dryness on yasmin

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-15-2004
dryness on yasmin
7
Thu, 04-15-2004 - 2:44pm
i have been on Yasmin now for 2 years and before that, loestrin. at the time that i switched, i complained about low sex drive on loestrin as well as zits so she put me on yasmin. with both of these, i have had dryness down there like you wouldn't believe. it's like the sahara desert and it's really putting a big damper on my 4 year relationship. other lubes are just out of the question as both my boyfriend and i want it to be natural. is there a pill that WON'T cause this problem? or can someone tell me if i need to go higher or lower on estrogen or to a particular type of progestin? i have searched all over the web and it's hard to find a table that has all the different side effects lined out for you. i knew of 1 years ago but cannot find it now! HELP!!
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Thu, 04-15-2004 - 4:42pm
Hi bouncy1975,

Dry is not fun, especially if you would rather not use a lube. You might want to consider NuvaRing http://www.nuvaring.com/Consumer/index.asp? a small plastic ring worn in the vagina for 3 weeks and removed for one for your period. Some NuvaRing users have reported having more vaginal discharge on the ring than when they were on other hormonal contraceptives. Perhaps that is because the hormones are released directly into the tissue of the vaginal walls. At 15 mcg NuvaRing has the lowest estrogen of any combined contraceptive in the U.S. so side effects are usually slight if any. Most members posting about NuvaRing like it. Let us know what you decide and how you are doing, ok?

Good luck

      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-15-2004
Fri, 04-16-2004 - 8:56am
Hi Jill,

thanks for getting back to me. I did a lot of research yesterday and it seems as though i need MORE estrogen in order to get rid of the dryness. it makes sense because when women go through menopause, they tend to get dry so that is 1 of their reasons for going on HRT-to give themselves more estrogen. Is yasmin a very low estrogen? i saw on my packet that it said .03 mcg. seems to be low!! Do you know of any others, besides the ring, that might make this better? and what are the side effects to more estrogen?
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Fri, 04-16-2004 - 10:42am
Hi bouncy,

While there can be a direct relationship between the amount of estrogen in a pill and the side effects I think it has more to do with the balance of estrogen with the amount and type of progestin in a pill. So a pill that has more estrogen will not necessarily give you more estrogen related side effects. CL-Judie Rae could explain this much better than I can. Take a look at http://www.wdxcyber.com/ncontr13.htm for some suggestions about controlling side effects. I mentioned NuvaRing because a number of users have commented on the increased discharge while using the ring and CL-Judie Rae has had problems with dryness and the ring has really helped her in that regard. Let us know what you decide, ok?

Good luck

      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-15-2004
Fri, 04-16-2004 - 11:36am
ok i checked out that chart and that is what i used when wanting to switch to yasmin 2 years ago. my next question is what is the difference with the tri phases and the mono-1 dose the whole month? i used to take OTC way back 9 years ago or so but i can't remember how it worked for me. i was thinking that or Triphasil. those are the ones that have the better side effects that i can handle. LOL i just hate all this switching etc...

i may look into the ring too. thanks a lot!
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Fri, 04-16-2004 - 12:10pm
I think there can be more side effects from triphasic pills than monophasics but it's a very woman specific thing. Why did you switch from OTC? If it worked well you could try it again but if you took it that long ago your body may have changed enough so OTC is no longer satisfactory.

Good luck

      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-15-2004
Fri, 04-16-2004 - 1:12pm
I honestly can't remember why i went off of it--it was soo long ago. i THINK it was b/c of low sex drive but i also wasn't too interested in my ex at the time either. LOL i also need something that helps with the androgen tendencies as well ( i hope i said that right) as i tend to be hairy as it is. i agree that it's probably best to stick with mono that tri phasic to avoid more side effects. i guess it's just going to be a trial and error. i may suggest OTC though just to see what happens. i was on it for a few years that time and it didn't start with the low sex drive for at least 2 years into it. it's all so confusing though!
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Fri, 04-16-2004 - 1:40pm
That is exactly what happened to me... two years on OTC and my libido dropped to nearly zero! It took me a year to figure it out! Duh! I've been off hormones for almost two years now and I feel wonderful! Just a few days off OTC and I felt so much better, alive, and energetic and my libido came roaring back! I hope you can find something that will work well for you.

Best of luck

      Jill