Amitriptyline (50mg), Inderal (60mg), Propranolol (10mg), Amitriptyline (10mg), Sertraline (Zoloft) (25mg), Sertraline (Zoloft) (50mg), Metoclopramide (5mg), Sertraline (Zoloft) (100mg), Seroquel (25mg), Wellbutrin (150mg), Dicyclomine (10mg), Compazine (severe reaction: Extrapyramidal), and other anti-nausea meds in 4 trips to the ER (one due to the reaction to Compazine!)

Hello! I have been on Yasmin since I was 18 years old (I just turned 22), but in the last 6 months I started getting panic attacks. I have always been very self confident and have never had problems with anxiety ever. I never thought to check into my bc pills because I have been taking them for some time and have never had a problem. But now that I look back I did stop and start them again 5-6 months before the symptoms started. So Im not sure if this would be from that, but Im desparate to find some type of solution.

Hey Hill! So nice to hear from you again! :) And especially to hear, that you're feeling back to normal finally! I feel so happy for every one of us, who can say this after that nightmare...

Well, I'm feeling very down again at the moment. Since my period finally had arrived again in August 2006 (1,5 after stopping Yasmin!!!!...) I've been feeling worse and worse each month again. Two very bad colds in Oct/Nov 2006 also made it worse... It's not as bad as it was whilst taking Yasmin in 2004 and I so much hope, that it won't get that bad again...

I don't know 100% why this is happening again to me but there seems to be much more wrong as I thought and all the docs believed. In my family are already 4 stories of thyroid problems, so it might be, that I've been and still am also suffering from such problems without having known the last years... As I know now I never should have started any bcp, because that makes thyroid problems only much bigger... And Yasmin seems to have totally brought everything out of whack in my body with that diuretic and all that other "new wonderful stuff" in it...

So that's not very good news but I'm working on it and hoping to find a solution in the next few months. I've been given some thyroid hormones but I'm a bit afraid to take them (everybody who took Yasmin knows why...). I'm so done with going through another nighmare as 2 years ago...

But seeing that finally more and more women, that I had met 1 or 2 years ago here, come back to this forum and tell us, they're back to normal. This gives so much hope to all of us!! So thank you Hill for letting us know these great news!!

I wish you all the best for your future and your "new life"!! :)

hugs,
Silke

Well I have been off of this terrible pill since October..thanks to this site. Things are slowly getting back to normal..and i mean very slowly. My hair is still falling out..but not as bad. My sex drive is slowly getting back there..but I will have this out of nowhere attack of getting horny, if i dont act on it in 10 minutes..the feeling passes. The vaginal dryness is GONE. I have gained 12 pounds since going off the pill..and my appetite is insane, all I want to do is eat. My mood still sucks and I can't remember how I used to feel..Some mornings I wake up feeling great, then by noon im depressed and by 5:00 im ready to go again..a total rollercoaster. Im still tired alot. And the anxiety comes and goes..i was never an anxious person..this is the worst thing about this pill.
Ive only been off it for 4 months and I have gotten my period every month since. For all of you going through this nightmare called YAsmin..I feel for you. It can ruin relationships, your outlook, concentration, everything..and it is a long road back to your healthy state...but you will get there. Just keep the faith...

hi kim 123,
i know you don't feel like yourself but just seeing your post you sound so much more together than you have when we have emailed each other,you seem stronger and the fact that you have been researching and are now able to pass your advice on is a sign that you are on the road to recovery,i am sooo pleased for you kim i really did feel for you when you were just of yasmin and in that terrible first stage of withdrawl,and also well done for getting off the lexapro,i'm sure you don't realise it but it was such a strong thing for you to do and you have coped brilliantly. how is dejay doing? have not heard from her in a while,i hope that means she is out there enjoying life to the full and had put this nightmare behind her!
great to hear from you on the new site,i hope you will find even more help and support on that site too.

sarah

hi guest 36372,
i set up the new forum precicely so that people could chat and carry on personal correspondance and leave this site for posting factual information and personal stories as well as seekng advice as i agree that the site has become very hard to find answers from if you are a newcomer. i have been "advertising" daily to keep the link where regular visitors and newcomers can see it because it was only set up on friday and many people are not aware of it yet,as time goes on it will not be necessary to post the link. we have quite a few members already. i am sorry if this has offended you in any way but a lot of ladies on here just need some support and understanding and maybe just someone else that understands how they are feeling to chat too. i do not make any money from the new site,it is not a business it is just something i wanted to do to help people who want help and understanding. i am glad that the information you have found in the guests long postings have helped you,that is precisely the point of this site,if you want to chat about what you have discovered then please come to the new site. i won't post the link as it is on this page already.
I thought that a new site was needed to share personal experiences instead of clogging up this page,kind of like a yasmin support group...as the TV advert says it's good to talk!
once again,i wish you all the best,if you find out anything that could help all the other ladies please post it here and the new forum,we should all be doing as much as we can to help each other get through this nightmare.
Oh and in answer to your question about the chest pain,i get that too,especially before my period,sometimes it goes into my shoulder too and i feltl i am having a heart attack! my pulse races for a while then calms down but skips a few beats here and there,i had an ecg done and was told everything was fine,it was just anxiety,but my doctor would say that as he does not believe that yasmin caused any of my problems anyway. There are lots of reasons why your heart may feel this way but no definative answers,it is all if's but's and maybe's. it could be to do with dehydration,could be to do with lack of magnesium or it could be a surge or lack of the correct hormone peaking at the correct time. the truth is only time will tell,hopefully it will start to improve soon.
best wishes.
sarah

<<>>

YES! One of my severest symptoms!!

<<>>

Don't worry bout that fact, dejay, I think that is just because someone, who is fully recovered, simply doesn't get back to this forum again, cause there's no longer the need to find help. So I still believe, that there are people around, who are completely back to normal after that nightmare!! Well, though it would be so helpful for all of us to hear from someone, who got through this and is completely recovered.....

Greetings
Silke

My normal period arrived again , but this time about 3 days too early (30.12.06). And today it's already lasting 8 days!! And it only got a bit lighter today. I'm feeling totally drained, tired, dizzy, completely weak... I wish I finally would be as I was before this Yasmin nightmare... But it seems as if my body will need much more time as it already had to finally find its balance again...... :-(

I had a fainting spell during my gig on silvester and had foot cramps (which is not usual for me......) during standing on stage...

Anybody out there who has also such problems during their period???

Greetings
Silke

Dear Jasmine, (later on something for "foggyhead", too!!)

that heavy chest feeling have posted the most women I've met hiere within the last 2 years!! Seems to be a very common (side-)effect of that pill.

But as I also posted here earlier the heavy feeling CAN be caused for example by an iron deficiency (which also can be caused by the diuretic effect of Yasmin on top of your monthly bleeding!!). Also breathlessness, changing of your finger nails, weakness, tiredness, and so on can also be symptoms for it. Very important: The iron deficiency CAN cause anemia, but even if you don't already have anemia the iron deficiency may cause the above mentioned symptoms.

So I think it would be a good idea to get your iron levels checked and especially the "Ferritin" (hope it's called so in English, too). It shows the situation of the iron storage in your body. Try to google a bit over "iron deficiency" and the symptoms, I bet you'll find yours... Just a thought, which perhaps might be the solution and I think it's worth a try!!

Jasmine, I remember one lady here, Sherry, whom had gotten pregnant shortly after stopping Yasmin. She also had very severe side effects and posted a lot here. I wonder how she might be doing today... But you see there is hope to get pregnant even after this nightmare.

@foggyhead:

Well, I think you meant "Virginia", not Laura. Virginia had been off Yasmin for 15 mos now. But I think you didn't read the whole post.... First she was telling, that she physically is doing completely fine! And as I can say, I'm doing nearly the same way as Virginia now, I've been off Yasmin for about 17 months. And I hope you NOW read further:

Yes, there are still some problems, and YES, they come up every month around the same time, BUT: I (and I guess Virginia, too) am definitely NOT in the same stadium as I was a year or longer ago! I'm back working, singing, gardening, going out and the list goes on.

What I try to say is, that you might (and I don't say WILL!!) still have some problems after such a long time, but they're definitely not as they were shortly after getting off Yasmin. And I also met so many women here, who didn't have ANY problems after such a long time. Not every woman is the same. Every body is different.

So please don't loose hope! Hang in there and you will be better, I swear!!

Virginia, I remember your name somehow, I think we have already met here, too, a few months ago. One question: Do you have a normal cycle back? Are your problems somehow rising around ovulation and shortly before your period starts or even within it??

Best wishes!

Silke

Kim,

I totally agree with Sarah! And another thing: You should really try to stop caring that much about what others say or think about you!! One very important thing, Kim!! Only you can feel, what you need right now and if it's the Lexapro, than you should try.

And as I know, what we all are or were going through I'm sure, that you're not weak, if you don't get through this nightmare without help!! Looking back I really don't know, how I stood all this without medication (ok, besides my Valerian, which I had always with me for about 6 months, just to know, that I had them with me, most of the time already helped....). And believe me: Some days I thought "Please give me ANYTHING, I WILL TAKE IT, I can't stand this any longer!" And I think the only reason, why I nevertheless took nothing was, that I knew, that my body didn't tolerate this kind of medication.

Everything went even worse only after taking one of that pills (they tried to put me on an antidepressant in hospital because of my very bad constitution!!)... But this also happened WHILST TAKING YASMIN! So it might be, that my body would react different about that stuff today...

Kim, I wish you best of luck, that the Lexapro will help you somehow through those hard times. But nevertheless I'm also sure, that you won't have to take it over a very long time!!

Sounds very interesting, what your pharmacist told you! One thing I found out first about Yasmin and bcp in general: They deplete you nutritionally, which makes things as anxiety, weakness, dizzyness and everything else definitely much worse!! And I think the fact, that makes Yasmin even worse than other bcp is that diuretic in it!! The more water we loose, the more electolytes and vitamines we loose!! And I wondered for so long why I had to get up sometimes 2 times at night with an urge to urinate.......

Best wishes to you Kim and all the others and keep it up!! We're all on the right way, I'm sure!!

Silke

@ guest3468:

If you have read all the posts here, you should know, that mostly all women here have experienced these problems you've mentioned! And in many cases this was only the beginning of an endless story.

At 3 months ON Yasmin I didn't have any problems either! I thought this was a real wonder pill without any side effects. Well, 2 years later I should have known better, when the first problems hit me every month a bit more. My biggest fault: I went on taking Yasmin another 3 long years without noticing, what that pill already had done to me until I completely broke down in December 2004 after 5 years on Yasmin....

So please, if you have the slightest suspicion, that this pill is not good for you or you feel that you're somehow "changing" in mind and your feelings: Get off it asap!!

The little benefits this pill may have are not worth the nightmare it CAN cause in many women!!

<<>>

Well, would be nice to hear, WHO is writing such here in this forum. But it surely can't be someone who read the whole page through with hundreds of similar stories of YASMIN users! And surely not someone who was in this, too! If you never experienced such a nightmare before and just whilst or after taking Yasmin, well, how many other reasons do you expect to be there for all this???

It surely may not be a fault to perhaps see someone to talk to about all this. Maybe it would help, maybe not. Everyone has to try and decide by him-/herself. For some it even might help to take an antidepressant for a while, just to get over the worst months. But it's so clear to me, that we're all victims of that "wonder drug" Yasmin after reading each and every post here for about 2 years now!!

But such posts as the above only make people like Kim feel worse, I'm pretty sure, because I was the same 1,5 years ago. And very miraculous: Without going to a therapist, psychiatrist or taking any other medications, just waiting and waiting and hoping I finally got better and better by myself over the months.

And there is still someone out there telling such stuff out there "it might not be Yasmin"?????? Dear, I'm getting angry about such naive words. Mostly sounds as if even one of those ignorant docs, we all had visited may have written it???

Murph70: Sorry, I don't really know what that "hcg" is for? Is it a hormonal thing or something else??

To that poster who mentioned the two colds in between only a few weeks and sore throat and so on: I know that I'm repeating myself, but please GET YOUR IRON LEVELS CHECKED!! And not only the normal bloodwork, but the "Ferritin" (sorry, don't know what's it called in English). ALL of your symptoms (Soar throat, Chest tightness/ congestion, Fatigue, splitting/breaking nails, dry skin, Feeling down and depressed) sound like and iron deficiency!! If you won't believe me, please check it by yourself over google!!!

Best wishes to you all!! Hang in there!!! You're already halfway and there's really a light at the end of the tunnel!!

Silke

Kim,

you've mentioned that problems with the b-vitamines. I had a pretty similar experience with it. I didn't know if it was just in my head or really caused by the vitamines. Everytime I took one of the vitamin b (complex) pills about 2 hours later I felt something like uneasily, nervous and a dizzy. It was a very weird feeling that went away again after a few hours more.

I find it interesting, that you seem to have that feelings, too... So there must be a connexion..... Damn why can't anyone finally find out what that pill really is doing with our bodies and our metabolism!!!???

Your post really made my cry now kim! I know so much how you are feeling right now and reading all those things makes me remember, how I had been feeling about 1,5 to 2 years ago.... Life seemed so empty and meaningless, it was just a "being there somehow", not a "life". I exactly know what you mean with every single word you wrote!

But Kim believe me: You'll get out of there and one day you'll be able to do all the things you've mentioned again!! I'm so sure!! Try to believe us here, we really know what we're talking about. I never thought I'd be able again to sing in my band, I totally quitted thinking about. And now I'm back and still can't believe it!!

And try not to care too much about what other people, who DON'T really know you and your problems, say!! I know it sounds hard, but caring about their words, too, only makes it worse!! I know how they look at you and ask you, how you're doing, and the only thing they really like to hear is "Well, I'm doing completely fine, thanks...". And everything that is different from that they simply can't understand!! I've experienced that so many times...

Kim, also keep in touch with dejay and keep posting here, I think to have contact to other victims of that nightmare pill is really the only thing that really can help not to loose our mind totally!!

I'll think of you and pray for you both and all of the other women, especially for those, who are feeling as bad as we did or do and STILL don't know WHAT is going on!! I fear there are thousands of them out there, sitting in psychical clinics, taking thousands of pills that don't help and the only thing that really COULD help, would be getting off that Yasmin, but they simply don't know and their doctor's don't WANT to know!!!

Best wishes and big hugs to all of you!!
Silke (... eyes filled with tears)

just wanted to post the address again for uk residents to report side effects and adverse reactions of yasmin. it is www.mhra.gov.uk about half way down on the right hand side of the home page is a bit that says yellow card report side effect.click that. if you want to look up previous reports look on the download side effect link and select drosperinone (the main ingredient of yasmin) it makes for interesting reading to say the least! please please ladies if you haven't already done this do it as soon as you can,it takes minutes and could spare another lady the nightmare we have all been through. with more and more doctors prescribing this pill we have to try and speak out. i came across a site that is suggesting yasmin as a treatment for pms....how many women are going to believe the hype and end up on here distressed and ill ???????? we may not be able to stop this drug being prescribed but the more people we can warn about the possible effects the better.

sarah

hi all,
for all you ladies in the uk that want to report your side effects please fill out the yellow card section on the following website. i am so angry about the problems i have had since being put on yasmin that i really really wanted to do something. i know many ladies on here have listed sites for reporting the side effects but they seem only to apply in the USA. this is the uk equivelent. www.mhra.gov.uk click the yellow card tab on the right hand side or click on the online services tab on the top and follow the links there. please please please ladies do this,maybe if enough of us report the awful things we have suffered someone will listen instead of just fobbing us of with a dodgy diagnosis! it may also stop other women having to live the nightmare we have had to.it only takes a few minutes and could potentially prevent this happening to other women or at least make our gp's aware of the possible mental,psychological and physical side effects instead of just sending us off with a prescription for anti depressants.

hope you are all hanging in there...... sophie,silke,murph70..how are you all doing?

sarah

hiya all

i was on yasmin for about a year and have been off it for 7 months.

i was on it because of pcos which caused me to have acne.

it cleared the acne up, my skin had never been clearer, but now after being off it for 7 months the acne is coming back slowly around my mouth and jawline.

i dont know if its the weather change or what but its really scaring me, i dont want that acne back.

has anybody else had there acne come back after being off yasmin for about 7 months?? its been fine untill now.

i dont want it to come back.

please please reply anybody.

silke
hope you are ok, let us know what happens.

thanks

god bless every women going through this yasmin nightmare!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sophie
xxxxxx

Hello ladies,
I have not written in awhile but check this site every single day to receive strength and encouragement. My nightmare started in July when I began to experience panic attacks, depression and a host of other symptoms that frightened me.

I am grateful to this day that I found this site, because I am not sure how I could have gotten this far without it. Although my husband, family and friends are extremely supportive, I have always relied so heavily on all of you, your stories and your encouragement. Women oftentimes get a bad rap for being catty and bad to eachother. I think this site shows how compassionate and caring women are. To see you all lift eachother up lifts me up, and I am amazed that even when we cannot find the strength to encourage ourselves, we are able to write a post that shows our care and encouragement for others that are experiencing this nightmare.

Thank you to flowerbabies, silke, chris35, sophie, murphy 70 and everyone else for helping me through this because of your posts. I think of you all each day and hope that you are all doing okay. I am sorry for all the mushy stuff, but I just had to show you my thanks for your honesty, compassion and encouragement!

As for my personal experience trying to heal from Yasmin, I am getting through this. I feel pretty normal most days, but sometimes around my period I feel the anxiety again. It is not nearly as intense or scary as it used to be, but my fear is always that I am going to be that bad again, somehow, even though I do not think that is possible. The anxiety itself is not that bad for me anymore, but I guess my fear of what it has the potential to be, because of what it was a few months ago, creates deeper anxiety. I just try to do what flowerbabies says and think positive thoughts. I also want to echo what I heard so many women say and what I wanted to believe so badly...IT DOES GET BETTER. There were some days when I wondered if it would, but like I said, I am almost completely back to normal. I am proof, ladies! You can get through this. Your bodies are strong and amazing, and think of what they can do!
Take care, everyone. I am always thinking of you.
Eryka

I am 36 and I've been taking Yasmin for 6 months now. 13 years ago I took ortho novum 777 for my first 6 months of marriage and it was a nightmare. The anxiety was so bad and I am thankful my new marriage made it through that rough first 6 months. I quit it then and refused to take another for 13 years. I have terrible pms and HEAVY bleeding. It was causing me to stay home for about 2 weeks out of the month. I was put on lexapro for the pms b/c I would not take the pill. I gained 25 pounds in 2 months so quit that. finally decided to go with the yasmin and it has been really really good for me. My last period was so light that I just could not believe it. I feel very good on it. I was always "happy" when pregnant and that is kind of how I feel on it now. Not sure how that will be down the road. I do have skin pigmentation like I had when pregnant and I have dry eyes and some headaches around my eyes. So, I guess the jury is still out. I do think it raised my cholesterol. I will say that if I have to discontinue it, I will be upset because I feel like I have my life back regarding my menstrual cycle. It is also great to skip a period if I am going on vacation, etc. Maybe age has something to do with it. Maybe women who have had children and deal with pms/heavy periods are better candidates for yasmin.

we're all thinking of you silke,
you are so strong to be able to have endured this nightmare for so long,you have managed to help so many of use even though your own situation has been awful and you have seen some of use through our darkest times,they always say it has to get worse before it gets better,i really hope this is your turning point and that you will finally be free of the yasmin nightmare! best wishes to you silke,keep your chin it will get better,you will be back on stage and singing again in no time.

sarah

Hi BitterRN!

You can't imagine how good it is to hear from you. I've been thinking about writing to you the whole last week, because I thought you could be the one to help or tell me your opinion about all that...

You've caught me in a very bad constitution... I had a cold about 3 weeks ago and since then I feel VERY tired, weak and drained out again. And I don't have to tell you how worried I feel, that all the nightmare from 1,5 years ago could start again....... My muscles feel weak many times a day, sometimes I feel tired like I could just lay my head down on my desk and so on...

My theory: I think this is another proof for the fact, that Yasmin had drained my whole body over those 5 long years taking it!! In my opinion a very big amount of my problems since 2004 were and are due to a hormonal and metabolism chaos!! I feel, that the diuretic in Yasmin had flushed many many of vitamines and minerals out of my body which always then got even worse, when I had a cold (with fever and as a result sweating in a very heavy way) or I had stress or in hot summers, when I was sweating more than usual!!

I started taking Yasmin in 2000! The first problems accured around April 2002! I felt weak and dizzy and just not like myself and got the first panic attacks out of nowhere!! Ok, after a months lasting docs odyssey no one found out anything wrong with me!!! So I went on and hoped everything would get better by itself. I never spent a thought on the fact, that perhaps my BCP could have given those symptoms to me!!!

Things did get a bit better again within about 9 - 10 months (I think the drained storages of vitamines and minerals had been filled up again within that long time by itself!!) But very important: Since then I never felt that healthy and fit again as I was BEFORE Yasmin!!! So I always had shortness of breath. Climbing some stairs made me gasping for breath, a thing I never knew before in my whole life!! Sometimes I felt a bit dizzy now and then and so on.

Ok, I had another bad cold in about April 2004 and during the year, especially during summer (it was a very hot summer here!!) I started getting fainting spells just like "OMG, I have to sit down or I think I'm going to faint". Those spells got even more often as the year went on.

Then in ends of September 2004 I had another very bad cold (lastet about 3 weeks!!!) with losing lots of sweat. And after that cold went away I never got on my feet again!! I felt weaker and weaker as months went on and in december 2004 I had a complete breakdown!! Things have never been the same since then!! What followed was a living nightmare for about 7 months with 100s of doctor's visits and hospital visits, on January, 1st, I was brought to the ER by an ambulance and so on....... No one found out ANYTHING!! Only one doc (an neurologist) made a test, which said, that something in my body and metabolism was definitely wrong and not normal. From this time I started researching about vitamines and minerals in the internet and found all my symptoms, which are typical especially for a loss of b-vitamines and some minerals like magnesium, zinc and so on!

Then in February 2005 I luckily stumbled on this site and immediately went off Yasmin midpack!! The following 3 months were even a bit harder then the months before, because my hormones where completely out of whack after taking BCP for 10 years (the last 5 years Yasmin). But then things started getting better and better month by month. Very very slowly but surely!! Yasmin didn't drain out my body any longer and so the storages could fill itself up again with vitamines and minerals step by step.

So I think, that now the storages are low again because of that cold I went through 3 weeks ago and the symptoms come up again. I have to mention that I didn't take the supplements very regularly which, I think, was very wrong.... But I'm so afraid of ANY medication since my experience with Yasmin...

What do you think about that story BitterRN?? Could this be an explanation for my again upcoming problems?? Should I forget my anxiety and take that magnesium and b-vitamines??

I feel very down and anxious. I don't want to land again where I was 1,5 years ago!!!! I don't think I could cope with this again............

Ok, you've asked about my cycle.

Yes, it seems to get very regular in the meantime. I had the first bleeding in starts of August (very heavy and long lasting bleeding!!). The second in starts September (only 3 days spotting) and the last in starts of October (about 5 days spotting, only a bit heavier than in September).

And another thing: I always get sore breats around the 20th of a month!! I could set a clock after this!! Then always around 2nd/3rd of a month the bleeding starts or "tries" to start. I also still have those "more difficult" (anxious, dizzy, bad skin with lots of akne, more oily hair, hair loss, etc.) times around ovulation time and starts of my period.

That's how things are going today. I just hope, that this will ever have an end and I will be able to live a normal life again.....

Oh, and NO, I didn't take any other BCP ever since stopping Yasmin and I SURELY NEVER WILL!! I'm done with every form of artificial hormones for the rest of my life (I'm 32).

You mentioned some "news", I'd love to hear, what you found out again!!! Your posts always have been so helpful to me!!

Best wishes and many greetings!!!

Silke

PS: SORRY that my posts always get that long and if perhaps my English is not perfect, but it's not very easy for me to explain all that stuff and I try my best to find the right words!!

Hi Flowerbabies, thanks for responding to my post. Yes I really am considering not taking any other bc, it really had such a bad effect on me I dont think I could handle anything like that again. Just going to use condoms and be super careful. The last few months were just a nightmare, this web site really helped me to get through it so much, i check the site almost everyday, just to see how everyone else is doing, and to everyone on this site I really hope your all starting to feel the benifits of not being on yasmin. Flowerbabies thank you for your responce,

Dear Sophie!

So sad to hear, that you're feeling that bad again...
And I know, that I might be telling the same in every of my posts... But at the point of 6 months without Yasmin I felt exactly the same way as you do now!

I really thought it never would get better and I was about to doubt Yasmin as the reason for all this. Every few days I had thoughts like "Well, if it's still not gone it might not be the Yasmin" or "I'm so afraid that it's really all in my head and has nothing do do with Yasmin" and so on...... And only my mother and my husband kept telling me in such times, that it IS the Yasmin and that it definitely takes MUCH MORE time to get that stuff out of my body than a few months...

I think those doubts are pretty normal, because there is nearly NO doc, who's telling you the same. Most of them keep saying, that you have to be healthy within a few months after Yasmin or it was not the reason.

And Sophie: This is DEFINITELY WRONG!!! I found two docs in all that nightmare who kept telling me, that it might last a long time, even until the rest of Yasmin ist really gone out of my body. My family doc explained it that way: The chemical hormones really stick within your tissue and every cell of your body after taking it that long. And it's not pulled out of it and you fat tissue within a few months!!

Some other woman wrote about a few months ago here in this forum, that she even believes, that if the weight you put on during Yasmin goes down again, there are still rests of that artificial hormones released as the fat tissue is slowly catabolizing. And that's exactly how it feels for me!! My weight is going down every month about 2 - 3 pounds. Very slowly though, but it is!! And every few weeks I have bouts of Yasmin-Symptoms again. Well, that might also still be caused by my hormonal balance which is still not where it should be.

Ok, just a few thoughts. Perhaps it can help you a bit Sophie. I wish so much, it would!!

The other one who said "Please take Prozac": Ok, I'm really glad, if it's helping you somehow. But I'm sure enough, too, that there might be problems again, when you try to get off that stuff in a few months. I was on "Zoloft" which is an SSRI, too, and had the worst times of my life within that ONE WEEK on it! Surely not everyone is the same and perhaps you should try it, if you really think you can't bare those symptoms any longer... I stood it for about 1,5 years now and the year before I didn't feel healthy, too, as the problems began to rise there already. And believe me: Those were the hardest times of my life so far! I never thought that you can suffer that heavy way without dying as a result of it!

But you can, and I stood it without chemical medications. The Valerian helped me very much in very hard times, when I felt a panic attack rising or I just felt nervous and anxious somehow. And it gave me no side effects at all...

The other very important thing: I started to distract myself as soon as I somehow felt able to do that! I listened to music again, tried to do some light garden work, played computer games, read books and so on... It's very important to find yourself some things, which you really LIKE to do to distract yourself from thinking about yourself and your symptoms constantly!

My husband started to take me out again to parties or just go for a walk and so on. And even if I had some panic attacks (AGAIN: NOT AT ALL AS BAD AS WITH YASMIN!) or I felt weak and anxious during that things, afterwards I felt proud of my, that I had got through this and was still alive! That's how I slowly learned to get back to life again!! And it was so important.

Today I still have times, when I'm feeling very weak (the last 2 days for example I had again some weak muscles and fogginess in my head, as I'm right around the time of ovulating!!) but I try to not let those days get me down too much! I just ask my husband "Will I be better again tomorrow" and he gives me the answer "Yes, you will, and you know it! It's still just your hormones getting back in balance". And that's all I have to hear to feel better and delighted again!

It's so important to have someone around you, who keeps telling you such things (even if it sounds a bit weird...) and it is sometimes the only thing that really helps!! And THEY'RE so DAMN RIGHT!!

It would be so good, if some of the women, who wrote about 1 - 2 years ago here in this forum, just to hear how they're doing now. That could be another help for people like Sophie (or sometimes even me!!) who are still within that Yasmin nightmare and don't believe in getting better with time!! Please write hear all of you out there, keep us updated on how you're doing.

Sophie I again send you a big hug and all the strenght I have today. Believe me, better days are ahead again (well, didn't you have them already within the last few months!!?? Think about it!!)!!

Oh another thing: I started writing a diary about August 2005 (that was about 6 months after stopping Yasmin!) just to have an overview over my symptoms and especially the time they are rising and then getting less again!! That showed me exactly, that everything comes up again around the same time every month! Perhaps that might be one thing to help you, too, Sophie and every other lady out there still suffering!??

I wish you all the best and stay strong everybody!!!

Just like to tell you another thing: I was a singer in a band for about the last 14 years!! I wasn't able to sing in my band for the last 2 years and you know what!? I'm on tour with them again and will be on stage every weekend in November again!! I never thought I'd be able to do this ever again!!!!

So keep your head up everbody and look into a better future!!

Silke

hello all, SILKE,

I HOPE YOU ARE ALL WELL AND COPING WITH THIS NIGHTMARE BETTER THEN ME.

HI HAVE BEEN FEELING REALLY BAD THE PAST WEEK OR SO, I FEEL REALLY AWFULL.

ITS BEEN ALMOST 6 MONTHS SINCE I HAVE BEEN OFF THE YASMIN, MY CYCLE HAS BEEN PRETTY REGULAR, EVERY 22 DAYS I GET MY PERIOD.
THIS MONTH I GOT IT AFTER27 DAYS AND IT WAS SO BAD AND HEAVY. I FELT NAUSEOUS, BAD MIGRAINES ALL THE WAY THROUGH IT, ANXIOUS,AND BAD PAINS IN THE UPPER BACK.
BEFORE TAKING THE YASMIN I USED TO GET MY PERIOD BETWEEN 24 - 27 DAYS MAYBE MY HORMONES ARE GETTIG BACK TO NORMAL. I DONT KNOW , ANYBODY HAVE ANY IDEAS??? PLEASE PLEASE HELP
I ALWAYS HAVE THE MIGRAINES ON MY PERIOD, THEY ARE SO SO BAD WORDS CANT DESCRIBE THEM, THEY MAKE ME FEEL SO ANXIOUS AND SCARED THAT SOMETHING ELSE IS WRONG WITH ME.

IVE DEVELOPED REALLY BAD DIGESTION PROBLEMS TOO. I THINK ITS ACID REFLUX.

I NEVER HAD ANY OF THESE PROBLEMS BEFORE TAKING THE YASMIN. ITS SO SCARY. I JUST WANT THE DAY TO COME WHEN I FEEL NORMAL AGAIN. IT MAKES ME CRY SO MUCH. IVE BECOME SO WEAK AND ANY MEDICAL PERSON I TALK TO KEEPS SAYING " ITS NOT THE YASMIN"

WHEN WILL IT GET BETTER?
I CANT TAKE THIS NO MORE, I DONT FEEL STRONG ENOUGH.
PLEASE PLEASE HELP
I NEED YOU RIGHT NOW

SOPHIExxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi Guest 31031!!

Well, out of my experiences with getting off Yasmin, everything looks "pretty normal" (as far as you can say so though....) what's going on with your daughter!!

I've been off Yasmin for about 1,5 years now and still struggling with those problems around ovulation and the time, where my period should start (didn't get it regularly ever since stopping Yasmin!!!).

And another thing: 4 weeks off Yasmin isn't really much, I fear! How long had your daughter been taking Yasmin?

I had been on it for about 5 very long YEARS... And therefor I think I'm having harder times to get back to normal than someone whou only took it for about 1 year or even shorter...

But give it more time, please! At the time of 4 weeks I still felt totally ill and down. And after that time I had those problems every few weeks again, and always around ovulation and starts of my period!

The only thing that you could do is stand by the side of your daughter, keep her going with always telling her, that it WILL get better again after a few days or weeks. And this is one thing I CAN REALLY PROMISE!! It WILL get better again!!

That's what everyone around me (my husband and my parents) always kept telling me, when I was again at that point, where I thought I couldn't go on any longer. And it was the only thing that helped me not to loose hope!! And they were so right!! The nightmare always stopped again after a few days or weeks and I felt myself getting better again!!

Hormonal problems are nothing which can be solved within a few weeks. And the Yasmin-poison takes much longer to get out of your system than only a few weeks. And only when it is completely OUT the hormonal system can start to rebalance without that artificial hormones.

I can imagine how hard it is to see your daughter in such a bad constitution. It was the same with my parents and husband. They were all so worried but a very important thing is: Don't let her know, how worried you are!! Always try to stay strong and sure in telling her, better times are ahead!!

I wish you all the best and god's bless and I swear, you'll get through this with your daughter. And please tell her, that she's not alone, we're all feeling with her!!

Silke

hi claire from leeds in england, i am from surrey in england.
if you think you have issues that may have triggered your recent feelings then councelling is a good idea. my doctor sent me for councelling when my symptoms first appeared,like you i felt detached and emotionless to begin with,my life seemed pointless,i just thought "what's the point"? i stopped going to see friends,lost interest in most things and just generally felt deflated. i have 2 children so they both suffered as a result because i didn't want to go the park etc. then when the anxiety and panic attacks started i couldn't go out of the house and i felt to afraid to stay in the house by myself. nothing had changed in my life the only different thing was that i had started taking yasmin in the january (this was 2005,i stopped taking it 6 months ago when i found this site.) i was told i had an anxiety disorder but never quite believed the diagnosis as i had never had this problem before, i have been cautious and shy all my life but never had anxiety issues really. my doctor gave me diazepam but that made me worse and so i refused all medication and started to look into causes and found this site.once i stopped taking yasmin i started to feel better quite quickly but i still have the memories of feeling bad so it is taking a while as i need to change the habit,i suppose in effect i have developed an anxiety disorder now but i never had one before yasmin! there are some great ways of dealing with the anxiety though,i have some books etc,if you are struggling please email and i could maybe send you some that might help you,i genuinely want to help as i know how horrible it is and how it feels to have no-one else that has been through or is going through this nightmare.
i wish you all the best claire and hope that you feel stronger soon.

sarah

guys can some one please help me, please please please. im in an absol nightmare here. i started taking yasmin over 3 months ago, since ive been having severe panic and anxiety attacks. my boyfriend is an absol dote and when im normal i know i love him to bits but when im experiencing these moods/panics i start think all sorts of crazy things about him, nearly to the point of wanting to break up with him. when i go back to normal i look back on my episode and think "what the hell was i thinking" im absol mad about him. why is this happening to me? please help me i think im going mad. i just cant stop thinking and panicking. im a nervous reck. and my sex drive is non existant! is this side effect normal?

Thank goodness i found all of you,ive been on Yasmin for over around 3yrs and i had a short break for a couple of months in which i felt marvellous and much calmer.
However due to getting back together with my ex i thought i should be sensible and restart the pill.Well ive only taken 4 and i feel really sick and i have backache and i keep crying over nothing.I feel really depressed and highly irritable which is very scary.It mustve been why ive been so down before,i just never twigged it could be this pill.So i will be off to drs to sort this out and just wanted to say i'm so glad to know that it wasnt just me cracking up but because of the pill,ive felt like ive been living a nightmare and all this in four days? How can they keep prescribing stuff like this? I wish all of you the best of luck over this pill and coming off it etc

I have been going through the nightmare that is Yasmin for 2 months now and have been trying to help my body as much as possible. I have been taking a multivitamin plus a B Complex and a supplement that includes zinc, magnesium and calcium. Here is my question: about ten or twently minutes after I take all three vitamins I feel extremely nauseous for a couple of minutes and I have to lay down and wait it out. I have not actually gotten sick but this happens nearly every day. I have tried everything...taking the vitamins together, apart, at the end of the meal and in the middle.

Has anyone else struggled with this? Does anyone know if vitamins do cause nausea and why? I am nearly positive it is the vitamins because the nausea always happens right after I take them, no matter what time of the morning I take them.

Also, is it normal to still struggle a bit with anxiety even if I am not ovulating or menstruating at this time in my cycle? I do feel much much better on the whole, but I just want to make sure that even though I feel quite good most days, that it is still considered normal to have some hard moments. I think on my good days I get in the mindset that I am all better, and then I freak myself out if I do feel a bit of anxiety. I sometimes feel like I have to attribute the anxiety to that time of the cycle, due to coming off Yasmin, but if I am not in that part of my cycle, I get scared that I am crazy and that it is not Yasmin even though I know in my heart it is.

Any feedback from those who have gone through this nightmare would be appreciated!! Take care, everyone. You are ALL in my thoughts, all the time.

hi ladies,now you come to mention it i also had pain in my vagina,it was so bad i stopped using tampons but as the yasmin had already put my sex drive into reverse i could not tell you if sex was painful! i didn't really think too much about it until it was mentioned on this site. i am sure that i have read somewhere that birth control pills can cause some pain in the vagina,something to do with estrogen levels causing atrophy similar to what some older ladies may experience during their menapause,can't remember exactly where i read it as i have trawled the internet with sooo many questions since my yasmin nightmare started! still... onwards and upwards, we must all look to a better future without yasmin and it's hellish side effects!

sarah

Mindy-
I just reread my posting, and I just wanted to let you know that I do not want to scare you! Since you've only been on the pill for 2 weeks, I would think that you would bounce back quickly. Of course, you need to talk to a doctor about all of this, but in my experience getting the poison out of my body was my only option. I just wanted to apologize for coming on too strong! It is just that when you have been through this nightmare, it angers you to hear about yet another person that has been negatively affected by this pill.

Question for anybody:
Is there any way that we can rally together and somehow either get this pill off the market or at least get the word out about how dangerous it is? I worry every day about the women who are on it and do not know that it is Yasmin that is causing their anxiety, depression and other symptoms. I do not know where I would be if I would not have figured out that Yasmin was causing me all these awful symptoms.

Mindy-
The butterflies and nervous feelings that you describe were my experience exactly. Then mine became much worse and turned into full fledged anxiety/panic attacks. It was horrible! I just wanted to let you know that from judging by my experience and hundreds of other womens postings here, your symptoms are much like all of ours on Yasmin. You will be in my thoughts. The Yasmin nightmare is no fun.

Hi everyone,
I posted here back in January 2006 when I first suspected Yasmin being the cause of all of my health issues. My worst symptom though not my only one, has been crushing chest pain that becomes worse with a change in movement and is worse the more I move.
I haven't been back to this site since, as I have been trying to find out what is wrong with me and/or find a cure.
I have been off Yasmin since January 10th 2006.
I have been to my gynocologist, an internist, two cardiologists, a pulmonologist, and a gastroenterologist. No one can figure out what is wrong with me. Other symptoms that I had have eased up -namely the anxiety, hair loss, vision disturbances and confused thoughts..
Before taking Yasmin, I was never sick and only went for my annual checkups before this happened. I have 3 children and a busy job..this has been a very long nightmare.

I am not well yet. I still have the chest pain-I am getting used to it when it's just "regular" but if I exert myselt the slightest bit, it is awful and I suffer for weeks afterward. I am tired, my chest hurts.
I have been to the hospital and had a gazillion tests.
My question for anyone out there is this..Has anyone who experienced the chest pain found anything that helps?

I used to maintain a vigorous exercise program before this happened..now I can barely walk or stand for very long before my chest hurts. In additon my legs ache ...I'm not sure if that is from Yasmin or just from no longer being able to exercise.
Please post if you've found an answer. I would be so grateful.
thank you and good luck to everyone who has taken Yasmin. My thoughts are with you.

Claudia-
I too quit Yasmin almost a month and a half ago and am going through all of this as well. You can read my previous postings for my story. I wanted to share with you something that has really helped me. It is a herbal supplement called Valerian. In high doses it is used to help insomnia but in smaller doses it helps calm anxiety. And it is obviously natural which makes me feel good especially after the nightmare I have had putting synthetic hormones into my body. Anyway I find that if I take one Valerian pill the moment I am feeling an anxiety or panic attack coming on I tend to feel better within about a half hour. That is just me though. Another thing that helps me is coming to this site when I am not doing well. The support I feel here is endless and I like coming to this site because I feel understood. Please know that I along with thousands of other women are going through this with you. Please stay strong and know that you and all of the other women are in my thoughts as we battle this together.

@ flowerbabies:

Well, it seems to be pretty normal to have a totally screwed up cycle after that Yasmin nightmare (I'm also only 32 and sometimes feel really menopausal!!!)... I didn't get my period at all for about 1,5 years after stopping Yasmin!! Then, about 5 weeks ago, I finally got my first normal period after Yasmin and now I'm awaiting it again... A few days ago I only had a little spotting and thought it was my period coming on. But after about 2 - 3 days everthing was gone again... Don't know what that means.... Holy sh..... I hope that this nightmare someday will have an end and I'm really back to 100% normal again without waiting for my period months and months and feeling like an old menopausal...... Sorry ladies, I'm a bit down at the moment again because of all that agony Yasmin brought into my life.....

What I wanted to say is, that I think it's pretty normal, that our bodies need some time (in some cases A LOT OF time...) to get back its own balance...

And all of you, ladies: forget those doctors or nurses that try to tell you, you HAVE TO feel better after about xxx weeks or xxx months, otherwise it's all in your head. There's noone who can say how long it takes especially for YOU to feel better or to be completely back to normal again. That depends on so much things...... your metabolism, your weight, your age, your hormonal state before Yasmin, and so on!

For some women it only took about a few months to feel normal again, for other women over a year. There's definitely NOT only ONE rule for everyone of us! In my family for example there's been hormonal problems over generations, so that's the reason, why it takes me that damn long to get back my normal hormonal state again.....

So all of you out there, still in Yasmin recovery, stay patient!! That's so important!! Give your body the time it needs, even if it might be months or years!! It's not just a little cold or the flu we're all going through, it's a real heavy hormonal chaos, that Yasmin has caused in all of us and such things need time!!

Flowerbabies: I completely agree with everything you wrote (about the vitamines, etc.)!! That's the only things that really might help!!

@kendra:

That sounds as if I had written it about 1,5 years ago!! After such a short time without Yasmin those symptoms are pretty normal, believe me! It's your body trying to get back its own balance and put on its own hormonal production. After getting off Yasmin I felt so bloated, none of my clothes didn't fit anymore. And some time later everything went away again, especially the weight, I had put on after Yasmin, is going down month by month, without changing anything in my habits!!

All you need is time ladies!! Just keep that in mind and don't quit, stay strong and hang in there! You will get better!! I promise!!

All the best to everyone out there and god's bless!!

Silke

hi abs 528!
long time no posts!
so glad to hear that you are doing better and that your anxiety is getting better,sorry to hear that you are still have trouble with ocd,are you having therapy for it? i really wish you the best of luck in the future and hope that when you make a full recovery your life will be better than is was before the yasmin as you will now know how strong you are and that you can cope with anything,if you can survive the yasmin nightmare you can survive anything!

I started taking Yasmin 4 months ago. For the first two months, everything was fine. My cramps were very minimal, my skin had improved, and I was happy. In my third month, I started feeling sad/unhappy/emotional randomly. I also started getting horrible migranes during my period. The fourth month was a nightmare. I dont like doing anything I enjoyed in the past. I am lethargic and I think i'm depressed. I've contacted my doctor and would like to switch and be myself again.