A 28-day cycle

Are you also one of those women who were convinced to go on the pill because your cycles were not regular?! It seemed so natural back then, didn't it?! And not to say - easy: Just pop a pill a day and you were good to go... right?! 

Well, as we have learned - a pill does not fix it, just hides it... forces your body to doing something else even if it wasn't designed to do so.

Funny thing is that there are things you can do to assist in regulating your cycle to follow that "desired" 28-day cycle. Natural things... Let me tell you how:

This approach is for anyone that is trying to regulate their cycle for any reason. (A regular cycle is something good because it helps our bodies to maintain a healthy natural balance of hormones). And by saying regular it is when you have your cycles without any traumatic symptoms...

What else in this world is also working on a regular cycle?
- You guessed it - the beautiful, mysterious Mr. Moon!!
So there is something to the moon and the fertility of women. And you thought it was an old tail, didn't you?! Ok, you might think it is absolutely ridiculous that a moon can effect your cycle but think about it: The moon can change the flow of the earths waters; called the tides.. why not our cycles?! Ok, ok.. there may be no 100% proof, but the idea is highly interesting! (and I don't think the BC pill was a 100% proof thing either).

New Moon to Full Moon
This is considered day 1-14; where a new cycle starts for the moon. So it should do for you as well. It marks for a new beginning. When there is a new moon you should have your period. (Day 1 is the day you get your period).

Now, the Full Moon on the other hand.. What many stories we hear about that, especially now when the vampire movies and series are so popular. But if you go based on this, Full Moon is baby-making-time! That is when women ovulate naturally.


Full Moon to New Moon 
This is considered day 15-28/29/30 Your body is either taking care of a new baby or is re-generating to start the whole process again in a few weeks. As you get close to the end you will feel the water retention and bloating just before the period - just like those tides we were talking about...

Ok, what do you do with this knowledge? 
So.. There are these two natural oils you can take to assist in this adaptation. Adaptation to the moon and the natural flow of our cycles. It is simple, it is natural, and it is a shame this is not taught to women everywhere!

New Moon to Full Moon - Take Flaxseed oil 

Full Moon to New Moon - Take Evening Primrose oil  

In other words you switch with the changes of the moon. You can google for moon phases to make sure you are following the correct cycle or get a calendar that would mark it. I got an app called MOON and it notifies me when there is a new moon or full moon :)
These oils should preferable be organic.
Amounts? You have to try what works for you...

I use the flaxseed oil in my veggie and fruit smoothies or on my salad every day the first phase. Then with EPO I take capsules but can be very well administrated by puncturing a capsule and put the content on your skin!

Even if your period does not follow this cycle currently you can still try this and observe how your cycle will change slowly to adapt to the natural cycle.

Good Luck!!
Have you tried this - please comment!

Sweetening the Pill Documentary

You and me... both the same... we took the pill... we got ill...

Sweetening the pill is a book just released by Holly Grigg-Spall bringing awareness to readers everywhere about the pill. Now a documentary is in the making!!

Want to participate spreading the word and educating the world?? Contact Holly or Helen by using the information in the image below. (Need a PDF version, email yasmin_yaz@live.com with "Sweetening the Pill" as title). TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE AN IMPACT

Survived bi-lat Pulmonary Embolism and DVT Caused by YAZ

Thank you, for keeping the message board and blog going. By simply being a presence on the internet you keep the dangers of these drugs available for people to see. Woman need to be educated on these drugs and you're helping so many.

I'm in the middle of a YAZ lawsuit and I'd like to share my story in the hope that someone can relate to it and find a little solace knowing they are not alone. Also, my blog has become a place specifically where women can anonymously share information and discuss their experience (and intense frustration) with the YAZ MDL lawsuit and I hope others will find it useful. 

My Story. . .

I had been on hormonal birth control pills for 10+ years and besides the headaches and moodiness that came along with PMS, I never had problems. A few months before my wedding and just after my 31st birthday, I switched to YAZ. At the time I was a healthy, active non-smoker who ran and did yoga nearly every day.

On a Saturday morning in August 2010 I was shopping with a girlfriend and started feeling out of breath. Each time we got back to the car I felt like I'd just run a mile. Work had been stressful lately, so I attributed the tightness in my chest to that. It wasn't until I nearly passed out that I knew something was wrong. My friend took me to the ER where my husband met us. Again, we just thought I was having a stress induced panic attack or it was a pre-cursor to a migraine. It took several hours and a CAT Scan to confirm that both my lungs were filled with marble sized blood clots. I was immediately started on blood thinners and admitted into the MICU. I stayed in the hospital for a week.

A full blood panel concluded that I have no clotting disorders, so the only known cause of the PE (and DVT which they later found) was the YAZ birth control pills I had been on since May 2009.

I'm one of the lucky ones. I'm alive, although according to my doctors, I shouldn't be. The worst part about having had major blood clots is that they seem to be the gift that keeps on giving. I'm still on blood thinners nearly 4  years later and have been advised to stay on them for life. The fear and anxiety of another episode is always present. I've been to the ER a few times because of similar PE symptoms that turned out to be false alarms – each visit leaves me in tears; it's so frustrating to be held captive by the fear of having another clot. 

Currently, I am part of the YAZ MDL lawsuit. Settlements are being discussed and it doesn't look like any of the lawsuits will actually go to court or that Bayer will be taking YAZ or its sister drugs off the market any time soon. My hope is that the pending lawsuits are enough to convince women to question their use of birth control pills containing Drospirenone. I believe that hormonal contraceptives are a great option for many women, but it's important to educate yourself and make informed decisions, because the risks can be deadly.

Best wishes,
-Mrs.T
Visit Mrs. T's Blog HERE

Editors note: The overall message of the Yasmin and Yaz Survivors Group is to stay away from synthetic hormonal contraceptive due to the many risk that may or may not inflict upon your life but we wanted to leave Mrs. T's own words in this blog post because that is what this is for... to share your own story and thoughts. 

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 

My sister asked me what birth control pill I was on

My name is Maria and I am from Romania. Thank you so much for having the initiative to create this blog. I have discovered it as Yasmin almost ruined my life.

I have been taking Yasmin for 8 month now and about 4 months ago everything changed. I was a lively person, who laughed and enjoyed everything in her life, who couldn't wait for the weekend to come to see her boyfriend. Soon after starting taking Yasmin, everything changed. The panic attacks began, I cried for no reason I felt I was going crazy and nobody understood me. I really felt I was going nuts until this morning when my sister came to me and asked me which BCP I was taking. I answered that I was on yasmin and she said that my moods and my panic attacks and everything has an explanation. She then told me about a former colleague of hers who, in college, after taking Yasmin for several months threw a knife at her. Then I understood I was not crazy and that Yasmin are responsible for everything.

I don t want to lose my relationship, my parents, and friends because of some stupid pill that can ruin your life.

Thank you so much and once again congrats for this blog.

Kind regards,

Maria.

Since taking Yaz I have now developed a vascular condition

Hi ladies,

I have been reading your post on the Yasmin and Yaz Survivor Forum and here on the Blog for some time and have joined to thank you all for your thoughts and contributions. 

The support and sentiments expressed here are so valuable when there is such little information forthcoming from doctors or the drug manufacturer.

Many women are having difficulty transitioning from Yaz and Yasmin birth control, and I have long suspected that the 'mild' anti aldosterone properties of drospirenone have an effect on the renin angiotensin aldosterone system for a number of months thereafter.

I have experienced constant tachycardia, blood pressure problems, back pain in kidney area, fluid retention, unbearable surges in adrenalin, muscle weakness, sensitivity with regards to my central nervous system, visible strong tremors in hands, lack of coordination, brain fog, hair loss, decreased urination and alternatively excessive urination, odd, random bouts of nausea that disappear as quickly as they appear, vision disturbances, tingling and twitching in extremities...bizarre.

My doctor has used words like 'you are stressed and anxious' to smother my concerns. I think we all know there's a bit of a stigma associated with researching health ailments online, but what's a girl to do when your practitioners are constantly being evasive? Making you feel like a giddy hypochondriac but at the same time putting you on a beta blocker? I smell a rat. How about you?

Since taking Yaz I have now developed a vascular condition (diagnosed by a doctor) that is likely to worsen over the course of my life. All this before the age of 30! Anxiety indeed.
I have no history of serious health problems, no history of heart or other diseases in my family or myself that may be contraindicated with birth control use, non-smoker, always had low blood pressure (even in my pregnancy), a long background of birth control use without complication, and extended breaks without birth control...no complication.

I think my health status is pertinent to note. Around the time I ceased taking Yaz my decline was very rapid and at one stage I was down to 44kg (99lbs)...an old work colleague of mine came to visit me at my worst and cried when she saw me. My quality of life was severely limited for approximately four months thereafter.

On a positive note we are now at seven months past and last week was my first week where I felt almost completely normal! Though the cynic in me feels that you can't be that sick without some long term battles...there were a few times there that I thought I might die.

Sending lots of love and light to you all.
~Anonymous 

Two cheap gems to recovery

Besides for eating well when trying to heal and recover your own body and soul there are two things that can help tremendously to detox the body, activate both your thyroid and adrenals... You just have to make time for it. (off course it may not do it all for all of you but it is a great start).

The suggestions below are EFFECTIVE, CHEAP, and allow you to give yourself some YOU TIME! 

Apple Cider Vinegar Tea

Pour 1-2 tablespoons of Bragg's Organic Apple Cider Vinegar in a cup of warm water
Add Raw Honey to taste
Drink/Sip

The A.C.V. tea helps with digestion, detoxification, and purification of your entire body.

Drink once a day if possible
 

EPSOM Salt Bath

Mix 1-2 cups of EPSOM Salt into a steaming hot bath tub (as hot as you can stand it)
Soak in it for 20 minutes
Follow the soak with some rinses:
10 seconds COLD
10 seconds HOT
10 seconds COLD
10 seconds HOT
10 seconds COLD
Dry yourself quickly and get into some comfy sweats and wrap yourself in a blanket.
Sit for 15-20 minutes and allow yourself to sweat.

The EPSOM salt helps detoxify your body from viruses, bacteria, chemicals, and metals. The rinses of HOT and COLD engages your thyroid and adrenals. The sweating process after the rinses enhances the detoxifying process.

Repeat bath a few times a week

EPSOM Salt Bath with a Kick

Want to make it even better?!?! 
Soak in your Epsom Salt bath WHILE you drink your Apple Cider Vinegar Tea! This will detoxify/purify your body from the inside and outside at the same time!

Note: Bragg's Organic Apple Cider Vinegar can be bought in most grocery stores either in the organic section or among the vinegars. EPSOM salt can be bought in most grocery stores or pharmacies. Raw Honey can be bought at most local organic/health food stores.

Australia Readers Look Here!!

I just received an email a few days ago that the new Marie Claire Magazine of Australia is now featuring a report focused on birth control and their side effects!!! If you have the ability to get one, do so and show your friends!

"The Birth Control with deadly side effects" !!!
It's even on the cover!!!