Panic Attacks and Anxiety - Thank you BC Pill :(

Hi everyone!
I know I don't normally post something in a letter format here but I have gotten so many panic attack and anxiety attack emails lately that I was thinking about doing an online seminar about the subject. It is really hard for me to reply to everyone in a timely manner and at length to give you all that you want and need... So I was thinking with a Live Online session where you can hear me talk and ask questions at the same time - we might be able to make some impact in everyone's recovery!

Plus, it would be available after too for people to look at.

What do you ladies think? Is it something that would be of interest to you? If so leave a comment and I'll come up with a time and date in the near future. The event would be live on facebook.

Hugs and healing to you all.
~Helena

I hate myself for going on Yasmin

I have had a terrible experience with Yasmin. I started it in September this year (2014). Before this I was on Levelyn ED since 2008.

I decided to switch to Yasmin because of the so called benefits such as clearer skin, lighter periods etc. When I asked my doctor if he could prescribe this pill he did not hesitate at all. He didn't ask me any questions about my health or whether I had a history of anxiety or bloods clots or anything. This made me believe that this pill wouldn't be so bad. I assumed that if it had bad side effects he would have told me. I soon learned how wrong I was. 

As soon as I began taking Yasmin I was very thirsty, dehydrated all the time. I thought perhaps I was not drinking enough water. Note that I only ever drink water and ONE cup of coffee a day - I do not drink much alcohol, except maybe one glass of wine a month, nor any soft drinks. No matter how much water I drank I could not rehydrate myself.

I had a feeling that the dehydration was the result of the Yasmin but I ignored it as I did not think it was anything major. After a couple of weeks I no longer felt dehydrated. Instead, I begun feeling anxious and with this I had diarrhea. In the past, I have had very mild anxiety with diarrhea (I now believe this is from my other birth control pill) but it was never this bad. I was not sure if it was the diarrhea causing the anxiety or the other way around. At first it happened every couple of days and on weekends when I was catching up with friends. I thought this was just me being silly so I took gastro-stop (anti-diarrhea medication) and ignored it. After about a month, I was waking up with diarrhea every morning which continued into the day and would re-occur at night. I was having full on panic attacks for absolutely no reason at all. I thought I was going crazy. I could not eat with fear of going to the bathroom and lost weight.

Eventually it all got so bad and I started doing research on Yasmin. I worked out that it was the Yasmin that was making me like this. I decided it was time to stop. That was when everything went down hill.

Monday, October 20th, this year was my first day without Yasmin. I was still feeling somewhat anxious but I was happy that I stopped taking Yasmin and was looking forward to getting back to normal again. On Tuesday I felt worse, having a panic attack at work. When I got home from work I had terrible anxiety and diarrhea. On Wednesday, I felt even worse and left work early to go home. I thought that perhaps I had gastro or a stomach bug (it was this bad).

On that Wednesday everything changed.

Once I got home I had a horrible panic attack and it lasted for hours. I had chronic diarrhea and could not even have a sip of water without going to the bathroom. I was also nauseous. My entire body was trembling and my heart was palpitating and felt as though it was going to jump out of my chest. I had never felt like this before, EVER! I was rushed to the emergency room and put on a drip immediately. I had every sort of test performed on me imaginable. All of my tests came out perfect. The doctor told me I was perfectly fine and that I probably had a bug, to drink lots of water and I would be fine. I told him that I had stopped taking Yasmin and done research on this - I asked if this was the withdrawal symptoms of stopping Yasmin. He said no.

The next day I felt slightly better but as it got later in the day I was exactly the same again. And, once again I was rushed to the emergency room. I had more tests done and they told me I was fine and probably had a bug. I told the doctor about the Yasmin and he ignored me. I was sent home after the tests came back fine and I had a drip as well as morphine to calm me down.

I have not been in the hospital since then but my symptoms have not really gone away. I admit that I am better than I was but to this day (it has been almost one month) I have had diarrhea and some anxiety daily. I have seen a doctor about this TWICE. on the first occasion he told me this was not the result of Yasmin. He said the symptoms I was having were too severe to be related to Yasmin. On the second occasion, he told me that MAYBE this was the result of Yasmin but this was "rare". He said I would be fine after another week. He was wrong.

I have no idea what to do. I spend hours everyday crying and have had thoughts of ending my life. I cannot enjoy the things I used to enjoy and I hate myself for going on Yasmin. I refuse to take any other pills or to put any other chemicals in my body. I feel like I will never get better. I feel like there is something wrong with me even though I know Yasmin is the root of my problems. I know it has only been just under a month but how long will this last? I have been taking various vitamins and minerals but nothing seems to help.

I hate that doctors won't admit that we are suffering from Yasmin side effects. It's not fair.

I have days where I am positive and feel like I will be fine. Then on other days I feel like I am just getting worse all over again. I don't know how to help myself and its not fair that I am putting my family, friends and boyfriend through this. I have had thoughts of breaking up with my boyfriend so he doesn't have to see me like this.

Any advice will really help and I would really appreciate to hear some success stories from women who have experienced similar symptoms and recovered.

Thank you.
Camilla,
Adelaide, South Australia

Birth Control Side effects (just a small list, nothing to worry about)

Birth control is a subject that has become a mission bigger than myself... I feel a need to spread the word to everyone I speak with and I wish someone could have shared with me ten years ago what I know today... But on the other hand if someone would have done that - I would not have been here today, trying to work so hard for it.

Birth control in the form of IUD, Pill, Implant, Shot, Ring or Patch are a hormonal form of birth control. They are accepted as the NORM by many; including our parents, friends and doctors and are not questioned enough. What we learn about them are the so called benefits and not side effects - and in many cases the side effect is looked upon as that 1-something percent chance of getting pregnant... (Off course getting pregnant will change your life forever and I am not trying to hide that...) but there is so much more than that. So much that not many speak about, or even acknowledge as being related.

More often than NOT are our symptoms ignored, laughed at, or treated with medications that most often fail. Why, I do not know - but I am sad that it has to be that way... there are so many young wonderful women out there that need the support that are left alone to think that it is all in their heads.

I am here to tell you that it is NOT in your head - your symptoms are very much real and are related to hormonal birth control, (or hormonal treatment during menopause if you are at that stage in your life):

• Hair loss
• Heart Palpitations
  
• Vision blurres
• Astigmatism
• High Blood pressure
• Allergy reactions
• Sinus problems
• Vaginal Dryness
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Panic attacks
• Insomia
• Symptom of Hypothyroidism
• Low tolerance to carbohydrates
• Poor nutrition absorbtion
• Diarrhea 
• Dizzyness
• Alcohol and/or Caffeine sensitiveness
• Feeling faint
• Weight Gain
• Weight Loss
  
• Low or no sex drive
• Spotting in-between periods
• Irregular Bleeding
• Cold sores
• Low immune system
• UTI
• Memory problems
• Bloating
• Mood swings
• Migraines
• Head aches
• Weepiness
• PCOS
• Sensitive to the sun
• Nervousness 
• Chronically tired
• Changes in skin 
• Muscle cramps or pain
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Blood clot

As you can see most symptoms have nothing to do with your reproductive tract (vagina, uterus, menstruation)... and they may be overlooked by yourself even, as a symptom of your birth control method. And if you suspect that it is linked you must prepare yourself that your suspicion might be dismissed by the doctor or gynecologist. You must listen to your body! Taking beta blockers, anti depressants, and/or use Rogain shampoo will NOT treat your real underlying issue, only hide it - if you are lucky - and then you should also hope for no side effects of this options. The only way you are truly going to get rid of this is to get off the hormonal birth control, and by that I mean GET OFF, not try another one, and restore your body's natural hormone balance; which could be a trip to hell and back but worth the ride in the end!

Your health comes first! It is really that simple. Without your health in tact you cannot care for your loved ones in the best possible way. Take care of YOU first! If you are taking hormonal birth control you should really sit down and ask yourself if it is worth the risks when there are so many other available options out there that does not include hormones when it comes to birth control...

Two Surgeries thanks to Yasmin and the comforting words from my Doc

I went on Yasmin in 2005 and thought I loved it at first...
Then, I started getting headaches all the time, strange paresthesia sensations in my hands. My heart would skip beats, and I eventually started getting stabbing pains every once in a while in my chest. Couldn't handle hot weather in the summer, and actually had heat exhaustion twice.

I Never thought it was my pill.

Then I started to see the commercials about Ocella being bad for you. So I called my doctors office to see if I needed to change pills. They were not concerned and told me the risks are the same for all pills. So I was like okay, I guess I will stay on it...

Well, I just didn't feel right about a year later and just stopped taking my pills. See; what the doctor doesn't tell you is that this pill has a diuretic in it. One that alters your potassium levels. Well, potassium is kind of important for muscle function, nerves , CLOTTING factors, oh yeah and THE POLARIZATION OF THE HEART. So that is probably why my heart was skipping beats and I was having anxiety. So after being on a diuretic without my knowledge for five years, what happens when I abruptly stop?

- My blood pressure went through the roof, and I started having intermittent claudication when I walked. So I went to the Doc to make sure I didn't have a clot, and my blood pressure was 140/104. I usually run 118/68! Hello rebound hypertension! Thanks Yasmin!

All of my problems were caused by electrolyte imbalance due to diuresis. I was pretty much dehydrated for FIVE years. After coming off, my body wanted to keep every bit of fluid that it could. I have also had two surgeries on my reproductive organs in two years. Since Yasmin took my progesterone and threw it out the window, I ended up with uterine polyps that had to be removed. They are caused by an over abundance of estrogen. So girls, avoid soy and its isoflavones!

The reason this pill has a higher clot risk is not rocket science. It's a little something called Virchow's Triad. Dehydration(the diuretic) + clotting disorder(potassium alteration)+ blood vessel injury = DVT. The FDA should know better! Are they trying to kill people? Yasmin gave us ladies 2 out of 3 of the risk factors for clots. Where most pills probably only give you one of the factors. That is a huge difference.

Fast forward two years. Things are better, but still not back to where I was before. It is a long and painful process, and I still get acne from time to time, which I never had before this pill. I am no longer on ACE inhibitors for blood pressure and my body finally started to regulate itself again. I don't eat anything processed, and I had to learn to be patient. I just wish I had known what was really in this pill before my Doc gave it to me. Had I known about the diuretic I would have said no way! Good luck to all the ladies out there just now quitting this pill. You are not alone! I only was able to put all the pieces together once I started school for nursing.

I am now an angry girl that hopes she can still have kids one day. We'll see...

~Anonymous

On Yasmin 4 years 

It took me 5 years to recover from Yasmin

I started Yasmin in 2005, after I stopped breast-feeding my second child, and stopped taking yasmin in March of 2007.  I had only taken the pill for about 2 years or so and it took me about 5 years to completely recovered. With that I want to point out that: each individual’s recovery period is different.

The first year, on yasmin, and like everybody else, I had already noticed some strange symptoms but I brushed it off thinking it was probably due to stress as I had 2 toddlers under the age of 5 and was also working full time.  

Those strange symptoms were: 

• loss of libido
• short-tempered
• unusual dryness on my skin throughout my body (skin would break if you scrub or scratch)
• light-headedness
• insensitive to feelings
• feeling stressed all the time

Those symptoms were just the bothering symptoms while I was on the pill until I got a full-blown panic attack one beautiful day in March of 2007.  I was fetching my eldest daughter from kindergarten when an attack swept over me, flooded me with palpitations out of the blue, sweating profusely and out of breath.  I was thinking I was about to faint and the school crowd suddenly became overwhelming for me (I was so fine with the crowd and noises before!)

I still don’t know how I made it out of the school and drove back to our home.  My husband was out-stationed then and I thought perhaps it was an ‘insecurity’ feeling that my husband was away and I was left handling the house with the kids but I was skeptical because I never had those problems before!  I did not understand why I couldn’t handle it this time.  I was a healthy, strong mother – what made me so fearful this time? I kept asking myself... The panic feeling remained with me for a few more days and I began to sense that it could be the pill. 

I stopped mid-pack and had a withdrawal bleeding.  After I stopped all other impending symptoms hit me.  I was bedridden for about 2 weeks with these symptoms:

• unable to get out of bed due to body ache
•  fainting 
•  unable to think, brain-fog
• loss of appetite
• loss of concentration
• heart palpitations
• nausea
• numbness
• suicidal

I was feeling like I was about to die.  I cried endlessly wondering what illness I had, my children watched me helplessly. They were so young then and I was so sorry that they had to see me in that state.  I saw shock and fear in their eyes.  I neglected them and everyone in the family because I was numb, I had no feelings, I felt brain-dead as I couldn’t think properly.  All I wanted to do was to sleep and lay in bed.  Back then I still couldn’t imagine what had gone wrong except for knowing that I had stopped the pill and I was bleeding.  I cried a river of tears.  I had no food on the table for the family, I didn’t send my kids to school.  I just locked myself in the bedroom – I did not even know when it was day and night.

After a few more weeks during the early months off, I watched everyone around me in envy because they could move around so easily while I was feeling handicapped.  I even developed agoraphobia; I couldn’t step out of the house.  I had my mother come over to help me but it was hard as we did not live together, I had my neighbor send my kids to school and she also did grocery shopping for me when my husband was away for work.  I couldn’t leave home without someone by my side.  I had IBS and bouts of vomiting.  I went to the doctor and was diagnosed as gastroenteritis.  Where did that come from? I was eating the same food as cooked for my family – how could they be safe while I was poisoned?  Thousands of questions raced through my mind: am I dying? Do I have stage 3 cancer that I was not aware of?  I imagined my own funeral and even dreamt of one.  I was suicidal when I was awake but couldn’t do anything, even too tired to walk out of my bedroom.  Visits to the doctors were useless.  They sent me to psychiatrists.  At one time, I really believed I was crazy but the gut feeling told me I was not.  I had always been healthy, from a young girl (I traveled across the continent alone a few times) to a strong mother of 2, a runner, and doing martial art.  What happened to me?  - A question that was left unanswered until I found the forum 4 to 6 months after I was ill and going through this.

It was a big relief when I found others who shared the same symptoms as mine.  I cried in relief, this time tears of happiness because I found my answer.  I stopped questioning when I could be better after learning that different people recover differently.  I channeled my time and effort to research and got help instead of venting and ranting ‘why me’?  I got over the stage of being angry with the pill very quickly because I knew I wanted to recover for the sake of myself and everyone in my family.  

My recovery was bumpy and I was constantly going through so many unexpected moments.  For me, it was not just depression alone.  It was depression along with many other symptoms – physically, emotionally, and mentally at the same time.  Examples are:

• headaches that would not go away
• no concentration no matter how much sleep I got
• night sweating, shivering, and trembling
• feeling faint under the sun like my body was losing control of how to regulate its own temperature
• random pain from waist down to thigh, leg and calf – I was limping at one time
• eye, skin and muscle twitches
• strong sunlight made me dizzy
• couldn’t form words in a sentence properly
• bad eyesight
• toothache, sensitive gum
• hair loss
• joint pain
• anxious and couldn’t concentrate while driving
• couldn’t  stand loud noises and big crowds
• couldn’t function in the mornings
• insecurity of being alone
• allergies
• cold and flu-like symptoms onset of menstruation

Today I sometimes lose count of what else I have been through.  I wouldn’t have recovered if I didn’t read and research enough.  I also discovered I was so naive when I was younger – feeding my body with synthetic hormones.  As no doctors could help me, I diagnosed myself with adrenal fatigue after my thorough research.  Yasmin had ruined and robbed me of my life, even as I recovered physically I still couldn’t get back my confidence completely, not until I got help from inspirational and motivational guide books – they helped me through steps-by-step in discovering myself, my strength, and my future. 

The following has helped me:

• get enough rest, sleep at least 8 hours even after you are fully recovered because there is always relapses if you ‘overdo’ yourself.  Do not wait for the relapse to treat your body well – treat your body well at ALL times
• avoid alcohol and other caffeinated drinks
• accept help whenever you can, wherever you are
• find a hobby that suits you, distract yourself from negative thoughts
• read self-help books
• do light exercises e.g. tai chi or yoga
• laugh – even though you may not feel like it, watch funny videos to bring out laughter – it makes a difference
• acupuncture
• body massage – it may not be possible for some and may be costly, I suggest to google ‘how to massage yourself’, it does make a difference on stiff muscles
• to ease allergies or cold/flu symptoms, drink up turmeric + water
• have herbal soup once a week if possible
• stick with home-made meals and juice from fruit rather than fruit concentrate and sugar
• avoid processed food
• Above all, patience is the key point to getting well.  I hope you all have a speedy recovery.

Because of what I have been through, I have learn a great deal about natural health – I have started to take courses and schedule my time for study on homeopathy and herbalism. 

~ Leni

Yasmin user 2005 - 2007 

I thought it was just me...

She told me I was making a very adult decision by sticking with birth control pills after she had pointed out that it was 99% safe. She wasn’t concerned about any side effects – as the worst thing that could happen to me was that 1% chance of getting pregnant. I trusted her, I trusted my OBYGYN. 

I had been taking different types of birth control pills for four years up until that point. But since nothing had really worked for me as I was having heavy bleedings in-between periods on every pill I had tried I was told that Yasmin was the new and great pill. I was told it was so good and safe that I had to go with it. There were really no other options left for me in the way my gynecologist was speaking to me. You would have thought that she could have recommended me to use any of the non-hormonal options that are available but that was not even discussed. At that point however, I did feel hopeful; a new and improved pill... 

That new and improved pill, Yasmin, soon became the one and only reason I visited doctors with all sort of specialties, only I didn’t realize it. I did not understand that it was all linked to the pill, how could I when it had nothing to do with my cycles or uterus?!  My bleedings had become a little bit better so in my mind this new and wonderful pill was truly much better than the rest! And no doctor even raised an eye brow when I told them I was on Yasmin either so it never even occurred to me. 

Unfortunately the real truth was that I had started to have heart palpitations, insomnia, my hair was falling out, I developed allergies, was having headaches more often than not, and became extremely depressed and sensitive. But at the same time I was also very busy with college and I blamed it all on school. I used to lay awake all night listening to my heart beat and was so afraid of falling asleep in case I would not wake up. When the morning came I used to open my dorm room door wide open and fall asleep so that in case I didn’t wake up, someone would find me.  

Every time I went for an EKG my heart beat was ok, go figure, so instead of being a patient that needed help I soon became a hypochondriac in the eyes of the doctors and my complaints were ignored. I never knew what to do about my insomnia besides for let myself fall asleep whenever I could, which wasn’t long or often but it was the best I could do. The depression and sensitiveness grew on me and I didn’t realize it – I thought it was just the new, more adult, and mature me. 

Then the bleeding came back full force. I was bleeding more than I wasn’t in every cycle. Having a relationship was hard and embarrassing for me as I felt extremely dirty all the time. I went back to my gynecologist who sent me to a specialist and after doing the examination he found nothing wrong with me but prescribed me two different antibiotics just in case and before leaving the room the specialist looked at me and said: “your bleeding are probably caused by you being depressed, go and do something fun”. 

I felt so worthless after that point and was embarrassed of being me. I started to shut down. I would not tell anyone how I was feeling even though more and more symptoms grew on me. But still I had no idea that it was related to Yasmin, in my mind it was all just me; something that was pretty much verified by the doctors I had been seeing… So I kept taking Yasmin for another five years and became a person that was more or less a shell of the old me... 

~ Helena, Sweden
Used Synthetic hormones for 11 years, 6 years on Yasmin

Hormone free since October 2009 :)

To contribute to this blog send an email to Yasmin and Yaz Blog - MyStory