Side Effects?? Birth Control Pill - Yasmin

To all mummies out there....

I feel that I should share this little piece of information to you. While it will not affect everyone but it certainly did to me.

Since I gave birth to my youngest daughter, I have decided not to have another baby. My gynae recommended the then-latest Pill, Yasmin to me, telling me that there is ABSOLUTELY no side effects to it. So I started taking it 3 years ago.

So, my story began. Quite unsuspectingly.

I had a very bad scare 2 years back. You see, I decided to go for my regular checks on my fibrio-adenosis condition (multiple benign lumps on the breasts) 2 years ago as I suspected the Yasmin that I took had aggravated my hormon imbalance. I had more pain. My ultra sound check found that one of the lumps had looked and almost confirmed malignancy. I thought .... that's it... and went thru hell imagining the worst. What I couldn't take then was how will my kids be, how my husband would be left alone ... all the worst possible thought. It was torturing.. no, extreme torture. Went thru praying and so on. Finally, I was prepared to accept the worst. On the day of my biopsy, the so-called solid lump was actually a cyst and totally extracted using a needle. The relief, I just couldn't express here. I started thanking Kuan Yin Pu Sa (Goddess of Mercy) for the miracle. For it was indeed a miracle - at least to my family and I. I was still not suspecting the cause.

Towards Feb last year, I started having breathlessness and heart palpitation. It went from bad to worse and in Mar, I did a string of tests like ECG, echo test, etc to find out the source of my anxiety attack. In fact, I blogged about this in 'Spending Some Quality Time' post. And guess what, I concluded that it was because of the big four letter word - BOSS!

Still unsuspecting!
After all, all this occurred 1-2 years AFTER I started on Yasmin. Who would have thought!

One night, while watching Astro, I had in my hands my iPad. For some reason, I started thinking about the possible causes of Yasmin - rather the severe side effects of Yasmin. I decided to google it up. Well, it started up as just for curiosity sake and having nothing to do then. Imagine my horror.

Here are some links:

1. http://www.unsafedrugs.com/1362/side-effects-of-yasmin-and-yaz
2. http://www.steadyhealth.com/Terrible_Side_Effects_on_Yasmin_Birth_Control_t101196.htm
3. http://chealth.canoe.ca/drug_info_details.asp?channel_id=0&relation_id=0&brand_name_id=2052&page_no=2
4. http://chealth.canoe.ca/drug_info_details.asp?channel_id=0&relation_id=0&brand_name_id=2052&page_no=2
5. http://www.livestrong.com/article/90560-effects-yasmin/

and a whole lot more.

Well, perhaps I over-reacted. But out of the few listed 'severe side effects', I'd got a few already. So what are the chances...

I told my colleague about it who was/is also on Yasmin. Again, side effects may affect some but not all. Then again, it is best that we are aware of it, isn't it. Later, she told me that her friend said that her (her friend's) gynae actually advised ladies with cancer history not to be on Yasmin. My dad was a cancer patient.
A separate incident later - when I was seeing a doc to attend to my cough and flu, I told her about my period cramps as I was off Yasmin for the first time and waiting for my system to regularize. Before I could mention why I was off Yasmin, she asked if I had anxiety attacks and palpitation. The doc told me that Yasmin is known to affect some ladies.

So, better safe than sorry. I'm off it for good. Neither am I taking any others or even injection. I'd rather risk conceiving. And no, I ain't gonna be on some operating theaters putting some stuff in my body for birth control. If God wants me to have another baby, I guess, it's my family's blessing. It is just that the cost and the responsibility of raising another. After all, I have 3 wonderful kids already :)


Joanne