[holetoledo]

I took Yaz for a little less than six months. The first apparent side effect was RAVENOUS HUNGER but it calmed down by January or so. I still eat more than I used to but I also exercise more often so things are pretty okay now. I'm not upset about the weight I've gained because I am so skinny to begin with and I actually have had a hard time gaining weight, but the hunger was just getting out of hand... There was some spotting for about three months, but thankfully that cleared up. And recently, I started getting really emotional about silly things. And I read a thread over here about the numerous side effects people have had with Yaz and got scared, so my doc switched me to Ortho Cyclen, which I will be starting when my last pack of Yaz is finished. Anyone taking that? Could I get some input on your experiences?

[Guest]

I have been on Ortho for a while now. I started taking it when I was a teen and then when I got married I went to Yaz, which ended in a pregnancy. After delivering my baby I went to the Depo which ended in a 70lbs weight gain and heart problems. I am now back on Ortho for heart reasons and like it very much. I should have never changed. I think they say in the packs that when switching from another birth control, spotting may occur. My Aunt takes Yaz and is very happy with it. She says that she doesn't like Ortho because Yaz kept her period shorter. I think it doesn't matter the length of my period as long as the birth control is reliable. If you had no problems on Yaz I don't think you will have any on Ortho but then every body is different, and it wasn't until 1994 that they started testing the effects of birth control on women so some of the side effects of all birth control may be unknown.

[lime_lemur]

I was on Orthy Tri-cyclen Lo for about 4 years, I had to stop for a few months because I got really sick and had to stop taking all medications. It was originally given to me to help me gain weight, I have a very low appetite and I tend to be a little underweight (I'm 5'4" and when I first went off of it during the sickness I dropped to about 96 pounds.. ack.) It makes me hungry, but I've never gone past 115 pounds. It makes my periods very bearable, I never really got moody. However, I have a friend who took Ortho and said it made her extremely moody and hungry, so she switched to Yaz. It really depends on the person unfortunately.

[nubianqueen]

I actually switched from trinessa (generic brand of ortho tricyclen) to loestrin 24 then to ortho tricyclen lo. Love, love, love ortho lo b/c it's a low dose with minimal side effects (at least for me anyway). No issues of weight gain, spotting, or anything of the sort. Loestrin caused me not to have a period for 3 months which freaked me out, so i switched. All forms of bc are different for everyone so the key is to find out which one works for you and stick to it.