I'm on yaz, now it's been 2 months. I have 2 periods and I even spot a lot, which I hope the OBGYN can fix but the benefits are pretty awesome. The hair on my face grows so slow now, get maybe one migraine a month instead of a week. My acne is almost all GONE! and I have no Mood swings what so ever. I'm hoping that I can stop the excess bleeding because other than that this stuff is amazing.
I have been on Yasmin since 2003 (17 years of age.) My gynecologist wasn't positive that I had PCOS, but started me on the regimen anyway. I have since gained 60 pounds. I had terrible acne as a teenager, which was cleared for the most part with Yasmin (although I still have way more than I should) and I was having some excess body hair on my midriff, which also cleared. However, I have continued to have a few hairs grow under my chin regularly, and my moods are very hard to control...I feel really depressed or just "down" a lot and it seems that no amount of exercise and dieting ever really does anything, even with a consistent regimen.
Another strange thing is that a bunch of horrible stretch marks appeared on my lower abdomen in 2006, but I didn't feel like I gained weight rapidly enough to warrant that. The endocrinologist didn't have much to say about it, and eventually put me on 1000 mg of Metformin a day with the Yasmin, but my weight continues to climb! And although I am not on a strict diet, there is absolutely no good reason why I should be continuing to gain weight!! I don't eat bad AT ALL.
Weight gain from 2003-2008 (Yasmin): 40 lbs
Weight gain six months after starting Metformin: 20 lbs
Oh my! This is not nice for you at all! I don't understand why this would happen, other than you either being sensitive to the oestrogen (so a 20mg oestrogen pill may be better) or you are sensitive to the progestogen, therefore a complete pill change might help. For me it is not so much what I eat, but what I DO! I must take daily exercise else I pile on weight, however, for me Yasmin has put a stop to that.
I have heard that Metformin doesn't always help matters. You could try looking into your food and seeing if any ingredients trigger weight gain.
For me, Desogen allowed me to lose loads of weight, but I got nausea on it, whereas with Yasmin I feel fine.
I am so sorry that you are having to go through this situation. Here are some suggestions. You may want to switch to Yaz. I lost 30 pounds when I got on Yaz. However, there are drawbacks. Mid-cycle I become somewhat depressed. It's amazing that I can tell the exact day that it will hit with Yaz. Also, my breasts become incredibly bloated and painful. Finally, you may experience longer periods and spotting.
Also, you may want to increase your Metformin to 2000 mg. When I was at 1500, I had no results. My insulin and blood sugar levels did not change. ONly with taking 2000 mg of Metformin did my pre-diabetic state disappear and I lost wait.
Also, avoid carbs as much as possible. If I refrain from eating any non-whole grain carbs, the weight falls off even when I don't exercise. It's strange. I can eat white bread, white pasta, sweets and chips and load on the pounds immediately. I am not a doctor or nutritionist, but something seems to be connected to the bad carbs and PCOS and hair loss and weight gain.
Finally, please get your thyroid levels checked. Many women with PCOS also have hypothyroidism, which causes weight gain.
My doctor just prescribed me yasmin.. I figure I'll give it a try. I do exercise regularly and have been working on eating better. She offered me yasmin or yaz and I said to go with whichever she thought would regulate my testosterone levels best. I seem to only have high DHEAs and testosterone while everything else is absolutely fine. I am a bit overweight, but I'm working on it.. It's interesting to see the different effects people experience with yaz vs. yasmin. Hopefully this one does it for me!
I have just started Yaz and I have not had any side effects on it *knocks on wood* but due to price, after my 3 month trial I MIGHT switch to Ocella generic of Yasmin. I don't want to screw up a potential Godsend but you know how it is, money is tight sigh.
__________________ Supported by my BF of 2 years, Josh <3 ---------------- Metformin 1000mg Yaz Loestrin 24 FE Ortho Novum 1/35 Beta Blockers (Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia and POTS) Teen One-A-Day Multivitamin
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This thread has been helpful as I am shopping for a BCP. I haven't been on any in years and now that I am getting married, and we don't want kids right away I thought I should start doing some research. Thanks for the posts, and look forward to more insights!
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Holly~(30) To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. DH Kyle (27)
Married 8/1/09
PCOS Diagnosed 2001
Metformin since 2001 Ortho Tri Cyclene Lo for birth control
Will start TTC in about 2 years
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It is true that bcp have different side effects on different women. I am one that switched from Yasmin to Yaz. This was last year. The ONLY reason I switched was that they came out with the generic for Yasmin and it was either that or pay more. I wish I would have paid more. The first month of Yaz was okay. The second was okay, until I started my period. After bleeding for about 3 weeks straight, I called my dr to change me back. But they said I needed to wait it out. So, 3 more weeks went by and again was told to wait. I said I couldn't and would just stop taking them. Once I stopped taking them, I stopped bleeding. But when it came time to start new bcp, I had to take a pregnancy test. Well, you can see in my siggy that DD2 was just born last month. Needless to say, when I get back on bcp's, I'll be paying the additional cost
__________________ Starlite
Me-28, DH-29 DD 1, born Sept 17th, 2007 DD 2, born June 9th, 2009
Can't wait to start WW again and loose the other 15lbs I gained with the last pregnancy and the 30lbs I still needed to lose with the first one.
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I have tried a number of bcp's in the past (including Yasmin) and I have found Yaz worked the best and had the least amount of negative side effects. Although Yaz was working well for me I just recently decided to go off BCP and naturally treat my pcos. BCP just mask the underlying issue and can also worsen the degree of PCOS overtime.
You should read the alternative therapy threads especially the stickys for more information. It might not be the "norm" for controlling PCOS by many gynos (don't get me started on that issue) but it will pay off in the future.
The first birth control I ever tried was a cheap knock off of Yaz to help my painful menstruation. It wasn't pretty, not only did I bleed far more, but the cramps I had were so much worse. I went off of it after three months. The next bc was no better, though I cannot remember it's name.
I have just been put on Yasmin and I have lost about 5lb out of nowhere. My ache as gotten better but I am waiting on finding out what it has done for my cramps. Considering I am having cyst pain, worsened since going on bc again, I don't expect it to be any better. Then again bc seems to grow my cysts.
I just wanted to post. I was on yasmine and dont remember any negative side effects. However, now I am on Yaz and my hair is falling out all the time and I get spotting after my period. I have gained weight as well. I remember at one point being 120 then 130 now 140 all in the past few years. And as I am trying to assess whether to go back to yasmine I realize that perhaps I gain a few pounds from that, but with yazmine I think it was more quick. I can definetly control my moods with it and my eating. I suggest that people read a book by Dr. Walter Futterweit A patients guide to PCOS. He suggests that people go on a low glycemic index diet with excersise and suggest the use of metaformin along with Birth control. Because I have hypothyroid I am not sure what to attribiute to what disease but I have a strong feeling its more related to PCOS. Anyway, I just found this thread and am trying to post everything I know. haha
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Dx: PCOS 2007, Hypothyroid 2000
Synthroid 0.05 MG, Yaz
I am just starting my fourth pack of YAZ. My acne is the worst that it has been in ten years. Has anyone else experienced this, and did it eventually clear up?
So, just to share some of my experiences with yasmin, for others out there thinking of trying it.. I've been taking it for 3 months now, first 2 weeks I had vertigo and headaches, then after way upping my fluid intake and giving it time to work, that went away (thankfully). I haven't noticed a huge slow down of hair growth on my chin/neck.. On my chest it's slowed a tiny bit, but not enough to skip morning shaving. I'm hoping it can get my testosterone levels down (which I'll be getting checked sometime soon-ish) so that I can hopefully start laser hair removal. As for acne, I have some along my chin-line that's been there for about 3-4 years.. I never used to get pimples but now I have these small red spots along my jaw line. Can't say the yasmin's made it worse or better. I haven't been taking the white pills in between since they're just reminders and my period usually starts about 4 days after I stop taking the last pill in the series.. Then it stops the day I start taking the new ones (Sunday). Lately I've been getting some minor cramping in between at mid-cycle, which I used to get horribly bad before (one reason I'm on it).. and my last period had just as bad of cramping as before BCP.. I know the pills affect everyone differently, and even if it didn't slow my hair growth, just knowing my periods will be on a regular schedule is worth it enough for me..
After reading these posts I'm thinking maybe I should switch from Yasmin to Yaz. My hair falls out all the time and is driving me crazy not to mention is embarrassing. Does Yaz really help reduce hairloss and weightloss? If so, I definitely want to switch. Any advice? Do I just talk to my OBGYN about wanting to switch?
This thread is to big to read through specifically, but I saw that some people were gaining weight on Yasmin?! My concerns are for my girlfriend more than I, as she is the one taking the pills.
My concern is that she's switching from Yaz to Yasmin due to the costs and such. One concern is whether she has to take a break before switching from Yaz to Yasmin. Another is weight gain issues and bleeding. I'd rather not have her go through either as I would hate for her to suffer. Can anyone confirm or educate me on my issues. Thanks.
sigh.
