Brands > Yasmin

I started using yasmin when I was 14 because of horrible cramping during my periods. After taking the drug for over 4 years, I can say that it is effective but also annoying at times. My cramping is almost non-existant and my periods on last for 2-3 days. However, the drug has caused me to gain a lot of weight that has been very difficult to lose. Though I enjoy my shortened periods and am greatly relieved to have far less cramping, the weight problem has become especially annoying for me. I know many people on "yaz" and wonder if that is the same thing and if that may be a good choice in the future. Overall this is a good product that does what it says it will do, including some of the side effects.

At the age of 23 I decided to go on birth control and my gynecologist suggested Yasmin. Because I have health insurance the cost was reasonable for me--even when I would get a three months supply it was affordable. I am not quite sure why my GYN suggested Yasmin...when I asked why Yasmin was better she said that lots of young women use it and they really like the results. So trusting her I tried Yasmin.

For the first month and a half everything was okay...actually even better because I noticed that my periods were very regular. I didn't have much weight gain at all...which I thought was great. However in my third month of using Yasmin I began to have sharp pains in my legs and a heavy feeling in my chest. At first I thought that perhaps I was over exerting myself with work and school...but I figured it was the birth control pills when I would wake up with my legs bothering me. I decided to go to the ER and the attending physician advised that I discontinue using the Yasmin even though CAT scans didn't show any clots in my legs or brain.

After this experience I decided that Yasmin was not the birth control product for me. I have switched to another product and feel much better. Also, the symptoms of the heavy chest and painful legs stopped completely once I stopped using Yasmin.

Yasmin was the first birth control pill I used. I was recommended and prescribed this by my dermatologist because I wanted to control my acne. She said she had patients who had received positive results with it, so she recommended it to me. I learned later that many doctors are encouraged to sell Yasmin because of their profit margins, not because it is medically better for a patient. For me, Yasmin did help with the acne. It helped clear my skin, and regulate my periods. But it made things difficult with weight. I gained a lot of weight on it (about 20 pounds), and I'm still trying to lose it. Also, it was rather expensive for me to use Yasmin. It cost more than other brands on my insurance, and I eventually switched off of this because of the weight gain and cost. Yasmin might be good for some other people, but it wasn't the right birth control for me.