Boys beware...girl topic here, Women take note!

A friend asked me to post this experience online so...

I'm posting this here to link to other sites as I don't want the world reading the journal I originally wrote it in.

Pardon my language, I was severely aggravated with the whole mess.

So to explain. Lately I've been feeling not so great. Had some migraines and back pain, stomach issues etc. I attributed it all to something different. Thought my stomach problems from my Indiana trip were a virus. It very well could have been but now I'm not so sure. I had migraines which I thought were from caffeine withdrawal since I couldn't eat normal food for awhile. The back pain and neck stiffness I attributed to sitting/laying funny on the couch. The sudden breakouts i thought were a result of my new face wash. Well this week I felt worse then most. I was sleeping NON-STOP. I mean easily over 11 hours a day for a good 4-5 days. I was just soooo tired. My legs got tingly one night, my chest was fluttery. Felt a little dizzy too. I've also noticed that I've been getting anxious, having mini panic attacks for no reason. I can breathe myself through these b/c I remember having them during college but for the most part this is rare. I'm not an anxious or depressed person. I have a very solid baseline as far as that goes. Not much gets to me.

So today I'm driving to work. As I'm getting closer I'm feeling more and more "off." I figured it's just b/c I hate work and I'm a bit anxious about seeing my coworker who just lost his daughter a few days ago. So I toughed it out. Got there and felt awful. Nauseous, dizzy and tired. I damn near packed my stuff back up and left to go home. Stopped drinking coffee, drank water...tried to use the bathroom to settle my stomach. I was a hot mess. So in telling my co-workers everyone kept asking if I was preggers, saying thats exactly what happens. I'm talking 3 people said this to me. I started to freak the fuck out.

First off I'm on birth control and I'm a nazi about it. I've been on it since college to regulate and force me to menstrate as stress had fucked up my body good. I've never missed a pill in like 8 years. I take it everyday at 8pm and not a moment later. I never forget etc. If I leave the house and forgot it there, I could be an hour away and I turn around and go back to get it. I mean I'm on it! In the event I am going to be sexually active, I also ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS use protection. Meaning I've never in my life had unprotected sex, ever. So knowing these things I should feel comfy knowing I'm not preggo but since I'm the most paranoid person ever concerning that, it didn't help. I tried to ignore my crazy brain but my boss called me to her office. To do what you ask? To see pics of her daughters pregnancy test that was positive and to see pics of her grandson right after he was born and all gooey and gross. I about lost it right there.

So in my semi common paranoid state concerning pregnancy I went online to look up my birth control. I've done this many times to calm myself b/c it reassures me that the effectiveness is nearly 100% when used properly and when doubled with condom use, nearly perfect. However I didn't type in Yasmin b/c I realized I had switched to the generic a few months ago. So I typed in Ocella and clicked the first link....

OMFG batman! Hundreds and I mean hundreds of women with the exact same symptoms I've had. Some with more. Many also freaking out thinking they're preggers when they aren't. The whole point of the pill is to reassure you, you're not pregnant....so to have one who's side effects mimic pregnancy seems RETARDED. Turns out the generic pill does some super fucked up things to a lot of women. I immediately felt relieved and better about not being preggo but all the same started to worry about this drug I've been taking faithfully for months. I read up on it ALL DAY LONG. Scary shit.

Some women are even considering writing the company to have this drug banned. I find this disturbing seeing as my doc and my pharmacist said it should be fine....same as yasmin and not to worry. Funny thing is the brand name works well for most everyone and everyone was super happy with it. 98% of them went back to it even, its just the generic of it that sucks. I loved the name brand too but it was also $50/month so on limited funds I gave the generic a go.

Side effects experienced by many:

nausea and vomiting
dizziness
hair loss
extreme bloating
significant weight gain
acne
mild lower back pain
neck stiffness
moderate to extreme fatigue
a lack of appetite or more commonly a never ending appetite
late night bouts of thirstiness
jaundice
stomach and GI problems
stomach and pelvic pain
breast tenderness/ bruising
gall bladder diseases or major issues
anxiety and depression
lack of motivation

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, of this list there are 3 symptoms I didn't have. I didn't lose hair or get jaundiced which were more rare. I did get pale though. I also didn't have any breast tenderness that was noticeable. I did however bruise on my chest and shoulders without knowing why. I still have a week and a half left of pills but I've decided to stop them as of today. The doctors office said to stick it out if I could then go back to my brand name next pack if I could but no. I figure the possibility of bleeding for 3 weeks straight and not being able to have sex and feel safe about it for 3 months is better then the side effects. Especially since they've gotten worse as I've been on it. I'm now irritated but feel better about my choice. Sucks to "do the responsible thing" and be safe and still get burned for it. Hopefully when I get back on the Yasmin everything will go back to how I was on it before. Sad that on my limited pay I'd rather pay $70 a month then $10 but fuck it. My health is my health and I'm over this.

I am now one of the hundreds... I HATE OCELLA!

If you're a girl I suggest you steer clear of this drug and if you're a man I hope you mention it to your female friends/gf's etc b/c its not worth the risk. Stay with Yaz or Yasmin or switch to a different pill completely but DO NOT take Ocella.