Yasmin and sex drive

I have been on Yasmin for 2yrs. now. I went to my doctor recently to check my thyroid out because I've been experiencing hair lose.My thyroid is normal and now I'm thinking about getting off the pill. I'm only 24yrs.old I work out regularly and eat healthy so I know it has nothing to do with my life style.It also seems like my sex drive is not where it should be.

I just finished my first month and so far I have no complaints. My period came regularly and lighter which was awesome! I have lost 4 lbs...however I am eating fewer calories so I don't know if the pill has anything to do with that. My sex drive is normal, actually I think my G spot increased in size if that's possible lol. So far so good. No stomach issues either. I guess every pill is different. I have been on 3 others and the one I don't recommend is ortho tri cyclin low. it was great for 6 months then made me have severe mood swings and spotting.

I am also wondering if my sex drive will come back. For those who went off Yasmin, did your sex drive come back? I am really scared it won't.

I am so happy I read this site today. I started Yasmin about 6 months ago and heard from the doctors nothing except good things. I was on tricylcen 2 years prior but wanted to try something new because I found that I gain weight while i was on tricyclen so the doctor suggested Yasmin. It wasn't until I read this site that everything I am experiencing was due to Yasmin.

Probably the biggest side effect was the loss of my sex drive and depression. My sex drive was always high and then within 3 months it was completely gone and it really scared me that is was gone for good and I am only 26. I am so happy to know that this could be the reason because this was starting to put a real strain on my relationship with my boyfriend

I didn't know about it giving you larger boobs, but it makes sense now since I can't fit my bras anymore.

Does anyone has any suggestions of what to do next. Obviously I am going off it once I am done this month, but what pill would you suggest I take?

Hello everyone,

I have been feeling certain things lately so I thought "let's see what Google thinks it is". I typed in "bloated, tired, swollen legs, increased breast size" and the first site that pops up is this website. I actually thought I might be pregnant because and was surprised to see "Yasmin Side Effects" instead of "signs of pregnancy". I have taken Yasmin for almost 7 straight years. I was off it for 1 summer and probably one other month total in that whole time. I haven't really noticed any huge changes until recently and, like I said, it hadn't even crossed my mind that the things I was feeling could be from Yasmin. First of all, my breast won't stop growing and are so, so sore. I actually just bought my first D bra tonight, after being a C since probably my Junior year of high school. My legs and specifically my calves tend to feel extremely tight and stretched lately. I thought this was from running & exercise in general, yet I've exercised intensely & frequently for 4 years and this is a recent feeling for me. I have noticed for about a year that spider veins have started appearing on my legs. I thought I was just inheriting this from my mother, who has a lot of spider/varicose veins. My sex drive has definitely decreased significantly over the years I've been on Yasmin, but again, I thought this was normal or "just me". I go through periods where I have quite an appetite and can eat bad foods yet not gain weight. Then I go through periods when I seem to have the same eating patterns as normal and I'm exercising normally as well, yet I always feel bloated and fat. Plus, I have no appetite during these times. I also go through cycles where I have horrible stomach issues (I get a "bubbly" feeling, have had really bad cramps on occasion). I thought this was a side effect of coffee but now I'm wondering...

I get my period next week and then I think I'll stop taking Yasmin to see if any of these problems subside. Does anyone know any type of birth control that doesn't cause side effects?

Good luck to everyone!

Funny...Me and my Boyfriend of 3 years just had this big heart to heart today trying to figure out...WHERE MY SEX DRIVE WENT???? So we put two and two together in the time frame is seemed to have been "lost" in, and we came up with YAZ. Thats not why I ended up on this site at 1am though...

As we were lying in bed, I got sudden mild chest pains in my left side and my left arm went numb. All I have ever known about these symptoms is that you are having a heart attack! As I get outta bed Travis says "what are you googling?" Him knowing that I am a hypercondreact!

I had decided today to stop taking the pill not willing to risk my wonderful sex life and relationship. I said goodbye to my wonderful FULL C breasts :( I will keep you posted on my after side effects! Good luck to you brave women!!!

Wow. I found this site after looking up causes for lack of sex drive. I've been on Yasmin for 6 years, but never thought for a minute it had anything to do with the problems I've been having. Loss of sex drive, vaginal dryness, hair loss, mood swings (partners always gets the brunt of those), repeated bouts of chest pains (diagnosed with pleurisy recently, don't know if there is a link).

I had got to the point that I thought this is just the way I am, it never occurred to me that something else could be causing this. I can't even remember what it's like to be normal.

I already have 2 kids and don't want any more at the moment so I don't know what the solution is. Well, I haven't wanted sex for the last few years so i suppose the bloody thing has done its job in that way!

I'm just shocked, this has been a real wake up call. I'm stopping taking the evil little things as of now.

I am 18 years old and ive been taking Yasmin for about 2 years, and tonight i came across all of these stories of bad experiences.
after putting together the pieces, ive realized that im not crazy after all! i have had every symptom out there for this pill except high blood pressure and nausea.
i used to be 135 pounds before i got on this pill, and now i am 160 pounds.
i find myself crying all the time, im surprised my boyfriend can put up with it.
i have no energy, all i want to do is sleep. i get sharp pains behind my eyes that cause me to shift them to find a spot where it wont hurt. i have no sex drive at all. i constantly feel depressed and sometimes don't want to live. im so tired of feeling this way.
the only good thing that happened for me was that my skin had cleared up tremendously!
and now i want to just stop and quit this pill right now! im just afraid my acne will come back.
this pill should not be given to women, all of these stories show great reasons on why its harmful.
PLEASE DON'T TAKE THIS PILL!! ITS NOT WORTH IT.
im glad i found all this out before it was too late.
my boyfriend wants me to finish the rest of my pill pack but i just want to stop right now.
i don't know what to do.
if i continue taking this pill for the rest of the pack i will feel worse about it each day knowing its harming my body and life.
help.

Hi, I have been on Yasmin for 2 years now. I didn't like what it was doing to me and so went off it. I didn't get back on it for 7 months, my reason for getting back on it, my PERIODS STOPPED for the whole 7 months I didn't take the pill. I really don't know what to do. If I get off it my period stops, if I don't Im cranky, irritable, low and hardly have any sex drive. The doctors just say its normal. I don't even want to see the doctor anymore sice they don't do anything about it. Ive had it

Hi everyone.Ive been on Yasmin now for 10months due to really bad heavy painful periods.I wasn't at all happy about going on it as i have tried different ones in the past and gained a lot of weight, but as this was my last chance in trying something to stop the bad periods or get pregnant as I wasn't in the right place to do that I had to give in and try it.I was told that I wouldn't gain that much weight,just a couple of pounds.But i have put so much weight on.About a stone in weight.And i work out 3/5days a week.And it doesn't matter how hard I try I cant seem to shift the weight which is really upsetting.I decided today that i would do some research on it as i know somethings not right with my body.My boobs have grown so much bigger and are so very much painful.My legs are swollen,my calf muscles really hurt when i exercise.As I use to be a dancer I have always had good legs muscles and ive always exercises so I knew it wasn't because of that.I became very moody,tired,insomnia,dizzy,head aches which I hardly ever got before and very snappish.I didn't want 2 do anything.I became very depressed about my body and life in general.Crying all the time.My doctor put me on anti-depressants and even though ive chilled out a lot more,everything else remains the same.You just know your own body,and ive known for sometime that taking this pill wasn't doing me any good.It may have stopped the painful heavy periods but at what cost!!! To have even more problems then you had before.I was reashured by my doctor who may I add was a gynecologist for 18years,told me it was the best one and hardly any side effects.Yeah right what a frigging joke.Im so unhappy about my self,and my life.Oh and you guest it,no sex drive.This pill has to be taken off the market.They haven't a clue how bad this is and what effect and long term damages its doing to us women.As im going to see my G.P tomorrow im going to be taken off it.Im so happy I found this web site.I thought I was going mad,and had a weird body.I just hope that when I do come off it that I don't go back to the bad heavy painful periods as it got to the point that i was on the floor and couldn't get up I was in that much pain that I couldn't take it anymore.I think thats why i have stayed on it for so long as im afraid of going threw all that pain again.So if anybody else out there reading this knows if theres any other way to stop it from happening again without taking the pill or having the injection or coil put in, please write back to me and let me know.
Samantha Blake from Blackpool.aged 24.

I was put on Yasmin not for birth control but for the beginning of fertility treatments. I was on Yasmin only 1 months. After about 2 days I started getting symptoms. I called the Pharmacist and my fertility doctor and they both told me the pill wasn't the culprit. But after the 20th day I just couldn't take it anymore I went off of it. After starting Yasmin I had TERRIBLE Panic attacks, Anxiety ( still have to this day two months later), Heart Palpitations, leg cramps, boobs hurt, breathing trouble ( still to this day), HORRIBLE thoughts, adrenaline rushes all hours of the day, tingling in my hands and feet, my mind feels fuzzy, no appetite, no sex drive, depression, crying fits for hours, I felt like i was going insane.... You name it I had it. I stopped the pill two months ago and I still have the horrible anxiety/attacks, feel like i cant breath properly, OCD about my breathing.

I went to the hospital and got checked for blood clots in my lungs, legs, Asthma test, EKG, blood tested, was put on heart monitor all came back normal. I have started seeing a therapist, on depression meds and none of it is working. I feel like this pill has ruined my life and i wasn't even trying to stop life i was trying to help create it.

Here i am two months after stopping the pill and yes some of the stuff has went away but i still suffer with Anxiety from the time i wake up in the morning till the time I go to bed at night. And sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with anxiety. My head is getting a little clearer and I am not as depressed as before. But I am just praying that this anxiety goes away. I have NEVER been a person who can't handle stress or gets anxiety/panic attacks and since it started it hasn't stopped. I am so very weak, muscles ache so much which i think is from the anxiety attacks and the muscles tightening.

So if you have this... you are not alone! I am suffering with it everyday. It is so debilitating I cant do much. Has anyone else had this months after stopping Yasmin?

Wow.....how horrible to hear about your experiences, but I too am glad I found you and want to share my own experiences as well. Was using natural family planning for birth control and it was going great, then all of the sudden, started bleeding frequently and heavily, so my gyn put me on it to regulate the hormonal imbalance or possible endo and I have been a mess....people have noticed I'm really anxious and I am a pretty laid back person, I am irritable, depressed, cannot sleep, decreased sex drive, sore and stiff, and had several incidents of crushing pain in chest and numbness and tingling in my arms. The weight gain is horrible, I just got back from getting professional pictures done and itr was so evident that my face is so round and puffy and I cannot wear a lot of my clothing now. I have only been on it two months, but quit taking it a few days ago and am calling the doc tomorrow to get her advice. This pill is the worst birth control I have ever used-and I've tried several kinds......

I posted about a year and a half ago about how Yasmin was doing all the things described by many. Lost my hair....zero sex drive...and if we DID have sex...It was the most painful experience ever....heart palpitations.....severe anxiety attacks for the first time ever in my life...and even suicidal feelings. I got off of it as I quickly realized I was essentially poisoning myself with this awful drug. And got a non hormonal IUD. The IUD has been excellent. But I must say...I have never truly stopped getting the panic attacks. They still come and go. I've tried detox teas....even seeing a therapist to help with it. I'm not on any anti anxiety drugs...I've been meditating and doing yoga to help with it. But honestly.....I wonder sometimes if I'll ever get my pre-Yasmin body back. :(

I have been taking Yasmin for a year now and have gained 10lbs. The worst side effect for me is my stomach has doubled in size and feels so bloated all the time. My face has also bloated. I suffer headaches and feel depressed all the time about the way I look when a year before I felt great before starting this pill. I meet my new boyfriend when I had just started this pill and I feel so embarrassed as my sex drive vanished completely. Sometimes I have hurt him after sex because I am so dry down there. I am angry all the time over silly things and I am horrible to my poor boyfriend. I could never understand what was wrong with me. I also suffer heart heart plantations and it wakes me up from my sleep, its really frightening. After reading all these comments I stopped taking my pill two days ago 16th September, fingers crossed I can lose some of this water retention

I was on Yasmin for about 4 years, then stopped due to no health insurance (couldn't afford it anymore). I was off Yasmin for 4 months, started it up again now that I have a new job, and man- I HATE being back on this pill. Now that my body had a break, I can tell what this pill does/did- I've taken about nine pills and have already called my doc to go right back in and get a Paraguard IUD, because now that I know what "normal" feels like there is no way I can go back to this pill! Extremely tired again/feel run down all the time (since day 2 back on), nauseous (continual), dry eyes/vagina (after 2-3 days back on), sex drive ebbing off again (after nine days back on)... also strange when I read people's posts, my knees/hip used to crack (pop) all the time and it's started up again within one week of this damn pill. A big clump of my hair fell out yesterday too!!! I can only tell you how I FEEL- there is something NOT right in my body with Yasmin back in the mix. I felt awesome for four months sans pill (sex drive came back with a vengeance, forgot how it felt to feel aroused, feel lubricated, feel energy, feel happy go lucky) then Yasmin- now this crap has got to go!!! I'm so turned off by this eye-opener (thankful though, at least now I know what I put myself through for four years). I'll go with an IUD to avoid hormones from now on. Trust yourselves ladies, if it doesn't feel right, it might be bad for you! Good luck ladies!!!!

I've been on Yasmin for a bit over a week now (after changing from Cyclen because of unusual bleeding) and after the second pill I had really bad side effects. First day, I was happy, my sex drive was to the roof! and felt great. The second day, I had two fights with my boyfriend over stupid stuff and then I cried all day. The third day, still crying with anxiety, almost paranoia. I couldn't go to sleep, racing thoughts, sweats. And then for the next few days, I kept the anxiety, the mood swings, stomach problems, I felt depressed (really bad thoughts) and felt just weird, totally not normal. I forgot a pill and the day after, I felt GREAT! I didn't take it for 2 days and never felt better. I took one last night and all of the side effects are back... I threw the pack this morning and called my doctor for an appointment. I will NEVER touch this thing ever again...

Hi ummmm im kinda new at this sort of thing.......have never taken any sort of birth control pills in my life well then again im only seventeen. Anyway....ive not seen my period since march.......and this is now September....but recently my doctor told me its a great possibility that i might have pcos and she wants to put me on Yasmin but after hearing all you guys criticize it........im not so sure if i should what should i do???!!!???

Did anyone find they where extra paranoid and jumpy while on Yasmin especially towards your loved ones? and that your blood was boiling inside you over the smallest things?

I posted here on July 15, and would like to update.
(I had been on Yasmin for 3 years and got off it at the end of June, then experienced severe migraine and fatigue as well as weight gain of 6lb in a few days)

On July 16 I had a little bleeding, and migraine stopped. Then, within a few days, my skin and hair became very oily. A few pimples appeared on my face. I hadn't had a pimple for 6-7 years and my skin had been dry. I keep losing and gaining a few pounds in a day, and my fingers and face swell especially when I get up in the morning. I had migraine and felt extremely tired on August 12 - 15. On August 16, I got my 'period' that felt fake - even lighter than when I was on Yasmin. It started very slowly, and very light flow continued for about 5-6 days. No cramp.

I don't feel normal yet. I get water retention, and my skin is still very oily. I got a pimple on my neck and some on face. My skin feels very irritated and feels like there're tiny pimples all over my face. I feel overly worried about things that are beyond my control.
Good news is my sex drive recovered and I haven't had yeast or BV.

I hope we feel better (normal) soon. I will update again. Thank you for reading.

im sorry but i don't know to write very well English,cause im Albania,i started to take pill last year cause i have 2 abortion and i was only 17.i started to get very depressed,cry the whole day.hate everyone.no sex drive.i have been taking Yasmin for over a year,and suddenly i decided to take off even i don't finished the packet,and a leats that a week i started to bleed very mush,and know its my lif in risk,so please take care of yourself,and if anybody can help me.do it,write me

Yasmin has totally decreased my sex drive to absolutely ZERO.
I have been married for nearly 7 months now and i have had NO sex drive WHATSOEVER. It's really sad, coz i absolutely adore and love my husband but i haven't really had any desire to be sexually active with him.
I have been off Yasmin for a few weeks now and i think my sex drive is very slowly, but surely returning to me.,..yay! haha!
Just be careful girls. Make sure you totally look into this pill, and that goes for any other pill as well. Take care of yourselves. x

I am 38 years old and was on Yasmin for 3 years to control ovarian cysts that kept bursting. It kept good control of my acne, but I had no sex drive, horrible facial hair, no vaginal lubrication, and extreme pain during sex especially climax. Finally, 2.5 years ago, I suffered from right-side paralysis which ended up sending me to the hospital. My potassium levels were so low that my I was suffering from neuorlogical problems that they initially thought I was having a stroke at the hospital. Taking potassium did not keep my potassium levels up while still taking Yasmin, so I finally went off it. The literature does mention that one may suffer from low potassium, but even taking supplements did not allow me to keep my potassium levels up enough. I am getting an IUD put in place on Thursday and hopefully this will take its place well enough!

Hi Guys

I am taking Yasmin since May 2006. I have been suffering from chronic daily headaches since March 2006 and wondered if Yasmin could be a factor in this? For my headaches I have tried so many different things and not been successful and hadn't looked at the possibility that Yasmin could be a problem until I started to google it. What do you guys think? Could Yasmin be adding to my problem of chronic daily headaches? Cos I have the headaches all the time.

Any responses would be greatly appreciated!

Regards
Warda

im stopping Yasmin today. prior to taking Yasmin my boyfriend and i had sex basically every other day. now, i feel as though im sacrificing when we have sex because i hate it so much. my sex drive has reduced to nothing. also, im constantly "dry" down there, making sex extremely painful and has also resulted in me getting 2 yeast infections.

I am 20 and have been on Yasmin a year and a half now and to be honest I am still not 100% completely convinced that Yasmin is the root of all my evils. To all of you who are having horrible side effects after a few days, give it time. Your body is trying to adjust to all the hormones you are putting into it and it’s doing its best to get back to normal. My first month was semi-bad, some nausea here and there and a little tenderness, but not enough to stop my life over. My doctor recommended taking the pill right before I went to bed so I could hopefully sleep though the nausea, which I usually did. After the first month I was perfectly fine and back to my normal life. I then switched to taking my pill in the morning so it was easier for me to remember. After reading countless “horror stories” on this website even I started saying, “oh my gosh, I have that….i have that too….and that!...its all because of that horrible Yasmin!” But then I had to take a step back and realize Yasmin is not to blame. Sure, I have panic attacks sometimes, but I have had those way before I started taking birth control and sure I get depressed sometimes, but what woman hasn’t at least once in their life? I didn’t lose or gain weight, my acne perhaps got a little better, and my breasts didn’t change an inch. My only questioning factor is that I don’t really have that big of a sex drive, but then I realized I never have. Now, before you all start yelling at me, I am not calling you liars in the least, I believe you and I feel sorry for all of you who have experienced bad things because of this or other birth control pills. For those of you who are thinking of taking Yasmin and are scared after reading all of these articles, remember, every body reacts to pills and medication differently. Thousands of people die every year from taking Tylenol and aspirin, but does that mean we should take these medicines completely off the shelves? Of course not. All I am saying is for every one Yasmin horror story there are thousands of very satisfied customers. Give it a try, you only have three months of your life to lose and so much to gain.

I am 28 years old and have always had terrible PMS, maybe could be considered PMDD, and I decided to try birth control pills for the first time in my life to help regulate it. My doctor prescribed Yasmin, and I took them for less than two weeks before I stopped. In that time, my face and back broke out in pimples worse than I've had in 15 years, I was so depressed, I saw the world differently. I cried uncontrollably when I listened to the news, I felt utterly helpless. I lost my sex drive completely, and saw my relationships in hopeless, negative terms. I had a sensation in my head that made me feel like banging it on the ground, and I understood what might make someone shoot themselves in the head - it was HORRIBLE! And scary, and I have never felt like that before. I bled a mysterious, odorless brown liquid the entire time. I've been off Yasmin for 2 weeks and still feel nauseous and tired but as soon as I stopped, felt instantly lifted and better. And it was expensive - it would have been sixty dollars a month. Of all my friends and family, only one said to stop taking it immediately, and I'm grateful to have listened to her. It's amazing that such a tiny little pill can have such a huge negative impact. The only thing I learned is synthetic hormones are bad for your body!!

I am 26, last December i was diagnosed with endometriosis. I was on yaz and doing pretty well for 7 months, no mood swings, normal sex drive, no weight gain. Then all of a sudden month 8 my period came 2 weeks late and didn't stop for 4 months! With in those 4 months i was given a ton of birth control to try and stop my bleeding. Yasmin was the last one. It took about a month but then my periods stopped and was normal after that. It has been a lot lighter. That has been the only good part. I still get severe menstrual cramps and every month i get more and more depressed. I have no desire to be with friends go to work or anything i love. I get the worst mood swings, sometimes i feel like i am going to walk away from my marriage, my great marriage! Literally i tur so dark and loose desire to work, clean , work-out...anything. Im very concerned this is because of this pill.

I have been taking Yasmin for 3 weeks now.

I started taking Yasmin a week before my wedding.

On our wedding night.. I had NO intent on being intimate with him.. and on our honeymoon...I felt like I was forcing myself to have sex.

I have NO sex drive. It was NEVER like this before. I hate it and its straining our new marriage.

On top of that Im extremely moody.

Im done with the pill.

Im a 21 yr old girl and started taking YASMIN about 1.5yrs ago. At first i thought it was great.. But then it al started really bad Headaches, extremely angry with everything to the point when my bf of 6yrs dropped water on the bench he would get yelled at! (and that's not the person i am) and also my sex drive was at a point of braking up my relationship as i didnt even like the thought of him touching me and a bunch of other things.. so i came of it in NOV 07 and my periods came back to a regular time each month and was not any heaver then when they were on the pill. I got back to my happy self and things picked up i started enjoying having sex and things went so well we are not talking about marriage.
But after so many months not on it and using condoms we decided i should give ti another go. maybe it was me ? I have been back on it for 4 days and i feel back to the bitch i was before... i am so angry and feels like i have OCD because i want everything to be perfect and in order (even to the way i place objects) i have lost my sex drive which last week was great! im crying for no reason and feel just really depressed..
I have came off it last night but i think its going to take a bit to wean off of it. I will NEVER use it again!

I am 25 years old. I was on YASMIN for about 6 years. A year ago I choose to get off the pill because I was on birth control for 10 years; I thought that was to long to be on any pill. I was off the pill for a little over 8 months the first 2 months everything was the same, however the last 5 months my periods were a lot heavier, horrible cramps like high school, my skin was disgusting, I cried all the time for no reason, and I gained about 10 lbs despite being very active, eating well and working out 5 days a week. 3 months ago I got back on YASMIN and everything has regulated. As far as the sex drive goes YES it's low, but I can't really say it was extremely high when I was off the pill. I found this site by searching for a cheaper prescription for YASMIN or a coupon. I read most of the posts about YASMIN and I’m not having any of the symptoms with YASMIN it’s more like I’m having them with out it. I’m sure everyone’s Doctor says this pill may not be the one for you. I had to go thru 4 before finding the one for me!

Ditto - I have been off for about a week now and my sex drive has returned, it was non existent on Yasmin.

I am feeling a bit odd being off it - definitely a bit bloated, emotional, acne/greasy skin and 'spaced out' but hopefully I'll get back to normal.

I was on Yasmin for 3 years, and just got off it a week ago. I tried 3 different birth control pills before Yasmin, but I cannot recommend any of them. The side effects of the first pill (three-phase pill) were more visible in a short period of time - weight gain, moodiness like crying or feeling edgy for no reason, BV, and decreased sex drive. Because it was not tolerable, after 3 months of this pill (I cannot remember the name), I switched to Min-Ovral. It was better in regards to weight and moods, but I had no sex drive. Also I had several yeast infections (following the initial episode after use of antibiotics to treat BV) after I had sex. After about 6 month of this, pill I tried Alesse but nothing changed. After 6 month of Alesse, I changed to Yasmin. The side effects include
(1) zero sex drive (affected relationship with my husband)
(2) yeast infections and bladder infections (never had either before)
(3) migraine (2-3 times a month, sometimes with nausea)
(4) anxiety (not severe)
(5) fatigue or low energy
Migraine was so bad that I was wasting my time just suffering from pain 2-3 times a month, 1-2 days each time, my husband suggested I should go off the pill. Now I've been off Yasmin for a week (2 weeks including a week between packs) and I've seen 'side effects' getting off the pill.
(1) feel like my head is going to explode - feel pressure in my head
(2) fatigue and sleepiness - can't concentrate
(3) weight gain 6 lb in a week!! while my diet or exercise did not change
(4) bloating especially on my lower stomach
I found this web site and had to post my experience, although it is still too early to tell. I think I will see a doctor if these side effects persist for a month, and will update the post here.
Thanks for reading, and I hope we will find a good solution somehow.

I'm so glad to find this. It's taken me a while to put 2 and 2 together, but I am absolutely convinced that Yasmin is responsible for the subzero sex drive I've had for most of the past year. After reading this page, I also have an explanation for the brown discoloration on my forehead after I got a sunburn this spring -- it hasn't gone away! It's been a week and a half since I took any of the active pills, and I already feel SO much better. I was beginning to think I would never be interested in sex again! I have an appt. with my doctor this week, but there's no way I'm going back on Yasmin.

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

These reviews are pretty scary to me ... I've been taking Yasmin for about 5 years. Late last year, I started getting what seemed like a full period (not just spotting) almost exactly two weeks into my pill pack. Then I'd get another full period when I got to the end of the pack, and I went ahead and took the sugar pills because I didn't want to mess around with my cycle (which I've done in the past, with negative results). My doc switched me to reclipsen for a month (which I've read bad things about too, but not as bad as Yasmin!). I've had NO sex drive for years now, which I've blamed on myself, but it's really affected my relationship w/ my fiance. It's hard because I just can't get excited. I loved Yasmin and recommended it to all my friends because it kept my water weight down. Last month when I went off of it, I gained about 8lb in just a few weeks. I attributed it to going on vacation and not exercising for a week (I normally eat very well and never miss a workout). But since then, the weight has stayed and is very slowly coming off. I'm a personal trainer and I never usually struggle like this. I've also been bloated and it seems like I have an excessive amount of abdominal bloating.
Anyway, after a month on reclipsen, I decided to switch back to Yasmin to see if the month on another drug "tricked" my cycle back into following Yasmin (wishful thinking!). Sure enough, got my period two weeks in. Also got lots of bloating, constipation (never normally a problem for me), and moodiness/ depression. I've had "stomach issues" for years, and I've even had a colonoscopy with no real diagnosis. My abdomen is always tender to the touch. I never would've thought Yasmin could be a cause, but now I really wonder. Also, in the last couple weeks that I took Yasmin again, I noticed days where it felt hard to breathe, and I just blamed myself and my weight, figuring it was the few extra things I ate that made me bloat. But now reading other experiences, I realize how unusual my recent experiences are for me. Now I'm not sure what to do -- I don't think reclipsen is a good answer. I want to go off pills completely for a while, but I'm really afraid of weight gain (Yasmin is addictive that way -- I love how it's kept my water weight down and I've been afraid to go off of it). Fortunately, I haven't had the blood clotting (to my knowledge) or acne. But I do have overuse injuries that never seem to heal -- now I wonder how much those relate to Yasmin. I won't be taking it anymore!

Please let me know if a class-action lawsuit is ever filed against this Pharm Co because I will file a suit to get this dangerous drug off the market. Yasmin/Yaz almost took my life in January 08. My OB/GYN put me on Yaz in Oct 07 for bad periods and cysts on my overies. Within a month my entire personality changed and I started losing my hair. I experienced a complete loss of sex drive, became depressed and was either constanting crying or raging at someone. However, my adult acne did clear up. On 1/27/08 I experienced extreme pain in my calf that moved up to my thigh within 48 hrs. I went to the ER and was told that no only did I a condition called DVT (Deep Vein Thrombisis-blood clot) in my leg but that the clot had broken off and moved into both of my lungs and I had bi-lateral pulmonary embolism. I can't even describe how incredibly painful this was. I was admitted into the hospital for 1 week and was put on powerful blood thinners, which I will be on for about a year. It's now been nearly 6 months since I was diagnosed and the DVT and it is still in my uppper thigh. But am grateful to be alive. If you would like to contact me I would be glad to answer any questions regarding this situation and my email addy is ****** PLEASE DO NOT TAKE YAZ OR YASMIN OR LET ANYONE IN YOUR FAMILY TAKE THIS MED, IT COULD KILL YOU.

I'm still trying to find out if my symptoms are associated with Yasmin, but I STRONGLY believe they are. I can't believe I didn't pu the pieces together sooner. I've been on Yasmin close to 4 years... it was pretty new when I started taking it for my PCOS. For the last two years (yes, two years!) I've been experiencing extreme nausea and upset stomach and my resistance to illness/allergies has been non-existent. I've noticed that I feel depressed and lack a lot of energy. My sex drive wanes... sometimes it's nill and other times I can't get enough. I've had endoscopies, colonoscopies, blood work, etc... but nothing ever came back conclusive on anything particular. After my last cycle, it took me about a week to get my new pack and guess what? I felt somewhat normal! My sex drive came back and my gastrointestinal issues subsided. I'm going to stop taking it completely and see if it solves my "mystery illnesses".

I started taking Yaz for about 3 months and couldn't tolerate the daily spotting and severely itchy skin from my knees to my ankles. I switched to Yasmin and though I don't have as much breakthrough bleeding, it still occurs daily a week BEFORE my real period. I have very little to no sex drive and I have to use Aveeno 24 hour anti itch lotion immediately after showering (I've lived in a desert climate for over 10 years now and have NEVER depended on anti itch lotion much less regular lotion since starting these pills). It was so bad a couple of nights that I took Benadryl to get through the night. After reading the posts from others, I'm thinking that I must have an allergy as I, too, have constant post-nasal drip in addition to the itching. I have also noticed more hair shedding but luckily for me, I have thick hair. The only benefit is I don't seem as moody as with other birth control pills and have kept my weight somewhat normal despite not exercising and overeating on the weekends. I am going to my PCP to change back to Ortho Novum although I dread the moodiness that comes with increased estrogen. Why can the drug companies come up with incredible drugs like Cialis but 30 years later, we still have @$#! for birth control pills?

Side Effects: Yaz -- daily breakthrough bleeding
Yasmin -- breakthrough bleeding 2-3xs a week
Both-- severely itchy lower legs, constant post nasal drip, hair loss, severely decreased libido, occasional leg cramping

Hi all! I am actually really glad to have found this site, i've been on Yasmin for 2 years now. I have been on several different bc pills before this but I was told by my Doctor that Yasmin would be better for me as my weight fluctuates terribly. Normally after being on the same pill for about a year my body starts rejecting the hormones. However, Yasmin has sent my body into overdrive, I feel ill all of the time, have constant headaches, break out in rashes at lease once a week and my sex drive is non-existent. I have also been experiencing extreme pains and my stomach bloats to the size of a football (seriously!) about a week before i'm due on. My periods have also become heavier and extremely painful in the last six months. After reading all of your posts i'm feel happier knowing i'm not the only one and that its not just my body! I am definitely coming off this pill now! Has any bc pill worked for anyone?? I guess i'm going to have to try different things now. However i've heard such bad things about the injection and the implant. (My nurse said they could prevent me from ever having children? - I'm 20 and have my whole life ahead of me. This is the last thing I want!) Thanks again! xx

ive been on Yasmin for about a month now
my symptoms are:
nausea
brown discharge
tiredness
erratic sex drive
moodiness
and i seem to space out a lot,like stare at walls and lose concentration

i think the discharge is annoying me most as its the most recent and effects my boyfriend wanting to have sex with me

hello all, i've been reading your stories and feel i need to write mine too. i started taking Yasmin about 4 months ago. and i really do not know what to think. i haven't put any weigh on or got acne (which were my worries) and my periods got very light and completely pain-free. i did have constant but mild headaches (which i never have) and my sex drive has gone down (never had any problem before). more importantly, emotionally i am feeling terrible. i cry non-stop and i feel totally unstable. I am going through a lot of changes in my life (change career, country, new relationship, etc) so i thought i could be just that i am feeling stressed. but i think this is more than that. my anxiety has rocketed, I never felt like this before, I have racing thoughts almost constantly, panic attacks, and something that i think it's called 'depersonalization' - has anyone got anything like this? it feels like you're looking from outside yourself, if that makes any sense...not nice at all.
as I have a tendency to feel anxious anyway I really don't know whether the pill is causing this or not, but i feel i am going mad. as i read the postings i became more worried that it might be Yasmin
i went to the doctor who suggested to carry on for a few more months to see if the symptoms go away. i followed his advice (as those days i was feeling surprisingly well, and was optimistic about it) but i am still very concerned.
also, has anyone had a really bad depression/anxiety attack when taking antibiotics + yasmin? i could have killed myself that day. felt better when i stopped taking the antibiotics.
again, is it my mind...? or is it Yasmin...?
any comments would be really great

Hi!
I am so glad i found this,
i been off of Yasmin for about a month now and i will never go back!
i was on the patch for 3 years and was fine ( i know the patch is risky so i switch thinking i was safer ) WRONG!
I was depressed, bloated, irritable, the smallest things would set me off. I was spacey all the time, i could not concentrate i was tired. My sex drive wasn't anything near what it use to be. like i said i am off it now and i feel like i am myself again. I hope the affects of this terribly birth control don't affect me permanently! I am staying away form birth control!
does anyone have a better suggestion?

Heart palpitations, dizziness, migraines, fatigue, no sex drive, weight gain, panic attacks. Saw cardiologist was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse however i don't think the doctor ever saw this on my echocardiogram. All of these symptoms appeared after being on yaz for over a year. I am stopping Yaz at the end of this pill pack..any idea how long it will take to get back to normal?

Hi all,
This is my third posting. I've been off of Yaz for two weeks and wanted to let you all know that I'm feeling pretty great. Headaches are gone, dizziness has mostly dissipated, mood is fantastic. Anxiety has diminished, heart palpitations are gone, and sex drive is back to where it should be. I'm having some joint aches and pains but it's hard to say if that's from the pill or just general wear and tear from working out. But I'm very optimistic! Best of luck to you all. My advice is if this pill works for you, great, stay on it. But if it's making you miserable, you have choices, and you should go off and try something new. Like my doctor said, there are tons of birth control pills out there, and you just want to find one that works for you and makes you happy. And if your doctor isn't telling you this, find a new doctor!
Good luck! I'm going back to orthocyclen next cycle.

I started taking Yasmine in 2005 and almost imeemdiatley I started to have severe anxiety, depression, no sex drive at all and worse of all extremely bad migranes especially a few days before getting my period and during. My life had to be put on hold when I had my period because of the migranes. I stopped taking the Yasmine 3 weeks ago because I just couldn't take the migranes anymore. I have noticed I have gained some weight, my skin and hair feels alot oilier, and my hair has been falling out more than usual which is kind of freaking me out, don't have mood swings. My sex drive has gotten better which is a relief. I still don't know if my migranes will have gone away during my period. I'm just curious can anyone tell me if these side effects (hair loss, weight gain, oily skin) will go away after a few months.
When I went off another type of pill I actually lost weight, why is this one different?

I posted not too long ago as my symptoms first began creeping up on me, high chloesterol, depsite a lot of exercise and eating healthy and having a normal body fat percentage. (AND I MEAN SO HIGH THAT I SHOULD WEIGH 500+ pounds)! I also have vitiligo, this causes skin discoloration and began having muscle aches and trouble sleeping at night. I had been on Yasmin for a little over a year and taken a break for 3 months before getting back on and symptoms started creeping up 2-3 months after coming back on Yasmin. I have aslo began to have hair loss in the past few months, gained 17 pounds in 4 months despite excerising and eating healthy. I began having hert palpitations and my late night writing can be attributed to trouble sleeping and overwhelming anxiety. I also have a lower sex drive now and am very depressed. I have been off Yasmin despite my doctor not believing a low dose pill could be causing all this, for one month. I have had withdrawals without a doubt, I am having severe breakouts, my breasts are so tender air caused by a fan hurts them and I want to cry all the time. The worst thing of all is my doctor won;t believe me, but how else can all this be happening. Blood tests ruled out thyroid and anemia as culprits as well as pregnancy (apparently I wouldn't notice that the 17 pounds was really a baby-what are these doctors thinking I know my body!). I hear all your symptoms and I wish I could say that they go away as soon as you get off the pill, but I can say if you just got on and things seem to be great realize I was on it for over a year and swore by it becasue it was the first pill that seemd to help with my emotions and cramps...but that all changed and my life feels like it is crashing down. I may never convince my doctor that yasmin is doing this to my body...they don't blieve me that I'm not eating fast food and siiting on my butt eating fatty foods all day and that is why I'm gaining weight and have dangerously high chloesterol, but I hope I can convince you all. I have had bad luck with all pills, I am allergic to spermicide and can't use diaphrams, I had my period for a month solid on the shot, but what Yasmin is doing to me makes me worry that my life is truly at risk...I would rather deal with cramps that are crippling than be ridiculed by doctors and hate myself the way yasmin makes me fo.

Thank God for this website because it confirms my feelings that Yasmin was causing very negative side effects. I gained 15 pounds in about 2 months, feel very agitated most of the time, very sore breast most of the month, decreased sex drive, oversentitivity to touch, and sometimes feel shakey and have dizzy spells. I have broken out in a rash on now several spots on my arms, and have had little bumps all over my back almost since the beginning of taking Yasmin. Today, because of reading these postings, I have realized all this negative crap has come around since I started taking this pill. The rash on my arms didn't start until 3 months after being on the pill and it is at its worst right after I take the pill in the morning. By bedtime it is very light, and by the next morning it is almost gone. I understand that all drugs effect people differently, but from my experience, this is a very scarey bcp and everyone should think really hard before trying it.

I was put on Yaz (same as Yasmin but with a smaller estrogen dose) due to irregular periods and a presumed hormonal imbalance. That was in September '07. Four month later, on Jan 1, '08, I went to the ER with breathing difficulties, and weakness in my arms and legs. I had been having muscle cramps/ charley horses in my right calf, but that was the only other health problem I had experienced. I thought I was having an asthma attack. So did the ER - at first. After I did not respond to the breathing treatments, and I became completely out of breath and exhausted after walking across the hall to the restroom, the ER doc checked my D-Dimer level to see if I was at risk for blood clots. He said if it came back over 500, he would have to do further testing for clots. It came back 4500!! I was sent immediately down for a CT Scan which showed mulitple clots in both lungs, mostly small, but several of significant size. I was immediately put on oxygen and a heart monitor, and an IV drip of heparin was started. I was in the hospital for 4 days, had to learn to give myself shots of Lovenol in my stomach until my pill form of blood thinner had time to kick in. I am now taking Coumadin blood thinner every day until July, when my D-Dimer will be checked again. Depending on the results, I may come off the Coumadin, or I may have to commit to it for 3 years. However, I was tested for all the hereditary blood clotting disorders and all came back negative, so my doctor feels as though the cause has to be the YAZ! Everyone tells me I was very lucky and that I could have easily died, especially when I was just thinking I was having an asthma attack and put off going to the ER for a few days. If you are taking Yaz or Yasmin, and you begin to have difficulty breathing, any kind of leg cramps, weakness, or tightness in your chest (I had also been having severe heart burn) - go have yourself checked out!!!!!

Hey, girls.
I'm 24 years old and i've been taking Yasmin for three months and stopped a month ago.
I must admit that at first (for 3 weeks) my mood was almost better than normal but after that...
I had mood swings, slept for 12 hours and was still feeling druged up, numbness in my hands and legs (so that i would wake up during the night because of it), absolutely no desire for sex and the pills dried me out (you know where:) ), had very poor orgasms, was too emotional and sensitive and i would cry and be hurt for peanuts. Oh, and my migraine got really really bad.
Now, after a month without them my sex drive is back (and the ability to do it without a lubricant too), i dont wake up in the middle of the night and my mood is so improved that even my boyfriend made a comment the other day about how happier i got lately.
But sadly...those pills were my best shot, so i guess i'm back on those sweet little latex thins again.
I hope it helps anyone.
I apologize for potential grammar/spelling mistakes, i can guarantee you i dont make those mistakes in my language :)

My doctor put me on continuous birth control hormones to help alleviate the severe cramps associated with endometriosis. I tried NuvaRing first, but went off because of vaginal/vulvar burning. I switched to Yasmin a few weeks ago. My breasts hurt nonstop for the first packet, but cleared up after that. I noticed I was feeling depressed a lot. My period decided to start before I even finished the active pills in the first pack. My sex drive dropped to zero. I became very irritable, like having constant PMS. I started noticing blurred vision/feeling like a blackout was coming on when I was climbing stairs. I started getting winded just climbing stairs. My energy fell through the floor. I continue to struggle with mild depression. The vaginal burning continues; intercourse is too painful--I suspect it may be linked to the hormones and not the NuvaRing. Honestly, NuvaRing had much fewer side effects for me than Yasmin. I'm not sure what to do next except get off the Yasmin.