Side Effects from YAZ

I have endometriosis and for some reason when I went back on the pill after weaning my second child, I bled through every pill and had horrible problems. My doctor finally put me on YAZ. I experience the same issues with drive. I put on a little bit of weight but I joined Weight Watchers and the weight came off. I mentioned to my doctor about the lack of drive and she said that it is very commonly reported with Yaz. The problem is, nothing else we tried worked for me. She told me to talk myself "out of it". I don't think she really understood me. Just know you aren't alone.

i was on yaz for a few months. i had lots of water retention. pretty bad, and my mood was south most of the time. i stopped taking it

A friend of mine was using yaz for 3 months and in the 2nd and 3rd month she suffered from severe depression. She also had other side effects but this was the most severe. I remember reading on here about another mom who suffered depression. I use nuvaring and the only side effect is my sex drive has went down. It's supposed to be once a month but instead, my off week is 3 weeks instead of 1. It has helped a lot. Talk to you doc about it first. It's great to not have to worry about it but once a month!

I wasn't able to take Yaz, either. I turned yellow (jaundice). I not have the merena IUD and love it. The best part is NO periods. Talk to your doc about it. My ins covered all but the office visit co-pay.
S.

I just started taking Yaz in November of 2006 and have no effects from the birth control pill. My breasts are not sore and my sex drive is fine. I switched from taking Loestrin Fe from the past 10 years or so. I liked the 4-day cycle Yaz offered so that is why I asked my OB/GYN for the pill switch. My suggestion is that you speak to your OB/GYN about the side effects that you are having and ask to try something similar but different form of contraceptive like NuvaRing, Loestrin, and other types.
A little about me:
29 yrs old, happily married for 5 yrs, at home mom of a rambuncious, adorable and happy 2.5-yr old boy.

Hi N.,

I don't have personal experience with YAZ (but I am a therapist a health educator, and my supervisor at my day job is a nurse practitioner, ands we both deal with a lot of issues related to healthy sexuality), but those sound like pretty significant side effects. Did you ever have those side effects on the pills you were on before getting pregnant? You might want to consider asking your doctor for what's called a low-dose pill. I was on one called Mircette for years and it worked really well for me. As an added bonus, it rarely leads to weight gain and periods become very light. Plus, Mircette (and maybe some of the other low-dose pills, I'm not sure) doesn't actually have a "placebo week", it's just 2 days, and the other 5 days have extremely low doses of the medication working back up to the dose for day 1 of the new pack, which generally leads to fewer mood swings and the like.

Hope this helps!

Saret T., Ed.S., LMHC
www.motivationforwellness.org

Yaz is AWFUL! I took it for a few days and was back at my ob/gyn within weeks. I thought for a moment I was pregnant as I got awful nausea and dizziness the morning after taking it. I forced myself to work, but within hours, I could not even stare at my monitor or concentrate and had to drive myself back home and miss the day. I was moody as well, although I am not sure if it was due to the pill or the ill feeling I had. I called the doctor immediately, and he told me these are normal side effects, but the next day, I again missed work. I decided I could no longer do this or I may lose my job, so I had my doctor switch me to Lutera: much better! No more dizziness, nausea, or moodiness. Plus, it's cheaper! I think you should consider switching if your mood is changing though; the breast soreness I believe is a common effect from most bc pills, but I am not sure about the low sex drive; I think some pills may decrease it as well, so you may want to look into the other options out there and read if they do indeed affect the sex drive and other things that are important to you before choosing the one that is best for you.

Hi N.,
Have you thought about trying Natural Family Panning (also called fertility awareness)? It is as effective as the pill and is completely natural, so there are no hormones to mess with your libido or cause other nasty side effects. It is very easy to do and can even be used if you have irregular cycles becasue you are letting your body tell you when you are fertile, based on your natural signs and symptoms of fertility, and you know to abstain (or use condoms if you choose - which would actually lower the efficacy rate) during that time. Many people think of it as a religious form of BC, but it is actually a natural (homeopathic) method that has a basis in nature, rather than religion. I have been a NFP user since I got married six years ago, after being on the pill for five years, and it has worked for me 100% and I have never felt better. I am very fertile (pg on the first try both times) but have stuck to the program and have never had an unplanned pregnancy. Send me a message if you want to know more.

I swear by Mirena.
It took less than 5 minutes for my ob/gyn to insert and
my super-heavy painful periods are OVER!
I seldom cramp,
my periods are more like a brief spotting.
No more vomit-inducing, black-out pain when I'm on my monthly.
I don't have wild mood swings like I had on the pill
and best yet, I don't have to think "did I remember to take the pill/ pull the Neuvo ring...

OMG. I read what you said about Yaz, well i have been on it for about a year now and i haven;t noticed anything wrong untill you mentioned your sex drive died out .Thats is just it i cant beleive that i did not think of it before.First of all for the past year i have totally been so turned off by my man not wanting sex or anything to do with sex and i just couldn't figure out why. This must be it. Thanks i am quitting Yaz but i am afraid to get pregnant again i have 3 kids now, but i dont wanna start another kind i do not want to gain weight. what did u do?

I've been on Yaz for 5 months now & I cannot get regular. I get my pd about every 2 weeks. I am thinking of switching myself. Also, I was on it for 6 weeks when my neighbor came to me & said she was pregnant. She was on Yaz. I was freaking until I got my pd. Hope you find one that works for you.

Hi N., I've had the same problems with Yaz. Yaz has also made me gain about 10 lbs. I'm going to my docter next month to try something different.

Hi - I had the same problems with YAZ as well. I went for my annual just last week and my dr. told me that she doesn't like to precribe YAZ because of its effects on the libido. I've been on Loestrin FE for the last month and I haven't really noticed any side effects other than the first week. It's definitely an alternative!

Hi N.,
same thing here. Nausea all day and i woke up in the middle of the night with anxiety. My friend same thing. I think YAZ is too strong. I'm on Kariva. It's great.
Don't hesitate to call your doctor and ask for a different pill.
Good luck,
S.

N.,

I don't know why you are on the pill. However, my doctor put me on the Loestrin 24 because of some problems I was having. Nothing to do with not trying to prevent getting pregnant, that isn't the issue as my husband had a vasectomy my my 3rd son was 6 weeks old. Anyway, with the Loestrin, it took a little while for the pills to regulate my cycle but once it did things are great. I don't have any complaints. No problems with breast soreness or sex drive anything of that nature. Like I said the doctor put me on the pill because of other medical issues, I would ask your doctor about the Loestrin. My periods start right when they should and only last 3 or 4 days and are barely noticable these days.

Good luck.

S.
36 y/o SAHM of 3 boys
14, 6 and 3