Your experience with YAZ birth control pills

:-(

Thank you ladies for your honest posts-- negative and positive. I got engaged in June. I'm a virgin and I have never been on birth control before. I started taking Yaz in August 08. I didn't have any side effects the first month, so I though I was ok. I haven't had much of a problem with tenderness in the breast or spotting, either.

Then recently, I've been having bouts of anxiety, mood swings, second guessing myself and constantly changing the date of our wedding--even calling it off a few times. Last night was the worse, as I could stop crying and having feelings of despair. I even started seeing a therapist because I felt something was not right. My fiance has been through so many changes with me and has been patient, but it is taking a strain on our relationship.

I didn't think to attribute these feelings to the pill because I went on their site and read about it before deciding to try it. I decided to pinpoint when I started feeling this way and realize that these feelings came about right around the time I started Yaz. I called my doctor's office and am switching to something else. Hopefully, I'll fee better soon and my relationship with my sweetheart is too terribly scathed.

Thanks, again, ladies for your posts because I truly thought that I was crazy.

For two weeks and one day I took Yaz. Even though I no longer take it I cannot stop bleeding. The aches in all my joints went away. I didn't even realize it until I threw that junk away, but my head was all foggy and I was spaced out.
My face had begun to clear up, but I couldn't deal with all the side effects.

I've been on Yaz for 6 months. I was on Ortho Try-Cylen a few years ago and finally had to stop it due to increased moodiness, weight gain and headaches. I had also tried Depo and gained 10 pounds in a month. I had pretty much given up on hormones and was using barrier methods until my sister, who had been diagnosed with PMDD started using Yaz and saw a great improvement in her mood and cramps.

Since my sister and I nearly always react to medications the same way, I decided to give it a shot. Before Yaz, I was grouchy nearly all the time, very easily irritated, emotional and my cramps were super severe. After starting Yaz, I saw immediate improvement. My mood really lifted and I was no longer crying at the drop of a hat. I also used to eat all the time, not out of hunger but out of some weird emotional need. I was a size 14, but fortunately was active enough that all the extra eating didn't cause me to gain any more weight, but I sure couldn't lose any either.

Since I've been on Yaz, I've lost 14 pounds and one dress size without even trying. I attribute this to Yaz killing my emotional food cravings. I just don't feel the need to eat all the time anymore. I'm also always in a really good mood. My boyfriend of two years, who previously was on the edge of breaking up with me due to my constant anger, now LOVES being around me.

I really feel like a new person. I remember before I would just get so irritated at every little thing, the phone ringing, a horn honk outside, the UPS guy dropping off a package, it was ridiculous! Now none of these things bother me and I actually like who I am. My periods are so light I use pantyliners instead of pads and my cramps are GONE. The only negative side effect I noticed was that my sex drive was pretty much killed for the first few months but that is finally starting to improve.

I researched this pill to death before I started my first pack, and cannot stress enough. IF YOU ARE A NORMAL, HAPPY PERSON WHO DOES NOT HAVE PMDD THINK TWICE BEFORE STARTING THIS PILL! It seems 95% of the people experiencing bad emotional side effects are people who were perfectly fine before.

So that said, IF YOU ARE USUALLY GROUCHY, EMOTIONAL, UNHAPPY AND HAVE SEVERE PERIODS, TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF YAZ RIGHT AWAY! It's those of us who are a constant angry, emotional basket case who seem to benefit the most from Yaz. This pill changed my life for the better, but I strongly believe that only those with PMDD will see the same benefits I did.

I totallly agree with this-dont take it unless you have PMDD

I started taking Yaz about one month ago. The first week I felt super nasious and crappy. I spotted that whole first month, but now it has seemed to level out somewhat.

My complaint is, I feel depressed. Similar to what the reader above me said; I have been depressed before, but I had finally felt like I had it under control this summer and I was in the best shape of my life. Now, I start the Yaz and I just feel blue and confrontational. I just met any amazing guy and we have a great relationship. I can’t help but feel like I am going to mess it up, because I take everything so personally now and feel like I am a crazy woman.

I just started my second pack. I am wondering if I can stop it now. (I am 3 days in).

I was on Yaz for the last 3 years. I came off almost a month ago.
I notice that my sex drive is up, and I have dropped a couple of pounds, nothing fantastic though.

Yaz did put about 15 pounds on me, and pretty fast.
Also, after many months of taking it I began to develop a few small, upraised red marks on my neck and chest. I believe these are called 'anginomes'.

The worst thing, however, is that I've developed a noticeable round bump on the back of my neck, between my shoulderblades. It feels hard like a notch on my spine, but seems to lessen with excessive massage and lack of stress.

When I find that I'm super stressed out or moody (which happens a lot on Yaz) the hump seems more noticeable and swollen.

I've done some research and this 'buffalo hump' as its called is often a response to excessive steroid consumption. Does anyone know what the steroid or cortisone levels in Yaz may be, and could this be a symptom?

If so, I'm livid and I don't reccomend it to anyone !

I hope to have my first non-birth control period in the coming week or two, and it will be something I haven't experienced in years!

Anyone else develop the red spots or the buffalo hump ?

Mind you I'm not obese (which is often a symptom of the hump). I'm very average. 5'5", 135lbs.

Thanks

I've been taking yaz for about a year and i love it. I have no negative side effects from it at all!!!!

I have a question for the girls who are having the positive effects to yaz. i have been on it for about three months now and it has helped with the mood swings and everything. I didn't ask about PMDD and haven't been diagnosed with it but thought/think i have it..(that is why i asked for yaz for bc) But i wanted to know if those who are using it and it is going good are experiencing dizziness? I don't really kno if yaz is the cause of mine but wanted to kno if others are experiencing it?

I have been on yaz for one month, it helped with the cramps that I seemed to be having all month, my sex drive actually increased and I was in a good mood. However, I started having dizzy spells about three days after starting it. I finished the pack four days ago but did not start the next one because I wanted to see if the dizziness went away, so far it has not. I take a diuretic also and don't know if this could have any thing to do with it. Any thoughts?

I have been on YAZ for three months now. My gynocologist put me on this pill at my request. I had heard YAZ was designed to help with PMDD. Up until my first visit with the gyno, I hadn't been diagnosed with PMDD, but it wasn't hard to figure out that I suffered from it. The week before my period, nobody wanted to be around me. I had no control over my mood swings. One minute I could be happy, and the next screaming at somebody. I hated the way I was. It was negatively affecting my life.

Since going on YAZ, I can honestly say I feel normal for the first time since I was 15. My irritability and moodiness had been getting increasingly worse since I started PMSing at age 14, but now I am stable emotionally. My co-workers actually like being around me that time of the month. And believe me, I am a firefighter/EMT-I; those guys are very sensitive to mood swings. I have actually been able to keep a steady boyfriend (no screaming or shocking mood swings to scare him away). I feel happy all the time.

I have even had weight loss. I haven't changed my diet. I haven't been exercising more. I've dropped anywhere from 5 to 10 lbs. The only negative side effect I have had with YAZ is I have had 2 migraines since I started using it. I had never had one in my life until the second week I was on YAZ, but boy, did I know what it was as soon as it hit. I'd rather deal with the occasional migraines then go back to the way I was.

Do not take this pill if you have tried others and are recommended this for emotional stability. It is the fourth and final pill i will ever trial. The other three caused depression with identical symptoms of post-natal depression. I was recommended to take this by my gynecologist who is also an endocrinologist and it still had the same effects as Yasmin, Microginon and Lowette.
I had dizzy spells, headaches and muscle aches too!!!!

Thanks to everyone for posting their experiances with Yaz. I started taking Yaz Three months ago. It was after the second pack that I started to have major mood changes. I was definately falling into depression. I was dating someone at the time,and we were perfectly fine before I started taking the pill. I started to have crying fits around him and was just plain mean. We broke up and I have since stopped taking the pill, and after a month now my mood has drastically improved. I have my sense of humor back, and I am back to being a nice person again. My PMS however is back in full swing, and cramps are aweful, but its nothing that midol, or pamprin can't take care of. From now on I am sticking with condoms. I'm 25 with a good job, so if I did get pregnant it wouldn't be the end of the world, besides women get pregnant on the pill all the time. Honestly I see no point in taking the pill. By the way I've also tried Ortho-tricyclin low, and that just made me gain 10lbs. and break out. No mood swings though. However being fat and breaking out made me depressed. Overall I will never take birth control again. Yaz made me drop 10lbs, stop breaking out, but also my body started to ache in strange places. There are just too many draw backs for me with the pill. I would rather just be myself the way God has intended. However I'm glad I experianced it so I could put out of my mind all the hype around taking the pill.

yaz actually descreased my sex drive too. It also prevented me from sweating! While on Yaz, I could go to the gym for hours and barely sweat, I'd just get extremely hot, tingly and VERY BLOTCHY butno sweat. It was really annoying because I wasn't able to cool off after a work out. But other than no sex drive or sweat, I loved the pill. But it was too much so I actually just stopped taking it about a month ago

I've been taking yaz for about 4 months now. The first few months were great, short periods and all that. The last few times, however, I would get really moody while on my period. My boyfriend even noticed it and I can definitely say that how I was acting was not like me at all. I was extremely irritable and annoyed. Before I started yaz, I didn't have bad PMS, I would just get a little emotional. Now I'm in the middle of a pack, not even on my period, and I have the feeling of depression. I don't even know why. My boyfriend and I are great, school and work are good for the most part. I'd like to say this is because of yaz but I would like to get some feedback on it.

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I am so happy I found this...I am not crazy! i have been on yaz for almost a year and i love the fact that my periods are very light and only 3 days....but now all the issues ive been having makes sense. i have been so emotional...i worry about everything...i have had the dizzyness lying in bed at night...i have had the horrible headache...many many days of being annoyed and everyone pissing me off...it has been bad. i stopped taking it as soon as i read everyones posts! i have also developed brown spots on my nose and cheeks all from yaz....but the crying fits were the worst...in my head i was thinking what is wrong with me? my boyfriend would ask why i was crying what was bothering me and i didnt have a reason. i didnt know. i was just hysterical.

so i am on day 1 of no yaz.