# Yaz or Yasmin. Have you been taking either?



## aconcernedperson

I think a lot of women out there have taken Yaz or Yasmin then months or even years later have symptoms which get diagnosed as IBS or Habba syndrome. I believe in some cases these symptoms are entirely created by Yaz or Yasmin.My girlfriend has been very ill. She has IBS like symptoms but nothing will help her. The entire time shes been taking Yaz. At first it was a miracle drug but lately i consider Yaz nothing but a poison.Did anyone find they had IBS after theyve been taking Yaz or Yasmin for awhile?http://www.createforum.com/yasminsideeffec...yasminsideeffecThat forum is dedicated to Yaz / Yasmin side effects. If you are taking either look around and see if anyone has your symptoms. Many supplements can help.Im curious how many people take or have taken Yaz / Yasmin and report back such serious side effects. I'll give more details when i have time to spare. Its a long painful story.


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## TareBear

Hm. Well, I take Yasmin/Ocella (generic), and have for probably 5 or more years. But my IBS existed before I started taking it. I am thinking of stopping it however.


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## TanaG

I agree about Yaz. I started to have IBS symptoms just one month later after starting the Yaz! I stopped taking them 2 months ago and things got better but not back to normal...hopefully not YET...I started to have normal BM's most of the days, however each litte stomach bug or overload (for ex. if I go to a party and drink/eat too much) sets me off track for a week! (which was not the case before this all started). What were your gf's symptoms? Mine were mild IBS (or that's what they call them, though they didn't feel mild to me): cramps in different parts of my tummy at least in the evening (accompanied by gas/farts rumbling through my belly in their way out to the exit) and in the morning before my first BM, which was normally loose or close to this. The gas and problems sometimes came during the day too but that was rather rare. The BM's never went over one or two a day but it was mosty the discomfort that ruined everything and the gas/farts.Thank you for that link!


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## clareuk

Hi, I have suffered with severe diarrhea everyday for years and only very recently linked it to Yasmin. I had years of eliminating food groups and trying so many things and nothing helped. I tried so many things as a last resort I tried my medications and yasmin was the first one I stopped. Within a week of not taking yasmin the daily attacks of diarrhea began to get better. I do still have a few light problems but on the whole things have been 100% better since stopping yasmin. I certainly do know that the daily dairrhea was definitely caused by the pill Yasmin. I have since been back through my diaries and the problems began about a year after starting yasmin but because it got gradually worse I didn't link the 2 things. I lost most of my 20's because I had never heard that it could cause diarrhea - actually even the doctors and specialists had never heard of this before either. So not a good experience at all and I won't take another contraceptive pill again as long as I live.


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## TanaG

I cannot remember the name right now, but I also took a different brand with quite the same result. I think it is a genetical thing....some people have bad side effects from contraceptives. I also think it might take a long time to recover. Even if I am so much better since stopping the pill...I still have a few days every now and then when the symptoms come back, not as bad as they used to be but still annoying. I am wondering if there is a treatment of sorts that helps with the side effects of hormone based pills.


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## claire_louise

I've never heard of Yaz but I've been taking Microgynon 30 for six years. Do you think this could be the cause (at least partially) of my IBS-C? My consultant did once ask me if I'd ever had any problems with it but it never crossed my mind that the two might be related.


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## TanaG

I think it is a possibility. I don't think it even matters after how long since starting the pill the problems started...your body can just stop tolerating them at some point.


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## claire_louise

TanaG said:


> I think it is a possibility. I don't think it even matters after how long since starting the pill the problems started...your body can just stop tolerating them at some point.


Thanks for your reply Tana. I have had bowel problems all my life but things stabilised from the ages of 7/8 to 17, which now I think about it is about six months after I started taking the pill. I never thought of this before because the symptoms came on so gradually - I had several bad bouts over the space of around 3 years, then things got quickly worse when I was 20. I'm seriously considering stopping the pill just to see what happens - I went on it originally because of horrendous period pains, but they'd be a piece of cake to deal with in comparison to how I feel now.


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## TanaG

That's true.... I was also enjoying the absence of menstrual pain and of heavy bleeding, which was my biggest problem before...but I prefered to quit rather than having IBS symptoms all the time. Now at least I have clean periods of time when IBS is just gone. Things get bad once a month or so. I think it take time to recover after the pill. I read somewhere it took somebody around 2 years







...what a ####!


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## claire_louise

TanaG said:


> That's true.... I was also enjoying the absence of menstrual pain and of heavy bleeding, which was my biggest problem before...but I prefered to quit rather than having IBS symptoms all the time. Now at least I have clean periods of time when IBS is just gone. Things get bad once a month or so. I think it take time to recover after the pill. I read somewhere it took somebody around 2 years
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> ...what a ####!


That is a long time, but I'm willing to be patient if that's what it takes. I've already lost the past three and a half years of my life to IBS, I can wait a while longer if it means a dramatic improvement in the long run. I'm seeing my consultant on Wednesday and will definitely mention this. Imagine if my pill has been the cause of the problem all along and I was quite happily taking it every day, completely oblivious!


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## clareuk

Yep like me, better part of 8 years of diarrhea every single day because of something I took myself every morning. I also took it for period pains as well. I think that was probably me that said it took me up to 2 years to settle down and everything to get back to normal. They say a couple of months is all it takes to work out of your system but it was definitely more than that. I'm still getting spots and to be honest I never suffered with them and ever since stopping Yasmin they have been quite bad. I would rather deal with spots anyday so that's fine by me. Good luck. I am so thankful that I tried stopping the pill so it really is worth a try - if it dosen't work you haven't lost anything but you might gain a whole lot more. Let us know what happens.Claire


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## claire_louise

The only thing that doesn't fit is that my IBS is constipation predominant and I never get diarrhea (quite frankly it would be a small miracle). But if it can affect people one way I don't see why it can't swing the opposite way too? If it messes with your digestive system then surely different people will react differently, and I always had constipation problems anyway. I'm trying to convince myself I suppose, as if I could put my IBS down to this one cause it would literally be the best thing that's ever happened to me.


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## TanaG

I've had a sensitive colon all my life too, normally with D during the period or at least right before it started and so on. But after I started the pill my body started to react weirder and weirder. Comparing to many other I can say I have mild IBS. Normally this was one stool a day ...and it sounds perfect if the stool wasn't loose and came with too much gas, pain and discomfort. These days I don't have D at all, the bad days are those I get a half normal half loose stool or two to three stools, one of which could be loose. Am not totally free of gas, I still have evenings when I fart like a 90 year old man







You know Claire I think it WAS you who said about the 2 years period. I think I also read this on that website at the link posted in the message at the beginning of the thread. It makes sense to me...maybe the hormones do wash out in 2 months...but whatever they caused might take longer to go away and the body to find its balance.One thing that I know for sure is that when I was taking the pill the colour and smell of my stools was damn weird. Some of them were really light coloured and smelled funny...I don't know how to describe it. This is for sure gone now. My poo never smelled much and I was happy about going back to my unstinky state The fact that we were taking the pill each day willingly is not our fault...they never warn you about the possible consequences...and mostly because the doctors are not told themselves by the pharmaceutical companies what the risks are (am saying this because it was my mum who put me on this pill and I doubt she wants to harm me or she wouldn't pay attention). Plus it seems that only a small percentage of women actually end up having this kind of problems ... and I think most of them take it as a given fact...and never report it.


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## claire_louise

Well I spoke to my consultant (who is actually a world expert in IBS) about this today. He said that the progesterone (sp?) in contraceptive pills does have a constipating effect, and in fact the reason why so many pregnant women experience bad constipation is because of the increased levels of the hormone in the body. So in short it is worth me giving it up for a while, if only to see what happens. You have no idea how badly I want this to be the cause!! I will stop taking it after my current pack is finished (next week) and cross my fingers, toes, arms, legs, _everything_ that it helps.


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## TanaG

Fingers crossed for you I agree with your consultant...they could be the cause! ... I will check my galbladder soon...it seems that BC pills can mess that up too! For God sakes ...who would have imagined we'd go through so much trouble because of this?


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## TanaG

P.S. : look what info I found online....women taking BC pills are at risk of developing galstones...great isn't it?


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## blondeoverblue24

Yeah, birth control can increase the risk of gallstones - It's similar to pregnancy increasing the risk of gallstones. It's related to hormone levels. But I think the absolute risk is still pretty small.


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## TanaG

It's a pretty small risk to get all these problems we have right now...and yet it still happened to us ....


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## Deadxdream

I was actually just about to ask this question! Only I'm not taking Yaz I'm taking organon BC. I think BC might be causing my symptoms too. But due to the fact that I dont want to get pregnant I dont know if I want to stop taking it or not... I just got back on it last month and my stomach and nausea has been through the roof. Dont know if its because im under more stress are the combination of it all?


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## claire_louise

Deadxdream said:


> I was actually just about to ask this question! Only I'm not taking Yaz I'm taking organon BC. I think BC might be causing my symptoms too. But due to the fact that I dont want to get pregnant I dont know if I want to stop taking it or not... I just got back on it last month and my stomach and nausea has been through the roof. Dont know if its because im under more stress are the combination of it all?


Maybe you could discuss your symptoms with your doctor and see if you could try a different type of pill?


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## TanaG

I don't want to sound pesimistic, but I also tried to change them....things got better but not good enough so I had to stop In my opinion, if you do have problems with artificial hormones then nothing will make a difference....but I guess you could give it a try


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## sabrina1977

hey everybody! i'm sure you guys are going to find me so anoying with this, but i've tried almost all the BCP on the face of the earth even the nuva ring , and one month ago my GYNO save my life! i'm now taking the BCP seasonale, i use to suffer from bad IBS,migraines, cramps, all of the above and let me tell you , ever since i'm on this its a real miracle, i know everybody is different, but never having a period again is the best thing for me! and i'm sure you guys can live without having one as well!! anyways i strongly suggest to talk to your GYNO about seasonale,no i don't work for them, i'm just really happy and surprise that something is actuly working for me! like i said in other post you can either chose to have your period 4 times a year or not have any at all, and its safe i ask to GYNO's anyways







its great!


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## clareuk

I need to add my previous reply on this topic that stopping the pill has improved my ibs d symptoms by 90% but not completely. I am having my first really bad attack of the d again and it's been a week so far today. Actually feeling really down about this as I really thought I had cracked it this time as it's been about 2 years now. I still know that stopping Yasmin really has made things so much better but obviously not completely. So I felt I should tell you about this. Overall I still know that stopping the pill has made a huge difference to my symptoms.


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## TareBear

Yesterday I stopped taking Yasmin/Ocella! This will be the first time since I was 15 years old that I haven't been on the pill. And incidentally, my IBS flared up when I was about 16.... I really hope this helps me.


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## TanaG

As I said before in a post...I know women who tried 6 brands before finding something that didn't make them feel sick. But honestly...after what I went through this last year...I would advice anybody to just think of some different type of contraception....anybody who got IBS because of BC pills. I quit 3 months ago and I am STILL not 100% recovered! If they were indeed the cause, imagine the damage this things can do to your body!!!


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## claire_louise

TareBear said:


> Yesterday I stopped taking Yasmin/Ocella! This will be the first time since I was 15 years old that I haven't been on the pill. And incidentally, my IBS flared up when I was about 16.... I really hope this helps me.


Snap! I took my last one on Monday, having been on Microgynon for 6 and a half years. Fingers crossed for both of us!


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## kimesquivel

OMG! Thank you so much for this thread!!!! I have been on Yaz or Yazmin for 5 years. After reading everyones imput on this thread I started thinking back on when my ibs became unbearable. 5 years ago!! I remember calling my obgyn and my local physician when i first started taking yazmin complaining about feeling anxious, panicy and having terrible diarrhea. Both assured me it was not the birth controll. They thought it was just more of an anxiety problem with ibs. they put me on lexapro which helped me for about 2 years. My periods were becoming worse so I asked my obgyn if I could just take my yazmin continuesly. She said no problem. My ibs got much much worse. Went to my GI doctor and they put me on paxil. By this Christmas i had increased my paxil because i was having all these symptoms daily. Then after reading these threads it all made sense. I have been off my yazmin for 4 weeks now and have not had a single sympton. No Dirrahea, panic attacks or anxiety problem. I feel like i may survive!!! Everyday I feel like bursting into tears because I cannot remember feeling so go. Thank you once again. You have given me another chance on life. Oh, I am also slowly decreasing my paxil!!!!


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## MomOfIbsTeen

YES! I just found this thread and never associated my daughter's IBS with Yaz. She is 18 and had always been very healthy, active, excellent student in school, etc. Because her periods were irregular since starting to menstruate at age 14, (irregular meaning she had her period every 2 weeks, with heavy flow, painful cramps, and sometimes her period lasted for 3 weeks, not just spotting, but full-blown heavy periods) her pediatrician recommended seeing a GYN. The GYN did not want to try birth control pills until she was older, so finally at age 17, my daughter went on YAZ in July 2008. She loved knowing when her periods would start, they only came monthly, lasted 7 days, and the cramps were not as bad, even though she still had cramps on the first 2 days. Then 4 months later in November of 2008, she started having GI problems: abdominal pain, discomfort, chronic diarrhea, bloating, gas, nausea. She had all kinds of medical tests: Upper GI, endoscopy, enteroscopy, colonoscopy with biopsies, allergy testing for food intolerences, capsule endoscopy (pill camera), ultrasound, CT scan, MRI, nuclear testing, x-rays, stool tests 8 times, bloodwork almost weekly for 3 months. The pediatric GI doctors gave her many types of acid supressing meds (PrevAcid, Nexium, Pepcid AC, Zantac) in different combinations even though she did not have acid reflux or an ulcer. These meds only made her worse and she could not go to school for 3 months due to chronic diarrhea, 20 lb. weight loss (she went from 110 to 90 pounds in 3 months), then later developed insomnia, chronic fatigue. It was AWFUL! Finally, after seeing numerous doctors and specialists, the 3rd GI doctor we saw diagnosed her with SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth). In March 2009, she was prescribed Xifaxan for 10 days (1800 mg a day), followed by 2 months of a maintenance dose (400 mg a day) and she gradually got better, regained all the weight lost, regained her strength, stamina, and managed to finish her junior year of high school. The dietician at the hospital recommended taking probiotics, so my daughter has been taking probiotics since last year.I have read that acid supressing meds and birth control pills can contribute to bacterial overgrowth, so we immediately stopped all the acid reducing drugs when she went on Xifaxan. Since she had gotten better, we figured that by having the normal amount of acid in her system she was cured of IBS and never linked her IBS to YAZ, until now.She has had 2 relapses since her improvement, first in November 2009 and again right now, March 2010. She was prescribed Xifaxan both times, and I went online to try to find out why she keeps having recurring symptoms of IBS-SIBO. I found this thread and others. It's interesting that many women have complained about using YAZ then experiencing IBS and prolonged GI symptoms. I'm currently trying to figure out where to go from here. Do any of you who have posted replies have any updates on your condition after stopping YAZ?


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## MomOfIbsTeen

I'm so glad to hear that you are feeling better after being off Yasmin for 4 weeks. I'm just curious how you are feeling now. I am considering taking my 18-year old daughter off of Yaz since she developed IBS, 4 months after starting Yaz. Her friend stopped taking Yasmin 3 months ago, and last month got acne really bad on her chest and back. She never had acne problems prior to taking birth control pills. Apparantly Yaz and Yasmin have a secondary positive affect: clear skin. Thanks for your post.


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## Dangerbelly

Yaz and Yasmin actually have a class action suit against them.Here's the articlehttp://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/C...BritishColumbiaI suffered horrendous side effects from this birth control as well. I also wrote a blog on my effects from birth control pills.The link is here: http://rockageblog.blogspot.com/I just don't feel like repeating myself.


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